Expansion (The Accidental Heroes Chronicles Book 2)

by S. E. Cyborski

  “Are you absolutely sure?” Dr. Carnesby asked, voice sharp with interest. “Not that I’m doubting you, Rose, but is it possible you were mistaken about the speed? Did Brandy see you? Jane, did you?”

  “I didn’t see it, no,” Brandy said at the same time Jane replied, “I have the incident recorded.”

  “Thank you, Jane,” Dr. Carnesby nodded, moving towards the door before turning back to Rose. “I need to ask you to keep this to yourselves. And, if you can, try to work on controlling your ability rather than having it control you. The more control you have, the more likely you are to be able to keep it a secret after the trial is over.”

  “I think we’ll give you some privacy,” Billy said when Rose nodded her understanding, clinging hard to Brandy’s hand. We all filed out and let Rose practice her ability. It had to be difficult, knowing you were changed but hopefully it was easier for her now. There was no more wondering what it might be anymore.

  Wendy was standing in the hallway, a quizzical expression on her face as she saw us all file out of Rose’s room. I pulled her to the side as Billy and Nick headed to the lounge and Dr. Carnesby walked towards his office. Someone had to give her some sort of explanation and the thankful look Billy shot me as he passed told me he had no idea what to say.

  “Everything all right?” Wendy asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

  “Rose just tripped and sprained her ankle is all,” I said, thinking furiously to come up with a good lie. “Billy helped her wrap and ice it after Nick and I carried her into her bedroom. She’ll be fine.”

  “Okay,” Wendy replied slowly, eyes narrowing. “You know, you guys have all been really secretive about something and you’re all in on it. At least, everyone but Tabitha and me. What’s really going on here, George?”

  “Wendy, I’ve told you before, there’s no secret,” I sighed, affecting an annoyed manner when I was really just scared she was going to figure it all out. No telling what might happen to her then. “You’re reading too much into everything. We’ve only got about 2 more weeks. Just let it go and get the money you were promised for this.”

  “Fine, I’ll let it go,” Wendy said after staring at me with a penetrating look for several seconds. “But I still think you’re lying, George. I don’t want to lose that five grand so I promise I’ll let it go.”

  I nodded and watched her walk towards the lounge. The sounds of an old TV show came filtering through the hallway, mechanical sounds I’d come to associate with engines. Then a familiar theme song came on and I knew what the show was. So Billy was introducing Nick to Firefly. Well, I’d come to enjoy the show, surely Nick would too. I decided to make a snack and headed to the kitchen, putting together a sandwich and adding some chips to my plate.

  “Jane, you up for another game?” I asked, carrying my plate into the lounge and sitting at the table. “What about Mancala?”

  “Of course,” Jane replied, pleasure evident in her voice. “We haven’t played as often as I would like.”

  I set up the board and counters and we played a few games while episodes of Firefly flashed across the screen. Tabitha joined me, followed by Darryl, and we switched off playing Mancala. The rest of the day passed quietly though Rose didn’t appear even for dinner. Brandy made her a plate and carried it to her room after a significant look at Billy. He nodded slightly, face even paler than normal from the stress of using his abilities so often. I assumed that Rose wasn’t able to completely control either of her abilities and was keeping the secret from the others by the simple expedient of staying in her room.

  Eric carried the conversation at dinner, telling stories and flirting with all the women. He reminded me strongly of Michael, the guy who made everyone laugh to deflect attention from himself. It made me wonder whether he would stay with us or not. After all, Michael had been lured away just as much as Amy had. Perhaps it was easier for Sandra to manipulate him than Amy, using different methods. What would happen if Eric somehow found them, augmented their abilities with his own extreme strength? It was a chilling thought.

  Towards the end of the third week, we were all watching Brandy and Elyse carefully. They were the only ones who hadn’t yet displayed or discovered what their abilities were. Dr. Carnesby continued to take blood samples and Jane insisted that they were likely to develop some sort of ability. They had the same markers, the same indications that the rest of us all had. Elyse hated the scrutiny and glared whenever Billy, Dr. Carnesby or I entered a room she was in. Brandy merely wore a hunted look tinged with resignation. I think Elyse was fighting the idea while Brandy knew it was likely inevitable.

