Freaks

40 • distractions

"It's okay, you aren't wrong — your aunt does usually call first."

"Is she alright?"

"Yes, don't worry. She's fine, and so is Cleo."

"And you? Are you alright too? Are you... safe?"

The line goes silent. For ten seconds, then thirty.

"Are you?" he finally replies. "Your aunt and I are worried about you, Emmy. What happened with the Masters' kid? We've been keeping away but I don't like this. If you're in trouble you should tell us."

"I'm not in trouble, Uncle Ted." Not yet anyway. "You don't have to worry about me."

Uncle Ted is quiet again, almost as if he heard the unvoiced part of my response. He sighs.

To fill in the silence, I change the subject, "How are things back in Haven? Everything alright there as well?"

The silence extends. 30 seconds, then 40, then...

"Still the same old same old." Uncle Ted finally breaks it. "Richard Masters won the election — not exactly much of a surprise — so can't say there are any big changes coming to Haven any time soon."

Hearing Mayor Masters' name fills me with dread. Despite everything, the mere reminder of his existence instantly makes me queasy. I know it shouldn't. There's no point spending so long convincing Uncle Ted I'm safe if I can't convince myself. Richard Masters and his machines are far away from me. There's nothing for me to worry about.

And yet... when I close my eyes, I imagine I'm back there, strapped down and struggling. Alone. Helpless. Powerless.

Was it really the right idea to leave my aunt and uncle alone with him in charge?

"Emma?"

Uncle Ted coaxes me out of my reverie and I manage to force myself to continue the conversation until he is convinced that I'm well and happy. We talk about school and exams, my aunt and Cleo's hijinks, then he asks after Cass and Cole (and again about me and Cole...), then we say our goodbyes and Uncle Ted ends the call, leaving me alone to my thoughts again.

The quote from that page is still in my mind, so I go back to read it again.

'Often, it takes silence to reveal the source of the noise.'

The writer goes on to explain its meaning.

'To be truly able to get to the root of a problem, one needs to filter out all other distractions: all the red herrings, all the false friends. Rather than in the chaos, it is in the calm that the true problem can be identified and the best solution begin to be found.

This, in essence, is the principle which led to the formation of The Superhuman Project.'

I brush my hand over the words in bold. Now I'm beginning to understand why Professor Horowitz wanted me to read this book.

I reach out to turn the page when the sudden sound of the door slinging wide open startles me enough to drop the book in my lap and lose the page.