When I woke up, my eyes were covered and my whole body tied against a chair. Shouting wasn’t something I was fond of doing, so instead, I began struggling. I felt this impenetrable wall around me without anyone in sight. I would know, because I tried reaching out to a mind without avail. The more I struggled, the more impatient I became. This was clearly useless. Biting back a cry of anger, I flailed both hands with maximum effort, only to be bounded to a metal chair, unable to move back and forth.

Patient, I told myself. I couldn’t allow myself to be angry again. That would establish the link with the Rebels and that loathsome man. I groaned. There was a little setback to this ability and my past with the organisation. When I heard the door opened slowly and footsteps coming in, I immediately decided to switch my tone into one of begging and pleading, at least until the tears came out and wet this damned blindfold. This was a better plan than constantly struggling and tiring myself out.

“Where am I?” I asked, pitiful as one could be. Sobs came out of my mouth and the tears followed instantly. “Why are you doing this to me? Who are you?”

Luhan kept the smile to himself. He exchanged knowing glances with Suho, but was mum in the beginning. Jane had the authority to do the so-called ‘examination’. The other two were merely companies. Even with the blindfold, there was a block in the air, preventing me from using any kind of mind-reading to the others. There were probably about three or four of them – I couldn’t really pinpoint out exactly – given that there were one with heavier footsteps and two pairs with lighter sounds. My eyes were the source of my power and the most sensitive sense of the five, without the ability to see, I wouldn’t be able to do much but read minds.

So I bid my time and patiently waited for a mishap to happen. The sobs were unstoppable, and it became easier after choking for a few times. At least they sounded much more serious than what actually was. Another footsteps came into the room, and soon, the space was filled with fewer than ten people. One of them must be a trained soldier, his steps much more orderly than the others, and realising so, I knew this was more serious than just the Interpols. So I cried out for leniency, “Please don’t kill me…”

“Oh, no one’s going to kill you, Miss Jung,” A woman cut me off. I hated being interrupted in the middle of my speech, even more so in the midst of my act. I gritted my teeth in silence and bit my lips in fright. “You’re far too important for that. I’m sure the time with those Rebels have taught you a thing or two.” She stood closer, and at the same time, the soldier moved in, protecting her from me. I almost laughed out loud. I controlled minds. I didn’t bother dirtying my hands with the bloods of others – especially not when I could witness the misery of breaking one’s bones by their own means.

“What are you talking about?” I grew hysteric. “What Rebels? What am I here for? I don’t understand! Please let me go!” Those words were fired quickly one after another, not allowing any pause or slip-ups in-between. I had to be careful now. If they knew about the Rebels, they would know what I was to them. There was a snort, clearly from the soldier, as he was the one talking this time. “Jung Sera, there is no need to pretend that you’re the victim when you’re clearly the perpetrator of several world-class crimes in the past few years. From the first incident in Paris to the large-scale terrorist attack in Rwanda, you would certainly know what we are talking about.”

I snickered. How could they try and put all the blame on a twenty-two years old who looked meek and weak? My face was contorted with disbelief, shock and fear – a good mixture of all of them. “Why are you blaming me for those tragedies? How could I… Why would I… What kind of evidences do you have against me? Why am I charged with the crimes of initiating such horrendous attacks? I wasn’t even there when they happened, nor did I know about them until the news reported it. How could you accuse me?”

“Really?” Key smiled, but there was no humour behind it. “Pray do tell me, young girl, what about all the meetings you have set up prior to those accidents? You think we have no eyes and no brains? Although those meetings were set up a month or two before the attacks, we still learnt that coincidentally, you have been in contact with all of the suspects in the list. These are people whom you supposedly have not known about, and yet somehow, after these meetings, they all commit the same crimes: suicide bombing. Tell me, shouldn’t we suspect you for inciting them to do so?”

Damn those technologies! And here I thought I had been careful enough not to expose anything by going low-key on the meetings. I thought no one would suspect a thing since I merely commanded them from the dark without any contact prior and post-meetings. I had slipped up this time. How else could I convince this man that I was innocent? By crying more? Would the pleas actually help? But if I didn’t continue with the act, wouldn’t they blame everything on my lies? I was trapped with options to choose from, except that whichever decision I made would inevitably end up with consequences to handle. Now, if only they could take off this blindfold and let me see again, everything would be solved easily.

