The Variant Condition: Chapter 2

Cestrial Government Facility for Variants, 23 April 2015

Blood. Blood. Blood.
“NO!!!” Caroline screamed as she jolted up in bed. It was her repeating nightmare. An old memory exaggerated by imagination and emotion.

Caroline’s heart was racing. Sweat on her forehead as she looked around her small grey room with no doors or windows. It made the feeling worse. It felt like the walls were closing in on her as the memory played over and over in head.

Blood. Hands grabbing, pulling, pushing. Darkness. All alone.
With her hand against the dense grey wall in her room Caroline pulled a chunk of the wall away as if it were malleable dough leaving a hand shaped indentation in the wall. The handful of wall shifted in Caroline’s hand like a thick fluid. Small chunks of Platinum and Osmium separated itself and Caroline flicked them the floor. Her wall was made of some of the densest materials in the world, some too dense for her to manipulate with her natural ability.

Caroline closed her eyes, a stream of tears escaping down her cheeks. When she opened her eyes again the grey material in her hand was in the solid shape of a small dog. Her heart was still pounding but gave a little smile to the small dog.

“Nightmares again?” Caroline looked up. She had been so focused on the nightmare in her head that she hadn’t noticed Anton enter the room. Anton Larrow, Caroline’s ‘Variant Handler’ was the only person deemed strong enough to keep Caroline under control and was her main caretaker.

Caroline pushed the small dog under her pillow and sat up more comfortably. She gave no response.

“Here.” Anton handed her a glass of water. As she took the glass from his hand he reached under her pillow and retrieved the small dog statue. “Caroline,” he sighed, “you have to let this go.” He pushed the dog into the hand print on the wall with a flat hand and as he pulled his hand away the wall was smooth again.

Caroline held the glass of water and stirred it slowly with a finger. As she stirred white particles started to appear floating around in the water. The white particles gathered and combined until Caroline picked out a small white pill.

“What are they trying to drug me with now?” She asked as she carefully observed the pill. Anton cracked a small smile.

“It’s to help calm you. We’re only trying to help, Caroline. Trust me.” Caroline rolled the pill between her fingers a moment longer. This pill felt different. It was a new drug. With a glance at Anton she knew there was no resisting. She threw the pill into the back of her mouth and with a sip of the water she swallowed the drug. “Good girl. Now go back to sleep.”

Almost immediately Caroline started feeling unstable and weak. Her mind quickly became disorientated and gravity seemed too strong to fight anymore. The glass of water fell to the floor and she felt Anton’s arms carefully laying her back down on the bed. She tried to give protest but her speech was slurred and everything was fading. “I’m sorry.” He said as he stroked her hair away from her face and she closed her eyes.


Later than morning Caroline woke feeling dazed. Her body felt strange. Weak. She rolled her head slowly from side to side until she finally managed to open her eyes properly.

The room was lighter than usual, light was coming from an open doorway. Only Anton could open doorways in Caroline’s room; it was the only way to contain her. There were other people in the room too. As Caroline’s senses started to return to her she realised there was a pinching feeling in her arm. There was someone taking blood from her arm.

“Anton?” Caroline asked sleepily.

“I’m here, Caroline. How are you feeling?” Caroline was able to focus on Anton’s figure standing by the doorway.

“I feel… weird.” She tried to muster the strength to sit up but someone held her down.

“You’ll be okay.”

“I’m done here.” The doctor finished taking blood and packed up his equipment. “She’s all yours now.” As the doctor walked away another man stepped forward.

“Alright, Caroline Tents. You can sit up now.” The man was, Zack Andrews, one of the government’s scientists working on ways to control uncontrollable variants.

Caroline slowly sat up.

“How are you feeling today?” He sat down on a chair beside the bed and put his usual box of tricks on the bed beside Caroline.

“My head feels foggy.” Caroline replied. The scientist opened his container and pulled out a rubber ball.

“Catch.” Caroline caught the ball. “Well at least your reflexes are still sharp. Now try and show me one of your tricks.” Caroline rolled the ball around in her hands. Something didn’t feel right. She tightened her grip on the ball. It felt solid.

“What? What’s wrong with me?” Caroline panicked as she realised she couldn’t feel the particles that made up the ball in her hand.

“Calm down Caroline. Calm down.” Zack said calmly as he stood up and backed away a couple steps.

