A/N: There have been MAJOR CHANGES to this chapter!

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Elayne Woodson, you are one of the Gifted.

Questions are rocketing through my mind, ricocheting off my skull like ping pong balls, leaving me unable to concentrate on a single one.

"The story behind the Gifted starts only a few hundred years ago," Kira says, her voice taking on a matter of fact tone that only enhances her appearance of a professor giving a lecture. "It was back when genetic engineering was still legal, and quite common, at that. I do think scientists were a little obsessed with it, because although it was generally used to treat diseases and such, they eventually started doing it almost for fun. They would experiment on humans to push the limits and see what sorts of crazy things they could do by making slight changes to certain genes.

"Obviously, some things--many things--went wrong... but other things went right. And among those things was the first ever person whom we now consider Gifted.

"The success only revamped the scientists' enthusiasm for their little experiments. Soon enough, more and more Gifted individuals were popping up, each with varying abilities, which we now call Gifts, as scientists discovered new genes that produced different results.

"And, of course, these Gifted people started having children, and then they had Gifts too. The thing is, when two people with different Gifts had a child, the child would usually have an entirely new Gift--and when the scientists got wind of this, they went insane. In their eyes, the opportunities were endless. They didn't have to manually fiddle with the genes of their subjects all the time anymore. Instead, they could breed humans--breed them like animals. So, of course, that's what they did."

"Wait a minute," I interrupt, pressing my fingers to my temples. "I don't understand. You say that genetic engineering created the Gifted, but what are they? What do you mean by abilities?"

"What are we," Kira corrects. "Dr. Larson and I are Gifted too, and so are you. We're just ordinary people, but with slight tweaks in our DNA that make us, well, extraordinary. And the Gifts vary quite a bit, actually. Some can read minds, others can walk through walls, still others can fly... and then there's you, controlling fire. Your Gift is quite suspicious, actually. The last recorded case of a Gifted individual with the power of controlling one of the elements was centuries ago. And that was back when scientists were still manipulating people's genes themselves. That is, the individual who could control an element was just a normal human who was genetically engineered, not born to two Gifted adults."

I gape. "Fire--but--"

"I know it's unbelievable, Elayne," Dr. Larson says. "But what happened with your Examination? That was all you. You have the ability to summon fire at will, and it is indeed something that we haven't seen in a long time."

I feel like I'm going to throw up.

"Please don't," Kira mutters, taking a step back, and I realized I've spoken aloud.

Dr. Larson pushes a glass of water at me. "Here. Drink some water and maybe you won't feel as sick."

I remain frozen, staring at Kira. I know that, logically, what she's claiming must be true. But at the same time, I can't believe it. I don't want to believe it.

Dr. Larson taps the glass with his finger. "I'm serious. You look like you want to faint. Drink a little and see if you feel better."

My hand trembling, I pick up the glass and take a sip. As soon as I do, the churning feeling in my stomach settles a little, and I gratefully gulp down some more. It tastes slightly different from normal water, I realize, and has a tangy flavor. Maybe it's some sort of anti-nausea thing he put in it. If it is, then it's certainly working.

"Anyway," Kira says impatiently, "I was in the middle of something. What was I talking about again? Wait, never mind, I just told you about the breeding thing, correct?"

I don't even get a chance to nod before she plows ahead.

"Now, the Gifted were not all that pleased about this, but they didn't have much of a choice in the matter. The 'breeding' went on for decades, and the people involved gradually got more and more upset at being treated like lab specimens rather than the humans they were. Finally, at one point, they all banded together and staged what was essentially a rebellion.

"Long story short, it was practically a war, and in the end, they reached a stalemate and made a treaty. The Gifted were allowed to live on their own, completely undisturbed by the normal government, but they would also receive no outside aid if they were facing problems. They would be given a considerably large area to live and would be shielded from all outsiders, and could also build up their own protection, so that they could control who was allowed into their new home--and this included government officials themselves. But they also would not be allowed to leave--for the Gifted were to be forever kept secret from the people, their story erased from history books as if they never existed. And, of course, because they didn't want any more of these human experiments happening, there was also an agreement that genetic engineering would be outlawed. In fact, tampering with humans' genes would be a crime of the highest offense in both the normal world and in the smaller world the Gifted had built for themselves.

"And so the treaty stuck. It has changed since then, of course. For example, fairly recently, the rule about no Gifted being allowed out of the land they were given has been relaxed, so that only certain people--those who are cleared by the government, their Gifts being approved as being 'weak' and therefore are at low risk of exposing the Gifted to all of society--are allowed to leave and live in the Sectors. But that's irrelevant.

"My point in all of this is..."

Kira finally takes a deep breath, pausing from her long-winded story. I get the feeling that she is about to drop an enormous bomb on me--bigger than the one she's already dropped, of course. The thought makes me feel sick, and I grab the water glass again, gulping down half of it in one go, trying not to make a face at the weird taste (which seems even stronger now).

