I wrap a towel around me as I step out of the shower. I feel clean, yet dirty. I sigh heavily as I walk over to the closet. I open it and groan at the sight of white. After I dress, I comb my wet hair. I walk to the door and try to turn the handle, but it’s still locked. I look around for a clock, but there isn’t one. I sit down on the edge of the bed and read the letter from the Constable again. None of this makes sense.

I set it down and jump when I hear the doorknob move. I watch as the golden knob turns slowly. The door inches open, and I see Marah peek her head in. I furrow my eyebrows at her. “Marah?”

“Come with me to Kyle’s room.”

“Am I allowed to leave this room?” Naturally I would want to do this. I would want to rebel and live on the edge. Anything to defy the Constable should be tempting. But something tells me I don’t want to piss them off just yet. Maybe not ever.

“The rumors about you must be lies,” she says; then a deep frown settles on her face. She doesn’t seem nervous like she did in the cafeteria.

I raise an eyebrow. “Rumors? And what’s with the new personality? You acted scared shitless at dinner.”

“It’s an act. And yes, rumors. That you are fearless and non-conforming? Are you coming or not?”

I hesitate before answering. “But—” She starts to close the door. “Wait!”

She smiles. “Follow me.”

I start to go get my shoes, but she waves her hand at me telling me to come on. My bare feet patter quietly across the floor. She opens the door and holds my hand as we run down the hall. When we make it to Kyle’s door, she lightly taps it two times with her index finger.

He opens the door and smiles as he moves to let us quickly run in. His room is exactly like mine, only his bed is pushed against the wall instead of in the middle of the room.

“Glad you came. We usually hang out like this while the Constable sleeps. The white suits are supposed to keep an eye on us, but when you have mind control they don’t remember much.” Kyle walks over to where Marah and Dex are sitting in the floor. I follow him and sit down after he does.

“So, did you really escape the Sphere?” Marah asks with her back against the wall.

My head is spinning. So much is going on, and I don’t know how to process it all. I blink a few times then answer her. “Sage and I did on accident.”

Everyone looks at each other with grim eyes then back at me. “Did I miss something?” I ask completely confused.

“Sage Emer-” Marah barely gets out.

“Marah!” Dex interrupts her. “Not now.”

Marah looks embarrassed and looks down at her hands. “Sorry, I figured she already knew that Sage was-”

“Marah!” Dex and Kyle both yell. She pretends to zip her lips and smiles as sweetly as she can as she tosses the imaginary key over her shoulder.

I furrow my eyebrows. “Ummm, I’m really confused.”

“Don’t be. Marah is just being stupid.” Kyle cuts his eyes at Marah who bats her eyes at him, trying to appear innocent.

I close my eyes and rub my temples. I should push for them to tell me, but, honestly, I’m worn out and don’t have the mental strength to deal with it right now.

“What is it like on Earth?” Dex asks, an obvious, poor attempt to change the subject. He takes Marah’s hand in his. My eyes linger on their hands for a moment. It seems ridiculous to pursue a relationship in this hell.

I look at Dex. “I don’t really want to talk about it.” I avert my eyes to look at the wall and not at their pleading stares. I don’t even know these people.

“Do you honestly think you made it to Earth by accident?” Marah asks. Kyle quickly gives her a serious look and shakes his head.

I look at Kyle and give him an appreciative smile. It’s apparent he wants Marah to keep her mouth shut, but I also think he can tell I don’t want to talk about anything that has to do with how I ended up in this mess or how it’s my fault my best friend and father are dead. Tears start to build. I wipe them before they can fall.

Marah whispers something to Kyle then looks at me. “Do you remember everything about life before you came to the Constable Headquarters?”

“Am I not supposed to?” I know Plath made it clear that I’m not, but I can’t exactly trust him. I’m not sure if I can trust Marah either, but I know one thing for sure; she has to be safer than Plath.

She laughs. “Remember I told you in the holding room to blend? We don’t remember anything from the past, got it?”

I nod. Kyle stands up and motions for me to follow him. I hesitantly get up. I follow him over to a corner, and he leans against the wall.

“Would you like more information about the situation you are in?”

“Yes!” I reply too quickly and too loudly.

He laughs and nods his head. “Okay, but it does not leave this room.”

“All right.”

“Orion, I am serious. We will all be tortured if they knew that we know these things.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay! Now tell me.”

He laughs a nervous laugh and shakes his head. “You should have chosen death. This life is unbearable, Orion.”

