Enemyoffun

 

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Author's Note: Here's a short little Christmas tale based in the Center universe, I came up with it this morning and rushed to get it done so I could post it today. Its a sweet little tale and doesn't really add much to the overall Center universe but its kinda fun. I'd liked to thank djkauf for the editing and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

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The tone during the ride over was quiet but I guess I couldn’t blame them. It’s not every day that a team gets sent out with a freak like me. Yes, I called myself a freak, you would too if you knew me. You see I’m not exactly the first choice for a mission but apparently I was the best one for the job. Ok, so not really, but I was available and I needed to start somewhere. Yes there’s a story behind that and yes it’s interesting but I don’t think it’s necessary. No, not because I’m a bitch, well, I am I guess but the only reason I’m not telling is because its already been told. You see I’m not exactly what you’d call a good person; well, at least I wasn’t until a few months ago.

But Dr. Tipps has been helping me with that. She’s a good person, contrary to what some purple streaked people might think. When they brought me in, I was kind of a wreck. I think they called me Priority One or something. After arriving---unconscious---I might add, I was rushed straight to the medical wing. They kept me sedated, which I guess isn’t anything new to me. There were a lot of doctors; at least I think they were all doctors. You see I have this thing, I can hear people when I’m asleep. It’s kinda a cool little ability, I wish it was my only one. But unfortunately, that’s not really the case.

Now where was I, oh yeah, Dr. Tipps? I woke up a day after they brought me in and there was this woman there. She introduced herself as Dr. Tipps and told me she was there to help. But I didn’t really trust her. I’ve been with a lot of doctors in my life, hell, my Father was one. They all seemed nice at first, showering me with praise and gifts. Then things started to happen. At first, I had no control over it after I changed. I didn’t even know what I was doing until people started screaming. That’s when more tests came. I started out at Section Four---they called it that, I call it Hell Number One---I liked it there at first. There were kids my age, going through the same problems as me. Then they got scared of me, all of them. That’s when they moved me---they sedated me and took me to Section One---Hell Number Two.

I was happy there for a little bit. Then the tests came. I think that’s when I started to regress. You see I’m a normal sixteen year old girl now---real name Ethan Boone---new name, Abomination. No, just kidding but pretty close, actually. I’m not exactly normal either, not as far as girls my age go anyway. I was young when they first brought me in, too young to understand what was going on. When I got to Section One and the tests started, I regressed my image to all those around me. So even though I was X Years Old, I always made myself appear about six.

Kinda fitting I think, considering what I can do. I’ve been called a lot of names: Nightmare Queen, Scarecrow, Fear Monger. Officially, I was a Dominator, Class Three---by Center standards---the Syndicate called me Subject 0F02-Beta. My father, Dr. Phillips, called me Melanie. I gave myself the last name Crane, kinda fitting if you ask me. After all, they called me the Scarecrow a lot.

But here I am digressing once again.

Where was I---Oh yeah, Dr. Tipps? When I first met her, I wouldn’t even look at her. She talked, trying to get me to talk to her but all I wanted to do was stare out the window. That’s when she moved me from the Infirmary into my own private room---not sure how she swung that. She tried getting through to me there, too. But I still wasn’t ready to talk. I was afraid to open, afraid to let anyone in just in case something bad happened again. I don’t like people getting close because whenever they do they either go away or they betray me. Dr. Tipps tried her hardest to break my shell but I resisted. I mean how was I to know that these people weren’t the bad guys. After all, they captured me. Ok, I was a bit delusional and fearful. But that didn’t stop the good doctor. She kept coming day after day.

About a month later, she got through to me. She helped me see some things about myself. She helped me realize that the child persona that I projected was a defense mechanism. She helped me see past it all. Contrary to what I believed before, she helped me become a better person and showed me that the Center was a good place to live. I owe her my life, my new newer life that is. I think I’ve had more than one rebirth. After our mutual breakthrough, she convinced the Colonel and Mrs. Fine to allow me into the regular population.

That was two months ago. I’ve been taking life one step at a time ever since. Then Dr. Tipps came to me with a mission, one that I was meant for, her words not mine.

______________________

“A mission” I asked, “are you serious?”

Dr. Tipps smiled. She was sitting in the chair on the other side of my single bedroom, a folder on her lap. She was the only one who came to visit me. I had friends---ok, maybe only one, Marcus. Yep, that Marcus, the kid who was there that brought me. I think he figured we were kindred or something. He and I had a lot in common. He was a Telepath, a powerful one. He was the closest thing to a Dominator the Center had---I was the only one apparently.

I smiled as big as I could. I’d been wanting to go on a mission for a while now. Things around the Center were slow these days. After this and that----I don’t need to bore you with the details---but let’s just say the excitement was over. I was getting kinda bored actually, wondering when it was going to be my turn for some action. I think everyone was getting kinda tired of having me lounge around too. It turns out that labeling me a Fear Monger was a little immature. Yes, I was still a Dominator and yes, I could still get into other people’s heads, but fear wasn’t the only thing I could manifest. It turns out that I have a thing for illusions of all kind. So instead of just tapping into what terrifies someone the most, I can do other things as well.

Dr Tipps set the folder on my little table., pushing aside the stacks of books I had there. I’m a reader, a big one. That’s my father’s influence; he was a big reader too. She opened the folder, showing me a few pictures. My eyes widened, she smiled. “Yep, that’s what you think it is.”

“Santa’s Village?”

She laughed. “According to our precogs, the Emergence will happen here. There’s a possibility that a lot of people are going to get hurt.”

I nodded. I knew all about that, I’d done my fair share of hurting myself. I flipped a few pages. The picture of the kid staring back at me looked normal enough. He was a skinny kid, with lots of freckles and bright red hair. He looked like Ron Weasley a bit. It was hard to believe that this guy was going to cause so much destruction. I read the name underneath, Victor Cruise.

“What’s he going to do?”

“He’s a Cryokinetic”

I nodded. We had a few of those. In fact, I sat next to one in History class, her name is Gloria, she’s kinda cool. No pun intended. “Why do they need me?”

Ok I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m not a fighter. I can fire a gun---I’ve had some training here and at the Syndicate---but that’s the extent of it. With a power like mine, I don’t need a lot of combat training. I’m a weapon onto itself. But to bring me a long on something like this, that must have been desperate. I suppose I screw with the kid’s head but there were a lot of other people more qualified to do that, Marcus being one of them.

“I’m not going to lie to you. This being your first mission, they need you on crowd control.”

I sighed. So that was it. I guess I couldn’t blame them. After all what good could an illusion girl do in an actual fight, especially against a guy who could probably throw icicles or something. Ok, I could probably really mess him up but I made a vow to myself to never do anything like that again.

The rest of the folder contained details of the mission, including my team. I smiled when I saw who the team leader was…

___________________________

“You ok” asked Marcus, brushing his hand across my thigh.

I turned away from the window, snapping out of my many thoughts. I’d been watching the snow covered road go by, moving ever so slowly. My stomach was in knots and it was taking everything I could bring to bear not to throw up. To say I was nervous was an understatement. I mean the last time I was out and about was several months ago and the last time it’s been with other people had been years. So to say I was nervous was actually only a part of it. I was horrified. I didn’t know how to interact with people anymore, not normal ones anyway. Dr. Tipps gradually introduced me into the general population at the Center, first interacting with Marcus and the team who brought me and then with others.

I took a deep breath. “I don’t think I can do this.”

Marcus squeezed my hand. “You’re going to be Ok; you’ve come a long way.”

I nodded. I turned to him and smiled, my heart skipping a beat. Never in a million years would I have thought that any guy would make me feel this way. But I couldn’t help it. There was just something about those icy blue eyes of his that seemed to make me melt inside. I never knew what it was like to be a boy; I was six when I turned after all. So I’d spent the last ten years of my life living as a girl, growing up, as any girl should. Before they isolated me and then put me into a coma, I had the life that a normal little girl lived. I had dolls and tea parties and wore frilly pink dresses. Being a boy was something that I was but it wasn’t something that I really remembered being. Having him staring at me made something stir inside of me, something that I’d never felt before. I turned away quickly, so he wouldn’t see my blush.

“We’re coming up on our destination now, sir,” said the Private from the front seat.

“Thanks, Thomas” said Marcus, letting go of my hand.

I turned back to take a look at the rest of the team. There were six of us altogether, including the driver, Private Jones. I didn’t know the others well but Marcus had handpicked them specifically. The other two E’s---Becca’s word not mine---were both kinetics. They were both sitting behind us, looking like solemn sentinels, quiet and staring ahead. I knew Jessica but only from class. She was an Aerokinetic, which matched well with her wispy, white blonde hair. She had this little beady necklace that was currently in her hands, rolling the beads around in her fingers. Sitting next to her was Franklin---Frankie to his friends, I wasn’t one. He was tall and gangly and a real hothead. I don’t think you need to know his ability but just in case he was trying to show off by snapping his fingers, making a little flame appear on his fingertips.

We were unofficially the new Delta Team. The old one was the team that brought me in from Section One. Its original leader was Becca Howe but the team disbanded after she was given control of SIRS---Stealth Infiltration Reconnaissance Squad. Kris reorganized the team and gave leadership to Marcus. I’m not sure if this was going to be the regular team for every mission but the prospect kinda excited me. I think I could get used to going out on missions, helping people.

Frankie finally spoke. “C’mon this has to impress you,” he said, making the flames dance across his fingertips.

Jessica rolled her eyes. Then she leaned forward and blew. A small gust of wind filled the cramped SUV interior, blowing off his flames. Frankie frowned, Jessica and I laughed. Both of them turned as one, looking at me strangely.

“It speaks,” said Frankie, smirking. “We thought you were a mute.”

“Nope. Just the scary girl who can make you live out your greatest fear.” The color drained from his face. “Let me guess, everyone ignores you; right?”

Jessica laughed. Frankie frowned and turned away.

I smiled and turned around. Marcus looked at me and shook his head. I turned back to the window, watching as snow began to fall. I hate the snow; the last time I was in a snowstorm was on the streets. I don’t remember much of my parents. I know that my mother died in childbirth---that’s normal for people like us I guess. My father was kind of a deadbeat---my real dad I mean. He was a drunk who squandered whatever hard earned cash he made on booze. I’m not really sure when he abandoned me. I vaguely remember going to a supermarket and wandering down an aisle by myself. No one seemed to notice me. I ended up on the streets, in an alley. A few days later, I was in foster care. Because I was so young, things are kinda fuzzy though.

“Here we are” said Marcus, softly in my ear.

I looked ahead, over the heads of the two soldiers in the front seat. Sure enough, there was a winter wonderland laid out before us. When I saw the picture of the village in the folder, I thought it was some kind of joke but now that I saw it in person, there was nothing funny about it. It looked just like Santa’s Village should. There was a wall around it---brick probably, but made to look like gingerbread. Beyond that were a large castle---probably made of plywood---and several other smaller buildings around it. I never believed in Santa Claus, my father always thought things like that was foolish and frivolous. He was a man of science and as a man of science; he told me there was no point in filling my head with foolish things. He still gave me presents at Christmas but he never pretended they were from anyone but himself.

Marcus gave orders to Private Jones. Our SUV pulled into the little parking lot, trying to find a place to park. It was jam packed with vehicles. We found a spot at the end, beating out a little car for it. A woman behind the wheel gave us a look and the finger. I scoffed, so much for Christmas Spirit. Jessica seemed to think the same because she made a nasty comment behind me.

Once we were all parked and set, Marcus laid down the plan. “According to our intel, the target will be emerging in about an hour. We’re going to break up into pairs.” He turned to Jessica. “You and Frankie are one, Private Thomas and Melanie will be another.” He looked at Jones. “I need you to stay with the truck.”

Jones and Thomas nodded. Jessica groaned.

“You’re really going to stick him with me,” she said, with a refined British accent.

How cool was that? Even though she was as American as you and I, she somehow picked up this really cool accent after she Emerged.

“What about you?” asked Frankie.

“I’m going to scan the crowd, seeing if I can find Victor before things get out of hand.”

After that, we broke up. Jessica and Frankie went off, arguing like a pair of siblings. I turned to Thomas. He was a tall guy, with a thick neck and closed cropped blonde hair. I suppose he was cute if you like that whole soldier thing. But I wasn’t Emma so he did nothing for me. He gave me a nod and I shrugged. I guess that was the only thing I was going to get out of him. So I started walking, he kept close to my heels. Our cover was as brother and sister, even though there was no way anyone would mistake him for my brother. Not that he looked all that odd or anything. I was the odd one. What with my long green hair and short stature, I’m barely five feet tall.

We slipped through the crowd, trying our best to mingle. I groaned. Everything was overwhelming. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in a place with this many people. There were a lot of kids, too, bringing a pang to my heart. Until very recently, I’d been one of them. Ok, not really but everybody thought I was. Dr. Tipps said it was a defense mechanism, a way for me to hide behind my fear and anger. So I projected the image of me being a little girl to the rest of the world. Marcus and the other telepaths were the only ones who could see through it. Dr. Tipps spent a long time helping me getting over my fear and my “regression” as she called it.

I dropped the façade about a month ago. But it still pained me to see all these kids running around and not being one of them.

“Not a Christmas fan?” asked Thomas over my shoulder.

“Not a people fan, actually.”

He nodded. He didn’t say anymore after that.

The two of us had about an hour to spare so we disappeared into the crowd, keeping our eyes open too. All the workers wandering around were dressed in horrible Christmas sweaters with Santa hats and fake smiles. They were weaving through the crowds too, handing kids and adults alike candy canes and things like that. One of them passed one to me but when he looked at Thomas, he turned green and rushed off. Thomas frowned so I passed over mine. I’m not a sweets person. The Private was like a kid in a candy store, directing me to one Christmas themed booth after another. Me, I barely paid attention. But he was really into it. He bought some cotton candy and candy apple. There was a stall selling gingerbread cookies and he bought three of those and another stall giving away free hot apple cider, he took two cups and tried handing me one but I waved it off. There were game booths too. Stupid things meant for kids, like Pin the Tail on the Reindeer and Beanbag Toss through a wooden cut out of Santa’s Head.

But the main attraction of the whole place was Santa of course. There was a huge line of little kids waiting to see the big guy himself. Santa---who was probably a fat guy in a suit---was sitting in a little mock wooden structure, meant to resemble a castle or something. There was a large chair where the phony sat and a bunch of huge fake presents scattered about. Next to him was a giant Christmas tree and beside him was a huge velvet bag with little stuffed animals. After sitting on his lap and getting his picture taken, he would hand a stuffed toy to a little kid and then another would sit on his lap. I smirked. I thought elves were supposed to do those kinds of things.

I scanned the crowd, looking at all the delusional little brats. I was barely paying attention when I spotted him. At first, I wondered what a teenager would be doing in a line to see Santa until I saw the little red headed girl in front of him. She was cute in her little green velvet dress, white tights and pigtails. The file didn’t say Victor had a sister but I suppose there was a reason he was here, after all. There weren’t many teenagers except those who worked here and us, of course. I looked at Victor and I could the telltale signs of the Change already. He looked awful, sweating and fidgeting.

Damn it. I tapped my throat mike. “Marcus, I found him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep, same flaming red hair and freckles.”

He sighed. “Ok, don’t do anything. I’ll talk to whoever is in charge here; see if they can evacuate the area.”

“You think that’s a good idea?”

“You read the report, you know the alternative.”

I nodded. According to the file, when Victor emerges he sends a wave of ice in every direction around him, freezing hundreds of people. I looked at the happy little girl in front of him, dancing on the balls of her feet. There was no way I could allow that to happen. I bit my lip and moved closer. I know Marcus told me to stay put but I needed to get Victor away from all these little kids. I took a deep breath and slowly made my way through the throng of people, trying my hardest to get to them. Thomas was at my heels, his voice squawking in my earpiece. I ignored him. There was no way I was going to stand by and watch all these people die.

I was almost to them when someone stepped in front of me. He was an older guy, looking flustered. He gave me a once over and smiled. “Excuse me, Miss. I don’t mean to be a pest but could you do us the biggest favor ever?”

I groaned. I didn’t have time for this. “I’m kinda busy sir.”

He sighed. “Please, you’ll be doing us all a big favor, especially the kids.”

I groaned. “What do you need?”

“Well our usual Elf came down with the flu and we’re kinda swamped. You’re the only one I’ve seen that can fit her costume. Do you think you could fill in for her, at least until her replacement gets here.”

You’ve gotta be kidding me. I opened my mouth to tell him off but Thomas beat me too it. “She’d love to sir. My sister loves Christmas.”

The man smiled happily. I shot Thomas a big glare.

“Thank you so much, Miss,” said the man, gently taking my arm and leading the way to wherever.

“You’re so dead,” I mumbled into my throat mike, knowing that Thomas heard me.

_________________________

This is so embarrassing. I was standing in front of a floor length mirror, looking at myself in the tiniest green dress I’d ever seen. It had white fuzzy trim and I was wearing cute little bell shoes and a stupid hair. Mr. Spooner---the older guy from before---tried to get me to wear the fake ears but I drew the line there. It was bad enough that I wore the makeup that went along with it, making my cheeks look rosy and glittery. I groaned. There was no way I was going out there like this. As soon as everyone saw me, I’d be the laughing stock of the whole place.

But right now, I didn’t have time for that. I looked at the clock. There was only forty-five minutes left before Victor emerged. So far I had heard no announcement to get these people out of here. I bit my lip. If Marcus didn’t hurry up soon these kids were in serious trouble. That’s the only reason I was still here. I needed to be with these kids, I needed to make sure they were Ok. Ok so I’m a softy after all but there’s no way I can stand by and let little kids get turned into popsicles, especially Victor’s little sister.

There was a knock on the door. I groaned, tugging on the hem of the tiny dress.

Mr. Spooner opened the door. “Ah, I knew it would fit. C’mon, there’s a huge crowd outside.”

I nodded and slowly walked toward the entryway.

Once outside the little changing booth on the other side of the wooden cutout castle, I walked around the corner and sure enough, there was a huge crowd. The line was three times as long as before. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see Victor and his little sis anymore. They were really far down the line when I spotted them before but things were moving really slowly. I did see someone else, though or rather some ones. The whole team was there, lingering about. Jessica and Frankie looked at me, both of them trying to contain their laughter. Thomas had a big smile on his face; he even gave me a thumbs up. Marcus just stared at me with those piercing blue eyes of his, causing me to blush.

“Ho, ho ho” said Santa loudly and then under his breath said.

“Where the hell have you been, bitch, I’m dying here.”

You’ve gotta be kidding me. “Trouble at the North Pole, Santa”

“Don’t smart mouth me. Get you pretty little ass into gear and start handing out those things. The faster they go, the faster I can get these little bastards off my lap.”

What a jackass! I rolled my eyes and went to work. Things moved a lot faster with the two of us working. He talked to the kids; I smiled real big and passed out little stuffed toys. Every so often, I’d look to see if I could see Victor and his sister. I thought I spotted a bit of red but it was moving away. I bit my lip and tapped my mike.

“I think the subject is moving off.”

“He is” said Marcus in my ear. “Jessica, you and Frankie stay on him. I’ll go see what’s taking that Evac so long.”

I watched as my three teammates disappeared. I sighed. At least Victor was away from this crowd now. I relaxed a little and continued passing out little gifts. I actually started to get into it, smiling and laughing. I can’t say I was having a wonderful time but it was a lot better than I thought I was going to have. Things were going pretty well, too. We still had a lot of stuffed animals left and the line was moving a lot faster now. I scanned the line, trying to see who was next and then I saw her. It was Victor’s little sister, she kept looking worriedly over her shoulder. I bit my lip. Damn it. It was good that she was nowhere near him but she looked really scared.

“Ho, ho, ho” said Santa loudly, getting my attention. “My Elf, Smelly, will give you a toy now.”

I turned to a little boy standing patiently in front of me. I reached into the bag, grabbed a stuffed elephant and stuck it into his hands. The little boy smiled happily and ran off to his mother. I turned back to Victor’s sister but she was gone. Son of a bitch. I looked along the line and saw her or at least her retreating back. Of course, she’d go looking for her missing brother. I bit my lip and made a split decision. I took off after her, much to the chagrin of the fake Jackass Santa and all the little kids in line. I heard someone shout for me, I think it was Mr. Spooner. But I didn’t give a damn. That little girl’s safety was far more important than anything else.

As I was running, I heard a voice come over the loud speakers.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. We apologize for the inconvenience but Santa’s Village has to close earlier today.”

There were some moans from people around me. I looked at my watch; we only had about ten minutes left now. It’s amazing how quickly time flies when you’re handing little kids stuffed things next to a jackass. As I ran, people started pushing their way in front of me, moving toward the exits no doubt. I pushed through them, wishing I were a lot bigger than I really was. Someone stepped on my foot and I squealed, another person slammed into me, knocking me to my knees. Another person helped me up; I smiled and thanked him before running on.

Then I heard it, a little girl’s voice. “Victor, Victor where are you?”

I sighed and pushed my way ahead.

