A Beautiful Reflection From Firework Eyes

Catch Hold Of The Madness

Room four is located at the end of the top floor, a few doors down from Jack and Alex's room. It's practically just above the Dark Room. Other than the giant black four painted across the door, it looks identical to the other rooms. I take note of the locations of rooms one and two, located on the top floor as well. We don't go in them, but I assume they look exactly the same as all the other rooms.

Jack knocks three times on Craig's door before he unlatches it. The door squeaks a bit as he yanks it open. Unsurprisingly, Craig's room looks just like ours, though considerably better furnished. There's a small crate of books near the door and a half-done puzzle lying on the floor. Craig himself is sitting on his bed, reading a book from the dim light of a lamp. He looks up as the door shuts, confusion, then annoyance flickering across his face.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" he grumbles. "Leave me alone." Jack lets go of my hand and the two of us shimmer into appearance.

Craig looks at me in surprise. "Well, wasn't expecting you," he says. "If you're here to get revenge, I'd think twice." He holds up his hand, a flame flickering on his fingertips. The pressure tightens in my skull, my powers slipping away from my grasp. I struggle to keep my face neutral, even through the pain.

"Stop being a dick," Jack says. "We're not here for that."

Craig looks me over, then relaxes his hand, the pressure vanishing from my skull. I breathe out a sigh of relief, feeling the flames flicker on my hands again. "Let's start over, shall we?" I ask, extending a hand out to him. "I'm Vic."

"You already know who I am so I won't bother explaining," Craig says, ignoring my gesture completely. "So you've joined up with those two?"

I shrug, dropping my hand. "What else was I supposed to do?"

He lets out a short laugh. "Not much, I suppose. Though I didn't expect for you to be as foolish as they are, seeing as you've seen firsthand what happens if we try to escape."

The words sting, but I push them away. There's no time for doubt, not now. Not when we're so close. "Can we trust you?"

"No," Jack mutters.

"That depends," Craig says. "On what secret you want me to keep."

"It's gonna happen soon."

He shakes his head. "You guys are insane."

"Why?" Jack asks.

"You're never gonna make it out," he says. "They'll kill all of you. Just like they did to—what was his name again? M-26?"

I force myself to breathe out slowly. I refuse to be baited by him. "His name was Jaime," I say, as calmly and slowly as I can. "And no. Not this time. We're prepared."

Craig looks me over, a strange expression flitting over his face. Maybe respect? "Well, count me out," he says. "I'd rather not die on a suicide mission."

"You see why I hate him?" Jack mutters to me. "Selfish prick."

"Craig, we could really use your help," I say. "You're powerful. We're gonna need all the help we can get if we are going to destroy this place."

"Why would I help you?" Craig asks "They've done nothing but help us here."

"Help us?" Jack splutters.

"They give us food and water. A roof over our heads. What more could you ask for?"

"We're tortured and forced to use our powers."

"See, that's the difference between you and me," Craig says. "You resist. As if using our powers for them is bad. They praise us and teach us to be stronger. I'm appreciated here. What more could we ask?"

"Freedom?" Jack asks. "Freedom to do as we please? A life as a normal teenager?"

"But we're not normal, are we?" Craig replies. "We have powers, powers that make us special."

"But we could do so much more outside of this place," I say. "We could do so much more, all of us together and free to do as we please."

"You don't understand! For the first time in my entire life, I have people here who care about me!" Craig shouts.

"You think they care about you?" Jack bursts out. "No, they don't. They want you to be their good little circus animal. Have you turn tricks or play fetch. They don't actually care about you."

Craig shakes his head. "You're wrong, you know that?" his voice breaks. "They care about me. Mr. Styles cares about me."

"Do they?" I ask softly, elbowing Jack as he tries to respond. "Mr. Styles stabbed me once, you know. He got mad when I refused to kill someone, so he stabbed me." Craig stares at me, not responding so I continue. "They shot Jaime without hesitation when he tried to escape. You told me it would be a suicide mission to escape, right? Well, I was going to die if we didn't try—I needed medical help—my wound was infected. At least he tried." I'm crying now, tears rolling down my face as I brush them away. "He tried to save my life and he was willing to die because of it."

Jack and Craig are both staring at me, Jack in sympathy, Craig in horror. Jack reaches over, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as I struggle to control my breathing.

"And I know we're not much," I say softly. "But I'm willing to bet that we can put aside our differences. All of us. We could be your new family, Craig. We understand and appreciate you, more than anyone else will, because all of us are just like you."

Craig just stares at me speechless as I tug Jack with me.

"Think it over, okay?" I say. "We'll tell you when it's time. It's your choice whether to come or not. We won't make you; we're not like they are."