Aiyana
Earlier that morning...
Aiyana sat, nervously curling a cluster of purple hair strands as she stared in waiting at the weathered, bearded face of the school therapist. The announcement had just come over the intercom: the BSI was conducting a routine sweep of the school for anyone... "abnormal." This was a first for Aiyana, and a bridge she had hoped she'd never have to cross. reasonably, she was apprehensive as she peered into a glassy, thoughtful eyes of Stephan Levy, L.P.C.
With the exception of her mother, Dr. Levy was the only other person to whom Aiyana had opened up to about her emerging powers, and the extent to which she struggled to control them. With the sudden interruption of BSI's investigation, he had cut himself off short in the feedback he had been dispensing; now he sat, right leg crossed over his left, jotting down notes on a blank sheet of paper.
"Dr. Levy." The secretary popped her head into the office, face lit in the soft glow of a salt lamp. "You need to end your session with Ms. Knowles-Flores. The BSI requires full coopera--"
"I'm well aware of the BSI procedures, Irene," Dr. Levy interjected firmly, the essence of his past Iraqi War experience clear and powerful. "I'll have her out of here shortly. I just need to arrange our next appointment." He waved Irene out of the room, and, standing up, closed the door behind her. Returning to his chair, he sighed, and cleared his throat. "My apologies. But I'll have to get back to you regarding our next session."
Aiyana stared more nervously, fearing the worst.
Then, Dr. Levy tore the page from his notebook, folding it into a small square and handing it to the young girl.
Aiyana took the paper, immediately feeling an unexpected weight to it. Feeling it out more thoroughly, she realized that a key had been folded into it. She looked up with quizzical eyes, meeting a bittersweet, though hopeful gaze returning to her from the counselor. "Make a run for it," Dr. Levy mouthed.
Moments Later
There's a custodial storage out of my office and to the left down the hallway; this key opens the door. It has a ladder down into the boiler rooms and breaker panels in the basement. You should be able to find a way out through there. Good luck, Aiyana.
The message played over in Aiyana's head as she descended the ladder into the boiler rooms. When she set her foot upon the concrete floor, she read the note more fully, finding that Dr. Levy had also taken the time to sketch out a rough map of where the other entry points to the utilities were... there was one... by the gymnasium, near which there was also a way out of the school...
No bueno. It seemed like a bold move; exiting through the same point where the BSI was gathering the student body for the sweep was practically suicide.
Then again... if there would be any entrance that wouldn't be subject to locked doors, it would be that one; it was where the agents would be sending in their equipment. Aiyana stood in silence for the better part of five minutes, weighing her options. Then, the light switch in her brain was flicked on, and her eyes sparkled with the satisfaction of an artist who had finally figured out how to manifest their masterpiece.
She bolted through the utilities, following the map Dr. Levy had slipped her until she reached the systems for the gymnasium wing. In haste, she spun her head around until she found what she was looking for: the breaker panel that serviced the gymnasium and the surrounding hallways and classrooms.
"Excellente." She opened the panel, examining it closely. After a rushing minute, she figured her plan. Using a set of tools nearby, she pried at the panel until she exposed a clump of wiring.
Swallowing down a lump in her throat, she inched her hand towards the wiring. The hand began to prickle with a static charge. Then, with a sudden jab, she took hold of the wires, forcing the current emanating from her through the wiring of the panel. The surge was immense, as an overflow of power flowed through the wires. Overhead, the sound of hundreds of shattering light bulbs filled the air, followed soon thereafter by panicked screams from students and disgruntled shouts from agents and teachers trying frantically to maintain a sense of order.
Aiyana found her way back to the main floor, emerging into another storage room, and peeked out from a cracked door towards the gymnasium. Flustered agents were scanning the hallway, as others in the gym could be heard restoring their control over the student body.
"We've got a situation in here, Chief," Aiyana heard one of the hallway guards comment through a shortwave radio.
"We've got a situation
out here," the cackling, broken up voice retorted through the radio.
"What should we do?"
"Use your judgement Saunders! Just make sure the sweep gets done!"
A moment passed, and the agent called "Saunders" called his shot. "We're moving our operation to the field house over by the football field. We'll be able to contain the space there more efficiently."
It took time, and patience on Aiyana's part, but within a short time, the BSI operatives had corralled the student body out of the gym towards the exit. As the herd of her peers trudged by her hiding spot, Aiyana stealthily slipped into the formation, finding refuge in a column of tall, broadly-built athletes. As the group crossed out into the open air, Aiyana ducked out, hiding herself among a row of decorative hedges. Unglamorous as it was, the crawl through the mulch was enough to get her back around towards the parking lot where several other students appeared to be entangled in a confrontation with several BSI agents...
