━━━─── • ───━━━

• Luna •

"What are you talking about? She's only seven," Luna said, huffing.

"How do you guys know she's made contact?" Amir asked for her. 

"We watched her this morning. She was playing on the campground's vacant playground with someone we couldn't see," Vikram stated. "She just had a birthday. Remember what it was like when you were together."

"I'm confused. She could've just been playing," Luna implied, shaking her head at the notion that her daughter has grown into a reckless soul. He was wrong. She cannot be defective.

"Luna—I felt them. Someone made her laugh. Only Sarah sees them. The same thing happened to you and Amir," Vikram went on, scrunching his brow.

Luna sat down and thought about it. She couldn't see Amir or anybody else, even after months of being next to him.

Amir let go of his grip. Then he went over to Sergeant Decker. "You followed Sarah and Luna secretly for Chase. How did you two meet and why are you helping us?"

"Yes, how?" Luna asked.

Sergeant Decker chuckled. "That's another story."

"We don't have much time for questions and answers," Vikram said. "For personal reasons, Colin was in there. Being there exhausted him. They controlled everything and tortured people. It doesn't matter why." He placed his hand on Luna's shoulder and gestured for her to look up. "What matters, always matters, is the safety of our kind."

"But what about you two?" Amir pondered.

"Is that the question of the day? How are Vikram and I connected?" Sergeant Decker chuckled softly.

"Thanks, Colin, for your input. We've known each other for years. I saved him from a car accident in India one year," Vikram said. "I was driving by and saw the wreckage. I didn't know he worked at St. Matthew's when I was there for Visitor's Day. After I found out he was your guard, Luna, Colin kept an eye on you for me."

Then it hit her. "Decker had the camera set up in both my room and Cami's room."

Colin bowed. "Under Dr. Kim's orders, I switched the tapes in your rooms frequently to cover you girls up."

"They watched Luna and Cami alone," Amir uttered.

Sergeant Decker said, "They did, but I made sure the sound system wouldn't pick up anything they said. The employees believe Luna is imagining Sam, and she imagined him before her powers became active. They tried to get her to talk about it." He stepped back and leaned against the wall with his arms folded. "They knew about Camille being a Tethered Soul before she was admitted, but Luna was the hardest to talk to, so they were strict."

Luna didn't get it. "Why would Chase make me take those stupid tests?"

"Vikram, you should do the honors this time, buddy," Sergeant Decker said to Vikram.

"From what we understand, Chase doesn't know about Tethered Souls. He's being brainwashed by Dr. Kim. Hospitals like St. Matthews is funded by the state, but money coming in from relatives and other means for patients keeps the doctor happy. Chase drove up in his Porsche and started paying for the place for his son. He only knows that Matthew has delusions, and he heard how Luna dreamed of walking through a person's home from a friend."

Sefora.

Vikram continued, "He pushed the wedding plans because he wanted to keep you, control you, and remove Sam from your head, even though he drugged you in the past. Dr. Kim continued telling him that you were seeing your late boyfriend."

Luna raged. Chase wanted her to be shocked all those times so she wouldn't see Sam. He ruined her life after that fantasy of her actually seeing Sarah's father.

That's why she thought she'd been to Amir's house before. She didn't think of it until she told Sefora that day. Her friend told Chase. Sefora protected her because she thought Luna was going crazy again. But Chase did what he did. He witnessed her talking in the air and learned about it from her friend.

Amir said, "I can't wait to get my hands on him and Dr. Kim," which made Luna stop worrying. "I could shock their genitals now."

"It's much deeper than either of them," Sergeant Decker said. "We don't know who runs everything. We call this other one a Tethered Soul Hunter. This person is tethered. They experiment on human anomalies. Several other psychiatric hospitals exist on Earth who do this. And some facilities are worse than St. Matthew's. China. Russia. Brazil. And Sweden. Each has suppliers and dealers. For a big check, staff signs paperwork promising they won't talk about what's happening to people. The hunter doesn't mind that the supplier usually doesn't know anything. This person is rarely exposed and opposes their natural abilities. They're a denier, and they want to find a way to get rid of their powers."

Luna shivered at his last words. Eliminating their abilities? She loved hers. How could they not?

"And finding out their identity is hard," Vikram murmured ominously. 

A moment later, the door flew open. Amir's eyes darted to the opening as Luna clutched down after he reached for his gun. All eyes turned to the bright light shining through; her insides squirming. 

Faisal strolled in, holding a bag and a white box. His hair was short and even, and his clothes were neatly pressed. A big grin was plastered across his cute, tiny face. "Hey, guys!" he said cheerfully. "I have a box of donuts. Different types."

"You guys know how to give someone a heart attack," Luna said, trying to calm her nerves. 

"We weren't expecting you," Amir said in a hollow mood. 

Faisal set the box down on the dresser that held the TV, and Luna stared at them like they were a science project. "It's nice to see you too, cousin. Hello, Luna." 

She looked up as she heard her name. "Faisal. It's nice to meet you." 

Luna grabbed a sheet after seeing her towel. She wanted to speak to Mera about becoming a decent Muslim woman and where to get a hijab. She was too bashful to ask Amir to teach her how to dress or pray, but at least she knew a Muslim who did. She wanted to understand him and learn everything she could about his culture, his religion, and himself.

Faisal laughed at Luna, reading her mind.