“I can’t feel it! I can’t... Why can’t I feel it?” She squeezed the ball trying as hard as she could to do anything with it; to manipulate the particles. “What have they done to me?” Caroline pleaded to Anton who wouldn’t even look at her.

“It worked.” The scientist smiled. “Do you feel nauseous or pain? Difficulty breathing?” He ventured closer to Caroline to check the temperature of her forehead.

“Don’t touch me!” Caroline pushed him. “I hate you!” She threw the rubber ball at Anton. Quickly a security man ran forward and grabbed her. “No!! Let go!” Caroline struggled.

“Don’t sedate her. She needs to be observed.” The scientist instructed. “Just handcuff her to the bed.” Anton helped with the handcuffs; they were seamless, only a particle manipulator could attach or remove them. “Keep an eye on her. I’ll be back in half an hour.” Then everyone left the room except for Anton.

“Why are you letting them do this to me?” Caroline asked with a tear in her eye feeling betrayed not only by the government but by someone of her own kind too.

“I am not here to be your friend, Caroline. I am here to keep you under control. By resisting you bring this upon yourself. You have to stop running away and causing trouble. You make people scared.” Anton replied.

“I don’t ask for this. I just want to be left alone. Why can’t I just live?” Anton didn’t respond. He just stood in the doorway.

Caroline pulled at the metal cuffs around her wrists. They felt too solid. Everything seemed too solid. Was this how the world felt to normal people? If it was then Caroline didn’t want to be normal. She liked being the person she was, even if it did get her into a lot of trouble.

It has been almost two decades since the nightmare began, when Caroline started experimenting with her awakening ability. It had been a normal family life until that day. Since that day she had experienced rejection, abandonment, government facilities, rules and restrictions. Now she was the one being experimented on. Caroline closed her eyes tight and wished herself away.

She must have fallen asleep because she was startled when Zack came back with the doctor.

“Caroline Tents. How are you doing?” He entered. The doctor was quick to set up his tools and start checking Caroline’s condition.

“How do you expect I’m doing?” Caroline responded with a tug at the handcuffs.

“Good. Good. So how are your senses doing? Can you feel the particles yet?” Caroline responded with distasteful glare. “Marvellous. That’s 4 hours now.” The scientist muttered as he jotted notes on his notepad.

“So where’s my breakfast? And I would really appreciate a toilet break soon. Or a walk.” Caroline said harshly yanking on her chains and kicking her legs as if she were walking. She hated being treated like a lab rat. No one gave her an answer.

“I’m done.” The doctor packed up his tools and headed for the door.

“See you again in half an hour, Caroline Tents.” Zack remarked as he left.


It was a long day. Caroline did eventually get her breakfast, lunch and toilet breaks but had to suffer the half hourly check-ups by the government scientist. The hours seemed especially long without being able to feel all the particles that made up the world around her. She was left to stew in her hate for the place that she was a prisoner in, her hate for everyone who wanted her to just be normal or conform to the world outside. She hated feeling so controlled.

As much as she hated rules though, Caroline wished she had a second chance to obey the rules of the Cloasteen family. It was her chance to live a somewhat normal life when she was fostered into the Cloasteen family when she was ten years old. However it was her rebellious nature that had her removed from that home and back to the government facility.

Caroline was still handcuffed to the bed but was able to reach the wall with one hand. She had been running her fingers on it for hours just hoping to get her senses back when suddenly she felt a tingling sensation begin in her fingertips. It tingled in her fingers, right up her arms and it finally felt like her mind was waking up. It was hard for Caroline not to smile; she didn’t want anyone to know she was starting to feel the particles again, at least not yet.

“Caroline Tents.”

“Zack Andrews.” Caroline mimicked his tone of voice as if making a roll call.

“Well then,” Zack raised an eyebrow at her, “you seem a little happier.”

“And yet still the same as half an hour ago.” She tugged at the handcuffs again.

“So it would seem.” Zack said with a suspicious look on his face. “The usual questions now, Caroline. How do feel with your thought processes, is your mind still foggy?”

“Still the same.”

“Do your senses still feel numb? Is there any slight feeling coming back to sense the particles around you?”

“Still the same.”

“Indeed.” Zack jotted down his notes and gave a heavy sigh. “I’m going to give you the rubber ball again but this time I want you to close your eyes and concentrate as hard as you can so sense the particles and do something with it.”