I found her a few feet ahead, standing on a bench, trying to see over the ground. She couldn’t have been more than six. There was a bunch of adults walking past her, completely ignoring her. What the hell kind of people ignore a child in distress. I groaned and pushed forward. The little girl was hopping up and down, trying to see over the throng of people. She continued to shout for her brother, I could see the tears in her eyes. I was almost to her when she jumped off the bench and disappeared into the crowd. Son of a bitch. I bit my lip and plowed on, shoving aside a young couple, apologizing quickly as I pushed through them.

I spotted her little red head bobbing through the crowd, making her way toward the center of the Village. There was a little Nativity scene set up there, coupled with real live animals. Unfortunately something else was there, too, Victor. It took me to stand on my tippy toes to see him and he didn’t look so good. He was on the ground, groaning, clutching his chest. I saw Jessica and Frankie there too, trying to talk to me, speaking reassuringly to him.

I wasn’t the only one who spotted him though. “Victor” shouted the little girl, pushing her way through a sea of legs to reach her brother.

NO!

I ran as fast as I could. I was almost to her when Marcus stepped in, sweeping her into his arms. He spun around and saw me, passing the struggling little girl into my arms. “Get her out of here, quickly.”

The girl kicked and squirmed. “I need my brother. Daddy said not to leave him. He’s supposed to be watching me today.”

“Its ok, sweetie” I said, she started to cry. “Your brother is going to be fine.”

I carried her away from the center of the village. I went back the way I came, finding it easier going now that all the crowd was gone. I found the bench she was standing on before and sat down, slipping her out of my arms. She finally looked up at me and her eyes widened.

“Are you a real Elf?”

I smiled. “Of course I am,” I said, showing her my hair. “How many normal people do you see with long green hair?”

She grabbed a little bit of it, running it through her fingers. “It’s real pretty.”

I bipped her nose with my finger. “You’re really pretty. What’s your name, Princess?”

“Daisy” she said in the cutest voice possible.

I smiled. “That’s a pretty name. What do you want for Christmas, Daisy?”

She opened her mouth to tell me then frowned. “I can’t tell you. I wrote a letter to Santa.” Then something seemed to dawn on her. “Oh no my letter, I was going to give it to him.”

She reached into her pocket; taking out a folded red envelope, on the outside was words scrawled in crayon. She clasped it in her fingers and cried. I stood up, trying to pull her close. But she pushed away and took off running. Damn she was fast. I gave chase, knowing very well where she was going. It didn’t take her long. I was right before her but when I got there; I found her standing in front of the empty chair, crying her eyes out, the letter on the ground.
She turned to me, bawling. “I missed him. He was right here and I missed him.”

I walked over to her and hugged her. “It’s ok sweetie. Why don’t you give me the letter and I’ll give it to him for you.”

She shook her head. “I need to give it to him or else I won’t get what I want.”

I nodded. She was right. I didn’t know much about Santa Claus but that sounded about right. I looked around, making sure there was no else in the area. But the place was deserted. That bastard Santa Claus was probably the first person to flee. He was definitely getting coal in his stocking this year. I bit my lip; yeah, I know I do that a lot. But what I was about to do was serious stuff and I had to make sure that I was going to do it right. So I checked once again that we were alone then closed my eyes. I concentrated as hard as I could and then reopened my eyes.

I pointed to the chair, Daisy looked too. There was a sparkle of red and green sparks then slowly Santa Claus appeared on the seat, laughing and smiling. Daisy’s mouth fell open. It was a good likeness, the best one I could conjure. Daisy scooped up her letter and ran for the chair, jumping onto his lap. I found if I concentrated hard enough I could make the illusions tangible as long as the person didn’t move too much. So little Daisy was actually able to sit on Santa’s lap.

“Hello, Daisy” he said, in a rumbling jovial voice. “I see you’ve been a very good girl this year.”

Daisy nodded, awestruck. “I have a letter for you, Santa.”

My illusionary Claus reached out and took the letter from her tiny fingers. I turned away, allowing the little girl to talk to him in private. I tapped my throat mike. “How are things over there?”

Marcus came on a few seconds later. “Situation contained. The new Victor is unconscious but she’s doing fine. How’s the little girl?”
I turned around. Daisy was giggling and laughing with Santa, having a good time. “She’s good.”

Marcus sighed. “Give us a few minutes then we can wrap things up.”

I smiled. “Take your time.”

___________________________

When the authorities arrived, Daisy was reunited with her father and mother---Victor’s Stepmother. I stood nearby but not too close in case she saw me. She told them all about the green haired elf and Santa Claus. Her mother held her gently, crying. Apparently, the police were looking for their teenage son. It was a sad sort of business but it was necessary I guess. I hated the fact that this little girl was going to grow up without her big brother but maybe one day she’d get to meet her new big sister. I knew it was kind of a stretch but it was the only thing that was keeping me from crying.

I sighed as Marcus came sidling up to me. “I think she’s going to be ok.”

I nodded. “What’s going to happen now?”

“We’ll have to send someone to adjust her memories, make it so her brother wandered off and left her here.”

I gasped. “You can’t do that.”

He sighed. “We don’t really have much of a choice. She saw what you did, even if she didn’t understand it. It was a sweet thing but there’s no other way.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going to let anyone do anything to that little girl.”

He nodded. “We’ll discuss this on the way back.”

“You can’t let that little girl think her brother abandoned her.”

He nodded then looked at the red envelope in my hand. “What’s that?”

I lifted the envelope. After Daisy was done talking to Santa, I led her over to the entrance of the Village. I found a security man and left her with him, telling him I found her alone in the Village. He nodded. Then I went back to the Santa chair. My illusion disappeared as soon as I stopped concentrating on it but her letter was still there. I didn’t have the heart to open it but I did anyway. It was a sweet letter, written in crayon. Daisy asked for a doll and some coloring books and for her brother to stop being so mean to her. I cried as I read it but at the same time, it warmed my heart.

“It’s Daisy’s letter to Santa” I said, clasping it to my chest.

He nodded. “Did you read it?”

I shook my head. “That would be cheating.”

He smiled. “I am a mind reader you know.”

I nodded. We left the discussion at that. We both wandered over to the SUV where the rest of the team was waiting. Frankie was rubbing his arm; apparently, he got a little freezer burn. I smiled at that, anything to cool off his hot head. Jones was in the back, making sure the new Victor was secure. She looked a lot like her old self, except with less freckles and redder hair of course. In fact, she looked a lot like her sister, maybe ten years older.

“Can we stay a little bit, have some fun?” asked Jessica with pleading eyes.

Marcus sighed and shook his head. “We gotta go, the plane is waiting.”

I climbed into the SUV. Before I got all the way inside, warmth filled me. Earlier today, I thought this place was a joke but now I saw it for what it was, it was a wonderland of dreams and happy thoughts. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, Santa’s sleigh and his reindeer appeared above the sky for all the crowd to see. Everyone gasped and pointed. I saw little Daisy waving.

Hey, Christmas comes once a year. Why not have a little fun with it?

Enemyoffun

 

---

 
 

Author's Note: I thought seeing as it was April Fool's Day, I might take a stab at another Melanie Crane story. There isn't really much to this one, just a bit of fun on my part. I don't expect it to get high praise or accolades like the last. I thought it up this morning. And no its not a joke, its the true thing, so yes it is in line with all my other stories. I'd like to thank djkauf for the great editing

-----

You’re kidding right,” I said as Kris and I walked down the hall.

She stopped and turned to me. “Does this look like the face of someone who’s kidding?”

I shook my head. But why did it have to be there. “Isn’t there anyone else?”

Kris sighed. “Due to the nature of the situation, Melanie, I think you’re the best person suited for this kind of job.”

I nodded. This had to be some kind of horrible hazing ritual, mess with the new girl. First, it was Santa’s village a few months ago and now this, it was clear someone was punishing me. Ok, so maybe not really but it seemed awfully convenient that I was the only girl they could get to do this job. After I got back with the new girl---Victoria---formerly Victor Cruise, people praised me. It sure helped with my tarnished reputation after all. What reputation you ask, well there was this little problem about me being a big bad Dominator and hurting a lot of people. Hey, I’m getting counseling now and things are going so much better.

Things were going better for me too, all thanks to Santa. Well, not him personally but it did help. After the Village, I opened up a lot more. Our team, Delta, had been a trial thing before the mission. After it was successful, Kris made us a full team. We were sorta what she liked to call Special Circumstances, meaning that we were brought in on the really bizarre ones. I guess that’s what you get when your team leader is a wicked strong Telepath and I’m a Dominator, reformed of course. But being SC---my word, not Becca’s---meant that we didn’t always get to go out. I think the team was itching for something, I know I was but I just didn’t expect something like this.

“So when do we leave?”

Kris started walking again. “As soon as I find your other team mates.”

“I think I might know where they are.”

She nodded. “Good, it saves me from getting someone to look for them. Once you have them, meet in the debriefing room, you’ve got one hour.”

“Yes ma’am” I said, giving her a sloppy salute.

She smirked. “You don’t salute me you know.”

“I know”

She shook her head and walked off, leaving me standing there.

As soon as she was out of sight down the hall, I took off in search of the others. I didn’t need to look for Privates Jones and Thomas; both of them would either be in the Cafeteria or the Firing Range, that’s the only place they liked to hang out. There was a Barracks for the soldiers too, but I was unauthorized to go there. I also had a pretty good idea where to find Marcus too. He spent most of his free time in his room meditating, he said it helped him relax and channel his abilities. He tried to get me to join in whenever possible but all I wanted to do was fool around. Yep, you guessed it; the two of us are now officially an item. I know what you’re thinking but he’s good for me.

We hooked up the night after we got back, he was a little shy and awkward, me I was terrified. We had dinner together and then he took me to a private screening of some new Tom Cruise movie. I’m not sure how he got the Entertainment Room for just us but it was so cool. The whole thing was a bit weird at first but after a few misses, we connected. It helped that I kinda took the initiative and climbed on top of him halfway through it. We made out through the rest of the movie and I must say I’m not really sure what happened in the movie. The two of us have been together since, pretty hot and heavy too.
But enough with the mushy stuff.

I took off down the hall, heading toward where I knew I’d find two of my last three team members. Yep, two because we had a third member now as well. Seeing as she was our first pickup, Marcus petitioned to put Victoria on the team too. Kris was a little reluctant to do so at first, seeing as Vicky was sorta new to the club as it were. But Becca went to bat for her---saying she’d help Vicky train and make her a valued member of the team. The coolest thing, the two of us have gotten awfully close. I guess it helps that I did so much for her little sis. How could I not, Daisy was after all the sweetest little thing in the world.

They were actually my first stop. I didn’t take me long to get to the dormitories, the girls dorm together and the boys dorm together. I guess it helps to keep us all separated, what with all the raging hormones and things like that. I think I was one of the few on this floor who didn’t have a roommate, at least not yet. Things like that have a tendency to change really quick. Even though a lot of us were now at Beta and Gamma, there were still kids coming here every day. Vicky decided to stay here, what with circumstances being what they were.

I knocked on her door. There was a giggle and scramble from behind it. Then the door was yanked open. I smiled at the bundle of energy on the other side. Daisy smiled up at me too then threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Yep, Daisy as in Vicky’s kid sister. It was kinda a sad story really. After we took her brother---now sister---from Santa’s Village, there was an accident. Both her parents died in a horrible car crash. Daisy would have ended up in foster care, what with her not having any other relatives. But the Colonel pulled some strings, it helped that their father had a lot of pull when he was still alive---i.e. Pentagon type pull.

So now little Daisy was the Center’s first ankle biter. She was an amazing little kid, so cute and innocent. It didn’t take her long to adjust to the fact that her older brother was now her sister. The fact that the two of them didn’t look anything alike anymore---Daisy had flaming red hair that she always wore in pigtails---didn’t seem to bother her in the least.

“Melanie, are you here to play with me?”

I shook my head. “Not today, kiddo.”

She frowned. “Aww.”

I patted her on the head and she took my hand, leading me into the room. I was often Daisy’s companion whenever I had the time. It helped that I was so used to being a kid myself. Before all this started, I spent a good portion of my time masquerading as a ten year old. How you ask? Well I’m an Illusionist, I can create things that aren’t really there. It’s something to do with entering the mind and changing people’s perceptions. One of those things I used to do was make people see me as a ten year old. Dr. Tipps says it was a coping mechanism. She helped me break myself of it. But after Daisy showed up here two months ago, I saw how sad she was. It was kinda hard on her–what with her being the only kid---so I played kid with her.

“Sissy, Mel’s here” said Daisy, letting go of my hand and huffing over to her bed.

There room was a mishmash of styles. On one side it looked like it belonged to a teenager, all decked out like a teen girl might have it. On the other side, it looked like something a five year old would decorate. The Center had been very accommodating. I smiled as I looked at the clashing elements, Vicky’s pastel blue did not go at all with Daisy’s bright pink and kitty motif.

Vicky was sitting at the desk; she turned around with a smile. We were the best of friends, doing practically everything together now. Dr. Tipps said we were the best thing for each other. It helped that I was sorta socially awkward and she was the new girl. But to look at us, you would never be able to tell that we had anything in common. Me, I was the short girl with green hair and she was the tall Nordic beauty. And I mean tall. She was at least six four, towering over almost every other person here. She was also a far cry from what she used to be too. Victor used to have flaming red hair like his little sis but Vicky could have been from Sweden. She had the long blonde hair---well, it was almost white and her eyes were the iciest blue I’d ever seen.

She smiled. “Mel, what’s up?”

I looked at Daisy, then mouthed “mission.”

Vicky’s face lit up. She fist pumped then said quietly. “Let me put my game face on.”

Daisy was sitting on her bed, brushing the hair of one of her dolls. “Are you two going somewhere?”

“I have to go out for a bit but I’m going to find someone to watch you why you’re gone.”

“Mattie?”

I laughed, besides me, Mattie was the only other person that Daisy wanted to be around. It helped that Mattie was pretty much a child herself. No, I’m not insulting her; she says the same thing all the time. Mattie and I are doing better too. Before she was a little scared of me, on the basis that the two of us have known each other longer than most people here. It’s a long and jaded history and I don’t want to get into it. Suffice to say, I did some bad things to her and I’ve been trying to make up for it every single day. At least she’s gotten as far as being in the same room with me on occasion which is a big start.

“We’ll see,” said Vicky with a laugh. “It might be Emma or Brad too.”

Daisy lit up. “Do you think they’ll let me play with Klondike?”

“I think that’s a big possibility.”

Daisy started to bounce up and down. Vicky and I laughed then I left. I started back down the hall, knowing where my next stop would be.

______________________________

“Stop being so damn insufferable”

“Well I’ll stop being insufferable if you pull that stick out of your ass.”

A gust of wind buffeted me as soon as I walked into the Gym. It whipped my hair and threatened to flip my skirt up, giving everyone a nice view of my panties. I quickly pushed my skirt down before anyone looked my way. Then I marched into the room just as Frankie burst into flames. Jessica was standing ten feet away now, a whirlwind of air whipping around her body. There were several other kids in the room, most of who were running in all directions to get away from the carnage. I don’t know why Jessica and Frankie insisted on going to Gym together. Every time they did Frankie always said something stupid---usually a sexist remark---and Jessica always lost her temper. The destruction the two of them usually caused cost thousands of dollars. It looked like today was going to be another whopper. Not that I had time for that.

I stomped over, looking to see if there was anything I could use to break the two of them up. I didn’t find something but someone---a girl, I couldn’t remember her name---but she was a hydrokinetic. I snapped my fingers and pointed at the two of them. She smirked and nodded. She walked over to stand in-between the two of them, pointing her hands out. I turned my head away as I heard my two teammates scream. When I turned back around, a group of kids were gathered around laughing. Jessica and Frankie were drenched.

I finished walking over to them. “You two done bickering?”

Jessica looked at me, frowning. She was only wearing a skimpy t-shirt and a pair of short bicycle shorts, suffice to say being all wet things showed. “That wasn’t funny.”

But Frankie thought it was. “I can see your…”

“If you say the last thing you’re about to say so help me God I’ll spin you around until you’re sick.”

He shut up quickly. Someone had run off to get them towels and was now just running back. I followed the two of them as they grumbled over to the benches. As they were drying off, I told them about our mission. Jessica raised an eyebrow and Frankie smiled. Of course, he’d smile; he was going to fit right in there. When they were done drying off I followed a still grumbling Jessica into the girl’s locker room so she could change out of her wet stuff.

“That guy infuriates the hell out of me.”

I nodded. It was obviously to me and everyone else that the two of them were in love with one another. The only people who weren’t in on it were Jessica and Frankie. But with all their bickering and constant power fights, you’d think the two of them would just get over it and take the plunge. Not that I’d ever tell either one of them that. Jessica was a wicked Aerokinetic that allowed her temper to rule her and Frankie was an ass but he was a damn good pyro. The two of them were the backbone to our team, kinetics were almost a must now, especially after what happened to Becca and her team in England. Now---according to the rules---no team was allowed to go out into the field without at least one kinetic present or one in backup.

I waited until she got dressed in her horrible gray uniform then the two of us went to retrieve Frankie. He was already waiting for us. I checked my watch, wondering if it was enough time. I led the two of them out of the Gym and toward the Briefing Room. I’m not going to bore you with the details to how to get there. Instead, I’ll just say that the three of us were a bit earlier. Vicky was standing outside, leaning against the wall. When she turned and saw us, I rolled my eyes. Vicky’s idea of her game face was actually blue makeup, electric blue to be exact. Her lips, eyes and nails now all matched, fitting in nicely with her whole cryokineticness. That’s a new word as far as the Center standards go.

“That’s so cute,” said Jessica, indicating Vicky’s creativity.

She wiggled her fingers. “I couldn’t resist.”

Jessica turned to me. “We should take Mel and make her match that hair of hers.”

I stuck my tongue out as the two of them laughed.

We only had to wait in the hall for a few more minutes, then the door opened. When the four of us went inside, Marcus was already sitting at the table. Private Thomas was there as well as Dani. Marcus looked over at me and smiled, I blushed. I took the seat next to him, Vicky sat next to me. Jessica and Frankie sat at opposite ends of the table. Kris rolled her eyes at them, Dani just shook her head. Even the two of them knew that there was something going on there. After we were all seated and situated, Kris started the briefing. This was the part I was dreading. You see I had this thing about Circuses, ok not so much circuses but some of the things that went on there. I felt Marcus reach over and take my hand. He knew about my apprehension, the two of us shared all our little secrets.

“We’re going to the Circus?” asked Frankie, “you’re serious?”

Kris nodded. “This isn’t for recreation, Frank,” she said, being one of the only people who called him Frank.

She addressed the rest of us by clicking her remote, bringing up a picture of a girl on the screen. “This is Marcia Eggert, age sixteen, this is the target.”

I nodded. “What’s her thing?”

Dani answered. “We’re not sure, only that by the time you get there, she’ll have already emerged.”

“Is there urgency involved?” asked Jessica.

Kris nodded. “We have reason to believe that a rival organization will try to move in on her. We need Delta Squad to go in as quietly as possible, intercept Marcia and get her out of there before this becomes a situation that we can’t even handle.”

“It’s not them is it?” I asked, referring to the Syndicate.

I couldn’t even bring myself to say the name. If it was them, they were in a load of hurt. I’ve been waiting a long time to come face to face with those bastards again.

“We’ve not sure who it is but just be on your guard, they’re highly organized.”

“What’s the time frame?” asked Frankie.

“Five hours” said Dani “like I said before when you guys get there she’ll have already changed so this picture is pretty much useless. Your best bet is to canvas the place and look for anything out of the ordinary.”

“Out of the ordinary?” I asked “at a Circus.”

Marcus squeezed my hand tighter.

____________________________

We took the jet; it took about four hours to get to our destination. We landed in a little airstrip where an SUV was waiting. It was dark green this time; I think the Center was trying to add a little more color to their ops. Jones took the driver’s seat again while Thomas rode shotgun. I got into the second row with Jessica and Marcus while Vicky and Frankie sat behind us. Marcus held my hand the whole time, trying to reassure me that everything was going to be ok. But I knew better. Things were not going to be ok at all. It wasn’t just the people either; the people were only a part of it. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m still a little wary around big crowds. People kinda scare me, what with me being locked up and sedated for so long. It still takes quite a bit for me to go out and be around them.

But Dr. Tipps was helping me get over some of that. Marcus was helping now too. Just last week, he was able to convince Kris to allot us some R&R time in the city. We even got her to let us bring Vicky and Daisy. The four of us had a pretty good day just being normal---well the three of us, Daisy is pretty normal as far as little kids go. I think they were trying to help me adjust and it worked but I’m still not one hundred percent when there’s a lot of people. So that’s one of my biggest problems about the Circus, the other I don’t even want to think about.

When the SUV stopped in front of the circus, I groaned. There was a picket fence centered around a huge colorful tent with other smaller tents around it. There were metal trailers off in the distance and lots of noise. I looked around the parking lot, seeing all the cars. So many people. Marcus still held my hand, making sure I didn’t freak. He helped me out of the vehicle, still holding my hand. I wanted to kiss him but I wasn’t sure how awkward that would make anyone else.

“Do you think we can look around a bit after?”

