Kaitlyn-10 years ago

It's been about a month since Veronica and Thomas have started letting me see Jace again. Life has also been so much better with the new room. I'm actually sleeping well and I get to look forward to seeing Jace everyday. I still want to escape though. I've been trying to see if there is any way out but I haven't seen anything yet. I'm just laying in bed one night, trying to think of any way to escape, but my mind remains blank.

"Hey Kaitlyn!" Kass says, interrupting my thoughts.

     "What?" I ask her, sitting up in my bed.

     "What are you thinking about? You seemed deep in thought and you're not even trying to sleep even though it's super late." She asks, sitting up in her own bed to look at me.

     "You're not sleeping either." I say deflecting the question.

     "That wasn't an answer." She points out.

     I sigh and look away before answering. "I'm just thinking. I've been stuck in this place for three years now and I've done nothing. It's starting to feel hopeless. What if we never get out?"

     "Of course we'll get out. We have a plan, remember? Plus, it's not like you haven't done anything. You managed to get us a real room and you get to see Jace again. That's not nothing. Maybe you should start pushing your boundaries and see how much freedom Veronica and Thomas will give you and see if you see any opportunities to escape." She suggests.

     "Maybe you're right. After all, how am I supposed to figure out any weaknesses if I don't push the limits a little, right?"

     "Exactly! Now get some sleep, I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a big day for you." She tells me and lays back down.

     It's not until she falls asleep that I realize she never told me why she was awake this late in the the first place and I can't help but wonder what's keeping her up. I decide to push all my worries to another day though because Kass is right, if I'm going to get us out of here, I need to actually get some sleep. I lay back down on my bed and close my eyes, letting the darkness have me.

     The next morning Sasha comes to take us to breakfast and I'm filled with nerves. I'm still thinking about my conversation with Kass last night and I can't help but wonder if maybe it's a bad idea to push my limits. I know I need to do something but I'm terrified of losing the progress I've already made.

     We all grab our food and sit down but the others can immediately tell I'm lost in my own thoughts.

     "Are you alright Kaitlyn? You don't seem like you're paying any attention to anything at all today." Aurora asks with concern written all over her face.

     "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just wondering about how I'm going to get us out of here. Kass gave me an idea last night but I don't know if it's a good one." I tell her, shifting the food around on my plate instead of eating it.

     "You know you're not alone anymore, right? You don't have to do this by yourself. Let us in on your plans." Aurora tells me, grabbing my hand.

     "Yeah, Aurora's right. We want to help. You're not the only one with powers Kaitlyn. If they try anything I can just burn their faces off." Delilah says smiling mischievously.

     "Or I could make Thomas shove his head in a toilet again." Kass suggests and I can't contain my laughter. The three of them somehow always know just what to say to cheer me up.

     Soon, breakfast is over and the three of them head separate directions for testing and training. I head away from all the other people, towards the yard. I spend the next couple hours watching Jace as he's made to fly around the yard on the other side of the wall. We don't get any time to talk, but I'm content to just sit there mesmerized as he flies majestically around the yard until lunch.

Lunch seems to last an eternity as I think about what I'm going to try to get next. I'm tuning out the conversation around me and not touching me food, too anxious to eat when Delilah taps my shoulder.

"Kaitlyn! You're doing it again. You're staring at the wall and living in your own head. What are you thinking about?" She asks.

"I'm just trying to think about how we're going to get out of here. I know I need to see how much they really trust me but I don't know how." I say and sigh, not knowing what I'm supposed to do.

"Try to get some more freedom and see what happens. If you're told no you know you need to somehow be even more perfect, and if you're allowed some more freedom use it as an opportunity to sneak around and figure out their weaknesses." Kass suggests.

      "Thanks Kass, you're the best." I tell her.

     "I know I am. Who else would give you such great ideas?" She says smiling.

     We all laugh and lunch soon comes to an end and we all clean up and Sasha comes to bring me to the yard. As we head out the door I'm filled with nerves, starting to doubt the plan, but I look up and see Jace watching me from his side of the wall and I'm reminded of why I need to do this. If I fail I'm not just letting myself down, I'm letting all of my friends down too.

