Mentally - 1. Three Years Later

There was a knock on the door. My initial reaction was to stand up and move away from it. Mom noticed my movement and signaled me to get out of the living room. A few seconds passed, and there was that knock again. My stare was pointed at her. And hers back at me. The intensity of the situation grew as another set of setbacks was heard. This time, it was harder.

“Kieran.” My mom whispered. “Go to the kitchen. Get ready to make a run for it.”

I just nodded and let my mom handle it. Besides, we were already used to it. Hiding is what I was good at. And I was getting better at it. I think. With that in mind, I went down our secret hiding place under the sink. I unlocked the small door and crawled into the tiny space that led down to a secret basement. After closing the little hatch, I closed my eyes and activated my gift. My senses suddenly enhanced, and I heard mom talking to a stranger.

“Where is the boy?” It was the first thing I heard. I got a bit nervous because we were so careful about placing constructs all over the place. And whoever would come will fall into my traps. “I know you are hiding him.”

“Excuse me, officer, but there is no one here but me.” My mom said. “I have a son. But my husband took custody of him years ago.”

“You are lying. According to our records, it is you who have custody of your son. So would you please stop hiding him and let me examine the boy. He hasn’t taken the Mental Ability Test. He is an unregistered civilian, and the government would take legal actions against you if you don’t register him as a Mental.” The officer said in a matter-of-factly way. “Isn’t the news already good enough for you that the discriminations against Mentals were already ended a year ago? We are now able to keep the peace just by tracking the records of all the Mentals and considering them as citizens of our beloved country.”

He was making a point. But we couldn’t afford him to take me. I knew what was going to happen if I take the Mental Ability Test. My mom and I fought so hard to go this far. And I wasn’t going to let that happen.

“I’m sorry, officer, but my son isn’t here.” My mom pleaded. She was a strong woman. But the officer was sure I was here. The only thing I could think of was that I was tracked. It only meant that I could not keep up with how good they are regarding hunting down Mentals that have not yet been registered in their records. “Please, just be on your way so we can uphold the peace you were speaking of.”

“Stop resisting, ma’am. I know he is here. One of our sources told me that a young Mental was spotted here. Now, if you please just register your son so that we can all move along. The State is not going to take him anywhere.” The officer pressed on. I kind of gulped hard when I heard that I was spotted. Hopefully not. Because I just came out of the small hatch and was hiding near the door. “It will only take a while. I know you’re just afraid. But I assure you that there are now laws that have been upheld to ensure that Mentals are not discriminated.”

“I know. But I already told you that my son wasn’t here.” My mom continued defending me. But she was not prepared that the man was so sure I was here. It was really tempting to give in before he could hurt my mom.

“If you will not comply, then you are allowing the State to file something against you. And I don’t want to see both of you being incarcerated just for hiding a boy that should have been given the hope of living his life out in the open.” The officer added.

“I get your point. But…” My mom was already hesitating.

“This is your last chance.” The officer gave his final offer. He was more than willing to catch me. I could feel it at the back of my head as I used my ability to probe his mind. The man was strong-willed, and it wouldn’t be easy for me to override the control over his body. Wiping out his memory was the only option. But it still wouldn’t be easy. “If you don’t, then I will call my back up and search this house from the inside out. And I don’t want that to happen. However, I am not afraid of using it as my last resort.”

And that statement snapped my patience. So I went out of my hiding place and showed myself. My mom was beyond shocked that I made my entrance.

“Kieran.” My mom gasped.

“See? It wasn’t that hard.” The officer sighed. He was more than relieved that no violence took place in our tiny apartment. “Now, can we all sit down so that I can take just a sample of your blood?”

“You don’t have to do this.” My mother said weakly, almost softly like a whisper. She clearly thought that I had already given up on the chase. But that wasn’t my point. I am not going to turn myself over. “Please. Don’t.”

