The Haven Project

Chapter 9

We sat in silence for a while after they left.  I held Sydney in my arms; we just couldn't find the words to say to each other.  In a situation like this, I'm not sure there even were any words we could say to make ourselves feel better.  We had been kidnapped, taken to some secret prison place, and thrown in a cell.  The only thing running through my mind was the last thing that man had said to me.

"Did you think you were the only one?"

Looking around at all the other people crammed in these cells, that thought scared me.  If what he said was true, were all these people like me?  Could they really have gifts and abilities like I did?  I was still thinking about this when my gaze landed on a small boy.  He sat alone in the cell directly across from us, criss cross on the floor in the middle.  He couldn't have been more than seven years old, and he was looking straight at me.

What's your name?

The thought popped so suddenly into my head, it was almost like it wasn't my own.  Looking at the boy, who cocked his head to the side, I realized it wasn't my own.  He was talking to me in my mind.  I tried to 'talk back' in my mind, but it was just one way, so I used my mouth instead.

"I'm Bryson.  Who are you?  What do you know about this place?  Why are we here?"

My name is Samuel.  I've been here for three years, wishing every day that I would just die.  They call this place The Haven.  It's a testing facility.  They dive into our minds, trying to unlock the secrets behind our powers.  They wish to use us as weapons, mere tools used to conquer their enemies.  We go through tests; they use these to weed out the weak and find the strong.  In the end, only one of us will remain.  They will use the last one as the ultimate weapon, putting in him the powers of us all.  When they learn the secret to our individual power, they decide if we are strong enough to handle it.  If we fail to please, they get rid of us.  They have been trying to figure out my powers, but have made little progress.  Since I am only a child, my brain and powers are still developing.  New problems arise with their findings with each new test on me.

"What tests?  What kind of tests are they?  And what are you powers exactly?" I asked, just trying to wrap my head around everything.

I can read minds.  I can also communicate through your mind, as I am doing now.  I am telekinetic  able to move some things with my mind as well.  The tests vary, each targeting a specific aspect of your power.  You should know soon, because I think it's your turn.

I turned and saw a new man, this one wearing a white coat like that of a doctor.  He came to my cell and unlocked the door.  Sydney and I stood up as he entered.

"Hello Bryson.  Please come with me."

************

The man led me out of the cell, leaving Sydney alone.  Two guards appeared as we left the cell area, making sure I wouldn't try anything.  We walked down a few hallways, each one just as plain as the next. It was going to be a maze trying to get out of here.  We stopped in front of a large metal door, an eye scanner it's only lock.  The doctor let it scan his eye and the door swung open, revealing a small, dark room.  In the middle was a chair with restraints and tons of wires leading to it.  The doctor motioned for me to sit and when I didn't, the two guards slammed me in the chair and tied me down.

"What are you going to do to me?" I struggled against the restraints, doing nothing but hurting my wrists.

"We're just going to give you a little shot," he replied and he withdrew a long needle from a drawer.  "It will only take a minute."

He began to walk towards me, and I struggled even more.  He put the needle into my forearm and injected me with a purple liquid.  I began to feel dizzy and sick, the entire room spinning around me.  I used every ounce of my being to just try and stay awake, and it actually started to work.  I could feel myself stabilizing, coming back to reality.

"Oh my gosh," the doctor said, taking a step back in disbelief.  "He's too strong.  The serum isn't working."

I could feel a heat rising within myself.  The bonds on my arms began to untie themselves, like I was controlling them.  I broke free and began to stand, except my feet didn't touch the ground.  I was hovering an inch above the ground.  I started to move forward towards the door when a blow to the back of the head knocked me unconscious.

************

"I've never seen anything like it."

I was trying to grasp on to the words, just something that I could anchor to and wake up with.

"I injected him, and it almost seemed to wake up his powers.  He broke free of the restraints and was floating in the air.  This one is strong; we'll need to take more precautions with him."

"Do whatever you need to do.  We can't let him discover anything else about himself.  Use the girl he was with; make sure she..."

I drifted back to sleep before I could hear the end of his sentence.