Transformation

Chapter 1

Emily Winters paced back and forth in her small, barren living quarters which had served as her prison for twelve long years. Her plan for freedom was tenuous at best but finally, her opportunity would arrive and she had to seize it for there would never be another. As a level nine precognitive, she knew this was her only hope. She had been abducted as an adolescent with the ability to foresee the future with uncanny accuracy when discovered by an operative of the Psi-Tech research facility in Seattle. The extent of her powers had been ascertained through a battery of tests. The vast majority of psychics possessed only one strong talent but often one or two weaker abilities. Emily had been classified as a level five precognitive with no secondary abilities; however, she had intentionally failed their testing for telepathy. The researchers had been ecstatic to discover a naturally-occurring psychic with such a high rating. They had immediately forced her to undergo the psi-enhancement procedure which comprised of a combination of drugs and electrical stimulation to the brain. This technique only worked on a third of the population and no one knew ahead of time who it would help. After a painful recovery of several days, Emily was reclassified as a level nine precognitive which was the highest rating that researchers could currently measure.

At first, Emily refused to cooperate with her captors but after enduring days of torture, she’d capitulated with their instructions. For years, she made daily predictions that benefited the facility’s ability to generate profit through economic forecasting as well as strengthen its political power base. Several key government officials and a small, wealthy, influential group of individuals secretly reaped the rewards of work performed by both prisoners as well as employees of this organization. As the company’s most valuable tool, Emily had been instructed to foresee and report a variety of major events. As a result of her work, she knew a great deal about this corrupt and greedy organization. She couldn’t stand the thought of furthering their agenda and supporting their power base any longer. Not when an opportunity had finally arrived which would allow her to escape this place.

Emily’s body filled with nervous anticipation as she continued pacing the main room of her living quarters. It was furnished with a small desk and laptop computer to allow her to record any unexpected visions she may receive, a plush gray armchair, and a small bookcase brimming with a collection of popular novels. The white walls were devoid of any decoration while the floor was covered by green, commercial-grade carpeting. The spartan bedroom offered only a twin-sized bed with a small nightstand that sported a cheap, digital alarm clock. The entrance to the private bathroom was situated on one end of the main room. Of course, there were no windows in the living quarters which would have allowed for possible escape.

Her head spun toward the front door as the lock clicked loudly and an instant later, Steve emerged inside the room. Steve was a research manager and a level five psychometrist. He was tall with soulless brown eyes and had thinning, blond hair. He wore a gray dress shirt and black tie and brown pants. He gripped a taser in his right hand and nodded toward the open doorway as he stepped away from it so she could move past him. Emily had been expecting this unwelcome visit. She took a deep, fortifying breath and traversed down the hallway. Steve escorted her to the elevator and they rode in tense silence until they’d risen several floors. Emily’s anxiety mounted as they continued down another long corridor until finally reaching Sharon’s office. Sharon smiled chillingly from behind her massive, polished oak desk. She was the director of this facility and had taken a very personal interest in Emily as she had proven to be an invaluable asset to the company. Like Steve, she had started her work here with no psychic abilities whatsoever until she’d participated in the psi-enhancement procedure which had fashioned her into a level four intuitive. Psychometrists received impressions, information, and emotions that individuals unknowingly left behind on inanimate objects while intuitives could obtain information from some unknown source. The most common theory for intuitives was that they possessed a conglomerate of incomplete psychic abilities that gave them glimpses of information and insight from seemingly nowhere.