“Fine.” Caroline closed her eyes with her handcuffed hand open ready to receive the rubber ball. She couldn’t help but feel relieved when she felt the soft malleable particles of the rubber ball as it connected with her hand but she hoped to hide the fact that her senses had returned for a chance to use the element of surprise to escape her prison.

“What can you feel?” Zack asked as he observed her rolling the ball in her hand.

“Still nothing.” Caroline insisted.

“Okay. I have another test, keep your eyes close. I am going to take the rubber ball away and give you another object to play with.” Caroline felt him take away the rubber ball and a moment later place a small soft package in her hand. It took a second before she realised the soft package was burning hot activated by an exothermic reaction.

“Ow!” Caroline cried in pain and automatically yanked her arm away but the handcuffs stopped her and Zack held her hand closed over the package to prevent her from dropping it. Caroline’s next instinctive reaction was to slow the energy of the particles in the package cooling it down dramatically.

“Well at least we know you are still a terrible liar.” Zack remarked taking the heat pack from her that was no longer hot.

“Fine.” Caroline retorted and pulled at the handcuffs. Slowly the cuffs seemed to melt away from her wrists until they fell free. She crossed her arms to try and contain her rage from causing her to lash out and hit the scientist. “Worst ten hours of my life.” She muttered.

This was not the first time they had drugged her and tried to suppress her ability but it had been the most effective by far. Caroline was aware that this drug wasn’t only for her. She was the lab rat helping to create a drug to use on anyone with matter control ability. The government scientists insisted it was for a good cause to keep society safe but Caroline felt it was just a method of control; to control those they feared.

---

Cestrial Government Facility for Variants, 24 April 2015

Caroline guessed it was past midnight and Caroline knew that this was the quietest time of the day at the Cestrial Government Facility for Variants. It was unlikely that Anton was standing watch outside her room so now was the best chance to escape, she had done it before.

Normally when she tried an escape she would fix up the walls and locked doors she went through to try and cover her tracks but this time she planned on making a statement. No one would control Caroline Tents.

The hardest barrier to get through was her own wall, it took time and concentration, but it wasn’t too long before she broke through the half meter thick wall leaving a large ragged hole. The hall she broke into was quiet and no one seemed to be around. Caroline already feeling somewhat drained looked up at the security camera and knew it wouldn’t be long before there was a crowd of security guards after her.

Caroline ran. Hole after hole, she didn’t even check if doors were unlocked and knew without her adrenaline rush she would be laying on the floor in exhaustion by now. There were alarms going off and she had a couple of security guards on her tail by the time she broke through the outer wall and into the courtyard. Caroline knew exactly where she was going and it was only a short dash to the security fence. The fence was made of thick steel bars which slowed her down but she was glad for her petite figure as she would only need to make a small gap for her to fit through and most of the security guards would be unable to follow.

With some effort she pushed the bars apart just wide enough to slip through and just in time. She stumbled through the bars as the security guards caught up reaching through the gap. Unfortunately for them Caroline was just out of their reach and the gap was too small to squeeze through. Caroline smiled.

There was bound to be cars sent after her promptly but the gate was on the other side of the property and for Caroline it was only a short distance through some trees before she reached the suburbs.

After a few hours of sneaking and hiding Caroline found herself a new set of clothes off a clothes line and was well on her way to the small city centre where she could catch her train to freedom. She had no intention of ever returning to that prison. There was only one place that she felt might protect her from the ever searching eyes of the government, but it was a long shot.

Caroline planned to find the Cloasteen Family and explain her situation. She knew that the Cloasteen Family were working with the government but hoped that Xander Coasteen, the heir of the family, would at least help her. Though she had not fitted well with the family when she was fostered there fifteen years ago she did consider Xander as a brother and knew he had a soft spot for her too.

Caroline had to be extra cautious not to be caught by the number of government agents that were bound to be around looking for her and she was relieved when Cestrial’s main shopping district came into view. The shops were opening and there were plenty of people to blend in with. She warily headed towards the train station where she could catch her train out of this town when she saw her favourite store up ahead.

