CHAPTER 6

Kaleb slowly entered the room as he looked at Jasmine.

“You look like hell.” He said while raising his eyebrows in surprise. “Biermann told me to talk to you. Can I close the door?”

She nodded. “I don’t… I don’t think that’ll fix anything. He thinks you can convince me, I bet.”

“Convince you to do what?” He asked, tilting his head. “What happened?” He leaned against the wall.

“We saw a video of the terrorist attack in Adelind.”

“Ah, shit. I see.”

“You knew about it?” Jasmine asked with an accusing tone.

“Learned about it this morning, yeah. I thought they wouldn’t tell you, to be honest.”

“Well, they did, and now no one wants to do any of this anymore.”

“Including you?”

“Yes, including me.” She replied dryly. “Anyways, what did Biermann want.”

“Meh, he didn’t want anything. He just said that you needed someone to talk to.”

Jasmine nodded. Throughout her stay here, she had found Kaleb to be nice to talk with. They weren’t friends by any means, but the soldier seemed to have taken a liking to her.

“So. I’ll ask a classic question from therapists. How are you feeling?”

“You’ve been to therapy?” She asked while getting up from her desk and sitting on her bed.

“Yeah. There are army therapists, you know? It was general Loeb’s idea. But don’t dodge the question.”

“I feel like… I don’t know what I feel like. I’m numb. Lost, maybe?”

“Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I should care about what’s happening to Azeris, but I still do for some reason. It’s strange.”

“I see. Maybe you care for the people? Metahumans, I mean.”

“Maybe. Can’t help but feel bad for those senators, too, though. They’re probably all going to die.”

“Yeah. Yeah, they probably are.”

Jasmine felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

“Aren’t you supposed to cheer me up?” She said with a sigh. “You’re a bad therapist.”

Kaleb chuckled. “Never said I was good, but I don’t want to lie to you.” He paused for a few seconds before continuing. “But why do you feel like you can’t do this any longer?”

“I don’t know, Kaleb, seeing someone fly through a building like its paper does that to you. Or maybe I just feel powerless. When I imagine myself going against that… I mean I’d just die. So what’s the point?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For?”

“You shouldn’t have to think about that as a kid.”

“Well, I’m a metahuman, so I’ve been thinking about dying for the majority of my life!” She snapped as her fists banged against her mattress.

Kaleb looked at her… Jasmine could feel the pity in his eyes.

“I know. I saw it, and I was there when we liberated the camps.”

Jasmine felt her hands go cold. He continued.

“You already know what they were like. Slaving away building weapons or in mines. Pointless deaths. Children starving with hollow eyes. And for what? On a psychopathic king’s whim, millions of dead, killed in cold-blooded murder. That’s why I joined the army, you know.”

“I… I didn’t know that was why.”

“I didn’t know any metahumans personally, and I didn’t think I would ever care enough to throw my life into the military. But when Marshal Gessner’s army liberated my city, and he put up signs asking for volunteers, I knew what I had to do.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. You don’t thank people for having common sense. I did what was right. And there were regrets, of course. Not a day goes by where I don’t miss my parents or my friends who didn’t join along with me. Sometimes, when I was in the midst of battle and artillery shells were raining around me, I’d think that joining this was the biggest mistake of my life and that I was about to die. But I didn’t die. Although many did, all around me, and for some reason, I was always the one that lived. The last member of my squad after a patrol went badly, or we got ambushed in our sleep by enemy soldiers.” He paused and sat on the ground.

“I don’t know what to say.” Jasmine said defeatedly.

“It still eats me up inside. I hear their screams at night. I hear Mikel pleading with me to bring him back to our camp after his bottom half was blown up by a shell, and I see him looking at me as I ran. I hear Eric telling me to jump through the window to escape from a building while he’d distract the enemy. I see Magnus getting shot in the head by a sniper while we were speaking about him missing his daughter. I see them all. And yet, if I could go back in time, I would still do all of it.”

“But why? You probably made no difference. You’re just one man, Kaleb.”

“Because it’s right.”

“I see. Thank you for opening up to me, Kaleb.”

“I feel foolish talking to a kid about this.” He said with a slight smile. “I was supposed to be the therapist, not you.”

“I’m a good listener. Plus, I did tell you you were bad. Don’t worry. You were more useful than you give yourself credit for.”

Kaleb got on his feet.

“Well, I’m glad to be of use. And you should give yourself more credit.” He said as he turned to leave.

“What do you mean?”

“I think you believe you’re weaker than you are. You almost got me in our spar yesterday.”

“I didn’t almost get you, I just managed not to get destroyed in a few seconds. Plus, I was allowed to use my power. It wasn’t fair.”

“You have potential. Plus, you’re probably the best shot I’ve ever seen after this little training. If you do decide to stay… I think you’ll be like me. I don’t think you’ll regret it. But be aware that war… has costs.”