I turned to Frankie but Marcus beat me to it. “We’re not here for fun. There’s a girl…I mean a guy here…that’s in trouble. Why don’t we concentrate on the mission first?”

The frown on Frankie’s face reminded me of the one that Daisy often wore when something didn’t go her way. That wasn’t the only similarity between the two, trust me.

Marcus then addressed the others, Jones stayed with the SUV again. “We’re going to split up in teams of two again.” He pointed to Jessica, no doubt about to pair her with Frankie but she gave him a look. He rolled his eyes too. “Jessie, you and Mel, Frankie you and Vicky.”

Vicky groaned, Frankie pumped the air with his fist.

“You touch her I’m going to break your fingers” snapped Jessica.

“I didn’t think you cared, babe.”

“Don’t call me that, pig.”

“If you don’t like it you can always shut me up with your lips.”

Marcus groaned. “Children, please.”

Jessica and Frankie shot each other looks again. Marcus split them up then told us to get going. I took Jessica by the arm, dragging her toward the ticket booth. We were all dressed in civvies, trying to look like normal teens out doing what normal teens do. I was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and a light jacket. Jessica---ever the fashionista show off---was wearing a tank top and short jean skirt, accentuated by her knee high leather boots and over abundance of makeup. When we paid for our tickets, the pimple-faced freak behind the counter leered at us. His looks made my skin crawl.

“Hang in there, babe,” said Marcus’ reassuring voice in my head.

Dating a telepath had its advantage. I closed my eyes, sending him good, warm thoughts.

Jessica and I started at the entrance and made our way around the circle. Everything was centered around the main tent, where all the noise and laughter was coming from. There was a big line trying to get in there but I had no intention of going in there. Just thinking about what might be inside made me shudder. Instead, I concentrated on searching the faces, trying desperately to find one that looked scared or out of place. But the problem was that to me everyone looked out of place. I looked at Jessica and she frowned, apparently, she was having no such luck either.

“Let’s try some of the smaller tents,” she said, leading the way.

I followed, the two of us weaving our way through the crowd. This was just like my first mission except this time there was a little more danger. No, we were dealing with an already Emerged target and hostiles that could be anywhere. It was a scary thought indeed, a lot more scary than anything I used to be able to conjure up.

When we got to the closest tent, she went in first. I was about to follow when I felt a tug on my pant leg. I looked around, and then down. There was a little girl there, holding a pink balloon. She couldn’t have been much older than Daisy. I groaned inwardly, wondering how it was I seemed to attract them. I smiled big and bent down so that I was eye level.

“How can I help you, sweetie?”

She looked scared. “Are you a clown?”

The color drained from my face. “Why would you think that?”

She smiled. “You have clown hair.”

“Susie” said a woman, walking over and taking the girl’s hand. She gave me a look and sneered a bit. “You leave this nice girl alone.”

My hair had that effect on a lot of adults. I think they thought I did it myself, that I was either Goth or Emo. The truth was that this was my real hair, no dye job of cheap wig. It happens to the best of us I guess. At the Center, we had a rainbow of color as far as hair went, eye colors were the same. I’m not really sure why. I stood up as the mother dragged little Susie away, she shyly waved to me as they disappeared into the ground. When she was gone, I shuddered. How could she mistake me for one of those things? Yes, if you haven’t guessed it already I have this thing about clowns.

And when I say thing I don’t mean fetish either. I mean, well, don’t laugh. But clowns scare the hell out of me. Yes, this out of the self proclaimed Fear Mongers mouth. Not that I go by that title anymore but the point is that sometimes the things you fear most are the scariest things of all. That’s why Batman chose to be called Batman because he was scared of bats---at least according to that movie. I always felt a little like him actually, except of course for the whole billionaire thing. My comparison was more along the lines of two dark loners, looking for an outlet for our pain. Not that I was looking for an outlet, not anymore.

I looked around, realizing that Jessica was way ahead of me now.

I groaned and pushed my way into the tent. I groaned as soon as I got through the crowd, now realizing why the little girl thought I was a clown. I stopped dead in my tracks, there were clowns everywhere. A cold chill went over my body. I saw little Susie getting her face painted by a pink haired clown while another clown made balloon animals. I looked for Jessica and not to my surprise, some guy was chatting her up. I wanted to walk over but she caught eyes with me and shook her head. You have to be kidding me. I tried to motion her over to me with her eyes but she shook her head. I frowned and rolled my eyes.

Just like Jessica. I left her to it, decided to let Marcus reprimand her about it later. I scanned the tent but there weren’t many people here over the height of two feet, except maybe bored parents. So I turned and decided to search on my own. I left Jessica to do her thing---whatever that was. I wandered about the other pavilions, hoping maybe something would draw my attention. I’m not sure what I was looking for exactly. I didn’t know what people looked like after they emerged. My own Emergence I was unconscious for, I came to several days later in a bed. I wasn’t as shocked as most people I guess, I was always kinda girly to begin with. But I couldn’t imagine going from that pretty blonde girl, I saw in that picture into a hairy guy.

Something very similar happened to Marcus. He was once blonde and beautiful, a beauty pageant queen actually. When his parents saw their princess turned into a tall black boy, they freaked to say the least. It took him a long time and lots of therapy to get over it. So maybe that’s what I should be looking for, a freaked guy, possibly one in clothes that didn’t quite fit him. I guess that shouldn’t be too hard to find in a place like this.

I continued looking, wandering a lot longer than I should have been. I was getting a little annoyed. Then I heard some running and panting. I turned and saw a group of kids. I groaned, what was it now. I bent down so they were eye level. “What’s the matter?”

“Are you one of the clowns?”

I groaned. “Why not, sure.”

The little boy in the lead---there were four boys and a girl---nodded. “We saw a bunch of clowns take a guy.”

That piqued my interest. Clowns taking a guy huh? “Where did they take him?”

The little boy pointed toward the trailers. I smiled, patted him on the head and took off at a brisk walk. It was a little hard going, what with all the people. I pushed and shoved my way through, getting a lot of curses and grunts. I ignored them, finally coming to a spot where I could run. As soon as I was far enough, I tapped my throat mike.

“I think I’ve found him,” I said.

Marcus’s voice came in my ear: “Mel, do not engage, wait for back up.”

I shook my head. “They have him already. You guys will not get here in time.”

Marcus sighed. “Ok but let Jessica do all the work.”

I clicked off, not bothering to tell him that Jessie wasn’t with me.

I charged toward the trailers, weaving through the maze of them. I had a good idea where they might be going. It was kinda a pain moving in and around the damn things but when I finally got through them; I saw the group that the kid mentioned. They had a black SUV, parked by a little bush. There were at least six of them, all of them dressed as clowns. I stopped dead, my skin going cold. Why did it have to be clowns? I looked past them the two rough looking clowns, who looked like guards. One of the clowns got into the driver seat while the other three were trying to stuff a struggling boy in the back. I knew it had to be Marcia because he was in a crop top and skirt. If it wasn’t for the situation, I might even laugh.

He kicked and struggled, trying to break free. Why they didn’t sedate him was beyond me. Clearly, these guys were amateurs, which gave me a great idea. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, nothing had changed. At least nothing to me had changed. But to everyone else they’d see---well they’d see a little girl that looked a lot like Daisy. I plastered a big smile on my face and started humming as I skipped over.

The two thuggish looking clowns frowned at me. The two stuffing “Marcia” into the SUV stopped what they were doing, dropping him on the ground. He rubbed his wrists, looking confused. I could see he’d been crying.

“Why aren’t you guys with the other clowns back there?” I asked in a sweet innocent voice.

“Beat it kid,” grumbled one of the thug clowns.

I ignored him. “Did that boy do something bad, is that why you’re taking him?”

One of the clowns by the SUV stepped forward, looking annoyed. “How much did you see sweetie?”

I played innocent. “I saw the clowns and the elephants and the juggler and…”

The Thug Clown cut me off. “This is shit, just grab her.”

“Aww, you said a bad word.”

He groaned angrily and reached for me, grabbing my shoulder. The problem with my illusions is just that. Most of them are just make believe, like my child glamour. Others are a bit stronger---tangible even---like that Santa that I made, the one that Daisy was able to interact with. But when this guy grabbed my shoulder, touch usually broke the spell. You see they weren’t real at all, just in the mind. I was the only one who labeled myself an Illusionist; the Center categorized me as a Level Three Dominator.

“What the fuck?” said the guy, realizing that I wasn’t a little girl after all?

The Leader Clown spoke. “She’s one of those Center brats, put a bullet in her.”

“Yes, let’s shot the nasty Dominator” I said as men with guns appeared behind me, pointing them at the Clowns.

The Thug Clown took a step back, scared. “What the…”

“They’re not real,” said the Leader again. “It’s all in your head.”

The Thug didn’t look convinced. He shook his head, dropped his gun and ran. I smirked. The Leader didn’t look so amused. He picked up the gun and whipped it around, catching me off guard. It clipped me under the chin, sending me sprawling. I hit the pavement; my fake soldiers disappeared because I lost my hold on everyone’s minds. He stepped toward me, pointing the gun.

“You stupid little bitch, why couldn’t you have left well enough alone.”

I closed my eyes, waiting for him to shoot but he didn’t. Instead, he started laughing. I opened my eyes, he was laughing so hard that he dropped the gun in my lap. The other started laughing too, they were laughing so hard that they were doubling over in pain. I looked around, wondering who could be doing…then I looked at “Marcia”. She was glaring angrily at them, a look of murder in his eyes. This was it, this was his power. Somehow, he could make people laugh.

What was that old expression…oh yeah, “die laughing.”

The guys were now on the ground, laughing and rolling about. The Leader was whimpering, blood coming from his nose and mouth.

‘Make it stop, please make it stop”.

I looked past them at him. “Marcia, you have to stop or you’ll kill them.”

He shook his head. “They were going to take me; they were going to drag me off somewhere.”

I nodded. “But they’re not now. I’m here to help you but you’ve got to stop.”

I’m not sure why his power wasn’t working on me, maybe I was immune. It didn’t matter; if I didn’t get him to stop, he was going to kill them. And as much as I’d like to see that happen, the others might frown upon it a bit. So I took a cautious step toward, holding up my hands to show I wasn’t going to hurt him. He looked at me, crying.

“Stay back” he shouted “or I’ll…I’ll…”

“You saw what I did,” I asked, he nodded. “I’m just like you. I come from a place where there’s people just like you. We can help you but you’ve gotta stop.”

“Melanie” said Marcus’ voice in my ear. “We’re on the way.”

I pushed my throat mike. “No, stay there. Marcia can induce laughter; if you get too close you’ll get caught up in it too.”

“Laughter?’” came Frankie’s voice. “That’s so awesome; he’s going to be the life of the party.”

“Shut up you idiot.”

Marcus groaned. “Guys stay back. Melanie this is on you.”

I nodded and looked at “Marcia”; the clowns were still writhing in delightful pain on the ground. “Let them go and I promise I won’t hurt you.”
He shook his head. I closed my eyes and transformed back into the little girl. “I’m not going to hurt you, Mister. I’m only trying to help.”

That seemed to do it, for whatever it’s worth. I’m not sure what happened but one minute the guys were laughing and the next they weren’t. I smiled and walked over, taking his hand and helping him up. I transformed back into myself and he collapsed into my arms, crying. I held him, trying my best to comfort him. I looked at the thugs lying around me, none of them were moving but they were panting so at least they were alive. Not that it made much of a difference to me.

I tapped my mike. “I’ve handled the situation, everything’s in the clear.”

Marcus sighed. “So no more laughing?”

I laughed. “Only on the inside.”

A few minutes later, the others showed up, including Jessica. She looked around and mouthed “sorry”. I smiled and nodded. Thomas pulled the goons to their feet, securing each of their hands with plaster ties. Vicky took “Marcia” from me. Frankie tried to talk to him but Jessica elbowed him in the ribs. Marcus wandered over to me with a smile.

“What the hell took you guys so long?” I asked.

He smirked. “You know us, just clowning around.”

I smirked. “Not funny.”

He kissed me on the forehead. I rest my head against his chest, closing my eyes. He held me as he led me away. When I opened my eyes again, a clown tried to hand me a balloon. I gave him a dirty look and he ran off. Marcus laughed; I elbowed him in the ribs.

God I hate clowns.

Enemyoffun

 

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Author's Note: Its holiday time again which means I had another inspiration to write more into Melanie Crane's interesting time. This time I spun an interesting Easter tale. I'd like to thank djkauf for the wonderful editing. Happy Easter everyone and enjoy :)

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The braying of my hounds was the only thing I could hear. They had this distinctive bark, loud and particularly annoying. It drowned out most of the rest of the noise in the forest, including the comm. chatter. I suppose all I had to do was wave my hand and they’d disappear but I kinda needed them at the moment. For the first time, we were sent off alone. It kinda surprised me actually, what with Marcus’ thing about splitting us up into pairs. But unlike the previous missions of Delta Squad, this wasn’t a Pick Up. It was a Seek the Enemy and Bring Him Back Unharmed type of mission. Why Delta and not one of the other teams, like Alpha or even Beta. Well, it was all our fault. Ok, so not our fault per se. It was actually my fault.

A rustle in the nearby bushes snapped me from my thoughts. I turned in the general direction. I thought about bringing one of my hounds back but if it was anything too dangerous, I could always conjure up some protection. Besides, I had a gun. I put my hand on my side holster, slowly creeping toward the bush. My heart was pounding a mile a minute in my chest. Whatever was in there had to be something worth scaring me. I crept closer, wetting my lips. My palms got sweaty and I thought about conjuring a big ass bear just for safety. But I shook that thought away---too much overkill. I nudged the brush with my foot and got the biggest fright of my life. Something brown hopped out, practically landing on my sneaker. I would have screamed if I hadn’t seen it first: it was a bunny. It stared up at me for a second then darted back into the woods. I cracked a smile, it was kinda poetic actually.

A stupid rabbit was half of the reason we were in this mess.

We were about ten miles from Beta site, in the dense wilderness. It had been almost a month since our last mission---a successful pick up---but Kris felt we needed to learn to work as a team some more. So she sent us to Colorado to work on team building. It was Delta plus one---the plus one being Daisy. It hadn’t been our idea to bring the kid along but Vicky didn’t want to leave her, I couldn’t blame her really. So we managed to get permission to bring her along just as long as she stayed out of the way. She was pretty good about it, too. It helped that Mattie agreed to come along as a babysitter. So while the team was out practicing our team building skills, Mattie and Daisy were back at camp braiding each other’s hair---not that Mattie’s was long enough to do much with.

Things didn’t go bad until Daisy started to fidget. It turns out that Kris scheduled our exercise a bit too close to a certain holiday. I’m not one for holidays. I didn’t exactly celebrate them when I was with my father, what with being in a coma for a good portion of the time. Easter was a weird one though too because it never fell on the same day. I think we were all too caught up in other things to notice, but not Daisy. Daisy knew everything. When she found out that the Easter Bunny might not be able to find her out here in the woods she put up quite a little fit.

Marcus came up with a beneficial solution: we were going to have to give Daisy some semblance of Easter. We only had the one truck---a Humvee---but it was enough. We knew from the map that we were about a mile and half from the nearest road, another mile or two from the nearest town. So Marcus, Frankie and Mattie stayed back at camp with Daisy while Thompson took Vicky, Jessica and me into town. The plan was simple: find some candy, maybe some cheap plastic eggs and figure out a way to create a good time for Daisy. We left while Mattie kept the kid preoccupied---if she knew we were going somewhere she’d want to tag along so we snuck off. What is it they say about the best laid plans? Well suffice to say, from the moment we left camp, things didn’t go very well.

_____________________________________

“What’s wrong?” I asked from the back seat as Thompson cursed.

“There’s a roadblock I think,” said the Corporal, drumming his fingers on the stirring wheel.

I tried to look over the back of the seat to see what he meant. I couldn’t see much because of all the traffic but I could just make out the flashing lights of the police cruiser up ahead. I sighed and dropped back into my seat. This was supposed to be a quick drive into town, an hour or maybe two, tops. But with the roadblock up ahead things were going to be really difficult. I had half a mind to conjure up a solution but that would have only made people mad. I have excellent control now, better than even before. The incident at the Circus had really opened things up for me. In the last month, I’d been working with Marcus to help center my gift. Stella was able to talk Marnie into helping me, too. I never thought I’d be one of those yoga kind of girls but breathing exercises were really good for concentration.

Dr. Tipps and I talked about my abilities too. In the past, I’ve misused them more than once. So it was all about finding a need for the things I do. “Small things, Melanie” she told me time and time again. She liked to be present for my power training, just to make sure I wasn’t going overboard. She didn’t mind me turning myself into a little girl to play with Daisy---she was actually happy that I was trying to make the Center’s first child feel welcome---but it was other things that bothered her. Like last Thursday. There’s this guy---Brady---in my Trig class, he’s a real ass. I’m not sure what his thing is, maybe it’s super powered annoyance. Anyway, he was talking crap in the back of the room so I conjured up this really big spider. He totaled freaked out, he fell back in his chair, knocked over a shelf of books and wet himself.

The whole class burst into laughter. It felt great to knock the prick down a peg but of course, the teacher knew it was me. After all, I’m the only Dominator in the whole place. Not that I call myself that---I prefer Illusionist. Ms. Fine prefers “Grade A Nuisance”. Not that she ever called me that but it was the look she gave me when the teacher sent me to Kris’ office. I got a stern scolding from Ms. F and urinal duty from Kris---the boy’s bathroom, trust me it’s the worst punishment. Dr. T wasn’t too happy either. She went on and on about such progress and then disaster. She thought about scratching my name from the forest exercise but Kris made it mandatory.

We set out for Colorado two days later. We’d been in the forest for a couple of days before Daisy sprang Easter on us.

“Can we go around it?” asked Jessie from the passenger seat.

Thompson shook his head. “I don’t want to risk it. But don’t worry I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Worry, who was worrying? It took us a bit to get moving, traffic was slow and nearly bumper-to-bumper. It surprised me that there were this many cars on a mountain road like this one. When it was almost our turn, I got a look out the window at the cruiser. It was a big tan SUV painted to look like a local police car. I guess it made sense, considering the roads up here. A big vehicle like that was ideal for traipsing around up here. There were two officers, on either side of the vehicle in front of us. The one on the right was looking in the back window while the one on the left was talking to the driver. The conversation didn’t last long then it was our turn.

Thompson pulled up slowly and cut the engine. The officer that came to his window was tall, broad and had a thin mustache. He and his partner were dressed in tan and had wide brim hats. They looked more like Sheriff’s Deputies than police officers. Thompson rolled down the window, making sure he had his creds. I’m not sure which cover story he was about to pull but I was guessing it was a pretty good one.

“What seems to be the problem, officer?”

The guy looked at him for a second then at Jess. The other officer looked into the back seat at the two of us, Vicky smiled sweetly at him. I think her icy blue eyes gave him pause but they were nothing too out of the ordinary. It was a good thing that I remembered to bring a hoodie, having my green hair covered helped a lot. There was no way I was going to be mistaken for a clown ever again. I suppose I could have made these guys think it was any color I wanted but it was easier just to cover my head.

“Is it just the four of you?” asked the officer at the window.

Thompson shook his head. “My partner is back at camp with the rest of the kids. We’re a Christian Youth Group on a Retreat for the week. I have the paperwork if you want to see it.”

He reached over to the glove compartment but the officer shook his head. “That won’t be necessary.”

Thompson smiled.”Suit yourself.”

I had to wonder if he really had paperwork in there. Knowing the Center, they were pretty thorough with their cover stories. When Becca and her team went to England, they went all out to make sure they were as authentic as possible. We were all briefed about the Cover before the exercise started. We even had t-shirts printed up just in case, not that any of us were wearing them. All of the girls in the group agreed last night that yellow was not our color; Jessie even went so far as to burn hers. Marcus wasn’t too happy about that but Frank helped. He burned his too. Marcus couldn’t argue about that, seeing as the two of them were getting along on something. I thought about letting her burn mine too, but I needed to stand by my man. He was the boss and what he said goes. If he wanted me to keep my ugly yellow shirt then I was more than happy too. There was just no way in hell that I was going to wear it.

Thompson did hand over his wallet though, showing the guy his fake ID. I’m not sure how good the cop was at detecting things like that but whoever did ours was a literal genius. Becca showed me her’s---the one she used in England---I even believed she was this other girl. When the officer looked at Thompson’s card, he stared a bit longer than I would have liked. I bit my lip, wishing that Marcus was here. I could read fear but that was all. It helped in my line of work, getting into people’s heads that way. I suppose I could do more too but I was afraid to dwell deeper. Marcus said the mind was a dangerous thing to go poking around in. An untrained person could get in serious trouble if they did it wrong. He offered to help me but I’m not ready for the hardcore stuff yet.

My Illusions were like mind control but it was mainly on the surface. I didn’t go any further than needed.

The officer handed back the card. He looked a little worried. “I think you should come into town for a day or two. We have a bit of a situation and it might be best if you and your group not be in the forest for the a few days.”

“Did something happen?”

The officer looked at his partner. The other man shrugged. The officer sighed. “We have reason to believe that a person of interest in a few bank robberies might be hiding out in the woods somewhere. Have you been watching the news?” Thompson shook his head.