“Is she a psycho?” Another man whispered, but he was loud enough to be heard. I was blinded, not deaf. Tao continued watching keenly, the interest was evident now more so than before. Kris smirked and folded his hands in front of his chest, and by looking at everyone else’s reactions, he poured oil over the flame and added on considerably, perhaps as a warning to Key and Jane, “Well, she certainly is good at faking one.”

There were differences in treatment based on the diagnosis upon entering prisons. And on the account of mental illnesses, especially psychopathy, there would be leniency on the sentences made, despite of the crimes committed. Psychopaths and sociopaths could get away with murders easily because of their mental illnesses, and knowing the characteristics of one, sometimes it was better at faking it than risking our lives to death sentences. Deciding that this could be a way out of this damned place, wherever it is, I straightened my back and ceased the sobbing to naught. The eerie silence settled.

“I don’t understand a thing,” I scowled and smiled calmly. “I am but a citizen of a country and I am absolutely innocent of those charges you accused me of. Unless there is a concrete evidences on my involvement on those attacks, you have to release me. I am kidnapped in the midst of my bath – and to be frank, you have to be grateful that I am not charging you with ual harassment, yet – brought to God-knows-where for no good reason at all, blindfolded and interrogated on the basis of ridiculous charges that I am absolutely incapable of. Tell me, logically, how could a girl like me, with no connections, no educations and skills to back it up, be able to incite all these incidents? And for what reason did I do it? I am tied to a chair and unable to see, at least have a little bit of decency and take off this blindfold as we talk.”

Jane certainly was expecting a fight, but not this kind of argumentative talk. She thought about Tao and Kris’s suggestion and looked down at her papers. It wasn’t impossible for one to fake psychopathy in order to survive, but to lie so calmly and decisively in such a short time was certainly suspicious. There was a display of intelligence in a tough situation that no one without extensive training would be able to do. Unless, again, this was a psychopath without any ability to feel guilt, regret, or fear whatsoever. She looked at Key and found that he, too, was a little agitated at the moment. But Tao had beaten them both to speak, “And let you use your manipulation on us? We are not stupid.”

Luhan shot him a warning glance, but Tao thought that what he did was right. He simply furrowed his eyebrows together and spoke no more. I realised from his voice that this was the man who kidnapped and brought me here, which meant that his blue-eyed partner was also present in the room. I thought that I was dealing with a bunch of policeman from the Interpol. However, it became apparent now that there were other Transcendentals in the room. This ought to be more dangerous than what I thought it would be. They must be the organisation the Rebels hated so much – the Union.

Like its name, the Union resembled the United Nations – a gathering of all countries for the good of this world, except that they were more violent, secretive and dirty. Their existence was a myth amongst those who had heard of it, but the Rebels knew that the Union and them stood in complete opposition against each other. Their methods were brutal and ruthless, essentially utilising the same things – human trafficking, weapons dealing, cruel experimentation on all living beings – except that the Union was paid and approved by the governments from all over the world, while the Rebels stood alone and sided with no one. They were very much a thorn to each other’s existence – or so was I told.

“You see, Miss Jung, we have very strict rules here that we obey at any cost,” The soldier began talking again. “Whether or not you are innocent as you said, it is always better to kill an innocent human and eliminate a potential threat than risk letting you away. After all, what is one life to a million others, right? But that is spoken on the hypothetical ground that you are telling the truth. However, we are very much certain that you are lying through your teeth. Would you risk your life for the Rebels, then? Is it truly worth it?”

I gritted my teeth and scoffed loudly, “I have told you that I have absolutely no idea what rubbish you are talking about. What’s with the Rebels and whatnot. Either way, you won’t believe what I say and I’ll still be killed. Why waste my breath saying so much ?” Then I turned away from them, refusing to speak further. This, however, served as a conviction for the Lieutenant and the Head Doctor as they looked at each other in unison, seemingly on agreement for whatever was on their minds.

“You heard her, Doctor. She doesn’t want to do it the nice way,” Key grinned. As he did, Tao grimaced, knowing that there was bound to be some military disciplining, and blood would be spilt. Jane was uncomfortable with the idea, but she truly wanted to know about the development of her subject within these years. She immediately complied and nodded. “Jung Sera, I am not a good person. And by the end of the week, you’ll be regretting what you said today. That is, if you’re still alive then.”

