Only one review for chapter 8! Ouch guys, that hurts :P. So sorry AGAIN for the late update, but I've been on break overseas and I just managed to get internet! I know excuses excuses…but please forgive your humble author. I've decided I will actually post a long chapter this time (well long in my book). Thank you for the reviews( I know now you're going to review immediately)! My PM box is still open for more alphas! Hoping to post soon,

-the untitled

"I called Skylar, she said she'd be here as soon as she can." Nina said walking into the room where the rest of the team cradled laptops. "Any sign of an alpha?"

"No, not yet." Dr. Rosen looked up at the dark haired alpha. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair tangled and messy. He suddenly realized that since they realized Gary was missing, the team hadn't changed or showered. Amazing, the psychiatrist in him thought. What fear does too people.

"Isn't it funny how when we need Gary he's not here? All this searching stuff would have been a lot easier with him here." Bill leaned back in his chair, speaking bitterly.

"Yeah, it makes you realize how special the little guy was..." Added Cameron.

"That's it!" Rachel cried. "Think like Gary, if Gary was looking for a potential alpha, how would he do it?"

"He would make search perimeters." Bill leaned over on his laptop. "Guys, what are places you could find an alpha?"

"Asylums, Law enforcement, teaching positions…" Dr. Rosen listed.

"Ok, let's start with asylums, an alpha with an ability we need would stand out. Let's look in asylums in New York; we don't have time to travel across the country to find an alpha." Bill clicked on the first New York asylum that came up. "Hamptons Institute for the Medically Insane. Let's pay them a visit."

"Remind me again what we're doing?" Dr. Rosen whispered nervously as they walked towards the hospital doors.

"We're going to go in, we are going to show our badges and question the doctors about any special patients. When we are done we're going to have Nina push them so that they forget what happened." Cameron answered by his side.

"Why does Nina have to push them?"

"In case Sullivan goes snooping around. We don't want her knowing what we're up too. Come on Doc, pay attention!"

Cameron just finished speaking when they reached the front counter of the asylum. In unison, they pulled out their badges for the secretary seated there. No questions asked, the secretary led them to the head doctor. She was used to government officials asking about patients. The doctor's office was barren. A hard black leather sofa was placed in front of a large mahogany desk. Immaculately clean, the desk was as sparse as the room. The man sitting at the other end of it was the complete opposite. In fact to be more descriptive, he looked like a very colorful bug. Yes he wore the traditional knee length white jacket, but it covered a yellow turtle neck and blue pants. Purple glasses adorned his face, their thick rims round and shiny. The man looked to be in his 50s. The team stood for a moment in shock of his strange appearance as the secretary introduced them.

"Dr. Hampton, these are some members from…where did you say you worked?" Noticing that they were still busy studying the Doctor she continued. "They are here to talk to you about our patients."

"Lovely, please take a seat." Dr. Hampton's voice was deep and soothing. "I can see you're a little taken back by my appearance, but I assure you it is for my patients' sake not mine. I find they respond better to color. While I don't paint the walls, I make sure my nurses and doctors dress a little eccentrically. That way it seems more like a home and less like a morgue."

"Of course." Dr. Rosen sat down, the rest of the team followed suit.

"So, is there a specific patient you're looking for…?"

"Yes. We are looking for one of your more…different patients. Someone who would stick out." Bill said.

The doctor laughed. "This facility has been in my family for 7 generations. This is an asylum for the medically insane; I've seen quite a few interesting patients. Could you be more specific?"

"Someone who doesn't fall under the normal medical stratifications. Someone with a condition that hasn't been studied or seen before." Lee added.

"We have a few with rare forms of schizophrenia…oh, yes we have one very…well her name is Hazel McKinley. She's 16 and has been here for 6 years. She's a pyromaniac from what I can tell. She manages to start fires everywhere with anything. It would be amazing but the fires she sets are…different. I know this is going to sound silly, but it looks like she can control the fire. I know, crazy right? But it's just what I've observed."

"No." Dr. Rosen smiled. "Thank you, she sounds like the kind of person we're looking for. Can we see her?"

"I'm so sorry but no, not without a warrant or a signed permission form from her parents. She's still a minor."

Nina leaned forward, pulling a piece of paper off his desk, handing it too him. When he caught her eyes she began speaking. "Here is the signed permission form."

Dr. Hampton looked down at the paper and smiled. "Perfect! I'll lead you to her."

The alpha team followed the eccentrically dressed Doctor down clean white hallways. Here and there they would catch a glimpse of a patient, but it looked like the nurses had kept them inside for the visitors' sake. They passed several locked doors and passed through many more. After what seemed like an eternity they reached a large silver door.

"In here are our most dangerous patients. Please, when you pass don't look. Keep your eyes focused on your feet and pay them no mind. Looking at them will only excite them. They usually don't get visitors."

With that he unlocked the door with a code and eye scan. When they door opened, it felt like they were entering the gates of hell. Despite focusing on their feet as they walked down the long corridor they could hear screaming and talking all the way down. The patients banged on the doors as they passed.