“”Well the media is calling him the Easter Bunny Bandit. He holds the bank up wearing a bunny mask.”

You’ve gotta be kidding me. I guess it takes all kinds.

“Is he dangerous?”

The officer sighed. “He hasn’t hurt anyone yet but he is armed.”

“Are you evacuating other campers from the woods?”

“Not presently but…”

Thompson cut him off. “We’re far enough into it that I don’t think we’ll run into him. I have a radio and sat. phone. If we run into any problems, I can give you a call.”

The officer didn’t look too happy but he agreed. He gave Thompson a card. Then promised to come up and check on us as soon as he was done making the rounds down here. Thompson thanked him for allowing us to continue. Then the officer waved us on. I stared at him as we drove off, his face burned into my memory.
_______________________________________

The buzzing of a voice in my ear drew me back to the present.

“Mel, what’s your current position?”

It was Marcus, checking in. It’d been the third time in the last hour. I looked at the GPS indicator on my watch and gave him my coordinates.

“What’s up this time?”

Marcus sighed. “I found the truck.”

The truck in question was the one I saw at the roadblock yesterday. True to his word, after Deputy Meadows---thin mustache guy---made his patrol, he went into the woods to check on us. We knew didn’t know he was missing until Thompson picked it up on the police band. I guess that should have been our first indicator that something was wrong. But none of us were too worried about it back then. I guess we should have been because we might have been prepared.

I sighed. “Is there anyone in it?”

Marcus came back after a few seconds. I could hear him shuffling around. He sighed. “Its clean, his shotgun’s missing too.”

I cursed. It was one thing for the deputy to be missing but he’d been packing some firepower. That was going to complicate things a great deal. I thought about turning back. I looked up into the sky, night was starting to fall. I sighed heavily. If I turned back, now then it was pointless. I closed my eyes and envisioned the face of Meadows in my head. Like I said, it was burned into my memory. When I reopened my eyes I couldn’t help but see another face there too, one that was much closer to me than Deputy Meadows. I made my decision.

“I’m still going, there’s still some daylight left.”

“Me too” said Jessie.

Frank: “Ditto.”

Vicky: “Do you even need to ask?”

Marcus sighed. “Ok guys but the window is closing” There was a long pause. “I’m sorry Vick but you know the odds.”

Vicky said nothing. I wish he’d allowed me to go with her like I wanted. But Marcus insisted we’d cove more ground if we split up. I guess I couldn’t fault him for his logic but Vicky was a wreck right now. I so wanted to be there to comfort her, to reassure her that everything was going to be all right. Especially seeing how excited she was about all this yesterday. The whole thing had been her idea really. She wanted to make it special and she was damn sure to make it right.

__________________________________________

“Why do I have to be the Bunny, again?”

Vicky and Jess laughed. We were in this tiny little shop. It was one of many in town, situated along this quaint little street. After the roadblock and the traffic, it didn’t take us long to get into town. Thompson stayed in the truck while us three girls did some serious power shopping. First, we found this little Dollar Store that was selling a whole bunch of Easter crap half price. We loaded up our cart with candy and crap like that. Vicky made sure she found this cute little Easter basket and Jess found these plastic eggs. The two of them were kinda excited about it, swapping childhood Easter stories. I felt kinda left out but I busied myself by looking for some jellybeans. They were the only true thing I knew about Easter. I’m not sure why but I just knew kids were supposed to have jellybeans.

We spent an hour in the dollar store getting all the crap. I thought we were done but the girls had one more place they wanted to check out. On the way into town, we noticed a costume shop on the corner. It looked kinda out of place what with all the other stories being specific things. A novelty shop in this town seemed kinda odd, especially something that sold seasonal things. I could see it getting a lot of business around Halloween but the rest of the year business must have been really tight. When we went inside---the little bell above the door dinging---I think the guy behind the counter was happy to have customers. When he saw it was three hot teenage girls his face lit up.

That’s when we started browsing. I had no idea what we were looking for but apparently Vicky did. She pulled me right over to the bunny costumes. She found this sleek and sexy one piece suit, it was a like a giant rabbit skin that someone could step into. It was really freaky. The only thing that didn’t seem to make it more freaky was the cartoonish looking head. It was a Bunny caricature, a female one but still a caricature nonetheless.

That’s when they practically pushed me into the dressing room. Then they threw the costume at me. I tried to protest but as soon as I pulled back the curtain, they had a riot. They laughed at my expense. I didn’t even have the head on but I felt ridiculous.
I told them so, too.

“You look adorable,” said Vick with a laugh.

“Like a sexy Bugs” added Jess.

I frowned. “Why me again?”

Vick sighed. “Because you’re the only one who can fit in the suit. Besides, Daisy is going to freak when she sees you. You’re going to make her day.”

I sighed. That did it for me. Vicky knew I couldn’t resist making her little sis happy. So when I nodded and agreed, the two of them squealed, jumping up and down. Then they pushed me back into the dressing room. I took off the costume and the two of them paid for it. The guy at the counter frowned when he saw I wasn’t going to wear it out of the story. What a fricken perv. After that, we did some other shopping. We hit a little grocery store to buy some big people food---we were sick of the MRE’s that Thompson packed. In the end, we were in town for about two and half hours. On the way back to camp, the road was pretty much deserted. When we got to the spot where the roadblock was, there was nothing. So we were pretty confident they caught whoever it was they were looking for. It took us another hour and a half to get back to camp. Daisy was asleep by the time we got there which was a good thing. We roped the guys into helping us create Easter---Mattie jumped at the opportunity to help.

It took us nearly three hours to fill those stupid plastic eggs with candy and hide them. When we were done, all of us practically fell asleep right on the spot. When I finally crawled into my sleeping bag, I had a smile on my face, happy that I’d done something good.

________________________________________

The dogs stopped barking. I’m not sure if that was a good thing or not. I’d designed them specifically to pick up any signs of trouble. They were supposed to bark when they found something. I was so caught up in my own thoughts I didn’t even notice. Now the forest was deathly quiet, I couldn’t even hear the normal sounds. That sent a shiver up my spine. I closed my eyes and concentrated on them. There were three, created from my memories of dogs from the movies. All were bloodhounds but smarter than any real dogs. If they were not barking, it meant something was terribly wrong. I took a deep breath and reached out with my mind.

Though I wouldn’t let Marcus teach me any advanced telekinetic stuff, I did know some things. Of course, I didn’t do those things intentionally. When Becca and the original Delta team hit Section One, I’d been awake for a very short period of time. I was cold and alone and really scared. I had no idea what was going on or where I was. I’d been awake sporadically during my time there, mostly when I first got there. Every time I’d wakened in the past, my father was there waiting for me. When I woke up at that time, he was gone. I didn’t find out until much later that my father was dead, killed by Declan St. James. Whereas Becca had a grudge against that bastard Dekker, Declan was number one on my list. My father may have done something horrible things---putting me in a drug induced coma---but he was the only person who ever cared about me.

My earpiece buzzed to life again, Marcus checking in. “Mel, it’s too quiet.”

I sighed, touching my throat mike. “You noticed too.”

I made the dogs loud enough so even the others could hear them.

Frank piped in: “It was kinda peaceful, you know. I was getting used to the doggies.”

Jessie: “Speak for yourself, Match Head.”

Frank probably would have come back with something but Marcus cut him off. “Not now you two, concentrate.” There was a pair of sighs. Then he spoke to me. “I’m doubling back toward camp to rendezvous with Thompson, he and Mattie were able to get through to the Center finally.”

With all the dense foliage, communication was spotty at best. We knew that coming into this place, it was one of the reasons we chose this area. The earpieces and the throat mikes were low band, able to penetrate the trees because we had a nice transmitter. But to contact base we needed to use our antenna to relay with a satellite. With passing cloud cover and the trees, that wasn’t easy. We had initial contact with them yesterday, Thompson having apprised them of the situation about the bank robber. Luce said she had a team on standby in case things got out of hand. But that was hours ago and we haven’t been able to radio in since.

“Are they sending the team?”

Marcus sighed. “They’re coming but it might be a while. There’s a storm moving in---it’s supposed to be kinda bad. It might be a bit choppy to fly the helicopter so they’re going to have to come in on the ground.”

He didn’t need to finish that sentence. It took us hours to get to this spot on foot. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that we were on our own. But it was nice that they were on the way. The others chimed in on the situation, grumbling a bit. Vicky was really quiet but I knew she was still there because her GPS marker was active and moving. We all had markers, built into our watches. All of us, except Daisy. It was the newest thing that the Center was implementing. Once again, it was all thanks to Becca. After England when she was captured, The Colonel and Kris thought it might be a good idea to keep track of us when we were out in the field. The markers were a good idea. I just wish we’d thought of putting one on Daisy.

Marcus spoke again, switching to another channel. I heard him only in my left ear: “You ok?”

I knew why he was asking. There were only two reasons that the dogs would have stopped barking. The first being they were physically attacked. My dogs were only illusions after all, not tangible like the Santa Claus I created for Daisy. If someone were to say shoot them, they’d disappear quickly enough. The other reason was all on me. They would also disappear if I lost my hold on them.

I sighed. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t left her alone…”

Marcus cut me off. “No one’s blaming you Mel. She was sitting by that tree when you left. You were only gone for a few minutes; kids have a tendency to wander off.”

I sighed. Easy for him to say, he didn’t lose his best friend’s little sister.

__________________________________

“Sweetie, I’ll be right back,” I told Daisy, letting go of her hand. “You wait right here, I’m going to look for the Easter Bunny.”

Her face lit up. “Do you really think he’s here?”

I smiled. “It’s the forest, where else would a bunny be.”

She got really excited about that. It felt good to see such joy on her face. When she woke up this morning, I think they heard her squeal all the way back in the town. We put her little basket in the tent with her, filled with all the chocolates and candies we bought yesterday. Her joyful squeal woke us all up. Thompson actually came running in his boxers, holding a Glock. It kinda scared all of us. I wasn’t the first one to the tent, that was Vicky. When I got there though Daisy was jumping up and down, happy that the Easter Bunny hadn’t forgotten her after all. It leaves a warm feeling in the pit of your stomach knowing that you’d done something good for a child. Seeing her so happy made me happy.

After Vicky and I got her to calm down, we got her dressed. Vicky bought her a pretty pink Easter dress when we were out yesterday. Daisy was so excited---bouncing up and down---it took the two of us to put her in it. After that, we took her by the hands and led her out of the tent. That’s when we told her what we “saw”. We filled all the plastic eggs with jellybeans and hid them throughout the surrounding area. We made sure not to put them too far from camp so she didn’t wander all over the place. The plan was that no matter where she was, one of us would either be with her or be able to see her.

I went with her on the hunt. There were twenty-four eggs scattered about. Over the course of an hour, we’d found all of them. Which was my cue to slip off and “look” for the Easter Bunny. I left her sitting by a tree, making her promise not to go anywhere while I slipped away. I doubled back toward camp, heading straight toward my tent. When I walked inside, I saw that someone had the costume already laid out for me. I frowned. It was probably Jess; she was having fun on my behalf. I made a mental note to do something awful to her in return. It didn’t take me long to get on though I was a little reluctant to put on that giant cartoonish head.

“Wow, looking real sexy” said Marcus as he stepped inside the tent.

I turned around---glad the tents were tall enough to stand in---and struck the sexiest pose I could think of. Ok, there was one advantage of dressing like this; it made my boyfriend’s pulse race. So that’s an added plus. “Tell me you’re not one of those creepy guys who have bunny girl fetishes?”

He smiled. “No but seeing you like that I think I might be a convert.”

I leaned forward and playfully punched him before we shared a kiss. We were officially one of the stranger couples at the Center. What with him being tall dark and handsome and me being the short, green haired girl who liked to make pretty pictures. At least that’s how I saw things. Our kiss turned a little something more. Before I knew the two of us were on the ground, he was fumbling around behind me trying to find the damn zipper. We hadn’t gone very far in our relationship, only kissing. Everyone knew we were a couple but that’s all they knew. We kept our relationship on the down low because we weren’t ready for anything too serious. There’s a lot of baggage dating me---the Dominator---and he was still getting over his first boyfriend, the one he had back when he was wearing the skirts.

I finally pushed him up, laughing. “I can’t do this now; I’m supposed to be out there with Daisy.”

He frowned. “Ok but when you’re done you’re wearing that costume tonight and sneaking into my tent?”

I smiled. “Is that an order, sir?”

He laughed then got to his feet, pulling down his shirt. Yeah, I can try to take off his clothes too. Then he reached out and pulled me to my feet. We kissed again then I slipped by him. He smacked my butt as I was leaving. I pulled the big head over my own and wandered through the camp. Vicky whistled, I struck another sexy pose then disappeared into the woods. I retraced my steps back to where I’d left Daisy. I couldn’t wait to see her face when I came walking up like this. I was so excited that I thought I went to the wrong spot. I looked around but Daisy wasn’t sitting where I left her. So I looked behind the tree then starting looking in the bushes. I knew it was this spot because I could see a few jellybeans in the grass.

I pulled off my head, tossing it aside. I took a deep breath. Don’t panic Mel. I pulled off the clothes too and rushed about, looking all over the surrounding area. But it was no use. Wherever Daisy was it was far enough away that I couldn’t find her. I bit my lip and panicked then.

I’d just lost my best friend’s sister.

_____________________________________

We’d been searching for her the last four hours.

After I discovered she’d been missing I rushed back to the camp and told the others. It didn’t take us long to scramble a search party. Things were made worse by the fact that Deputy Meadows was missing. That seemed to push us all into rapid motion. I tried to apologize again and again to Vicky but she knew it wasn’t my fault. In fact, Daisy had a tendency to do this. Apparently, she was always wandering off. She used to do it to their parents all the time. Now that I think about it, when Daisy wasn’t in their room, she was always wandering the halls of the Center. It was usually I or one of the other girls who brought her back. But this time was different. We weren’t in a safe place and there wasn’t some nut wandering around out there with a gun.

That’s when I conjured the hounds too, making sure I cued them in with Daisy. She was enough away that neither Marcus nor I could find her telepathically. But I was able to fuse what I remembered of her mind into the hounds, making them able to track her and only her. Then I sent them out, hoping against hope that they’d find her. Now they too had failed. This whole situation sucked. The only thing that would have made it worse is if I’d actually worn the costume to go looking for her. But that was the first thing I stripped out of. I don’t think a bright white suit was the proper thing to be stealthy in. Why stealthy because there’s a guy out there with a gun. Not that I didn’t have one too but I wanted to keep the casualties down to a minimum. Besides I’d never shot anyone before. I’d shot a lot of paper targets and dummies but never a real person. I wasn’t too bad at it now, getting better according to Becca. But I still had a long way to go before actually drawing my gun on anyone.

I closed my eyes. My last conversation with Marcus was about twenty minutes ago. I thought about reconjuring the hounds but he was right: I couldn’t concentrate. I knew this was all my fault. If I hadn’t gotten so carried away with being sexy for him I would have been back there to stop her from wandering. Both Marcus and Vicky said it wasn’t my fault but both of them knew it was. It kinda pissed me off that I could be so fricken stupid. I made a promise to myself when I was redressing that I was never going to allow my personal life get in the way of what was important. So when I was on a mission it was going to be all business and nothing else. Marcus and I could fool around in our rooms but nowhere else.

I pushed on. I was trying to utilize some of the tracking skills that Lara was teaching me and some of the other girls. Kris thought it a good idea that some of us had a wide range of abilities. I was chosen because of my lack of combat skills. Mattie, Clara and several others were in that group too. I was using some of my newfound skills now, keeping low to the ground, trying to think like Daisy. I thought about turning myself into a child but that only worked if there were others around me. Besides, it would have been another distraction. So instead I kept as low to the ground as possible, looking for any signs that someone might have gone this way.

It was pretty pointless because so far I’d found nothing. Three hours of trudging through the forest and I was about to give up too. I almost did when I spotted it. It was one of those things that you don’t normally find in a forest---unless of course it’s Easter. I smiled as I reached into the grass and picked up the yellow jellybean. A few feet away I found another one then another. I smiled. I’m not sure how or why but Daisy was dropping jellybeans. I tried to think if I’d seen anymore but I couldn’t remember. I was so guilt ridden I hadn’t bothered to look.

I tapped my throat. “I have a trail.”

There was a collective sigh of responses.

Marcus was the first to speak. “Did you find her?”

“No but I’ve got a trail of jellybeans.”

“Jellybeans?”

Vicky came on. “Bread crumbs. I’ve been reading her Grimm’s fairy tales at night. Hansel and Gretel left a trail of bread crumbs when they got lost, remember?”

I shook my head. I vaguely remembered the story. But I smiled nonetheless. Daisy was by far one of the smartest children I knew.

So I followed her trail of “breadcrumbs”. I just hoped she wouldn’t run out. But considering how many of those damn things we bought her it was safe to say that her trail would go on for a while. I kept close to the ground as I moved, picking up each one as I went. There was no way I was going to give them back---they were on the ground---but I made a promise to myself to buy her as many jellybeans as she wanted for as long as she lived. I tried to think of how many other kids would have been smart enough to leave something like this behind. I couldn’t think of any. Not that I knew any more kids but it was the thought that counted. But it was the fact that Daisy was clever enough at her age to come up with a way to keep her from getting lost.

I followed the trail to a clearing. At first I was about to run in, half expecting to see her sitting there. I wasn’t too far off because I heard a giggle. When I heard that I wanted to cry. I was definitely about to charge in then. But the giggle was followed by a laugh. It was a deep one, a laugh of a man. I stopped dead in my tracks, my heart hammering in my chest. Please God let it be Deputy Meadows. I crept slowing to the clearing, putting a large tree between myself and it. I peered slowly around the tree and saw the familiar of a tan uniform. I sighed with relief, it was a deputy. I took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing.

“Thank you so much for finding…”

My words caught in my mouth. Deputy Meadows was there all right but he wasn’t the one that laughed. In fact was laying against one of the other trees, the front of his uniform red with blood. Daisy was sitting a few feet away, not seeming to notice. Sitting across from her was a large man in a bunny mask. Daisy was giggling with him, eating jellybeans from her basket. For a second the man and I locked eyes. He and I both looked at the shotgun. It was too far away for each of us to reach but there was a knife in his waistband.

Daisy turned and saw me. Her face lit up. “Mel, look I found the Easter Bunny.”

I smiled and nodded, reaching up to brush my neck gently, turning the mike on. “That’s really good sweetie. Now why don’t you step away from the nice man in the bunny mask and come over here.”

Daisy frowned. “I don’t want too. We’re having fun.”

I frowned. Leave it to her to not want to leave. I smiled bigger. “But everyone is worried about you. You shouldn’t wander away from camp like that.”

I looked at the man in the mask. I could only see his eyes. They were dark and piercing. It was clear that like me, he was trying to figure out what to do. He had two options. I could see those options as well as I could. I just hoped he’d choose the latter and take off. Hell, I’d even give him a head start. Neither of us said a thing for a while. Then I nodded my head toward Meadows.

I cleared my throat. “I won’t tell anyone about that if you just give me the girl now and take off.”

Daisy put a finger to her mouth. “Shhh, the police man is sleeping.”

I smiled and nodded. “Then why don’t you come over to me and we’ll leave him to sleep here with the nice Easter Bunny.”

Daisy looked like he was thinking about it. She made her decision quickly enough. She started to get up and that’s when he made his move. He didn’t choose the latter. He lashed out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into his chest. He didn’t need to use his knife with her. She was small enough that all he had to do was put his hand on her throat and start to squeeze. It wouldn’t take him long to snuff out her life. Daisy dropped her basket and started crying. Me, I was frozen in fear. He could see my gun; he could see there was no way I was going to let him walk out of her alive. He had the option of running but now that option was off the table.

“Throw the gun away, now,” he said angrily, his gun muffled by the mask.

I nodded and tossed the pistol. “Let her go.”

“You think I’m stupid,” he laughed, taking a step back. “This little lady is my ticket out of here.”

I shook my head. “I’m not the only one here you know. We’re all armed and the others…well, trust me when I saw this, you do not want them after you.”

He laughed again. “I’ve been watching you. Besides the big Army like guy, you’re a bunch of kids. What the hell are you going to do to me, nag me with your annoying teen drama?”

I smirked. Clearly, he hadn’t been watching us long enough.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, reaching into his mind. It didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for. I smirked when I saw it. Some people had some really elaborate fears while others were simple things. I liked the simple things so much better, they were much easier to manifest. When I opened my eyes again, I looked up to the tree behind him. At first there was nothing then slowly the biggest snake I’d ever seen started to slither its way down the tree trunk. I didn’t go overboard with it but it was pretty huge.

“Tell me, Mr. Bunny Bandit, what terrifies you more than anything else in the world?”

He looked at me like I was nuts, taking a step away. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I smiled. “What scares you?”

He stuttered. “Going to prison I guess.”

I smirked. “Really, well then I guess that giant snake behind you won’t be a problem.”

