Milly and Control

Milly starts using the power.

Story 8 - "Milly and Questions" 
Story 9 — Milly and Control

         Thursday morning arrived gray and quiet over the base housing, the sky a dull sheet of clouds that pressed low over the rows of identical homes. It felt like the whole world had been dimmed a notch.
         Milly Carter stood in the bathroom staring at her reflection.
         She had done that a lot in the past few days. Looking for something different in the girl in the mirror. Some visible sign that the week had changed her.
         There wasn’t one.
         Black jeans. Black sweater. Dark hair tied loosely back. The same face she had always seen every morning before school.
         Only the sunglasses were new.
         They sat on the counter beside the sink. Cheap mirrored lenses she had grabbed from a rack near the gas station register two nights ago.
         She picked them up.
         For a moment she hesitated.
         Then she slid them onto her face.
         The change was immediate.
         The quiet pressure behind her eyes softened like someone had eased a tightening knot. Not gone. Just quieter. Like a storm sitting far away on the horizon instead of right overhead.
         Milly exhaled slowly.
         Armor.
         That was the word she kept coming back to.
         Downstairs a cabinet door slammed. Her mother’s voice followed a second later.
         “Milly! Bus in ten!”
         “Coming!”
         Her voice sounded normal.
         That still felt strange.
         Three days ago she had been in a wooden shack in the woods. Now she was worrying about missing the bus.
         She grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs.
         ***
         The kitchen smelled like coffee and toast.
         Her father stood at the counter holding his mug in both hands, already dressed in uniform pants and a T-shirt. The television murmured quietly in the background, the morning news droning about weather patterns and traffic reports like nothing in the world had gone wrong this week.
         He glanced up when she entered.
         His eyes stopped on the sunglasses.
         “You expecting paparazzi?”
         Milly dropped into the chair at the table.
         “They help with the headache.”
         Her mother turned from the stove with a plate of scrambled eggs and set it down in front of her.
         “You know teachers won’t let you wear those in class,” she said.
         Milly felt the familiar tightening behind her eyes begin again. That strange awareness of the people around her, like she could feel the edges of their attention brushing against her thoughts.
         For the first time, she didn’t pull away from it.
         She looked directly at her mother.
         The sensation sharpened instantly.
         It was like stepping forward into a current. She lifted the glass to catch her mother’s eyes.
         It’s fine. Let me wear them.
         The thought moved outward with soft spoken words.
         Her mother blinked once.
         Then she shrugged.
         “Well… I suppose if it helps your headache.”
         Milly froze.
         Her father raised one eyebrow.
         “That was fast.”
         Her mother waved a hand dismissively.
         “She’s been through enough this week.”
         Milly stared down at her plate.
         Her pulse thudded once in her ears.
         She hadn’t meant to do that.
         Except maybe she had.
         And it had worked.
         A strange, quiet thrill moved through her chest.
         ***
         The bus stop sat at the end of the block beneath a buzzing streetlight.
         Three other students stood waiting there. Their conversation died the moment Milly approached.
         One of them nudged another and whispered something.
         Another pulled out a phone.
         Milly pretended not to notice.
         The bus rolled around the corner with its usual coughing engine and folding doors.
         She climbed aboard.
         The driver gave her a brief sympathetic nod.
         Then the entire bus turned to look.
         Milly walked down the aisle without meeting anyone’s eyes and slid into her usual seat near the back.
         Two freshmen whispered behind her.
         “…that’s the girl…”
         “…my brother said the kidnappers had guns…”
         “…she probably freaked out…”
         The words drifted forward like insects buzzing around her ears.
         The pressure behind her eyes stirred again.
         Milly leaned back in the seat and lifted the sunglasses slightly.
         She caught the reflection of one boy’s eyes in the window.
         The connection snapped into place.
         Stop talking.
         The whispering died instantly.
         Both boys blinked.
         “…what were we saying?”
         “I don’t know.”
         Milly lowered the glasses.
         Her heart beat faster.
         Not from fear.
         From something else.
         That had been easy.
         Too easy.
         And the small secret thrill that followed felt dangerously good.
         ***
         The school looked exactly the same.
         Red brick buildings. Flagpole snapping in the wind. Students clustered near the entrance pretending they weren’t staring.
         Milly stepped onto the sidewalk.
         “Milly!”
         Marcus jogged toward her with his backpack bouncing against one shoulder. Behind him came Tasha and Jenna.
         Jenna moved carefully on crutches, her injured ankle wrapped in a bulky brace.
         For a moment the four of them simply stood there.
         Tasha tilted her head and studied the sunglasses.
         “You look mysterious.”
         “They help with the headache.”
         Jenna nodded immediately.
         “Concussion stuff.”
         Marcus frowned.
         “You got a concussion?”
         “Something like that.”
         They started toward the entrance together.
         The whispers followed.
         “…those are the girls…”
         “…they escaped somehow…”
         “…my cousin said the police were everywhere…”