  Brandy was the first to display her abilities. It happened similarly to how Billy discovered his own telekinesis and it made me wonder if there was indeed some sort of intelligence behind all this. Dr. Carnesby still hadn’t told us exactly what Gnotret was or where it came from and that made me suspicious. Yet, he avoided every attempt to try and coax more information out. I’d given up one attempt on the last day of the third week and was washing dishes from dinner with Brandy. I rinsed a plate and handed it to her, letting go before she had a full grip on it. The plate plummeted to the floor, Brandy’s hand lashing out to try and catch it. The plate stopped a few inches above the floor, floating in midair. What made the event completely astounding was that everything in the kitchen, including myself, was lifted up off the ground as well.

  “Give me a place to stand and I can move the Earth,” Brandy quoted sadly, staring around the kitchen at everything floating. Slowly, she closed her outstretched fingers into a fist and everything settled back into place. The appliances groaned metallically as they settled back to the ground. The plate that had fallen and sparked her telekinesis thunked gently as it dropped down. I bent my knees a little to take my weight as I settled down, a little surprised but not scared at this turn of events. Billy practiced his telekinesis by lifting me sometimes. “I wonder how much power I have. It was almost laughably easy to lift everything in this room.”

  “Practice,” I replied, turning to wash another dish. Brandy was calm, still staring sadly around the room but I wanted to treat this as an everyday occurrence. Whether it was normal or not, it was everyday for her now. There was no going back. “Work with the furniture and things like that. But don’t lift people without asking them first. Seems impolite, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, sorry about that, George. Though you don’t seem too frightened. Why is that?” Brandy asked, grabbing the plate I’d just finished rinsing and drying it off.

  “Billy’s telekinetic, too,” I explained, smiling. “He practices by lifting me every once in a while. Though he’s nowhere near as powerful as you seem to be. My weight is about the most he can lift.”

  “Well, at least this is something I can hide easily if need be,” Brandy sighed, shaking her head. We finished up the dishes in silence, which didn’t take that long as there were only a few more things. Brandy went to tell Rose what her ability was while I stopped by Dr. Carnesby’s office to update him. Elyse walked out, holding a bandage on her arm. Elyse regarded me with a sour expression before brushing past me without a word and stalking to her room.

  “What is it, George?” Dr. Carnesby asked tiredly, putting the vials of blood he’d drawn in his drawer. Tests would happen later, once the current batch was finished.

  “Brandy’s telekinetic,” I replied without preamble, keeping my voice pitched low. “More powerful than Billy, by a lot, I think. She just lifted everything in the kitchen without even breathing hard.”

  “That just leaves Elyse then,” Dr. Carnesby sighed, running a hand over his face. He looked haggard, as if something was eating at him.

  “Everything all right?” I asked. “You’re looking almost as tired as Billy is.”

  “Everything’s as fine as it can be,” Dr. Carnesby replied, a small smile tugging at his lips as he looked up at me. “Thank you for letting me know, George.”

  I nodded and left, heading to the lounge t
o watch yet another movie. The poor Playstation was getting a lot of use with the movies and videogames. I chose a horror movie this time, an older one called The Shining that I loved. I sat in an armchair, nodding at Tabitha, Eric, and Nick as they joined me to watch. Just one more week, that’s all we needed to wait. Then Wendy and Tabitha could go on with their lives, five thousand dollars richer, and the others could figure out how to fit back into their old lives.

