Free Web NovelChapter 27: In Too Deep.
『"If you can’t hide it, you might as well embrace it..."』
Why would he lie about the suppression procedures being active constantly? That was what Amara desperately wanted to know.
The sensation hadn’t faded. That crawling awareness that something was fundamentally wrong beneath this facility’s polished surface. But she had no proof beyond her own instincts and a power that others couldn’t verify.
The Warden continued his tour. "I’m sure your supervisors have told you there are just three of these magnificent creatures on Earth."
His fake smile returned. "If it were up to me, we’d build two more facilities like this in the other two locations." He laughed. "Just kidding, of course. The logistics alone would be nightmarish."
They walked deeper into the facility, passing prisoners in yellow jumpsuits who all wore thick metal collars around their necks. Shock suppression devices that glowed green.
At different corners, Institute agents stood, stationed at regular intervals, armed with weapons.
From what Gaius told them, most of these guards were regular humans. In a place like this, that was either very brave or very insane.
"Help me!" One of the prisoners noticed their group and rushed toward them, his tray of food clattering to the floor. His eyes were wild, desperate. "Please! Save me from this hell! They’re doing things... terrible things down in—"
The suppression collar activated immediately with a sharp jolt of electricity before he could finish speaking.
The man convulsed, muscles seizing as voltage coursed through his body. Then his eyes rolled back until only whites showed.
After he collapsed in a twitching heap, foam bubbled from his mouth and smoke rose from the collar’s contact points.
"What are those?" Naomi asked with a grin that showed her appreciation. "I’ve heard of suppression cuffs, but this is next level."
Her eyes gleamed with interest that Amara found deeply disturbing.
"You think I could get one of those for personal use?" Naomi added.
Amara felt too many emotions warring in her chest to name them all. Disgust at the casual cruelty. Horror at what she’d just witnessed. Rage at Naomi’s flippant response.
And underneath it all, a growing certainty that this place was wrong in ways she was only beginning to understand.
The man was still twitching on the ground, and nobody moved to help him.
Hiro had gone pale, shaking his inhaler and taking a deep breath. "That’s—that seems excessive."
Raj looked genuinely disturbed as well, his easy smile replaced by something harder. "He was just asking for help."
"Yeah," Sophia said with her arms crossed tightly and an eyebrow raised. "What were you expecting in a place like this?"
Ethan kept his expression carefully neutral, but Amara still noticed the tension in his shoulders.
"Haha..." The Warden chuckled, waving a dismissive hand at the still-smoking prisoner. "Menace to society, am I right? Can’t take chances with Rogue Awakeners. They’d kill you given half the opportunity."
"You’re absolutely right, Warden." Weesil stepped forward, puffing his chest. "As a Lockwood, I understand the burdens of keeping society safe from animals like those. My family has funded security initiatives across three continents. We know the value of... firm measures."
Hiro made a sound like he was going to be sick.
"So he’s a nepo baby and a bootlicker," Sophia scoffed.
Naomi looked at Weesil with something approaching disgust, which was saying something.
"Uhm, sure..." The warden’s smile shifted to something like annoyance. "Moving on."
They continued walking, leaving the unconscious prisoner behind like discarded trash.
As they moved, Amara leaned closer to her group, her voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "I’m telling you, something is definitely wrong here. This whole place feels off."
"Oh, yeah, a hundred percent," Hiro agreed immediately.
"I want to believe you," Ethan said quietly. "But this is an Institute facility. Maximum security. Every prison has desperate people saying desperate things. How do we know that wasn’t just—"
"It wasn’t," Amara cut him off. "I know. The same way I know when someone’s lying. Something is wrong here, Ethan."
Amara turned to face him, frustrated, then to Sophia. "Sophia, you think you can read anyone’s mind? Figure out what’s really going on here?"
"Are you kidding?" Ethan protested before Sophia could respond. "We’re not doing that. That’s—"
"This whole place is surrounded by psychic dampeners," Sophia interrupted. "I couldn’t probe anyone even if I wanted to. My helmet’s completely muffled. It’s like trying to hear underwater."
"How can you not see something’s wrong!?" Amara’s whisper came out sharper this time, laced with a little anger.
Ethan met her eyes, his expression frustratingly calm. "I trust your instincts, Amara. I do. But I think you might be reading too much into an uncomfortable situation. Prisons are uncomfortable. That’s kind of the point."
"Guys, I think we should all chill out," Raj stepped in. "Like, take a collective breath before we start throwing accusations around."
"Yeah, what he said." Hiro gestured vaguely with his arms.
"Trouble in paradise?" Weesil sidled closer with a smug smile.
"Walk away," Ethan said quietly. It wasn’t a suggestion and Weesil’s smirk quickly faltered.
Sophia who wasn’t as kind or patient, turned to him with a smile. "You know what’s fun about having telepathic abilities, even dampened ones? I can still sense emotional signatures. And yours screams ’overcompensating trust-fund baby with deep-seated inadequacy issues.’ So unless you want me to elaborate on that in front of everyone here, I suggest you fuck off."
Weesil’s face went through several colors before settling on an ugly red. "Tch." He made the dismissive sound and backed away, muttering under his breath.
Before he was completely out of sight, Hana spoke up. Most likely feeling sorry for him because she was also a third year.
"They’re arguing about something being off with this place. I sense it too! My immense power is drawn to the dark energy permeating these halls!" She said and placed her hand over her face.
"No one asked you, Hana!" Weesil snapped, stomping away. "I’ll show them. I’ll show them all what a real Awakener can do."
Meanwhile, the warden kept leading the group forward, eventually approaching a section marked with a clear signage: RESTRICTED - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
Amara touched Hiro’s arm lightly and asked, "buy me some time?"
"I think you’re being reckless and stubborn and probably going to get us expelled or arrested or both, and..." Hiro sighed. "Yeah, you got it."
"You’re the best," she said with a smile, then began slowly breaking away from the main group.
Ethan noticed immediately and fell into step behind her. When she glanced back questioningly, he just raised an eyebrow as if to say: You think I’m letting you do this alone?
Tova began to panic, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with trembling fingers. "That’s restricted. That’s clearly restricted. I don’t like breaking rules. Rules exist for good reasons and breaking them leads to consequences and—"
"Tova, right?" Raj placed one massive hand on the nervous student’s shoulder. "Breathe with me. In through the nose, out through the mouth. That’s it."
Meanwhile, Hiro waited until Amara gave him the subtle go-time nod and he sucked in a breath, plastered on his best eager-to-please grin, and stepped directly into the Warden’s personal space, forcing both the Warden and Gaius to face him.
"This is incredible, Can I just say this is incredible?" Hiro blurted, voice pitching up.
He gestured wildly at the walls, the reinforced doors, the security cameras blinking in the corner. "I mean, look at this place! It’s like... it’s like if Shawshank Redemption and Escape Plan had a baby, and then that baby grew up and went to community college for criminal justice."
He stepped even closer, placing his arm around the Warden’s shoulder. "Lao Zi—can I call you Lao Zi? Or do you prefer Sir? Or maybe Warden Sir?—"
His rambling successfully pulled attention away from Amara and Ethan’s absence.
And Amara could only hope that she was wrong. Or that at least, whatever they found wouldn’t be as bad as she imagined.
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SOPHIA DELGADO | The Helmet
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Spirit Weapon: Halohelm (Helmet of Victory)
Rank: Dream Walker
Ascendant Sigil: ▮ (1 Bar - Left Temple)
Abilities Unlocked:
┣ Telepathy
┣ Telekinesis
┣ Empathy
┣ ???[LOCKED]
Status: Psychically Muffled, Irritated.
