A sound began to resonate across the room. At first it was small and barely noticeable; but as time passed, the tiny whisper changed into a massive scream, completely driving away the distant droning of cars outside. The sound was somewhere between a hum and an earthquake, the light attached to the roof of the room soon shaking wildly. The room itself was not large but not small either, easily accommodating the five people situated inside it. All five were dressed casually, each wearing sets of seemingly ordinary clothes.

Except for the small medallions that hung around their necks.

Four of them sat around an oval table with their eyes closed as if meditating while the fifth stood at the door, glancing nervously back and forth at them while covering her ears from the sound. An alarm clock stood on the table, now also trembling. The clock was round and pink, looking as if it belonged on a highschool student’s bedside table. Strangely, its small ticking was still audible even in the presence of the deafening sound, which had drowned out everything else. As the unidentifiable tune intensified, the fifth person began to yell something, her voice instantly swallowed into silence by its roar.

Another moment passed, and the clock’s second hand reached the twelve.

The sound disappeared, the ringing of the alarm clock now dominating the room in its place. The distant drone of cars returned and a small yelp came from the fifth person who had just lost her voice. The four around the table collapsed, gasping desperately for air. All of them were sweating fervently, and one fell into a violent cough.

Another minute passed, and the clock’s second hand once again reached the twelve. Its ringing stopped; coughing, gasping and cars were now the only sounds audible in the room. Soon even that ceased, and a still silence began to hang around them. The four had managed to regain their composure, now sitting calmly around the table. The fifth one remained standing. Glancing nervously around the room, she continued to shift her gaze to and from the grim faces of the four. Eventually, the man who was coughing earlier reached into his pocket, taking out a cigar and lighting it.          

‘Don’t smoke in here, George,’ said the woman sitting straight across him. She had long black hair and hazel eyes which glanced distastefully at the brown stick.

‘Shut up, Lauren,’ George replied. He had spiky hair and possessed a strong build, his muscles easily showing through his shirt. Taking a deep pull, he made a movement as if to blow the smoke at her. Hesitating, he changed his mind and redirected the exhalation quietly to his side. Before the awkwardness could intensify the fifth person hastily broke in, her voice finally recovered.

‘Did it work?’ She asked quietly, directing the question at no one in particular. As the words were said, an even deeper silence fell upon them, the heavy atmosphere giving her all the answers she needed.

 ‘I see.’

Glancing nervously at them, she decided to change her approach. ‘Well, don’t worry about it, there’s always a next time.’ George exploded.

‘Next time!?’ he yelled, throwing his cigar at the wall. ‘This is the damn fifth time we’ve tried this! Rather than getting closer, it feels like we’re getting worse with each attempt! If we don’t find a way in soon, we’re going to be–’

‘Calm down!’ interrupted the man sitting to George’s left. He had a medium build, looking average except for his blue eyes which shone with an uncanny light. Sighing, he addressed the group.

‘However, George, you are right. This latest failure proves to us that the infiltration is impossible the way we are now. It’s time for a change of plans.’ His eyes fell on the man opposite him. ‘What’s your opinion, Shawn?’ The last of the four, a skinny bespectacled man with untidy hair, answered.

‘As George so loudly stated, our situation is beginning to take a turn for the worse. The sentinels are close to finding us, and it doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to break into the inner sphere anytime soon.’ Taking off his glasses, he pinched his nose for a moment; then put them back on. ‘Vincent, I know you said that we should operate with only a few people, but it seems that it will be impossible with just us alone.’ He raised his head, calmly meeting his gaze.

‘We need to increase our numbers.’

            They sat in momentary silence, each pondering the idea.

            ‘I see,’ Vincent finally replied. For a brief moment his eyes flickered, then changed to a deep brown color. Catching it, Lauren frowned.

‘Very well, we will change our plans.’ He paused, making eye contact with each of them in turn. ‘Our priority for now is to find some new illusionists who can join us. We will use this apartment, house 3, and house 5 as bases of operation. Lauren, George, and Shawn will remain on standby, while Susan and I look for our new members.’

            ‘A recruiting mission, I take it,’ Lauren said musingly, ‘interesting.’

            ‘Where are you going to look?’ George asked. Smiling, Vincent looked up at Susan who returned the grin nervously.

‘Susan says that her school has the greatest concentration of potentials in the region. I’ll go as a teacher there and check it out. Susan, of course, only needs to attend normally as a student.’

            ‘Are you sure she doesn’t just want to attend school?’ George asked jokingly.

            ‘No no, of course not!’ she responded quickly, waving her small hands in denial.

            Taking off his glasses, Shawn took out a small handkerchief and carefully began wiping the lenses. Satisfied with the cleaning, he put them back on and rose.

‘I’ll leave first,’ he said amid George’s joking accusations and Susan’s nervous rebuttals, patting off the bits of dust that was stuck to his jeans.

            ‘Okay, rest up good,’ Vincent replied, ‘we’ll need you again soon.’ Giving him a nod, Shawn left the room. Finished teasing Susan to his content, George also got up.

            ‘Well then, I’ll be leaving too. Didn’t get much sleep last night.’

            ‘Wait,’ she said, stopping him and pointing at the area where he had thrown his cigar. A small fire had formed around it. ‘Can you please clean up your mess?’

            ‘Oh damn, my bad.’ He scratched the back of his head, frowning at the flames which had caught onto the carpet and were beginning to grow. ‘I’m not too good at erasure.’

            ‘I’ll do it,’ Lauren said, also getting up. Staring intently at the flames, she whispered something under her breath. For a moment the fire flickered; then vanished completely without a trace, leaving the carpet exactly as it was before. Sighing, she glared fiercely at him.

‘That’s why I told you not to smoke in here,’ she muttered irritably.

            ‘Sorry Lauren, I’ll be sure not to throw it next time.’

            ‘I’d prefer if you couldn’t throw it.’

            Chuckling nervously, George quickly left, saying a quick goodbye while cautiously pretending to ignore her. As the door closed Lauren turned her glare onto Susan, who unsuccessfully tried to follow his example and instead gave Vincent a pleading look. At his nod she left in relief, leaving him and Lauren alone.

           ‘So, what do you want to say?’ he asked finally, checking to make sure Susan was no longer in hearing range.

            ‘How is it?’ she asked him. Her face had turned from looking annoyed to worried, her left hand trembling slightly. Vincent laid his palm on the table, calmly running his fingers through the dust on its wooden surface.

            ‘For now, I still have control,’ he answered, meeting her gaze, ‘and I intend to until the end.’ Though her frown remained, Lauren nodded.

            ‘I see.’ Slowly, she made her way to the door, stopping at its threshold. Her hand had stopped trembling.

‘This is much harder than I expected. We’re only at the beginning, and yet have this much trouble.’         

            ‘Of course,’ Vincent replied, picking up the now silent alarm clock. ‘And things will only get more difficult from here on out.’ His eyes suddenly flickered, emitting a dull blue light. Frowning, he closed them briefly; then opened them again. The pupils were once again a deep shade of brown.

‘After all,’ he continued, ‘destroying the world is not that easy.’