“Save your energy for testing, R8M9. You don’t want your parents to hear that you’ve been resisting again.” Alison heard the calm, cold voice of a Monitor talking to the resident beside her cell.
“First of all, my name is Raymond! And second of all, those aren’t my parents. I have never even seen them before,” Raymond yelled back.
Alison stood, walked to the glass door, and looked out at the confrontation in the hallway. Raymond had his hands gripping the Monitor’s crisp suit. The smell of melting material lingered in the hallway as the front of the suit began smoking under Raymond’s hands. Alison rolled her eyes. It was the same every day since Raymond moved to floor one. He always resisted testing and then the Monitors forced him to go anyway. The Monitor grabbed Raymond’s hand and blisters immediately began forming on both their palms.
“The testing won’t take long. They just want to see how big of a fire you can manipulate,” the Monitor said.
“I did testing yesterday. I still have the scars to prove it.” Raymond lifted up his shirt and showed off a long, jagged burn weeping with clear fluid. “I swear you’re going to kill me.”
The Monitor didn’t show any sign of remorse or pity for the boy. They never did. Alison shifted uncomfortably. The Monitors always gave her the creeps. There were thousands of them around the facility and they all looked relatively the same: middle-aged bald men, with super-strength and intelligence. They’re called the Monitors because they saw everything that went on in the facility, and seemed to have a built-in communication network in their mind with the other Monitors, bosses, and doctors. No one knew what they were.
Raymond called them “the hounds” because of their superior sense of smell and their willingness to do whatever the doctors and scientists told them to just like pet dogs. The older patients often debated on the origins of the Monitors. Some thought that they were androids while others thought that they’re demon spawn, aliens or clones. It all depended on who you asked.
Alison placed her hand on the specially engineered bomb-proof glass wall of her cell. Her fingers began creating feathers of frost around the glass. She didn’t mean to use her power at that moment, but seeing Raymond so sick made her angry. She couldn’t control her powers when her emotions got the better of her. Raymond’s crippling side-effects reminded her of the pain her brother went through before he died. At least the pain was over for him.
The monitor’s stone grey eyes rolled into the back of his skull. When they rolled forwards the pupils landed on Alison. “Your presence is requested along with R8M9. They want to see which power can best the other.”
At the Monitor’s words, the glass of Alison’s door clicked open. Her heart thudded a little faster as she stepped into the hall. Raymond looked over at her and grinned. It was somewhat comforting to see him grin. Alison knew it was futile to protest the Monitors. They always got their way in the end, or they killed you. “As you wish,” she said.
Raymond stepped away from the Monitor and came to stand beside Alison. “After you,” he said as if mocking the Monitor.
The Monitor turned swiftly and led them down the hall towards the elevators. Raymond inspected the blisters on his hand. Alison noticed that the Monitor’s burn was already healing. The burnt skin peeled away, revealing new pink skin underneath. Along with their superior intelligence, strength and sensory powers, the Monitors only needed a few moments to heal from an injury that would take most folks weeks to recover from.
As they walked past the cells, Alison took Raymond’s hand and sent a burst of frost to help dull his pain. They passed by Kory’s cell on the way to the elevators. He was talking to Lucas about a book that he wanted to read. Lucas was pushing a metal cart filled with books and snacks for the residents. He was twenty-two and had been there longer than most of the teenagers. The doctors trusted him enough to let him help out with making the kids’ lives more comfortable. He lived on floor two, designated for residents with mind powers.
YOU ARE READING
The New Generation
Science FictionThey never saw it coming, no one ever did.They were taken from their homes, their families their lives. They've undergone experimentation and testing. Now they take the screaming babies from their mothers pleading arms. Allison is the last of her Se...
