I wanted to go to her, but my body wasn’t listening to me anymore and I had problems breathing. I was relieved that she released all her power, at the right time, against the right person. That could have gone badly. What a strong power.

I stood there for several minutes, with my eyes closed, listening carefully, in case someone was about to attack us. My body tensed up, when I heard noises nearing me. I used my mind to scan the place and I’ve found out it was she who was approaching me. Her mind was like a white pale spot, to my senses, devoid of energy.

She slowly neared me and after a few seconds, bent down, touching my face.

Suddenly, I spotted a mind rapidly approaching us. I opened my eyes and with the last drop of energy I didn’t knew I still had, I stabbed him in his chest and he fell down on our feet. But I was too late. One of her attackers managed to hurt her, with his laser gun. She screamed and fell on my chest.

“Mia!”

I didn’t know why, but I lifted her face by instinct and saw that her eyes were half closed, looking towards me. Her face was sweaty and pale.

“You…” She murmured, before collapsing.

At least, she was breathing.

I had found her.

Tired as I was, I couldn’t stop now. I searched for Andreas in the forest and mentally sent him a few landmarks, to make it easier for him to find us. After a few long minutes, all my team had gathered, safe and sound. I breathed out in relief.

“Alex, what on Earth happened? Who attacked you? I flew over the forest to the place where you crashed, but I couldn’t find you.” Andreas asked.

“Yes, I know. I tried to find you as well, but I believe the man who attacked me was also, somehow, blocking my mind. I don’t know who he was or why he attacked me. It seems he wanted to kill me, but Mia intervened.”

“Mia? …how? How was she there?”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know. But her timing was perfect.” I managed a weak smile.

“Ah, about that. I kind of, uh, ‘guided’ her here.” Matt said, clearly not wishing to elaborate.

We were staring at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Yeah… Well, Brian told me her location and I sent some blows her way, you know, to guide her, until she found you. I… uh… I think I broke her shoulder.” He grimaced.

Andreas was right. They really are smart and strong kids. I should trust them more.

Though a healthy amount of common sense wouldn’t hurt.

“Thank you, guys. It was a good strategy.”

Then I noticed Selena. She was hurt and Brian helped her stand on her feet.

“Selena, what happened to you? Are you hurt?” I asked.

“No, don’t worry. It’s nothing serious.”

“Your girl attacked her. She electrocuted and smashed her into a tree.” Brian said.

Selena pinched his arm.

“As I said, nothing serious.” She replied.

“I’m sorry, Selena. Thank you all, for your help. Andreas, can you please take us home? She needs urgent medical assistance. And Selena needs to be given a check as well.”

“As do you, Alex. And what happened to her back?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you everything at home. Let’s go.”

Andreas covered us in his shield, before we flew back home. On the way, I was holding Mia still and I tried to clean her injures, as much as I could.

“She’s feisty. Too feisty.” Matt said upset.

“I know…” I replied.

“How should we approach her?”

“In the beginning, don’t treat her as a hostage and don’t show a hostile attitude.”

“Sure. Should work.”

They weren’t comfortable having Mia around and I couldn’t blame them. I tried to think about ways of making it easier for everyone, but I couldn’t find one. I was too damn tired.

We were close to our house when I took a few moments to analyze her. Her body was as fragile as her mind. And she will now have a big, ugly scar, because of me. If I could have felt the danger earlier, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. I let my guard down, because I grew weakened and distracted by her presence.

‘You…’ She said.

How did she recognize me? I only sent her my voice, not my image. Did she receive more than my words? This was very… interesting.

Her white hair was stained by blood and I tried to wipe it off, like it would have hidden the guilt I felt about her wound. I should stop blaming myself for this. It was an accident I couldn’t have avoided.

Meanwhile, Selena was watching me with a sorrowful look. I took my hand from Mia’s hair and looked away. As much as I tried to keep them away from this burden, I somehow drew them right into it.

We were finally home and Andrea was waiting for us in the front garden, where we touched ground. Andreas brought us down, carrying only Mia.

My sister gave us all a fast look, to make sure we were safe, before stopping in front of Mia, looking up at her, while she was floating in Andreas’ shield. She was trembling and tears ran down her cheeks.

