The old finally relaxed as healing energies ran into their bodies, their mornings having been plagued with the aches and tired joints that usually came with old age. Their hearts beat normally again, their eyes lighting up just slightly. Those cursed with empty minds likely didn’t notice the difference themselves but the other patients at the elder care certainly didn’t mind the quiet.

Jared rose from his seat, feeling the need to stretch his limbs as the elderly around him became busy with chit-chatting vividly, needing to say every single thing on their minds. His smile ran for miles, seeing their faces light up after the energy had travelled through their bodies. While work was hard to deal with sometimes, and the patients he treated were even more troublesome than their frailness should have allowed, it was rewarding to see their moods improve to such a degree.

Taking away the plastic fork one of the more clouded patients had gotten their hands on, the man went over to check how Clara was doing inside the small kitchen. Putting his elbows on the line, he saw the woman running around in a mad dash, trying to make sure the oatmeal didn’t become black while also making sure that the drinks for each patient were labelled correctly. The lord above knew that their asses would be handed to them if they messed up a third time, even if some of the older had been rather happy with their increased doses.

“Everything alright there?” Jared said, seeing the oatmeal become a bit darker in colouring. It had certainly gained a much darker tint during last week's round of Clara prepping but there was still plenty of time for a record to be broken.

“About as alright as it can be?” Clara answered, finally noticing the rapidly darkening food. Putting it off the heat and over to a cooler place, the woman looked up at him. “Aren’t you meant to watch over them?”

“I am,” Jared said, glancing over at the mirror on the wall. While it required a tilt of his head, he could see most of the room using it. And… that included a certain patient that had somehow found a second plastic fork. The younger healer wondered where the oldie had found such things. Forks hadn’t been used in the last three days.

“You really are better than the last hire,” one of the older ladies mentioned to him as he helped the old woman get down on one of the dining chairs. Clara finished with the food, bringing everyone their assorted drinks. Even those with empty minds knew how to drink, having been at the facility for long enough to remember the rules. “They had no powers, no nothing. Could barely talk our mother tongue.”

“Well, they might just not have had the required tenacity for this job,” Jared offered with a half-smile, making the old ladies chuckle with mirth. It didn’t take much more to distract them in recent times, any half-assed attempt to impress them being better than their usual chairs of solitude. “How has your knee been doing? I heard you complain about it yesterday.”

“It’s better than it has been in the last twenty years, thanks to you,” the old woman said. Jared tried to forget the fact he didn’t know her name, barely able to remember what she’d complained about last time she was around. “That power of yours helps everybody here more than you know.”

Jared had some form of idea but didn’t let that fact come into the air. Making sure the rest of the elderly were sitting alright, he took a well-deserved five-minute break. Even with shaking hands holding spoons, every person close by knew how to eat. They’d had one a few weeks back who had apparently been unable to do even that. That elderly man had been on his last legs when Jared had joined the personnel, barely able to see him before the young man had been forced to help stuff him in a bag.

The place itself wasn’t something he was too happy about. It offered average pay for an above-average amount of work. Jared had done worse through the years but he had also done much better. There was a balance to walk and even accepting the position was already pushing one end too much. But, he had his reasons no matter what. Sticking to the bad sides would work out for him in the end.

And, at the very least, all of those drinks the patients were given daily helped keep them in check. Even when agitated or out of their minds, no powers were forced into the room. No sudden bursts of fire due to John reliving the past and no sudden vortexes of doom because Linda thought she heard somebody break in. While there were limits to what the liquid impairments could do, it at least helped them from doing anything that would require a thorough cleaning.

There were still risks, of course. Clara had told Jared about the times when one of the patients had gotten no dose at all, the result being a sudden destruction of a wall and a four-hour-long manhunt for an old man who couldn’t find his way home. Even now, he could still see the crude way those bricks had been put back into place. It made him worry that the budget was starting to grow even thinner than what it had been previously. Nobody wanted to take care of the old powerful elderly but even fewer wanted to pay for their treatments.

“This isn’t even close to fair,” Clara complained the moment that the next group came around to take over, the two new workers barely granting them a glance before they started their eight hours. Jared knew he would likely do the same when he had to come back and do his own eight the next day. “We work every day of the week, we barely get minimum pay, and they have the gall to threaten us with delaying checks.”

