A/N: Within the next few chapters, things start to unfold quickly with learning what Quantum is and finding out more about the super humans. I hope you enjoy!

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The lull of the truck's engine ceased, and the sense of motion came to a stop, rousing Elli from sleep. She blinked and stretched her cramping muscles. With a pang of guilt, she realized she had dozed off while Samuel was telling her the stories of his youth. As he had reminisced, she had grown relaxed listening to the melody of his voice. It wasn't that his stories had been boring or anything, she had enjoyed them, but the day's events had caught up with her quickly when she was finally comfortable, and she'd fallen asleep.

She pushed up from the seat a little to glance around their surroundings. They must've traveled a fair distance north as the ground now had a generous dusting of snow. The truck idled in front of a large iron gate, its headlights illuminating on a gravel road beyond. She glanced toward the driver seat, where Samuel was slipping on a pair of black leather gloves. He rolled down the window with the manual crank and punched a code into a box she couldn't see. The iron gate began to creak open.

Elli cleared her throat. "Where are we?"

Samuel turned to look at her, the hint of a smirk pulling up his lips. "Well, good morning."

"Is it?" she squinted to read the dashboard clock, startled to find it read 4:47 AM. They'd been on the road much longer than she'd imagined they'd be. Not that anyone had promised it would be a short drive, but she had hoped this 'Quantum' place wouldn't be too far from where she lived.

"To answer your first question," Samuel cleared his throat as he rolled up the window and the truck lurched forward. "Somewhere in the hills, close to the Canadian border."

"Vague." Elli scoffed.

"You're going to get that a lot at first, so I'm just helping you get used to it."

"Thanks." She rolled her eyes.

"Anytime."

They drove down the snowy lane in silence. Elli admired the dense woods beyond the window glass. She chewed on her lip, trying to come up with something to keep the conversation going. Silence would eat at her nerves as they approached their mysterious destination.

"Thanks... for humoring me last night." She finally said.

His gray eyes darted toward her in the semi-dark of the truck, catching her gaze for only a second.

"Sure. Sorry, it bored you to sleep."

She laughed. "No, I'm sorry—the stories were great, I was just exhausted. I think the last bit I was awake for, you were trying to convince a guard to make a face at my grandmother, but you had nothing to bribe him with."

"That's not even the best one." Samuel scoffed. "You should've stayed awake ten more minutes longer for the next story."

"Rain check?" she couldn't keep a hint of desperation edging her voice. Her nerves were starting to kick in as the woods grew thicker around them.

"Maybe." Samuel gave a slight nod and refocused on the narrowing lane.

Elli tilted her head so she could watch him without getting caught again. She felt like Samuel was a puzzle and she'd only scooped up a few pieces so far; she was a long way from putting it all together. He seemed decent enough, masking his kindness with a gruff exterior that drove people to Trevor. Maybe it was an old dynamic, Trevor the charmer and Samuel the... she blinked herself out of her thoughts, turning to look out of the window again. What was she thinking? What was the point of trying to understand Samuel? Shouldn't she be thinking more about Trevor—or maybe not, considering both men were responsible for her predicament right now, and both of them had lied to her?

She shrugged in her jacket, watching the trees go by and wondered what her future might hold. If the events of the night before were any indication, she already knew she wasn't cut out for this kind of thing. It probably wouldn't take long for anyone else to figure it out, either. The sooner she could get out of this mess, the better. She just wanted to go home. By the time the woods began to thin, and a large concrete building came into view, Elli had sworn off all thoughts of romance for the idea that she would endure whatever Quantum would offer to fulfill her agreement with Trevor, for her and her grandmother's sake, and then split ASAP.

The truck pulled up to the massive concrete structure, and Samuel shifted into park, fixing his piercing gaze on Elli.

"Are you ready for this?"

"No." she answered honestly as the headlights of Trevor's sedan broke through the woods behind them.

"They're mostly friendly." Samuel's gloved hands rested on the steering wheel. "But if you get too uncomfortable, just let Trevor know."

"What do you mean?" Elli frowned. "Why would I need to let him know? Can't he just read my mind?"

A small smile tugged at Samuel's upper lip. "Only if you let him in. Trevor's very...." He squinted as he paused. "...polite, I guess would be the best way to put it. He tries to be as un-intrusive as possible. He knows his ability can make people uncomfortable, so he's cautious about it."

"Oh." Elli felt a sharp pang of guilt. She had jumped to the conclusion that Trevor had just been reading her mind this whole time, a concept that had made her freak out.

"So, he really is a gentleman, huh?"

Samuel snorted. "I think it's more for the sake of his sanity than ours. Can you imagine knowing what everyone's thinking all the time?"

Elli scrunched her nose at the concept. It was bad enough seeing what people posted on the internet or walking in on a private conversation; she didn't want to imagine what it would be like to be exposed to that kind of stuff 24/7 from people you know and strangers alike.

"No, definitely not."

"Right." Samuel nodded. "Besides that, we're striving to build up Quantum to build trust between humans and N.N.s. Abuse of gifts like Trevor's would work against that goal."

Elli considered his words for a moment. Both he and Trevor seemed impassioned about whatever mission they were on, but she didn't get it. Maybe she had the wrong idea about it all.

"You keep using that word—or is it an acronym? N.N.? What does it mean?"

Elli buckled her seatbelt as she caught sight of Trevor climbing out of his car that he'd parked behind them.

"Just kind of a nickname we like to call ourselves. It's "Not Normal." N.N." Samuel chuckled. "Someone thought they were clever when they came up with it."

"It is smart." She replied, earnestly. "It's not normal to be able to erase peoples' memories, or cause things to float with your mind, or—"

Her cheeks warmed with the memory of the sensation of Samuel's gifted touch. "What you do."

"Mimicry is the highest form of flattery, right?" he joked.

He unbuckled his seatbelt as well and reached for the door.

"Welcome to Quantum, Elli. You'll be fine."