I saw the color drain from his face. At that particular moment, my snake chose to wind its way around his ankles. He let go of Daisy in a panic and looked down. As soon as he did, he let out a bloodcurdling scream. I guess I couldn’t really blame him; it was a big snake after all. He kicked and turned, trying to get it off of him. But the snake slowly started to wind its way up his body. I saw the look of sheer terror in his eyes. But I ignored him as he fell to the ground. Instead, I held out my arms as Daisy came running into my outstretched arms. She cried into my chest as I turned away from him. He was screaming and kicking.

I carried her away. Five minutes later---the guy still screaming---I ran into Marcus and Vicky. Both of them were running in a panic, huffing and out of breath. When Vicky saw Daisy in my arms, she broke down. I set Vicky on the ground and she ran to her sister, crying. I gave them their moment and turned to Marcus, pointing over my shoulder.

“He’s back there.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow. “What did you do to make him scream like that?”

I shook my head. “No one messes with my girl.”

He smiled and walked off in the direction of the clearing.

I walked over to where Vicky and Daisy were hugging each other. Daisy was sniffling but she looked better. “That was a bad Easter Bunny.”

Vicky kissed her on the head. “Its ok, he’s not going to hurt you anymore.”

Vicky and I shared a look. It was clear that when she was done he wasn’t going to hurt anyone ever again. I’m sure the world wouldn’t mind one less scumbag. I reached out and took Daisy from her arms. Vicky nodded, her icy blue eyes flashed as she too walked off toward the clearing.

I hefted Daisy, getting her as far away as possible. I’m not sure how far we got before I heard what sounded like a scream abruptly caught off in mid-holler. I pulled her close to my chest, burying her face in it. I wanted to make sure that she didn’t hear what I heard. WE got about halfway to camp when Jessie and Frank showed up. They both looked relieved to see Daisy in my arms. I pointed behind me and they ran off in that direction. I closed my eyes and set Daisy down. There was one thing I still wanted to do for her, one thing I’d failed to do earlier.

When I reopened my eyes, the largest rabbit I’d ever seen was standing before us. I crouched down and let it go off. She was still sniffling. “I’m sorry about before, Daisy; I should have never left you alone.”

She wiped her tears. ‘Its ok, Mel. I thought I could find the Easter Bunny and bring him to meet you.”

I smiled. “I think he’s found you.”

She turned her head and when she saw the big white bunny---complete with yellow bow tie---her eyes bugged out. I let her go and she slowly walked over, patting him on the head. I smiled and stood up. Happy Easter, Daisy.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Chapter 3. I don't have much to say about it actually. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing. My question to you the reader is this: Is there anyone out there that's still interested in the Center universe. I am finding that the interest in the Center stories is dwindling as of late.

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Chapter Three:

When I got to the Infirmary, there was a guard posted at the door. He was dressed in military green but wasn’t armed. I looked at his belt, noticing the stun gun and nothing else. If need be, I could take this guy. Not that I thought I was going to have a problem getting in there. After all, I did out rank the grunt. He looked at me when he saw me approach, his face a mask of no emotion. They were trained like that, I think. I wonder if he was trained to use that thing on his belt if things got out of hand. He surely looked like a guy who could handle himself in a fight, he was big and burly, his hair shaved almost down to the scalp. What did they call Marines, oh yeah, Jar Heads. This guy was a definite Jar Head.

He saluted when I finally got to him. Apparently, he thought I was someone important.

I looked at his uniform, reading his name and rank. “You don't need to salute me, Private Wilson.”

I didn’t salute back. That stuff annoyed me. He lowered his hand, giving me the once over. I probably looked quite the sight, in my drab gray clothes, tiny skirt and high heels included. I was still trying to convince Mrs. Fine and Kris to let me wear my boots. So far, no such luck, but I think I was wearing them down. They did let me wear my shades though, not that they had much of a choice in the matter. The light still hurt my eyes; the Second Skin didn’t cover my face. I wore a gray hoodie to do that, the hood bigger than most to obscure my face in shadow. Today was no different. Even as Wilson looked at me, he still couldn’t see my face.

“You know why I’m here?” I asked.

He nodded. “Mrs. Fine radioed ahead. She said you might be coming.”

I nodded. “Good, now step aside.”

He hesitated for a second until I glared at him. He didn’t hesitate after that and did as he was told. I smiled, pulled open the door and went inside. The antechamber of the Infirmary was a sad sight. It was all gray and boring, nothing like the waiting rooms of any doctor’s office I’d ever been in there. The chairs even had gray upholstery. The only color in the room came from the yellow curtains hanging over the windows. Whoever thought putting yellow and gray together ought to be shot. Drab and cheerful did not mix.

I walked through the little room right to the door leading to the exam rooms. The woman behind the counter didn’t even try to stop me. I had a reputation already at the Infirmary. It all stemmed from an incident a couple of weeks ago, right before I shipped out to pick up Donovan Talbot and the Ford Twins. It was after one of my sparring sessions with Kris’ boyfriend, Ray. He’s got this cool mimic ability so it makes him a super fighter. He challenged me to a little sparring match, trying to see what he could learn about me. He told me to not hold back so I didn’t. I came at him with everything I had. I’m trained in Krav Maga and Wushu. I’m a pretty competent fighter but apparently, Ray is on a whole different level. Because of my enhanced senses, I can usually hear the punch or kick before it gets to me but Ray is fast, real fast.

He caught me off guard. I didn’t even know he did anything until afterwards. But it turns out he actually broke a couple of my fingers in one of his throwing moves. When he flipped me over his shoulder and I landed on the mat, I didn’t feel a thing. I have this no pain thing, in case you’re late to the game. When I hit the mat, I jumped back up and went right at him. It was Mr. Lions who noticed something was wrong. He was standing nearby, working with some new recruits. He saw my hand and noticed how swollen and bruised a couple of my fingers looked. He stopped our match and forced me to go to the Infirmary. I tried to argue with him but in the end he actually had a couple guys physically drag me there.

In the Infirmary, they had to strap me down to look at my hand. Like I said, I didn’t feel anything. I could have been a little aggressive with Dr. L and his staff. I might have punched one of the nurses; I’m not sure because there was a lot of stuff going on. Basically, I don’t like doctors. Trish was my doctor and she was good to me, the only doc that had ever been good to me. At the Syndicate, there were two doctors, Trish and Dr. O. He was a fat bastard and let’s just say that he liked the ladies. So you can see where I’m kind of apprehensive about the whole doctor thing. One of the nurses actually had to sedate me to get me to calm down. In the end they taped my fingers together and put these little splint thingies on them. When I got the call from Donovan the next day, I tore it off. I needed all my fingers out in the field.

Dr. L was still kind of pissed about it. I didn’t get very far down the little hall that the exam rooms were on. Out of one of the rooms came a burly nurse. I remember him well and his face remembered me, the shiner I gave him was just starting to fade. He stopped in front of me, crossing his arms across his chest. He was big and tall, built like a linebacker. He glared at me when he saw me.

“You’re not to go one step further,” he said in a cold, emotionless voice.

“Orders from Mrs. Fine?” I asked, knowing they weren’t.

“From Dr. Lynchburg actually” he said, sounding smug. “He doesn’t want you anywhere near his patient until they’re done giving her a thorough examination.”

I groaned. “That could take hours.”

“Sorry ma’am, doctor’s orders. No one is allowed past me and especially you.”

I could pull rank but it was no use. The Infirmary was Dr. L’s domain and rank disappeared as soon as you walked through the front door. In the Infirmary, everyone was equal and Lynchburg was C.O. Those were his rules and everyone was supposed to follow them. They were kind of stupid, a power trip on his part but I had to respect that. Unfortunately, today I wasn’t really in the mood for respecting anyone. I needed to get to Dr. V; she had vital information as far as I was concerned.

I groaned. “How long will it take?”

He shrugged. “An hour, maybe two.”

“He’s lying,” said a familiar voice from behind me.

I groaned because I knew who it was without even turning around. I did though and saw Lola walking down the hall, a big smile on her face. She looked too happy to be in an Infirmary. She had a bounce in her step that was kind of annoying too somehow, the drab gray uniform on her looked a lot better than it did on anyone else, save maybe Stella. But who could compare with her.

“What are you doing here?”

She ignored the question and looked at the nurse. She smiled evilly at him. “I was asked to come here by Mrs. Fine,” she said, finally answering me. “She told me to go right in. This guy only stopped you because he’s still holding a grudge for when you kicked his ass.”

The nurse looked flustered. “She’s a girl.”

Lola smiled. “And you’re in love with her.”

The nurse turned crimson. I raised an eyebrow. The guy was in his twenties and I was sixteen, talk about serious felony. He looked from me to her and back to me again. Then he flushed even redder and stepped out of the way, letting the two of us pass. I made an effort to slam into his shoulder when I walked by him. Lola patted him on the cheek as she passed, moving quickly to catch up with me.

“This doesn’t change a thing; I still think you’re a pest.”

She shrugged. “Fair enough.”

We passed a couple of empty exam rooms before we got to the one that we wanted. There was another guard at the door, this time he was armed. He nodded at the two of us and opened the door as we approached. The room was small, barely big enough for the bed. Dr. V was lying on it, handcuffed to the side, hooked up to machines by tubes. She looked like hell. Her black and white hair was disheveled; her face was gaunt and pale. She had a bandage on her neck, probably where the sheet chafed it. There was also a bandage on her face which was because of me. I looked at her hands; there was a cast on her left wrist too. That one also because of me. I broke the bitch’s wrist while escaping from the Syndicate but that was almost two months ago. I was surprised it was still in a cast. I looked around the rest of the room, the only other person there besides Dr. V, was Dr. L. He was standing near her bed, scribbling things down on a clipboard. Neither one noticed us until we stepped fully into the room. Dr. V got one look at me and her eyes widened in fear.

“Get her out of here” she gasped, her voice a raspy whisper.

Dr. L turned to me and frowned. “Sergeant Howe, this isn’t a very good time.”

“Make it a good time.”

Dr. L sighed. “The patient isn’t ready to be questioned yet. She’s just woken up from a coma and she’s still suffering from a great deal of trauma, some of which that you inflicted upon her. Maybe if you come back in a day or two, we can arrange something then when she’s more comfortable.”

I didn’t have time for that. “Like I give a shit if she’s comfortable or not.”

Dr. L looked like I’d poisoned his lemonade. His eyes narrowed in anger at me and he whipped out his iPhone, dialing quickly. I knew who he was calling and frankly I didn’t give a damn. I ignored him as he started to complain to Mrs. Fine. Instead, I looked at Dr. V, my eyes narrowing as well. She tried to look away but she knew that I wasn’t going to give up. I think she knew what I was looking for; I could see it in her eyes.

I turned to Lola. “Make yourself useful and tell me when this bitch is lying.”

Lola nodded. “That’s why Mrs. Fine asked me to come.”

Dr. L sighed in the background. “This is highly irregular, ma’am.”

I heard Mrs. Fine’s response to that: “She might have answers we need. We can’t risk her trying to end her life again. Sergeant Howe and Miss Marston are there on my authority, so make it happen, doctor.”

I smiled and turned my attention back to Dr. V. I tried a different tack. “Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything; fluff your pillows, maybe?”

She hissed then rasped: “I’m not telling you a thing.”

I smiled. Ok, nice wasn’t working; hey I had to try. “Just save yourself a lot of the run around and tell me where Green is?”

She looked confused for a second. When she answered, the confusion was in her voice: “Dekker? This is about Dekker, why would you want him?”

I sighed. Apparently, the Syndicate didn’t pass notes in class. “He killed Trish.”

The look on her face said it all. Here I thought she knew what I wanted. But apparently, she was thinking I wanted something else. Go figure.

“This is about her?” I nodded, she hissed again. “The traitor deserved what she got.”

My anger flared and I went for her. Lola grabbed my shoulder, trying her hardest to hold me back. But she was a frail weakling. I shoved her off and got right into Dr. V’s face. Dr. L gasped and made a step for me. I snapped around, gave him a glare and he backed off. I snapped back to V, my face inches from her own.

“Dekker” I said, holding back the flood of emotions I was feeling. “Where the hell is he?”

“I don’t know” she stuttered.

I turned to Lola. “She’s telling the truth.”

I decided to change tactics again. “Ok, then what was he doing at Section One?”

Dr. V’s eyes seemed to pop open at that one. She looked past me at Lola and seemed to quiver a bit. When she answered, her voice was shaking. “I don’t know” she stuttered.

“She’s lying.”

I smiled and pointed at Lola. “Lola is a human lie detector. You can’t lie in front of her. So would you like to try that again?”

Dr. V. gulped. “I don’t know all the details but I know some” she cleared her throat. “He was there meeting with Dr. Philips, the two of them were discussing Project Hercules.”

There is was again. That big oaf, Bart, mentioned it as well. “What the hell is that?”

She looked at Lola and sighed. “I don’t know much about it. I know it has something to do with an offshore research facility called Facility X. After you and your friends took out the mainland facilities, One through Four, Carson moved everything to Facility X.”

“Where is it?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t have enough clearance to know. But Dekker, he’d know. Carson put him in charge of it.”

She shuddered and started to cry. Dr. L finally grew a backbone because he stepped over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I turned to him but there was no glare now. I’d gotten what I wanted which was nothing. I sighed. She didn’t know where Dekker was. I grumbled as I pulled my shoulder out from underneath Dr. L’s touch. Lola tried to say something to me, I think it was “sorry” but I pushed her aside as I stomped out the door.
What a fucking waste of my time.

Lola ran to catch up with me; I heard her footfall behind me. “Becca?”

I turned toward, tears welling in my eyes. Damn it. “You will address me as Sergeant Howe.”

She nodded. “Look I’m sorry she didn’t have what you were looking for. But she gave us some good information, don’t you think.”

I scoffed. “I knew all that before.”

It was a lie and she knew that but she nodded anyway. “You can’t do this to yourself.”

“What the fuck would you know about it?”

I didn’t wait for an answer. I just turned and stormed down the hall.

___________________________________

I should be in lunch right about now but I just can’t bring myself to sit in there with all those people. All the laughing and chatting, it was too much. Besides, I could also hear what else they were saying, the whispers and the gossip. I hate having super hearing; it really puts a cramp on your social life. I knew I had friends and they would never openly say bad stuff to me but I can even hear their whispers sometimes. Most of them are concerned for me but there’s other things too. They’re getting sick of my attitude, eg., Stella. She’d never admit it of course but even she’s been a bit standoffish lately. Things like this aren’t supposed to affect me, of course, but I’m not pain proof, contrary to what I let people believe.
It hurt; it hurt a lot.

So here, I was now, in the only place I knew people wouldn’t dare to look for me. Ok, so maybe storming up to the roof and sitting on the edge of the building wasn’t the brightest idea but I’m not full of a lot of those lately. First, I busted a teacher’s balls in class, and then I slapped my boyfriend for trying to help. I even blew off Mattie and I treated Lola like shit. Ok so maybe she deserved it a little, no one likes a tattletale. But I hate it, I hate this way I’m feeling. It’s like the whole world is piling on my shoulders and all I can do is continue to hold it up.

The worst part, all I’m doing is throwing hate at it. Hate and loathing, those were my only two weapons lately. It all started with Green, too. He was everywhere. I saw him when I slept, I saw him when I closed my eyes. I even saw him in other people’s faces. This morning I swore I saw him when I saw running to the Infirmary. He was standing at the end of the hall, smirking at me. When I ran after him, he dissolved and there was a tall kid standing there, looking really scared. I brushed past him and ran the rest of the way. It’s scaring the hell out of me and the only thing anyone wants to do is send me to the shrink. Go to Dr. Tipps, she’ll make you feel better. It was a load of shit. I didn’t need a shrink to make me feel better; I needed justice.

If I could just find the son of a bitch and put a bullet in his head, then everything would be right. I would feel better; the school would feel better. I’d be back to myself again and everything would go back to normal.

“You’re not going to jump, are you?”

I snapped around, surprised that someone else was up here. He was standing only a few feet away in all his shining glory. Ok, he wasn’t shining but it was close enough. The sun caught his blonde hair and it seemed to dance around his body, making him glow like an angel. My heart skipped a beat, my chest all a flutter. I bit my lip, cursing myself. I can’t like him; I’m in love with Barry. I put on a stoic face, turning my head so he couldn’t see the tears streaming down my face.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as he came walking over, leaning on the wall. “Did Fine send you?”

He shook his head. “Nope” He put his hands on the wall and jumped up to sit next to me, taking a look down and grimacing. “Mind if I sit?”

I shrugged. “It’s a free country, Brad, you can sit wherever you like."

He smiled. Damn it, why did he have to smile. Bradley Ford was like an Adonis. When I brought him and his sister into the school two weeks ago, I heard a lot of hearts beating faster. I got a lot of nasty glares too. A lot of the girls were really jealous that a guy like that would be anywhere near me. The freak, that’s what they call me behind my back when they don’t think I can’t hear them. Brad was cool though, he didn’t say a thing about me. Even better, he liked to sit with us in lunch, which only made the other girls more jealous. He and Emma adjusted rather quickly to Center life, which didn’t surprise me one bit. Everyone called them the “Golden Twins” on the count that both of them were beautiful with their alabaster skin, sparkling blue eyes and lustrous blonde locks.

He looked down again. “Nice spot you picked out here” he said, sweeping some hair from his eyes. “The perfect place for a jump. If you time it just right, you might even land on that statue down there.”

I smirked. He can make me laugh too. That’s all I need to complicate things. “Is there a purpose for your visit?”

Ok it’s bitch time for me. But he smiled; boy did he have a great smile.

“If you must know, you sent Lola back to the cafeteria in tears. The only thing we were able to get out of her was your name. The others were drawing straws to see who got the honor of coming to see if you were all right.”

I huffed. “And you lost?”

He smiled. “I volunteered.”

Damn it. I flushed a little red, turning away so he didn’t see. “So are you going to throw me over your shoulder and carry me back into the cafeteria?”

He laughed. “Nope. I think I’m going to stay here and enjoy the view.”

I nodded. “I’ve kind of made a mess of things.”

He nodded. “Yep.”

I smacked him in the arm. “You’re not supposed to agree with me.”

He shrugged. “I thought that’s what you wanted.” I sighed. He took a deep breath. “Look, I know all about temper tantrums and difficult girls. Hell, my best friend was Gretchen.”

Emma talked about her a lot. The two of them used to date back when she was Stephen. Apparently, Gretchen was a grade A bitch, though it did take Stephen a long time to see that. I think Emma was still a little stuck on her though. Or maybe she was only pretending to mask her feelings for a certain tall and handsome Corporal I know.

“You’re comparing me to her?”

“No, I’m just saying that girls have moods, trust me I know.”

I laughed. “This isn’t a mood.”

He sighed. “You want to kill this guy?”

I went quiet for a second. Everyone knew about my obsession with Dekker. We were a close-knit community, there was little that any of us here could keep from one another. My obsession wasn’t the biggest bit of gossip but it was certainly one of the more juicer bits. I was the subject of a lot of whispered conversations. “Hey there goes Becca; she’s obsessed with killing this guy.” Like I gave a fuck what they thought.

I finally answered him. “He killed the most important person in the world to me.”

He nodded. “That must suck.”

“I’m going to make him pay for what he did.”

Brad didn’t say anything to that. But after a few moments, he leaned over and wrapped me in a hug. My heart was a flutter and I was a bit shocked. Macho guys like him don’t hug. Then I remembered that only a few short weeks ago, he was a bubbling teenage girl. It was nice to be hugged by him, even if he was being a little girly at the moment. It felt kind of right, being in his strong, comforting arms. I bit my lip. You’re with Barry; Barry is your boyfriend.
When he pulled away, there was a sad look on his face. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

“For what?”

“For you.”

I was stunned. It was as if he socked me in the gut. I was speechless for a few seconds and then my anger swelled. How dare he. I opened my mouth to really let him have it but I couldn’t. Instead, I broke down. I burst into tears again. He wrapped me in his big strong arms and I cried on his shoulder. Damn it, why did I have to be such a girl.

He let me cry on his shoulder for the longest time. He held me for the longest time and it felt pretty good. Then I kind of let my emotions get the better of me. I don’t think I was thinking straight. Everything was all screwed up so when I pulled away and pulled his lips into mine, it was the spur of the moment and all fucked up. The only thing, he didn’t pull away, repulsed by it. Instead, he wrapped his hands around the back of my head and leaned into the kiss, returning my vigor. The two of us went at it, hot and heavy. It was different than kissing Barry. With Barry, it was lust and nothing else. But with Brad, it was passion. I felt something with him, something that definitely lacking with Barry.

God, what the hell am I doing?

A buzzing vibration saved me. I pulled away, stunned for a second. The vibration continued until I realized what it was. It was my phone. I sighed and reached into the front pocket of my hoodie, pulling out the iPhone. There was a text scrolled across the screen: COME TO COMP ROOM, KIND OF IMPORTANT, THINK I MIGHT HAVE FOUND SOMETHING, BARRY. I sighed; it was a sign. I pushed Brad away a little bit, licking my lips.

“What’s the matter?’ he asked, breathless.

“It’s Barry.”

“What?” he snapped his head around, looking like a deer caught in headlights?

I laughed. “Not here you idiot” I waved the phone in front of his face. “He just texted me. He wants me to meet him in the Computer room; he’s got something important to show me.”

