2.26.1

Adapt and Overcome

The life of so many children and such unbridled, unrepressed energy made it easy to forget they sat interred in a ruined academy. Even from inside the great hall, which Astrid confirmed to be the original cafeteria.

The kitchen lay locked behind steel doors, unused. The many, many tables provided a surface for board games and handheld devices with which the children were encouraged to play.

Denied such things before, some of the kids seemed quite content to indulge, clueless as to the implications above their heads.

Nevertheless, they seemed safe, for now. And in the first couple hours, Astrid took in as much of the mood and feeling as she could, to gather a clear sense of the status quo and how to look like she belonged.

She could feel the boiling questions of her energy-kin. Those from Endra, especially, sought answers of their own. Details of her departure, her return, the outside. Others just wanted reassurance that her people worked a plan. That the Channelers hadn’t been surrendered to the mercy of their kidnappers.

With great difficulty, Astrid continued to deflect as tactfully as she could, lest they be overheard. She continually reminded the teens to act as though nothing changed, and eventually, the group settled into some form of feigned normalcy.

In the late afternoon, they received a delivery of playing cards, and artwork supplies. Busywork, the Channeler noted. Intended to keep the children engaged and distracted.

The Statics interacted with them even less than Guardians, and Astrid grew further perplexed.

She’d expected experiments, abuse, or at the very least, rampant fear. But in this case, it seemed the S.O. had little interest in their stolen subjects.

“How many Statics have you seen?” She asked Menloh, while he, along with Astrid and Maya, pretended to doodle with their younger counterparts.

Nearby, Opal colored a picture of the sky while she chatted away with a reticent young boy Astrid didn’t recognize.

“Twenty, total. Never at the same time,” the hooded teen shared.

“They talk like they have a lot more.” Maya shifted in her seat. Another young one tucked into her side while they both worked on the same picture. “Outside. And in other parts of the galaxy. They seem organized. Or maybe that’s just what they want us to believe. There were thirty on the ship that brought us here,” she finished.

Astrid kept her face perfectly blank. “Well, they’re down at least that many, now.”

Menloh caught her eye from deep in the shelter of his hood. It grew clear, he, at least, inferred her meaning.

“Aside from us who are the older children?” she queried next.

Menloh slid his eyes to a pair of girls on the other end of the hall. They too, seemed teenagers. But more invested in comforting one another than the little ones.

“That’s Leia, and Indy. Short for Indiana. They’re from Mercedes.”

“We have Neema, Georgie and Nigel, from our own,” Maya detailed. Astrid remembered each she named, all between the ages of twelve and fourteen.

“And,” Maya then turned her face to a teenager at the back of the room. Brown wavy hair tucked behind his ears, and baby blue eyes stared into his paper while he staked a space alone, at his own table. “That one. Don’t know how old he is. He doesn’t talk much. The other kids from Lorelei call him Ethan. But I heard him say his name is ‘Zeke’. That’s all I know.”

Maya frowned, as if annoyed herself she couldn’t report more.

Astrid swallowed a squeeze in her throat when she realized just who the girl described.

While she carefully measured her reaction and processed what info the others could share, Opal clambered down from her seat and came to their side.

An image of sparkling stars cluttered a field of violet of Endran twilight. The girl presented her page proudly. Astrid smiled with affection to recognize such a familiar sky.

~~~

Statics arrived to feed them from parcels of prepackaged foods. Nothing notably nutritious, but for Channelers usually on a strict and limited regimen, some of the children delighted in the snacks.

Astrid spent most the early evening doing her own reconnaissance. She asked questions whenever company, or lack thereof, permitted.

“No one has had any discharge issues? No outbursts?” She pried in disbelief. After all, the children seemed nearly hyper after their dose of salt and sugar.

“There have been,” Maya told her. Her face darkened.

Neema came to join them. The twelve-year-old didn’t seem to truly comprehend the impact of Astrid’s return, but happy to see her nonetheless, the girl sat to listen in and idly braid Maya’s hair while they talked. Astrid couldn’t help but notice it seemed Maya and Finn stepped up after she left. The Endrans really seemed to look up to them.

“It’s usually worse right after a new group comes in,” Maya continued. “But the Statics never hesitate to use the pulsars the moment things get tense. Often the threat is enough, after they’re here for a few days.”

Astrid furrowed her brow in thought. “You guys have been here the longest, right? Endra?”

Finn nodded. “We had no idea what was happening. It almost felt a relief to see others join us. But we lost a lot of people back home, I think…”

The boy’s demeanor shifted, and Astrid pitied his memory. Surely, they witnessed horrific things that shook all they knew about the world. Yet they were spared the coldness of seeing it listed in black and white. All the dead left in their wake. Just how many died trying to protect them.

“The Keeper immediately called for help,” Astrid comforted. “And my captain has been on your trail since the day you were taken.”

Finn blinked. But Maya’s eyes welled.

“They’ve been looking for us? This whole time?”

“Of course, they have.” Astrid reached for the girl’s hand, but Maya, not yet accustomed to physical touch, gave a start to the contact. Still, the teen willed herself to calm, and Astrid admired how far the young woman came from the erratic spark she once wrestled.

The doors at the back of the room parted for a loud whistle. Ten Statics, the most Astrid witnessed in one place since arrival, lined up outside in the hall.

“What’s going on?” Astrid quickly muttered while Channelers all around her stood on their feet.

“Our nightly exercise,” Finn mumbled as quickly as he could from the side of his mouth. “It’s the only time they move us.”