HERO

27 / The Doctor

"Shit."

It was the only word Thomas could vocalise at that moment. Any thoughts of not swearing were forgotten in the wake of the revelation.

Could it be? He had to admit, it had occurred to him that he shouldn't be sane any more. How his father had kept him away from the Spotters was a puzzle he had avoided dwelling on. It was no wonder he got such weird looks and so much abuse. He wasn't just a freak, he was a freak! He was more abnormal than he'd originally thought. Probably than anyone had. Rather than being disheartened by the news, he was glad. It made sense in a weird way. His lack of a superpower was almost a superpower in itself.

He could see why they wanted him, too. It had nothing to do with the preservation of life or of entertainment valley. It was to remove a threat. As much as Bren was a concern to them by her having multiple abilities, he was a concern because he had none. He had none and he was still sane.

It would upend everything the ones who controlled things counted on. They would revel in the chaos, building empires based on the madness, not of Nomads, but of the power everyone had. It suited them as they could make their money then, maybe, step in and control everything under cover of solving issues they, themselves, had created. They wouldn't want a renegade with multiple abilities. They also wouldn't want one with none. He, or rather they, were a flaw in whatever plan had been built.

"Shit is right."

"So what do we do?"

Thomas knew they couldn't stay there. The people who'd come for him didn't know about Bren – what made her different and the fact she was different – but they'd managed to track him there. There was a good chance they would return.

"We need to get out of here." Bren said, looking around at the remains of her home.

"I'm sorry about all of this."

"Me too. Now help me up."

Thomas did as he was asked. Bren leaned on the wall for support, but kept the majority of her weight on him, making him grunt with the exertion. He didn't complain, though. How could he, after what she'd been dragged into. They had to rely on each other now. Neither had anything, or anyone, else.

After a brief rest and catch of her breath, she gestured for him to let go. She was still unsteady, but was managing to remain upright.

"Come on," she said.

Bren didn't wait for a response She turned and moved to the doorway with him following. They both looked out carefully. Thomas could touch the park wall if he reached but, as he started to, Bren slapped his arm.

"Be careful. It's a wall. You don't need to expose yourself by checking."

He nodded, feeling foolish. He'd led the Spotters to them. He could really do without doing so again.

The narrow space between the building and park's walls was clear. Some of the debris from the incursion into her room had spilled out and littered the floor. It had spread to the left, the way they'd come and, it appeared, the way they'd gone. He pointed to the right.

"I guess we should go that way," he said.

"You guess wrong. We go that way."

She nodded in the direction the rubble had been kicked.

"But they went that way. We should go in the opposite direction, shouldn't we?"

"You'd think, but no. They're too good. Too clever. Those bricks are a decoy."

"How do you know?"

"The explosion was inwards. How come there's any outside?"

"Maybe it's fallout, or it fell off the wall afterwards, once they were already in."