As we finally pulled into the parking lot, my wrists tingled. The bracelets hummed and buzzed noticeably now.
I didn't feel my powers recede when Ashley activated their function. Somehow, my powers had managed to stay with me, and the bracelets were probably working extra hard to keep up.
Most of the cars were missing, and I no longer had to wonder where the agents who operated here slept. They all went back home after a long day's work.
Ashley and I entered the facility the same way we left.
As we came in, she said, "It's not to late to get dinner, if you want some."
"You're not coming?" I asked.
"I am," she confirmed for me. "But we have to split. I'm going with Ben."
Her unspoken words hung heavily in the air.
"Oh, sorry," I said. I hurried to separate myself from her, turning a corner to take the longer way to the dining hall.
"Uh, yeah," she muttered, her voice laden with guilt.
The funny thing was, I saw passed by Ben outside the doors to the dining hall.
I flashed him an apologetic smile, but he scowled in return. Still holding a grudge.
It was so late that place was pretty much empty besides one lone person, who sat in the darkest corner where no one could see him.
I grabbed my food and thanked the lunch ladies courteously. One gave me a valuable piece of advice in exchange for my kindness.
"You better hurry. Curfew's coming up," she said.
I wasn't surprised. This was an important government facility, and it housed the most dangerous person on the planet right now. Jeremiah couldn't allow Zero to slip out while he was getting shut-eye.
I thanked the woman again and chose to eat my food in my room. I expected to pass my trainer and Ben again on my way.
To my relief, I didn't catch anyone on my route. There was an almost suspicious amount of people missing. Was there no skeleton crew? Surely, the lunch ladies couldn't hold down the fort by themselves.
I reminded myself that the less people there were, the better opportunity I had to check out the ventilation system for a way down to Zero's cell.
And with that, I knew what to do the second I came into my room.
It was highly likely that the door would close on its own because I couldn't do it from either side of the doorway. There was a small slit for it to pass through, as it was an automatic door, so I let it be, grabbing a pencil and paper so I could sketch out the path I was taking.
I sat in front in my bed, tapping my foot impatiently. I was feeling stuffed after my meal. I looked at the remains of what I couldn't finish in the garbage next to the entryway.
It was almost ten at night. When were they going to-
Suddenly, my door slid closed silently and quickly.
The lights dimmed a few moments later, barely illuminating the small space.
"Curfew mode initiated," the same female voice said quietly overhead.
I pulled on the door to make sure it wasn't possible to open. Then, feeling secure, I examined the grate that covered the wall.
Four screws supported it at the corners. After I tested them, I realized I would need a screwdriver or my electricity ability to unscrew them.
I raised my hand, hoping my powers were still available for me to use as I suspected. To my chagrin, they worked perfectly.
Leveling the flat of my palm at the grate, electricity sparked in the air as I used my power to simultaneously twist all four screws out of their places. The grate remained in place, but now it was only held in place by my electricity alone.
I grinned and gently set it down on the floor.
In the same hand, I summoned a tiny sphere of light energy using the unknown reserves I had shored up inside me.
Ashley helped me unlock my total use of this ability, and for some reason, that annoyed me. She didn't even have powers, and yet, she seemed to know more about them than anyone I knew.
With nothing left to hold me back, I crawled inside the metal tunnel. I found my way by sliding along without bumping into anything in fear of disturbing anyone that was still here.
I was forced to travel forward with brief pockets of light seeping in from hand-sized grates on my left. Every time, I looked through in case someone was coming, then pulled out my paper to mark it on my attempt at a map. I was traveling parallel to the hallway, and I was waiting for a turn or intersection that might help me move closer to Zero's location.
I got just what I asked for. Soon, the path ahead of me ended, and I had to choose to go left or right.
I marked this place by putting a horizontal mark on my map.
To my left, a slight downward slope seemed to form direct after another smaller grate in the hallway, which formed at a corner. That's why my path broke off here; there was nothing ahead of me.
I should have gone left, but I was also tempted to go in the opposite direction. A brighter light glowed from there, and it ended after just fifteen feet. Someone was staying in there. I wanted to mark who was in there on my map.
I traveled the rest of the distance on the right with new vigor. I was curious.
When the sound of hushed voices reached my ears, I slowed my pace to a crawl until I could see through the grate. This one was large, and I could get out of I wanted. The problem, however, was that I could clearly be seen.
I backed up so only my eyes were visible behind the grate and took a look inside the room.
I immediately withdrew my eyes. Ashley was changing clothes inside. While that would have convinced me leave, I also saw Ben with her, and my nosy self wouldn't let me leave. Were they sleeping together?
I put both their names and a slash between them, followed by a question mark, on my map. Even if I didn't find Zero's cell, this was good information.
I tuned into their conversation.
"You should give him a chance," Ashley said.
They were talking about me again? Was Ashley still pushing this?
"I don't need to, and I definitely don't want to," Ben argued in his normal voice. "Not after what he did."
"You had your chance to get him back for what he did, and you took it," she said. "He was hospitalized because you couldn't control your emotions. How is that any different from what he did?"
"He's mentally insane," Ben said incredulously. "That's what's different."
"I'm telling you, not anymore. He's different now." I heard the sound of silk against skin, and chose to look again. Ashley was wearing clothes now, so I could watch. They were sitting face to face on the bed.
"His D-I-D could still be present," Ben said, continuing to be stubborn.
"Look, if it was, then why would he attack himself? Zero is no more a part of Jay than Metagor is a part of you."
"We share the same memories," he said gruffly. "Which is the problem, if Jay and Zero are in the same situation."
Ashley leaned closer to Ben. I sensed romantic tension rising. It was almost time to split.
I made a note to look up DID the next time I had access to a computer.
On another note, why were Ashley and Ben in the same room after curfew? My jealously sparked at the thought, but only for a moment before I pushed it down.
I'm jealous because of what they have, not because of Ashley, I told myself.
As I began to pull out, a last word about me from Ashley halted my movements.
"Ben, even though it didn't go as planned, Project Ares ended up working itself out," Ashley finally said.
"What?" I said aloud. Way too loudly.
"What was that?" I heard Ashley spring out of bed. I think Ben did, too.
"Who's there?" he asked.
Crap.
I'd been caught.