Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Marcus exercised his fingers for a brief moment before tapping passionately on the keys of his newly bought Piano. The instrument sounded sonorously while his head danced to the tunes of Beethoven- Für Elise  he played.

Lola suddenly toured out of her room all smiley and still dressed in her pyjamas.

"You play well!" She chirped with a hand gesture that expressed perfection. He smiled in return while she walked up to the fridge, pouring herself a cup of milk.

His eyes fell on Michael who toured from his room dressed messily in his sleep wear.

"Change for the man!" He muttered as he placed a one thousand Pilling note on his piano.

"Morning, Michael." Lola beamed a smile.

"For goodness sake stop playing that crappy note!" Collins yawned whilst stretching in his sleep wear. He wobbled in his sleep wear towards the couch. "Can't you play something like jazz or pop songs?" He complained.

Marcus only shrugged him off. He was simply playing to allay his fears towards The Shining. It's been only one day, he spent with them in the house yet it felt so suffocating. He loathed Collins and Michael for starters, let alone Theodore. The sarcastic and overly serious one, who thinks he's better than all of them. And there was Lola, in whom he found beautiful, courageous and reasonably mature. The odd one, Ariel. Who has spoken not a word.

Marcus wondered how he would survive living with these people for the next six months.

"Morning, Collins." Lola's soft voice tousled his thoughts. "Theodore isn't up yet?"

"He's probably in his room, wanking." Collins scoffed lazily on the couch. His eyes still closed. Michael giggled.

"Still sleeping I guess?" He answered for Lola who progressed to the kitchen.

"That's weird, this is past eight!" She pitched from the Kitchen while an aroma filled the room. Eggs, he guessed.

"Everybody gets a room but I have to share with Michael!" Collins groaned to no one in particular.

"There are five rooms, idiot!" Michael scorned while he busied himself with junk food at the dining.

"My night was terrible!" Collins continued. "You snored all night, now I have a migraine."

"Migraine?" Lola asked in a concerned tone while she stepped out with plates of fried eggs. She laced them carefully on the dining before adding a wrapped sliced loaf of bread. "I think I have something to ease your pain." She chattered but Collins huffed.

"Well thank you Doctor, but I can manage on my own."

"Your choice." Lola shrugged. "Breakfast is ready everyone!" She pitched with a tiny smile. "Michael, go get Theodore. I'll get Ariel."

"Stop acting like our mother, miss!" Collins scorned.

Marcus frowned at him, he wondered why Collins always had something sassy to say.

"Excuse me," Lola queried. "We have work by nine and you guys are busy doing something irrelevant. Except for Marcus of course." She smiled at him while he simply nodded.

"Flirt! So because Monkey Marcus is wooing you with his classic piano, the rest of us are suddenly irresponsible." Collins retorted. Michael laughed.

"You better watch your mouth, Petty thief!" Marcus growled, his hands pressing his keys roughly.

"Marcus, please just ignore him."  Lola pleaded while Theodore emerged into the room, fully dressed and his blonde hair packed in a messy bun fashion. Ariel followed suit in the same mannerism with her accustomed headset.

"You guys are at it again." Theodore remarked icily. "For once, act like civilised humans." Marcus frowned, watching Theodore saunter to the dining.

"Thank you for the Breakfast, Lola." Theodore added while she smiled.

"What's with this little one and her headset?" Collins growled all of a sudden. Ariel only sauntered to Lola, thanking her with a gesture before dining with breakfast.

"Don't start again, Collins." Marcus scorned. "I don't know if you're deaf but someone just told us to be civilised."

Michael laughed once again.

"You guys are so funny!" He added with laughter still minting with his words.

"Let me tell you what is more funnier," Lola interjected. "When Doctor Roberts arrives only to find out you both aren't prepared yet."

Immediately Lola finished, the door opened with Doctor Roberts dressed in his accustomed suit and lab coat sauntering in. Alongside Rita, dressed in a formal black suit whose smile brightened her face.

"Good Morning guys!" Doctor Roberts chirped like one who had won lottery. Marcus suddenly halted in his music causing the Doctor to frown.

"It's great to see you guys bonding already." Rita remarked as she sauntered to the centre table, dropping the black briefcase that had a golden globe insignia. The Shining.

Collins scoffed, Michael and Lola donned a smile while Theodore and Ariel pressed on with their meal.

"I admire your play, Marcus." Doctor Roberts muttered as he sauntered closer.

"Thank you." He responded.

"Do you by chance have any piece of yours. Perhaps you can entertain us with any of your notes." Doctor Roberts beamed a smile.

