Sustainable

Chapter Four

I stared at the source of the voice, and was instantly surprised at what I saw. A man, with jet black hair with a few light streaks and startling blue eyes sat in a large ornate chair at an equally ornate desk several feet away from me, eyeing me up with a smile on his face. I raised an eyebrow at him, and to my surprise, he broke out into a hearty laugh.

I felt my face heating up, both in embarrassment and anger. In one afternoon, I'd been kidnapped, tested on and nearly had an emotional breakdown, and there was him in his snooty and over-prestigious library/office thing, laughing at me!

"Stop it!" I erupted, my voice echoing loudly in the massive room. To my surprise, he stopped, and Elliot suppressed a chuckle behind me. "You tell him, girl." he whispered, bending down to whisper in my ear. I flushed red — I don't think I'd ever heard myself that loud before.

"Welcome, Miss Clarke. My name is Sean McKenna. Welcome to my home." He lifted his arms theatrically, and I huffed.

"Who are you? I mean, really? Are you a secret organisation, or something?" I asked, and his million dollar smile dropped. He shook his head slowly in response to my question, causing his dark curls to shake slightly.

"Not in the sense that you mean. We're not FBI, not CIA or NSA or anything like that. But yes. We're an... organisation of sorts, Miss Clarke." He smiled when he paused, his blue eyes pinned on mine.

I grimaced, and he gestured towards an ornate chaise longe that sat invitingly opposite a gigantic ladder that hung elegantly off of a nearby bookcase. I sat gingerly, and Elliot plonked himself next to me unceremoniously, crossing his long legs casually.

"Miss Clarke," he began, and I waved my hand in dismissal.

"Just Amelia, please. Amelia is just fine."

He momentarily looked taken aback and he pursed his lips together in what looked like annoyance. Maybe he wasn't used to being interrupted by anyone — let alone scrawny teenage girls? I shrunk in my seat and stared at him, attempting to get a proper look at him.

The first thing I noticed was that he was older. Where Em and Elliot looked like they were in their early twenties and Ro looked around my own age, Mr McKenna looked around thirty, give or take a few years.

"How old do you think I am, Miss Clarke?" His voice cut through my thoughts, and I was made aware that I was staring at him. A small smile played on his lips, and he cleared his throat. "Sorry, Amelia?"

Crap. He was obviously mocking me, and if Ro's party trick was anything to go by, these people were not normal. What if he could mind read? Crap, what if he just heard me call them 'not normal'?

"Not too young, then." He answered for me, and I stared at him nervously.

"Can you read my mind?" I asked timidly, and he laughed.

"No, but you look like a rabbit in headlights. Don't look so scared."

"Don't be scared?" I echoed. "I have been abducted. Abducted. Does that not mean anything here? And you're wondering why I look so nervous? I was snatched off of the street! I have been prodded and poked and God knows what today, and no one will give me any goddamn straight answers!" I heard my voice raise several octaves, and I felt Elliot sink into his seat. The room was silent apart from my ragged breathing, and my hands trembled as I set them back into my lap.

"Please." I spoke softly, my voice barely over a whisper. "Why am I here?"

"That's a sensitive question, Amelia. You are here because you need to be. Here, you are safe."

"Safe from what?" I asked bitterly, and Elliot shifted. "Amelia, there are people out there. People who want to hurt people like us." he says, gripping my hand.

"People like us?" I whispered, and he nodded softly. "What do you mean, people like us?"

"We think it might be some sort of mutation." Mr McKenna said carefully, and I jumped at the sound of his strong voice. "Something in our genes is causing our cells to change and give us these abilities, somehow."

"Like X-Men?" I blurted stupidly, and he chucked. "A little."

"And you're like Charles Xavier?"

"Minus the wheelchair."

"And a few years."

He laughed again, and a small smile flickered across my face.

"I find people like us, Amelia. I bring them here to keep them safe. Occasionally," he paused again, his eyes darkened. "Sometimes they come to me." he finished.

"So what do you do? Like, Ro has her fire, right? So what can you do?" I asked Mr McKenna, finding a new courage I never knew I had.

"It's complicated to explain." He said, picking up a small decanter. He poured himself a glass, and the familiar smell of whisky hit me, making me feel sick to my stomach. "I sense people with abilities. I can sense their presence, and I can find where they are and contact them. I see if they want to join me."

"And if they don't? Do you kidnap them too?" I was unable to keep a sarcastic edge from my voice.

"No. You're a special example." He paused, staring hard at Elliot — who avoided his gaze. "We needed you."

"Why?" I shook my head, still unable to accept the torrent of information being thrown at me. "You've got this all wrong. I'm not special! I'm just me. Just boring me."

Yeah, because boring people get kidnapped all the time, my subconscious remarked snarkily. Either they've got the wrong girl, or you're not as normal as you thought. And I've got money on the not normal thing.

God, my subconscious is a bitch.

"No, Amelia. You're very special. We're just not sure how or why yet." Elliot squeezed my hand, and I absent-mindedly squeezed back. 

"Why me? What am I, some sort of chosen one? A mutant messiah?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm again. Mr McKenna laughed, and stood up. He was surprisingly tall, taller than Elliot — even taller than Keiran, and fairly robust. He wore a dark grey suit with a pale grey shirt with no tie. Compared to him, I felt seriously underdressed in my ripped skinny jeans and pale blue cami vest.

"Of the sort, Amelia. I'd be happy to answer your questions any other time, but I can pretty much hear Elliot's stomach from here."

Right on cue, a loud growl erupted from Elliot's abdomen and he shrugged. "My internal clock is right on time."

"Elliot, please show Amelia to her room, and get her whatever she wants to eat. I think we should hold out on her meeting everyone until tomorrow, don't you? She's had a trying enough day."

"Sure thing, sir. I'll grab this little lady whatever she wants. And keep you-know-who on a leash."

"Hm, yes. I'd forgotten." He frowned thoughtfully, his fingers touching his stubble slightly. Suddenly, he smiled widely at me. "Welcome Amelia. I hope you enjoy your room, and have a pleasant night. Now, I must apologise, but I have to kick you two out now. Duty calls." He tapped his temple, and I guessed that he meant more mutant stuff.

"Goodnight, Mr McKenna." I said whilst he shooed us towards the door.

"And to you, Miss Clarke." He tipped an imaginary hat to me, and closed the door softly behind me.

Walking down yet another long corridor, I punched Elliot in the arm softly. "You have got a lot to answer, Elliot. A lot." I said seriously, and he shrugged off my mild assault.

"All in due time, Miss Clarke." he grinned, and I couldn't help smiling back. He stopped suddenly, and I walked into him.

"Hey, missy, this is your stop." He motioned to the door we'd stopped at, and I touched the doorknob tentatively. "Go ahead. Enjoy." he smiled, and I opened the door to my new life.