Chapter 2
1782 Words
The Organization
The days following JJ's discovery seemed peaceful.
At least, they appeared peaceful to him.
He spent most of his time at home with his mother and father, learning how to control the strange abilities that had suddenly become part of his life.
His mother continued studying him, but she was careful not to let her research interfere with his childhood.
His father, however, had become increasingly distant.
He spent more time making phone calls behind closed doors.
Sometimes JJ would hear his father talking late at night.
Sometimes there were unfamiliar voices.
Sometimes his father would leave the house without explaining where he was going.
JJ noticed.
But he was five.
He didn't understand what any of it meant.
One afternoon, he was sitting on the living-room floor, making a toy car float above his head.
His mother watched from the sofa.
"You're getting better."
JJ grinned.
"I can make it go higher."
"Don't."
"Why?"
"Because if you lose control, you could break something."
JJ lowered the car.
"I won't."
His mother smiled.
"I know you're trying."
JJ looked at her.
"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Why does Dad keep leaving?"
His mother hesitated.
"He has work."
"What kind of work?"
"Important work."
"Is it secret?"
His mother smiled nervously.
"Something like that."
JJ nodded.
Then he returned to his toy.
His mother watched him carefully.
She wanted to tell him the truth.
But she didn't know how.
She didn't know that the truth would soon come to him in the worst possible way.
That evening, JJ's father returned home later than usual.
He entered the house quietly.
His wife was waiting for him.
"Where were you?"
"Working."
"You're lying."
He stopped.
"What makes you think that?"
"Because I know you."
He sighed.
"Can we not do this tonight?"
"No."
She stood up.
"You've been disappearing for weeks."
"I've been busy."
"Doing what?"
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
"Is this about JJ?"
His expression changed.
That was enough.
"You've been talking to them, haven't you?"
He remained silent.
"Who?"
Still silence.
She already knew.
"The Orion Division."
Her face hardened.
"I knew it."
"You shouldn't say that name in this house."
"I don't care."
He walked toward the kitchen.
She followed him.
"They know about JJ."
Her husband stopped.
"They've known about him since the accident."
Her expression changed from anger to disbelief.
"What?"
"I told them."
She stared at him.
"You told them?"
"I had to."
"You had no right!"
"They need to know what he's capable of."
"He's five years old!"
"He won't be five forever."
"He is our son!"
"And he is something the Orion Division has never seen before."
His wife shook her head.
"You promised me you were done with them."
"I promised you I wouldn't involve them in our lives."
"You already have."
He looked away.
"They can help him."
"No."
"They have technology we don't."
"No."
"They can train him."
"I said no."
"They can protect him."
His wife stared at him.
"From who?"
He didn't answer.
She understood.
"From you?"
His expression hardened.
"I'm trying to protect our family."
"Then leave him alone."
"I can't."
"Why?"
He finally said what he had been thinking for weeks.
"Because JJ is the greatest breakthrough we've ever seen."
His wife stared at him.
Then she quietly said:
"He's not a breakthrough."
She pointed toward the hallway.
"He's your son."
The next morning, JJ woke up earlier than usual.
He walked downstairs and found his father sitting at the kitchen table.
"Dad?"
His father looked up.
"Morning."
"Where's Mom?"
"She's in the laboratory."
JJ sat beside him.
"Are you going to work?"
His father smiled.
"Not today."
"Good."
"Why?"
"Because I want to show you something."
JJ's eyes brightened.
"What?"
His father leaned closer.
"It's a surprise."
JJ smiled.
"Is it a toy?"
"Something better."
His father placed a hand on JJ's shoulder.
"Do you trust me?"
JJ nodded.
"Of course."
His father smiled.
"Good."
JJ's mother entered the kitchen a few minutes later.
She stopped when she saw them.
"What are you doing?"
Her husband stood.
"Taking JJ somewhere."
"Where?"
"Out."
"Where?"
He didn't answer.
Her eyes moved toward JJ.
"JJ, come here."
JJ stood.
His father gently held his shoulder.
"He's coming with me."
She immediately became suspicious.
"Where?"
"To meet some people."
"No."
His father sighed.
"Don't start."
"You aren't taking him anywhere."
JJ looked between them.
"What's wrong?"
His mother walked toward him.
"Nothing, sweetheart."
She took his hand.
"You're staying here."
His father stepped forward.
"He needs to understand what he is."
Her eyes widened.
"What he is?"
She pulled JJ closer.
"He is a child."
"He is also a psychic."
JJ looked confused.
"A what?"
His father crouched down.
"Someone with abilities."
JJ smiled.
"I can move things."
His father nodded.
"Exactly."
His mother grabbed his arm.
"Stop."
He pulled away.
"You can't hide this forever."
"I can hide him from you."
She looked at him with fear.
"What are you planning?"
His father didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the front door.
"Get your things, JJ."
JJ looked at his mother.
"Mom?"
She didn't respond.
Her face had gone pale.
"Mom?"
She finally looked at him.
"Don't go."
JJ became confused.
"But Dad said—"
"Don't go with him."
His father opened the door.
