Inescapable (Talented Saga #7) (24 page)

“
This is Damon Bizon,”
Leslie Abbot explained from the back of the room. “He was a student
of the Institute, but failed to advance past Phase Three. As a
result, he was released from the Privileged program. However, Mr.
Bizon is still very useful to us, as you are about to
witness.”

In the center aisle, a spotlight appeared. A
moment later, the holographic image of a girl materialized.

The sight was so unexpected that Cressa
gasped audibly. Thankfully, she wasn’t alone in her surprise.
Across the room, Daphne squealed and clapped her hands together, as
if the girl’s sudden appearance was a magician’s trick.

“
This is Suzu Mitsu,”
Leslie told the class. “She is an 8P. Today is her first attempt at
using mind manipulation—the final power she must master in order to
become Privileged. Her task is simple; she must guide Damon Bizon
through a number of exercises. In order to successfully pass her
exam, Cadet Mitsu must reach inside Damon’s mind, take control, and
compel him to perform the given tasks.”

“
And if she fails…” Lyla
made a sort of strangled choking sound and drew her thumbnail
across her throat. “Off with her head.” In the light emanating from
the two-way mirror, Lyla’s skin appeared silver and ghostly, making
the gesture all the more ominous.

Lyla and her twin giggled loudly, drawing a
disapproving glare from Gracia.

Cressa shifted uncomfortably in her
seat.

Only yesterday, she’d been the one in the
examination room, her future hinging perilously on the ability to
perform a task much simpler than the one Suzu Mitsu was attempting.
Had a classroom of cadets been watching? Had her audience been as
flippant as Lyla Towers? She hoped not.

Then, another thought, even more horrible
than the first, struck Cressa hard.

If I’d failed the Phase One exam, I would
have shared Damon’s fate.

Leslie had just confirmed the rumors Cressa
had heard from a few 1Ps: Unworthy cadets weren’t sent home, they
were used as test subjects. Cressa had been sure that it was just
an exaggeration, an ominous tale that circulated through the new
cadets like an urban legend. Her heart pounded as Cressa filled
with anxiety, until she was sure that the slamming beats were
audible to everyone in the room.

This demonstration wasn’t a treat. It was a
cautionary tale, meant to impart the ultimate price of failure.

It was as though the Dame had been reading
her traitorous thoughts of regret and uncertainty, and had
orchestrated this lesson just to remind Cressa that the only option
was to move forward.

Full of compassion for poor Damon Bizon,
Cressa sent waves of encouragement his way. She knew it was silly,
since it wasn’t like Damon could feel the vibes. Still, if by some
chance he was picking up on their emotions, Cressa wanted him to
know that he had an ally in the crowd. After all, it could have
just as easily been her in that room. Cressa did still have seven
exams ahead of her, so there was still a very real chance that she
would end up in Damon’s shoes. Metaphorically, of course, since the
kid was barefoot.

“
You may begin, Suzu,” a
voice Cressa recognized from her own advancement test boomed
through unseen speakers in the walls.

Suzu Mitsu’s holographic image nodded. On
the other side of the mirror, Damon Bizon showed no reaction.

“
Damon Bizon cannot hear
the communications between Suzu and the administrator,” Leslie
explained to the younger girls. “Conversely, Suzu cannot hear the
communications between the administrator and Damon Bizon. Of
course, we can hear both.”

The next voice that came through the speaker
was not that of the administrator. This voice had a dream-like
quality to it, reminding Cressa of the way mental commands sounded
when spoken inside her head. Which, she quickly realized, was
exactly what she was hearing—Suzu’s thoughts were being broadcast
to the classroom. That was when Cressa noticed the small
flesh-colored disc over one of Suzu’s temples; it was identical to
the one she’d seen on Dr. Masterson.

That device must be able
to project the wearer’s thoughts,
Cressa
thought wonderingly. Dr. Masterson probably wore one so that she
didn’t have to write down her patient observations.

“
Sit on the bench, Damon,”
Suzu urged. Her tone was soft and soothing, like the way a mother
speaks to her frightened child.

Damon froze, stormy gaze wide with shock and
fear. His head swiveled from side to side, as though seeking out
the speaker.

“
Sit on the bench, Damon,”
Suzu repeated in the same lilting tone.

Cautiously, the boy moved towards the bench
and perched on the edge.

“
Cross your legs, Damon,”
Suzu instructed, her voice gaining confidence.

Damon Bizon crossed his right leg over his
left.

“
Stand on the bench,
Damon,” Suzu commanded.

Again, the boy complied with only a little
hesitation. Despite herself, Cressa watched with fascination. She’d
never seen someone control another person. Though the sight brought
a pit of fear that settled deep in her gut, Cressa also felt an
excitement.

One day I’ll be able to do
that,
she realized, awestruck by the
thought. But should anyone be able to command another person? To
take away his free will?

“
Freaky deaky,” Lyla
whispered, echoing Cressa’s own feelings.

“
You are standing on a
cliff, overlooking the ocean thirty feet below. The water is clear,
and you can see to the bottom. There are tropical fish swimming
just beneath the surface. Now, fall forward, Damon,” Suzu
said.

There was a collective intake of breath from
the room of 2Ps. Even Sir Tate leaned forward in his seat, waiting
to see if Damon would be compelled into obedience.

Damon inched to the edge of the bench, his
toes hanging over the lip.

“
Damon Bizon has a fear of
heights,” Leslie said softly. “That is why this particular scenario
was chosen—to truly test Suzu’s abilities. Damon Bizon does not
wish to jump, and he is only likely to do so if Suzu is able to
take complete control of his mind.”

“
My money says she isn’t
strong enough to do it,” Shyla mumbled under her breath.