"My point is that the Gifted are still very much alive and thriving, living in a blocked off area of land just outside of the City, in a place we loosely refer to as the Academy. There are tens of thousands of people living there. It's where Dr. Larson and I are from. And that's where you should be too, because you are one of us.

"Except, clearly, you're not. Which is a mystery we're determined to solve.

"And because the treaty states that no Gifted is allowed to live outside our walls without clearance from the government, your very existence here is a serious breach of the law. So, when we return to the City, we're taking you with us."

It takes me a couple of moments for her words to register in my head. And when they do, I spew out all of the water in my mouth.

Kira shrieks and jumps back as water sprays over her clothes, and I clap my hands over my mouth in horror. "Sorry!" I gasp out. "I didn't mean--sorry--" And then my shock melts into anger. "But you can't just drop something like that on me and not expect a reaction! And--you can't just take me with you to the City without my permission. That's essentially kidnapping!"

Dr. Larson clicks his tongue. "Actually, it's more like following the law. We'd only be in more trouble if we just left you here, knowing you're one of us. And trust me, you'd be better off with us anyway."

"My parents are here!"

"Plenty of people live without their parents," Kira replies nonchalantly.

I glare at her. "Well, not me! I'm not leaving them!"

"You honestly don't have a choice in the matter. No amount of complaining is going to change this."

Before I realize it, I'm on my feet, my hands planted on the table. "I don't care what you say. I am not coming with you. And you can't make me."

I don't even know where this is coming from. Normal Elayne would never talk back to an adult like I am right now. Then again, normal Elayne has never been in the outrageously unfair position that I am currently in.

"Oh, we can definitely make you," Dr. Larson tells me, his voice suddenly sounding threatening. "We don't want to force you to come, but if you keep insisting that you want to stay here, we really won't have a choice. You have to come with us--we can't let the existence of the Gifted be revealed, and with you staying here, there is an extremely high risk of that happening. Not to mention the fact that we need to train you to control your Gift, and, on top of that, we also need to figure out how exactly a Gifted person was born to two non-Gifted parents, because that should be impossible."

I stare at him, open-mouthed, for several moments. And then I whirl around to face the door. "I am not just your little science experiment," I snap, not bothering to look at their faces. "And if you think I'm going to keep this information from my parents, you are very much mistaken. There's no way they'll let you get away with this."

"Actually, you are not going to tell your parents any of the information we just gave you," Kira says, moving to block my path to the door. "You see, it's highly confidential. The only people allowed to know it are the Gifted and certain high-up government officials. You are one of the select few people the information is available to, but unfortunately, your parents are not. They can't know."

My eyes narrow. "You said that it was my choice whether to tell my parents or not!"

"We lied," she responds shamelessly.

I think it's the casual way she says it that truly gets to me. "You can't just do that!" I spit out furiously.

"Well, we did."

I have to clench my fists to prevent myself from running forward and punching her in the face. And the worst part about this is, I really am powerless in this situation. I don't doubt that the law itself is on their side.

How long are they staying here? Surely not more than a few days. Does that mean I have a week, at most, to pack up all my bags and go with them to the City? I'm supposed to just up and leave like that? If I'm not allowed to tell my parents what's going on, what will they say?

Oh, god, that's a really good question. "So, if not the truth, what will you tell my parents when you--if you--take me with you to the City?" I ask bitterly.

"Oh, we'll make up something," Kira says, waving her hand as if to say that it's nothing. "Don't worry about it. Whether we manage to convince them without any extra aid, or whether we have to plant false memories or something, we'll figure something out. That's the least of our concerns right now."

My attention snags on one specific part of what she said. "You'd plant false memories?" I shriek.

"Only if we have no other choice," Dr. Larson says hastily. "They'd have to put up a serious fight for that to be necessary."

If Mom and Dad are told that I'm being shipped off to the City without them, and then aren't given a clear explanation why, there's no way they're not putting up a fight.

He'd alter their memories. That's--that's a sort of violation of privacy I'd never imagined.

The very thought makes my fury grow even more. I'm practically shaking in anger now, my teeth clenched so hard my jaw is starting to ache--

One of the legs of the table in front of Dr. Larson goes up in flames.

I scream, leaping backwards. The man yells out too, jumping up and scrambling away as the flames eat away at the wood.

"Get the water!" Kira shouts, and rushes forward, snatching the pitcher of water and my water glass off the table. Then she dumps the contents of them both all over the burning table. It makes a loud sizzling sound as the liquid makes contact with the wood, and the fire slowly fizzles out, leaving thin tendrils of smoke rising into the air. The table leg is now noticeably charred, and I wince at the sight.

"Sorry," I whisper.

Neither of the adults are paying attention to me. "Security cameras," Kira gasps, looking wildly at the corners of the room, her gaze searching every ceiling tile. "I know--I know you made sure there's no sound recording devices, no audio, but what about visual--"

Dr. Larson's face pales. "No--I didn't think--"

Kira's breathing speeds up. "Oh, god. Do you think anyone is monitoring this room right now?"

