The Energy Room

I fell quickly into a deep slumber. I was grateful to see two of the other five seats occupied in the grand, white room. My hopeful glances rapidly determined that Lakin was still avoiding me.

  Bryant and Nadia swiftly scooted their chairs next to mine, detecting the massive amounts of stress that filled my head. Without thought, I laid my head on Nadia’s shoulder, tears strolling down my cheeks.

  “What’s wrong, Angie?” Bryant asked, patting me on the back as I sniffled into Nadia’s neck.

  “Nothing. Everything. I don’t know,” I cried.

  I wasn’t much of a crier, but I felt completely overwhelmed by everything that had happened within the last week. It was as if all the emotions I had suppressed throughout my entire life were pressing in on me all at once. I wanted to scream, and to smash things. I wanted to blow things up. I wanted to cuddle a puppy. But the only reaction that my body felt was appropriate to display was crying.

  “Tell us what happened,” Nadia said in a calming voice.

  “I… caught Al… on fire…” I choked between sobs. “I… didn’t mean to… it was… an accident. And… I even healed him.”

  “Everyone makes mistakes. It’s okay,” Nadia cooed.

  “But… they’re increasing security… and they’re raising… the voltage… on my Electro-Cuffs. They think… I was trying to escape,” I hiccupped, sitting up to rub at my puffy eyes.

  “Did you explain that you didn’t scorch him on purpose? I feel like they should have realized that when you healed him, but people are stupid,” Bryant said quietly, drying off my cheeks with the sleeve of his sweater.

  “William doesn’t care,” I said, voice cracking a bit as I tried to pull myself together. “He doesn’t trust me. I don’t think anyone does.”

  “Does it matter if they trust you or not? You’ve never cared about that before,” Nadia said, raising an eyebrow.

  “I know, but… I don’t know. I just feel like things are going to get a lot worse,” I explained, lowering my head into my hands.

  “Is Al alright, though?” Nadia asked.

  I jerked my head up, suddenly remembering what had happened before I was engulfed in flame. I had clearly heard Al’s voice inside my head.

  “Yeah, he’s fine. I need your opinions on something, though,” I said quickly, holding out my hands to both of them. “I heard something, just before everything exploded.”

  Nadia and Bryant cautiously placed their hands on mine, allowing their eyes to fog over as they relived my day. I tapped my foot anxiously, waiting for them to finish their visions.

  “So… that… is, er… interesting,” Bryant said, eyes shiny with intrigue.

  “I knew it!” Nadia exclaimed, almost bouncing out of her seat.

  “Well, hold on Nad. Just because she heard his voice in her head, doesn’t mean he’s connected to us. None of us are telepathic,” Bryant said, attempting to calm the excited girl next to us.

  “We don’t know that for sure, do we? It might just be between our own kind, and none of us have consciously met another of our kind,” Nadia rambled, bursting at the seams with hope.

  “But why couldn’t I hear him until today?” I questioned.

  “I don’t know! Stop tearing apart my dreams!” Nadia bellowed jokingly.

  “Sorry,” I chuckled. “Are we agreed, though? I’m not crazy. Something is up with him.”

  “I still think you’re crazy,” the most amazing voice I had ever heard spoke up from behind me.

  I stood as fast as my legs would allow, attacking Lakin in an encapsulating hug. A feeling of despair flooded me, as I was not met by welcoming arms. Lakin stood quietly, as rigid as stone. I looked up to his face with my watery eyes, releasing him from the grasp he did not return.

  “Do you hate me?” I asked quietly, looking to my feet in shame.

  Lakin remained silent for a moment, intensifying my feelings of guilt. I wondered if I had ruined everything between us, if he could, ever again, feel for me the way I would always feel for him. Finally, his soft hand met my chin, lifting my face to meet his eyes.

  “I could never hate you. I’m just upset, and dealing with it the only way I can,” Lakin explained, sweeping a tear from my cheek with his thumb.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

  “I know you are. I just can’t accept it, right now,” Lakin said honestly, brushing a stray lock of hair away from my forehead.

  I leaned my face into his warm palm, unsure of what to say. I knew there was nothing I could do to make the situation any better. When Lakin wanted to talk, he would confront me. The scab would never be able to heal if I kept picking at it.

  “I know that I can’t keep avoiding you. But things can’t be the same as they were, at least not for now,” Lakin said, searching my eyes for understanding.

  I nodded, forcing a feeble smile across my chapped lips. I shifted my eyes back to the floor, returning to my comfortable blue chair. I glanced from Nadia to Bryant, both of whom had been pretending not to listen. I cleared my throat, brushing off the stream of tears from my face with one final sweep of my hands. The weak smile of false acceptance remained on my face, as Lakin scooted his chair over to join us.

  “So what happened, exactly?” Lakin asked, void of any emotion.

  “I, uh, I heard Al’s voice in my head,” I said. My throat felt swollen, and unwilling to speak.

  “Are you sure?” Lakin questioned.

  “One-hundred percent,” I said, trying desperately to sound as detached as he was.

  “So I guess you have a way to communicate with him, now. Right? There aren’t any microphones or cameras in your head,” Lakin observed, elbows on his knees.

  “That’s right! The next time you see him, you can just ask him what he’s doing there and if he knows anything about us. Inside your head, I mean,” Nadia beamed.

  I nodded in agreement, still having trouble getting my vocal chords to cooperate.

  “Be careful, though. This could still be some sort of trick,” Bryant cautioned.

  “How could they possibly simulate someone’s voice inside her head, Bryant?” Nadia snapped.

  “I’m just saying! I wouldn’t put it past them,” Bryant said, raising his hands in surrender as he lay back in his seat.

  “He’s right. We don’t know what they’re capable of,” Lakin stated.

  “Let’s say, hypothetically, William found or trained a telepath. If Al can truly get inside my head, then he would already know about you guys,” I posed.

  “Even if they do find out, what could they possibly do? There’s no way for them to get into the Room,” Nadia said conclusively.

  “Do we know that for sure?” Bryant asked.

  “How could they? It’s inside our heads,” Nadia huffed.

  “Even so… we shouldn’t assume anything,” Lakin remarked.

  We sat in silence for a while, all considering everything the others had said. I felt my cheeks burn, as my eyes locked with Lakin’s for a moment. In that instant, I could see that he was not as disconnected as he tried to appear. He was full of just as much anguish as I was. Even though he was exceptionally talented at hiding his torment, it was there, eating away at him like a parasite; hot fury coursed through him, like lava, in his veins.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Jaloux Petit Hamster, Reprise