Freeze!

The word echoes in my mind like a mantra, bouncing off the walls in my brain. I want to move. I want to run away, but it's like there is an invisible force field that is keeping me in place.

"What did you do to me?" I exclaim, knees trembling as I struggle against the invisible bonds.

"Turn around and walk away," he says.

To my horror, my body obeys, and I start to walk away when a voice booms from the outside of the shop.

"Simon Says, we know you're in there! Come out with your hands up before we come in and take you by force."

The voice definitely belongs to a girl, but she sounds young. Too young to be calling out to a dangerous man like this one. What is a teen like me doing trying to apprehend a criminal? She's going to get herself hurt.

"No, no, no, no!" the man mumbles, running his hands through his already crazed curls, making him look like a mad man.

Simons Says?

It's a fitting name. It's obvious his Gift has something to do with physical manipulation, kind of like Cassie's, but on a whole new level. He doesn't need an object to control someone, all he has to do is say the magic words and anyone listening turns into his own personal puppet. With a power like that, he is definitely Elite.

So, what is he doing hiding in the back of a smoothie shop? Has he gone rogue? Is he trying to get out of service? Or maybe his training is taking too long for his liking, so he decided to take the easy way out into society.

In his moment of panic, I feel his control over me lessen, and I start to slowly inch away from him.

He fumbles around as I keep walking towards the front of the storage room. Come on, just a bit closer! My foot bumps against one of the crates, and his eyes land on me again, a grin stretching across his face.

Uh oh.

I can practically see the gears turning in his head as he thinks of an escape plan, and judging by his gaze, he's decided that I am now a part of that plan.

Well, count me out mister. 

I take a big breath, getting ready to call for help, when his words stop me.

"Hush, freeze!" he says.

So close! I was almost at the door, where Cassie would have seen me and I could signal her for help.

"It looks like today is your lucky day," he says, smiling at me, coming over to grab my arm.

"You are going to help me get out of this mess. Don't do anything stupid, and I might let you go, got it?"

His voice takes on a dangerous tone, reminding me of the villain in a movie, just before they're about to strike. It would have made me shake, if it weren't for my current paralyzed state. I manage to nod my head, still not able to speak as his arm snakes around my waist, another looping itself loosely around my throat. I swallow. My eyes practically bulge out of my head as he whispers in my ear.

"If you struggle, I will make you choke yourself. Start walking."

I'm stuck, walking quietly in front of him as he leads me out the back door of the storage room. I think of Cass waiting for me, probably wondering what was taking so long, and I send a silent prayer to whomever is listening that this won't be the last time I see my friend.

"Stop being so dramatic," yells the little voice inside of me. "Nothing is going to happen to you."

Two black vans wait for us in the back alley. To my surprise, two boys and a girl, all around my age, stand stoically in front of them, holding weapons. Their faces betray their shock, and they seem to falter as soon as they see me being used as a human shield.

"Let her go," says the girl, taking a slow step towards us, weapon aimed at Simon Says.

I recognize her voice. She's the girl that called out to me, but I don't see any sort of megaphone. Odd. She'd been so loud I'd assumed she must have used an amplification device. Perhaps her unusual voice has something to do with her Gift.

My thoughts wander for a moment. I'd only heard of a few sound-related Gifts, and they were always music related. This girls Gift must be uncommon, popping up once only so may generations. I would love to ask her about it.

The arm around my neck tightens, jerking me back to the present.

The three teenagers don't move. They're probably scared that if they spook the man, something bad will happen to me.

What to do, what to do.

If Cassie were here she would force the guy to drop me, but sadly my best friend is still inside, cursing me for the suffering of her taste buds. I need to figure out what to do without her Gift.

My mother's self-defense classes spring to the front of my mind. How was it that you got out of a choke hold? Twist and push, or duck and roll away?

That second one seemed right, but Simon's hold is too strong to wriggle out of. I could try head-butting him, but if he stops me, or if I don't catch him by surprise, I could end up making my situation worse.

One of the boys, the one on the right that looks like he could be a professional basketball player with hair that is almost golden in the light, is slowly lifting his arm, being careful not to draw attention to himself.

I don't know what he wants to do, but I do know that I have to keep this guy's attention off of him.

Surprise attack be damned. A quick prayer and a firm motivational pep talk later, I smash my head back with all my might, connecting with something solid.

My captor shouts. His grip loosens, and I roll out of the way, using the momentum to slip from Simon's grasp.

Thank you, Mom, for making me go to all those boring self-defense lessons on a Friday afternoon.

"Why you little...!" He exclaims, before he is tackled to the ground by blond haired boy.

"Let go of me!" shrieks Simon Says, and I can almost feel the way blond guy fights the control, muscles straining as he struggles to control a body that is no longer his own to command, legs moving in jerky motions as he is forced to the side. My own muscles twitch and control begins to flood back into my limbs. I guess Simon Says can only control one person at a time.