* * *

I lived by not knowing how many days had passed by since the last visit – assuming of course, it hadn’t been seven days like the soldier promised it would be. I could barely feel the lower half of my body anymore. Although I was no longer tied to a chair, I might as well be. The first days were good. At least it was torture with suffocation. Water filled my lungs until my face was blue, and it was done repetitively until I fainted. Then there was the wax. Those wicked souls had dropped the hot wax on my skin each time I fainted, probably ruining the skin on my face and my lips.

Although they had not done anything to damage me physically on the limbs, my face was beyond recognition and not even a howl of pain escaped as my lips were sealed by the wax. As I was hovering between life and death and contemplating on asking for help, the soldier came again, a twisted laughter echoed in the silent room, deafening. He broke my fingers one by one, then peeled off the wax on my lips in hope that I would talk, but as piss and tears fell down, I screamed at him, “Get out! Get out! I will never forgive you even if I die!”

Key had to admit. It was fun at first, and then quickly turned frustrating. He was used to such resilience, but the degree of which a young girl could suffer to was something he could not comprehend. He wanted someone weak and pleading, not screaming and howling like a mad woman. When the soft skin melted into one horrifying wound that spread across the face, he knew it was over. The continuous torture would be fruitless. And so, he turned around, leaving to find Jane for her permission to execute and kill the prisoner. It was better eliminating one talent than risk the world for this damned existence.

“Someone, give her water and food. Let it be the last meal of her life,” Key apathetically ordered. He asked for towels and disdainfully cleaned his hands. His days were wasted for naught. He spat out under his breath with glaring eyes, scaring off those who saw him on the long corridor, “A complete waste of a being!”

And so, my mind wandered off, suffering between the tempting darkness that pulled me in like a quicksand, and the light – the sliver of hope that I was just floating in my consciousness, as if my body was a completely separate entity. Perhaps this was what dying was – that uncertainty in the midst of our breathe against the sheer willpower to live. I once thought that death was only one door away, and that slipping to the afterlife was easier than dipping my feet into the water and trying again. Depression was like that. The thought of succumbing, and the daily battle against it. Memories after memories flashed back in my mind, and a tear slipped down. A surge of powerful emotion swirled in, and a small, soft voice sounded, You won’t die just yet.

And in that moment, I couldn’t differentiate between dreams and reality – and if his voice was truly there at the last of my breath, or if it was merely a fragment of my imagination. Nevertheless, he never talked anymore. It mattered not how much I ached to hear his voice and how tormented I was by a single sentence, and despite my usual denial that it never happened, I found strength. There was someone at the door, coming into the room with much noise. A clumsy one, my mind jumped in delight. I was still confused, but I could hold on long enough. I have to escape, I gritted my teeth and bit my tongue in the attempt to stay awake. Pain shot through me and I jolted up at the taste of blood.

“This is salmon, chicken, and ham. I hope you enjoy your… meal,” The lady sounded sympathetic and frightened. She dared not come too close and left the tray at the floor. Inexperienced and too young to know, I smiled. This woman was at least a few years older than me and not a soldier nor a capable fighter, and certainly not one of importance, as well, which meant that she wouldn’t have the skills nor the smarts. There was hope. I mustered a convincing smile and spoke hoarsely, “Hey, shouldn’t you at least untie my hand so I could eat? After all, I wouldn’t know when I could eat again.”

“But what if you try to run away?”

Ah, there was that fear as this woman seemed unsure of what I was. Good. Just another lackey. She thought this would serve as my last meal, but this opportunity might lead to the demise of her existence. I turned towards the direction of her voice and sighed, “My feet are broken and my hands are barely functioning. Please. I don’t even know if I could live tonight, so might as well enjoy one last propriety as a human, right?”

I heard her moving and raising her hand to untie my hands. I smirked. She truly had a soft-heart. At least this kindness would save her life. The waiting was painful, but as soon as my hands were freed, I breathe in, ignoring the growing pain on my ribs. The blindfold came undone. At last, finally freed. The light blinded me at first, having been accustomed to darkness for so long. I blinked in pain a few times until I focused on the lady’s figure, hastening her leave from this damned place.

“Stay,” I commanded and she froze. My heart was beating so quickly that my ears were buzzing. This woman wore a doctor’s uniform and looked Eurasian. She tied her long, black hair into a ponytail and was at least six feet tall. If I had my eyes, then the rest would be easy, with the exception that my captor with his strange ability decided to show up once again. “Untie my feet.”

