Mind Over Matter

Chapter 09

I was in a daze at first.

Everything had happened so fast! I didn't know what to do. Don was on the floor unconscious, and Carroll was just standing there, looking at her arm, which now looked normal again. I looked around. The wall looked like Mark had never even touched it where he had ran through. On the other hand, there's a pretty good indentation of Don a few feet over. The hole was gone, the floor looked as sturdy as ever. I ran over to Don and took his pulse. He's still alive. Then something caught my eye. There was a piece or paper on the floor right next to where Mark ran through the wall. I walked over and picked it up. It read:

Please help me! I didn't want to fight you but they made me!

No further explanation. They made him. That makes sense. They're controlling him! The question is, who? The people Casper works for undoubtedly. Casper. Uh oh. I forgot about him. "Carroll, pick up Don and meet me outside!" I exclaimed. "Sure," she said without the slightest trace of enthusiasm. I ran outside and to the car. One door was missing. Uh oh. I looked inside and saw Jimmy just staring into space. "What happened to Casper?" I asked. No response. I took his pulse.

Carroll showed up carrying Don. That was something to see. But I was to upset, to angry, to think about it. Carroll looked at Don with an odd look on her face. "Don will be alright," she said, a little distracted. "How do you know that?" I mumbled, even though I really didn't care right now. "Because I'm a robot okay?!?!?" she yelled. "What's so bad about that?" I asked. She was silent. She put Don in the car and crossed her arms. She stared at the sky. I stared at Jimmy. His face was just blank. We weren't really that close, but he was a friend, and he was just murdered for no reason. Yes, he's dead. And I'm not happy about it.

We stood there for awhile in silence. Then I finally got a grip on myself. I know what we have to do. "We have to see Samson," I said. "What?" she asked. I finally got her attention. We flew back to HQ once Don was awake, this time uneventfully.

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"I'm sorry, Commander Samson is not available right now," said someone on the screen. We were in the meeting room trying to talk to Samson. "When will he be available?" I asked. "We don't know," he said, "But something has come up and he won't be available for awhile." "So we can't talk to him at all?" Don asked. "No," he said, "And just so we're clear, the girl saw you use your powers, correct?" "Yes," said Don. "I think it's best then that Agent X take over this mission," he said, "Best of luck, over and out." The screen turned black. Just so you know, I'm agent X. That's what people usually call me. "So what do we do?" asked Carroll. "I say we go see what's going on," I said. "For once I agree with you," said Don.

I wanted to be nice so I didn't talk about how I was in charge. I know that the fact that I'm the leader is killing Don. We finally arrived at this huge dome-shaped building. This is where Samson's supposed to be. At the very center of this impenetrable building. It's made completely if steel. There's only one door on the outside. We're going to break in and have a talk with Samson. To get in the first door, you have to be at least level A. I'm level Z. We get in the first door no problem. Then, there's a second door. You have to be level B to get in. There's a third door, for which level C is necessary. There 26 doors in total, and we make it through all of them. Then, there's a physical challenge. There's lots of things that squish you, burn you, send you plummeting to your death, blow you up, need I keep going? Carroll makes it through without a scratch, and Don and I barely make it alive. Then there's another door, and only I can open it. I tell Don and Carroll not to look, then I open it. I would tell you how, but then I'd have to kill you. That never gets old. When you're the one saying it anyway.

Sorry I didn't describe the building more but it's kind of top secret so I'll probably get in trouble for telling you this much.

"We're inside his office!" I said. "Wow," said Carroll, "it's big."  There was a desk and a chair in the middle of the office. The chair was facing the other way so I couldn't see if anyone was in it. "Commander," I said. No response. I walked up and turned the chair around. Nobody was sitting in it. We looked around. No sign off the Commander. Suddenly I realize that the wall behind the chair is a screen. It suddenly shows the commanders face.

"I suppose you came here looking for me," he starts, "Obviously, I'm not here. I never was here, but don't try to locate me, you won't find me. I've been everywhere. I will be everywhere. You've made it this far, however, and you deserve to know something. So, I'll tell you why I started the agency. I... have superpowers. And my power is that I can't die. At first I used my powers to save people, but then I thought, 'What if there's others like me? What if they decide to be evil?' So I started this agency to stop people like that. But now, since your here, I can only assume that something is wrong and you can't contact me. Sorry, but I can't help you there. I can say that I have faith in my agents. You can complete whatever task you face. You can protect the world. Over and out."

"I thought you two would like to know that," I said. "You mean, you knew?" asked Don. "I was his first recruit," I said, "I know most everything." Carroll looked disappointed. "What is it?" I asked her. "I was hoping he knew something else about me," she said. "He doesn't," I replied, "All we know is that we found you, activated you, and you thought you were human, so we let you believe it for awhile." Just then, the screen came back on. A different face, that looked all to familiar. "Shadow," I said. "Glad to know you remember me," the person on the screen said. "Shadow?" asked Carroll. "Whatever you two do," I said, "Don't use your powers." "So you still don't trust me?" asked Shadow. "I thought you were behind bars!" I replied. "Well, you've said it yourself," he said, "Nothing is as it seems!" "What do you want?" I asked. "Just to let you know that you're chasing a ghost!" he said with a laugh, "I see you found Samson's office I've known about for years!" "What do you mean we're chasing a ghost?" I asked. "My two friends, Casper and Mark," he replied, "You'll never find them!"

The screen turns to black. "He's known about this?" said Don. "He knows almost as much about Samson as I do," I replied. "Why did you tell us not to use our powers?" asked Carroll. "Because," I said, "His power allows him to copy other people, including people with superpowers." "Oh, no, and he has Mark!" exclaimed Carroll. "Yes I know," I said, "He's up to something, something bigger." "How do you know," asked Don. I turned to him and said "Nothing is as it seems."

It's getting late so we decide to rest back at HQ. We don't tell the other agents about Samson, technically we weren't supposed to be there. I go to my quarters which is right next to Carroll's, lay in my bed, and fall asleep almost immediately.