The store was full of mystic looking objects and fragrances which she could smell as she approached the open door. But it was not the fragrances or the styles of the objects that made this Caroline’s favourite; it was the variety of gem stones for sale. So many colours and textures to play with. Caroline loved to challenge herself with making small stone animals with the stones and often sent them to Xander.

Though it was a risky idea, Caroline decided that she would quickly visit the store to get Xander’s favourite stone as a gift for him when she arrived at his house.

As Caroline stepped into the doorway of the store she was startled to see Jeff Lucas standing at the store counter talking to the shop attendant. He had been Caroline’s social worker ever since Caroline’s parents had handed her over to the government when she was 9 years old.

Jeff was a variant too, but what he could do didn’t affect anyone directly and he didn’t even have control of it. If his ability were stronger he would be able to change his entire appearance to look like a completely different person. However, Jeff had no control over the colour change in his hair and eyes which happened to changed according to his mood. Caroline’s nickname for Jeff was ‘Red’ because of the colour his hair went when she made him angry. Jeff’s hair was a dull orange colour at this moment. He started to look around the store from where he was standing. Caroline backed out of the doorway and started to run for the train station. Just as Caroline had escaped Jeff’s sight she glanced across the road to meet the steely gaze of Anton. Her heart skipped a beat. She kept running.

Seeing Anton had scared all hope out of her. Caroline’s situation was starting to look hopeless, she was unlikely to make it to the station without someone catching her, let alone actually getting on a train. Quickly Caroline turned down a side street. Anton was a better particle manipulator than Caroline and there was nowhere she could hide that he wouldn’t find her. Anton was an expert at finding the places and objects that Caroline had manipulated herself from years of experience working in the government and Jeff knew the practical places Caroline were likely to hide from years of experience dealing with her.

Caroline saw a public playground with children running and jumping all over it. A safe place to hide, Caroline thought as she figured her hunters would never use a Taser or drug her in the presence of so many innocent children and parents.

Caroline approached the playground as calmly and quickly as possible trying not to raise suspicion. She casually wove her way amongst the children with a smile on her face and ducked under the slide. Sitting with her knees up against her chin, Caroline hugged her legs as closely as possible. She continued to smile at the children’s curious glances as if what she was doing, a 25 year old on a children’s playground, was perfectly normal. Caroline put her finger to her lips trying to encourage the children to continue playing and ignore her. However it didn’t go to plan.

Three young children ran to Caroline giggling with their fingers to their lips mimicking Caroline. They cuddled up beside her all trying to fit under the slide. One of the mothers called them, suspicious of the young woman hiding under the slide with the young children. The mother called again, provoking more giggles from the children. Her voice was getting closer. Caroline could hear heavy footsteps crushing the bark beneath their feet.

“Come on out now, Caroline,” a male voice this time. It chilled Caroline to the bone. It was Anton’s voice to the right. Caroline quickly dove past the children to the left hoping to put the slide and kids between her and Anton. As she jumped to her feet she bumped into another person she was unhappy to see, Jeff with an angry face and bright red hair.

Jeff caught hold of Caroline’s wrist, a moment later Anton had both Caroline’s upper arms. There was no escaping now. Caroline was terrified of using her ability while in contact with other people in case she accidently cause them harm. Both Anton and Jeff knew this but the government still saw her as a great risk to society.

Caroline glowered as the men forced her towards the government car. Anton and Jeff ignored the quizzical and concerned faces of the parents around the playground as they walked Caroline away. Jeff ran ahead and opened the back door of the car for Anton and Caroline. But as Anton directed Caroline towards the car another government car pulled up. The back door opened revealing Zack with his medical kit looking gravely at Caroline.

“No.” Caroline started to resist Anton as Zack gestured for him to bring her to his car. Anton seemed to hesitate before changing direction towards Zack’s car.

“Hit me.” Caroline heard Anton whisper under his breath.

“What?”

“Hit me and run.” She felt his grip loosening. “Make sure it’s convincing, okay?” Caroline’s head started swim with confusion and then she saw the train in the distance. If she ran now she could make it to train just before it left. She looked back at the direction she was walking – Zack – and decided she could think later, her situation right now required action.

Caroline threw herself forward making Anton unstable and slipping out of his grip. She quickly spun and punched at his face with unexpected force. Anton already being unstable from Caroline’s push stumbled backwards from her punch. Caroline was stunned for a moment at what she had actually done but quickly refocused and sprinted for the train.