Brad sighed, straightening his tie. “Can we continue this later?”

I bit my lip. Damn why did he have to be so nice, understanding and good looking. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

His head dropped and he nodded. “I understand.”

He looked so hurt, like a wounded puppy. God, I so wanted to kiss him again. I bit my lip. You’re with Barry and you’re damaged goods right now. I wanted to jump in his arms and let him have his way with me. But that would be crazy. I flushed a bit, embarrassed by my thoughts. He smiled, buttoning the top two buttons of his shirt. I smiled too, straightening the bottom of my ugly gray skirt. Then I jumped off the wall and ran across the roof, away from the complication.

________________________________

I walked to the computer room, Brad on my mind. Why did he have to be so damn gorgeous? It was one thing to be a good-looking guy but on top of that, he was so damn nice and understanding. It would have been easy to hate him for wanting to continue kissing me but I couldn’t. I wanted to continue kissing him and hated myself for it. I was with Barry, he was my love. Though we had a bit of a rough patch there a few weeks ago, the two of us were back and better than ever. I wasn’t going to let Brad or anyone else stand in the way of that.

As I approached the computer room, an attractive blonde came walking down the hall toward me. I squinted, remembering her from somewhere. She smirked at me, flashing her creepy red eyes. Red eyes? She passed by me with a strut in her step and a sway of her butt, sashaying like a slut. I didn’t give her any more thought but she was familiar. I think I might have accidentally bumped into her in the cafeteria once. Or she bumped into me, I couldn’t really remember. I shrugged and didn’t give her any more thought as I continued down the hall and into the computer room.

It was kind of cold in there and dark, the only lights coming from all the glowing screens. There had to be fifty computers in there, all of them in neat rows. I searched the place, finding Barry and another person hunched over a couple of fancy consoles. I smiled and slowly slunk through the room. I came up behind Barry, wrapping my arms around him, hoping I could make up for being such a bitch this morning. I even leaned over a bit and kissed him on the cheek. He didn’t even flinch; he got like that when he was in computer mode.

I sighed and looked over at his friend. He was wearing military fatigues. He was pimple faced, so he was clearly not a grunt. He had thick glasses and closely cropped hair. He looked like a techie. I looked at the name on his shirt: Corporal Cooper. I nodded. So this was Coop. Barry talked about him a lot, they were kind of kindred spirits. Coop was Barry’s Geek Buddy for lack of a better word. They usually worked side by side in the Information Center but the two of them spent a lot of time here too. I looked Coop up and down; he was definitely not, what I was expecting.

“Coop” said Barry. Not bothering to look up from the screen. “This is Becca, Becca this is Coop.”

The Corporal smiled. “Nice to m-e-e-e-t you ma’am” he stuttered, probably nervous that a girl had invaded his personal space.

“Same here” I said, actually meaning it.

“What took you so long?”

I rolled my eyes. When it was important, Barry hated to be kept waiting. There was a bit of an edge too his voice today, so apparently he hadn’t forgiven me for slapping him. I guess I deserved that.

“I was on the roof thinking” I said, I wasn’t going to let him be a dick to me. “So what’s so damn important?”

Coop looked even more nervous to be there. If I was him, I don’t think I’d want to be in the middle of our little lover’s quarrel either.

“Look, I’m going to leave you two alone” he said, looking from Barry to me and back again. “I’m back to the Info. room and do a double check on those numbers we found.”

Barry nodded. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

Coop nodded and smiled at me. “Ma’am”.

He threw me a sloppy salute and then disappeared into the dark with a pile of papers in his hands. A few seconds later, there was a crash and a loud curse. I turned around. Coop had run into a chair in his haste, tripping over it and sending the papers flying all over the place. I smiled and debated helping him but that would have only pissed Barry off even more. So I turned back to my cranky boyfriend and looked at the screen. There was a bunch of numbers on it, none of it made any sense to me.

“What is all this?”

“Quentin Dekker’s bank account.”

I was floored. “You’re got to be shitting me. How did you…”

I stopped there. I didn’t want to know. Barry was like a super hacker, I didn’t need to ask where he got his info. He was what we affectionately liked to call a Technopath. He could interface with just about any piece of technology; his specialty was computers. He was one of the main reasons that all of us were able to escape the Syndicate. If it hadn’t been for him, Mattie, Clara, Donovan and I would still be in cells back at the place. There were a few others too, and all of us owed our freedom to him and his hacking skills. You could sort of say he was my Knight with the Shiny Laptop.

“So what does the bank accounts say about our slimy friend?”

Barry typed viciously on the keyboard. “It says that our friend Dekker has been sending large sums of money to a boarding school in England.”

“A boarding school?”

Barry nodded. “Look, here and here” He pointed to two lines on the screen that were just numbers to me. “It looks like they’re corresponding to semesters. It’s almost like he’s paying someone’s tuition.”

The wheels in my head were spinning. If he’s paying, tuition then that meant. I was stunned. “Dekker has a kid?”

Barry shrugged. “Either that or he likes to donate lots of money to this school.”

My face lit up. I could have kissed him. In fact, I reached over the chair and did just that. It was a slow and chaste kiss, not anything like the one I gave Brad early. It was kind of awkward, too, like I just didn’t have it in me to really give it to him. I felt kind of bad about that. But there was something else too, something I didn’t want to think about.

“Barry” I said after pulling away. “I love you.”

“Does that mean you’re not going to slap me anymore?”

I smiled and leaned in close to his ear. “Only if you want me to.”

I nibbled on his earlobe and then turned toward the door. I didn’t even bother to give him a proper goodbye. This was fantastic; it was the best news ever. I ran as fast as I could out of computer room and down the halls. I knew exactly where I was going. I wove through the crowds, zipping past people left and right. It didn’t take me long to get to my destination. I didn’t even knock when I got there. I just threw open the door, huffing and puffing as I did so. Mrs. Fine was sitting at her desk, occupied with something. I startled her when I came barging into the room.

“Something wrong, Sergeant?”

I caught my breath. “Quentin Dekker has a kid.”

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's chapter four, a transition chapter. There's a couple of new characters introduced here and a few new places. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and everyone else for their comments to my question I posted in my last chapter. You'll be happy to know that I have every intention of continuing to write in this wonderful universe.

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Chapter Four:

I sat in the briefing room, Mrs. Fine and Kris sitting across from me. The three of us were the only ones present; The Colonel was off on pressing matters. I’d only met him that once and he seemed busy then. He’d been busy a lot lately, going back and forth from here to the new Gamma site they were setting up in the desert. I guess I didn’t blame him; this place was starting to get to me, too. I’d been in the field twice so I guess I couldn’t really complain but there was just something about being cooped up here that was kind of unsettling. I needed to get out more and stretch my legs. I looked at the two women in front of me and then at the large monitors behind them and smiled.

“This is Chairmont Ladies College in _______, England,” said Mrs. Fine, pointing to one of the monitors behind her.

I looked up, seeing a castle looking building in the middle of a green countryside. It was kind of nice, a place to kick back and relax in.

“Is that the place Dekker’s been sending money to?”

Kris answered. “There are two hundred young women attending this school, from the ages of 12 to 18, out of those two hundred only fifteen are American. Ten of those fifteen check out, the other five are complete mysteries. If Quentin Dekker has a daughter, it’s a safe bet that she’s one of those five girls.”

I nodded. “Are we sure she’s American?”

“We’re not sure of anything at the moment,” said Mrs. Fine “We’ve been able to gather some information on Dekker. According to unnamed sources, he grew up in a small town in western New York, went to Brown and had an on again off again relationship with one Tracy Baxter. Miss Baxter, it would seem passed away a few years ago, its unknown if she had any children.”

“How in the hell can it be unknown, we’re the freaking US Government, don’t we have satellite laser beams that can scratch our asses.” Kris snorted. Mrs. Fine didn’t look amused but I pursued my course of questioning anyway. “Surely we can figure out if Dekker knocked her up or not.”

Mrs. Fine cleared her throat. “Miss Baxter was a free spirit. She didn’t exactly go to the college; Dekker met her in a bar. The two of them had a relationship for a few weeks and then she disappeared. She didn’t pop up onto the grid until her death, which was from a cocaine overdose. At the moment, that’s all we’ve been able to find on her.”

I sighed and nodded. So we didn’t know a damn thing. Boy, was this a waste of time.

Kris saw my frustration. “This doesn’t mean that Chairmont is a dead end. It just means that we need more information.”

I nodded. “So what’s the next course of action?”

Kris smiled. Mrs. Fine answered. “Infiltration of course.”

I smiled, too. It was about damn time.

After raiding Section One, Mrs. Fine called me into her office to put a proposal in front of me. She was creating a covert black op group for the Center; she called it Stealth Infiltration and Reconnaissance. The purpose of the team was to enter an environment ahead of a ground team and assess the situation, looking for any possible threat and gathering whatever Intel necessary for the other team to complete its mission. She wanted me to lead it. She figured with my unique skills and my penchant for getting into places through stealth, I was the perfect candidate. But that’s as far as it went unfortunately. There was no need for the team because there were no situations that really required us to act. So SIRS was put on the back burner. I brought it up when I went to pick up Donovan, Emma and Brad but the situation didn’t really call for it.

Now however it looked like it was our chance.

Mrs. Fine put some folders on the table, four of them. “These are just suggestions but I think the four individuals here would be ideal for the mission.”

I looked at the folder. “If I pick a team, I want them for every mission. I don’t want to have to pick and choose my guys each time I go out into the field, there’s too many variables to consider. When we’re not on missions we need to train and I can’t do that if I’ve got new guys each time.”

Mrs. Fine nodded. “Fair enough.” She looked at Kris, who nodded too. “This is your team, Sergeant. I think it only fair that you make all the rules.”

Now we’re talking. “Thank you, ma’am.”

I looked at the folders, not bothering to reach for them just yet. After she told me about SIRS, I already had a few members in mind. If we were going to be stealthy, then I needed someone with that kind of capability, so I’d already picked Stella. She was ideal for the job and though she only had a little field experience---she was with me when I made the pick up two weeks ago---she was ideal for this kind of thing. I kind of talked to her about it the other day, after she got back from one of her runs. Mr. Lions was having Ray work with her, trying to give her some combat training. She was doing pretty well, not ready for any serious hand-to-hand fights but good enough. Where she really excelled was weapons. She was a natural, not as good a shot as me but still a Grade A Sharpshooter.

The other member I had in mind was Barry. Ok, that one’s not hard to figure out. It’s not just because he’s my boyfriend either. He’s fantastic at what he does. There are only a few other people at the Center that can even come close to his skill with a computer---I can only think of two and one of them is at Beta site. Besides, there was no one else that I’d want on my team, backing me up in case the situation got rough.

Kris saw my smile. “You already have a team in mind, don’t you?”

I nodded. “I think I do.”

Mrs. Fine nodded too. Kris smirked. “Ok, well, go make the proposals to them and we’ll meet back here for an official debrief in a couple of hours.”

I stood up and took a deep breath. Now I just hope they’re not too mad at me for the way I’ve been acting lately.

________________________________

I took a deep breath as I stood in front of Emma’s door. It was important that I do this a lot more subtly than I did with Stella a few minutes ago. I caught Stella leaving our room; she was on her way to her afternoon run. She ran three times a day: morning, afternoon and evening. Sometimes I did the evening run with her if I wasn’t too exhausted. She was just slipping out of the room, dressed in her tight little running shorts and loose t-shirt. Her running outfit drove me nuts and it took everything I had to stop from salivating. When she saw me, she hadn’t been too happy. I think she heard about my behavior this morning, apparently it was getting around campus. I might have been a little abrupt with her too, but I was kind of in a rush. I kind of told her to go to the debriefing room in a couple of hours instead of asking her to do so. She gave me a look, one that told me she wasn’t amused but she nodded her head. I think she was a little curious. When I told her about SIRS before she was kind of excited about it and I think she was excited now, even if she was trying to mask it with her disgust for me.

I took a deep breath and knocked on Emma’s door. There was a bark from the other side, followed by someone fumbling with the lock. When the door opened, I was a bit surprised. Lola was standing there, her eyes red from crying. I bit my lip. I’d completely forgotten I’d made her upset earlier. I can be such a spaz sometimes. When she saw me, I thought she was going to slam the door in my face. She probably would have too, if not for Klondike. He was Emma’s Siberian husky; one of the few hold overs from her old life as Steve---besides her hockey jersey of course. The dog pushed his way past Lola, wedging the door open with his body.

I smiled and dropped to my knee, allowing the dog to lick my face. I’d always wanted a dog but because of my constant moving around, it wasn’t very practical. Foster families kind of frowned on those things too, don’t ask me why. I scruffed behind his ears and scratched the bridge of his nose.

“Tell me you didn’t come all this way to play with the dog,” snapped Lola, this time she didn’t even attempt to hide her resentment.

I sighed and got to my feet. “I think I deserved that.”

“Yes you did,” she said, sniffling. She was dressed in a pair of pink pajamas; clearly, she wasn’t leaving the room anymore today.

I cleared my throat. “I’m looking for Emma, is she around?”

Lola shook her head. “She went to the library with Danni and a few others. We have a paper due for English class, which you would have known if you hadn’t skipped it this morning.”

This time she did cover her mouth. I groaned. English was now one of my morning classes. Even though we didn’t have the same classes, the teachers shared the same curriculum. So if they had a paper then I had a paper. That elicited another groan from me. That’s all I needed to worry about, especially on top of everything else.

Lola didn’t have more to say so she turned and dragged her feet back into the room, Klondike followed her. I bit my lip and looked down the hall. Then I looked back at Lola and sighed. I didn’t wait for an invitation and slipped into the room behind her, I don’t think she noticed. Emma had only been here two weeks but already her side of the room was decorated. She used her money to make it look very similar to home I guess. In fact, it looked almost like a replica of her old bedroom. We went there, after rescuing her from Dr. Gloria Strickland and her house of pain. Emma’s side of the room had the same posters---mainly video game characters and hockey players. The walls in the room were a neutral blue. There was a dog bed in the corner in-between two dressers, underneath a window.

Lola walked over to her bed, flopping down on it. She snatched a pillow and held it to her chest. I walked over and sat on the edge of Emma’s bed; Klondike padded over and put his head in my lap. Lola just stared at me, looking glummer than before.

I cleared my throat. “Look, I’m sorry about before…upsetting you, I mean. I sometimes run my mouth a little more than I should.”

She nodded. “You’re not the only one who’s lost someone, you know?”

This time I nodded. There were probably a lot of kids here who’d lost people. A couple of them even watched their parents die in the Emergence. I can’t imagine how rough that must have been. Ok, I can admit that I’m being a bit selfish, thinking that my pain is the only one that matters.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek. “You better go before Emma decides to hit the rink.”

I nodded and got to my feet, sliding the dog’s head from my lap.

There were a lot of places the Center had, most of them to help with the different powers. The ice skating rink was used for those select few who could control ice and things like that. There were a couple of them out there, in fact, I knew one, but she was off wandering the wilds somewhere now. She’d never been at the Center either. Emma was an ice skater now. She still played hockey a bit but one of the female trainers, Miss Orville, saw some kind of potential in her. The day after I got Emma and her brother here, Miss Orville came and sought Emma out. Not a lot of people used the rink unless they were cryokinetics, but Miss Orville used it a lot. When she heard Emma had some ice experience, she thought maybe she could talk her into some figure skating.

It’s strange. For being such a big bad hockey player as Steve, Emma was a graceful angel on the ice, taking to it pretty quickly.

“I’d better go then.”

I left the room, hesitating at the door before leaving. I looked back at Lola; she waved me on so I left. Klondike followed, running along with me as we went. I guess it didn’t really matter as long as he kept up. There were only a few animals at the Center, Klondike and Miss Bonsai---Kris’ cat---being the only few that I saw. But there were others. A girl who lived down the hall from me had this thing with birds. When she arrived, they had to build a little aviary on the grounds for her. Then there was Donovan. He talked to wolves. The wolves weren’t really his pets but they lingered about the place, in constant watch. They sort of slipped into the role of perimeter guards. They didn’t live on the grounds but they patrolled it like it was their territory. I’m not sure how many of them there were but more arrived as soon as we got here.

Klondike kept up with me as I ran through the halls. We were making a good pace and then he ran ahead. At first I didn’t see where he was going until the figure came into view. He was a strange dog but like some many others, he was somehow affected by the Emergence too. When Stella Emerged I was close by and formed some kind of bond with her. There were a few others just like me.

Klondike was no different. He was close by to Emma and Brad when they Emerged. Dr. Tipps and Dr. L weren’t sure how but Klondike seemed to have bonded with both of the twins. It was almost like he could sense where they were at all times, no matter the distance. It was kind of cool I guess, and Emma loved it. Me, I think it would creep me out a bit. It’s bad enough that my roommate made my heart flutter every time I saw her.

“Hey boy” said Brad as Klondike ran up to him, sitting and wagging his tail.

Brad bent down, letting the dog lick him in the face. I blushed. Twice in one day, I wonder who’s stalking who now. Yeah, I checked with Mattie---texted her on my run to the computer room earlier actually---no one sent Brad looking for me. That thought made me blush even more. But at the same time, this was really good because now I didn’t have to go looking for him. When he saw me, he smiled and got to his feet, looking more handsome than earlier.

“We keep running into each other like this.”

He was apparently coming from the library, there was a book tucked under his arm. “Is your sister still in there?”

He paused, confused for a second. “Sister? Oh you mean Emma?”

He smacked himself in the forehead. “You confused me there for a sec. Still getting used to that.”

I laughed. “You wear the boxer shorts now.”

He nodded. “I think she’s still there but she had her skate bag with you so you better hurry.”

I smiled. “I need you to meet us in the debrief room in an hour.”

He nodded. “We going on a mission?”

“Something like that.”

I didn’t wait for him to say anything else. But I did lose my running companion as Klondike stayed behind. Brad had a bed in his room for the dog as well. I don’t think his roommate minded much though, seeing as it was Donnie. I think he kind of liked it actually; it kept him close to a canine so he wouldn’t go nuts.

I ran into the library and looked around. It wasn’t an overly large place but it did have two floors. The top one had more reference stuff; the bottom was stocked with pop culture things, mainly fiction. I looked around, scanning the several tables. There were a lot of kids today, barely a free seat in the place. I looked over at the reference desk, the librarian Mrs. Gold was sitting there quietly, reading an old copy of some lesser known Twain novel. She was a nice old lady, kind of grand-motherly with her gray hair and joyful disposition. In fact, a lot of people called her “Granny” which I don’t think she minded one bit.

I turned away from Granny and spotted Emma. She was sitting at a table with Danni and another girl I didn’t recognize. I start running a bit until Granny looked up from her paper, giving me this look. I slowed down to a trot then a quick walk. The girls at the table looked up at me as I approached. I think the unknown girl might have turned an off shade of white. I got that a lot. Most of the kids who didn’t know me had that reaction. I think I had a reputation as being a bad ass as well as being a freak. It kind of pissed me off but then again with my behavior lately, I guess I couldn’t really blame people for thinking that.

Emma looked up from her book. “Hi Beck” she said, her voice had a hint of worry in it.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not here to make anyone else cry and before you say anything” I was looking at Danni when I said this. “I have already apologized to Lola.”

Danni smiled. “She’s a bit sensitive and all, what with her brother dying recently and everything.”

I bit my lip. Damn, I’m really going to have to apologize to her now.

“Are you here to work on your paper?” asked the third girl at the table, the one I didn’t know.

I looked at her, trying to decide if she was familiar or not. She was a little thing with shoulder length black hair what looked like a tattoo of a star on her face. But when I squinted, I realized it was a birthmark. It looked kind of cute on her, like someone stuck one of those kindergarten star stickers on her cheek. It was horrible that I didn’t know this girl. But she looked so meek and quiet that I suppose anyone could have missed her.

Danni patted her hand. “Becca this is Vee. She’s new; they just brought her in a few days ago.”

No wonder I didn’t know her. Then I remembered something. I was in the hall a few days ago when they were bringing someone in. My eyes widened. There was no way this little thing could have been him though. The guy they were bringing in---Pre-Emergence---was huge. He had to have been six foot six and weighing three hundred pounds. There was no way this little girl could have been him, she looked to be about four feet tall and couldn’t have weighed more than sixty pounds.

“That’s me,” she said softly. “I was on the JV squad at my school, a linebacker.”

I groaned. I hated mind readers. I cursed. “Sorry.”

She smiled. “It’s ok,” she said softly again. “It kind of freaks me out too.”

Emma brought me back on topic. “Becca’s not here about her paper, she slept through class again.”

Don’t remind me. Vee smiled. “I’m actually looking for you,” I said, looking at Emma now. “The boss has given us the go ahead. I need you in the debriefing room in about an hour or so.”

Emma’s eyes widened. On the way to the Center, I briefly told her and her brother about SIRS too. I liked the way both of them handled themselves in Grayson. I could definitely see a bright future working with them. Density manipulators weren’t a dime a dozen and a pair of them was like winning the lottery. Emma would be real good for the situations in which we might have to blow cover and engage and Brad would be good for all the sneaking around, especially seeing as he could walk through walls. I read Marcus’s debrief, I knew all about what he did when the two of them were trapped in that room by that nut Anastasia. Brad was a quick thinker and I could definitely use that.

