I follow the rest of the children to the Rainbow Room. As the door is opened, I'm surprised. There are small toys everywhere. Games, drawing stations, and even a chessboard on the left. It's strange, and I follow Four and her group to the corner. They sit on a couch. It's solid and stiffer than my bed.
"What do you guys do in here?" I ask. Four laughs.
"You can do whatever in here. Most of the younger kids just play, but we use it to train our powers." She says. "Want to play something?" She asks. I shrug.
"Sure," I say. She stands up and leads me over to the corner. There's a maze set up where two metal balls are on either side.
"We have to bring them together." She says. I furrow my eyebrows.
"But how do we move them? They're behind the glass," I say. She smiles and points to her head. I finally understand what she means.
With our powers.
"Go!" She says. I focus my mind on the ball, but nothing happens. Her ball has already started moving upwards and around a corner. I huff and focus again, blocking out everything. I imagine the ball moving up in my mind. I imagine it going around the corner. I exert my imagination and lean forward.
It moved.
Only slightly, but it did what I wanted. It made it around the corner and fell limp at the next. I smiled and tried to replicate it.
------
We finished the game. It took a while and Four did most of the work, but eventually, I got around the harshest corners and the metal balls met each other.
"Nice. You're really good for starting so recently. How many times have you trained?" She asks. I bite my cheek.
"Only once, and I'd hardly call it training. Papa made me crush a coke can," I say. I realize I had just called the man who had forced me into this place, Papa.
Willingly.
I shudder and look back at Four. She's surprised.
"Impressive," She says quietly, almost as if she was speaking to herself instead of me. I smile and we make our way back to Two and Three. They're arguing. Four starts speaking, but before she can finish her sentence, Papa opens the doors and walks through. All of them stiffen and go quiet. Papa looks around the room for a moment before making eye contact with me. I take a quick intake of breath as he walks toward me. The rest of the children go back to their playing as they realize he's not there for them.
"Seventeen. Are you ready for training?" He asks. I look back at Four and she widens her eyes at me, surprised I haven't answered him yet.
"Yes," I say. He smiles and takes my hand, walking out of the Rainbow Room.
I look around one last time at the children playing. One of them looks up at me. She stares until I can't see her anymore.
As the doors close to the rainbow room, the silence engulfs me. It's quiet again and the irritable echo of Papa's shoes are back. I'm nervous, and I can hear my heart thumping.
We don't walk for long before reaching a room. It isn't any room I've been in before. Papa opens the door and lets me in. It's plain and white, like everything else. There is a table with two chairs and a large mirror behind it. One-way glass, I'm sure. Papa takes a seat in one of the chairs, and I sit in the other.
"You've been very obedient so far Seventeen. I'm very proud of you. It makes everything much easier," He says. I don't smile.
"How old am I?" I ask, out of the blue. He raises his eyebrows.
"You are seventeen. Funny, isn't it?" He says. I don't laugh, but it feels nice to know something about myself.
"Are you going to shave my head?" I ask.
"Full of questions today, are we?" He says. I await the answer. "We'll see," He adds. I bite my lip and lean back against my seat.
"Anyways, let us get started." He says. He looks to the door and I realize for the first time that there are two people standing guard against it. One of them is familiar. It's Peter. Papa beckons with his head and Peter comes over, holding a helmet. It's similar to the one I had yesterday. Once again he moves the hair out of my face and places the helmet on my head. He clips it under my chin and I watch his retreating back as he takes his position next to the door.
"We're going to try something new today. Power isn't just physical, Seventeen. It's mental, too." He explains. I slightly tilt my head, recalling what Four said earlier. Papa takes a photo out of his pocket and slides it across the table. I look down at it. It's Two.
"I want you to find him," He says. I furrow my eyebrows.
"How?" I ask. Papa smiles.
"Focus on him and close your eyes. Just search through your mind. I believe you can do this."
I take in another breath. I look once more at the photo, studying his features. After I'm sure I have his face locked in my mind, I close my eyes.
"Where is he, Seventeen?" Papa asks again. I wish I could yell at him to be quiet. I focus. His face is in my mind and I search for him. There's a strange sensation and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do this. I'm almost about to give up when I get a glimpse of something.