The next minute was a blur with the shouting and dodging traffic across the road to the station. The train had already stopped at the station. Thankfully the driver was waiting an extra couple of seconds for Caroline to jump aboard because as soon as she did the doors closed and the train was moving. Caroline collapsed into a seat and stared out the window in disbelief. She couldn’t believe she actually made it this far, and she couldn’t believe that Anton had helped her escape.

---

Cloasteen Family Headquarters, 28 April 2015

Xander was having a headache of a day and had only just managed to get a moment alone to sit in his personal study to clear his head. His family’s close ally and friend Kenneth Stone had been assassinated and the Variant Council was going crazy. People were throwing accusations and planning coups. It was up to his father Ryan and himself to try and settle people down and work out a solution to keep Kenneth’s plan alive. So far meetings with other family leaders seemed to have caused more friction than good. At least they had the other families within their faction on their side.

After five minutes of allowing himself to relax and watch the tree in the courtyard outside his window sway in the breeze Xander decided it was about time he checked his emails.

Opening his email inbox there was a list of unread mail just from the past 7 hours. Xander started at the top.


Stone Legacy Plan
Caleb Shooter
Sent: Tue 28/04/2015 3:36 PM
To: Xander Cloasteen
Cc: Ryan Cloasteen; Tony Shooter

Dear Xander,

It was a pleasure to have you visit our home to discuss the plan on continuing Kenneth Stone’s registration policy after the sad news of Kenneth’s passing.

Our family hopes to support the Cloasteen coalition in any way possible to try and get the policy and all its benefits back on track. Hopefully we can see some positive results at the Variant Council meeting tomorrow.

Please pass on our condolences to Ryan Cloasteen; we understand he was becoming close friends with Kenneth Stone in recent months.

Regards,

Caleb Shooter.


It was nice to be reminded that there were some people supporting their plans. The Shooter family was very friendly and supportive of the Cloasteen family. Their family wasn’t very big but it ran a very successful produce company which was only restricted by the fact that they had to hide their secret ability that made them so successful.

Xander opened his next email.


Re: Caroline Tents
Laura Cloasteen
Sent: Tue 28/04/2015 3:07 PM
To: Ryan Cloasteen
Cc: Xander Cloasteen

Dear Father,

Jeff Lucas visited the house again today. I told him that we still haven’t heard of or seen Caroline in years. He seems fairly persistent and insists she will show up here eventually.

I suggest that you phone him yourself to make it clear that we support them in every way possible and to stop making house calls as I am sure Xander and yourself would be very interested in keeping their department informed of new information that may arise regarding Caroline Tents. If you could do that it would be great, Jeff doesn’t seem to take me very seriously.

Thanks,

Laura.

Xander knew that there was a veiled stab at him in that email. Laura knew that he might just as likely hide Caroline as he would turn her in. This issue was adding to Xander’s worry. The government agents had visited two days in a row now asking questions about Caroline. Apparently she had run away causing trouble and the Cloasteen Family Headquarters was on their list of most likely places to find her. Xander wished she didn’t get herself into so much trouble, especially not now with everything else going on.

He leaned back in his leather office chair and swivelled slightly to look at the wall of shelves. The shelves were mostly filled with books and folders with important information but there was one shelf just above eye level that was dedicated to his stone animal collection. Seeing the small stone animals made Xander smile. He admired Caroline’s ability and her creativity. All he could do was make objects disappear from the perception of others; it wasn’t very creative at all.

The Cloasteen Family cooperated with the Department of Variant Affairs Foster Program and had housed and cared for quite a few variant children over the years. Each of them was rejected by their blood relatives and was trying to find a place to fit in. Caroline stood out to Xander though.

They were both ten years old when Caroline moved into their house and unlike most of the other variant foster children she didn’t care about fitting in; she just wanted to be herself. Xander was fascinated by her independence and they became fast friends getting each other in and out of trouble.

Xander felt partially responsible for Caroline being sent away after 4 years with them. Half the trouble they got into was his ideas and it wasn’t all Caroline’s fault that he wasn’t focused on his studies and becoming a responsible heir to his father’s place in the Variant Council. His father’s voice shouting at him to grow up haunted his mind again. Sending Caroline away was a big enough wakeup call to make Xander focus all his attention on becoming the perfect heir to the Cloasteen Family.