She complied without much resistance and watched as I dunk down the water in one-shot. Obviously, I had lied about how my feet were broken because of the torture. They were just a little numb with a few injuries here and there. Nothing that would hinder me from moving around. Ignoring the gnawing pain from standing up, I told her forcefully, “Now be good and open the door for me.”

* * *

“The Rebels are moving North, where they’ll find plenty of hidden, undiscovered gold mines. And some old, abandoned weapon factories, as well,” Suho explained the necessary part to keep the rest awake. There were only five of them in the room, Tao and Kris included. There was a silver-haired man with streaks of black, his eyes green and turned upwards like a mischievous cat, except when he smiled. Baekhyun ran his hands through his hair and yawned, resting his head on the head of the couch and preparing to fall asleep. This was, but another common day for him – a new mission, an old enemy. He’d grown tired of hearing it. There was a light and a small spark on the tip of his finger and in the gleam of his proud eyes, but they quickly disappeared.

A man with glasses sat on the other end of the couch, his eyes focused on the lamp as he watched it flickering from time to time. Chen’s voice was neither soft nor loud when he spoke, but his words were floating mid-air – light and comforting, with the tenderness of a newborn, “I think I sense something downstairs – seems to be a disruption to the power supply. Maybe you’ll be interested. The first level’s electricity is cut off.”

Kris frowned. There was rarely ever a disruption that happened by any mishaps. A power supply was essential to the laboratory, after all. Tao hurriedly asked, both curious and happy that something was happening in this unshakable fortress, “Do you know why? Can you sense it?” Chen raised his hands and touched the lamp, then hummed softly, and chuckled, “Oh yes, it seems that it’s caused by someone – not at all an accident. Can’t really tell much more than that.”

“Should we prepare for a fight? Maybe the Rebels have come here for troubles,” Tao cracked his knuckles together. Although he wasn’t as skilled as the others and his ability wasn’t exactly life-threatening, Tao was one hell of a martial-artist. He kicked asses as easily as he breathed air. Being one of the youngest in the group, the others were often lenient on his straightforwardness, but that didn’t mean that Suho would let him wreck havoc unless deemed absolutely necessary. Hence, he shook his head and raised his hand as a warning. “No rush. We’ll take actions when everything else prevails.”

“I’ve always known you’re a sadist, but not to this extent, Leader,” Baekhyun grinned lazily and opened his eyes. His pupils almost turned to slits when he was excited. “Think they’ll issue an emergency status now? The military must have known by now.” Just as he spoke, the alarm rang in distance, signalling the urgency of the situation. This gave him immense delight. “I really think we should add in the fun. Come on, Suho, don’t be so uptight about the rules. You hate the Union, as well. Why don’t we take this chance and inflict some damage on them?”

“And you’re willing to let them deduce your salary?” Suho threw him a subtle look. There was a frosty smile on his lips. It was true that he hated the organisation, but they were the source of his income and he would be trapped here for years to come, ‘less he was ready to face the world without identity and a place to call ‘home’. No, Suho would rather bid his time and waited for the moment to come. Until then, he would play a good watchdog and obey their rules. Baekhyun shrank a bit and shook his head. Kris almost let out a light chuckle, but held himself back, “I thought so, too.”

* * *

The young man ignored the sirens and closed his eyes on the bed, resting comfortably. The music was on full-blast as he pulled out a piece of headset and put it on. So what if this place burnt to ashes and hell descended? He did not feel any sort of attachment to the organisation so guilt was not in his dictionary. His surrounding was chilly, the wind blowing ever so slightly even in this closed space. Sometimes he wondered why he was enticed to join this organisation. The mission and his belief often clashed, though he admitted he was no saint, either.

Sensing the rapid movement in the corridor, his eyes opened. He stared at the ceiling curiously. This was clearly a newcomer or an intruder – for no one had ever came here willingly. This territory was his, and anyone knew better than to enter. Still, he lied there waiting. And before long, a girl came crashing inside. Her body fell to the ground with a loud thump. And even then, he didn’t bother getting up, merely glancing at her sideways, neither angry nor anxious. He was merely curious. So this intruder was a girl. Her body was heavily injured, particularly her face, which was horrendous beyond saving.

“Don’t… Don’t let them…”

She fainted.