“
I agree. She’s not being
forceful enough,” Lyla responded.

On Cressa’s other side, Nydia, who’d been
silent thus far, shushed the twins. Neither Towers sister paid her
any attention.

“
What do you say, Cressa?”
Lyla asked. “Can she do it?”

“
Damon, concentrate on my
voice,” Suzu was saying. “Fall forward now.”

Cressa glanced sidelong at her roommate.
Nydia’s complexion was ashen, and she was chewing the inside of her
cheek. Her eyes darted rapidly between Suzu’s hologram and Damon
inside the exam room.

“
Cressa?” Shyla
pressed.

“
This is supposed to be
instructional, we should be quiet and pay attention,” Cressa told
her.

“
Party pooper,” Lyla
pouted.

“
Damon,” Suzu snapped,
losing her patience with the boy. “You
want
to fall into the
ocean.”

But Damon Bizon didn’t actually want to make
the leap. And Suzu Mitsu wasn’t strong enough to force him. At
least, not yet.

The administrator intervened. “Cadet Mitsu,
move on to the other tasks. We will come back to this one.”

Sighing, Suzu switched to a different
command, this one to simply step down from the bench. From there,
the 8P coached Damon through a number of acts, ranging from
standing on one foot to cartwheeling around the room. The most
impressive, and most terrifying, demonstration of her abilities
came when Suzu commanded Damon to hold his breath until she said to
stop. His face turned an unnatural shade of purple before Suzu
finally allowed him to breath again.

The longer Cressa observed the spectacle,
the more nauseated she became. Finally, she tore her eyes away,
unable to watch any longer. Any excitement she’d felt over her
future powers was completely and utterly gone. Not because she
didn’t want the abilities, but because using other humans as test
subjects was disgusting. The idea that soon she’d be using failed
cadets like practice dummies was nearly too much to handle. She
hadn’t signed up for this. It was cruel, inhumane, and
sickening.

“
Here she goes again,”
Shyla faux-whispered. “If Damon doesn’t jump this time, Suzu’s
dun-dun-dun-done.”

Cressa’s gaze unwillingly returned to the
exam room. Sure enough, Damon was standing on the edge of the bench
again, staring at an ocean and fish that only he could see. Cressa
wrung her hands in her lap.

For a brief moment, Cressa was positive that
Damon was going to jump.

Don’t do it. Don’t do it.
Don’t do it,
she chanted inside her own
head.

It wasn’t that Cressa wanted Suzu to fail.
She was far more concerned for Damon, should he face-plant on the
hard floor. Which was exactly what would happen if the boy fell
forward. Did no one else care about him being hurt?

Damon backpedaled on the bench, nearly
tumbling over his own feet in an attempt to distance himself from
the edge of the imagined cliff.

Cressa exhaled in relief.

Then, as if an invisible hand had pushed
him, Damon lurched forward, arms outstretched. He let loose a blood
curdling scream that would echo in Cressa’s mind for days to come.
Spread-eagle, the boy flew across the room in an arc as though
launched from a cannon. Several girls shouted, while others turned
away.

Cressa, however, couldn’t seem to avert her
gaze; never before had she seen anything like it. She’d heard tales
of Talents and seen reports in the media, but she’d never witnessed
a demonstration of such power in person. Even when Damon started
his downward trajectory, plummeting headfirst towards the ground,
Cressa didn’t look away.

In the end, she was glad she kept her eyes
glued to the train wreck.

Just before Damon crashed-landed, his body
came to an abrupt halt mere inches from the ground. He hung there,
suspended above the ground for several long moments, before being
gently lowered the rest of the way down by whoever was holding his
unseen strings.

Damon Bizon curled into the fetal position,
breaking the spell of perverse fascination that Cressa was under.
Perspiration had darkened his hair and stained the collar and
armpits of his shirt. Tears poured down his cheeks and snot leaked
from his nose. His lips quivered so badly that it appeared as
though two thin, bloodless worms were mating above his chin.

Empathetic tears filled Cressa’s eyes as she
watched Damon shake. No matter how alluring the idea of seemingly
infinite power was, no matter how fascinating it was to watch the
use of such incredible abilities, in the end, they’d hurt an
innocent person. Cressa wondered again if that might one day be her
curled up on the floor of a room while countless people
watched.

All around her, the other 2Ps were clapping
for Suzu and talking enthusiastically.

“
Did you see that?” Lyla
exclaimed. “She stopped him dead in his tracks.”

“
I know!” Shyla squealed
in agreement. “That was some seriously awesome telekinesis. Suzu is
stronger than I gave her credit for. First she made him jump, even
though he was scared enough to wet himself, then she made sure he
didn’t eat concrete. That’s just…wow.” She turned to Cressa, her
forehead wrinkling. “Aren’t you impressed?”

Only half listening to the twins’
blathering, Cressa shrugged noncommittally. She was too focused on
Damon to give much thought or care for Suzu and her performance.
What if Suzu hadn’t been able to prevent Damon from slamming into
the ground? Was there someone else, a stronger, more accomplished
Privileged, waiting to catch Damon if she hadn’t been able to? Did
the Dame care whether Damon got hurt? Or was he expendable?

On the other side of the mirror, Damon’s
lips started to move, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly.
Cressa leaned forward, her gaze locked intently on him, trying to
make out what he was saying. As she mimicked the movement, Cressa
realized that Damon was uttering a single word, over and over:
home.

Her eyes welled up again, and this time the
tears streamed freely down her cheeks. Because Damon Bizon would
not be returning home. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

Admission to the Institute was a one-way
ticket; no refunds permitted, no exchanges. And Cressa had already
boarded the flight.