Xander was woken back to reality by the chime of a new email arriving in his inbox. He turned back to face the computer and gave a sigh of agitation as he saw who it was from.


Request denied
Raines Lawson
Sent: Tue 28/04/2015 4:12 PM
To: Xander Cloasteen

Xander Cloasteen,

I can only assume by your family’s persistence with this ignorant policy that considerate opinions amuse you because you have none of your own.

Your pretentious father was trying to arrange a meeting with us today. He may look like a fool and talk like a fool but don’t let that trick you. He really is a fool. I swear talking to you would be as pointless as selling ice to an Eskimo.

My father tells me ‘if you can’t say anything nice, at least have the decency to be vague’ but I don’t think you would have brains to work out what I was saying.

If you think that this policy is going to be harmless then you have obviously lost all perception of reality. Perhaps your powers have really gotten to your head!

But don’t compare yourself with anyone with real power; if you do you are insulting yourself.

You can let your pompous father know that we will be opposing this offensive policy every step of the way with any means possible.

Raines Lawson.


Xander hated all his communications with Raines. It was never productive and could never be taken seriously. He didn’t know why Ryan bothered trying to set up a meeting between them, he should know by now it never results in anything fruitful. Xander just sent his father a short email telling him that the Lawson’s were simply too busy with their own business at this point in time to arrange a meeting.

After skimming through the rest of his emails Xander decided he deserved a break and went for a walk in the garden to clear his head.

The Cloasteen Family Headquarters property was quite large with several open courtyards between buildings and a large garden at the back of the property. The buildings comprised the Cloasteen Family homes and guest houses, private tutoring halls, studies and meeting rooms. There was also a function hall for special occasions. The property was surrounded by a high stone wall.

Xander liked the large garden at the back of the property. The grass was lush, the trees were well established and there were always flowers in bloom. He didn’t know how much of it was natural beauty and how much of it was influenced by the gardener who was from the Shooter family but it was so beautiful he could forget about everything else going on in the world.

An old bench under a low hanging tree hidden away from sight was Xander’s favourite place to escape to. He swept fallen leaves off the seat before sitting down in his nice suit he wore for all the meetings that day. The rustling of the leaves in the breeze helped to hide the sound of cars in the streets outside the walls. Xander closed his eyes for a moment just to listen to the breeze. He exhaled slowly and felt completely relaxed.

Caroline and Xander used to run away to this tree when they were in trouble as kids. She would make hand and foot holds come out of the tree trunk so they could climb up to the branches. Then Xander would make the tree disappear from the perception of others. It would take people hours to find them, until the trick got old. The gardener would always scold Caroline for hurting the tree and helped the tree heal where she had made the hand and foot holds for climbing.

Xander looked up at the branches that didn’t seem as high as they were when they were young. Just then he noticed something small sitting on one of the branches. It was directly above the bench. Xander carefully climbed and stood on top of the bench. Reaching up to grab the object was easy. It was a stone stallion. “Caroline?” He looked around fervently in the garden. Suddenly Caroline stepped out from behind some bushes against the stone wall.

“Hi Xander.” She greeted him quietly.

“What are you doing here? You can’t be here right now.” Xander jumped down from the bench and approached her.

“I have nowhere else to go. You have to help me.” Caroline seemed quite upset.

“What’s wrong? What happened to you?” Xander wrapped his arms around her as she started to cry. Her whole body shook in his arms as she sobbed. It was the first time she felt safe enough to release all her emotion.

“I can’t, I won’t go back. Never again…” She wept.

“Come on, sit down.” Xander led her to the bench where they sat down together. Xander kept his arms around her. It took Caroline a few minutes to settle before she could piece together proper sentences.

“The place they keep me is horrible. I’m their lab rat.” Caroline started to explain. “They drug me and chain me up and do tests on me. I can’t live like that.” Xander’s face grew troubled.

“I don’t think I understand. What are they doing to you?” He asked.

“The scientists are working on drugs that suppress our natural abilities, and they work. It’s horrible. You don’t know what it feels like to have a part of yourself taken away from you. I felt so helpless.” Xander sat straight against the back of the bench and stared in concentrated thought. Caroline leaned against his torso and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so glad I have you.” She whispered.

“Come on, we need to speak to my father about this.” Xander slowly stood and faced Caroline who remained seated.

