"Christian," she quietly pronounces, concentrating all his attention. "Why did you bring me here?" He looks up into her black eyes, then into the stars, desperately attempting to calm his heart rate. She looks into the distance, doubting on the probability for her to obtain any answer from him. 

          "I don't know..." he breathes, turning his blue eyes back on her. His deep voice has a discreet natural rasp singers try to have by smoking cigars and drinking whiskey. Anella guesses her target is lying right in front of her, a strong and powerful gut feeling guiding her instinctively. She mentally crosses her fingers, hoping to be right. He elevates himself up, supporting his upper body with his elbow on top of a cushion. 

          "What are you thinking?" he slowly questions. A shadow of a smile passes on her lips. She doesn't want to brusque him, if he is the new born powerful mind reader, he could take control over her, without her even realizing. Her pulse accelerates. She hopes he just found out about his powers and hasn't had the opportunity to fully discover the entirety of his palette. 

          "Guess," she mischievously challenges, opening her mind to hear his thoughts, but not enough for him to hear hers. 

          Why can't I hear anything? I usually never want information and when for once I demand for it, for some reason it doesn't work, He thinks. She notices his jaw clench. Maybe I should touch her, that seemed to help hearing. I could even make the other guy stop forcing with a girl he liked by controlling what he thought. How can I do it without seeming stupid? She's going to think I'm a dumb weirdo UGH!

          He is her target, Anella victoriously thinks. No doubt about it. 

          "I don't think you're a dumb weirdo," Anella carefully voices. 

          His heart nearly stops. She stays silent, letting the information sink in. All other noise is cut but his irregular and her calm breathing. They don't hear the music blasting downstairs anymore, so focused on each other. 

          "Are you like me?" he questions, breathless. 

          Yes. She thinks, loud enough for him to hear. 

          "I can hear your thoughts!" he whisper yells, relief reducing the tension that had built up in his shoulders. He flops back to lying down on the blanket. "Why am I relieved??" he asks, his voice nothing but a mere whisper. "This isn't normal!" She lets her gaze rest upon his face, noticing a mole on his left cheek, his shirt buttoned up all the way, sign of a stressed and focused mind, unlike the unbuttoned shirts of the other young men present tonight, who are relaxed. His arms seem to have been exposed to the summer sun a lot, tanned, and veins flowing so visibly, a single scratch could empty him of his blood. His tensed hands finishing with long fingers and well trimmed nails rest on his sides. His white Bermuda is spotless. 

          "Say something," he pleads, looking up in her eyes, his own blue ones surrounded by long lashes. 

          I'm like you, she sends. You can't hear what I'm thinking because I'm not letting you in. 

          But how come you can... communicate like this with me?

          I'm sending you a thought, she explains. And you can too. 

          He sits up, intrigued. 

          Give it a try. 

          His eyes squint in concentration. 

          He- oh, she loudly receives in her mind. The power pulsing in the message makes her eyes widen. She thanks the Universe for having her find Christian before the Paradox did. This raw diamond needs refining, but even without polishing, the strength was breathtaking. 

          "I got a "He- oh"," she shares orally. He jumps up to the sudden sound, revealing his stiff and tensed body. 

          He stares at the amused smile decorating her full lips, bringing a stellar vibration to the atmosphere, worthy of the sumptuous last sun rays coloring the clouds of a powerful but ephemeral orange. 

          "You could use some practice," she nicely formulates. 

          His tongue burns of all the questions fusing through his mind. 

          "Why are we able... to do this?" 

          "We're Controllers, we can hear others' thoughts, communicate through this mental space and control the thoughts as well as their actions," she pauses, to let him process. 

          "I'm going completely mad," he coldly realizes, closing his eyes to rub them. Anella usually gets annoyed when confronted to newbies slowly becoming conscious of what they are. But Christian exceptionally attracts her attention. 

          "Trust me, you're not, you're just starting to realize things, like all the new born," she tales. 

          "Trust you?" he coldly spits, a defensive stubbornness growing inside of him. "I barely even know you!"

          She puts a hand on his arm and his gasps, scrunching his eyes as a reflex, prepared to receive an unwanted history of a stranger. 

          Relax... she soothingly orders. 

          "You're in my head!" he exclaims, discovering the new tingly sensation. "I feel you! You're controlling me but... I'm aware of it," he slowly speaks, searching words to put on his sensations. 

          Alright Christian, she simply communicates with him. You still might not believe what's happening right now, but I need you to listen to me extremely carefully.

          His heart rate speeds up as he sits up. She senses he is still too emotionally fragile for her to explain her mission. 

          "Alright, alright, shhhhh," she slowly breathes. "You need to calm down first." 

          "I am calm," he claims, his cheeks still colored by a lively pink. 

          "Would you let me help you calm down?" she respectfully asks. He slowly nods, traces of mistrust still apparent on his face. 

          "Give me your hand, with the contact I won't have to make too many efforts," she explains, sliding her hair behind her ears, revealing the sparkly diamonds on her earrings he missed, hidden in her long thick hair, almost dry. His fingers slide into her hand, no visible signs showing however this time on his body that he is bracing for the contact. 

          You feel calm, and relaxed, she powerfully orders. His heart rate steadily drops. You are concentrated, focused. Trust gradually installs itself in Christian, realizing she wants no harm for him and won't invade his privacy. She waits a few seconds before continuing. A new feeling flows through her. A feeling of power. The sensation is alarmingly strong. She's never felt anyone's power this way in her life. Gaining his trust is going to be fatality crucial if she wants to rally him to her side.

          I'm Anella Morgan, Agent 21.10.00. I work for an organization that gathers Controllers like us. Another agency exists, created by the government in which humans and certain Controllers work to eradicate people like us off the planet. They won't hesitate to use violence, physical or psychological torture. I'm glad I found you before them, because you hold a power that I've honestly never felt before. The Paradox is on your trails and sees you as a dangerous weapon, which you can possibly become. Normally, we are obliged to offer you the right to refuse to join us, and teach you how to live a life resembling as closely as possible the ones of the humans. But knowing anyone would start a war for your power, I'm informing you objectively of all the facts, hoping to let you create your own thoughts on the matter, and make you understand that your life is at risk here.