Author's Note: Yes, I must apologize again. For those of you reading, I am sorry for the long wait in regards to updates. School is simply swamping me most of the time. However, after today (Thursday), I will once again be done with exam week, so I will try my hardest to get out several more chapters after that, and I will try to make it so they are not spread apart so much. As always, thanks to those that are still reading this (you really have no idea how much it means that even a few people find my story interesting enough to keep reading), and please feel free to leave comments! If anything, I'd really just like more feedback on my story to possibly help with fresh ideas and such. Thanks all!

"While there's life, there's hope."

-Cicero

False Sanctuary

[Sarah's POV

Sarah awoke to the sound of hurried, yet hushed voices from somewhere nearby. She couldn't discern what they were saying, though, as she felt disoriented, weak, and incredibly exhausted. Moreover, her eyes felt as if they were held shut by fifty pound weights, and the strain to open them felt as if it could take all the energy she possessed.

As she let out a soft groan, and rolled feebly onto one of her sides, the voices nearby suddenly quieted and had obviously become aware of her consciousness.

"Finally awake are we?", came a familiar voice from nearby.

Forcing her eyes open, Sarah blinked several times as she tried to take in her surroundings and make the room come into a clearer focus.

The room she was in was entirely white. From the walls and ceiling, to her bed, sheets, and even her clothes; the entire room was void of any color and, for that matter, feeling. On top of that, it was rather cold in the room also, and the blankets she was provided didn't do much to ease the discomfort.

The men in front of her, however, were the only things currently present that were not white. One man, who had dark skin and hair, she did not recognize, but the other she recognized as the man with the tattoo on his neck; the man who had been chasing her and Gabriel for weeks.

"What's going on?", Sarah asked, feebly, straining her eyes in the bright room, "Where am I?"

The man made a noise as if he were about to speak, but was interrupted a moment later by the other man.

"I still say you made a truly immense mistake, but I suppose we'll continue this later", the other man stated angrily, and, with a quick glance at Sarah, walked briskly out of the room.

The Tatoo Man simply let out a snicker, and strode to the edge of Sarah's bed. Taking a seat in a chair nearby, he sat down and addressed her.

"So, how are you feeling today?", the man asked, rather calmly and lacking any genuine compassion.

"Fine", Sarah lied, and then continued as her thoughts spewed out in the form of questions, "but what's going on? Who was that man? What mistake did you make? Where am-"

"Please, dear", the man interrupted, making Sarah cringe slightly, "calm down. All of your questions will be answered, just one at a time, please."

"Alright then", Sarah said pointedly, "where am I?"

"You are in the protective care of the company I work for", the man said almost proudly.

"Protective care?", Sarah asked, dumfounded, "You chase me, shoot at me, and then kidnap me and it's apparently for my protection?"

"We do what we must", the man answered, truly unaffected by Sarah's state of disbelief.

Feeling rather angry and mildly frustrated, Sarah asked, "And what, might I ask, am I being protected from?"

"Why, those who would seek to harm you of course", the man replied gleefully.

"And why would people suddenly want to harm me?", Sarah asked.

The man simply stared at her with an ever-so-slight grin on his face, and then asked, "You honestly have no idea?"

"No", Sarah answered, a little annoyed, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on Sarah!", the man replied a little louder, "you've never had anything happen to you that you thought was odd? Nothing ever out of the ordinary?"

Sarah was unsure of what to say. Who hadn't ever had something strange happen to them? Honestly, his questions were completely unproductive, and were only continuing to make Sarah more confused and angry.

"I still don't get what you mean, sorry", Sarah replied crossly, "nothing strange recently that I can recall."

"Liar!", the man practically shouted at her, "either your memory is truly awful or you're not telling me the whole truth."

"I swear, I don't remember anything", Sarah shouted back, not liking how heated the situation was getting.

"Oh?", the man asked, astounded, "well I have two agents with serious canine bite wounds that would beg to differ!"

"I don't see how that involves m-", Sarah began, but was cut off.

"And, I have another friend that seems to have suffered an attack by a random flock of birds; all because he wanted to stop and help a young couple stranded in a storm. But I'm sure you know nothing about that one either?", the man asked, sarcastically.

"Like I was going to say", Sarah retorted, angrily, "I don't see what that has to do with me."

Sighing heavily, the man spoke again, "Oh christ, just think about it Sarah! You were present during both events. In both events, you experienced some kind of intense emotional feeling. And lastly, in both cases, the animals clearly responded in some kind of reaction to how you were feeling."

As the realization dawned on her, Sarah felt a slight shock wash over her. Was it really her that had done it? She always felt that both situations seemed a bit too coincidental, yet she had written them off as such.

"That's kinda unfair to go and say I'm the one that caused those things to happen," Sarah started again, "they both were just big coincidences."

"Ah, I suppose that's possible", the man replied, "but have you ever wondered, just why is it that you are so good with animals. I mean, it's even your profession, isn't it? Think about it, you can walk through the lion and tiger exhibits without even a glance from them, and when is the last time you heard of a vet who could reach her arm into an alligator's mouth to dislodge a large piece of metal that had pierced the roof of its mouth? Odd, wouldn't you agree?"

Sarah didn't know what to say, as she felt simply overwhelmed at the moment. How did this man know so much about her and her job? Moreover, she had never in her wildest dreams thought that her talents were the results of some unknown ability. And, like she had learned from Gabriel and her friend's Activating Evolution book, people with powers like hers apparently could and did exist in the real world. Yet, to fathom that she had (for lack of a better description) the power to control, animals seemed beyond her.

