SAMUEL felt completely out of place in the hall. It was a vast, grey cement building filled with people his own age who were shouting across at each other and laughing. Although he wished he could join in with them, there was something that sickened him about their carefree attitude. How long will it be before they're all brainwashed―until they turn from happy, carefree teenagers into mindless killing machines? He shuddered, staring determinedly at the ground between his feet as he sat down on the floor.

Suddenly, a booming voice echoed through the room, and everyone fell silent.

"Welcome to the Institute." The voice sounded far from welcoming: it was aloof, speaking in an aggressive monotone.

Samuel glanced around the room, trying to find the source of the voice, but he could not see anyone speaking. Giving up, he shook his head and went back to observing the dust particles on the floor.

"It is the first anniversary of our glorious victory in World War Three. The rest of the world proved to be weak and incompetent, accepting the destruction that was thrust upon it. But we, we proved to be the superior race, we alone survived, all thanks to our Great Leader. . ."

Samuel grimaced at the overly patriotic tone of the voice, the way it sounded overcome with love when it mentioned the Great Leader. It all seemed painfully fake to him, and he took an immediate disliking to both the mysterious voice and the so-called Great Leader. He risked looking around the room, and was horrified to see that many, if not all, of the youths around him had expressions of patriotic zeal and joy at being named the superior race. I cannot be caught out. He immediately forced himself to take on the same expression as his fellows. It feels like I'm wearing a mask.

". . . Our lives now are the best that anyone has ever had. At the beginning of this century, those your own age, along with their families, lived in extreme poverty, very few had any food or clothes to cover their back in what they called the United States. Many had no homes, and the government tore families apart, countless wars occurred in their homeland. . ."

As the voice continued to list the supposed atrocities of the early twenty-first century in the former United States, Samuel dug his nails into the palms of his hands so as to hold in his anger. He could see right through their lies―they claim to give us the best of life, but they murdered my family in cold blood.

He fought to keep his eyes open, but he slowly became lost in his thoughts; his face as blank as a new sheet of paper.

They had been standing on the edge of a cliff when their hunters cornered them. His parents' eyes had been dark and tortured as they looked from their captors to himself and his sister. He was sure that he had heard his father whisper that he loved them both, before pushing them over the edge. He could not remember much of it, it was like a dream―a nightmare, but Samuel wished that it was nothing more than that; it was a reality.

Falling,

Falling,

Falling.

He'd hit the water; the turbulent blue-green liquid churning up dirt around him, suffocating him. He had felt so lost as he was dragged along by the current that was holding him under. He was frantic―he needed to find his sister, know that she was okay. He needed to breathe.

Maybe he'd only been underwater a few seconds, or maybe it was hours. He never could tell. He only remembered the exhaustion of finally being washed up on the shore, lying there half dead, choking up water from his lungs and gulping down air as though he'd never breathed before.

That's where the nightmare got worse.

His sister floating past him; his desperate attempt to pull her towards him. He succeeded in the end, but only to be greeted by vacant green eyes staring into nothingness. Those eyes that always used to sparkle with glee and smile at him. Her limbs were splayed about her at odd angles, lying on the beach like a limp, lifeless rag doll. He wanted to take her with him, to never let go of her, but he could not. 

He dug at the ground with his hands like a person possessed for hours, resulting in a hole big enough for her body to fit in. His hands were blue with cold, his nails worn almost to nothing, only the bleeding stubs remaining. But he barely noticed it―he only had eyes for his sister. He lay her there, shutting her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. His tears and the bleeding fingers which dug her grave were her only tribute as he spread the dirt back over her, his body shaking uncontrollably as he was racked with sobs. He did not know what to say. He'd said everything he'd ever wanted to say to her while she was still alive, and that was a small comfort to him.

He trudged back up the hill, hoping against hope that he might find his parents.

He did.

At least, what was left of them.

He'd seen their blood first, mingling with the rain water that had started to come down, forming scarlet rivers that stained their clothes. He'd stared into the sky, not caring that raindrops were landing in his eyes, and let out a scream of despair. Then he felt numb. He wouldn't have said he felt heartbroken, more like he had no more heart left in him―it had shattered by the river, but now it had disappeared entirely.