         The voices brushed against Milly’s awareness like fingers tapping on glass.
         Irritation flickered through her.
         Why should she have to listen to it?
         She lifted the sunglasses slightly.
         Looked toward a group of students staring openly.
         Look away.
         Three heads turned immediately.
         The whispers stopped.
         Tasha frowned.
         “That was weird.”
         Milly lowered the glasses.
         “People are weird.”
         Jenna didn’t answer.
         But her eyes lingered on Milly a little longer than usual.
         ***
         First period English began quietly.
         Mrs. Reed paused when Milly entered the room.
         “Miss Carter.”
         Milly stopped in the doorway.
         “Yes?”
         “The sunglasses.”
         Twenty students watched.
         The pressure behind Milly’s eyes pulsed.
         She lifted the glasses slightly.
         Looked directly at the teacher.
         They’re fine.
         Mrs. Reed hesitated.
         For a moment the classroom held its breath.
         Then the teacher cleared her throat.
         “…Just keep them on for today.”
         A ripple of surprise moved through the room.
         Milly walked to her seat.
         Her pulse thudded in her ears.
         It worked.
         She hadn’t forced the teacher.
         She had just… nudged.
         Behind her someone whispered.
         “…why did she let her keep them on?”
         Milly felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth.
         ***
         By lunch the rumors had spread across the entire school.
         Students tried not to stare.
         They failed.
         Milly sat with the others near the cafeteria windows.
         Tasha dropped her tray onto the table.
         “I hate everyone.”
         Marcus nodded.
         “Fair.”
         Jenna watched Milly carefully.
         “You keeping the sunglasses on all day?”
         “Probably.”
         “Head still hurting?”
         “A little.”
         Across the cafeteria two teachers stood near the drink machines talking quietly.
         Their voices drifted faintly across the room.
         “…students freezing…”
         “…probably stress…”
         The pressure behind Milly’s eyes surged again.
         She lifted the glasses slightly.
         Met the teacher’s eyes.
         Stop worrying about it.
         The conversation stopped.
         One teacher shrugged.
         “Kids these days,” he muttered.
         Jenna’s fork paused halfway to her mouth.
         She turned slowly toward Milly.
         “…Okay.”
         “What?” Milly said.
         Jenna narrowed her eyes.
         “Something weird is happening today.”
         Milly shrugged.
         “It’s been a weird week.”
         But Jenna kept watching her.
         ***
         The final bell rang.
         Students poured into the parking lot.
         Cold wind moved through the trees.
         Milly stepped outside and automatically scanned the street.
         The black SUV sat across the road.
         Engine running.
         Windows dark.
         A man leaned against the hood.
         Sunglasses.
         Even though the sky was gray.
         Jenna followed her gaze.
         “That guy again.”
         “You’ve seen him before?”
         “Yesterday.”
         Tasha squinted.
         “Maybe he’s waiting for someone.”
         The man didn’t move.
         He simply watched.
         For a moment Milly wondered what would happen if she tried to push him.
         But the sunglasses hid his eyes.
         The connection never formed.
         The man slowly lifted a hand and adjusted his glasses.
         Almost like he knew.
         A small chill slid down Milly’s spine.
         ***
         The bus ride home felt quieter.
         Milly stepped off near her street and started walking.
         Jenna caught up beside her on the crutches.
         “Hey.”
         “Yeah?”
         “You’ve been doing that all day.”
         “Doing what?”
         Jenna stopped.
         “Milly.”
         The tone made her pause.
         Jenna leaned slightly on the crutches.
         “Teachers. Students. The cafeteria.”
         Milly felt the pressure behind her eyes stir again.
         “You think I didn’t notice?” Jenna said.
         The street was quiet except for wind moving through the trees.
         Jenna’s voice softened.
         “What happened in that shack?”
         Milly looked across the street.
         A man watered his lawn with a garden hose.
         She turned back to Jenna.
         “If I show you something,” she said quietly, “you can’t freak out.”
         Jenna raised an eyebrow.
         “That’s a concerning sentence.”
         “Just watch.”
         Milly lifted the sunglasses slightly.
         She met the man’s eyes.
         The connection snapped into place.
         Spray yourself.
         The man paused.
         Turned the hose towards himself and sprayed himself.
         Jenna stared.
         “…what.”
         Milly lowered the glasses.
         The pressure faded.
         Jenna blinked slowly.
         “You just…”
         “Yeah.”
         “You just told him what to do.”
         “Yeah.”
         Jenna stared at her for another long moment.
         Then she exhaled.
         “Okay.”
         “Okay?”
         “That’s terrifying,” Jenna said.
         “But kind of impressive.”
         Milly laughed nervously.
         Jenna leaned forward slightly.
         “So the guy in the shack froze because of you.”
         “…Yeah.”
         “And you’ve been doing it all day.”
         “…Yeah.”
         Jenna rubbed her forehead.
         “Well,” she said slowly.
         “Well what?”
         “Well obviously we have to figure out what the hell is going on.”
         Milly blinked.
         “You want to investigate?”
         Jenna looked at her like the answer was obvious.
         “Of course.”
         For the first time since the kidnapping, something inside Milly felt lighter.
         The power hummed quietly behind her eyes.
         She adjusted the sunglasses.
         And wondered what else she could make people do.