Leo

When Hazel and I left Dr. Baker's office, we left with a pretty good theory of Dr. Evansby. And I, of all people, came up with it. I mean, why else would the majority of the mutants be younger? You rarely saw an older one. He's attacking the younger ones, the more strong ones. There had to be a reason behind it. He's planning something. Heck, he's probably always planning something.

That afternoon, everyone was cleaning up the mess from the building collapse. Luckily, there weren't any deaths that we knew of. Hopefully it will remain that way. The cleanup was actually quick and easy, considering we had Hazel and a few other telepaths. They easily moved all the rubble to the scrap yard on the edge of town, hiding inconspicuously.

I heard light footsteps come up from behind me. I turned around, and saw Maxine. Her usual smile had faded, and she looked exhausted. I wonder if the smartest person in the world ever slept. I doubted it, considering how she looked.

"Hey, have you seen Linus anywhere? I know he left the cafeteria before it collapsed, but I'm worried about him," Maxine says, concerned.

I shook my head. She had a point though. Where was Linus? Not that I really care, because I honestly can't stand the guy. But it was a mystery where he was. "No, sorry, Maxine. Like you said, he managed to get out of the building before the earthquake, so he must be safe."

She nods. "You're right. But could you keep an eye out for him? And make sure he's not hiding in his room...and doing drugs." I couldn't help but chuckle. Maxine smirked and continued. "But yeah, just make sure he's alright for me?"

"I will," I say. As much as I didn't want to, I had to do this for Maxine. I needed to go my room to see if Linus was there.

When I got to the door, it was unlocked. And I never left my door unlocked, so Linus is probably in there. I braced myself, in case he might be drunk, and barge inside. Linus was at the desk, with his back turned to me, clearly writing in a notebook. Cigarette smoke swirled around him. I wonder where he gets his cigarettes from. But it's clear Maxine wants him to stop smoking and doing drugs. I would also love that very much, since I hated having to live with the smell.

Linus didn't even notice I walked in. "Hey, Linus?" I say, my voice trembling in uncertainty. He could turn around and shoot me in the face, for all I know.

He jumps, startled, and spins around to face me. The room was always dark, but I could see that his eyes were red from the drugs and the bags under his eyes from exhaustion. He looked like a mess.

"Leo, what are you doing here?" He scoots over slightly, hiding the notebook on the desk with his arm.

I raised an eyebrow. "I live here, remember?"

Linus raises his eyebrow, copying the expression on my face. I wanted to punch him in his gut. "Oh, yeah. Forgot about that."

I rolled my eyes and tried my best to keep from screaming at him. Sighing in frustration, I said, "Maxine's looking for you. She's worried about you and didn't know where you were after the cafeteria collapsed."

Linus didn't even react when I said the cafeteria collapsed. He didn't even respond to me. All he did was nod and turn back around, closing his secret notebook. I even saw him slip what I thought was an envelope inside the notebook somewhere. What's wrong with him? Why is he acting like what I just said meant nothing? He's hiding a lot from me, and I didn't have to be a telepath to know it.

I walked over to him, to where I could see what was on his desk. He had a beer, a bag of unknown drugs, a broken pencil, and his arm over his notebook. Linus glared at me and shoved me away. I've had enough of him. I grabbed his arm roughly, not even remembering to control my super strength, and threw him against the wall. Of course he looked shocked, like he didn't know what I just did to him.

"Don't ever touch me again, you little creep," I snapped, gritting my teeth. "Now what are you hiding? Huh?"

Linus only grins at me with that stupid grin on his face. I knew that stupid grin. I've seen it before.