  Chapter 13

  It was the last week of the trial, just three days before the end, that Elyse finally discovered her own ability. The poor woman had struggled to keep from finding out, struggled to stay normal, but the end was inevitable. The very first minute she fell sick determined that. She was in Dr. Carnesby’s office, having her blood drawn for one of the last times. The way she’d explained it, after, Elyse had been letting her mind wander and her eyes had landed on the little plant Dr. Carnesby kept in his office. It was the same plant as the one Amy had demonstrated it her ability to control earth on the soil it was standing in. Wondering if it was a flowering plant, Elyse had thought about what flowers might bloom from it. By the time the last vial was filled, the plant had flowered and white narcissus flowers covered the green stalks.

  “I... I think I did that,” Elyse said hesitantly, a touch of fear in her voice. She pointed at the flowers and Dr. Carnesby turned to look at it, astonished. “Guess I can control plants, huh?”

  Elyse had walked out without another word once Dr. Carnesby was finished and sequestered herself in her room. Not even Darryl was able to convince her to come out except for making a plate at meals and then she would retreat back to her room. The last few days were stilted and awkward with Rose and Elyse both staying locked away and Brandy spending most of her time with Rose. I’d spoken with Rose a few times in the past week. She’d gotten better at controlling her transformation into diamond but still didn’t control it completely. Twice when we’d talked she’d turned to diamond in the middle of her sentence and only sitting in complete silence had allowed her to change back. Honestly, it seemed as if it was taking longer each time for Rose to change back. But, eventually, in the midst of the silence and awkward conversations and tiptoed steps, the final day came.

  “I just want to thank you all for participating in this trial,” Dr. Carnesby said to the group gathered in the lounge. He was leaning back against the table and keeping an eye on all of us seated in the armchairs. “As promised, as you leave, each of you will be given a money order for five thousand dollars.”

  “So that’s it? This is all we needed to do?” Wendy asked doubtfully. “I mean, nothing happened with whatever you were injecting me with.”

  “And that was a possible outcome,” Dr. Carnesby nodded, smiling at Wendy. “We’re just collecting information about the possible effects of the drug. Wendy, you and Tabitha are free to leave whenever you like. I would like the others to stay for one final test as they appeared to have been affected by the drug.”

  “I would like to leave as soon as possible,” Tabitha said, a sense of urgency in her voice. “It’s been interesting but I really want to go home.”

  “Me too. I’m kinda sick of spending all my time in this building with all of you,” Wendy laughed. “No offense of course. I’m just ready to get out of here.”

  “I’ll get you your money orders and you are free to leave,” Dr. Carnesby nodded. “If the rest of you would just wait here?”

  “Why can’t we leave just yet?” Elyse asked impatiently, glaring at Dr. Carnesby. “I want out of here just as much as the others.”

  “Elyse, just take a breath,” Darryl told her, leaning in close and whispering in her ear. “You know why we can’t go just yet. We’ll be out of here soon.”

  “I promise you’ll be out of here as quickly as I can possibly let you go,” Dr. Carnesby said before walking down the hallway with Tabitha and Wendy. It took a few minutes, the two women grabbing the bags they’d packed earlier, before they all came walking back. Tabitha was folding her own money order before shoving it in a pocket.

  “It was nice meeting you all,” Tabitha said politely, smiling shyly. “Darryl, Elyse, I’ll see you guys later.”

  Wendy merely waved and hurried out, following after Tabitha. I heard Wendy’s voice before the door closed, asking Tabitha if she wanted to go out for coffee. Dr. Carnesby waited until the door had sealed again and there was the sound of two engines fading away. Somehow, we’d managed to keep everything secret from both women. My hope for them had finally come true; they’d gotten away from the trial unscathed and were going back to their normal lives. But now was the complicated part. Now, we had to discuss what was going to happen to the rest of us.

  “Now, there are just a few final things I want to discuss with the six of you remaining,” Dr. Carnesby said, sitting down heavily in a chair and running a hand through his hair. “George and Billy already know this so it will be no surprise for them. They lived through it all, after all. But the eight of you were not the first trial with the drug Gnotret. George and Billy were only two of the five who participated.”

  “Why are you only telling us this now?” Darryl demanded.

  “Why are you telling them at all?” I broke in on the tail end of Darryl’s words. “I thought we were going to keep this secret.”

