Extraordinary Mistakes

6. Misery and subjugation

February 2017

Alex's screams wake Matthew Moore up.

It's four in the morning, Matthew runs downstairs to meet him. Amanda jumps out of bed and meets them there. Seconds after, Rachel gets out of her room, but stays hidden on the top of the stairs instead.

"Alex, what's going on?!" Amanda looks around. "Where's Amy?"

He looks around in confusion, everything surrounding him is strange. The table by the door is exceptionally small. He has been there before, knows it isn't its size. Matthew and Amanda's faces are blurred and their voices too low for him to understand. She shakes him, shouts, and he can't hear her.

Matthew makes him go numb.

"Where is Amy, Alex?!" Amanda grabs his shoulders.

"Deviants came to our house. Amy amplified my teleport so I could get away. She stayed."

Matthew logs in on his phone to the forums and shows her the video that circulates. Someone films Amy's house, demanding Matthew to show up or they would kill her. The person says in great detail exactly how and how much she would suffer. A few moments later, the house explodes. No one makes it out alive and the video stops.

"Why didn't you bring her?!" She easily breaks his arm.

"I couldn't bring her," he says with no demonstration of pain.

She grabs him easily, despite him being heavier than her, sweat fills her entire body, her veins show in her forehead and neck, her face completely red, she throws him against a wall near the stairs. 

Rachel covers her mouth to stop her from screaming. She wants to help him, stop all the pain that he's going through. But her parents are too powerful.

"Why did she stay behind?!" Amanda goes near him and punches through the wall next to his face.

She notices his necklace hanging beneath the plain shirt. A silver A. She takes it out of his chest carefully. It isn't his to have.

"I couldn't bring her too. I tried. It just didn't work."

"As useless as his parents," Matthew rolls his eyes and releases Alex from his control.

The boy starts screaming again, holding his neck, searching for the necklace Amanda took from him.

"Amy died because of you!" Amanda continues to punch through the walls.

Matthew puts his hand on his forehead and controls her emotions, she falls on the floor with no expression.

"We can't have you destroying everything, Amanda. Please calm yourself, dear. Alex," he comes near him, "she's right. This is your fault. Which means that tomorrow you'll start training. Or better yet. Today!"

Matthew grabs a baseball bat nearby, is about to hit him when a fireball breaks it.

"Come out, Rachel!" Matthew sighs out loud.

"Leave him alone!" She sends another fireball this time against her father's back.

His shirt burns, but his skin doesn't. Amanda gets up again, screams, and throws part of a door against Alex and a chair against Rachel. She missed both, but if she hadn't, it would've caused great harm.

"Enough, Amanda." He snaps at her, and she stops even though he isn't controlling her emotions. "Come here, dear," Matthew tells Rachel calmly.

Rachel doesn't move at all.

"Honey, let's talk," he sees that she's in the middle of the stairs.

She slowly comes down and puts herself between her father and Alex.