“It’s okay, mom.” I muttered. But I was so sure she noticed that I didn’t sound so defeated. “It’s going to be okay. I’m tired of running away. I’m sure he’s not going to do anything dangerous. He just wants my DNA registered in their system.”

My mom was dead silent. She relaxed and sat down on the sofa. “Go sit with us, officer.”

The man complied and sat with us with me sitting next to him. He seemed to have grown bigger when I moved in closer. His eyes were studying me, and I smiled. “You’re a good boy. You did a great job. And don’t worry, this is for the safety of everyone.”

He then took out a small kit and opened it. It was a typical small medical pack that contains the necessary equipment for a blood test. The man then set up his laptop and booted it up. Next, he plugged in a small apparatus in its USB port. Then he connected it to a small glowing dish using a thin cord.

“All set.” He smiled at us.

“What’s going to happen to me?” I asked.

“Nothing. I’ll just take a sample of your blood. Analyze the data on this tester and register your identity on the database.” He said plainly. “So if I were you, I would stop worrying because nothing will happen to you. Don’t think I do not understand. I have seen cases like yours because of the stigma against Mentals from years ago. But time’s changed. And we have to move forward. In my eyes, you are still a human being, and I will respect you like one.”

The speech he gave made me relax a little. It made me think that mom and I must have been a bit too paranoid. We could not know the real story because we panicked, and mom and I left our house as soon as we could. Ever since my cousin was discovered to be Mental and was taken by the State to be ‘further examined.’ Including all the precious memories. Including that one fateful kiss. And Damian.

“Now, if you don’t mind. What was your name again?” He asked. My thoughts were suddenly derailed. That was when I realized he did have a kind look on his face. The aura he has was actually warm because I finally put my guard down. I took hold of the hostility I was feeling against him for the meantime. “It would really be rude if I didn’t know your name.”

“It’s Kieran.” I replied. He took hold of my arm and went ahead with the procedure. My mom, on the other hand, was watching us intently. As if she would pull out a ninja move if the officer made a wrong move on me. “And what’s your name, officer?”

“Oh. Pardon me. I didn’t even bother to introduce myself. My name is Sergeant Snyder Cole, and I’m with the military.” He muttered blankly. Then he started with the blood sample, which caught me off guard, causing me to wince. My mom almost tried to kill the man, so I looked at her kindly before she got overridden by her motherly instincts. “But as of now, I am a designated officer and representative to Helix Corporation. They are in charge of taking care of the Mentals’ health since your blood anatomy is kind of different from ours.”

“Yeah. And I’ve also heard that the director of Helix Corp is also working for our government which is why they are able to control and maintain the Mentals’ population.” My mom added. “Is that right?”

“Yes. You are correct.” Sergeant Snyder replied. I saw my blood going into the syringe, which gave me kind of satisfaction that he was just doing his job. It was a huge risk because we were hiding for a reason. But it was also the perfect time for us to know what they would usually do with the registered Mentals. “The director is a very caring man. All he wanted was peace and security for everyone. That’s why he risked all his money for the Helix Corporation to rise up and be an effective mediator between humans and Mentals. They are also the leading manufacturer of cybernetics that create prosthetics based on the discoveries from the evolved blood of Mentals.”

“So what are you going to do with my blood?” I asked. “And why does it have anything to do with it?”

“I’m going to analyze it and keep it for the data.” He replied. Officer Snyder looked at me with this kind of curiosity in his eyes. As I probed his mind, I could tell that he was more than willing to give me plenty of information about what I am. And I was right. “As I said, it has something to do with your blood anatomy. There is this protein in your blood that’s called hemoglobin. A Mental’s hemoglobin has a more evolved structure and is able to carry more oxygen into the brain, which could significantly increase its activity. An average Mental’s brain activity has more powerful spikes. That’s why they can increase their brainpower. This results in being able to gain their psychic abilities like telekinesis and telepathy. Most Mentals normally have them, but they are not strong enough to keep up a fight.”

