It seems like it

Jaden released Mrs. Reed’s hand on instinct, stunned. This was nothing like his dream. No gentle dulling of the eyes, no peaceful surrender. The light looked violent, painful. Zack’s body jerked in violent spasms, muffled curses and yelps spilling between his fingers.

“Captain!” Dr. Moreno’s voice cracked with panic. She lunged forward, heels clicking, arms outstretched toward Zack.

Jaden snapped out of it.

“Mrs. Reed! Hold her back!”

Mrs. Reed moved fast. She stepped in front of Elena, wrapped both arms around the taller woman’s waist in a bear hug and planted her feet. Elena snarled, twisting, trying to break free, but Mrs. Reed held on with surprising strength. The two women grappled, Elena’s blazer riding up, Mrs. Reed’s skirt hiking slightly, grunts and strained breathing filling the room.

Jaden turned back to Zack, almost giddy now. The plan had worked. Zack was down. The thrashing was slowing. Any second he’d become compliant and—

Zack stopped yelling.

A low snicker bubbled up from his throat.

Then another.

Then full, rolling laughter, loud, triumphant, wheezing, even as he stayed sprawled on the floor, one hand still covering half his face.

Jaden froze.

What the fuck?

Zack sat up slowly, still chuckling, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

Jaden whipped around to the women. Mrs. Reed looked back at him, confusion flickering behind her eyes. Dr. Moreno though… she had gone strangely calm. Almost serene. Her struggles had eased; she stood straight again, arms loose at her sides, watching with detached interest.

Before Jaden could process it, a thin red dot appeared on Mrs. Reed’s forehead.

A laser point.

Mrs. Reed’s eyes were still locked on his, wide, questioning when the spark behind them suddenly snuffed out. Her pupils dilated, then shrank. Her mouth slackened. Her shoulders sagged. The fight drained from her body in an instant; she became dead weight in Elena’s arms.

Elena caught her easily, holding her upright like a mannequin, one hand cupping the back of her head almost tenderly.

Jaden spun.

Zack was on his feet now, casual as ever. In his right hand he held a sleek, metallic device, shaped like a pen, silver casing with a subtle grip texture, a tiny lens at one end. The original. Not the toy he’d given Jaden.

He clicked it off with a soft beep. The red dot vanished from Mrs. Reed’s forehead.

“Nice try, Hayes,” Zack said, twirling the penlight between his fingers. “Real cute. But you didn’t think I’d lose so easily, did you?”

Jaden lunged, ****, furious, arms outstretched to tackle him, to wrestle the device away, to do anything.

But every step felt heavier.

His vision swam. Legs turned to lead. A thick, foggy grogginess rolled through his skull like syrup. The room tilted. His heartbeat slowed, too slow.

No. No, that couldn’t—

He’d taken the pill. He was immune. Zack hadn’t pointed it at him. How—

His knees buckled halfway across the carpet.

Zack watched, amused, as Jaden collapsed face-first with a dull thud, arms splayed, cheek pressed to the floor.

Darkness rushed in fast, black at the edges, then everywhere.

The last thing he heard was Zack’s low chuckle and Elena’s soft, reverent voice:

“Captain… he’s down.”

As Jaden came to, his head throbbed like someone had driven a spike through his temples. He knew that feeling all too well, he'd woken up once after a flu shot that had knocked him sideways and this was worse. ****. Had his mother fucked up the formula somehow? The pill was supposed to protect him, not leave him like this.

His vision swam in and out, the room tilting before snapping into focus. He was tied to the same beat-up chair he'd seen Zack lounging in, arms wrenched behind the backrest, ropes biting into his wrists, ankles lashed to the front legs. He tugged experimentally; nothing gave. The knots were tight, professional, like whoever did it had done this before.