Management hadn’t liked the last rookie that resigned within only a few days of working there, taking it out on everybody else with a few threats. Jared couldn’t say that had been the wisest move business-wise but he could certainly see how stress might have caused such a reaction. With less wanting to work in such dangerous environments, and with the requirements for getting a position being so high, it was understandable that so few submitted applications.

“They were likely just stressed when sending it out, Clara. You know how the days can be when nothing goes your way,” Jared reasoned with the woman, getting an elongated groan in response. Taking a bite from his brought lunch, the man gave the woman the time she needed before she could continue.

“They don’t even care about the patients anymore,” Clara said after another minute. “We work hard to make sure they feel the best years possible but management refuses to get them the treatment they need to live their lives without pain. Did you know that the old man in Room 3B can’t say his name anymore? The neurons for that part of his brain seemed to have been consumed, from what one of the doctors said. We have enough money lying around to have it diagnosed as some form of aphasia but we somehow can’t be bothered to have somebody come around and fix it.”

“Powered Healers are very expensive,” Jared reminded her, noting the texture of stale bread. That bag he’d bought last week seemed to be on its last legs. He needed to go out and buy some before his next shift if he was to have any chance of enjoying his food. “The company barely has the money to fix a wall. Renting a healer able to fix mental diseases is… not something within their range.”

“We both know it very well is. With how much the government is sending in checks, we could house double the current amount of patients if the money didn’t keep disappearing,” Clara said, finally mentioning something that shouldn’t have been mentioned in a company break room. Putting down his food, Jared leaned over the table.

“I don't think we should mention a certain manager stealing from the company when that certain manager has cameras and microphones in the corner to your right,” Jared whispered, making the woman glance. Not the smartest thing to do, but it certainly allowed her to see the truth. She’d said something very stupid in the wrong place. Only waiting would tell if it had been the wrong time as well. Who truly knew how often they looked through the tapes. “It’s not like anybody would think of firing you, miss empath.”

“Hey, I don’t feel the emotions of others. There’s a very big difference here,” Clara instantly objected, a history of miscommunications distracting her from the previous topic. “I can influence others to feel comfort, tranquillity, and every other emotion that might be needed at the time.”

“If you can change what emotion they have, wouldn’t using your power continually allow you to know what emotion they’re currently feeling?” Jared pointed out, making one of the woman’s eyes twitch. “Because that sounds like something an Empath can do.”

“That would be like me asking you why you aren’t stopping people from ageing using your ability,” Clara retorted in little time. “But, oh wait, that’s because you’re too weak for stuff like that, mister healer.”

Jared rolled his eyes, letting the woman win this one. The power he currently had wasn’t the most powerful, he had to admit. It could make people feel more alive, happier, and make sure that wounds and such were taken care of. It took a lot of mental work for anything complex, however, forcing the young man to stay with jobs that allowed for a lesser speed. Clara, on the other hand, had this job purely because she wanted to help the few who didn’t get enough help from others. It was admirable in more ways than one, Jared almost wishing to have the same willpower to stay in the same place for so long. Moving around in the sectors was just how he lived, though.

But, in the end, he agreed with a few things the woman had said. While Clara was a bit more brutish with her opinions, calling out the small but very serious corruption at the facility, Jared had to admit that it was a growing issue. Nothing could be done on their side, the other managers turning a blind eye for money or merely not being able to do anything but stand aside or be fired. The owners might have cared if they lived in the country, everything, in reality, being handled by the manager in question. There were some issues to twist around there. Not in the workplace, however. Any attempts would get them fired, their need to be their being serious or not. There weren’t too many workers left and it would only be worsened with more time.

Finishing his food, Jared said his goodbyes before his leave, wishing the few elderly at the entrance a happy afternoon as he went outside the house and into the smaller town. Out of the 57 sectors, Sector 37 truly was one of the more peaceful ones. The crime was low, the population, in general, was low, and most of the area was eaten up by the natural rivers and forests, the few empty spaces filled with small groups of buildings and shops. One particular shop in the distance was exactly what Jared was looking for. Even with a rather unpleasant hourly wage, the number of hours put in did allow for some luxuries. Maybe he would try sugary bread that had been getting popular recently. One needed to clap themselves on the back sometimes, after all.

Looking up at the shining sun, Jared briefly imagined another so-called sun’s head-splitting into two. The man whistled a jolly tune after that, the smile on his face growing wide. Some parts of life would never be ignored in full.