“Just tell me already!” I want to know why they need us so badly. No, I have to know. I have to figure them out so I can manipulate their plan and get the hell out of here.

“Now that they have you, it would be easy to do away with you. Don’t you see? They have four of us who have the ability of mind control. And… You and Marah are girls, and we are guys.”

I look curiously at him. I look around at the four of us. “What does our gender matter?”

“Reproduction of our kind. They want to breed us like dogs.”

I stutter as I try to respond. “Wh-aat?”

“That’s not the worst of it, though.” He shakes his head.

“What else?”

“The jobs that we do are nothing to be proud of. The very first job you will have to do is make your own family forget who you are.” I feel a sting in my heart.

I shake my head in disbelief. “Why? I don’t even think I have mind control. They have to have the wrong Dweller!”

He gets closer so he is only inches from my face and speaks quietly. “Because Orion, it proves how powerful you are. Making the ones who care about you the most forget you? Only someone with our ability and power could do that. And it’s a test to make sure you will do what they tell you to and another part of the breaking process.”

“But-” I start to say something, but he interrupts.

“They think they have done us some sort of favor. They think that they made us forget everything during the breaking process.” He stops talking and waits for me to respond.

I swallow hard. “After we make our family forget us, what are we required to do next?”

“They throw us into towns where we secretly use our ability to brainwash Dwellers. Our effects last for months but eventually wear off, and then we are sent out again.”

“What are we brainwashing them for?”

“To make sure they never find out about Earth and always believe that the Constable are the greatest beings alive.”

“I have always wondered why others didn’t question their authority. Promote peace and shit but hang the first to do wrong without giving them a chance to change? It has never made sense to me. Is that why I never fell for their lies? Because I have the ability of mind control?”

He nods his head. “That’s the theory.”

I run my hands through my hair and place my back against the wall. “How do we have abilities? Where do we come from?”

“It is said that our kind slips up in the genetics of our parents and pass on to their offspring. The Constable thought they did away with those with abilities and bred them out of genetics. Only keeping a few for themselves.” He stops and points to himself and then to me. “Obviously, they didn’t succeed. So, they decided to put us to use.”

“Right… So, what else are we required to do?” I ask with my eyes closed. Maybe when I open them I’ll wake up from this bad dream.

“We have to use mind control to make Dwellers make bad decisions, leading to their death.”

I quickly open my eyes. “What! Why the hell would they want us to do that?”

“Trust me, it only gets worse. But yes. The Constable never want Dwellers to forget how powerful they are. They have us convince innocent Dwellers to do wrong things so they have a reason to kill them. I don’t know why they do that. All they need us to do is control their minds to always fear them. I think they enjoy shedding blood. It’s entertainment for them. But it also helps them figure out who the rebels are. Have you ever wondered why they don’t want us showing emotions?”

Yes. Every damn day. “Why?”

“Because they want to know they are feared by Dwellers. They want to know that our mind control is working. Plus, it makes it easier to detect those who plan on rebelling against them.”

I rub my temples. This is crazy. My mind goes back to the time when I stopped that shoplifter and got in so much trouble. I remember them hanging him in front of Dandux that Thursday. It makes sense now why they punished me also and why they kept such a close eye on me after that. The therapy, everything makes sense now. They don’t want Dwellers showing more power than them. They want to be the only ones who are feared. I have the most gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach right now.

I look at Kyle. “How the hell am I supposed to make my family forget me? There is no way I can walk into my home and act as if I don’t remember them and then control their minds.”

A tear falls down my cheek when I replay the image of my father’s body dangling lifeless from a rope. What could he have done to deserve that? Anger fills every inch of me, burning like hot lava in my veins. I look to the three in the room with me and wonder if they used mind control to cause him to do wrong. He would’ve never done wrong without being persuaded.

Kyle notices my trembling hands and sees the anger brewing in my eyes. “Are you okay?” He asks as he takes steps further and further away from me.

I quickly grab his neck with both hands and squeeze enough to temporarily cut off his breathing. “Who killed my father!”

He quickly pries my hands from his throat. He’s breathing heavily and has murder in his eyes. Marah runs over and jumps in front of me, and Dex grabs Kyle, forcing him to refrain himself from harming me.

“What’s going on?” Marah yells, her expression full of shock.

“Who persuaded my father to do something wrong leading to his death?” I ask as I stand up and back myself into a corner. All three of them look at one another with grim expressions. I wait impatiently for them to answer me.