Jonathan. The initial thing he observes is the mattress. It's plush. Too plush.
A surge of panic rushes through his chest. He suddenly sits up wiping the sleep from his eyes. This place is not his room. It's not the orphanage. He is enclosed by walls of dark metal. The door is an iron block with no handle, on the inside.
"Where is this?" he raspily questions, his voice hoarse, from lack of use. He scans the area desperately. "Chloe?!"
His tone reverberates against the steel surfaces, solitary.
He moves off the bed. He extends his back and neck. The noise echoes sharply in the tiny room CRACK ,like breaking raw spaghetti.
He gazes at the door. Fear shifts into adrenaline. He dashes ahead. Pounds his fist, on the metal.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
"Get me out of here!" he yells. He strikes it more with greater force until his knuckles ache and puff up. "HEY! IS ANYONE THERE!"
"Pshh!"
The hiss pierces his yelling. It's gentle, contemptuous.
Jonathan turns around.
Perched on the bed, in the dim light is a boy donned in an identical white hospital gown. He is tall sporting Asian facial traits and tousled black hair. He appears relaxed sitting with his legs crossed casually on the disheveled bedding.
The boy says, "I'm Sham."
Jonathan gazes at him breathing heavily. "I'm Jonathan. Could you please assist me in getting out of this place?"
Sham exhales deeply. He lifts a hand. Touches a heavy metal collar fastened around his neck. A tiny digital screen, on the front shines with letters: SUPPRESSED.
"What is that?" Jonathan inquires.
"Oh this thing?" Sham traces a finger, beneath the metal edge. "It's a damper. A gadget that stops us from accessing our abilities."
Jonathan's eyes widen. He takes a step backward. "You have abilities well?"
Sham sighs, rolling his eyes. "Naturally I have powers. We're in a facility, for mutants." He rises, stretching his arms. "What brings you here?"
Jonathan stiffens. "My sister and I were taken by agents. I have no clue what they expect from us!"
"So you actually possess abilities don't you?" Sham inquires his voice laced with irony.
"Really? And I have no idea why we possess powers " Jonathan retorts sharply.
Sham approaches Jonathan observing him as if he were a subject. "Nice. Share all your stories. I'll share everything, about myself too."
Jonathan rakes his fingers through his hair visibly annoyed. "I got caught two weeks ago… so just go ahead. Share your story, dude."
"Not before I locate my sister " Jonathan murmurs. He faces away, from Sham. Resumes banging on the metal door once more.
BANG. BANG.
He's unable to concentrate. His heart pounds against his chest, like a bird. The space seems dense stifling, loaded with a suffocating gloom. Where could she be? Is she injured?
"I have to locate my sister…" Jonathan murmurs, his forehead pressed against the metal.
"Hey dude, no need to stress. We'll track down your sister enough " Sham assures, his tone unexpectedly soft now. He attempts to ease the tension in the space. ". What's the story, behind your abilities?"
Jonathan surrenders. His shoulders droop. He returns to his bed. Takes a seat feeling conquered.
"It began two days back…"
Over the hour Jonathan shares all details with Sham. The chocolates, the blast, the mirror, the shopping center and the detention.
Sham pays attention leaning in. "Seriously? Is that how they caught you?"
Jonathan agrees with a nod straightening his hair. "Exactly. That's correct."
THE VOID.
A place for freaks. A place for freaks.
The sentence keeps repeating in Chloe's mind as she drifts off pulling her further into a nightmare.
She is back in the Void.
Darkness extends far and wide, infinite and overwhelming. Chloe despises the darkness. Not ever since she encountered the Reflection.
But right now, there is nowhere else to go.
A streak of light breaks the darkness. Chloe faces the mirror. Her reflection appears opposite her donned in the white hospital gown grinning slyly.
The Reflection places her hands on her cheeks her face inscrutable. "You need to wake up Chloe," the Reflection states. Her tone is identical, to Chloe's yet carries a firmness.
Chloe rests on the unseen floor of the Void. She draws her knees close, to her chest. Folds her arms.
"I'm frightened " she confesses, her tone soft. "I'm truly afraid of everything that's been occurring to us."
She gazes into the mirror. Her own face— eyes curled hair stares back yet the Reflection remains upright as Chloe shrinks away.
"Indeed you're frightened. Yet you must confront it " the Reflection responds icily.
"I'm not ready to confront it " Chloe murmurs. "What am I?"
The Reflection drops her hands. "I'm unable to tell you what you are… you must find that out on your own." She moves closer, to the mirror. "However I will offer you a beginning."
The eyes of the Reflection emit a faint glow.
"Find your real parents."
The words struck Chloe as if she'd been slapped. Locate her parents?
"What are you implying?" Chloe questions, her confusion clashing with frustration. "My parents passed away fifteen years ago after Jonathan's birth. That's what the orphanage informed us."
She shakes her head. "I can't recall their faces all. I was just a year old. It doesn't add up."
The Reflection abruptly chuckles. It's a exhilarated noise that reverberates throughout the Void.
Chloe's eyes grow large. "What's making you laugh?"
"Did you actually trust those folks?" The Reflection smirks, revealing a number of teeth.
"Yes. What reason would I have to doubt them?"
"They deceived you dear " the Reflection murmurs.
The world shifts. Does that signify they are living? Does it imply her existence is false?
"YOUR PARENTS ARE ALIVE."
The unwelcome idea turns into actuality. The reality lodges in her stomach, weighty and irrefutable. Tears sting her eyes, warm and sharp. A quiet sob slips from her lips.
"B-. Hold on! You can't be telling the truth! You're deceiving me b-because…"
The words vanish in her throat. She experiences pain, fear and an abrupt intense hope.
It can't be. But it is.
"Goodbye. Use your power wisely, dear… HAHAHAHA!"
The Reflection cackles wildly while the mirror starts to vanish into nothingness.
"Hold on! Don't go now!" Chloe yells. Her face flushes bright red her eyes swollen from tears. She stretches her hand forward trying to grasp smoke.
With that she crashes back, into reality.
THUD.
Chloe tumbles off the bunk and strikes the solid floor of the cell.
"Ouch!" she winces, grabbing her shoulder.
"Hello there, new friend!"
Chloe suddenly opens her eyes wide.
A girl stands above her. She dons the hospital gown. Her hair is long and blonde. She sports a radiant cheerful smile. Yet her eyes…
Her eyes are pitch black. No whites. No iris. Just solid, glossy darkness, like the eyes of a spider.
"Hello?" Chloe falters, blinking to confirm her vision.
The girl bends over extending a hand to assist Chloe in standing. "I'm Sophia so you know!"
She seems enthusiastic. Too enthusiastic, for jail.
"Thanks " Chloe replies, accepting the hand. She is lightheaded from the fall and the dream.
She gazes at Sophia. The girl practically radiates happiness, unaffected, by the dread that is currently consuming Chloe entirely.
"Umm." Chloe clears her throat gathering her composure. "Hi, Sophia. I'm Chloe."
Sophia's dark eyes grow large. "OMG! My mother's name was Chloe!"
Mom… Dad…
For a moment the surprise of the spider-eyes caused her to lose the memory of the dream. Now it floods back rapidly. The Reflection's words reverberate in her mind.
They deceived you.
Her parents are alive.