Lana eventually stood up and quickly explained before running out of the room with the new prototype heading to the doctor's office to see if the girl was okay.
She got there just as the doctor started examining her. The girl was still out but she was battered pretty badly. Her legs were both broken and her hip was popped out of socket. She was bleeding from the rough penetration, and it looked like he ripped her open. It was a sight Dobin could not take and he stepped aside with his back to her once his sister arrived.
Lana rushed to the doctor's side her eyes welling up with tears once again. "Can I help with anything?"
"That depends. You appear to know something. Care to tell me?" She spoke in such a caring, gentle voice.
Lana told her everything. Her story, what the trees showed her. Lana gave her the crib-notes version, but it was enough for the doctor to understand.
Hayley nodded along as she used her ability on the girl then gave her a sedative, "I'll be keeping her here over night. I'll try to get a statement from her in the morning."
Lana nodded and headed for the door.
"Lana, thank you. For trusting me."
She nodded again and was gone. Lana looked at her watch as they left the building.
Are you still awake. I really need a hug.
Where are you?
Heading to my room. Be there is a couple minutes.
I'll meet you there.
To her left, while she was typing, "That could have been you."
"But it wasn't."
Dobin stopped her and turned her, "But it could have been! He HAS to be stopped!"
"Yes, he does. Learn your book. We are getting stronger as a team. We'll handle this together."
She turned and resumed walking. Inside, Dobin headed upstairs, and she turned through the fire doors into her hallway. Vorden was leaning against her door.
"Thank you Vorden for meeting me to discuss next week's training."
Vorden didn't like the look of her face. She had obviously cried a lot of tears and Sil was right there watching. She took the few steps required. "Let's go inside and talk."
She opened the door and they both entered. She could see Vorden was struggling and could figure out why. "Let him out."
That was all Sil needed to hear. Vorden was given no choice as Sil took over his body.
"What's going on?" as he pushed her against the wall, lifting her up with her legs around his waist.
She sighed and gave him the crib-notes version because she really wanted to be held and all this explaining was becoming exhausting. She wanted to sleep in his arms.
Sil was furious. The energy coming off him was both scary and comforting.
She looked him in the eyes, "My Love, Logan has this under control right now. I need you to trust. Please. I'm bringing Duff to our side. I think it will help. Please don't kill him." She held his eyes with hers, placing her hand on his cheek tenderly. "Promise me, you'll leave Duff alone. He's a victim in this just as much as I am."
Sil didn't want to capitulate, but his sweet girl had asked so nicely and he wanted to see her smile more than anything.
"Okay but if he betrays you, his death will be highly painful."
Lana consented. "Please just hold me. I want to fall asleep in your arms."
Since it was the weekend and she'd made enough money to buy clothing, she was wearing a dress instead of her uniform. Being a tom girl, she didn't wear panty hose. She thought they were stupid, fragile, and a waste of time.
Sil reached under her dress and removed her undies, dropping her legs just long enough for them to drop to the floor. They could hear Kattie snoring and being near the door, they knew they needed to be quiet. He pleasured her with his fingers while keeping his mouth on hers, locked in a kiss to reduce the volume of the moans.
When he was done, he carried her to her bed, gently placed her in, then took his own clothing off and made her happy again. The 15 minute alarm went off before they were done and Vorden started pinging. He held her tightly afterward and she was out in just a few minutes. When Sil realized she was asleep, he got up and let Vorden take over, quickly getting dressed and running to their room with seconds to spare before 10:00.
*********************
Down the hall from Vorden and Dobin, a young man was reading a new ability book and he wasn't just understanding what he was reading but he was truly enjoying the contents of the book. He had hoped he would understand when Lana bought it for him but now that he was reading it, he realized just how perfect this ability was for him, how well it fit his personality. He never wanted to be a leader or have power but he wanted to help people such as himself. This was a terrible world he found himself in and he wanted the power to help those stronger than him make a difference.
In his mind, people deserved the right to have a good life, to not live in fear as he had done his whole life. Living through the years as a level one was a nightmare that the poor often suffered from and could never change because they were never afforded the opportunity. Perhaps by siding with someone as wonderful as that Lana girl, he could change his parents' lives, his brother and his two sisters as well.
Duff was the oldest, the youngest was just 6 years old. School didn't expect her to have an ability just yet but the appearance of one's clothing would tell the others straight away that no ability would be forth coming. He had high hopes and was praying that this hope was not misplaced. He made a promise to himself to study diligently and learn this book by the end of the week as asked.
***********************
Somewhere in a darkened room, a level-7 ability user was fuming. He had been foiled again. "I'm going to get that monster. She is always spoiling my fun! And now she sent in her brother? I'll show them both!"