Elementalists

5) Origin Story

After I sat in the stiff red armchair, she pulled something out of the bottom of the heavy dark wooded desk. It was an old picture, I could tell how dated it was by the fading, and the types of glasses people were wearing. I saw men and woman in lab coats on the sides of a large group of children that looked to be in a range from eight to fifteen years old. In the middle of the crowd I could make out two faces that I haven't seen in a long time. My dad was next to my mom, hand over her shoulder with a goofy grin that I could recognize on my own face. They were about fourteen years old, and they looked happy. But where were they? After looking a little more closely I could make out a sign behind the group that read MANTIS Research Facility. I looked up at Alyssa hoping to find some answers, then she reached across the table and pointed to a small girl next to my mom with round glasses and bright red hair.

"I was eight when we took this picture, things weren't so bad before it was taken" she said under a sigh.

"What happened, why were you there? Why was anyone there?" I said, my voice starting to rise.

"About fifty years ago a man known as the Director experimented on his wife to see if his theory about elemental manipulation would work. He would do things that changed her biological system, and what made it so horrible is that it never worked. Not until they had children. He had two daughters, and by the time the oldest was twelve, she started to display unique abilities. By then, he had begun on a number of experiments with other coworkers he had convinced to participate in his experiment. He then understood that the only way to start the manipulation process was to pass it down through a generation." My mind was whirling as I tried to process what she was saying.

"So how did you, my mom and dad become his test subjects? Didn't your parents object to having you be a bunch of lab rats?" I said, and I realized I was having trouble breathing. I took a deep breath and saw that Alyssa was almost at tears, looking lost in the past.

"No, because my father was too involved in the operation. He didn't look at me as a daughter, but as a piece of scientific work. A project." She spit out the sentence with sadness dripping off every word.

"Who was your father?" I asked cautiously, but the hairs standing up on my arms already told me the answer.

"My father is Desmond Lincoln, Also known as the Director." My hands started to shake, and I clasped them together under the table so Alyssa wouldn't see.

"I'm related to the Director?" For some reason the thought of just knowing that I had the same blood running through my veins as someone who used a bunch of children as lab rats chilled my bones.

"Why would he just let you guys go if he spent so much time on you?" about thirty questions popped into my head, but this seemed like the best to ask first.

"He didn't let any of us go. We escaped. Your father was one of the most powerful subjects at Mantis, and one of Desmond's favorites. The Director would push Peter to the point of exhaustion, and nearly killing him in the process." She took a breath and gestured for the picture back. I hesitant, but did as she asked.

"I miss your mother Soren." she said, looking down at the picture. I could feel the years of sadness that she must have gone through, not just because of the death of my mom, but having to go through all the tests and drills my grandfather had put her and all of the other children through.

"There were one hundred and fifteen kids that were in the Mantis facility at that time." She said, as she handed me back the picture.

"Notice anyone else in that picture?" she said softly. I studied the old faded photograph and did recognize another face.