𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆

8-yellow dress

"Rise and shine, bowl cut" Mike heard as a knock vibrated off the wood doorframe of the small room he was currently waking up in. Holly groaned tiredly next to him, rubbing her eyes and then immediately shielding them as light flooded the room from above.  Kali stood in the door frame, one of the little girls from last night standing next to her, looking directly at Mike. He recognized the little girl, the one that stayed and listened when the other children had wandered off. There was something about her that confused Mike, like the kid knew everything he was thinking.

When he made eye contact with her, she looked down immediately, fiddling with the hem of her pastel yellow dress. The outfit was almost comical to Mike, since Kali was standing next to her dressed in a leather jacket and a ripped Grateful Dead t shirt. Kali coughed, regaining Mike's attention and flicking the lights a few times like a teacher trying to quiet the class.

"What time is it?" Mike asked, sitting up and subconsciously lifting his wrist to find no watch. Oh right, he left everything at home when he scooped Holly up and charged out. He dropped his arm, surveying the room to find a clock or something. Kali pointed to the digital clock next to the bed, the red numbers blinking as the time '10:56' was displayed.

"Get up. You've got more friends that I need to introduce you to." Kali exclaimed before patting the doorframe one last time and vanishing into the next room, the small girl in the yellow dress trotting behind her.

He pulled himself off the bed, standing and running his hands through his hair sloppily before reaching for Holly's arm and tugging, signaling her that it was really time to get out of bed. They entered the next room to find a large table covered in plates of food and half full cups of orange juice. A woman with poofy hair and a flannel tied around her waist stood at a table against the wall, cooking what seemed to be pancakes on a hotplate. The rest of the people besides Kali sat at the table eating and talking.

Kali walked over to Mike and Holly and guided them to their seats at the table, seating Holly next to the girl in the yellow dress and Mike next to Axel, who was currently entertaining another little girl by holding his bacon up to his face as if it were a mustache. Kali sat across from Mike and handed him a glass of orange juice as the girl at the hotplate set a full plate of food in front of him. The smell of fresh bacon and waffles wafted up and hit his face in a cloud of steam, making him smile to himself at the homey scent.

"You've already met Dottie, Axel, and I," Kali started, Dottie and Axel waving briefly to Mike as she said so. He reached for a piece of bacon, biting into it and making the perfect 'crunch' sound.

"Behind you is Mick," Kali said as she pointed to the girl at the hotplate. Mick turned to Mike and flashed a toothy grin at him, her hair bouncing with her when she turned back to the food she was cooking.

"And that's Funshine."

A large man with dark skin sat at the end of the table and waved to Mike. Mike waved back to Funshine before turning to Kali again, his face displaying a look of confusion.

"Who are they?" Mike asked, pointing to the two people sat next to Funshine. To his right was a woman who looked a little older than Nancy, her hair an ebony color which was similar to Mike's. It was cut short into a bob that just touched her shoulders and her eyes were a light hazel, freckles splattered across her nose. Her smile was kind and soft as she looked at Mike, making him feel at home in a way.

"That's Maria, number 006,"Kali began, pointing to the woman Mike had just been observing.

"and that's Christopher. He's number 005." she pointed to the man on the other side of Funshine, who waved to Mike joyfully. The young man had bright blue eyes and hair the color of sand on a beach. The number on his wrist showed when he waved to Mike, a bold 005 in dark letters flashing at him.

"They were from a lab in Maine. They were both born and raised there, we only got them out last year." Kali said. Mike guessed that the two were in their early twenties, looking like they were college age or so. A laugh errupted from the little girl next to Axel, slapping Mike out of his thoughts. Kali smiled at the young girl, turning back to Mike and laughing lightly.

"That's Mariposa, or Posie for short." Kali said. Mike turned his attention to the laughing child, her hair and freckles matching those of Maria, except her hair was much longer and her eyes were a bold green instead of the light hazel color of Maria's eyes.

"She's Maria's 9 year old sister, number 014. Her name means butterfly since her power is levitation. She's our butterfly." Kali said, her voice softer then before as Posie continued to giggle.

Kali then pointed to a toddler sitting in Maria's lap. His hair was a dark brown, but lighter than the dark ebony of Maria and Posie's hair, and his eyes a light blue like the sky. His hair was also curly and wild which Maria was trying to tame with a comb.

"That's August, or Auggie as we call him. He's 2 years old, number 16. He's also from the lab in Maine, just like everybody else we saved." Kali said, the little boy looked to Mike, his eyes wide with curiosity at who he was looking at.

Mike turned to look at Holly, who was sitting next to that girl in the yellow dress. He still didn't know who she was, or why she was being so quiet. Her hair was bright blonde and her cheeks rosy red, her eyes deep blue like the color of the ocean. She turned to Mike, not smiling or waving, just... staring.

"Who is that?" Mike asked Kali, pointing to the small girl in the yellow dress. Kali looked from Mike to the girl, sighing as though there were some sort of complication with her, yet her face showed clear contentment.

"That's Beatrice, we call her Bee though. She's four years old, number 015." Kali said, Bee now taking the chance to shyly wave at Mike, her face not changing expression. He still didn't know what was up with this kid, though.

"The neurons in her brain are overcharged, meaning she's smarter than even a computer." Kali said. There was a pause as Bee looked back down at her plate, pushing the food in circles with her fork.

"She gets really frustrated about it sometimes. When she looks at something she can immediately list numerous things about that object without even picking it up. Like where it was made and who bought it and stuff."

Mike glanced over at Bee who was still looking down at her plate as though she were trying to consume her thoughts instead of her food. He was intrigued by her clear wisdom and knowledge. What did she know about him?

Suddenly a woman entered the room. Mike recognized her from the night before, remembering her name was Hadlee. Her features matched those of Beatrice, looking almost like an older sister. She took the empty seat next to Bee, patting the girl on the shoulder and greeting her when she did so.

"That's Hadlee, number 001. She's Bee's mom, her power is shape shifting." Kali explained as Hadlee began introducing herself to Holly. She was clearly older than Maria and Christopher, but she still looked young. Maybe somewhere in her late 20's, Mike guessed.

"What about the other's? What can they do?" Mike asked, gesturing to the end of the table where Maria and Christopher sat with Auggie, Posie, and Bee. Maria spoke up, adjusting Auggie on her lap as she moved forward in her chair.

"I can see into the future, not farther than a few hours though, but I can sense if something is going to happen." Maria said. She looked down at Auggie who was reaching for the last piece of bacon on her plate.

"Auggie can make himself invisible, which makes him hard to take care of, but we manage." Maria said, earning a laugh from Funshine. Christopher lifted his head up to look at Mike, eager to share his power.

"I can read minds, and remove memories." Christopher said. Mike was in awe, mind reading? invisibility? He felt like he was in a superhero movie, except he wasn't special like everyone else.

Even knowing all the cool powers everyone had, Mike still kept his attention on Beatrice. Something about her intruiged him, how she hadn't said a word since he had arrived. What did she have to say?