The heat in the Ghetto helped me stay awake during the rest of the night.
I sink into the mattress, my head fitting perfectly against the overstuffed pillow. I don't have the covers on because of the stupid heat circling around the room and the whole of the Ghetto. I still couldn't find a comfortable position, even when I stripped down to my underwear.
I don't think I could have been able to sleep even if it was cool in here. Every time I close my eyes, I see my old friends. When I try to blink that away, I see myself in the prison, then outside in the rain, ready to be hanged. The gallows and the rope they tied around my neck are at the back of my eyelids, constantly there.
I still think about it, even though I was saved by Serena and Nox. I still feel like I'm trapped in that prison cell, even though I'm able to wander freely here.
I always feel the weight of my friends' deaths bearing down on my shoulders, even though it's been two years.
A sharp knock on the door startles me, sending my heart rate up too fast. A flash of the Soldiers escorting me from my cell comes back, but I blink it away just in time. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and shove my prisoner uniform back on as I stumble my way to the door, forgetting the buttons. I yank open the heavy wood too quickly, the gust of cold wind only lasting a few seconds as it blows into my new room.
Serena steps backwards quickly, almost knocking her back against Nox. She steadies a pile of clothes in her hands and looks me up and down, keeping her face impassive as she stares at me for a few good seconds before she breaks into a small smile.
"Serena," I say, smiling back at her and nodding once at Nox who is looking at me with a strange pinch to his dark eyebrows.
"Luca." Serena is still smiling at me. "Did you sleep well?"
"Like a baby," I lie, stepping back to smooth down my big mass of hair. "Did you guys?"
"Splendidly," Nox replies sarcastically as he comes closer to me, moving Serena out of the way. "Are you ready to meet Sigma?"
"Sigma?" My eyebrows furrow. "Who's that?"
"Our leader," Serena replies calmer. "She's the one that wants to meet you."
"Oh. Of course." I shuffle on the spot, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "I must have forgotten."
I guess the nightmare last night sucked every other thought from my mind. Even now, in the light of the Ghetto, Zaire's body is still in my mind, burnt and not going anywhere for a long, long time.
"That's okay," she says, smiling again. She deposits the clothes into my own arms, the weight of them suddenly comforting. "Why don't you change into these and meet us out here in a few minutes?"
I thank her and close the door. I lay the clothes out on my bed before changing out of my uniform, kicking it under the bed in the hopes that it will stay away from my mind. Of course, the only way for me to close that part of prison from my mind, I'll need to burn them or something.
It's been so long since I've seen plain clothes that they almost don't seem real. I slip the simple tracksuit bottoms on, the material slightly baggy on me. But God, they're so much more comfortable then the stupid uniform. The T-shirt smells clean and feels warm as I shove onto my torso, the wound at my back pulling only slightly. It's now more of a dull ache then actual pain.
With the comfortable clothes on my back, it almost makes me feel like I don't deserve such luxuries. The Soldiers made us all feel like we don't deserve anything more than death. The reason I'm here—why Serena and Nox saved me—is that I can serve a purpose, that I'm worth something. Though I still don't know what for yet.
"I'm ready now," I announce as I swing the door open, moving out of the room. Serena and Nox lead the way as I close the wood behind me, following them on their tails, my heart pounding inside my chest, the pain strangling me.
The voices around the Ghetto are different today—carefully chosen words passed between each of the Freaks in whispers. There is hardly any laughter today. A part of me wonders if it's because of this Sigma's sudden appearance somewhere around here, or if it's because it's early in the morning, and all they are seeing are the dull walls and dim lights dotted around the place and nothing else until they wake up fully.
But I think that's just how I'm thinking.
I rub the sleep from the corners of my eyes as I continue to follow Serena down the hallways, passing a few Freaks who look about ready to keel over. One Freak is whistling as he comes towards us down this hallway, a slight hop to his step as his arms swing from his sides.
"Good morning," he says too cheerfully with a smile, quickly pointing in our direction as Serena and Nox offer him a half-hearted greeting back. His whistling echoes around the space as he walks away, the sound following him wherever he's going.
I turn my head slightly to look over my shoulder, watching the Freak's retreating figure. "There's something seriously wrong with that guy," I whisper, my voice still thick from sleep. "No one is that cheerful in the morning."
Nox and Serena both laugh at that, the sound echoing down the hallway. But it's Nox who replies, saying, "He's just a morning person. Leave him be."
