Lilly

Chapter 16

Lilly wandered for a long time, no idea where to go, or what to do. She was way out of her league, and she knew it. Horace was the only person she could trust, but she didn't know where he was. He hadn't been back to the park in a long time, and going back there scared her.

Wandering gave her time to think, though, allowing her to clear her mind, and form ideas. She had abilities which could help her, but she wasn't sure how.

As she walked, she pulled out her iPod, unwrapped the earbud cable and stuck them in her ears. There was no response from it when she pressed play. She stopped and looked at it. The screen was blank. What a time for the battery to be dead, and she'd left the charger at her foster home.

On a whim, she headed there, hoping her earlier attack distracted the 'bad guys'. When she got near, she scanned the area, but saw nothing. Either they were hiding better, or they'd decided she wasn't going back there. She hoped it was the second choice.

Inside, she headed straight to her room, where she found her stuff where she'd left it, which surprised her a little. Once she had her charger, along with some fresh clothes, she went through the house to see if anyone was home. It was empty.

With a shrug of her shoulders, she grabbed a quick shower. Although she'd much prefer a bath, she knew not to press her luck too much. The shower was dangerous enough. She plugged in the iPod before she did anything else, then brushed her teeth, and began her morning ritual, although it was a bit late.

It still took her half an hour, as she felt compelled to shave, another long neglected necessity. When she emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her long black hair, she felt human again. She pulled up short as she saw her foster mother sitting in the den, along with a man she'd never seen before. He wasn't young, but he wasn't old, either. His hair was dark brown and short cropped. There was a feeling of superiority coming from him.

Having everything she needed in her hands, she let the towel fall. Just before she ran, the man said, "Priscilla Pimlott, please wait." She turned back to him, her eyes piercing.

"What?" she replied, with no effort to hide her distrust.

"I won't hurt you," he said.

"Yeah. I've heard that before." She wasn't sure she had, but he didn't know that. His brow furrowed at her words, though, as if he meant it and didn't like the possibility she might have been.

"Read my mind if you don't believe me."

"You're as nuts as those other guys!" she exclaimed, and was about to turn around and leave.

"We know you can read minds. You're a telepath, and we want to understand what it is you have. That's all we want, I promise."

"Then why have you been trying to shoot me?" she asked. "No, I don't give a shit. You're nuts if you believe I can read your mind, and even if I could, why would I help you, after everything you've done to me?"

"I'll answer your first question, even though you said you didn't care," he said, and watched her for a moment. Seeing he had her attention, he continued, "We only used tranquilizers, thinking it might be easier. We were wrong." Seeing the look of distrust on her face, he put a hand out in a pleading manner. "Listen, if you come with us, you'll have everything you could possibly want, while we study what it is you're able to do. Electronic...things, TVs, food, new clothes, drugs, whatever you want, it's yours. Just let us study you for a little while. Once we're done, you're free to go," he promised. His offer of drugs infuriated her, but she held her anger back, which was a struggle.

"And if I don't want to?" He hesitated with her question. He hadn't expected it, which was all she needed.

"Yeah. I thought so," she said, and turned to leave, regardless of what he said. There was something about him she didn't trust, and she couldn't figure out what it was.