     I gather my confidence and easily go through all the maneuvers I'm told to do, deciding to ask my questions at the end when they'll hopefully be in a better mood if I perform well enough.

     After a few hours of flying, I'm told to come down and I nervously approach Thomas and Veronica. "I need to ask you a question."

     Thomas looks at me expectantly when I pause, "Go on then, we don't have all day, say what your going to say."

     "Well," I begin, "I've been thinking I shouldn't need an escort from my room to the yard. If I'm given a key to the door I can go outside when I want without waiting for someone to come get me." 

     Veronica gives me a cold stare. "And why should we do that?"

     My mind blanks so I just blurt out whatever I think of first. "Well, um, it will be more convenient. That way I can quickly come and go from the yard back to my room when I need to without having to wait on someone, and that way a helper or guard wont have to stop what their doing to escort me."

     She stares at me for a second before answering. "While you're faulty logic is quite entertaining, the answer is no."

     "But-" I try to speak but she interrupts me.

     "But what? But we gave you everything else you asked for? Is that what you where going to say? You need to realize you are not and never will be in charge of any of the decisions around here. You only got your other requests accepted because they were things we had already been thinking of." She says still glaring at me.

     "What do you mean?" I ask in disbelief

     She smiles evilly before continuing. "We already had the room ready because it was obvious sleeping on the floor was affecting how well you were flying and it was simpler to put you're little friends in with you than listen to your whining. We gave you access to Jace because it improved his performance, and you have access to the yard by yourself because I wanted you flying more but didn't have the time to personally supervise."

     Thomas picks up the conversation. "So you see, Kaitlyn, put simply, do not presume to think you can manipulate us into complying with your every whim because it is impossible. We will alway be ten steps ahead of you."

     I stare at them humiliated and dumbfounded. My eyes burn with tears and I bolt out of there, not knowing where I'm going or what I'm doing, the only thought on my mind being get as far away from them as I can. Eventually Sasha finds me sobbing in a hallway.

     "Kaitlyn, what happened?" She asks sitting down beside me.

     "I'm a failure. I thought I was doing something good and making progress but it turns out all I was doing was making a fool out of myself." I say through my tears.

     "You're not a failure. I'm sure you'll get out of here one day." She says trying to assure me.

     "I shouldn't even be telling you this. You work for them, you'll probably just report me." I say bitterly.

     "Kaitlyn, look at me, I care about you, I would never report you. I'm not like them"

     "Oh yeah? So you don't spend your days testing and experimenting on innocent kids that we're taken here against their will? You say you're different, but you haven't done anything to stop them. You're no better than them! You're worse because you actually made me believe you care about what happens to me."

     "Please don't think that." She pleads "I do care about you. I didn't realize what I was getting into when I took this job. I want to do something but I can't."

      "What do you mean?"

     "When I accepted this job I was told all the subjects were here willingly. I was intrigued by the idea of human transformation, but by the time I realize what they were doing to all of you it was too late. All the helpers are kept in another wing of this facility, trapped just the same as you are, though most unfortunately see it as an opportunity to be a part of this rather than realizing we're being forced to help torture children. If we're caught assisting any of you in an escape or trying to escape ourselves we are punished"

     "What's the punishment?" I ask not sure if I really want to know.

     "Death." She says simply, standing up to lead me back to my room.

     I'm at a loss for words and don't say anything. We silently walk back to the room and I walk back in, still processing everything that just happened. The others have a million questions for me and I tell them what happened outside and what Sasha revealed to me.

    When I finish they all  stare at me, trying to make sense of everything I said. Delilah is the first to speak. "What are we going to do now?"

     I take a deep breath then speak. "We double our efforts and continue our fight. Not just for ourselves but for every person that has been a victim of Veronica and Thomas's cruelty. I don't care how long it takes, we are getting out of here. Starting now I'm not going to be afraid anymore. I'm done being scared. I am the dragon and I will fight!"