Beyond Control

Chapter 22

A scream broke my concentration off my power. I opened my eyes as I heard several other shouts around the building. There were thundering footsteps hammering down the ground, as if the end of the world is near and everyone's fleeing from this place to see the world once more before it's destroyed.

I had been trying to get hold of my power but all I could do was hold it for a few minutes and after that, the connection simply broke.

And I presumed that those screams had been the people who were caught in my influence.

Though I'd been practicing for days, those practices are as insignificant as not practicing too. I could only take control for a while, which I'm not satisfied with.

I shut my eyes for a while after the screams had been terminated, thinking, perhaps I should begin on the next undiscovered influence of mine. The second most familiar ability I wield was towards ice manipulations.

I recalled the time when I was able to resurface the entire room with ice, turning it into an ice rink. I scoffed, thinking of the many ways I could turn this crazy ability into something, a weapon perhaps, to escape.

But what's warding me off from making an escape is the heavy metallic door locking me in this room. I had discovered that I wields control towards electricity, ice, heat, earth and whatever the influence was when I felt pain.

A while later, the lights turned on all at once. I buried my face into my knees as the sudden light felt like an intentional attack to my eyes.

I heard the metallic door open and the same metal sound I hear everyday when a tray of food was pushed in through the marginally lifted door.

I rubbed my eyes, preparing a better vision to see what meal they'd provided me this time. I see the indifferent salad given, about half of the meal was salad and the other was a tiny portion of an apple and a few pieces of chicken. There's a new bottle of mineral water beside it and a single pill placed on a piece of tissue.

I strolled across the room to retrieve the meal after the door was closed since that's the one of the few rules they'd stated.

As I approached the observation room, Kaysen walked in. His gaze doesn't seem as pleasant as it was last time we met. He looked like he had just swam across an ocean and back to get to my cell.

"What were you doing before the lights turned on?" He asked, tone impatient while I stood in a nonchalant posture.

"Contemplating and dreaming of life." I answered right away since that had been the answer I prepared, given I have to answer questions like that in any situation.

With a speedy response like that, it made my lies seem more truthful and believable. He stared at me for a while, locking on my gaze as if to read my mind.

"Are you hurt?" He asked all of a sudden, which was unexpected.

"Why?" I spoke in return.

"Were you self harming?"

"Why?"

He took a deep breath, which I knew that he's keeping his temper under control in order for me to answer without having to force me.

Kaysen said, "A few workers encountered heart problems just now, and it was proved to be under your influence.

"What were you doing?"

I almost smiled in front of him, since that meant that my practice had been a total success. I resisted the cheering thoughts which would've made me laugh out loud and stood in utter shock.

I was about to tell him that I was doing nothing, but something came up in my mind abruptly.

Instead of answering, I asked a question, "Where is my mother?"

He shook and tilted his head down as if begging me to be serious, "Crystal, I'm looking for an answer."

"You can tell me where my mother is and tell me what that pill is, in exchange for answers." I indicated the meal prepared on the tray and for once I heard confidence growing in my tone.

I saw him hesitate for a while, glancing at his phone blankly as he thought.

It didn't take him long to think of a defense, "I'll send someone in to check on your body if you don't answer me."

That would've made me flinch if I'm still the fearful and anxious me, but I'm a different person now.

I stood still with my arms beside me, shoulders thrown back, "Sure," I said, "You can try that."

I welcomed it instead of fearing it since I wanted to go for a run.

I knew that the past few escape attempts had failed and the next one might just be the same, but I have a slight feeling that with this ability of mine under control, the chances might be ten times my last attempt.

He stood there, still not wanting to leave despite my disobedience. He was thinking, thinking of ways to force the answer out of my mouth.

I was anticipating him to use my mother as a hostage again, which would make me run out of tricks instantly and surrender my answers. I was ready for it, preparing to pull out my final card to attack him whenever necessary.

But what I expected was beyond his final decision. He then spoke with an exhausted voice, "Fine then," he said, "I'll send my workers in to check on your body."

After that, he left.

I was shocked to hear that response instead of other ways he could use to threaten me. Then, I began to wonder what mad tricks he can have up his sleeves.

I retreated to the side of the door and stretched my arms, preparing for another run.

If that's possible.

But if I get the chance to get out of this cell, I won't let myself fail another time.

I waited and waited, and finally I heard the long-awaited footsteps.

I brought myself before the window and saw the few workers entering the observation room. All of them are males and no females were sent in.

They seemed reluctant to be sent into this, but money had been their motivation to do such things. They came in clumsily, almost knocking the drawers over.

I'd underestimated them then. When the door opened up and they stepped in, I saw that one of them, the one leading the others, was holding a loaded pistol.

Despite the risk of death or a heavy bullet injury in one of my limbs, I lunged myself forward without a second of hesitation.

I focused my attention into my abilities and found all the connections around me, bounding my energy towards their organs.

Before they could pull the trigger, I felt my energy shrink, as if contracting and seizing their organs mercilessly and impatiently.

All of a sudden, I could feel the power that I'd been wanting for all my life. The power to control everything to protect myself whenever someone dared to make me look bad.

The man holding the gun had already gotten both his hands on the pistol and one moved away from sending a bullet into my flesh. But he froze mid-action which terminated his initial plan.

The three workers fell down in no time and collapsed. The gun dropped out of the man's grip and flew close to my feet.

I glanced at it and clasped it in my grip at last as I ran out of the cell before the others saw what happened on the cameras.

With that, I ran again.

But this time, I have a chance to defend myself.

No, not defending myself, it's retaliating.

I ran down the hallway I once did and reached for the room where the vents are.

When I tried to pull the vents open, I realized it was locked. No matter how hard I pull it, it doesn't come off.

It was then, the power went off row by row, section by section in the building. A figure came into sight when I was rushing out the door. I bumped into it and fell before I realized that the figure belonged to the man who once tried to save me.

'Felix'