Cognitive Deviance

22. Penny

April 10, 2045 - 11:10 PM

While Margo was busy attempting to heal Dottie's broken wings, Andrade was doing her best to contribute to the investigation herself.

Dottie was one of three girls they found who didn't need immediate medical attention. Another one of the girls was too traumatized to be speak, only gazing at the wall, waiting for the dawn of a new day. Mason immediately ordered therapy for her and contact with her family. That only left one more girl available for the interview.

Andrade believed the girl didn't need the PACER. She was easily the most stable of the girls they rescued, as she was the only one who wasn't crying or imprisoned in her own thoughts. In fact, she looked like a student ready to take on a dreaded exam, a balanced mix of anxiousness and vigilance. The girl was of Asian descent and had multiple scratches and injuries around her face, most of which were hidden by her long black hair. She wore a shirt that was clearly too big for her, as it had been provided to her at the last second by the Empaths. She waited at a table in the other room, wrapped in a blanket.

Andrade entered the room, the door automatically closing behind her. She tapped the side of her ThoughtControl piece so the lens hovered in front of her eye, and she took a seat in front of the girl. "Hello there," she greeted. "I'm Inspector Daniela Andrade. I work for Psychwatch and I'm here to help you. What is your name, honey?"

"Penelope Parker," the girl replied after a brief pause. "My friends call me Penny."

"Nice to meet you, Penny. Excuse me as I review your P3S data."

Accessing the SanityScan hanging in the corner, the data flashed across Andrade's lens:

Name: Penelope Meili Parker

Age: 16

Sex: Female

Status: Undiagnosed (dealing with low self-esteem; last reported seeing a counselor on 12/28/2044)

Threat Level 1 (Shows no sign of hostility. However, will take defensive action if the situation requires)

"According to the P3S, you've had access to Psychwatch's services before," Andrade explained. "Could you please tell me more about yourself? Where are you from? How'd you get into this situation?"

"Well..." Penny croaked, tugging the blanket toward her face. Despite her timidity, she was easily more composed in comparison to Dottie. "I was actually born in Los Angeles, but we had to move to Baltimore because of the wildfires."

Andrade winced. "Yeah, I've seen pictures of them. Never thought I'd ever see flames consume a city skyline like that. But I'm glad you and your family made it out safely."

"Thanks." Penny coughed. "But things didn't get better when I moved here to the East Coast. I was at a New Years Eve party with some of my friends. There was this one kid. Leon Maxwell. He's my age. I kinda liked him at first, but he became weirder the more I got to know him."

"How so?"

Penny coughed again. "He's a pervert. He always talked about pranking the school by filling its fire sprinklers with Wonderland Mist so he could have sex with as many girls as possible. It sounded like he was joking at first, but then he told me about this secret club out here in Philadelphia called the House of Pleasure."

Andrade nodded her head. "I've heard of plenty of these so-called 'neo-speakeasies' hidden in offline neighborhoods. But please continue."

"So Leon told me this House of Pleasure place was crazy as hell and lots of fun. Drugs, alcohol, music. But what he liked most were the robo-whores."