Emma groaned, looking at her skates. “Miss Orville isn’t going to be happy.”

“You can play ice ballerina later.”

Emma nodded. “You’re the boss, Sarge.”

She smiled when she said it because she knew I hated it when people called me Sarge. “You’ve been hanging around Samson too much.”

She blushed at that. This time I smiled. Corporal Samson was my constant tactical support, the two of us going on two missions together already, the last one being where we picked up Donnie and the twins. Samson took a shine to Emma, I mean who wouldn’t. Like her brother, she was gorgeous, like a Goddess who descended from the skies to be with us mortals. But even as pretty as she was, she was still very much a guy and I think Samson kind of liked that. She was sort of a guy’s girl, able to talk sports and video games while at the same time looking beautiful doing it. In the cafeteria, during most meals, a lot of the guys smiled and waved at her.

I didn’t stay around much after that. I nodded to the three of them and turned to walk out of the room. As I was doing so, someone got up from one of the tables and I ran into her. She snapped around, a sneer on her face. I groaned, it was that same girl from the computer hall earlier. Her red eyes flared at me.

“Watch it, you freak.”

I heard a chair slide behind me and suddenly Emma had her hand on my shoulder. “Becca she’s not worth it.”

My fists were clenched at my sides. I narrowed my eyes at the girl. “What the hell is your problem anyway?”

She flipped her long blonde hair. “My problem is clumsy girls who don’t watch where they’re going. That’s the third time you’ve run into me.”

One of the other girls at the table---she long sable colored hair---shook her head. “Samantha drop it, she’ll mop the floor with you.”

The other two girls at the table---I didn’t know any of them---nodded their heads. The girl, Samantha, sighed and slipped back into her chair. Samantha, huh, now I had a name for the face. I glared at her, trying to look as threatening as possible. The girl didn’t seem too worried though. She flipped her damn hair again and picked up a pencil. She held it between her fingers and smirked. The pencil started to turn red hot and then crumbled to ash. I smirked too. What was so impressive about that? Samantha looked smug though, thinking she’d scared me. In fact, she started filing her nails. I snatched the nail file from her hand and ran it across my arm, drawing blood but feeling no pain.

The other girls at the table looked like they were going to pee themselves.

Samantha stood up, touched the nail file. The little metal object got red, as if it was heating up. Any normal person probably would have dropped it and screamed out but not me. Me, I shrugged and faked a yawn. This time Samantha looked a little frightened.

“Girls” called Granny from her desk. “None of that here or I’ll call Mrs. Fine.”

That seemed to scare Samantha more than it did me. She dropped into her chair, abandoning her nail file. I dropped it in her lap; it was still red hot. She yelped a bit, jumping. I smirked, shrugged off Emma’s hand and walked confidently toward the door.

____________________________________

About an hour and a half later, everyone assembled in the debriefing room. I looked around the table; everyone that I wanted was there, including Kit and Samson. The two soldiers were sitting next to one another, at rapt attention. I looked at all the faces and smiled. This was it; this was the team that I imagined. I turned and looked at Barry sitting next to me; I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He barely noticed, his head stuck in the laptop. I frowned and caught Brad’s gaze. The two of us stared at other longer than I wanted. It should have been uncomfortable considering our kiss was something else. But it wasn’t. Looking at him made me all warm and fuzzy inside. My feelings for him were wrong but I couldn’t help. They were escalated more when Barry pulled his hand from mine, a sign that he didn’t want any affection.

I huffed and looked at the rest of the people in the room. Emma was sitting between Stella and her brother. Klondike was lying on the floor next to her. The dog followed Brad into the room and even though Mrs. Fine frowned at it, she didn’t shoo him away. I think she was a big softy for the dog. I caught her giving him a treat a few days ago but she did it really discreetly. I turned my attention to Stella who was sitting on the other side of me; she was back in her school uniform, which made me frown a bit. Not that it would have been very professional for her to show up to this in her running clothes, I still would have loved to see her in those shorts again. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers.

“Sergeant” said Mrs. Fine, looking around the room at those assembled. “Is this the team that you wanted?”

I looked at everyone and turned to her, nodding. “This is it, ma’am.”

She nodded and cleared her throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Stealth Infiltration and Reconnaissance Squad.”

My friends smiled. The two soldiers looked emotionless but I could tell they were happy too.

Mrs. Fine cleared her throat again. “Now that that’s out of the way, I can start this briefing.” She picked up a clicker from the circular table we were sitting at. She pointed it at the monitors, bringing up a picture of that castle school. “This is Chairmont Ladies College in _________, England.”

Everyone nodded. Mrs. Fine clicked again. Several more pictures of the place flipped across the screen as she clicked and explained what each were. She had shots of most of the building’s exterior and some of the interior as well. The interior ones didn’t look like they were public photos either. It looked like they sent someone into the school and took those pictures. It was kind of creepy, especially how fast they seemed to operate. The Center must have had a lot of pull.

Mrs. Fine finally clicked off the school and to a very familiar face. “This is Quentin Dekker aka Mr. Green” she said, looking at me before everyone else. “He was a Warden at Section Four and is currently on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for a series of crimes, the top most being murder. After the destruction of Section Four, Dekker went off the grid for a month and then popped up again.” She clicked and the grainy image of him outside of Section One popped up. “This is the last known appearance of him before he fell off the grid again; this one was taken a few weeks ago, outside of the facility known as Section One.”

We all nodded. Mrs. Fine clicked again, this time an image of a group of girls in navy blue uniforms came up onto the screens. “This is the Concert Band for Our Lady of Angels School in _______, New York.” She clicked again, the screen switched to a close up of three girls; they were holding cellos. “These three are their cello section, sixteen years old, their names not important. In two days time, the Concert Band of Angels is taking a week-long field trip to a small school in London England. We’ve changed their itinerary. Now the girls will be playing a weeklong engagement at Chairmont Ladies College. “

Stella interrupted. “What does this have to do with Dekker?”

Mrs. Fine frowned at her, Stella lowered in her seat. “I was getting to that, Miss Griffin.”

She clicked again, bringing up a picture of those numbers I saw on Barry’s computer screen earlier today. “These are Quentin Dekker’s bank account records. Thanks to Mr. Morrison, we now know that Dekker has been wiring large sums of money to the school, we have reason to believe that he might have a child in attendance there.”

She clicked again, bringing up a picture of a woman with bleached blonde hair and a lot of makeup. “This is Tracy Baxter; we believe she might be the young woman’s mother.” She clicked and the images of several girls appeared, shrinking to fit the screen, one moving next to the other. “There are two hundred young women attending this school, only fifteen of them are American. These girls right here.” We all looked at the screen and nodded. “We have reason to believe that Dekker’s child is one of them.”

I looked intently at the screens but none of them looked anything like the slime ball. Maybe they took after their mother. “Are you planning on inserting us into the school to look for her?”

Mrs. Fine clicked back to the Band picture. “We’ve created emergencies for the three cello players families, leaving their three spots open. You three girls” She pointed to me, Emma and Stella. “Will be filling those vacant spots.”

I was the first one to speak up after the three of us were done groaning. “We don’t know how to play the cello?”

If Mrs. Fine ever smiled, she would have now. Instead, she pushed a button on the table intercom. “Send him in please.”

I turned and watched the door open and a kid with a mop of shaggy brown hair walk into the room. He had his hands in his pockets and walked with an air of confidence. He would have been kind of cute if not for the chip on his shoulder. He looked smug, looking around the room with muddy brown eyes. Those eyes locked on Stella for a second and then Emma. He smiled slightly at both of them. Then his eyes went to me and his smile got bigger. I shuddered. Great, a creep, that’s all I needed.

“Girls, this is Connor” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “He has a unique ability of taking information and placing it in the heads of others.”

I shuddered again. This creep was going to put stuff in my head.

“Heya ladies” he said, smiling widely.

I think all three of us dry heaved at the same time.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's Chapter five...finally. Sorry it took so long but I was having problems getting it just right. Its another slow chapter but I promise things will pick up soon. There's a little scene that sets things up for a side story I want to do with some of my other characters when this one is over. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and everyone else who had a hand in helping me get this one done...you know who you are.

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Chapter Five:

“I look like a dweeb,” I said, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

Stella came up behind me. She didn’t look any better. The two of us were in the airport bathroom, getting changed into our “school uniforms.” At least she looked somewhat like herself, me I looked like a totally different person. Gone were my purple eyes---made muddy brown by contacts--- and my streak was covered up with a bad dye job. My hair was still black but it didn’t look the same with a little barrette in it. Yeah, I said barrette. Apparently, my look kind of skewed toward rebellious and made me stand out too much. Mrs. Fine wanted the three of us to look as normal as possible. I’m not sure how normal my fake glasses looked. They were a new design of Barry’s, seeing as I couldn’t exactly wear my sunglasses. They were a tempered glass; supposedly, they’d keep the dangerous light from my eyes. But they still looked pretty much like normal glass. I’m not sure how he does it.

“You look cute,” said Stella as her reflection buttoned the last of the top tow buttons of her white blouse.

“You guys should consider yourselves lucky,” shouted Emma from one of the stalls behind us. These pigtails make me look like a four year old.”

I couldn’t argue with that. But with my glasses and the uniform, I was a definite dork.

“Here” said Stella, holding up a blue blazer. “Put this on so that when they come in here to get us we look somewhat ready.”

The “they” she was referring too were the school chaperones. I’m not talking about Center ones either. I’m talking about the three teachers from Our Lady of Angels, the school that we were supposedly from. The chaperones and the other girls in the band knew we weren’t but we were supposed to be from a sister school from another city. How many Catholic schools are there that are called Our Lady of Angels? Whatever the number, there weren’t enough nuns out there to get me to wear that stupid hat the other girls were wearing.

I huffed as I slipped on the navy blue blazer, trying not to think about all the naughty Catholic schoolgirl jokes that were rolling around in my head. I looked down and groaned. From the patent leather shoes on my feet to the white knee socks and pleated blue plaid skirt, I looked like an extra for a Britney Spears video. All except the blue blazer of course. I fingered the crest; it was some fancy something or other. It still made me look like a dweeb.
I bet you’re kind of confused huh? Well, let me see if I can backtrack a bit.

__________________________________

After the others left the room, it was just him and us three girls. Mrs. Fine was in the other room, talking to Corporal Samson. Apparently, he was going to lead the rest of my team over tonight, getting things set up for our arrival. It would seem that Stella, Emma and I wouldn’t be shipping out until the girls from Our Lady of Angels did. The whole itinerary was sitting on the table in front of me, in an unopened folder. I was concentrating on Connor and the way he was looking at us. It was hard to believe this creep was ever a girl, especially the way he kept looking at our chests. Didn’t he have any common courtesy or at least respect for his former gender.

I wanted to lean over the table, grab his head and slam it as hard as I could into the far wall. Of course, that wouldn’t solve anything but it would sure make me feel better. Instead, I fidgeted in my seat, trying to turn my body so that he didn’t have such a good view of my assets.

He looked a little upset. “You’re the shy type I see.”

I snorted. “No, I’m the type that’ll kick your ass.”

My threat didn’t seem to bother him. “Feisty huh? I like those types too.”

I groaned and got to my feet. He didn’t even move as I made to grab for him. Instead, Emma was there, putting a strong hand on my shoulder. She didn’t use much force but she pushed me back into my chair. Connor smirked; I think the little prick found it amusing. I wonder how amusing he’d find it after I ordered Emma to put his ass through the wall. Not that I would but I could surely threaten him with it.

He turned his attention to her. “You’re a strong one. What do you bench?”

She shrugged. “525 without breaking a sweat.”

So it turns out that Emma’s density manipulation was a strange thing indeed. It made her body rock hard and nearly indestructible but it also turned out that it gave her a lot of strength too. The day after she arrived, they ran her through a battery of tests. During her power training, they had her hitting a lot of force sensors and things like that. One of her punches could generate close to a thousand pounds of force, way over the limit to kill a human being. That was if she pushed it though. She had a lot of power and she could use it to varying degrees. As far as her bench pressing went, 525 was her lightest. I’m not sure what they finally clocked as her heaviest but it was over seven hundred pounds. So Emma was definitely not someone to mess with.

“You’re quite the little Juggernaut huh,” he said with a smile. “The sweet and delicate prima donna who can throw a pickup truck through a wall.”

It was an over exaggeration but I bet she could lift a car at least.

She was about to open her mouth to say more but just then the door opened and Mrs. Fine walked into the room. She was carrying more folders. I looked at them and groaned. Her folders meant the four of us were probably going to be here forever. She set them down on the table in front of her then slid them over to Connor. He winked at me and then opened the first one, smiling. What the hell was that all about?

“Now girls” she said as she took a seat. “While Mr. Jackson reads, I’ll fill you in on your exact mission parameters.”

I turned my attention away from Connor and listened intently as Mrs. F laid down the law. It was pretty much a rehash of before but with a few added details. The three of us were now from Detroit and we were the best of friends---like that was hard to fake. It was only coincidence that the three of us could play cello---yeah right. She told us to open our folders and look at the info inside. As soon as I opened mine, I saw a doctored photo of myself. It looked like me except for some added differences. I groaned. No purple eyes, no streak, glasses. I looked like a dork and what was with the name. No longer was I Rebecca Howe---at least for the next week or so---I was now Rebecca Logan. According to my file, I was the only child of Dr. Frederick Logan and his wife, Cheryl. There were no pictures of my fake parents though.

Underneath the first page there was another, it appeared to be a transcript. It was from the Detroit branch of Our Lady of Angels, the school the three of us apparently attended. It had everything, including fake extra curriculums and schedules. There were a few pages of it; I was kind of impressed. When the Center created a false ID, they really went all out. It even had a fact sheet of useless crap I was supposed to remember about my fake life in case anyone asked. I was an Aquarius; I had a dog named Scootle---what the hell kind of name is that---and a cat called Barker. I raised my eyebrow at Mrs. F after reading that.
The rest of the folder was a layout of the Detroit school, including a map and places of interest that we should know. Under that was a layout of the British school, Chairmont, stuff that we’d have to memorize if we wanted to complete our mission. I skimmed it quickly, hoping I’d get a chance to thoroughly look at it later.

“All done” said Connor; his voice was annoying, oozing with confidence.

Mrs. Fine nodded. “You can look at those later girls. You need to give Mr. Jackson your full and undivided attention now.”

He turned to me. “If you don’t mind, Sergeant, I think I’ll start with you?”

I looked at Mrs. Fine as Connor stood up and walked over, taking the seat next to me. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing to worry about Miss Howe” she said confidently. “Mr. Jackson needs to have physical contact with his subject in order for his gift to work.”

Connor nodded and raised his hands toward my head. I grabbed the nearest one. “And what the hell is he doing?”

Mrs. Fine sighed. “The information in the folder is for you. He’s read it all and now he’s going to use his gift to put that information in your head.”

You’ve got to be shitting me. I glared at him. He smirked and easily pulled his arm from my grip. It surprised me how strong he was.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

Before I knew what was happening, he put his hands on my temples. I squirmed; his palms were ice cold. At first, I panicked a bit but then there was this relaxing calm. I closed my eyes and let it flow through me. Then something happened. I’m not really sure how to describe it. Images started popping into my head, first slowly then rapidly. They were too fast to keep track off but the calming feeling kept me from screaming out. I’m not sure how long it lasted but he was done before I knew it. He let go of my head and I opened my eyes. I was a little woozy and swayed a bit.

He smiled. “It’s a little daunting at first but after a few more times you’ll get used to it.”

“A few more times?” I asked groggily.

Mrs. Fine nodded. “This is just a test run, to get the three of you used to it. Mr. Jackson’s gift only works for about twenty-four hours on his subjects. After that he needs to redo it.”

My grogginess faded and he moved on to Emma. “Does that mean he’s coming with us?”

Please say no. Mrs. Fine nodded. “You don’t mind, do you? He’s not a member of your team of course; consider him a temporary addition. He has extensive combat training, much like your friend Mr. Lomax, except Jackson actually processing the information into his head.”

I nodded. “I feel like I’ve been violated.”

I closed my eyes and suddenly something came to me. I thought about the cello and then I knew everything about it. It came as a rush of images; it was nauseating. I opened my eyes and groaned, rubbing my temples. How in the hell was I going to be able to sleep at night? I heard a moan from my left and turned to see Emma and Stella looking groggy and rubbing their temples. Connor smiled and then walked back to his seat, he winked at me as he passed. I gave him the finger, which Mrs. F frowned at.

“Now that you’ve all been given a bit of Mr. Jackson’s magic, I can officially dismiss you.”

My two teammates got to their feet, wobbling like two drunken Sorority girls. They actually leaned into one another as they stumbled for the door. I couldn’t help but smile a bit. But there was no way I was going to stand until I was one hundred percent sure; I wasn’t going to fall on my ass. I watched as Emma helped steady Stella and the two of them walked toward the door together.

“Wait out in the hallway girls; I need to discuss a few things with the Sergeant.”

They looked at me, I nodded and they left.

I turned to Mrs. Fine. “You have something for me, I take it?”

She nodded. She walked over to a corner in the room and retrieved a box then walked back over to the table. She set the box down and took two items out of it: a laptop and a pink sequined cell phone.

“This is an encrypted laptop; password protected for only your use, not even Mr. Morrison can use it.” I nodded, it was a little extreme but I understood the security.

“And the girly phone?”

She picked it up. “It’s set up with a scrambler. It will wire calls directly through Specialist Rodriguez in the Mobile Command Unit. She’ll handle all go between calls between you and me for the entirety of the mission.”

I nodded. “You suspect something too?”

She didn’t nod. She just looked over at Connor and narrowed her eyes at him. He smiled, bowed his head quickly and made a mad dash for the door. She didn’t talk until he closed it. “We have reason to believe there might be a security leak. We had a similar incident happen at Beta site and the coincidence of your friend Mr. St .James showing up at Section One cant’ be overlooked.”

I nodded, wondering when we’d start talking about it. “You think we have a traitor?”

“There’s a strong possibility that that might be the case.”

“I can bring Barry in on this; he’s really good with these things.”

“No” she said quickly. “There are only four people in the know about this, two of them sitting in this room. Colonel Harris and WO Keyes have given you full authorization to act accordingly. They’ve given me the same authority. If a mole is discovered, by either of us, we have the go ahead to terminate him or her by any means necessary.”

“I understand”

“One more thing” she said and reached into the box, taking out what looked like a big dictionary.

I groaned; she was giving me a book. “I don’t need one of those.”

She set it on the table and opened it up. I was fairly surprised. It wasn’t a book, it was a hollowed out compartment, shaped suspiciously like a Beretta. I smiled at her and she nodded. She closed the book and slid it across the table to me.

“You’re the only member of the school team that will go in armed. I’ve already cleared it with airport security on both ends so you’ll have no problems.”

I took the book and tucked it under my arm. “Thank you ma’am”

She nodded, putting the laptop and cell phone back into the box. “I’ll have these put with your things.” She straightened the front of her blazer. “Now we need to get you and the others down to wardrobe for a fitting.”

I groaned. The things I did for the good of humanity.

__________________________________

“Hi, I’m Diana Spencer,” said the blonde as she sat in the seat next to me.

I turned from looking out the window and smiled at her. She was wearing a uniform similar to mine and had a big smile. She looked like one of those girls who wanted to be friends with everyone. She had shoulder length blonde hair and straight bangs. I looked beyond her and saw Emma and Stella sitting together in the aisle across from us. I inwardly groaned. How was it that I got Miss Perky and they got to sit together? I stared at them for a few more seconds before I realized that Diana was asking me a question.

“Sorry” I said, looking back at her with that fake smile I’ve learned to adapt to any situation. “I’m Rebecca Logan.”

I shook her hand. “You’re from Michigan, right?”

“Detroit.”

Images flooded into my brain and I winced slightly. It’d been two days since Connor did his first mind whammy on the three of us. After the first initial “time”, the images faded from our heads. Connor gave us another go right before we left yesterday. I looked at my watch quickly, it’d be only a few more hours before the info started to fade. If I was going to answer questions about where I lived, now had to be the time. So Diana asked me questions and I did my best to answer them. We talked through the take off which was fine by me because I’m a little wary about this whole flying thing. I’ve been on the Center’s private jet a few times but this was the first time I’d ever flown commercial before.

After getting everything, she could out of me she started talking about herself. She liked that apparently. She yakked for about an hour, telling me everything. In the end, I think I knew more about her than my fake self. I smiled through the whole conversation, wondering if she was going to test me when she was done. The girl liked to talk and I didn’t so it worked out real well. Every once and a while I caught Stella or Emma staring at me over Diana’s shoulder. Both of them were either smiling or snickering. I wanted to smack both of them.

“You look like you’re having fun,” said Stella, utilizing my super hearing and knowing I couldn’t respond.

I glared at her and she got the biggest smile. She was so going to get it later. After another hour, Diana finally ran out of things to say. Instead, the flight attendant brought her a girly mag and she got lost in it. I sighed and turned toward the window, taking a look. We were over the ocean now but all I could see were glimpses of blue through the clouds. Our plane left at eleven in the morning New York time and we’d be in the air about seven hours or so.