“Is he safe to talk to?” Caroline asked anxiously. Xander held out a hand.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. Hopefully he won’t even know you’re here.” Caroline took his hand and stood.

“Okay.” She smiled and followed Xander as he led her out of the garden.

Xander took her straight to his father’s office. The doors were closed which usually meant ‘do not disturb’ but this was important. He gave a gentle knock on the polished wooden door and opened it. Ryan was sitting at his desk reading some papers with the TV on quietly in the background.

“Father, we have to talk.”

“Can it wait? I am very busy at the moment.” Ryan said bluntly, turning over to a new page. Xander closed the door behind Caroline.

“This is important.” He responded seriously and headed toward the TV to turn it off.

“Please don’t turn the TV off; there should a public address in a few minutes regarding Kenneth’s replacement.” Ryan looked Xander in the eyes. “That is important.” Xander hesitated for a moment glancing at Caroline who stood stiffly at the door.

“I don’t think this can wait, father. Please just give me one minute.” He approached his father’s desk. Ryan looked at his son sceptically and then glanced around the room for a moment.

“Okay, what’s so important?” He put down his papers and gave his attention to Xander.

“Caroline needs our help. What the government is doing to her is wrong…”

“Oh, good, you found her.” Ryan picked up the phone and started dialling. “I felt there was something not quite right here.” He pointed around the room seemingly aimlessly until he was pointing in Caroline’s general direction. “Why are you still hiding her?”

“Who are you calling?” Ryan hit the speakerphone button in response. Neither Xander nor Ryan answered each other’s questions; they glared at each other unyieldingly.

The phone rang a couple of times, and then suddenly, “Hello, this is Jeff Lucas.”

“What are you doing?” Xander lunged at the phone but Ryan beat him to it, lifting it off the desk and then it appeared to vanish in thin air.

“Hello Jeff, this is Ryan Cloasteen. I believe you’re looking for Caroline Tents?”

“Stop it Father! Don’t do this!” Xander begged. “You have to listen!” The office door opened and he turned to see Caroline running down the hall. He wanted to run after her but had to stop his father first.

“Ryan Cloasteen? What’s going on?” Jeff’s voice asked over the phone.

“Xander, will you tell Jeff what’s going on please?” Ryan asked with a stern face. Xander’s rage was building. He didn’t think his father would go so far just to stay in the good books with the government.

“Caroline was here.” He said irately through clenched teeth.

“I’m on my way.” Jeff said and hung up.

“You didn’t even listen.” Xander punched Ryan’s desk so hard it showed signs of cracking.

“Xander James Cloasteen.” Ryan stood up. “Don’t you dare think you can undermine my judgement. Caroline has illegally run away from a government variant protection facility and I will not jeopardise our alliance with the government in such a trying time to hide a rebellious outlaw.”

“She’s not an outlaw. She’s family. And I will not allow anyone to take her back to that government variant experimentation facility. You have no idea what they’re doing to variants at that place. You have no right to make this decision for Caroline.” Xander argued. Ryan looked at Xander silently.

“Are you trying to tell me the government is hiding secrets from us? Or are you gullible enough to believe Caroline’s lies?” Xander refused to look at his father any longer. They both stood silently stewing in their anger. The sound of the TV filled the silence.

"The rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Both Xander and Ryan instantly changed their attention to the TV at the sound of Kenneth Stone’s voice. There he was, on live TV, alive. Camera flashes were continually lighting him up. "Unfortunately, I had to let everyone believe I had been murdered just so I could prepare properly for this address. There are those who would do anything to stop me making it." He stared directly into the camera. "I am here to announce the Variant Registration Act. There are humans out there with special abilities. The majority of them are harmless, or beneficial to society. But some of them are not. My rumoured assassination is an example of that.” Ryan dropped back into his chair dumbfounded. “This new law will require everyone with the 'Variant Condition' to register themselves with the government. This will allow variants, as we are calling them, to be supported by the government in all aspects of life. Registering as a variant will give you better legal representation, special pensions, more comprehensive support with health care and better, more targeted education. Variants are encouraged to register by the 17th of June. After which time an added administrative fee will apply."

“I don’t believe it.” A smile started to grow on Ryan’s face. “He did it.”

“Did you know,” Xander asked quietly, “that he was alive? How did he do it?”