"Please, Please, Let me out! Let me out! The angels, they need me!"

"Murderers! Murderers! I'll kill you all!"

"Come to me, I'll sing you a song. Tell who you love and who you will love!"

"They are coming. Run…run…they are coming."

"Twinkle twinkle little star. How bloody you are…"

It was relief when they reached another large door at the end. The Doctor quickly ushered them inside. When they looked up, the team found themselves in a dark room with a window to a white room. Monitors showed all angles of the cell, and shining in each one was a figure curled up on a white cot. Knees pulled up to her chest, her neck arched upwards, face turned to the ceiling. Her eyes were closed, her hair light brown and cropped short. But that wasn't what the team was transfixed by. Weaving in and out of her long pale fingers was a small ball of fire not larger than a quarter. It didn't take any questioning to realize she was an alpha.

"Do you mind if we talk to her?" Cameron asked, eyes frozen on the small figure in the room.

"She's so young…", whispered Rachel.

"If you want to, but when she gets angry, please return inside. She has a bad temper."

"Rachel." Dr. Rosen nodded towards her and gestured for her to enter the room with him. The rest of the team stood transfixed, waiting to see how this young alpha would react to meeting people like her.

Dr. Rosen closed the door behind Rachel softly and quietly approached the young girl.

"Hello Hazel. My name is Dr. Rosen and this is my partner Rachel. Do you mind—"

"…If we ask you a few questions? Then if you don't mind we're going to run a few tests. Don't worry, it won't hurt and it won't take long. I've lived here long enough to know that's all bullshit. If you want to take blood, take it. If you have questions, ask them. Don't sugar coat it to make it seem like I have a choice, because we both know I don't." The girl didn't open her eyes, or move at all. Now closer, Rachel could see the light freckles on her pale skin. That and white spots up her arms. The evidence of testing done frequently and over a long period of time. Sickened, Rachel turned to Dr. Rosen.

"We're not here to run any tests. We just need you to watch and listen. You're not alone. There are people like you-"

Hazel laughed. "There are people like you". She repeated, mimicking Dr. Rosen. "That never gets old. Who is it this time? Another crazy guy with an obsession with matches? Or a woman who likes burning herself?"

Dr. Rosen fell silent for a moment, and then turned to the black glass where he knew Nina was watching them. He nodded once.

Nina turned to . "Doctor…"

"Yes—"

The moment their eyes met Nina gently pushed him. "You are okay with us staying here alone. If there are any cameras in this room you will turn them off. Then you will go to your office and stay there until we leave."

The Doctor nodded and walked out in a trance, eyes locked forward as he left the room.

Even though Dr. Rosen witnessed none of this, he knew Nina had done what she had to do. The rest of the team walked in, and still Hazel didn't open her eyes.

"Hazel. These people here are people like you, people with special abilities. They are alphas, and we think you are also an alpha.

The young girl opened her eyes, looking surprised at the mismatched persons in front of her. An old gray haired man who looked sympathetically at her. A copper skinned lady with pretty eyes. A big black man dressed in a black suit. A tall thin white guy with a tight jaw. A beautiful pale lady with ebony hair. The only thing they seemed to have in common was a tiredness about them, that and despite what the old doctor was saying, a very serious demeanor.

"Is this a joke?" She said finally. "If you're like me, prove it."

"You show us yours and we'll show you ours." The tall man said.

"No. I won't show you anything until you prove to me that you're telling me the truth."

Dr. Rosen turned to the black man. "Bill, your ability is the most tangible."

Hazel watched apprehensively as the large man, or Bill, walked towards her cot. He rolled up his sleeves and began to breathe heavily. The young patient began to see beads of sweat rolling down his dark skin, then; all of a sudden, he reached forward and grabbed her bed then lifted it up with her still on it.

Years of hiding emotions served her well, for as she didn't utter a word as she found herself in the air.

"Enough." Hazel whispered and the man set her down. She froze for a moment, seeing her visitors with new eyes.

"Are all of you…super strong?" she gulped.

"No Hazel." Dr. Rosen sat down on the other end of the bed. "I don't have an ability, let's just say I'm a supervisor. Rachel Pirzad here…" he gestured to the lady with the pretty eyes "can heighten any of her senses. Nina Theroux "he said turning to the black haired beauty "can make people do what she wants them too. Bill Harkin, as you saw, can fill his body with adrenaline to make him stronger. Cameron Hicks, "he pointed to the tall man, "has a mind that is very in tune with his body, so he has flawless aim and perfect balance. "And Gary—" The gray haired man stopped, then hurriedly recovered.

"See, we've proven to you that we are not lying. Now show us what you can do. Tell us your story."

Hazel looked at them nervously. She took a deep breath and leaned back, looking at her hand. The team's eyes widened as a tiny ball of flame appeared from her fingertips, watched in wonder as she turned the ball of flame into the shape of a little girl holding a balloon.

"It all began when I was 6 years old…"