We don't pass any more Freaks as we walk up a few flights of stairs, the air turning slightly cooler the higher we get to the surface. We are underground, caved in with a bunch of rubble so we cannot get out and no one can get in. Which means, whatever fresh air is coming in, it's coming in as slow as possible.
We are safe here, is what they tell me. No one will be able to find us.
The three of us enter another long hallway, this one not leading anywhere except a large door at the end of the passage. As we get closer and closer to it, I notice it has the same symbol etched across it. The ∑ is much larger and bolder than what it's like on all the other doors.
Despite never being in this part of the Ghetto before, I can already tell Sigma is behind this door. And my heart seems to know that too, as it hammers repeatedly against my chest, threatening to burst out at any given point.
All too soon, we are in front of the door, the ∑ painfully larger than all the others—much larger than my head. It's a lot bigger than I had expected when walking down this hallway.
What the hell does this symbol even mean? And why does Sigma have it etched into her door? Why is it etched into all the doors? What's its significance?
I want to ask the question aloud to Serena or even Nox, but he taps three times on the door and steps back a few paces, waiting for a reply. After a few seconds, we hear the faintest "Come in" on the other side, so quiet I'm not sure if it was even real. But as Nox turns the handle and steps into the room, I know I wasn't imagining it.
The leader of the Ghetto was not what I was expecting when I walked into the room. I don't even know what I was expecting, being honest. An older woman, perhaps, despite there no longer being any? Someone with so much knowledge that she would be able to tell a thousand stories? Those were the things that I was thinking when I first heard of Sigma, but looking at her now, she's not what I thought.
Sigma stands up from the desk in front of her, her dark brown hair brushing over her shoulders in waves. She's young, maybe a few years older than myself. Her skin is a warm brown, slightly darker than mine, with brown eyes that look both delirious yet sharp at the same time. A white T-shirt and black trousers is all she's wearing, but I can't see what's on her feet as the desk is blocking the view.
I continue to walk into the room, following behind Serena and not really wanting to make my presence known to Sigma, but all she's looking at is me. I feel myself wanting to shrink down, curl into a ball and hide forever, but I keep my head held high and get closer to the girl behind the desk.
"Hello, Serena," Sigma says, her voice echoing around the small room. "Hello, Nox." She smiles at them. "It's great to see you guys again. Thank you so much for bringing him here." Her eyes flick to me and she doesn't look away for a few seconds. Finally, she does, staring at the two in front of me again as she says, as kindly as she can, "May I have a few moments to speak with him alone, please?"
"Of course, Sigma," Serena replies, slowly turning around to face the door. I give her a worried look, willing her to stay with me with just my eyes, but she smiles a small smile and presses her hand against my arm as Nox disappears through the door. "You'll be okay," she says quietly to just me. "I'll meet you with all the others in the main room after you're done."
I give her a quick nod and smile as she leaves, letting the door click shut behind her. Only when the sound of their feet recede do I let myself exhale, the sound traveling around the room loudly, almost echoing against the blank walls.
And then I look at Sigma, the only other person in the room. She's still smiling, but it lowers to a neutral expression when she realizes I'm not going to smile back. "Luca, is it?" she asks, pointing to the chair on the other side of her desk, indicating for me to sit down.
I nod slowly. "Sigma, is it?" I reply, lowering myself into the chair.
"That's right." She smiles again but doesn't lower it even though I still won't smile at her, not until I know who she is or at least feel somewhat comfortable in this place. Right now, sitting in this air-conditioned room, I don't feel comfortable whatsoever. "You have a lovely name, Luca."
I try not to give her a strange look, but I feel myself failing. "Thank you."
She tilts her head to the side a bit. "Did you have Italian relatives?"
I flinch at the words. She probably doesn't mean for them to hurt, but they do. I wipe the look away from my face and give her a small nod, quirking a small—tiny—smile so the uncomfortable look washes away from my expression. "My father was Italian."
Was. Did. It pains my heart to hear those words out loud.
Sigma slowly nods her head and looks down at the desk in front of her, not saying anything else, because there's nothing to say.
My parents are dead. All our parents are dead. And the things to constantly remind us of that? Our abilities. Our scars. Us.
Sigma doesn't say anything for a long, long time. So long that a new wave of awkwardness seeps through the room, settling everywhere around us, between us. Maybe she lost someone else, besides her parents? A brother? Sister? Whatever she's seeing in her mind's eye, it must be really affecting her.