“My Mia… I can’t believe she’s here.”

Her Mia. Coming from my sister, that was a powerful statement.

“What happened to her? Oh my God, her back!”

“Andreas will tell you everything after we take care of her injuries. We need to hurry.”

“Quite true. Let’s go to the lab.”

“Claude, I need you there. She’ll probably be unconsciously releasing lighting all over the place and I need you to absorb it. Would that be ok with you?”

“Of course. Count on me.”

“Great. Thank you. Now, let’s move fast.”

While they headed to the lab, I took a minute to talk with Selena, Brian and Matt.

“You did a great job, guys. Thank you!”

“Anytime, Alex. This is what being on a team means. Besides, you don’t have to solve everything by yourself. We got your back.” Matt shrugged smilingly.

The other two responded with similar gestures.

“You’re right. This is what a team means. Now you should all go get some rest.”

“Yeah, think we’ve earned that. Good night!”

“Good night, guys!” I said.

Selena looked at me just a touch longer, before turning around and entering the house.

***

In the lab, I saw Mia lying on her front, with her body tied down to the surgery table. Andrea had already wiped off most of the blood and was cleaning her injury. I was looking on with bated breath and my guard up, when she started to cauterize Mia’s wound. It was a painful process and I warned Claude to stay alert, in case her power would react unexpectedly to the pain.

Her fingers started to twitch and small tendrils of electricity started to ooze out of her body.

“Claude.” I said cautiously.

“I’m ready.”

Andreas lined Andrea’s body with a skintight, paper-thin shield. Not as durable as a regular one, but it would have to do. When Andrea was halfway through the wound, Mia suddenly woke up screaming and releasing lightning throughout the room. Claude moved fast to intercept and managed to absorb it the nick of time.

“Carry on, Andrea.” I said, not losing Claude from my sight.

The plan was to let Mia disperse a considerable amount of power, until the point came when Claude couldn’t absorb any more. Otherwise, she’d explode, just as it happened in the forest.

After few minutes later, Claude started to sweat and Andrea wasn’t able to concentrate anymore.

“Claude.” Andrea said.

“It’s too much!” He said, straining.

Judging it to be enough, I placed my hand on her head and managed to send her to sleep again, along with her power. She had finally released just enough energy that I was able to do it safely.

Andrea sighted, relieved and bandaged the wound. We took her to her room. I was dearly hoping she would not react too badly, when she woke up. I closed the door and headed to my own room.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Andrea asked all of a sudden.

“What do you mean?”

“Your wounds. You’re in need of medical assistance, too.”

I looked at my body and it was only then that I realized for the second time that my left shoulder was broken and my chest was full of bloody deep cuts.

“Oh. This.” I said absently.

“Yes. That.”

I knew what that tone meant. But I just wanted to lay down and sleep. For a week.

“Ok, let’s go back to the lab.”

“Good.” She said.

It was 6 o’clock in the morning.

***

I woke up around 10 am, with my entire body aching. My chest felt like it was used for target practice. My room was brightly lit by the sun and the birds were chirping by my window. I took the liberty of nodding off, for a few more minutes, in order to clear my mind and organize what thoughts I had, from last night. It felt like it all happened a long time ago.

I slowly got out of bed and took the slowest possible shower, wondering if she woke up. What should I say to her? Maybe I’ll ask Andrea to visit her first, since she was right about the fact that seeing a familiar face would make Mia feel better. I hoped.

In a short while after that, I got dressed and texted Andreas.

“Hey! Are you two awake?”

“Morning! Yes. Would you like me to come to you? Andrea is in Mia’s room.”

“Yes, thank you.”

One minute later, Andreas was stepping into my room.

“Bro, you look awful.” Andreas said jokingly.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I said, slowly hitting his shoulder with an object I created.

“Ha! Someone is in a good mood.” He laughed.

“I’ve been better.”

“You mean happier?”

I ignored his innuendo and asked him to tell me more about Andrea and Mia.

“Andrea tossed and turned all morning, unable to fall asleep. She took a shower, then went to see Mia.”

“How long has she been there for?”