Dr. Larson, if possible, gets even paler. "I don't know. But stay here--I'll go check. I'll be back as soon as possible."

He practically runs from the room. As soon as he is out of sight, Kira whirls on me. The expression on her face makes my earlier anger seem trivial, and I shrink back.

"What--were--you--thinking?" she grits out through tightly clenched teeth.

"It was an accident," I whimper.

"How many other accidents have you had?" she demands, her voice dangerously low. I have to fight the urge to turn around and bolt.

Something tells me it would not be a good idea to lie to her right now. "Just one," I breathe out. "But it was in the bathroom. There aren't any security cameras there... I mean, I don't think there are."

She takes one step closer, and I involuntarily take a step back at the same time. "Now, do you understand," she hisses, "why we need to bring you back to the Academy with us? Why you need to be trained to control this? Do you not see the danger that you and every other Gifted individual would be in if word got out of our existence? If everyone knew that there were some people who could set things on fire with a snap of their fingers, and yet others who could control them like puppets with a single thought, or lift cars with one hand, or summon hurricanes--can you not comprehend how much they would fear us? How much they would want us dead?"

I nod slightly, too terrified to do or say anything else.

"You say you don't want to be our science experiment," Kira says, eyes still burning with anger. "But tell me, would you rather have your DNA sequenced so that you can learn what it is that gives you this ability and if it's any different from other Gifted people, or would you like to see the sorts of tests other curious scientists would perform on you? Do you want to learn to control and suppress this ability you have, or do you want it to constantly be exploited against your will?"

"The first one," I choke out.

Kira's face relaxes a little. "Then you have to come with us," she says.

"For how long?"

She shrugs. "Most likely? Forever."

"What?"

"Don't you start arguing this again," she snaps.

"You mean I'll never, ever see my parents again?" I whisper, feeling like my world is collapsing around me.

"Don't be so dramatic," Kira groans. "We are not completely cut off from the normal world. We have phones if you want to talk to them--"

"But that's not the same as seeing them in person!" I exclaim.

Kira rolls her eyes. "I'm sure we would be able to set up an occasional visit. I doubt you'll be allowed back to the Sectors, and they certainly won't be allowed into the Academy, but maybe you could meet in the City from time to time. We are not completely cutting you off from them--we are not that cruel."

Could've fooled me. But I keep that thought to myself.

Dr. Larson walks in at that moment, panting as if he just sprinted down the hall. "It's taken care of," he tells Kira. "There was a camera, but no one was monitoring it. And I've asked Reyna to delete the footage before anyone sees it."

The woman exhales, tension leeching from her entire body. "Oh, thank god."

He turns to me then. "And you--"

"I'm coming with you," I blurt out before he can finish his sentence, and he blinks in surprise.

"Well, what a sudden change of heart! Not that I'm complaining, of course, I'm just a little shocked--"

"But," I interrupt, "you have to promise me that I'll get to see my parents in person sometimes. In person. Otherwise, I'm not agreeing to this."

The man tilts his head to the side, considering it. "We could probably make that work," he says eventually. "Probably."

I shake my head. "I want you to swear it."

Dr. Larson's eyebrows raise up. "I'm not sure I can--"

"Oh, for god's sake," Kira moans. "Just make the promise. There's no way she will willingly come with us otherwise. Besides, I know you have enough influence to make it happen."

He exhales slowly. "Fine," he finally says. "I'll make sure you'll see your parents--in person."

I point an accusing finger at him. "Also, no planting false memories."

"But--"

"I'll convince them," I snap. "I'll tell them something. But don't you dare mess with their minds like that. Not without their knowledge."

He sighs. "Fine."

I cross my arms. "Then we have an agreement."

"Finally!" Kira says in relief, throwing her hands up. "Now, can we get moving? Elayne, you get three days to pack your things. Don't tell your parents anything about what we truly discussed, other than the fact that you will be permanently moving to the City. And give us a call if you're having any trouble. And please, try to keep your emotions in check, because I'd really rather not have to deal with your Gift going haywire."

I nod. "Yeah, okay, got it."

Dr. Larson hands me a slip of paper. "Contact us at this phone number in case of an emergency."

"Time to start moving!" Kira says as she herds me towards the door. "Remember, we'll need you back here at the Examination Hall in three days--on Monday. The time will most likely be at around 5 in the evening, but that is subject to change. We'll let you know."

Dr. Larson follows us out the door. "I'll go to check on Reyna, see if she managed to delete the footage," he tells Kira. Before he turns to walk away, he meets my gaze. "I'll see you in three days."

I mumble a goodbye back at him. And as Kira steers me down the hall, back to the room where my parents are impatiently waiting for me to return, ready to take me to the place that I can only call home for three more days, blissfully unaware of the fact that I am preparing to lie straight to their faces...

My fingers clench around the slip of paper in my sweatshirt pocket.

And I wonder what the hell I've gotten myself into.