“Underground Deviant Network Exposed!”
The large black type screamed at the top of the page.
Kathryn picked the paper off the rack as she took a few steps forward in line. Her eyes scanned the page. Words like “contained” and “hostile” and “abomination” jumped out at her as she read how many “undocumented deviants” were restrained and were currently “being held in appropriate facilities where they will no longer be a danger to themselves or others.” Her hands began to shake.
“The usual, Kathryn?”
She jumped at the sound of her name, her heart racing. “Oh, um, yeah.” She flashed Aaron what she hoped appeared to be a casual, friendly smile. “The usual.”
Aaron grabbed an extra-large cup and began to fill it to the brim with piping hot coffee. Kathryn’s eyes returned to the page. In the picture, a man and a woman were being led off in handcuffs. Their heads were turned slightly from the camera. They looked scared, defeated, but otherwise, normal. The cops following closely behind them looked victorious.
“The paper, too?”
“What?” The cup of coffee now in front of her, Kathryn forced her attention back on Aaron.
“Do you want the paper, too?”
“Oh.” Kathryn looked again at the headline. She wanted to read more, to devour every letter, every image, but instead, she turned and dropped the paper back in the rack. “No.” She reached into her purse to pull out her money. “Just the coffee. Thanks, Aaron.”
“I don’t blame you.” Aaron took the bills from her. “Those people are a bunch of dangerous freaks. The cops had this whole sting operation going on and caught like fifty of them. No one knew they were deviants. They had somehow slipped past the screening and were living like normal people with the rest of us.” He made a face as he gave her the change.
“I hope they execute all of them. Damn freaks of nature,” a voice muttered from behind her. Kathryn turned to see a young man in a sharply tailored business suit. His cell phone was clasped firmly in one hand while he deftly texted with his thumb. “You know what I heard?” He typed something else before meeting Kathryn’s gaze. “I heard some of them can do some really freaky stuff, like read your mind.”
Kathryn’s mouth felt dry. She swallowed hard as her stomach flipped over, grateful it was empty. “That’s ridiculous. No one can do that. Deviants are just mentally ill, violent people.”
The man shook his head. “That’s what they want you to believe—that they’re just crazy. But I’m telling you, some of them can do freaky, unnatural stuff.”
“Dude, I heard that,” Aaron chimed in. “Like move things with their minds.”
“Right, which is why they should all be executed, as far as I’m concerned. Damn freaks.” The man dropped his phone into his jacket pocket. “I’ll take a medium latte.”
“You got it. See ya tomorrow, Kathryn.” Aaron flashed a sunny grin.
Her voice caught in her throat. “Okay. Bye.”
She grabbed her coffee from the counter, slung her purse over her shoulder, and hurried to the exit. The coffee shop suddenly felt unpleasantly warm, and Kathryn thought she was going to pass out if she didn’t get some fresh air. Her vision growing blurry, she swung open the front door and bounced right off someone’s chest, almost spilling her coffee over herself…
