CHAPTER 1

The girl looked out of the car window as best she could, trying to make out their general location. Her hands were trembling and moist. She was nervous, although she tried her best to hide it. Jasmine had always told herself she would appear strong in times of adversity, and this was undoubtedly the time to do that.

The car appeared to be on a highway, but she wasn’t sure. The bustling city was long gone, and they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, save for a few houses and farms. In the front seat, two men sat. They had found her two hours ago and captured her, much to her chagrin. They were dressed in military uniforms, but not the one the average soldier wore, and these days Jasmine saw a lot of those. To her left, there was another man, but this one had his eyes on her at all times, with a pistol to her temple.

Jasmine managed to sneak a look into the rearview mirror and her eyes widened. They were being followed by the same car she was in. Or maybe it was an escort? If it was, it made escaping much more arduous. Plus, she was handcuffed with her hands behind her back, and she was pretty sure the man with the key was in the front seat. Oh well.

The girl’s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden turn to the right. The driver took an exit toward what looked to be some sort of scientific facility. The walls were all white, and it was extremely square and basic apart from the multiple antennas lying on the field next to it. She could almost make out tiny figures in the distance walking about.

A few minutes later, the car arrived at the gate. The driver rolled down his window and pressed a button on the intercom. A raspy voice came out of it, the man sounding old and tired.

“Hello, welcome to Dilliers research facility center, how can we help you.”

“Unit Salvation-A2 here. We got one of the metahumans.” The driver answered instantly.

“Verifying… moon?”

“Elephant.”

“You’re clear.”

Jasmine frowned. That was obviously a code, but it was odd that they hadn't even tried to hide it from her. The driver parked in the driveway, and she waited to be let out of the car. The four of them made their way toward the building. The contrast between the dark evening sky and the bright inside stung her eyes, but a push from the man walking behind her made her keep going.

The facility was full of men who looked like they never slept—probably scientists. There were also a lot of guards with very big rifles. Her shoes dirtied the pristine white tiled floor, which got her the silent ire of a janitor while she walked down a hallway. The girl did her best to try to remember which way they were going just in case an opportunity showed itself.

The guard pushed her into an empty room, which reminded her of an interrogation room.

“Sit down. Somebody will be with you shortly.” One of the guards said before closing the door and leaving. Jasmine just nodded and sat in response.

His two colleagues were still with her, though, still with a gun behind her head.

A few minutes later, the door suddenly opened, and a man came in. He wore the stereotypical white coat, but aside from that, there was nothing ordinary about him. He was skinny as if he didn’t eat enough, and he was the palest man Jasmine had ever seen. Behind him stood two guards dressed in blue shirts with guns pointed at her, probably to stop her from getting any ideas. The scientist turned to them.

“Please, no need to violence in the lab. Keep that outside. Undo her handcuffs.” He waved his right hand toward her, which made her notice his dirty fingernails.

The girl stood while they undid her cuffs. The feeling of freedom after hours was unparalleled.

“Thank you, sir.” She said softly.

“Please, call me Doctor Biermann. And thank you, Jasmine Mertz, for complying. Of course, I have to let you know that any attempts to escape or be violent will be met with lethal force, so let’s try to cooperate. I scratch your back, and you’ll scratch mine?” He said with an enthusiasm that creeped out Jasmine.

The girl just nodded. Doctor Biermann grinned and continued.

“Fantastic! First things first, you’ll have to forgive me for my tardiness. I was speaking to other metahumans.” He noticed the girl’s eyes widened at his statement. “Which you’ll meet soon enough, of course. But first, I’ll need to run a couple of tests.”

Jasmine sunk into her chair with worry, but she didn’t have a choice. She was taken to a room with a bed and laid down while awaiting the tests. If she used her power now, would she be able to leave? Probably not, but it was still something she had to think about. The doctor came into the room and took her blood with a syringe. Then, he placed a machine on her head.

“Use your ability.” He said while looking at a screen. He also signaled one guard to point his gun at her. “Don’t worry, it’s only just in case you try something. Use it.”

The girl took a deep— as deep of a breath as she could— and held it.

“Oh… oh! This confirms my hypothesis even further… you’re using a part of the Cerebellum… no. Maybe it’s an entirely different, new section of the brain? It’s hard to tell. I wish I could just check!” He said excitedly. “And everything you touch becomes invisible too, just like they said in the reports. How interesting!”