"JJ."
JJ stood between them.
He didn't know who to listen to.
His father extended his hand.
"Come on."
His mother grabbed JJ.
"You're not taking my son."
Her husband looked at her.
"Your son?"
He paused.
"Our son."
Then his expression hardened.
"But you're refusing to see what he can become."
The argument became louder.
JJ stood silently between his parents.
His mother pleaded with his father.
His father insisted that JJ needed to leave.
Neither of them noticed the small objects around the room beginning to shake.
JJ was frightened.
His emotions were affecting his abilities.
A lamp trembled.
A glass lifted slightly from the table.
His mother noticed.
"JJ..."
The glass suddenly flew across the room.
It shattered against the wall.
Everyone went silent.
JJ stared at the broken glass.
"I didn't mean to."
His mother immediately knelt beside him.
"It's okay."
His father stared at him.
Instead of fear, there was fascination in his eyes.
"You see?"
His wife looked at him.
"See what?"
"He's already becoming stronger."
"That's enough."
His father reached for JJ.
His mother moved in front of him.
"You will not take him."
He stared at her.
Then he quietly said:
"I've already made arrangements."
Her face went blank.
"What arrangements?"
He didn't answer.
The front door opened.
Several people entered.
They were dressed formally.
None of them looked like ordinary visitors.
JJ stepped backward.
"Who are they?"
His mother turned toward them.
"Get out of my house."
One of the men spoke calmly.
"We're here for the boy."
JJ's mother immediately understood.
She grabbed him.
"Run."
JJ didn't move.
"Mom?"
"Run, JJ!"
His father stepped between them.
"I'm sorry."
She stared at him.
"You planned this."
He said nothing.
"You planned all of this."
"I had to."
"You promised me!"
"I know."
She tried to pull JJ away.
One of the men approached.
JJ's fear exploded.
Objects throughout the room flew into the air.
A chair crashed against the wall.
A lamp shattered.
The visitors stepped back.
JJ stared at his hands.
His father watched in amazement.
"Imagine what he'll be able to do when he's trained."
His mother screamed:
"Don't touch my son!"
But it was too late.
JJ was taken away.
He cried.
He struggled.
He tried to reach for his mother.
"Mom!"
His mother ran after him.
"JJ!"
He stretched out his hand.
"Mom!"
His father grabbed him.
JJ looked at him.
"Dad, please!"
His father hesitated.
For the first time, guilt appeared in his eyes.
JJ's expression broke his heart.
But he still didn't stop.
"Take him."
His mother fell to her knees.
"Please."
JJ was carried toward the waiting vehicle.
"Mom!"
She ran toward him again.
The doors closed.
JJ pressed his hands against the window.
His mother stood outside.
She was crying.
His father stood behind her.
JJ looked at him.
His father couldn't meet his eyes.
The vehicle began moving.
JJ watched his home disappear.
His mother became smaller and smaller through the window.
Then she disappeared completely.
JJ turned toward his father.
"Why?"
His father remained silent.
The Orion Division was unlike anything JJ had ever seen.
The vehicle eventually arrived at a massive facility hidden far from the city.
The building looked more like a fortress than a home.
Tall walls surrounded it.
Security cameras covered almost every corner.
Large metal doors separated different sections of the building.
JJ was taken inside.
He looked around nervously.
"Where are we?"
Nobody answered.
He was taken through a series of corridors.
He saw laboratories.
Training rooms.
Medical facilities.
Children and teenagers being examined by scientists.
Some were practicing strange abilities.
Others sat quietly behind glass.
JJ didn't understand what he was seeing.
He only knew that he wanted to go home.
He tried to ask where his mother was.
But nobody answered.
Eventually, he was brought into a large room.
A scientist approached him.
"What's your name?"
JJ looked at him.
"JJ."
The scientist wrote something down.
"Age?"
"Five."
"Abilities?"
JJ hesitated.
"I don't know."
The scientist smiled.
"We'll find out."
JJ didn't like the sound of that.
The first weeks were difficult.
JJ was tested constantly.
They measured his strength.
They tested his telekinesis.
They studied his ability to teleport objects.
They wanted to know his limits.
JJ often became frightened.
Sometimes he cried.
Sometimes he refused to cooperate.
But eventually, he learned that fighting the scientists only made things worse.
So he stopped fighting.
He learned to obey.
He learned to stay quiet.
He learned that nobody was coming to take him home.
His mother never appeared.
His father never appeared.
The Orion Division became his entire world.
The years passed.
JJ grew older.
The tests became harder.
His abilities became stronger.
He could move heavier objects.
He could control several objects simultaneously.
His teleportation became more precise.
His strength became extraordinary.
But none of it mattered to him.
He still wanted his family.
He still remembered his mother's voice.
He still remembered his father's jokes.
And he still remembered the morning when they had eaten breakfast together.
But those memories began fading.
The Orion Division had taken almost everything from him.
Almost.
Because one day, someone new entered his life.
Someone who wouldn't look at him like an experiment.
Someone who would become his closest friend.
Someone who would eventually become his voice.
His name was Ricky.
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