I dropped his body on the floor and grab the notebook. I flip the pages violently until I come across an envelope that he was hiding. I ripped it open, almost ripping the paper inside. It was a letter from someone, meant to be for Linus. It even had today's date at the top, which I figured out because it said "today" beside the date. Nobody kept track of what day it was anymore, so I was surprised to see it was nearly February. The signature at the bottom made my blood boil. I'm surprised I didn't rip the notebook in half. First, I read what it said:

Dear Linus, January 21, 2017

I'm pleased to tell you that you've done an excellent job working for me. These past few months have been quite eventful, and I'm glad I had you to help me through it. I just wanted to know how your new mission is going. It must be exciting seeing everything firsthand. Especially the mutants we've been tracking. How are they? Have they gotten stronger? I imagine they have.

Anyways, I just wanted your feedback so I could have a better look at what I'm going to be dealing with when my army attacks again. These rebels will surrender to us, and I will not back down. You're on the right side of the battle, Linus. I knew you were hesitant at first, but you made the best choice. If you stayed with the rebels, you wouldn't have those incredible powers of yours! Just remember what I asked for above, and write back ASAP. And be careful when delivering. Thanks.

Evansby

Evansby. Linus is the traitor. He's communicating with Dr. Evansby. How could he do this? Words couldn't describe how furious I was. Not just because he was Linus in general, but because he was helping a sick man destroy the colony, which I've come to call home. I knew he was stupid, but I didn't think he'd do something this idiotic.

I ripped the notebook in half and threw it on the floor. Then I turned around to start yelling at Linus, but he wasn't there. He was just lying on the floor a few seconds ago. Great, he probably escaped and is hiding again like the coward he is, I thought, rolling my eyes. Then I heard an ear-piecing scream coming from behind me. My heart leapt in my chest, and I spun around to see something that caused me to let out a scream too.

Hazel was on the floor. With a knife in her stomach. Blood pooled around her lifeless body. She was dead.

I screamed, not believing what I was seeing. My legs quivered, and I fell on my knees, next to Hazel's body. I shook her shoulders, expecting her to wake up and start breathing again. Maybe even hug me for saving her. Or even kiss me.

Wait, did I just think about that?

All of a sudden, I felt a sharp object stab me in my shoulder. I let out a painful cry, falling forward on my face. It hurt even more when my attacker pulls the object out of my shoulder and drops it on the floor, right next to my face. It was the broken pencil that Linus had on his desk, covered in my blood. I felt my face turn pale.

I felt hands on my body, and I'm pulled over until I'm lying on my back. My throat ached as I screamed in pain again. This might be worse than having a hundred needles in me. I didn't know. Opening my eyes, I saw Linus's devilish grin staring down at me.

"You like my illusion I created, Leo? It's my power. I can create powerful and realistic illusions to scare the crap out of people. I can even scare people in their dreams. Isn't that cool?" He bent down and laughed right in my face. I didn't have any strength to spit in that stupid face.

This is an illusion? But it felt so real. The pain in my shoulder felt real. Hazel's dead body looked real. I glanced over and saw that her body was gone. And the pain in my shoulder was nothing but a dull throb. Linus was a sick person. In so many ways.

Linus continued talking to me. I wish I could do something to make him stop. "If you tell anyone about this, about this little incident, or about my little secret, I will cause you much more pain than this. I will haunt your dreams to the point where you won't sleep. Wait, better yet, how about I actually hurt Hazel? How about that? You've been warned, Leo Esteban."

I want to scream, but the illusion came back to reality before I had a chance. He threatened me, and the life of Hazel.

My eyes popped open and the chaos is gone. Linus's face is gone. The pain and blood is gone. Hazel's dead body no longer laid beside me. I'm alone on my bed, staring at the ceiling. It's like none of it ever happened. But I know it did. It would forever haunt me.

Linus's voice floats around in my mind. I will haunt you to the point where you won't sleep. How about I ACTUALLY hurt Hazel? You've been warned, Leo Esteban.

Then I noticed Linus isn't in here. That means he's on the loose. Paranoia hits, and I keep imagining him hurting people like he hurt me. And hurting Hazel. I gritted my teeth the keep from shouting from anger. I wish I could tell someone, but he could be watching me. And I sure couldn't risk that.