  “I was originally, George,” Dr. Carnesby explained, making placating motions with his hands. “But they are part of this now, whether they want to be or not. You six should know everything.”

  “I don’t think this is the best idea,” Billy shook his head, his normally quiet voice louder to be heard over the others’ muttering. “What if what happened the first time happens again?”

  “That is a chance we’ll have to take,” Dr. Carnesby said definitively, in a voice that brooked no argument. “I’ve had Jane study everyone taking part in this study and she believes that that will not happen again.”

  “Okay, well now you have to tell us,” Eric said, laughing uncomfortably to ease some of the tension in the room. “What’s going on? What do we need to know?”

  “What you need to know is what happened to the other three subjects of the previous trial,” Dr. Carnesby replied, sighing again. “Their names are Sandra Johnson, Michael Tusing, and Amy Veksler. They developed abilities just as you did. Sandra became an empath and could sense and project emotions. Michael could change gravity around himself and around other objects. Amy gained control of the elements, earth, air, fire, and water. She learned quickly how to use fire as a weapon.”

  “Wait, Amy. Is this George’s girlfriend Amy?” Nick cut in, turning to me with wide eyes. “Sandra was the one who manipulated her, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, she was. Sandra liked to play with people’s emotions,” I replied sadly, looking down at the floor. “We didn’t realize how much Sandra had taken control over Michael’s and Amy’s emotions.”

  “And that’s where the trouble started,” Dr. Carnesby took over the story. “Sandra turned... well power-hungry I suppose is the most accurate term. Then, with her ability to control people’s emotions, she learned a way to gain that power. She turned Michael and Amy into willing accomplices, no matter what they might have wanted before her manipulation. We don’t know where they are now but we are searching for them. These are their pictures.”

  “So what do we do if we see them?” Brandy asked, studying the images Dr. Carnesby had taken from the files he’d made on all of us. It hurt to see Amy again, see the crooked grin she had given the camera when Dr. Carnesby had taken the picture.

  “You let me know,” Dr. Carnesby answered. “Before you all leave today, I will be giving you my cellphone number. I would like for you all to give me a contact number for you. If you see any of these three, call me immediately. Do not approach them, especially Sandra. If she senses anything wrong, she will start to manipulate your emotions. She is very dangerous.”

  “What about Amy, though?” Elyse asked, wrinkling her nose at the pictures as they were passed t
o her. “Isn’t she more dangerous? What with the whole turning fire into a weapon thing? Or even Michael? He could feasibly crush a person with his ability.”

  “Yes, they are dangerous but they are most likely following Sandra’s every order,” Dr. Carnesby sighed and took the pictures back after they’d made the rounds of the other six. My fingers itched to take back the picture of Amy, to keep it for myself, but I squashed that urge. I had other pictures of Amy anyways and now wasn’t the time. “I’m fairly certain that they won’t do anything unless Sandra orders it or they see a threat to themselves. Sandra will be the one to sense any threat first.”

  “Then what do we do now?” Rose asked, speaking for the first time. She still had a haunted look in her eyes and sat curled in on herself. “Do we just go back to our normal lives, pretend none of this ever happened?”

  “That’s what I’m going to do,” Darryl stated, nodding his head emphatically while Elyse joined him. “I just want to treat this like a bad dream and enjoy the rest of my summer before next semester starts.”

  “You all are perfectly free to do that,” Dr. Carnesby said kindly, inclining his head for a moment in Darryl’s direction. “However, if you so choose, we could use help in dealing with Sandra, Michael, and Amy. Whatever her plans are, whatever power she wants to gain, it can’t be a good thing for the people she’ll come across. You would be welcome to stay within the group as a source of support as well. I would ask that you tell no one outside this group about what happened in this trial. Remember the nondisclosure agreements you signed. They’re still in effect.”

  “Well, if that’s everything, I want to go home,” Elyse said, standing up with an angry look on her face. “You’ve screwed up enough about my life and I want out. Unless you actually do have a test for us to take?”