Finally, she sighs and looks up again, a new, happier expression covering her downcast face. "Do you know why I called you in here today, Luca?" she asks, all traces of sadness gone from her voice, replaced with an emotionless tone. Her choice of words make it seem like I'm back at school, where she's the headmistress and I'm the student, having been called into her office for being disobedient.
"Because you couldn't see me yesterday," I say quietly, slowly, "when I first arrived here?"
She must not have liked my reply, because her smile fades slowly and she doesn't say anything back for a few, long seconds. When she finally does talk back, her smile doesn't return. "We saved you from that prison because you are unlike any other Freak here," she says. "You're special, Luca, and we need your help."
I blink at her, the words slowly sinking into my mind. I carefully lean forward, keeping her gaze locked with mine. "How do you guys know what I can do?" I ask, almost snapping the words at her, but I keep my voice low enough to not cause her anger again. First Nox and Serena, and now Sigma? How do they all know about my multiple abilities?
This time, she does smile again. "If a Freak is within a certain distance from me, I am able to read what ability they have. I can see what power they possess inside my mind almost as clear as I can see you now." She tilts her head at me again, like she is reading what abilities I have again, even though she must have already done that, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now.
I shift uncomfortably in this comfortable seat, wanting to shrink under the weight of her piercing gaze.
"For example," Sigma says suddenly, "you currently have five abilities." She pauses again and my heart beats faster against my chest, the sound so loud in my ears I'm sure she will be able to hear it in the silence. "Your first ability is your original one. You can absorb a Freak's ability."
I stay silent, letting her list the abilities I have. The five scars on my back are burning reminders that I'm different from everyone else who's already unique in their own way.
I'm extra different. I'm extra Freak.
"Invisibility is your second ability," Sigma continues. "That was your second power, yes?" I nod and she continues. "Your third was electric manipulation."
"I don't know how to use that one," I chime in quickly without thinking about it.
Sigma stops listing for a moment to look at me with focus. "We can teach you, don't you worry about that." And then she carries on listing: "Telekinesis, your fourth. And the last one... you can put thoughts into people's heads." She fixes her eyes with mine, tilting her head. "Isn't that Nox's ability?"
"He shared it with me; I didn't take it from him."
She nods and doesn't ask if I can use the other abilities she listed, and I don't say either. I keep my eyes down, looking at the surface of the desk as memories rush into my head again. I see and feel Zaire's ability being transferred to me. I still don't know how to use telekinesis. At least, not properly. I can lift small objects that weigh close to nothing, but anything heavier than that is a big struggle. Like Sigma said, I hope someone will teach me how to use them, how to make me stronger.
I blink and look at her hands placed on the desk, her fingers intertwined together on the wood. It was easy for her to read my abilities, even without having to meet me, like when I was in prison. How strong is she? Has she been practicing how to use her ability since she received it? That's probably why she's the leader of the Ghetto. Maybe it's because she is the strongest out of all of us.
I want to ask her all the questions I have stuck inside my head, but she notices me looking at her hands, the way I want to see what it would be like to have her ability transferred to me, to use it for myself. I wonder what it would be like to be able to detect anyone's power without even saying a word to them, without having to touch them—if I practiced it enough, like Sigma must have had to.
"You want to take my ability, don't you?" she says suddenly, smirking a little as she moves her hands away from mine.
"What?" I snap my gaze towards hers. "Who said I wanted to take your ability?" I try to keep my face as impassive as I can without making it seem rehearsed.
"Your eyes did, Luca," she replies slowly, "when they glanced down at my hands, like you wanted to just... steal it."
"I don't steal abilities," I argue, my own anger rising. "The Freaks share them with me." I pause, letting the anger subside. "If a Freak didn't want to share their power with me, I wouldn't take it against their will."
"But you could if you wanted to, right?" She quirks an eyebrow at me. "Take their ability without their consent?"
I shrug, not saying anything because I could. Just one simple brush of someone's hand against mine will force their ability on me. That's why I keep to myself. That's why if someone took one step towards me, I would take two steps back. It's an instinct. It's subconscious. I can't help it.
"Why did you save me from that prison?" I ask quickly, changing the subject. "Why did you get Serena and Nox to bring me here?"
Sigma doesn't take long to reply, but once she finally does, she quirks another grin, all the anger suddenly vanishing from her face as she opens her mouth.
And she explains everything.