I can feel the eyes of the Edison scientists looking at me through the two way mirror. They think because I can't see them that I don't know if they're there or not, but I can still feel them. Feel their souls. I wonder if they'll draw any more of my blood today, or maybe have me go through another MRI to study my brain, or put me in a room full of dead bodies for me to reanimate. Maybe today they'll leave me alone and just watch. They do that a lot. Watch me. Observe me. I think they're waiting for me to break. For my sanity to reach its limit and snap. Closing my eyes, I push those thoughts away. I can't think that way. I won't. My sanity will remain and I'll get out of her and find my way back to Derek.

Derek.

I miss him.

My heart aches whenever I think of him, but a day hasn't gone by where he hasn't crossed my mind. I am grateful for that, because even though it hurts to think of him, it gives me hope and keeps me sane. I made a promise to myself when I was captured that I'd do anything to escape and return to him. That was almost two years ago, but I haven't given up. I won't give up. I'm biding my time until I can escape. Every time they've taken me out of my cell, I've asked what the date was. I've been keeping track of time that way. I have no other way to tell when one day ends and when another begins. My cell has no windows; neither do the rooms where they examine me. They could be lying when I ask the date, but it's all I have to go on. Once I saw the date printed on a file one of the scientists had and it was the same as what they told me. Hopefully it was correct and I haven't been in here for more than two years.

We were in Iowa when I was taken. A small town called Collins, so small it didn't even have its own gas station. I had just turned seventeen and Aunt Lauren wanted to spend the day with me. We had been living in Collins for a couple months and everything had been peaceful, quiet. We were happy there. I guess that's why Kit let the two of us go off alone. We were just supposed to go to Ames, gather supplies at Hy-Vee, a grocery store, and come back. Aunt Lauren thought it'd be fun for just the two of us to spend some time together. Everything had gone smoothly until we were on our way back to the safe house.

Then everything went wrong.

A car crashed into Aunt Lauren's side while we were on Route 30. The car skidded to a halt in the middle of the road after fish-tailing. I was dizzy and didn't know what was happening. When I glanced over to the driver's seat, I wished that I hadn't. The entire side of the car was pushed in, crushing her legs. Aunt Lauren's arm was bent at an awkward angle, her head was bleeding profusely and her mouth was hanging open, letting out moans of agony. I didn't even have time to unclasp my seat belt before Edison was on us.

They went for Aunt Lauren first.

A man took her head in his hands and bashed her skull against the steering wheel. Her moans stopped. She was dead. I screamed and tried to escape, but two men were on me before I could get both feet out of the car. They dragged me into the back of a black van and brought me here.

I've been in this room ever since.

Today would be different though. Today I was getting out. A month or so ago, when I knew no one was watching, I summoned all the ghosts in the area to my cell. There were a lot. Before I was taken I maybe could have summoned two or three from ten feet away. Now, thanks to all the tests Edison has done on me, I can summon as many ghosts as there are bodies in a thirty foot radius. Of course, I still draw in the random ghost every now and again. Those are the worst, the ghosts that pop in without me summoning them. Rarely are they nice and they always torment me. It usually happens when I sleep. I have less control over my powers when I'm unconscious.

So I've tried to stop sleeping.

I can make it three or four days before I pass out. I'm never out for very long though. Something always wakes me up, nine times out of ten it's a ghost or a corpse scratching at the door. Those still make me cringe.

I was lucky, though, when I summoned so many ghosts. They didn't try to overpower me, consume or possess me; most didn't even try to get me to do something for them. I was extremely lucky to have summoned a poltergeist that the Edison Group recently put down. Her name's Chelsea and she agreed to help me get out of the building, for a price. After that I was on my own. The price wasn't too steep. When I was free, she wanted me to get a letter to her mother. I didn't even have to hand it to her mother, for which I was thankful. I just had to make sure she got it.

The scientists in the other room were finally gone. I let out a deep breath and opened my eyes. Seeing another pair looking right back at me, my heart started and I jumped back, banging my head against the wall. "Sorry," Chelsea laughed, obviously not sorry.

"I-Is it c-c-clear?" I asked, blushing over my stutter. It had practically disappeared in Iowa, but after being locked up with no one to talk to for almost two years it was back with a vengeance whenever I did try to speak. My tongue was just out of practice, I guess.

"Yes, all the doors are unlocked. I pulled out the wires connecting the cameras to the monitors and no one is hanging around here. You're good to go."

I nodded and headed for the door to my cell. "One more thing," she began, "don't forget about our deal, okay? Or else I'll haunt you to your death." She handed me the letter I was supposed to deliver. I folded it up and stuffed it into my sports bra. Standing in front of the door, I took a deep breath and rub my fingers over the amulet hanging around my neck before tucking it into my shirt.

Then I'm gone.

A/N: This is my first Darkest Powers fanfic and I'm really excited about it! I liked the series, but I thought there was a lot left to be desired by the author so I figured I'd give it a go at tying up those loose ends. I also think there needs to be more stories for this series! It's ridiculous. But I digress…let me know what you think and if there's anything you want me to cover specifically let me know and I'll consider putting it in.

Pastry~