POWER | the darkest minds

chapter two

     We had been on the road for about an hour now. I wasn't sure where we were going, or if we even had anywhere to go.

     Liam sat in the driver's seat, humming softly to himself. Zu was in the back, rummaging through her backpack and playing with certain objects. Charles was immersed in a book, his eyes scanning the pages faster than his brain could probably comprehend. I was in the passenger's seat, eyes glued to the window and what was outside of it.

The one question I was expecting to come up never showed itself. I hadn't been asked, what are you? Or, what color are you? Where do you fit in?

I was thankful they hadn't asked yet. I wasn't sure if I wanted my new companions to know what I was. Hell, I didn't even really know what I was, or where I fit in. But I could tell what they were.

I could tell Charles was a green. He was smart, you could figure it out just by looking at him and watching how he acted and spoke. Zu was a bit harder to piece together, but once I saw the bright gloves that adorned her hands, I knew she was a yellow. Just by how Liam acted, how he moved, you could tell he had a strong ability — one that he could control well. Liam was a blue.

"How long have you been at that camp?" Liam's voice broke my gaze from the window and I turned to face him.

"Around six years. They got me when I was ten." I answer simply. He nods, keeping his eyes on the road.

"How'd you escape?" His question surprised me slightly. I couldn't explain how I escaped without giving away information that I didn't want them to know, not yet.

     "I, uh, I got lucky I guess." I shrug, glancing sideways at Liam. His eyes fluttered between the road and me.

     "You and I both know you don't get lucky with that kind of thing." A sigh left his mouth, "You can tell me when you're ready. But just so you know, we're probably gonna be here for quite a while. It's better to at least try to build some trust."

     I could practically feel Charles and Zu's gazes on the back of my head. At that moment I knew Charles had suspicions, along with Liam, but neither seemed intimidated or worried.

"I agree, but I don't know if you're ready to hear what I have to say." I looked into the rearview mirror, Charles had an eyebrow raised.

"Oh believe me, I'm ready. You show up in the middle of the road a few miles from a camp, and you expect us to not be curious about who and what you are?" Charles questioned, leaning against the back of my seat. "Look," He closes the book he was reading, "I understand that you're scared to trust us, but right now we all don't have anywhere better to be. We're all facing the same problem here, and it'd be nice to have some allies."

     "Chubs is right. It might not feel like it now, but you can trust us." Liam turned momentarily to face us as he drove. "Like he said, it would be nice to have some allies — even some friends."

     I run my hand through my hair, pushing some pieces away from my face. I turn in my seat slightly so I can see all of their faces. "I don't want you guys to get involved with something that could get you hurt."

     "It was too late for that the second I invited you to come with us. We're already in." Liam gives a small smile, but I hear a scoff come from Charles.

     "Speak for yourself." He comments, making Liam glare at him. Charles rolls his eyes, "He's right, continue with your story."

     "When you met me on the road, what color eyes did I have?" I directed my question to Liam.

     "Blue, like me." He gestures to himself with his thumb. I nod, showing he was correct, "Yeah, except, I don't really . . . conform to one category, I guess is a way to put it."

"Oh my God . . ." Charles gasped, his eyes glazing over with a light green, "You're her. You're the multi."

"What? What's he talking about?" Liam looked towards me for an answer.

"A multi is someone who has more than one ability. They don't fit into a singular category, that's what makes them . . . lethal. Since they can be characterized by all of the color categories, they made a new one: black." I elaborate.

     "She's the only multi. No one else has been recorded with more than one ability." Charles spoke with a small grin on his face. "I never found out what abilities you had. I mean, obviously you're telekinetic, but what else is there?"

     "Originally, they recorded me as a blue. They didn't find out about my other abilities until about a month ago, I got out when I had the chance." I was glad that they weren't scared of what I could do, it was refreshing in a way.

     "First it was blue . . . then green showed up," I made my eyes shift colors as I talked, making them coordinate with my words. "Then there was yellow. Orange came next, then finally, red. I was able to keep all of them hidden, except for blue."

     "Wow . . ." The word flowed out of Liam's mouth, "That's amazing."

     "Uh, thanks." I let out a quiet chuckle at his reaction. "When they found out what I was — what I was capable of, they tried to understand why I was different. They'd try to figure out how my brain and body were able to do all of these things. How I was even capable of handling all of them."

     "You can do everything. That's so cool!" My head snaps in the direction of the unfamiliar voice. Zu had a bright smile on her face that was contagious.

     "Yeah, I guess I can." I let a grin break out into my face.

     "For the record, I knew I wasn't seeing things back there when your eyes changed to green on the road." Liam's voice reverberated with a chuckle.

     "This is amazing! You're like the Avatar in The Last Airbender, but with colors!" Charles' comment made us all laugh.

     It was different, being able to laugh with people instead of take orders and working. It was a change I could get used to, especially if it involved Liam, Charles, and Zu.