A loud alarm suddenly blared through the room, waking them all. Then, a woman's voice followed:
"All students except the top five students from each year must report to the cafeteria, then to their homeroom class!"
Riven was the first one up, followed by Jordan, Harkel, then Joey. Each of them put on their black uniform with bronze stripes going down the shirt and pants. As they left, they all took a mental note of the number:
#458
They headed toward something that resembled an elevator.
"So this place is just a hotel then?" Harkel said as they entered.
Joey just shrugged.
"I guess so," he said, pressing the number one.
But instead of moving, a white light flashed once again.
"Oh come on, not ag-" Before he could finish his sentence, they were teleported.
"Ain't no way. I'm getting real sick of these white teleport things."
They walked into the cafeteria, which buzzed with hundreds of students. The squad made their way to a short line and grabbed identical plates-every plate had the same food and the same amount. All four of them took one and moved toward a surprisingly empty table.
As they sat down, Harkel immediately started digging in, while the others began to pray.
Seeing this, Harkel stopped and joined the prayer. Once Joey was finished, Harkel and Riven resumed eating without hesitation.
After everyone finished eating, they remained at the same table.
"So why didn't we want to go back to our dorm?" Jordan asked.
"Because I thought about it more," Joey whispered back. "It's most likely our rooms have hidden cameras and microphones. I'm guessing since it was late last night, no one was listening-otherwise, someone would've come after what we said."
"Hey," Riven said, "I might have a way to fix that."
As he spoke, the system appeared for all of them. They watched as Riven opened the party tab and accessed a new skill: [Connection.
There, they saw:
[Connection]
• [System Sight] - Activated
• [EXP Share] - Activated
• [Telepathic Link] - Inactive
[Would you like to activate Telepathic Link?]
[Yes / Nol]
[Yes]
DOWNLOAD APP
"Can you hear me?" Riven said in his mind.
Everyone nodded.
'Okay, let's get back to it. I was hoping the cafeteria noise would mask our voices, but this is way better, Joey thought.
They stood up together. Some students in the cafeteria stared at them-eyes filled with annoyance or maybe envy. Then another bell rang, signaling it was time to head to class.
Back in the elevator-like contraption, they hit the same number. As the white glow beamed in their faces, the silence between them wasn't truly silent.
'The reason I wanted to talk now-and so soon
—is because of what Harkel said. And how it relates to Project Mimicry, Riven thought, as they walked, trying to keep their faces straight.
'How in the world can they afford to teleport us this casually, and so many times?' he continued.
'Even with 10% funding from all Wallborn houses, this would drain them in hours. Since both schools seem equally equipped, that must mean Null Gate Academy-the one that trains those who can't evolve-has similar tech too.'
Back in their room, Riven jumped high to land on his bed and laid there, looking at the ceiling.
Harkel sat on the floor, spinning a pencil inside a small airball. Jordan grabbed some paper and created a small ink-dog to play with. Joey lay on his bed, pretending to write something in a book.
'So you think Project Mimicry doesn't just copy people, but can also maintain their abilities even when the person isn't around-or even alive?' Riven asked silently.
Joey replied simply:
'Yeah.'
'We should stop focusing on things we can't change-and instead think about what we can do, Harkel added.
'He's right. So, Joey-did you get a good idea of what your ability really is?' Jordan asked.
'It's embarrassing... but you guys probably would've found out at some point anyway!
'As you probably guessed, I'm a Forced Evolver.
Not a Natural. My father died, leaving my mom and me in debt. One day, the debt collectors came...'
A young boy with tears in his hazel eyes was watching from inside a closet-the same one his mother had hidden him in. She had told him to keep his mouth shut.
The boy was Joey.
He could hear things being broken, slammed to the ground. A man's voice barked about money. When Joey's mother replied that she didn't have it, he heard a smack-then another, and another. The sounds of violence echoed through the walls.
When the man and his group finally left, Joey ran out. He found his mother on the ground, bloodied and barely conscious.
This was the moment that triggered his Forced Evolution.
In his mind, he wanted to heal her-but deep inside, his soul cried for something more.
He didn't just want her wounds to go away.
He wanted to go back.
Back to when they were a happy family.
Back to before the debt.
Back to when Dad was still alive.
Joey collapsed over his mother's body, sobbing, clutching her arm tightly. A silver light glowed from his hands. Before his eyes, her bruises began to fade. Her cuts sealed. Her limbs reset.
The woman stirred, then slowly stood upright
-restored.
"Mom!!" Joey cried, throwing his arms around her.
She hugged him tightly and let out a soft chuckle.
"You healed me," she said gently.
"You've Force-Evolved."