"Jay!" The other boy in this little group shouts before turning a murderous stare on Simon Says, who scrambles to his feet and makes a mad run for it down the alley. The boy catches up to the criminal fast, but before he can get a hold of him, Simon pushes a trash can behind him. The boy slows, avoiding flying banana peels and milk cartons, but he's quick. Simon manages only another ten paces before he is tackled to the ground.

The control on the blond guy, who I assume is Jay, seems to disappear. He and the girl rush forward to help their friend.

They must be friends.

Who the heck are these people anyway?

Simon seems like he is about to say something before whatever it was gets cut off by a blood curling scream that is ripped out of his throat, the veins in his neck bulging as he writhers around on the ground. Smoke starts to rise from his skin in thick gray swirls, the edges of his shirt becoming black and charred. My eyes widen when I see the burn marks that are left behind where Jay's friend touched him, as he is hauled up off the asphalt by the collar of his shirt.

Blond guy, or I guess Jay, comes up to him with a metal muzzle. The dark part of me delights, seeing it strapped around Simon Says' mouth. No more controlling people with his words. Two sleek-looking cuffs are hooked around his wrists, and they snap into place with a buzz of blue energy.

Together, the two boys pull the man up by his shirt and manhandle him back to the vans, one keeping a hold of Simon Says as the other walks in front of them. The boy holding onto him obviously doesn't expect Simon Says to twist his arm out of his grasp and push him to the ground, turning to run once again.

I reach toward them, as if I could actually do something. "Watch out!"

At my words Jay lifts his arm and makes a quick downward motion, slashing it through the air. Simon Says gasps and falls like a bag of lead, eyes wide as he struggles against the invisible force. I inch closer to him and feel a sort of vacuum that is keeping him in place, pulling him towards the ground. I'm certain that if I get any closer, I would be in the same position he's in.

What kind of Gifts are these? Since when do Norms have such strange abilities?

Jay stands over the downed criminal and pulls him out of the vortex he created, keeping an arm on his shoulder this time around, fingers turning white with how hard he holds him still.

"Simon Says," he pulls the criminal to his feet, ignoring his protests and manhandling him towards the waiting van "You are under arrest for the robbery of the President's secret files. Hand them over, and the council may be in a forgiving mood, otherwise," he says, tugging hard to get Simon moving. "You might find yourself spending the rest of your life behind bars. So I suggest you cooperate"

The man snarls behind his muzzle, but makes no move to hand over any sort of document. The blond boy sighs and pushes him toward the girl, who is waiting in front of the first van.

"Search him; they need to be there somewhere."

I have another minute to wonder who the heck these guys think they are when a memory pops into my mind. Simon had been rummaging around the boxes in the storage room, but he wasn't stealing anything from me. He was hiding something he had already stolen.

Ignoring the calls behind me, I dash back inside.

"Oh for the love of... Kalen! Go see where she's going!"

No time to think about what that means. If I find those documents, I can get rid of these weirdos and fix this mess.

I'm so engrossed in my thoughts that I knock right into a very confused-looking , Cassie. In all the excitement I had completely forgotten about her. Guilt tugs at my chest.

"Bri! What the heck? What is going on back here?" Her words spill out in a rush, as if I'm planning on running off again.

Actually, she's right. I do need to run. I pull her along with me to where Simon had been crouching earlier and start rummaging through boxes of fruit.

"Honestly, your guess is as good as mine," I say, focusing on the task at hand.

"But are you ok? What took you so long?"

"There was this guy rummaging around the boxes, tried to use me as a hostage, but I think he hi..."

"What! Why didn't you call me? Where is this guy? I'm going to knock some sense into him while I knock his teeth..."

The words die in her mouth, and I peek over my shoulder to see what made her stop her rant.

The guy that tackled Simon Says to the ground is standing in the back entrance with a serious expression on his, I must admit, very handsome face. I can make out his features more clearly from here. He's not as tall as Jay, but not short, either. I take in his chiseled jaw, and his tan skin, glinting in the afternoon sun. Locks of jet-black hair curl above gray eyes that scan the room and eventually land on me.

Cassie must have mistaken my surprised face for one of alarm, because the next thing I know, her doll is in her hand, and cute guy is pressed up against the farthest wall.

"Are you the one that assaulted my best friend? Huh?" She yells, pacing in front of him and sizing him up, like a tiger would its prey.

I think I see a spark in his hand.

Before things get too out of hand I leap between the two.

"No Cass! He helped catch the guy. The others have him restrained out back."

"Listen to your friend," groans gray eyes. "It's not our fault he took her. She got herself into this mess."

I'm sorry, what now?

I spin around and face the guy, who has the cockiest grin on that pretty face of his. Oh forget it. Being a jerk outweighs being handsome any day of the week!

"I didn't ask to be held hostage! I was just trying to do my job and keep some random guy from robbing the shack."

"No," he says, cocky grin turning into a scowl. "Taking care of dangerous people is our job, that's what we are trained for."

Trained for? What on earth is he talking about? Why would Norm teenagers train to.... oh. Wait a minute. That makes more sense. How could I have been so stupid?

They aren't Norms. The situation must have really messed with my head for me not to have realized sooner. The weird Gifts, the gadgets and the suits...

Oh.