23 This is prison

"Lila!" Sylvester calmly calls out to her. "It's okay, I'm here."

Lila looks to her right, where Sylvester is slowly approaching with his arms wide and a warm smile on his face.

"Raise your hands above your head, don't touch Uncle Fernandez." He orders.

Lila complies immediately without hesitation, staring at the distraught Fernandez, who is trembling in fear.

Standing in front of them, Sylvester untangles Lila's hair from Fernandez's button.

Through gritted teeth, Fernandez begs, "please take her off me before some slip happens."

Then, placing his hands on either side of her waist, he firmly but gently lifts and sets her down beside him.

Fernandez pushes back, his heart pounding erratically in his chest. He stutters, "I shouldn't be given this great responsibility again."

Not pleased by how quickly things had escalated, Dahlia orders the rest to their dorms while she deals with the problem.

Rai was about to leave just like the rest but was stopped by Dahlia's glare.

Reluctant to leave him, Mae holds onto Rai's arm tightly. "Please, come with me."

Shaking his head, Rai refuses. "I will once I'm done."

Mae releases his arm and bows politely at Dahlia before turning to leave.

Silence follows Mae's departure until Dahlia sighs and says, "you brought them in, now they are your problem."

"This place is rather small, I was expecting something bigger," Sylvester mumbles to himself as he looks around the room.

Dahlia bit down on her bottom lip, trying her hardest not to yell in their defense.

Ignoring her attempt to remain calm, Sylvester continues, "I've only been here once, but whoever had done this must have had little to no experience with interior design. It's boring, and way too plain. There is nothing here that would make me want to stay."

Rai's fists clench in rage as he silently seethes at Sylvester. 'That was our hard work with Mae's ability that you just trashed!'

Sylvester's gaze darts around the room, unable to find anything to appreciate about the space.

"Besides, what is this?" Sylvester asks, shaking his head and chuckling. "A common dormitory for gifted students? It's quite pathetic."

Fernandez could see that Sylvester's words were cutting deep into Rai and Dahlia's hearts.

"What do you mean by that?" Dahlia asks coldly.

"Why do I feel like I'm in a prison cell?" Sylvester ponders aloud, "no windows, less furniture, no decorations, nothing. Am I supposed to be here long enough to enjoy a normal life?"

Dahlia looks to Rai in disbelief, mouthing the words 'you brought in a sicko!'.

Rai tries to hide his uneasiness as he stares at Sylvester. He can tell that the sudden change in attitude and criticism were all done to get to Dahlia.

Rai also notices the effort Sylvester took to keep from laughing as he spoke.

Dahlia angrily replies, "this is not a prison cell, you fool!"

Lila tugs at Sylvester's sleeve to get his attention.

Squatting down to her level, Sylvester asks, "what's wrong, Lila?"

Taking his hand, Lila pulls him closer to whisper in his ear, "where are we, brother Sylve?"

"We're in a place with people who have abilities similar to ours but quite lower than us." Sylvester responds, gazing up at the ceiling.

Lila nods with understanding, glaring at the rude lady who had abused her brother earlier.

She then turns to Sylvester and asks, "Brother Sylve, why did you bring us here if it's so horrible?"

Looking over to Rai, Sylvester replies, "he knows why."

Rai jumps back, startled by being referred to in such a situation. The memory of Lila attempting to kill him is still fresh in his mind.

"We're training young children like you to become mindless warriors!" Dahlia declares with a grin.

Sylvester glares at her, "there are others who can handle that latter part. Like you."

Rai burst into laughter, while Dahlia glared daggers at Sylvester.

Rai, in order to clear the air, says, "Here, little one, you can learn to better control your powers and even develop higher versions of your abilities. You'll meet people who have different abilities than you. Some of them may end up being friends."

Lila nods her head slowly as she listens intently to Rai's explanation.

Dahlia points directly at Sylvester and declares, "I won't allow you to ruin all that we've built–"

Before Dahlia can finish her sentence, Sylvester steps forward, bringing his face close to hers.

With a menacing look in his eyes, Sylvester whispers, "Don't think you know me because you read some report from that stupid facility. If you need to vent, do it somewhere else. I don't discriminate against anyone, so keep that shit to yourself, if you value living."

Dahlia's mouth opens wide, stunned by Sylvester's boldness.

Rai breaks up the moment by stepping in between them and interjects, "I think we've had a long day, let's go eat dinner, and maybe we can think about things more rationally tomorrow."

Still angry, Sylvester walks to Lila, leaving Dahlia to glare at Rai.

Rai watches Sylvester with a smirk, thinking to himself. 'Just what we need to be better.'

"Please follow closely as I lead you to the dining hall," Rai says, walking ahead of Sylvester, Lila, and Fernandez.

Dahlia follows behind, keeping a distance between them.

The halls they walk through are fairly wide, with doors lining both sides of the corridor.

Sylvester stops at a door, his body stiffens as he stares ahead in silence.

Turning to look at him, Rai asks, "Is something wrong?"

Sylvester shakes his head, forcing a smile, "it's nothing, I thought I saw something strange ahead, but it was just that green stuff."

"They are vines!" Dahlia exclaims.

Sylvester tilts his head as he asks, "how does that contribute to anything, if they all get the logic?"

Yet again, Dahlia is forced to hold back the urge to scream. She closes her mouth and continues to walk ahead.

"Oh-kay? Well if you say so," Rai responds and continues towards the dining hall.

Sylvester takes a glance behind him, taking a mental note of the wooden tag with the word 'storeroom' written on it.

'Ha! Even here has been compromised!' He thinks to himself as he smiles inwardly.

He then focuses his attention back on the hallway.

Peeking through the door of the storeroom, a figure watches Sylvester and the others walk into the dining hall.

A creepy smile spreads on the person's lips, before muttering, "enjoy this moment of freedom, it might just be your last!"

Without another word, the person slips out of the storeroom, closing the door behind them.

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Author's note

¶ Any idea on who the mole is?

¶ Do check out the weekly auxiliary chapter[Bonus chapter task] to know how you can participate.