The Unlocked (Charlie Hartley Series Book 1) by J.D. Stonebridge

a
therapist and it was the one topic she prayed to avoid. She already missed her
parents terribly. The thought made her eyes sting, so she shook her head.
    Natalia was quick to assure her. “Charlie, it’s okay.
Doctor-patient confidentiality applies here.” She smiled at Charlie, but the
student turned around to see the guards standing by the doors below them. “They
won’t be able to hear you from here, Charlie.” Natalia told her.
    “My mom is a teacher while my dad is a manager at a retail
grocery store. They’re great,” Charlie answered.
    “Okay,” Natalia nodded. “Let’s move on then. Follow me.”
    They went back down the stairs and headed for the table and
chairs at the center of the training floor. Charlie sat across from Natalia;
between them was a polished aluminum table that reflected her nervous
expression. A small nondescript box and an odd looking laptop sat on top.
Natalia pulled out three items from the box: a Bluetooth earphone, a
weird-looking headband, and wooden cube with multi-colored sides. Charlie stared
at the items, curiosity eating her up.
    Natalia handed her the earphones. “Put them on, Charlie.”
The girl complied as Natalia stood to position the headband on Charlie. She
adjusted the band around the student’s skull, its branches sticking out. Natalia
opened the laptop and explained the exercise. “My task is teaching you to
control your capabilities in spite of strong emotions. The headgear you’re
wearing right now is a portable electroencephalogram, or EEG. Do you know what
it does?” Charlie shook her head. “This device will scan your brainwaves and I
will be able to see the results from my computer here. Right now, I want to do
a controlled test.” She pointed to the cube and instructed her to turn it over
using her mind.
    Charlie directed and focused her eyes on the wooden cube in
front of her. Thumb rubbing her index finger, Charlie visualized the cube
between her fingers, making the motion to turn it over. The dice moved a bit.
Charlie tried again, concentrating more intensely this time, and the cube
turned over, from its green to yellow side. Charlie grinned and looked at
Natalia.
    “Very good,” commended Natalia. “Now, to continue, do you
know how sound affects our mind, Charlie? I’m going to introduce you to
Binaural Music Therapy.”
    Charlie cocked her head to the side, “What’s that?”
    The keyboard clicked a few times before Natalia said, “I’ll
explain the concept behind it later.”
    Low odd sounds entered Charlie’s ears. At first, it sounded
like vibrations growing louder and louder. The hum reverberated around
Charlie's skull and down her neck while Natalia watched her. “Is this some kind
of hypnosis?” Charlie asked.
    The woman laughed at her comment, “No, Charlie. It’s not.
Now, I want you to close your eyes and listen.”
    Charlie was skeptical but did as she was told. In the
stillness in her mind, she began to imagine the hum coming from a large machine
in front of her with its dim light beating over her head. The constant sound
made her head feel heavy, her muscles tingly.
    "Charlie." She heard Natalia and opened her eyes.
Between them, the wooden cube floated. Delight was in Natalia's eyes as they
watched the multi-colored cube turn over and over slowly in mid-air and
ascended until it reached eye level.
    "Can you bring it back down, Charlie?" Natalia requested.
Gently, Charlie lowered her eyes and the cube followed suit. It gradually
descended until it hit the table with a clunk. Charlie exhaled loudly, unaware
she had been holding her breath.
    "Very good, Charlie," Natalia said. She faced the
laptop and typed in some notes. Charlie was surprised when the vibrating sound
ceased, more so because she had become unaware of it while manipulating the
cube. Now that her earphones were silent, Charlie felt strange.
    "How was it?" Natalia asked her.
    "Strange." Charlie answered, earning another smile
from the woman.
    "Indeed it is.