“Not long, she just left. Let’s say… fifteen minutes, give or take.”

I looked at the clock. 10:54 am.

“Are you going to see her? You look anxious.”

I hesitated for a moment, then I headed to the door.

“Yes.”

“Alex, wait. Don’t go now.”

“I don’t have time to waste. I need answers.”

“Yeah, sure…” He sighted.

I stopped in front of her door and heard them speaking. Mia seemed calm, from what I could tell.

I knocked.

They stopped talking and I entered the room. Andrea was sitting on the bed, next to Mia, surprised to see me there. I looked at Mia. She was pale and covered in sheets, looking more like a little girl, than a grown woman.

“You were out of patience, weren’t you?” Andrea asked.

“Andrea, may I?” I politely asked.

“Yeah, sure…” she sighted.

I seemed to be getting similar responses, from the wonder couple.

The door closed and I stopped, at the bottom of her bed.

“Hi! I presume you kind of know me.” I told her.

“Hi! Did you not presume I didn’t want to?”

Alright. Rude and straightforward.

Also, a bit funny, as this is not what a little girl would say. Even as I’ve come prepared for a heated discussion, she still took me by surprise.

“Such a rude way to thank the person who saved your life.”

“You made me think I’m crazy. I thought somebody was messing with my mind, because of a… a stupid evil game. And speaking of it, what a coincidence that all my roads led straight to you, isn’t it?”

Touché. Yet her rude manner continued to surprise me, so I decided to keep the discussion on a formal tone. She was too angry for anything friendlier.

“Your back was hurt quite badly. We cleaned the wound, to the best of our abilities and you will receive a treatment for it. Also, your…”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I like to start with the important things. Call it pragmatism.”

“I need to know what you want from me. Call it prudence.”

Dear Lord! I was mad and amused at the same time. I was looking at her and couldn’t find a way to calm her down. She was watching me intently and seemed to be analyzing all my moves and gestures. I was intrigued by the way she made me feel. As if I badly wanted to leave her room, while at the same time being very curious to hear more about what she had on her mind. She looked away, when she noticed my gaze.

“You need the medicine. If you refuse it, I will force you to take it with no second thoughts. You can trust me on that.”

It wasn’t a diplomatic statement, but I was feeling curious on how she’d react.

“Charming. Do you say that to all the girls?”

“Among other things.”

Why did I say that?

She snorted.

I smiled.

From my observation, she enjoyed being sarcastic and mean, but when somebody gave her a dose of her own medicine, she tended to back down. Good. It was a ‘beat them with their own weapons’, kind of a thing.

In a word, exhausting.

Still, I picked up the medicine from the table and helped her get up. I sat on the edge of her bed, waiting for her to take the pills.

“I will take the pills if you answer me a question, at least.”

I never expected her to make it easy for me, so I nodded.

“Did you… When you woke up, in the forest, was it you who hurt me?”

The normality of this question surprised me a little bit. And another thing I couldn’t tell her.

“No. I would never do such a thing. I killed the stalker who hurt your back.”

“How do you know he was MY stalker?”

Smart.

“That would be two questions.”

She smiled sourly and took the pills. I got up from the bed and headed towards the door. I opened it and just barely remembered I never managed to introduce myself.

Well. I can understand how this started out on the wrong foot.

“I neglected to give you my name. I am Alexander. Alexander Petersen.”

I closed the door and I shook my head. Who am I, James Bond?

***

I went to my room and started to work on the server, from my company. Last night it crashed and Andreas hadn’t had time to help me fix it. The new customers, same as the old ones, started to buy the new licenses I worked on lately, with help from Andreas and the teams, from other countries. The global economy was affected quite badly, but at least the IT domain survived, as it was almost indispensable.

An important meeting with the stakeholders and a new client was about to start. I did a rigorous search on him and I liked what he could bring to my company. He also seemed to be narcissistic and annoyingly proud of himself and his work.

Thus, my strategy was to speak some ‘rubbish’, making two or three jokes about his rivals and making him feel comfortable and safe. I would then start talking about the best and most challenging projects my company handled and the impact they had on the market after the Go-Live. Finishing it off with the simpler ones, which were hilarious and too insignificant for a powerful business, like his company.

