trick at a kid’s birthday party. But I know for a fact that the group—the one that led to Thurmond being closed—released videos of the kids using their abilities and kids talking about the use of their abilities. So it’s not like he hasn’t had the chance to see it before.
“Is there a problem?” Major Benn asks, the words sharper now. He is not smiling, and that alone makes me straighten, catch my breath. I ease in front of Mia, just a step. He holds the paper up. “Is this wrong? Is this not what you do?”
“Sir—” one of the National Guardsmen starts to say, only to be silenced with a look.
At Thurmond, using your abilities—using them accidentally or willingly—was a punishable offense that involved lost meals and being forced to sit outside and let the elements prey on you. If not that, then…my leg throbs at the thought of stacked dog cages, remembering the snake, how it felt to be curled up and locked inside.
This isn’t fair—we don’t know the rules now! We don’t know if they’ve changed, if Mia will be hauled off for doing this, or applauded for putting on a good show. Could he claim that she was trying to use the pen as a weapon? That he had to kill us to subdue us?
“She’s not—” I start to say, but it’s already too late. Mia doesn’t have to lift a hand. She looks at the pen, looks at the faces peering in at us like we’re animals at the zoo, and she sends them on a collision course.
The glass doesn’t shatter, even with the force of the tip driving through it, but the cracks radiate out in a web that reaches the edge of its frame. There’s a collective gasp as the men and women standing there scatter, but it’s nothing compared to the click and swish of the National Guardsmen pulling out their White Noise machines.
What is she doing? Does Mia really think they’ll let us see Lucas now?
“It was an accident,” she says, all sweetness, and if I could reach back to strangle her without them tackling me for moving, I would. “You said you wanted to see me move it. I guess my control isn’t very good.”
Every last trace of humor is gone from Benn’s face as he crosses the room in silence and slides the pen out of the window slowly, carefully, like one wrong move could bring the whole thing crashing down.
The person who slams the sheet of paper up against the glass behind him has absolutely none of these concerns. I don’t see her until Benn takes a surprised step back, and then it’s the electric purple hair that draws my eyes first, even before her fury-tight face.
“Show’s over, assholes!”
Every voice but hers seems to have been sucked out of the world. My stomach lurches, starts to flutter again.
It’s so strange to me that I remember this girl’s voice and can connect the right memory before I can do the same with her face. Or…not so strange. She’d been wearing a ski mask when she burst into our cabin.
This is the girl from Thurmond. One of the team that came to open up the camp. The window distorts her face, breaks it up into pieces, but what I see are dark eyes, rich skin, high cheekbones, full lips, and a glare like venom. The few stragglers in the hallway duck away into nearby offices; I don’t blame them. She’s shaking like she’s about to detonate and bring the whole building down.
Benn signals to one of the National Guardsmen to open the door, and the girl fills the doorway. She’s too smart to step inside, where they could trap her, too—actually, on second thought, I’m not so sure anything could cage her. She’s a full head shorter than all three men, and looks about ten times as lethal. Gun holstered at her side. Knife peeking out of the top of her combat boots. Plus whatever else she’s hiding under her oversized green army jacket.
“Transfer order,” the girl says, handing the paper over. “Signed, sealed, delivered—what the fuck are you squinting at? Get a fucking pair of glasses if you need a better view!” The National Guardsman who’s been staring at her immediately turns back toward Benn, who is reading and rereading the piece of paper.
“What—?” I give a sharp shake of my head at Mia, silencing her. I don’t know how she’s even speaking. My throat is so tight I