[OLD PREVIEW] The Supers Experiment (#1)

Two

The bell rang, making her jump. She was vaguely aware of the other girls saying goodbye to Victoria, of Victoria saying goodbye to her, of the countless students pushing past. It took her a moment to get going, and her head pounded as she was hit yet again with the inner thoughts of everyone around her.

Claire shook her head and walked to class. She slid into her seat seconds before the late bell rang. Mr. Allen began the lesson as she pulled out her notebook, not really listening to what he was saying.

"Can anyone tell me what current events we discussed last time in class?" Mr. Allen asked, his stern gaze moving over the students.

Please don't ask me. Claire racked her brain, but she couldn't remember what they'd talked about.

Mr. Allen looked down at his seating chart. "Claire Foster?"

Claire flushed as everyone turned to look at her.

She didn't like listening to people's thoughts intentionally. It was a violation of privacy. But she was grateful when someone's voice spoke loud and clear in her head, giving her the answer to Mr. Allen's question.

"We talked about that lab accident that happened here in California," Claire said, trying to ignore the fact that everyone was looking at her. "It was eleven years ago, right?"

Mr. Allen nodded. "Correct," he said. He turned to the board and continued to speak. "An accident at Tyche Laboratories caused destructive energy to spread in a five mile radius, leaving the nearby town of Cladis Point with excessive damage..."

While Mr. Allen continued to drone on about the accident, Claire doodled in her notebook. She'd found that concentrating on drawing helped tune out the voices. Occasionally, though, a thought or two would still find its way in. As Claire moved her pencil across the paper, she heard a familiar voice in her head.

No survivors? Hilarious. I can't believe what the government's telling these people.

Claire looked around. It was the voice she'd heard at lunch. Her gaze rested on a girl who had transferred into class a few days earlier. Claire narrowed her eyes and concentrated, trying to determine if the voice was hers.

A flood of thoughts rushed into Claire's head. And they weren't just words. Claire was looking at the whiteboard and the classroom from where the girl was sitting. Her vision shifted as the girl turned to look at Claire.

The scene changed. Rows of men in red armor stood in front of her. She saw a helicopter approaching her, her arm out in front of her holding a gun, her brown hair and dark eyes staring back at her in a mirror.

Claire's eyes flew open. Her vision blurred in front of her and there was a ringing in her ears. It took her a moment to realize she was lying on the ground. She looked up to see her classmates surrounding her. Staring at her.

"Claire, are you all right?" Mr. Allen asked as the ringing faded away. She groaned in response and sat up, grabbing a chair leg to steady herself. Her hand drifted to her shoulders and touched the ends of her hair. It was hers. She was back. Claire looked around, trying to find the girl whose mind she'd read.

"What happened?" Claire asked as she looked around. She winced as a pounding headache started to set in.

Mr. Allen turned to the other students. "Someone should take her to the nurse's office," he said.

"I'll go," someone volunteered. The new girl stepped forward, her long braid swinging behind her.

"Thank you." Mr. Allen turned to Claire. "Wren will help you get to the nurse's office."