Perhaps if he ran far enough and fast enough, this would cease to exist.

 His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he sprinted away, his feet pounding on the sodden earth.

Far away.

I must get far away.

Far― 

He was jolted back to the present moment by a sharp poke in the side of the ribs. For the second time during the gathering, he looked around him, wondering who it could have been. But everyone was still staring ahead; their faces still mask-like.

Soon he realised that he was sweating, and his breathing was shaky and uneven. I can't let my thoughts run away with me again, or I could get into serious trouble. Instead, he focused his mind on the bodiless voice echoing around the room.

". . . But something is threatening the perfect world that our Great Leader is building for us. Defects." there was a look of horror that came onto each person's face at the word, and Samuel forced himself, once again, to do the same. "They appear similar to us physically, but they are sub-human. They do not possess the virtue of human decency, and wish to use their powers to destroy what our Great Leader is creating with their monstrous powers. We cannot let them win. We need you to report anyone who rouses your suspicions in order to eliminate the risk."

Not a face flickered, apart from a few bolder individuals who looked at others with vindictive smiles, clearly relishing the idea of reporting them.

The―until then unnoticed―white noise stopped crackling, and only then did Samuel realise that the voice had been coming from a speaker. He only realised his hands were bleeding when he stopped digging his nails into his palms. He rubbed the blood onto his trousers, hoping no one noticed his signs of pain and anger.

A man, tall and thin, in a large suit came up to the front. His voice was unpleasantly nasal, and his face seemed stuck in the expression someone has when confronted with a bad smell. "That is all for today. Please leave, and head to the dining hall immediately."

Everyone got up hurriedly, and the noise of chatter began to grow, but was quickly quelled by the glares of teachers.

Once Samuel was finally out of the hall, he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd only been in there once, but he already hated it.

 "You okay?" a voice whispered from behind him.

Samuel blinked, turning around to face the owner of the voice. It was the girl who had been sitting next to him - a petite girl with large brown eyes and thick black hair who was looking at him with genuine concern.

"What? Oh. Oh―yeah, I'm okay." Samuel shrugged, trying his best to pretend that nothing had happened to him.

The girl nodded, but did not take her eyes off him―she seemed to be studying him, taking him in. Either way, she did not seem entirely convinced by his response.

Samuel kept a straight face, but was panicking internally. Have I already given myself away? I need to act casual.  

"What's your name?"

"Samuel. And you?"

"I'm May," she gave him a friendly smile. "You can sit with me and my friends at dinner, if you want."

"Oh―um―sure. Thank you." He'd been planning to sit by himself and become lost in his thoughts, but judging by earlier, that probably wasn't such a good idea. In truth, he didn't like socialising, but he didn't like being rude either. So he trailed after May, wondering what her friends were like.

They both walked into the dining room, and Samuel spotted two boys waving animatedly from the far side.

Once they had both got a plate of food, May ran towards their table excitedly, trying her best not to drop her plate or spill her dinner. Samuel followed and sat down, hoping to remain mostly unnoticed. I'm awful at carrying conversations, especially when it's with people I don't know.

"Aide! Slava!" May's voice rang out happily. She greeted them by playfully punching both of them.

"Ouch!"

"Don't be such a baby, Slava." She proceeded to pull bizarre faces, making goo-goo ga-ga noises across at him.

"Don't be so crazy, May, or you'll scare off your guest." He turned to Samuel. "Don't mind her, she's never not crazy. I'm Slava, the most mature of us three."

Aide and May rolled their eyes at each other. 

"I'm Samuel."

"Well, Samuel, you'll probably regret allowing May to drag you here by the end of the meal, but you're very welcome here. I need another sensible person to keep the balance with these guys," he chuckled.

"I missed you and your Russian accent, Slava."

"I missed you and your Filipino accent, May."

"Hey, what about me?"

"Oh, sorry Aide, but I'm surrounded by American accents twenty-four-seven. I hardly miss them." May laughed at Aide's mock-offended expression. "But I did miss you lots, obviously." she grinned.

