1 An Encounter

It's the first morning of my senior year spring break. Father got called in for a job at the Institute for the Wicked and Deadly, the primary Colorado holding grounds for harmful supernaturals. He is the Institute's official expert, in charge of helping control the behaviors and bad tempers of the supernaturals being held at the Institute. Since he gets called in a lot, he thought this time we could turn it into a father and children mini vacation. Don't worry, I know it sounds like the worst idea ever but the institute actually has nice visiting quarters for their guests. Not only are the rooms luxurious, but they also provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the cafe right downstairs.

I finished packing my suitcase right as Father came around to collect them. My brother Jasper came out of his bedroom, headphones on, videogame in hand, and his backpack half-opened, its contents spilling out.

"Come on guys; I can't be late," Father yells on his way out with the luggage

Mother pops her head out from behind the kitchen counter, where she's putting away some dishes and comes over to say her goodbyes,

"Behave well for your father, you hear me?" she pushes Jasper's headphones off his ears causing him to protest, but at that same moment, Father calls from outside,

"Let's go!"

We kiss mother on the cheek and scurry into the car while she makes her way over to kiss father goodbye.

"We'll be back in a week"

"I know, and I'll be missing you every second. I love you"

"I love you too"

We drive off down the street, beginning our hour-long road trip to the Institute. I packed a couple of fiction books to keep me occupied during our drive, though the scenery sometimes distracted me. Ever since I could remember I have enjoyed reading fiction books, something about them helped me escape my reality even if it was just for a couple of seconds.

My life is not necessarily bad but it is not good either. Jasper is a movement manipulator. Which means he can control the movements of any living or nonliving thing, but since he never practices his magic the largest thing he can manipulate is a mouse. It's good for me because I don't want an annoying brother who also manipulates me to do his chores, but he does find his ways of annoying me with small objects from time to time. Now if you thought it only ended there, you were wrong. Jasper is younger than me but still likes to act like he is older because of his height. Why do guys get the tall genes? I mean I would love it if I were to date someone and they are taller than me but my younger brother should never in history be taller than me. It gives them the opportunity to tell others they are older and people to believe them when you clearly came first.

Then there is Father, he is a Memory Manipulator. He is able to add, subtract, or change anyone's memories in a swift second which is why he is needed at the institute. He and I do not have the greatest father-daughter relationship, I like to keep to myself and stay in my room which irritates him. Mother is more understanding with letting me have my me time as long as I go outside at least once a day. She has a basic level of TeleKinesis that helps with some of the daily chores around the house because it allows her to levitate and move any object as big as a dining room chair. As for me, I am a fire mage. I know, super weird considering my mother has TeleKinesis and my father has Memory Manipulation. They say I have a rare advantage where my powers do not line up at all with those of my parents. I do not mind though, I love being a fire mage, the ability to produce fire on any part of my body gives me such an excitement when I use it.

Sigh, "Velvela and Ethelwulf are adorable together." I closed my second fiction book just as we pulled into the small parking lot. The institute had been built deep in the mountains in hopes of concealing its location from humans, and in some cases, other supernaturals. I have always been a sucker for the mountain scenery which is why the hour-long trip never bothered me, plus when the white futuristic building came into view it gave me an excitement that only a secret building away from civilization could.

We got out of the car and grabbed our own luggage from the trunk. My duffle bag was a red one, a bit large for me when I was younger but now just the right size for me and my travel belongings.

We walk in through two large glass doors, to be greeted by a young receptionist sitting at a large white desk that seemed two times too big for her. She looked like she was typing something very important because she didn't look up right away when we got up to the counter.

"Good morning," Father says nicely with a smile.

"Good morning, you must be Mr. Auerbach" she returns the smile welcomingly.

"Yes I am"

She hands father an envelope she had sitting in a basket at the edge of her desk, "Alright, inside you will find your room keys, which double as your food cards, and Mr.Auerbach, your assignment"

"Thank you very much" she smiled and we made our way down to the elevators, to find our rooms. Father had his own room while I had to share with Jasper, great...not.

Once we dropped our bags in the room we met back out in the hall to go over the rules. Father had to get going, so he quickly recited the rules and left us the map to help get around. "I will be back around six, you two can walk around, but please do not get in any trouble. If I hear one person complain about you, Jasper, you guys will not be able to leave the room tomorrow. Understood?"

"Woah, why are you calling me out!?" Jasper protests

"Because I don't have to worry about Lucia running down the halls, do I?" Jasper crosses his arms and walks down the hall, "Lucia I expect you to take care of your brother, I will see you two later," Father walks down the hall and I follow Jasper down the opposite way.

"Wait up!" I fall into step, "I was thinking it could be fun to see what type of people they keep here, how about it?" he hesitates but responds, "sure, I guess it could be fun"

It was a five-minute walk to the holding center through the courtyard, and when we got there we had to use our key cards twice to get in. Once for the main door and a second for a heavier security door that was approximately twenty feet away from the first one. As soon as we made it through the second door, it was only a short walk to the left and around a corner where we would encounter our first Wicked and Deadly Institute supernatural of the day. Lucky for us the first one up was a necromancer sitting in the corner of his room following our every movement. Having magic and bulletproof glass between us and the Supers really helped relieve the fear one might have when visiting these rooms. If the glass had been like regular house windows or even prison bars I do not think I would still be walking through this hallway.

I stopped every few rooms when a Super caught my attention. Reading the patient information cards was actually a lot more interesting than it may seem. Not everyone held here was completely 'wicked' or 'deadly', some are going through recovery and are well on their way to being released someday while others are going through mental problems not so easy to deal with. As we ventured farther down the hallway, I found some interesting people with interesting abilities. A woman, standing in the center of her room completely covered in flames head to toe. Her eyes locked with mine as I cautiously walked over to read her info card, my curiosity peaking. She is called the Mother of Flames, and has spent ten years at the Institute for completely burning down two entire villages full of innocent people. Her flames looked just like mine, but felt so much more powerful, which shook me to my core. As I walked away, I could feel her eyes still fixated on me. I caught up with Jasper as we thankfully turned a corner leaving the Mother of Flames behind us. "That was weird" I mumble under my breath,

"What did you say?"

I looked up and smiled, shaking my head, "nothing" I looked back one last time, knowing I wouldn't see her but I still feared she would somehow be there...