"I can tell that you're starting to see what I mean", the man replied, obviously pleased with himself.

"I still don't fully believe this", Sarah replied shakily, "but I still don't see how it would be in anyone's interest to harm me over such a… 'power'."

"Yes, well, therein lies the problem doesn't it?", the man agreed, and continued, "You see, the extent of your powers are unknown, we just know that you have some kind of effect on animals.

"The big question for us is whether or not it is a conscious or subconscious process, and", the man paused for a moment, with a serious look on his face, "what the…limitations…on such an ability could be."

"Wait", Sarah blurted, "how exactly are you so sure that I actually do have an effect on them? I mean, from where I stand, it still could be a coincidence."

The man smiled, and said, "I'm so glad you asked that! You see, we have been watching you for quite some time. Ever since we saw the article about you in National Geographic we were a bit intrigued. You know, the one about how you were apparently renowned for having an inexplicable affinity for handling animals, and how you stopped an escaped lion simply by 'talking it down', as you so quaintly put it."

Sarah nodded, remembering the odd situation. She had been praised for months for what she had done, but when asked how she had gotten the animal to calm down, all she could suggest was that, "It must have just felt calmer around me, as I spend good portions of each day taking care of them."

The man, noticing that Sarah had nodded and agreed with him, continued by saying, "Yes, well, once we heard that story, we weren't so hurried to accept that it had all been a mere miracle.

"We decided to keep an eye on you, and eventually we came to find that, for whatever reason, animals were never a danger when you were present. We came to the conclusion that you had to have some kind of ability. And thus we decided that we needed to help you by getting you to the safety of our facility. As you can see we have succeeded", the man finished, with a slight air of pride.

"Alright then, so what happens next", Sarah asked.

"Next", the man began, "we figure out exactly what the details of your abilities are."

"Alright, and how will we go about doing that?", Sarah asked, feeling a bit more comfortable. These people seemed as if they'd truly like to help her, and she could at least be grateful for that.

"We'll likely run some tests", the man replied, "things dealing with animals. You know, we want to see how it is you do what you do."

"Great, and once you figure that all out we'll decide where I can go to live in safety again, right?", Sarah asked.

"Sarah, I thought we had already established that", the man answered, with a confused look on his face, "this is where you'll be safe. You won't be allowed to leave."

Sarah's heart skipped a beat as the man said this, and she frantically replied, "You mean I can't leave? Ever?! "

"Of course you can't!", the man said, as if it should have been some obvious fact.

"So basically I'm a prisoner?", Sarah shrieked, causing the man to back up a bit.

"Only if you choose to view it that way", the man said calmly, "and please do calm down."

"Like hell I'll calm down!", Sarah screamed, as she sat up and began to stand up from the bed, "you kidnapped me and now you're holding me prisoner, there is no other way of looking at it!"

"I promise, you'll come to understand it and maybe even begin to like it here", the man said, with an attempt at reassurance in his voice, "you'll eventually love the experiments and how they help you develop your powers! But please, Sarah, do sit down."

"No!", Sarah shouted, "I won't help you with your little experiments, and I sure as hell won't sit down!"

The man's eyes narrowed in a scowl, and he replied, "do as you're told Sarah."

Sarah recoiled with disgust at his order.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you can go to he-", she began, but was cut off as she let out a sudden, violent cough and felt her throat tighten.

The man stood over her with a vicious grin on his face. Holding his hand above her he spoke, "as you now know Sarah, you aren't the only one with these little abilities."

Sarah tried to inhale but found that she could get no oxygen. She could feel her throat muscles moving, but it was almost indescribable in feeling. There was no air getting down her windpipe, and she felt paralyzed as she made silent gasps for air.

"Mine", the man laughed, "well, I guess you could say I have this little affinity for manipulating the air; currents and such."

Sarah fell to her knees as she clutched her throat and chest to somehow help. She was beginning to feel lightheaded, and her lungs were burning from lack of oxygen.

"Needless to say, as I'm sure you're noticing now, it has some incredible advantages. You can't take a breath if I don't allow any air to move through your lungs.

"And that's not even the extent of my ability", the man continued, as Sarah crawled toward him and beat on his legs, feebly.

"Like this, for example," the man said, as he flicked his hand and Sarah felt a powerful force propel her into the wall to her left.

As much as it hurt, she felt a rush of relief as she found herself able to take a large, gasping breath as she slid to the floor.

Walking over, the man stood over her and grinned. Grabbing her by the hair, he yanked her head up so she could see his face.

"Now, Sarah", the man said slowly, "you will do as you are told, and you will take part in our experiments. Is that understood?"

As Sarah still gasped for breath, she nodded weakly.

"Good", the man replied, "now, perhaps you should get some more rest."

With that, the man turned released his hold on Sarah and strode out of the room. Moments later, the light left the room and Sarah plunged into darkness.

She crawled and fumbled around toward her bed and pulled herself into it. Her heart was still racing from what had just happened, and she found herself sobbing uncontrollably now. She had never felt this alone in her entire life, and yet, as she lay there shaking and sobbing, she realized that, no matter how hard it was, she could not give up hope. About twenty minutes later, she had cried herself to exhaustion and fell asleep.