The meeting was going great, when a pulse of energy hit my mind and made me lose my concentration. Luckily, we were at that part of the meeting in which the stakeholders were talking amongst themselves, nurturing a good chemistry. I took the time to check the source of the energy.

It was Mia.

I searched quickly, in the others’ minds, to understand what happened, praying for her not to get into a fight with someone. Or worse.

I’ve found Andreas and the scene from outside made me furious. She attacked Selena.

Again!

A few, insincere apologizes later, I left the meeting and went down in a rush.

Selena was protected by Andreas’ shield, while Mia was rabidly trying to get to her. This was outrageous. That girl needed to be taught some important lessons in common sense and self-control. Among so many others.

I stepped between them and took her by surprise, probably, as she stopped the attack immediately.

The distance between us was very small and I could feel her breath on my neck. She was looking at me, undaunted and all I could feel for her, in that moment, was angriness. Fury. And a drop of pity, perhaps. Unluckily for her, it wasn’t enough to make me stop from what I had in mind.

I considerably increased my mental power and it aimed it all on her. It was enough to make a small crack in her mind shield. Enough to cause her a severe headache, which made her nose bled. She leaned her forehead on my chest and hanged her hand on my shoulder.

I stood still, waiting for her to make the first move. She didn’t.

So be it.

“Fight me.” I said.

“Alex, no!” Andrea said. “She’s weak and wounded.”

“She seems perfectly fine to me, if she’s able to pick a fight with Selena.” I replied.

She squeezed my shirt into her fist and looked up at me. She had blood on her lips and chin, and she smiled at me, with blood on her teeth as well.

Lovely.

“You’re on.” She said.

Coming from her, I didn’t expect any answer, but that. She was already releasing electricity in her hand. Too predictable. I grabbed at her wrist, covering her arm with a sheath, to block her power.

I then clutched her waist and pulled her towards, far from the others. I couldn’t risk hurting them.

We stopped and I constricted her body even harder. This time, I will not back down in front of her. Wild brat that she is, it does not excuse her actions and I cannot condone them.

She tried to break my power with her own, but I covered it with another thin sheath. Next, she started launching some kind of lightning bolts into my direction, but I blocked them with my hand. I tightened her waist even harder, until she yelped and I released.

*I will let you win if you manage to scratch me.* I spoke to her mind, as I kept the pressure on her mind shield.

“Get out of my head!” She screamed.

She held out both of her arms, pointed straight at me and sent out a long and sharp needle of electricity. I covered my arm with my power and blocked her attack again.

She released more needles this time, but it was like watching an exercise in futility. Suddenly, she stopped the attack and peered right through me, with her mind seemingly somewhere else.

“I am waiting.” I said.

She closed her eyes and stood still. Was she truly insane? In a fight… this would be suicide. Perhaps she was seeing this as simply another game. I thought it would be interesting to bother her, from whatever it was she was doing. Making her angry would ensure she would lose control. I wanted to see everything that she was capable of.

I gently hit her leg. She yelped and fell down on one knee.

“I am waiting.” I repeated.

Mia ignored me again. I didn’t know what she was thinking about, but I had to admit that it made me very curious. She checked her back, which was bloody.

Damn it. I had forgotten about her back. Have to make this quick, before she hurts herself.

She proceeded to roll her eyes. Her reaction surprised me. She wasn’t worried about the wound, she was bothered by it, like it stood in her way as an obstacle. If I wasn’t so angry, that would have startled a laugh out of me, most probably.

Waiting for her next move, I saw her running to me. This… couldn’t be real. Was she planning to physically attack me? With her fists? Her small fists?

She stopped in front of me, again releasing needles from one hand, and lightning from the other. I dodged the first attack, while grabbing the other arm and covered it again in a sheath.

Mia screamed, frustrated and powerless, trying to punch me with her fist. I stopped it in my palm. It was small. And warm. I pulled her close to me and approached her ear, touching her cheek with mine.

“Mia…”

“…what?!” She said mad.

“You lost.”

I pressed my finger on her chest and propelled her back. Andreas caught her on his shield and let her down gently, laying her on her back.

