Bluejays

Planning

So, here's the thing. The kids in this story are all different ages. Phoenix is the oldest; Ashlyn is the youngest. They are five years apart, so Phoenix was five when Ashlyn, a newborn, was brought there.

This story takes place when Phoenix and Lydia are both seven. Ollie is five. Elijah is three. Ashlyn is two years old.

I just thought that that was helpful knowledge before you read this chapter! I'll let you read the real story now.

***

Phoenix wandered around the room they were in. He was tired, but he couldn't sleep. He wanted to get out of this prison. He needed to get out. He needed to get out. He needed to get out....

_

Ashlyn watched Phoenix pace. Then, finally, she stood, pressing a button on the wall that allowed her to speak through the glass wall that separated her bed area from the rest of the room.

"Why are you pacing?" she asked.

Phoenix turned, looking at her. Then, he walked over, pressing a button and letting the thin membrane of glass slide up like the garage doors that they saw in movies. He picked her up, setting her down on the cot that she slept on. She sighed, lying down. There was a button beside the bed that would put a semi-circle of glass around the bed. He pressed it. The button glass slid over her. She still had room to move around. The space inside the glass then filled with fog. The fog made it safe for them to wear cloth pajamas, as specially designed ones were expensive. It was fine to wear cloth clothes when they were awake, but they had less control over their powers when sleeping.

Phoenix smiled, placing his hand on the glass as Ashlyn disappeared behind the cool fog. He then walked over the line of tape on the floor before replacing the glass wall. He then resumed pacing, flinching as he left the carpet that was in her area. The bare tiles felt cold on his feet, but he noticed sparks on his body as he touched the cold floor. These sparks were why it had to be tiles instead of something warmer.

He sighed. This was tiring. He needed to get out of here, but he also needed to sleep before planning his escape. He would also need some help.

As he went to sleep, Phoenix thought about who he could recruit. Lydia hated it here, but she was a rule-follower. She would be unwilling to aid them. Elijah would probably help. He could see about Ollie. The only problem was that, considering Elijah's age, he would probably be left with only one useful accomplice, because Ashlyn wouldn't ever dream of doing anything like this.

Phoenix sighed, turning over onto his side. He opened his eyes, looking through the swirling mist surrounding him. He closed his eyes, and continued trying to sleep. Why couldn't I just be normal? he thought to himself.

_

Ashlyn got up early that morning. She put down the glass around her bed after stopping the fog, and got out of bed. She crept up the stairs to the door that lead from the basement, and reached for the knob. She could reach it, but it was locked, so she returned downstairs. She went to the room off to the side of the bed  areas, where there was a small kitchen area and a table. There was also a TV, so she turned that on. She watched the nature channel, because she never saw nature normally. Nature was beautiful though. She got breakfast while staring at the perfect, beautiful things that were on the screen. 

Ashlyn started eating. She wondered when Asher would be down here. He usually didn't wait too long. They trained with their powers, then they had lunch while practicing things like math, English, science, and history. They took a break, working out and resting a bit while practicing with various languages other than English. Then, they practiced more difficult things that involved their powers. There would be some academics mixed in with this, to help them with handling distractions. Asher would call out questions, and whoever he asked was to respond. They did more studying and distraction work if the answer was incorrect. The answers rarely ever were.