"Come on Three, Elevens an idiot. We can take her if she ever tries something like that again." He is saying. I hear it in my mind. He's in the rainbow room, in the same corner I left them in.
"I found him," I say.
"What is he doing?" Papa asks.
"He's in the rainbow room. Talking to Three," I reply.
"What are they saying?" Papa asks again. I focus harder.
"They're talking about Eleven," I respond.
"Thank you Seventeen, you can stop now," Papa says. I open my eyes and am quickly brought back to the real world. The light is slightly blinding and I look at Papa. He is furiously scribbling notes and he looks surprised. He looks up suddenly and gestures to someone. Before I know it Peter's hand is under my chin again as he unclips the helmet. It's off my head and Peter is leading me out of the room.
"What about Papa?" I ask. Peter shakes his head as he starts walking. I have to take brisk steps to keep up with his long legs.
"He's busy. Would you like to go back to the rainbow room?" Peter asks. He looks at me, awaiting an answer. The truth is I haven't heard a word he has said.
Why did Papa want me out so suddenly? Was it something I said? I wasn't sure if that was how training sessions were supposed to go, but personally, it didn't feel successful. At least I had learned how to find people within my mind. Four was talking about it earlier. Maybe she'd be impressed again. And who was Eleven? What did Two mean when he said they could "take her if she tried something like that again?" Tried what again? Take her as in killing her? My mind raced.
"Seventeen?" Peter asks. I snap out of my thoughts. He had stopped walking and is looking at me worriedly.
"Huh?" I ask. He furrowed his eyebrows.
"Do you want to go back to the rainbow room or not?" He asks. I look around.
"No. Can I go to my room?" I ask him. He stays quiet for a second, looking at me. Finally, he nods.
"Sure," He says. He turns around and I walk beside him as we travel to my room.
"You did well in there. It's impressive for your first training," He says. I smile.
"Thanks. Four said that too." I reply. I see him glance at me again.
"Listen Seventeen. You must be careful when choosing who to surround yourself with. I know you're a kind person at heart," He says, turning his head to me as we walked. I turn my head and look at him with pursed lips. He still did seem around my age, but he was much taller than me. I tilt my head slightly to meet his eyes.
"Why are you telling me this?" I ask him cautiously. He doesn't say anything.
We reach my room quickly and he unlocks my door.
"I'll come and get you for lunch." He says. He went to leave, but I quickly grab his arm. He turns around quickly and looks surprised.
"Do you need something?" He asks me.
"Listen Peter. Can I, ask you some questions?" I ask. He raises an eyebrow and turns around so he is standing in my doorway, facing me.
"That depends, what do you want to ask me?" He says.
"Why aren't there any windows?" Is the only question I can think of through the flurry in my mind. I think I see him smile.
"That's your only question?" He asks. I shake my head.
"No. I'm just confused. About everything. Why am I here? What are we preparing for? Why me?" I ask him. I put my hands in front of me and look at them, bewildered. I'm terrified of myself.
"Seventeen," He says sternly.
"That's not my name," I reply murderously. "I don't know what my real name is, but I know that I'm not something they can brand. I'm not a number," I spat out. I look at him and his eyes are filled with sympathy. As if he could sympathize with me.
He holds the hands that I had brought out.
"Seventeen," He says, softer this time. "I understand what you're going through, and-"
"No, you don't," I reply. He looks away and I sense something strange. He couldn't possibly know what was happening to me. Can he?
"Just be good. Nothing good will come of acting brashly. Listen to Papa." He says. I see him glance up to the corner of my room. He hesitates before he leans forward, towards my ear.
"And listen to me. I will get you out of here," he says. My mouth falls open as he pulls away, and I know he can see the surprise in my eyes. He gives me a supportive smile before dropping my hands and closing the door. I can hear his key locking my door and my hands suddenly feel cold without his touch. His words linger in the air.
He'll get me out of here? How? This place is a prison. I sigh and turn around, but not before glancing up to the corner of the room where he had looked earlier. My mouth falls open again.
There sat a small security camera, flashing red light.
I'm never getting out of here.