Back in my room, I am locked in, for my own safety I have been told. It really doesn’t matter, I can unlock the doors if I ever wanted to, just by visualizing the tumblers and pushing the right ones. It wasn’t hard for me. My room has two parts, a sleeping area and a living space. The bathing room is between them, several cameras are in each room including the bathroom. I have never had any privacy, and at times I have the desire to not be watched. I feel very wide awake now, and have the urge to do something. I have to make sure that I only use the things that they know I have, my hidden things I can’t bring out yet. I go to my cabinet and take out paper and colored pencils. The images I create are only things from my own mind, I don’t want them to know that I can see into the heads of others and take their memories as if they were my own. The click of the door made me look up. One of the technicians I knew, an older woman named Roberta was standing there. Time to go to the Study Room. I got up, put the pencils away, and left the drawing on the table. Roberta smiled at me and I followed her down the hall to the elevator. We went down several floors and the doors opened. We walked through the lobby area and Roberta pushed open the doors with the sign of authorized personnel only. The Study Room was the first one on the right side. The rest of my group sat around a large round table in the center of the room. There was one seat left, and I walked over and sat down. On the table in front of use, there were wooden puzzles. Roberta explained what they wanted us to do, which was to make a certain shape using all the pieces. I knew the answer almost immediately, but I took my time putting the pieces together. I didn’t want to stand out as being too fast or too slow.

We all finished close together, none of us standing out. The puzzles were taken away and new ones placed before us. We repeated the action. This continued for about half an hour.

“Mara, can you hear me?” a voice came suddenly into my head. I looked across the table from me and saw Lira staring at me intently. I glanced over at Roberta, she was focused on her clipboard. I looked back at Lira and answered.

“Yes, but don’t stare. They will know something is going on.” She looked back at her puzzle and I watched the others carefully. I didn’t know what kinds of psychic abilities any of the others had. Most of us were made to be super smart and clever, but I believed that we all would have at least similar talents. Now I wondered about the rest of them. We were kept apart usually, none of us had been allowed to form any bonds. There were two other girls and the three boys left in this group. Maya and Lima, and then Liam, Mark and Ian. The boys each had the tendency to try to show off, while the girls were quiet and methodical. All of us were feeling the tension of maintaining the group today though.

Without looking at Liam, I asked him if he could hear me. I heard him reply, then I repeated the question around the table. Only Lira and Liam answered me. Shortly we would be going to the meal room, I told them that we should sit together, and we could talk then. Our conversations were not closely monitored during meals, and now that the three of us could communicate telepathically meant that we would not draw any notice.

My mind was full of questions now. What was the range, did we have to be close together or could we hear each other in our own quarters? What else could they do? I had several abilities and I wondered if they could do the same as me, or if they had something different. The excitement of something new almost overtook me, but I reined it in. There was a reason I didn’t trust the scientists, even if I wasn’t quite sure what the reason was yet.

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