“I don’t know. I had no idea. But I guess he did what had to be done. And it worked.” Ryan’s phone started to ring and he answered. “Hello… Yes, I’m watching it right now…”

Xander moved closer to the TV so he could hear Kenneth Stone. “…which may include a brief medical examination to understand how best we can support each variant and their place in the community. This policy is not only for the protection and support of variants but it is also protection and support for all people. There is no need for this to cause any panic as we will take any safety precautions necessary. Extra details about the policy will be printed in tomorrow’s newspaper, leaflets will be posted out to everyone in the following weeks and you can also find information on our website or by calling the Department of Variant Affairs help line.” Xander walked away from the TV, glanced at his father busy talking on the phone and decided to go look for Caroline.

Xander walked down the hall and turned a corner towards the front door. He paused, stunned to see a gaping hole in the middle of the front door. As he stood staring at the chaotic mess Jeff appeared on the other side of the door observing the ruin. He suddenly spotted Xander.

“Ah, Xander isn’t it? I see Caroline has been here. I she still around?” Jeff asked as he stepped through the hole in the door and approached Xander. Another man appeared at the door running his hands over the damage.

“Hi Jeff.” They shook hands. “You think Caroline did that?” Xander responded still staring at the hole in disbelief. He always thought of Caroline as someone who made things, not destroyed them.

“Yes, it most definitely was. What do you think Anton?” Jeff called to other man who nodded. “This is the same thing she did to the government facility for variants.” They observed it for a moment longer. “Is Ryan around?”

“He’s busy at the moment.” Xander remembered the big news that was going on at that moment. “How can I help you?” He was glad have the chance to deal with Jeff on his own without his father’s input.

“Do you know where Caroline is now?” Jeff asked.

“She…” Xander thought for a moment. “No one’s seen her, just that hole in the door.” He twisted the truth.

“Oh, well at least we know she was here this afternoon. She won’t be far. Do you mind if we have a look over the property?” Xander agreed that they could look as long as he went with them. Unfortunately there was no other sign of her.

---

Variant Council Hall, 29 April 2015

Xander and Ryan arrived at the Variant Council Hall together. There was a lot of tension in the room. Small groups of dignitaries and business men were standing around gossiping quietly. Xander heard fragmented sentences as they walk through the crowd of critical glances.

“…Stone staged his assassination alone…”

“…sure the Cloasteen’s were involved…”

“…Could Stone be hiding something else?”

It was disheartening to know that some groups in the council believed that his father and he had helped hide Kenneth Stone after his apparent assassination. Xander felt a small stab a betrayal from Kenneth and he was sure Ryan felt it too.

Ryan spotted Kenneth’s secretary standing by a door to a private meeting room.

“Looks like Kenneth actually showed up.” Ryan stated and headed towards the secretary. “Good morning, Alana.”

“Good morning, Ryan, Xander.” She greeted them. “Kenneth would like to speak with you two alone before the Council sits.” She opened the door and directed them in. She stayed outside the room and closed the door. Kenneth was sitting at a round meeting table typing away at his laptop. Ryan and Xander took a seat across the table from him and waited for Kenneth to start.

“Being dead for two days builds up a surprising amount of emails, even for a dead man… I expect you are waiting for an apology or an explanation?” Kenneth finally started.

“It would only be appropriate.” Ryan responded. Kenneth seemed to give a silent chuckle at Ryan’s self-confidence.

“Very well, I am sorry for any grievances you may have experienced while I did what had to be done to achieve our plan. Do you feel better now?” Kenneth said coolly.

“What? That’s it? People are on our backs blaming us for conspiring with you on this and all you can give us is that you did what had to be done? Why couldn’t you have at least told us this was going to be your plan so we could be prepared for the aftermath?” Ryan seemed discomforted by Kenneth’s explanation.

“The assassination was not my plan, my plan simply worked around the assassination that was going to happen. If I had revealed that to you there was a chance you could get in the way and mess things up. I had hoped you would have more faith in me and the variants I employ around me.” Xander hated how politicians talked. Why couldn’t Kenneth explain something simply for once and be completely open?

“Okay, we put faith in you and you put faith in us next time.” Ryan stood up. “Come on Xander, I don’t think Kenneth has anything more useful to share with us right now.” Xander stood and followed his father out of the room back into the main hall.