Free Activate by Crystal Perkins Page B

Gardens, under the giant pond by the castle. A pond that is heavily patrolled by the military—both while the park is open and closed.
    “This is going to be all you,” Lauren tells me. “You’re going to have to convince them to let us jump in, and tell them to forget they ever saw us.”
    “I know I can do it, but I’m not sure how.”
    “Alejandra said she has to visualize what she wants done, and then she concentrates on the human pushing the thoughts into their head.”
    “Maybe I should try it out on someone else first? Just something simple?”
    “Yeah, okay. How about if you ask that girl to take her shirt off?” she asks, pointing to a beautiful blonde nearby.
    “A girl?”
    “I like girls,” she says with a shrug.
    “You like her .”
    “Like is a strong word. I absolutely think she’s hot, but I’ll have to reserve the liking for now.”
    “Well, let me try and help you out, my friend.”
    I walk over and stand closer to the girl and her friends. I imagine her slowing pulling her shirt up, and over her head, and then I concentrate on mentally sending her my command. She gets a funny look on her face, and starts lifting it up. She gets it to just under her chest when I start to laugh. My lack of focus causes her to stop. She shakes her head and drops the shirt like it’s on fire.
    “Damn. So close,” Lauren says.
    “Yeah, and it’s wrong, too. I don’t want to make girls—or guys—undress if they don’t want to.”
    “You don’t know that they don’t want to.”
    “But I also don’t know that they do.”
    “Okay, valid point. Let’s try something else.”
    For the next few hours, I hone my skills. I progress from getting people to take funny—and fully clothed—pictures, to winning a game of chess by convincing my opponent to make bad choices. I try my mind control out on people of both genders, all different ages, and various ethnicities, too.
    “I know time is of the essence, but I don’t think I could manipulate a toddler right now,” I say, sounding as worn out as I feel.
    “You brain needs to rest,” she agrees.
    “My body, too. I need a total re-charge.”
    “Let’s get you back to the hotel, and you can pass out for as long as you need to. We do need to get things done as fast as possible, but not at the risk of you collapsing while trying to manipulate someone.”
    “Thanks,” I tell her, and mean it. We’ve definitely broken free of the bonds the Creators tried to hold us to, and it feels good.

Michaela
    A lejandra successfully convinced the police by the palazzo that we belonged there, and it was okay to let us walk into the palace. I knew she had the skills, but seeing them in person is pretty awe-inspiring. I almost believed we belonged there, and her powers don’t even work on me.
    Once inside, it didn’t take us long to find the area we were looking for. The invisible threads pulled us tighter, causing us to ignore all of the other rooms in the place. We step into a grand pool room, the lights off, but the water still shimmering in the moonlight streaming through the windows.
    Without thought, we walk into the water, not stopping until we’re submerged, and standing in front of an ornamental gate. Well, what’s supposed to look like a non-functional gate. We share a nod, and both reach out to pull it open. Swimming inside, we turn and pull the gate closed before going further into the unknown.
    We end up in a room that’s set up with drains similar to the ones in the ocean. There aren’t fans, but neither of us seems to mind how our clothes are when we see the materials we need in the adjoining chamber. Alejandra told me I’d know what to do when I saw everything, and she was right.
    I walk forward and start assembling things, as she does the same. We’re at it for hours before we’re ready to fall over with exhaustion.
    “Do you want to go back to the hotel?” she asks me.
    “I’m not sure I can. This…it took a lot out of me, and not just