The Powered People

Chapter 9

 Nolan ran his hands through his hair, trying to massage the grease and sweat from his scalp. A few feet away, Evian leaned against a tree, arms crossed and bottom lip bit.

"Do you have any soap or anything?" Nolan asked, water running from his hair to his cheek.

"Not always," Evian responded, vaguely.

"What's that supposed to mean, Evian?"

"I don't have any."

He glanced over at Evian, his brown (and blue) locks sticking to his forehead.

"Why did you-"

"Hey, at least you learned t'swim-ish."

"Oh, C'mon!" Nolan stood up, his hair almost weighing him down. "How long did it take you to learn?"

"Oh, about two...days."

"You have the water powers, and-"

"So do you!"

"Don't remind me..." Nolan grumbled, running his hand through his hair. Evian squinted her eyes. The blue streak remained in his hair.

"Didn't work," Evian told him. "Your hair's still blue."

Nolan scratched his head, realizing something on Evian. Her blue ribbon was clipped to her hair near the scalp. The ribbon ran down her brown hair, not tied up, but instead allowed to flow in the wind. Nolan ran his hand over the crusted lock of hair. Her ribbon was in the same position as his blue streak.

"Where'd you get that ribbon?" Nolan asked. Evian hand flew right to it, stroking it with her index finger.

"It's a long story," Evian told him. "Greg told me once since he could see people's pasts. For some reason, it didn't include you. I've had it for as long as I could remember."

"Can you give me the gist?" Nolan asked.

Evian stared at the floor. "It's from our parents."

Nolan looked at her confused, but before he could ask, Evian said, "Let's go."
Five minutes into the walk back home, Nolan explained, "I don't really remember m-our parents. I think I was in foster care as a toddler before being put in this program for 'apprentice scientists.' But I never thought about what happened before. I never even imagined them being...what they are."

"Well, I guess I could get Greg to tell you if you..." Evian trailed off, her eyes widened. "I...think I know someone who Greg could...explain for us."

They found Macabre isolated in her bunk, where she was every day. The only kids who dared to be in a room with her sat in corners and talked in whispers. Sometimes, one of the kids would stare at her for a second, then immediately whip there head back when Macabre glanced in their direction. Macabre herself didn't seem to be doing anything wrong. She stood with her legs dangling over the bunk, fiddling with her fingers and wiggling her toes.

She'd changed out of her old prisoner uniform, and now donned a black t-shirt decorated with tiny white roses and black stretch pants. Imani let the siblings know about her creation as soon as they entered the room.

"I made her new clothes so she wouldn't have to remember her days at the laboratory," Imani explained. "Meg said that Macabre preferred the color black. Or dark gray. Anything that, quote-unquote 'wasn't too obnoxious.'"

"Figures," Evian shrugged. Macabre's eyes went straight to the Delta siblings. "Hey, Mack."

Macabre hopped off the bunk, almost kicking Imani in the head. Macabre took one look at Nolan, then one look at Evian. Without asking, the creepy girl started walking ahead. Evian raised an eyebrow and climbed down the ladder after her. Nolan flashed one quick grin at Imani before leaving.

Macabre walked through the first floor like she was Moses splitting the red seas. Anyone in her way bounced right out. The youngest kids wouldn't be as anxious about it as the older ones, but still took a bit of precaution. Why's everyone so scared of her? Evian thought.

"Because she scares the hell outta me!" Meg replied, scooting her old wooden chair closer to the table when the group walked by. She flinched when Mack walked by.

"Still mentally screaming?" Evian asked Meg.

"Yep," Mack responded. Everyone in the room raised an eyebrow at the sound of her voice. Evian ignored it, reaching Demetri at the other end of the room.

"Hey, is Greg up for another...past telling?" Evian asked.

"Eh, why not..." Nolan glanced over his shoulder to see Macabre already making her way down the ladder. Evian turned back to Demetri, shrugged, and followed Macabre down.

Greg was (luckily) awake, staring at nothing in particular, as usual. Though he seemed so vague, he seemed to always be thinking about something. His pupils would twitch. His head would tilt.

"Hey, Greg! Over here!" Evian exclaimed. Greg turned his head to her, not looking her in the eye. "Can you help Macabre over here? She hasn't really talked for the past week. I mean, she just did a minute, ago, but that was kinda it. Any clue if you could-"

Greg took Macabre's hand, and she snatched it away. Suddenly, an all-too-familiar hate filled her eyes. She rubbed her hand as a light growl escaped her throat.

"She...left after Nolan," Greg blurted out. "Clawed at the bars till they broke. Scratched at all the guards. Jumped out the hole and followed after you."

Nolan stared at Macabre, who looked him dead in the eye. Her mouth hung halfway open as she breathed heavily. Imani tried to whisper some comforting words in Macabre's ear, but all it did was make the creepy girl shrug her shoulders. Nolan slowly took her hand. Her fingers were shaking. Suddenly, Nolan paused. WhatdoIdao, WhatdoIdao, he thought. Do I say something, or-

Evian took Nolan's wrist and thrust it towards Greg, moving Mack's hand along with it. Macabre still stood with bated breath. It almost reminded Nolan of the times back at the lab when he was little. When he didn't know what he was doing all the time. When a feeling of panic would rise in his stomach. When his fingers moved too fast for his brain and he felt like giving up. The only comfort he'd get was "stop being dramatic! Be a man! You're nine years old, not four!"

As Greg began reading her past, Macabre began to calm down. He felt the lines on her palm for a while before his finger suddenly stopped moving. He stared forward as his wide eyes stood still and his whole face tensed. He tried to form words, but couldn't. The few wrinkles on his face started to glisten as sweat built upon his forehead.

"No..." he seemed to whisper. But his lips barely moved. His voice was barely audible. Macabre visibly tensed but didn't get angry or vicious like before. She just stood with a face devoid of emotions, as if she willed them all to die.

Soon, Greg's face changed from being filled with sadness to being filled with terror. His eyebrows curved. His eyes grew wider. His head started shaking wildly as he unraveled more and more aspects of her past. His grip on Macabre's hand tightened. Nolan backed a step away while glancing over at Evian, nervously. Evian took a step forward, her eyes filled with a mixture and guilt and empathy. She slowly put a hand on Mack's arm, but it was shrugged away.

Greg suddenly started to shake his head wildly.

"No..." he repeated. "No!"

With a yelp, he let go of Macabre's hand and started to gasp and cry. All other eyes in the room turned to the seen. Mutters were uttered, and several people fled the room altogether. Imani's expression was dismissal as she turned from Macabre to Greg to Macabre. Evian tried to say something. She tried to gesture or comfort Macabre. But nothing seemed to get to the creepy girl. Macabre slowly backed away from Greg, her face completely blank, but her eyes filled with clouds. Her back was straight. Her hands were at her side as if they were tied there. She backed away a few feet...paused...then looked straight at Nolan.