“Quick, we need to take her to the infirmary.” Andrea said.

On my way to the house, I stopped, next to her body and looked at her. She was half fainted and my instinct was to carry her to the lab.

I chose not to and entered the house.

That girl.

***

On my way out, to a meeting with the Mayor, I’ve listened to Mia talking with my sister, loudly. She was frantically and messily speaking about what happened to her this entire time, since Day Zero happened. As it caught my attention, as well as my curiosity, I cracked the door so I could better listen in. Another unpolite and rude gesture from me. Why did I keep doing this?

She was talking about her new friends, who had found her, and the fact that she was lonely. That she was found by mistake, nobody searching for her and that her brother disappeared. And a lot of harsh words for herself. Too harsh.

I closed the door and went back to the lab. From what we know, of the research we did, her brother was probably kidnaped by the guys who were hunting her, yet I needed to be 100% sure, in order to provide her accurate information.

So far, her brother was seen, on the day right after the incident. A few neighbors saw some men who took him away, so they reasoned that Karl was dead. It was strange though, that starting from the next day, the neighbors claimed that nobody saw him after Day Zero. Something didn’t add up. Was their silence bought or their memory erased?

One of my colleagues, from the team we created, along with the Mayor and other knowledgeable politicians, found valuable information on the group that created panic among the people. According to the intense supervision and frequent checks, it was discovered that all the poor and sick people were being taken away and that nobody has found out where, yet. The men who were doing the kidnaping wore the same uniforms: black pants and shirts, dark-green, perhaps bulletproof vests. Dark-red vests, for those that looked to be the captains. Complete with hoods, along black helmets.

My guess, was that Karl was in the same place as the rest of the missing persons. The major problem was that I didn’t know how to get him back, even if we did discover their hidden place.

And how could I stop Mia from making a stupid mistake, like running away to rescue him all by herself?

Eventually, I decided to take a break after about three hours of intense work, of meeting with the Mayor online and trying to find Karl and my company’s chores. It was already dark outside and when I turned on the light in my room, I found my bed halfway invaded, by papers and documents. I didn’t have the energy to clean up that mess.

While thinking about what to do, something from outside got my attention. There were three people in the garden, seemingly in a good mood. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mia was one of them. I was still angry with her, but the discussion I overheard she having with Andrea calmed me down somewhat, making me realize a few things. Things that I haven’t taken into consideration about her, yet.

The garden was indeed beautiful, as everybody described. The summer smell and the peace it conveyed drove away the stress and fatigue. I tried, as much as I could, to be quiet so as to not interrupt their moment of bonding.

Mia was, understandably, shocked to find out that I’m her neighbor. Nothing new so far. She also claimed that we can’t stand each other. An almost true statement. But either way, I had the answer to her questions. At least, some of them. I should let her know. I realized, a second later, that another conversation with her would leave me completely void of energy. For a second, I was tempted to turn back, but somehow, I wanted to talk to her.

A lot of contradictory feelings today. Must have been hit harder than I thought.

After some small talk with my sister and Andreas, I was left alone with Mia. She wasn’t pleased about that, but at least she agreed to talk with me.

The discussion started with some teasing, as was her go-to strategy, but it turned out to be a constructive one. Apparently, she understood the gravity of the situation and why calling her friends was not a good idea. Realizing this, she grew even sadder, but at least she was safe and sound. I promised her I would find her brother, which I very much intended to do.

The conversation ended with her being angry, again, which was becoming the new normal. Therefore, I left.

I entered my room, arranged it as much as I could and took a shower. This day had been awfully strenuous, but I was feeling surprisingly good by the end of it. Perhaps the effort has not been in vain.

I scanned the house, to make sure everyone was alright and found Mia was still sitting in the garden, all by herself. Her, being alone for too long, tended to raise a few warning bells in my head, so I had to bring her back to her room.

Using my power, I pulled her up to her balcony. I confessed at feeling somewhat curious of her reaction.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” She screamed.

Not so curious now.

“You could catch a cold.” I said, amused.

“Oh my God! You’re unbelievable!”

She stormed into her room, slamming the door.

“Very mature, Mia.”

I almost laughed.

That girl.