“So why are you analyzing my blood if we can all just sit down and give me a registration sheet, so I am a registered Mental?” I was trying to pressure him since I knew it was okay for him to say more information. Typically, people from the Helix Corp won’t really say much based on what I have heard from my friends. “Why does my blood need to be tested?”

“Well, there are certain Mentals that can do more than telekinesis and telepathy. Some of them can even wipe another person’s memory. And some can control the mind of a normal person. We just need to monitor those because they can be considered as a danger to people and to themselves as well.” With that being said, the sudden rush of discomfort flooded my mother and me. We both knew I could do more than what he has mentioned. And hopefully, he hadn’t noticed that we weren’t comfortable anymore. But if he did, I’m sure I could find a way to wipe it off from his memory. “I’m sure you won’t be able to harm me. Even if you were one of those, you still wouldn’t be able to use much of your abilities because you have not fully matured yet.

Wow, he didn’t know that he wasn’t very wrong. “How would you know if I am one of those Mentals with higher capabilities?”

“We can determine that by the score based on your blood’s hemoglobin.” He said. Then he removed the injector part of the syringe and inserted the blood sample into a small apparatus that looks like a machine-like vial. “A normal human being has an H-Score of 10. While a normal Mental has an H-Score of at least 15. It can reach up to a score of 25, but they are already pretty rare. Those kinds usually have powerful telekinetic abilities. The extent of their abilities is not yet known. While some are not disclosed to me. However, the highest H-Score that was ever recorded was 94. Imagine how powerful that person is.”

“Woah. Seriously?” I marveled. That was a bit of shocking news to me. “So where is he?”

“Apparently, it’s classified information. Even to me.” He said. The tone he had was suddenly grim and serious. I could feel he has an idea, but he’s not willing anymore to share that part. But I don’t blame him. “The only thing I could think of is that it’s for the person’s safety. Let’s just wait for your results now.”

“Thank you for all this information.” I smiled at him as genuinely as I could. But at the back of my mind, I was still probing his for clues. And he was fighting it. I was already wondering if he knew I was doing something to him. “It makes me interested in studying more about Mentals and maybe help improve their lives.”

“Really now? I guess I did my part well.” But I could feel at the back of my mom’s head that she was already laughing at how fake I was. “In just a matter of few seconds, we’ll finally know your H-Score. Aren’t you excited?”

“Yeah. Kind of?” I quipped. But I needed to know more. I needed to find out what they will do to me if they knew that I was no average Mental. “So what happens next if I get an above-average score?”

“Simple.” Sergeant Snyder grinned. “You get privileges. Both from the Helix Corp and from the government. I think the State will really take care of you.”

It sounded all so good. But when I probed his mind. My guess was correct. It was all a lie. And when I checked further, I caught the idea of human experimentation. I was suddenly struck with fear, and I think it radiated, and my mom also caught it by her instinct. But we had to keep it down.

There was a sudden sound made by his laptop. The results were out. My heart thumped as he checked the results. The disturbance and fear were painted on his face. His lips went dry, and his skin went pale. He barely moved, and his fingers stopped working on his laptop. The H-Score was shown on the screen. And he knew I wasn’t your average Mental. Both my mom and I became uncomfortable as a result.

“Impossible.” He gasped. “Your score.”

“What?” I mockingly asked. But at the back of my mind, I already knew the answer. And it was something I didn’t expect as well. “What’s my score?”

“It can’t be. Your score is 92. The second-highest score ever recorded!” Then he reached for his bag and pulled out a handgun. “You’re one of them! You’re not a Mental. You’re a Pro-”

But before he could aim it, I was already in control. I flicked my finger, and his handgun flew out of his hands. With my mind, I disassembled it in mid-air. And then I waved my hand and suspended Sergeant Snyder in the air.

“I’m sorry, Sergeant.” I apologized. “It wasn’t meant to be this way.”