Jasmine nodded as the soldier left her to ponder in her room. She quickly closed the door and sat down to think. He had not tried to convince her to stay, but his words resonated with her. Was leaving that wrong? It had been impossible until now, but it looked like the Marshal was losing his grip on power. If she convinced Veronica, they could attempt an escape for sure. The girl had to think about her future, but for now, she grabbed her book and read.

---

A few hours later, Jasmine was finishing up on some breathing exercises. She felt the air fill her lungs and slowly trickle out through her mouth. She opened her eyes and decided to try to knock on Agnes’ door again. Perhaps the girl was ready to talk now. Regardless, she needed to speak with Biermann.

She slowly got up and stretched until she felt tingles run through her body. As the girl stopped next to her friend’s door, she tried to listen in and heard nothing. Jasmine knocked softly.

“It’s me again, Agnes.”

There was no response. Jasmine sighed and got ready to leave, but the door creaked slightly.

“Wait.”

Jasmine turned and saw Agnes peaking through the opening.

“Agnes, finally. I was worried about you!” Jasmine said as she rushed to her friend’s side.

“Meh, I’m totally fine. I just needed time alone. I’m such a fucking embarrassment.” She answered, her voice barely audible.

“You aren’t. I had to take time to think too. Come here.” Jasmine hugged her tightly. “Come on, talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to say. I’m over it.”

“If you’re sure you’re okay… fine. But what are you going to do?”

“I’m leaving. I can’t do this, Jasmine. I can’t risk my life for these people that don’t give a fuck about me.”

“I… okay. I’ll let Biermann know.”

“He’ll let me go, you think? Just like that?” She asked with a frown.

“My gut tells me yes.” She paused. “But if push comes to shove, here, take this.”

Jasmine fumbled around her pocket for a few seconds and grabbed a piece of hair.

“Whose hair is this? How did you get it?”

“I’m ninety percent sure it’s doctor Biermann’s hair. I found it a few days ago when he was sleeping at his desk.”

“Did you cut it? He wouldn’t give me scissors when I asked after I first came here.”

“No, it fell out of his head onto his desk. That’s what happens when you’re a middle-aged man…” she said with a grin. “But don’t use it unless you have to. I know how much it hurts.”

“I’ve been training my pain tolerance. I can handle it. Jasmine… come with me.”

Jasmine exhaled sharply.

“I’ve made my decision already, Agnes. I’m staying to help.”

“I could tell by the way you spoke. I’m telling you to leave with me.”

“I can’t, Agnes. I have to help stop the MSA.”

“The MSA has done nothing to you. Azeris destroyed your people and your family.”

Jasmine recoiled in surprise.

“I have to be better. Better than them.” She said as she turned. “I’ll ask Biermann about you.”

Jasmine left the residential quarters as she felt Agnes’ stare on her back. Biermann’s office was on the sixth floor, which was mainly for people with desk jobs like accountants, not scientists running experiments. She had only been up here once early in her stay, so she could barely remember which way it was. After asking around the floor, she found him. Biermann’s office was spacious— more spacious than her room— and the walls curved to form a half-circle. Behind him was a row of large windows that let the sunlight in as it was setting.

“Doctor Biermann.” Jasmine said as she wrinkled her nose. The room smelled like smoke.

“Jasmine.” He said with a smile. “Here to hand me your resignation letter?”

“I wouldn’t have to do that if I wanted to leave. I belong to the state. There is no way for me to resign.”

“I was joking. But yes, you can’t resign. What do you want?”

Jasmine considered what to lead with first. She could tell him that she’s staying first to soften the blow of Agnes running away, or would the reverse be better? The girl pondered about her choice for a few seconds.

“I don’t have all day, Jasmine. I’m swamped today, as you know. I have the Department of Defense and the Terror Intelligence Agency calling to tell me that they need you now, and I haven’t even told them that I have a mutiny on my hands. So please, what is it that you want?”

Well, that was that then.

“I just want to let you know that I’m staying here. I don’t know about Franz or Veronica but I’m staying.”

“Did you think… no, never mind. Thank you. Veronica is staying, I had a very fascinating conversation with her after you all left, but I noticed that Agnes was absent from your statement just now? How is she?” The doctor asked as he closed his laptop and opened a file sitting on his desk.

“I don’t know. She says she’s fine, but I can tell she’s still feeling terrible. She said she wanted to—”

“Stay! Wanted to stay!” Agnes burst into the room as she screamed. Jasmine looked at her in astonishment. What was she doing?

“Ah, Agnes, thank you for blessing us with your presence.” Biermann said sarcastically. “Now, please vacate the room, I’m getting a very important call in a few minutes.”

Jasmine shuffled out of the room with a confused look on her face. Agnes was not saying anything, and neither was she. As they made it to the elevator, she finally spoke.

“What made you change your mind so quickly? I thought you’d be preparing to sneak out by now.”

“I regret this already, don’t worry.” She replied as she pressed the fourth-floor button.

“Then why?”

“No reason. I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m always here if you want to talk. You’re obviously hiding something from me, and it hurts because I thought we were friends.”

“I—”

“Save it.” Jasmine cut her off, got off on a different floor, and decided to take the stairs.