Jasmine was still holding her breath, and she tried to look at the computer screen, but she didn’t understand it. Doctor Biermann kept rambling.

“And you’re still able to see during all of this even though your eyes shouldn’t be able to capture any light since you’re invisible. Truly peculiar.”

Jasmine finally gasped for air, and her body reappeared on the bed. She could usually go for longer, but being in a high-stress situation wasn’t helping her lungs. The machine on her head stopped whirring, and the doctor looked at her.

“Perfect. Thank you for your cooperation. Send her to one of the rooms.” Biermann said hurriedly. A telephone on his desk rang, and he waved goodbye at her before answering. “I’ll be in touch!”

She was taken up an elevator to the fourth floor. They walked down a corridor, and one of the guards opened a door in the corner of a building. On top of the door was a sign that said ‘RESIDENTIAL QUARTERS.’ Jasmine noted that this must have been a new area because she could still smell the fresh paint on the walls. This room was painted sky blue instead of the research’s center blinding white. At least she had that going for her.

Another door was opened, and inside of this room was a single bed, a chair with a desk, and a clock. A deafening sound also rang throughout the area.

“You go in this room for now. We will bring food later.” One of the guards spoke to her with a distinct accent. Jasmine couldn’t place where it was from, but he certainly wasn’t Azerian.

“Could I shower? Get new clothes maybe? I promise I’ll be good.” Jasmine quickly said before the guards left.

“Shower already occupied by another metahuman. If you need something, ring this.” He pointed toward a button next to the door, and it looked like a doorbell. “Also, If you open the door, we will know. You heard the big noise.”

The girl just nodded. They closed the door, and she was finally left to her own thoughts.

“Alright. The good news is I haven’t been tortured or killed. The bad news is I’m a prisoner.” She said while taking off her shoes.

She threw them in the corner of the room and jumped on the bed. Jasmine thought for a second. She was too deep in the facility to escape, and this was probably by design. These people had been after her for months, and there was no way she was holding her breath that long.

“Screw this… I should have gone north. I’m so stupid… argh!” She groaned in frustration and thrashed on the bed. There was nothing she could do. Jasmine was at the government’s mercy now.

The mention of other metahumans did make this a little bit exciting, though. She hadn’t seen one in years. Maybe together, they could plan an escape? The doctor did say that she would be able to see them later. For now, though, all she could do was rest until the shower was free, and so she did.

There was no way to know whether she could finally go exactly, so she waited twenty minutes until she rang the bell. A guard opened her door, clearly annoyed, but he already knew what Jasmine wanted. He pointed her toward the communal bathroom. The girl thanked him and made her way toward the shower, which also had a bathroom.

“Finally…” She whispered.

The feeling of cold water hit her like a truck and jolted her awake. She enjoyed cold showers from time to time, and they made her more aware, ready for anything. Jasmine noticed a wooden cabinet in the corner of the room and opened it. She found blue uniforms with a small flag embroidered into them on the right side of their front. Red, white, and that damn eagle.

The girl scoffed. Of course, they’d put the imperial flag on what she was supposed to wear, probably just to humiliate her further.

“At least it’s better than wearing dirty clothes.” She said.

A few minutes later, she was back in her ‘room,’ which might as well have been a jail cell. She wondered about what they were going to do with her. Maybe they would try to find a way to give her abilities to some loyal soldier? There wasn’t much she could do about it, but she couldn’t help but worry. Jasmine analyzed her room again. She couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary, but she would have bet any amount of money there was a hidden camera somewhere.

The hours seemed to blur together. Every time Jasmine looked at the digital clock, time seemed to slow down to a crawl, but she couldn’t help herself. There wasn’t much to do, and there wasn’t even a window to look outside. Eventually, dinner came at eight P.M. sharp. One of the men opened her door, and the blaring alarm surprised her.

“Here’s dinner.” He said. “Lights out at ten, and you wake up at six tomorrow.”

Before he could close the door, Jasmine screamed out.

“Wait! Could I get something to distract myself? Like a book?”

“It depends on how tomorrow goes.” He replied.

“What’s happening tomorrow?”

“You’re meeting the others.”

Jasmine blinked. The other metahumans.