Supernatural

04

JULY — "THE LAB" — 6:26 AM

Casper said it was Saturday, because at the end of every week, they had what they called Shower Day. It was the only day any of them were able to wash themselves.

Morgan woke up to the sound of a blaring alarm. Her door was already open, and she saw Casper outside, standing up straight. So, she quickly exited and stood outside her door like everyone else. "Two separate rows. Girls and boys."

They all rushed into their lines, and she stole a glance at Casper and Joey. Both were staring straight ahead with emotionless features like everyone. She decided to replicate their expressions.

Like robots, they moved in sync as they followed their leaders. Sleep was evident under her eyes as it was difficult to rest well in this place. They turned through corridors and corners like they were a machine, connected with each other. They finally entered a long room with showers lining one side of it, labels of their numbers on it. Shampoo and conditioner bottles were inside, both of a dull colour. A towel was hung on the inside of the door.

She stepped inside like all the other girls. Morgan hesitantly stripped down—there had been cameras everywhere, how could she know if they weren't any in the showers?—laying her clothing on a bench. The shower turned on, warm water wetting her hair and skin. She savoured the wonderful feeling, then used the shampoo to clean her greasy hair. The shower had a low pressure, squirting down water she could barely believe was clean.

She had just gotten all the products out of her hair when she heard a scream.

She stood on her bench, alarmed as she looked over the stall, her body covered by her towel. She could just see a metal contraption folding over a stall, trapping the girl inside. It could have been her imagination but she swore she heard another cage being formed as if in the next room. The girl continued to scream and beg for help but Morgan was too stunned to do anything. Her voice became hoarse, quieter and quieter until it stopped.

Nobody reacted to it, like it was a usual occurrence. They continued to wash themselves, as if the scream didn't mean anything.

The water coming from her shower halted, and the woman guard's voice rang out. "Get dressed."

JULY — "THE LAB" — 12:47 AM

"We call it the Death Stalls," Casper explained gently. "We kind of forgot to mention it."

"What are the Death Stalls?" Morgan asked, their faces once again lit by the fireball Casper had summoned.

"They're stalls that unleash a deadly gas to kill whoever's inside," Joey said. "They choose a girl and a boy every time. They make these metal cages so the victim can't escape and so the gas doesn't let out and kill anyone else. I guess they took inspiration from the Nazis."

"Bad joke," Casper warned, making Joey shut his mouth, before turning back to her. "They dispose at random. You never know if you're going to be the one. But every Shower Day, a girl and boy gets it."

"Jesus Christ," she muttered under her breath.

"You've got to act like everyone else, Morgan," Casper said, softly. "Don't react, don't be different, don't stand out and don't show any trace of humanity still in you. They want you broken, and if you're not at least a little bit broken, they'll hit harder. And if you're better, you get transferred to AST."

"You wouldn't believe the things they do. It can't be legal." Joey shook his head. "Some kids get beat down so hard they almost die. And this has been going on for years."

There was a moment of silence.

"What were you like?" She blurted, then elaborated at their confused faces. "Before... Before all this."

Casper smiled. "Basketball superstar. I had a scholarship for college, and my girlfriend was so supportive. My coach said I could go to the NBA." His smile faltered. "I was so naive back then. So naive and innocent. But I had the perfect life. Until the finals, when I accidentally set the ball and net on fire as I did a slam dunk." His eyes seemed far away and darkened as he thought about the memory. "Burned the whole place down. I just kept setting things on fire, but not on purpose. That's when they kidnapped me."

"My turn," Joey leaned against the wall. "I was a nerd."

Morgan smiled and almost laughed for the first time there. His tone was so confident as he said the classic high school loser stereotype, and she let a chuckle slip.

"Its true!" He exclaimed, then quieted down as to not wake the others on the other side of the wall. "Best student, I swear. Fantastic grades—I was headed for greatness. I wanted to be a scientist. I discovered my powers like a month before they discovered me. Zippin' around the house when my parents weren't looking... Teleportin' to the kitchen to get food... Then I must have messed up somehow. I dunno, guess they caught me on camera. I was having a really good day, too. History test," he slapped his knee lightly, "nailed it."

"You hardly look like a nerd to me. You don't act like it," she disagreed.

"I've been here for two years or so," he stared straight at me, his eyes suddenly back to its cold hatred. "You change in the lab."

An awkward silence endured, so Casper cleared his throat. "What about you, Morgan?"

She shrugged. "I didn't have a lot of friends, but close ones. I wasn't the best at school, but I wasn't failing. Weird to think that less than a week ago I was only concerned with college," she said bitterly.

"Other people are living out there freely, oblivious of what the government's doing under their noses. Doesn't seem fair to me," Joey murmured.

"That's because it's not," Casper said harshly, then calmed down. "What will you guys do after this? When this ends?"

"If this ends," Joey muttered.

"When this ends?" He said again.

"I don't know," she answered, to relieve the tension. She'd only been at the lab for a few days, but she knew she wouldn't be able to forget it. "Have time to myself. Probably have an entirely new perspective."

The boy nodded in agreement. "I kinda wonder where the finished supernaturals go. Like, we know they're done and now soldiers, but where? And what happens to them?"

"You said something about super soldiers?"

"Yeah, but where exactly do they go? Like where are they stationed?"

"I don't know," she looked at her hands. "I miss being free. I know that sounds selfish because you guys have been here way longer than me, but I wish I'd never revealed my powers."

"But we've just got to live with it," he continued. "But please, listen to my advice. If you don't, you could get killed."

Morgan agreed, and Joey held Casper's arm as he squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated. Then, in wisps of orange, he disappeared, and with them, the floating fireball, leaving her once again in complete darkness.