"Ever the charmer, May." 

"Why, thank you. I know I am. How was your summer anyway?"

"Wasn't any different to every other summer. I went home, per se, but spent most of my time outside my house playing football with other kids my age. You?"  

May sighed mock-tragically. "I'm still the failed child of my family."

Aide and Slava both rolled their eyes. "You've got to be joking."

"What? I am. At home, I'm a talentless blob, and all my younger siblings are like perfect, super talented little angels. It's maddening."

"Sounds accurate."

"Oi!" Despite herself, May burst out laughing. "That's not what you're supposed to say, Aide! You're supposed to say 'No May, that's not true, you're awesome and I love yooouuuu."

"I don't need to say it. We all know that you aren't a talentless blob, and you do too. What about your art, creativity and the fact that you are the human embodiment of an encyclopaedia for random knowledge?"

Slava nodded enthusiastically.  

May said nothing, but grinned, feeling pleased.

There were a few seconds of blissful silence before Aide broke it.

"Aw, crap, we've let our food go cold!"

"Great, now it's gonna be even worse than it is when it's hot."

"Well, here's to having indigestion later." Slava took a spoonful of his food and swallowed it down, grimacing. "Urgh."

*    

JAY looked at Nari with concern. She looked slightly paler after leaving the hall, and he could see her hands shaking as she buried them in her trouser pockets. He put his arm around her reassuringly and waited until everyone else had gone into dinner before speaking.

"Let's take your stuff up and find a room for you, so you can unpack. We'll skip dinner."

Nari nodded in silent agreement, leaning into his arm that encircled her, inwardly thankful for the calm, controlled mood that her best friend nearly always exuded―it made her feel more relaxed and secure.

Stepping apart, they each took their baggage and began to lug it up the stairs, neither of them speaking.

They were quite a few floors up before Jay felt that it was safe for him to say what he wanted to. Even so, he glanced around him, making sure no one else was near before he spoke softly.

"What's wrong, Nari?"

Nari shuddered as she recollected how she'd felt back in the hall. "There were so many people in that room. I could feel all their emotions, and it felt like it was choking me; the fear, the suspicion, the hatred. I tried to not to open my senses to them, but I couldn't control it, and it hurt. I'm sorry."

"What for?" Jay said, sounding surprised.

"I must sound pathetic."

"No, you don't." Jay's voice was firm, but kind. "You've just lived with your mother, of course you would struggle trying to block out the emotions of hundreds of people. But you must learn not to open your senses to what others are feeling. Your power makes you vulnerable, and I don't want you hurt."

Nari wrinkled her nose distastefully. She did not like being called vulnerable at all, no matter whether it was true or not. "A power that makes me vulnerable? What a paradox."

"Being attuned to the emotions of others and taking them on as your own will hardly make you invincible."

"I know. . . it just sucks, being weak and unstable. I want to be strong, not a liability."

"Well, even the strongest people have weaknesses. No one is invincible―just give yourself time to get used to the emotions flying everywhere, and you'll become less susceptible to them. You're a strong girl, Nari. Stronger than most; I know that, I know you can make it. Okay?"

"Thanks, Jay." Nari gave him a small smile, slightly out of breath as she continued to drag her bags with her as they ascended the floors. "How many flights of stairs do we have to climb up? It's exhausting!"

"One more, and then we'll be at my floor."

"Thank the Lord. . ."

They trudged up the last set of stairs, and both breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the top.

"That's my room, just there." Jay pointed at a door with paint peeling from it and a dull brass handle a few metres away. "We just need to find you a room now," he added, smiling encouragingly.

"Oh." Nari instinctively moved slightly closer to him. She hated the fact that she would be in a different room from the only person she knew there. Jay spotted her nervous behaviour, and laughed.

"I'll only be a few doors away, you know. We'll still be close to each other."

"But. . . being in a room with strangers is my worst nightmare right now. Especially, as I'm, well, quite different. . ."

"You'll get used to it," Jay said bracingly. "There's bound to be another friendly person in your room."