"Oh great! Now my ears have to listen to another nonsense." Collins huffed. Marcus eyed him before glancing at everyone whose gazes were fixated at him.

"Actually, there's one that popped up in my mind lately." He grinned at them and then exercised his fingers. He skillfully pressed on his piano keys. Slow and steady. Letting the room embrace the music.

"There's an evil in the shadow," he melodiously toned.

"It lives in us, it looms around us,

In oblivion, will it consume,

It may be slow but it poisons us,

Venom that bites deep in our hearts,

We cry for a hero but there's only a shadow of them.

It lives in us, it looms around us,"

As he continued playing his instrument, he observed their faces sink into sadness. As if he had put them in deep thoughts. So rather than press on he decided to cut it on a solemn note.

"That was deep, Marcus." Doctor Roberts muttered after long silence that dawned amongst them. He didn't even know how those lyrics toured out his mouth but he knew they came from his heart.

"Like I said yesterday, today we begin work fully. But first," the Doctor continued while Rita unboxed the briefcase revealing a dazzling sets of Droyphones. One of the expensive phones in the world built by Doctor Roberts himself.

"This will be your new phones. I have personally programmed the system to monitor your activities and the only contacts you shall have access to, are workers of The Shining."

"So you're keeping tabs on us now?" Marcus replied in the iciest he could produce. "If you want us to work as a team, you need to start trusting us."

"If I didn't trust you guys, this house should be guarded heavily with security by now. I wouldn't let you guys roam freely about the city." Doctor Roberts paused for a split moment. "I'm just taking extra precautions."

"Extra precautions?" Lola questioned.

"There are eyes on you all," Rita responded sternly. "We're not the only ones who knows you all have powers and believe me, once they get you." She pursed her lips. "It's over."

"I don't want to see ourselves as a team but as a family." Doctor Roberts pleaded and a light sigh complemented his words.

"I don't want to die, Doctor Roberts." Collins voice broke the tensioned silence. Marcus for once was moved by the sincerity in his tone.

"If danger looms around us, just know it's every man for himself." He finished.

"I can assure you all, it wouldn't come to that." Doctor Roberts face once again slipped into it's accustomed smile. "So while we still have Thirty Minutes left before work, why don't you and I go for a walk, Marcus?"

Marcus hesitated for a while, wondering what Doctor Roberts was up to this time. And after minutes, he nodded. Following the man into the sunny morning and serene atmosphere.

"How do you find this environment?" Doctor Roberts asked as they greeted the elderly neighbours they walked past. Marcus reviewed the area yet again, growing amused at the dozens of old people that lived in the environment.

"Peaceful and endearing." He responded while the Doctor hummed.

"Your song," Doctor Roberts voiced. "What inspired you?"

Marcus glimpsed at the man briefly, thinking carefully for minutes.

"You." The Doctor stared at him with a smile that described how unsurprised he was. "Just because we have powers doesn't make us superheroes, Doctor Roberts." He mused.

"I don't believe in superheroes." Doctor Roberts stated as they reached the street's junction.

"Then why are you turning us into one?"

The Doctor laughed gently as they strode towards the main roads.

"In that case, Soldiers who risk their lives protecting their nation should be called superheroes. Doctors who saves lives should be called superheroes. Scientists who produce vaccines and drugs to combat our deadly diseases, Farmers who produces food for our survival, the government which tries to improve our standard of living, should all be called superheroes."

Marcus retained silence, mentally agreeing with Doctor Roberts point of view.

"You have something unique." Doctor Roberts sounded softly. "You have the power to save lives, Marcus." The Doctor paused. Marcus noticed the faint sadness dawning on Doctor Roberts countenance. This was the first he had seen him in this condition.

"In 2020, lives were ruined, the powerful crumbled, the weaklings arose, but do you know what the explosion took from me?" He muttered in an extremely burdened tone causing Marcus worries to dose further.

"I lost my family."

Marcus exhaled with his eyes wide open. He could hardly believe a man so smiley and optimistic had faced a rough past. Just like him.

"What should I have done?" Doctor Roberts asked rhetorically. "Given up and embrace this dystopian world just like everyone did." Doctor Roberts paused and this time his accustomed smile sprung to life. "But the truth is I can't cos if we all give up, another life would be ruined, another family will be torn apart in the nearest future."

"So tell me, Marcus. Have I gone too far or is it too much to ask of you to save lives?" Doctor Roberts mentioned with his gaze fixated to him. His hearts started to beat at a speedy pace recalling how his parents died. How he wished he could go back in time to save them.

"Cos if I have made the wrong decision, I'll let you go and you shall have no business with the Shining anymore. A chance to return to your normal life."