Ugh!

"Look what I bought at the gift shop!" Faisal picked a shirt that matched Luna's from his bag. "It's like we were on the same page," he added, staring at her. Anyone who was a TS could read what she was thinking.

Telepathy.

"Yep . . . telepathy." Amir snickered, helping her stand.

"Telepathy," Vikram mumbled, looking at Amir and Luna. "We learn more about each other's emotions than anything else. Luna, Amir can see your past, but I can't. I'm sure he has."

"Yes, I have." Amir smiled and clasped Luna's hand. "A person is not defined by their past."

"But how do you all know what I'm thinking? My telepathy is off," she questioned.

"In the same space, it works well, but if you got hurt, Amir would be the only way to get you," Vikram explained. "He is the one who is attached to your soul." Luna nodded, understanding everything better, and he went on. "I tried to make that treatment less painful for you. I wish I could have done something to stop it."

Luna gulped and looked down, wishing the memory of that moment could go away.

Sergeant Decker curled his lips at Faisal's shirt. "Are you going to wear that?" 

"Yeah, why not? This is a souvenir, and I will wear it around the office when I get back to Pakistan. Our co-workers will love it." Faisal walked over to his bed and started packing his belongings. "Listen, guys. We need to go soon. We have to be at the safe house before it gets too late. Have you two injected the serum yet?" 

"No. Vikram handed it to me, and we started talking," Amir replied.

"You should do it later. It worked like a charm for Cami and Darren." 

"You mean . . ." Luna said, but Faisal grinned wide enough where she could see his back teeth. "They can talk in person, touch, and be around one another?" 

"They sure can," he said, almost done with his packing. Amir had a lot more to do. 

"What are we going to do now?" Amir asked the room. He looked at Luna, and she blew him a kiss. His smile made her feel better.

"Shit's about to get real," Sergeant Decker exhaled. "Dr. Kim will stop at nothing to find Luna. He'll search the town and state, and they've started. They want Cami to expose her partner, then they'll get him. She never revealed Darren, merely their beach time. He'll use Chase to help him, and Chase will pay hundreds, if not millions, for everyone's locations."

Amir stiffened. "They could go after our families."

"They will," Sergeant Decker replied. "I'm sure they already have. Mostly Liberty and Vikram's place in Texas, but both of them have been in Louisiana for a while. They will go after Luna's parents next. Then Cami's. And we know that they are TSE—"

"I'm sorry. TSE?" Luna asked, confused.

"It stands for Tethered Soul Exception. You're the immune ones," said Vikram as he shifted his gaze to Faisal. "Did you lock the car?" 

"You were out in the car this whole time?" Amir questioned, settling his things against the door. Luna pulled up her sweatpants and devoured her delicious donuts. Then grabbed one with a light-brown cream on top.

Amir looked toward Luna, holding her gaze. Allah, thank you for him.

"I went to sleep on the way over here. I woke and saw that we were at our motel, so I walked over to the lobby." He reached down and pulled up his new shirt with New Orleans, Louisiana. "I can't wait to look adorkable wearing this. Luna and I will be twins!" 

It was funny how Faisal grabbed the same shirt as her. 

Hmm. Telepathic stalker.

Faisal looked at Luna and started laughing.

Geez. I need to turn my brain off, she thought.

"Please eat more donuts, guys. Any order will do," Faisal said. "I stood in line for nearly three whole minutes for them." 

Amir scowled at his cousin at the sarcasm, but he smiled when he saw Luna snacking down on a chocolate one.

"Where are we going?" he asked whoever was listening.

"A small community outside of Baton Rouge," Sergeant Decker said. "It's a safe house. The host is trustworthy."

"We need to get on the road," Vikram said, looking at all four of them. He moaned while holding a sprinkled donut. "Forgive me," he said, noticing Luna was making a face at him. "I've gone years without donuts. Liberty and I don't eat these."

Amir placed his last bag by the door. Luna saw these guys pack like they were going on a month-long holiday.

Maybe they prepared themselves for that? 

"I've got all my stuff," Amir said. "Can we load up the car?"

"Not yet," Vikram said, stepping near the window. "We should all go out together, and the four of us will stay in the car until Faisal is finished with his prayers. He said he wanted to pray before leaving."

"I should pray, too," Amir said, stepping next to his mat.

"Don't worry about me. I'll do it when we get to the house," Faisal said, glancing at his watch. "We're on limited time here. Besides, Cami wanted to see how I pray, and I will show her how we kneel and everything."

"Everybody ready?" Vikram asked, standing in the front. 

"I am," Luna said, gazing at the guys. 

Luna saw Sergeant Decker motioning to Amir to pick up something off the floor as they grabbed bags. Her gaze fell to the dresser's edge, forcing her to gape at his swipe. It was a small box of condoms.

Did he think we would . . . 

But when Vikram opened the door, the sound of male laughter rang in her ears. Vikram and Faisal had read her mind, and Amir turned toward the wall, looking like he wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. 

Glancing over his shoulder, Vikram uttered, "Coast is clear."

Amir stepped forward and said, "Let's go."

━━━─── • ───━━━

Hey, the author foreshadowed about the institution back in "Transitioning" when Amir and Luna were discussing the possibilities about being discovered and people paying top dollar to study the science behind it all. A major twist is coming up. 🤓