"Mm. . ." Nari still looked panic-stricken; dreading being surrounded by unknown people.

"You're going to have to interact with someone in this place other than me at some point, Nari, so you may as well get used to it. It's hard, but unavoidable."

At this, Nari furrowed her brows and took on a look of determination and breathed deeply, although her eyes still looked nervous. Jay grinned to himself. She's adorable when she looks like that.

Jay walked over to another door, pushed it open and pointed inside. "Look 'Ri, this room doesn't have anyone in it yet, you can take it and settle in before other people join you."

Nari gave a small nod, before stepping inside cautiously, pulling her luggage behind her.

"I'll just be in the other room unpacking if you need me, 'Ri."

"Okay." Nari put her luggage on the floor and flung her arms around Jay, hugging him so hard that he was sure his ribcage was being squashed.

"Hey, hey! I'm not disappearing forever; just settling in a few rooms away. No need to be so clingy. We'll still hang out all the time." Nonetheless, he hugged her back, running his hands through her silky, black hair and breathing in her scent.

"Now, go in and unpack your stuff, 'Ri." He playfully shoved her into the room along with her luggage. "I'll just be a few doors away," he added kindly, before walking off to his room.

Nari sighed, feeling exhausted and rather apprehensive about having new room-mates. She dumped all of her clothes on the floor, put them into different piles and shoved them carelessly into different draws. I'll sort them out properly tomorrow.

Yawning, she flopped down onto her bed. The mattress feels lumpy. I miss my home. . . 

Rolling over, she felt something in her pocket digging into her leg, and she took it out. The music box! She opened it and wound it up. The music was so peaceful and dreamy, making her feel as if she was back home, lying on the grass and watching the stars twinkle. She snuggled into her pillow, allowing the enchanting music to lull her to sleep. 

(this is the song that Nari's music box plays, if you wanna hear it!)

https://youtu.be/4Zy2m9RSZHg

A few hours later, Nari woke up again. She opened her eyes blearily, and blinked a few times, waiting for her vision to focus. There was a girl with blonde hair sitting on the bed nearest her who looked thoroughly engrossed in a book she was reading. She seemed to sense that Nari was looking at her, and she turned around, giving her a friendly smile. "Hello, I see you're awake. I'm Aliya. And you are?"

"Nari. Nari Takahashi." she smiled back at Aliya, feeling relieved that the girl she was sharing a room with was pleasant to be around. "There's still an empty bed at the far end of this room. Has anyone else joined us yet?"

"Not that I know of, really. Perhaps someone will join us later."

Right on cue, there was a gentle knocking at the door. Aliya noticed the nervous look on her new friend's face and went to open it herself.

In the doorway stood a boy with brown hair. He looks shy, Nari thought to herself, feeling pity for him. She knew what it was like to feel that way.

He began to speak quietly, looking down at the floor. "I-I'm really sorry, but I can't find anywhere to stay. All the other rooms are full. . . Could I join you?"

Both Aliya and Nari looked at each other, feeling bewildered. They'd hardly anticipated having a boy join their room. But they both couldn't help feeling for the boy, who seemed so anxious and timid.

"Are you sure there's nowhere else?"

"Yes. I-I checked. I'm sorry to be a bother."

"It's okay. If there's really nowhere else, then you can have the bed at the far end."

"Thank you." The boy began to hurriedly pull all his bags down to the unoccupied bed in the opposite corner of the room.

"What's your name?" Nari asked, feeling curious.

The boy looked back at her, and Nari suddenly noticed that he had bright, silver eyes.

"I'm Zayde."

What no one else saw was the smirk that spread over his face as he went to put his luggage away, his back facing the two girls. 

Ooh, suspense aha! Sorry this update took so long, at least it's finally here. Did you like it?

NEW CHARACTERS IN THIS CHAPTER:

SAMUEL - Cynarr

SLAVA - Illeandir

AIDE - NuttyThenutjob

MAY - riansheep

ALIYA - Suzanne1123

Thanks to the last two awesome people for allowing me to use them as extras - I love you both ^_^