Technically, in New York time we’d land in England at six o’clock at night. But in Greenwich Mean Time, it’d be about eleven o’clock at night. How confusing is that? I tried not to think about. Instead, I could help but think about an incident that happened as we were leaving.

We were getting our gear ready, loading our bags into the van. I was heading back into the building when Barry’s friend Coop appeared at the end of the hall. He was holding a stack of papers, trying to get my attention. At the time, I barely noticed him because we were in a rush to get to the private airstrip. Now that I thought back to it, I think he might have been trying to get my attention. I’m not sure why I ignored him. Thinking about it made me groan. It was possible that he had more info to tell. I made a mental note to ask about him at my next check in point.

I looked at my watch. It was in about twelve hours, once the three of us were settled.

“You look at your watch a lot,” said Diana, apparently she was done with her magazine.

“I’m obsessed with time and schedules.”

She nodded. “My father is just like that.”

This led into another hour or so of her telling me all about her father and his Insurance business. I wanted to scream; in fact, I did inside my head. Stella snickered and I glared at her some more. She was so dead as soon as we landed. Diana stopped talking about her father when she yawned. Which got me yawning, too. Then she turned away, back to another magazine. Me, I turned back to the window, my mind drifting back to Brad of all people. Thinking about him brought a smile to my face. I knew I shouldn’t have been, I was with Barry after all but there was something about Brad that I couldn’t get out of my head. He was so different from Barry and thinking about him helped me forget all about Dekker and killing him. I yawned, closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

______________________________

“Becca, honey, there’s someone at the door for you.”

I sighed, getting up form my bed. There was always someone at the door for me lately. People seemed to be coming out of the woodwork, wanting to be friends with the new girl. Not that I was complaining, but it wasn’t anyone that I really wanted to hang with. Most of them were annoying people, just trying to get brownie points by talking to the freaky Goth chick. Yesterday for instance, I went to the door and found a gaggle of cheerleaders standing there. Their leader---a blonde named Samantha---thought maybe we could hang a bit. So I took them up to my room and they asked twenty questions. It didn’t take me long to realize it was some kind of freak outreach program and they were trying to convert me into one of them.

I trudged out of my room and down the stairs. I could hear Mom in the kitchen, doing the dishes. It was just after dinner so whoever was coming around at this hour was probably starved for attention. The door was right at the end of our narrow staircase. It had one of those windows that had frosted glass or whatever they call it. I could see a person standing behind it and unless one of the girl’s basketball team members was here to see me, I could tell it was a guy. I was about to grab the knob and open the door when I caught my reflection in the front hall mirror. He caused a great deal of confusion. It was me and yet it looked wrong. I turned to get a better look, frowning. Since when did I have brown eyes and what was up with my hair? I left the door and walked over to the mirror, giving myself a real good once over.

I touched my face, ran my fingers through my hair and blinked my eyes a few times. It was definitely me but there was something off about me. I bit my lip and the person at the door knocked again, louder this time. I turned to it but couldn’t seem to peel myself away from the door.
“Honestly” said my mother, coming out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishtowel. “You’re standing right in front of it and you can’t bother to answer it.”

I shrugged and she shook her head. She tossed me the towel and opened the door. I was on the opposite side so I couldn’t see who it was.

“Hi ma’am, I’m Brad Ford, I go to school with Rebecca.”

Brad Ford? Rebecca? No one called me Rebecca except my mother and that was only when she was pissed at me. Like last week when I accidentally dropped a tray of ice cubes on the cat. Hey, you try walking when he weaves through your legs like that.

My mother looked around the door at me. “There’s a nice young man here to see you.”

Young man, really, could my mom sound any older. She was practically young enough to be my older sister and she had to call him a young man. She did give me this look though, waggling her eyebrows at me. Yeah real mature. I stuck my tongue out at her and stepped around the side of the door, taking a look at Mr. Brad Ford. I wanted to eep. I knew him; he was in a couple of classes. He was tall and fair, golden blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes. Al l the girls were after him. He was Captain of the JV Basketball team and President of our sophomore class. Ok so I knew him but I didn’t know this was him. I mean I knew the face but not the name…you know what, forget it.

He smiled at me, running a hair through his curly locks. “Hey, ah Becca, right?” I nodded and he sighed. “A couple of us are going down to Green’s. It’s a diner around the block, we were wondering if you wanted to tag along.”

I looked past him at the truck parked out in front of my house. There were five or six kids in the back seat. They all looked like the In Crowd. I looked to the passenger seat, seeing a blonde haired girl that was just as gorgeous as Brad. I remembered hearing he had a twin, Emma or something, the kids at school called them the “Golden Duo” or some crap like that.

I looked back at him. “Is this more Freak Outreach?”

My mother smacked me in the back of the head. “She’d love to go.”

She gave me a shove in the back, right into Brad’s chest. I flushed with embarrassment. I turned to snap at my mother and she threw my hoodie at me. Before I could make a comment, she shut the door in my face. Thanks for that, Mom. I turned to Brad and smiled sheepishly. He smiled back.

“Was that your mother?” I nodded. “Isn’t she a little young?”

I sighed. “Long story” I shrugged on my hoodie. “I don’t want to explain it. Let’s just go to this place and get the torture over with.”

Brad didn’t say anything as the two of us walked across my lawn to the truck. There was no room in the cab of course so I was forced to get into the back with the others. As I was climbing in, a black guy grabbed my forearm and pulled me up. Then a pink haired girl slid over, making room for me. I smiled. What was she doing with them? This was the In Crowd, all the guys wearing letter jackets and she was a freak like me. They all introduced themselves: Cori---Miss Pink Hair---was the only girl. The others were Brad’s teammates, Connor, Barry and Marcus. Barry was kind of cute in that strange kind of way and Connor, I didn’t like the way he kept staring at my chest.

We drove to the diner in relative silence. Why they decided to drag me along was beyond me. I was the new girl, social suicide as far as they were concerned. No one came and took the new girl anywhere. Yet these guys seemed to think it was ok to hang with me? What gives? I guess I can’t complain. All I would have done was sit up in my room and throw darts at pictures of celebs I cut from teen magazines. I don’t read them but they make good target practice.

The diner was small and fifties-like. We got a booth, which ended up being two, the girls---me, Cori and Emma in one---the guys in the other.

Cori and Emma seemed to be friends which was weird because Cori was clearly the School Outcast and Emma was Prom Queen. But the two of them got a long real well. They were talking about the mall, chatting like old friends. Finally, they turned their attention to me:

“Have you been to the Center yet, Becca?”

“What’s that?”

Emma laughed. “It’s the mall. We call it that because it’s the center of town, it’s practically where all the kids hang out, it’s almost like a second school.”

I shook my head. “Mom and I don’t get out much.”

“Can I take your orders, girls” asked an annoyed voice.

I looked up to see a middle-aged waitress with black and white hair. I looked at her nametag, it said Miranda. She looked vaguely familiar but I couldn’t quite place it. I squinted at her and she winked at me. How freaky was that? I looked around the rest of the room; there was no one else in here except for a man in a green suit. Yea, he was wearing green; I didn’t even know they made green suits. What was up with that? As if he knew I was staring at him, he slowly turned from his counter seat and looked at me.

The blood froze in my veins and the world seemed to melt away. I knew him, I knew him really well.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Dekker stood up and the counter faded away. The diner faded too. The girls, Cori and Emma were still chatting about the Center when they dissolved into nothingness. I looked at the guys, both Brad and Barry looked at me, they both reached for me. I reached for them and then they too dissolved away along with everyone else. Soon it was just me and Dekker, standing in a black void, face to face.

“You look really cute in that school girl outfit, Howe,” he said with a smirk.

I looked down and sure enough, I was dressed like a Catholic schoolgirl. When did that happen? In fact, when did I realize that he was Dekker and this was another one of my dreams? How did I even know it was a dream?

I looked around the room, looking for a weapon. If this was my dream then I had control. I found what I was looking for quickly enough. I snatched a knife off one of the tables, holding it toward him, keeping him at arm’s length.

He laughed. “You’re not in charge here, Howe,” he said and the knife melted in my hand. “This is my world and in my world I make the rules.”

He pulled a gun from his belt and pulled the trigger, firing three times into my chest. I stumbled backwards and fell. I continued to fall until darkness swallowed me and then I screamed…

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's six, things are still moving a bit slow but it'll get there. I'd like to thank mittfh for all the help with England and djkauf for all the wonderful editing.

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Chapter Six:

I snapped awake, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest. I nearly smacked my head on the seat in front of me and was a bit confused for a second. I looked around, noticing that this wasn’t my room in the Center. I groaned. I was on a plane, flying over the Atlantic toward England. I rubbed the back of my neck then turned to look out the window. There were still clouds streaking past and the sky was a midnight blue in color. I turned to the girl sitting next to me. Diana was asleep too, apparently the flight got to her as well. I looked past her over to Emma and Stella. Both of them were looking at me, concern on their faces.

“You have another one?”

Once again, I couldn’t talk back because I’d look like a nut. So instead, I nodded my head.

Emma sighed but Stella was the one who spoke. “You need to tell someone about them.” Before I could shake my head, she shook hers. “Enough of this brave soldier shit either. This isn’t healthy. You’re hurting inside and Dr. Tipps can help. I want you to call and make an appointment with her, maybe even one with the shrink at Chairmont.”

I shook my head. Emma spoke this time. “You’re doing it and that’s final.”

The look on both of their faces was enough to leave me stunned. It wasn’t just anger; the two of them were genuinely concerned for me. I sighed and nodded. I’m not sure if I would but at least it would get them off my back. I could handle the dreams and everything else. They weren’t the problem; it was the feeling I had when I woke and realized they were dreams. In the dreams, I was happy because Trish was there and the two of us were living the life that we should have been living. Away from missions and the Center and someone trying to kill us every time we walked out the door. The dream world was peaceful---save for the end---and I didn’t want that to stop. I wasn’t ready for it to stop. I wasn’t ready to let go.

Stella narrowed her eyes at me. I don’t think she believed me. The two of us had only been roommates for such a short time but already we’ve been able to pick up each other’s subtleties. I think she knew I was lying and didn’t like it. I turned away from her, back to the window. I heard Stella’s huff. I didn’t care. Well, I cared but there wasn’t much I could do about it. As soon as we landed and got to the school then maybe the three of us could have an actual conversation instead of a one sided they talk and I nod conversation.

I continued to look out the window for a little bit until I felt the pressure on my bladder. I groaned; trying to remember the last time I went to the bathroom. I took a deep breath, slowly got to my feet and slipped past Diana. She mumbled and fidgeted a bit but I was able to slip past her without waking her up. I passed a flight attendant in her tight skirt suit but she only smiled. I walked past her and slowly made my way down the aisle. Most people didn’t even look but there was a pair of frat guys who gave me a once over, lingering a bit longer than I would have liked on my bare legs.

I tried to ignore them but it’s pretty hard when they’re staring at you even after you walk past them. Near the bathroom was a single guy, sleeping with his head on his chest. I looked at him for a split second and stopped. There was something about him, something familiar. I gave him a second look: he had black hair, wore a pair of wire-framed glasses and had a beard. He didn’t look like anyone I knew but there was something. I stared for a few seconds longer and sighed, finally deciding that I was being too paranoid lately. I shrugged and slipped into the bathroom. It didn’t take me long. It was too cramped in there to want to spend a lot of time. As I was washing my hands, I looked at the strange girl staring back at me. There was no way I could pretend to be someone else for a week, especially someone who looked like that.

I groaned and shut off the sink. As I got out of the bathroom, a flight attendant came up to me.

“Please head back to your seat, miss,” she said smiling. “We will be landing in a few minutes.”

I nodded and moved up the aisle, glaring at the pervy jackasses as I passed. I got to my seat just as the pilot came over the PA and told us to fasten our seatbelts.

_______________________________

About an hour after the plane landed at Birmingham International Airport, the group of us were ushered into three waiting vans, one chaperone per each. There were about twenty of us girls altogether, I’m not sure if that was big for a band or small. I don’t have much experience with those kinds of things and all the stuff that Connor put into my head was all but gone. I know I found myself sitting in the middle of a seat, Emma on one side and Stella on the other. The three of us made sure that as soon as we landed that we weren’t separated. Diana was in the van with us too, as well as a couple of other girls: Charlotte, Rachel and Courtney. All three of them played the clarinet; Diana was a flute player. She told me all about it on the plane. Thankfully she and the others were friends and were busy chatting it up, going on and on about Joe Jonas.

There are some things that I hate about being a girl.

Emma and Stella looked about as disinterested in the topic as well. They were sitting silently, Stella tugging on the end of her short skirt every few seconds. I didn’t blame her; they were far too short. I kept looking at my legs and groaning. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d exposed that much skin in the open. When not in the Center---wearing those dreadful uniforms---I usually wore jeans or gray cargos. I also got away with wearing my boots. But none of those were packed in my suitcase or duffel. Mrs. Fine made sure that the three of us were the prim and proper young ladies that we were supposed to be. So our wardrobes now consisted of lots of skirts and dresses. The three of us groaned when she had told us that.

I took a chance to look out the window. The sun was now starting to go down, turning the green English country into a dim gray. I could still see lush green pastures but the light was slowly disappearing. In the dark, they still looked vibrant to me but there was something about seeing green in the light that made all the difference. I think the road we were on was called the M5; it was one of the major thoroughfares in the country. According to the driver, it would take at least another hour or so to get to Chairmont. So all I could do was sit back and enjoy the scenery.

“Can you see anything out there?” asked Stella, she was the one next to the window.

I’d been leaning over her so I leaned back when I answered “Nothing but green and cows.”

She took a look. “I can’t see anything.”

“Are you three friends?” said a voice, it belonged to Rachel I think.

I turned to her and put on that fake smile of mine. She was a short, plump girl with freckles. I opened my mouth to answer but Diana beat me to it.

“Of course they’re friends, they’re from the same school,” she said, rolling her eyes. “They all play the cello too. How close are the three of you?”

Rachel looked at Courtney and Charlotte smiling. “Real close.”

“I’m sure it’s the same with them,” said Diana and then she turned to me. “Is your school much different than ours?”

I bit my lip. Why in the hell did she have to ask that now, after all Connor’s mojo was gone? So I bluffed it. “I’m not sure, what’s yours like?”

That got the four of them started. They launched into a description of their school, going on and on about all the places. They talked for twenty minutes, sometimes interrupting one another to say something. I smiled, exchanging looks with my two teammates. They smiled mischievously back at me.

When they were finally finished, Emma answered:

"Yep, pretty much the same.”

After that, the four girls went back into their own world, talking about whatever it is that normal girls talked about. I say normal because the three of us were far from it, of course. Emma and Stella had only been real girls for about three weeks total and me; I was a mess. A real girl maybe but as far from normal as one can get. How many girls do you know hold grudges against killing bastards and have bullets with their names on it. I have the bullet by the way; it’s in my duffel, along with the fake book, laptop and scrambled phone.

“So you want to talk about the dream?” whispered Stella in my ear.

I sighed. “Can this wait until later?”

“No” she said, nodding to Emma. “We need to get this out of the way.”

I nodded. “I was in my house, the one that Trish and I would have lived in, the same one that’s been appearing in the others. I was in my room and there was a knock on the door and Trish told me to get it. I went downstairs and opened the door…” I flushed and looked at Emma. “And Brad was there.”

Emma interrupted. “My brother? What was he doing in your dream?”

I groaned. “Do I really have to answer that?”

Emma opened her mouth but Stella cut her off. “No. So what happened?”

“He asked me to join him and his friends on a trip to the local diner. I was reluctant but Trish forced me to go and when we got to the diner, Dekker was there. I confronted him and I think he shot me.”

“How many times has he killed you now?”

I sighed. “This was the first.”

The last few dreams---the ones before the last two---he’s only appeared and glared at me. There was never any dialogue until the one the other night, the one where I knew I was dreaming. Before that, my dreams were just dreams, with me unaware of the fact that I was even in one. Most of the time Dekker didn’t even appear. He just sort of popped up and stared at me a bit then faded away. Now they were escalating, getting more and more intense. Hell, he actually attacked me in this one. I shuddered at the thought and found myself with my head in Stella’s lap; she began stroking my hair. The other girls looked over at us, concerned. Emma waved them off, saying it was my “time of the month”. I’d have to get her back for that one later.

I stayed that way---my head on Stella’s lap---for the rest of the ride.

I raised my head and looked out the van window. We were stopped now, the other two vans parked ahead of us. I saw one of the other chaperones getting out, talking to one of the drivers. I looked beyond her and at the building. It was enormous, it didn’t look much like a castle in real life but it was sure bigger than I would have expected. It was made of gray stone and had a couple of gables and peaks. It looked like something from one of those old black and white movies; it even had a balcony or two.

Stella piped up. “It’s like a mini-Hogwarts.”

I groaned. I wasn’t a fan. Stella had all seven books back in our room and tried to talk me into reading them but I have other things on my mind. There’s no time for recreational reading in our line of work. Somehow, she found the time. I guess she’s not as busy as I am.

“Girls” said our chaperone, a plump woman with curly red hair; I think her name was Miss Bronson or something like that. “You need to stay in the van while I coordinate with the other chaperones.”

Miss Bronson opened the door, pulling her coat around her and stepped outside. I watched as she walked over to the two vans. The other two chaperones got out, one was Miss Beak Face and the other was a tall, gray haired man. That surprised me. I didn’t get to meet all the chaperones at the airport. It was kind of surprising to see a man working at an all girl’s school but I suppose it happened. He looked like someone who might be a force to reckon with. He was tall, had a square jaw and sharp penetrating eyes. He turned his head and our eyes locked, it was almost as if he was penetrating my brain. I didn’t turn away though. I took up the challenge. After a few seconds, he smiled and turned away on his own.

I looked past him and back toward the Chairmont. The large double doors were now opening and a tall woman was emerging. She walked slowly down the stone steps on three-inch heels. She looked severe, a woman who you didn’t want to mess with. Her hair was held high on her head in a bun and she wore a tweed jacket and skirt. I smiled, this had to the Head Mistress. I searched my memory, Miss Pennington I think her name was.

“Definitely not Professor Dumbledore” said Stella, a bit of sadness in her voice.

The woman walked over to the three chaperones and they started to talk. I cracked the window and listened. The woman introduced herself as Margaret Pennington, so I’d been right about that. The male teacher was Mr. Carter. They were discussing room arrangements. A couple of random girls were dropped and then I heard our names mentioned.

“I have the three new additions placed right near one another,” said Miss Pennington. “I’ve already informed the girls they’ll be sharing rooms with, so everything is all set.”

Miss Bronson nodded. “They’re such good dears.”

After that, they went on to talk about other things, mainly the concert and things like that. I rolled up the window, muffling some of the conversation. I could still hear it but I ignored it. I leaned off Stella; she smiled at me. I could still see what was going on though and after a minute or two, Miss Bronson returned.

She opened the door. “Ok girls. We’re going to walk into the school as a group. We’ve arrived just in time for evening mass and then it’s off to bed with you dears. In the morning there will be breakfast in the Grand Hall and then an assembly for introductions.”

“Maybe it is Hogwarts,” mumbled Stella, I rolled my eyes.

__________________________________

I’m not familiar with Harry Potter in the least but Stella was a fanatic so as we walked down the halls she told me how much this was like Hogwarts and how much it wasn’t. The similarities were staggering in some places. Like the suits of armor, this place actually had several of them lining the hallways. They even had spears and things. Everything else was kind of Old World too, the floors were made of wood, there were tapestries dangling from the walls and ceiling. In the main foyer there was a large wooden staircase leading up to the second floor. When we entered the foyer, we were actually in the main part of the house. Apparently, the school was once the old Chairmont Estate, Lord Henry Chairmont donated it in his will after his death about two hundred years ago. There were two wings, dormitories were in the left and schoolrooms were in the right.

The Great Hall was actually located right behind the main foyer. The Chapel was actually behind the Estate. It was built fifty years ago. We had to walk through a meandering hedge maze and lush garden to get there. I’m not going to bore you with Mass because it was boring. I’m not a religious person, never have been and never will be. God and I weren’t great friends. There were a lot of kids who grew up like me who felt the same way. If there were a God then he wouldn’t have made our parents abandon us or some such. Me, I just never had time for flights of fancy. So even though I was pretending to be the good little Catholic schoolgirl, in reality I was itching to get out of there.

I got my wish two hours later.

Now a small group of us were walking down the hall of the dormitory, being led to our rooms. Stella squealed with delight when it was announced that the school had Houses---just like in the books. She squealed even more so when a girl about our age announced she was a Prefect and that for the duration of our stay we’d be living in Norwood House, attending Sixth form classes. So the girl, Janet Long, was leading us down the hall. Finally, we stopped at a door and she knocked. There was a scramble on the other side and then the door opened.

A bespectacled girl in a nightgown was standing there. Janet turned to Emma. “Emma Jones, you’ll be bunking with Clarice Martin, the two of you Yanks should get along nicely.”

I stared intently at the girl. I tried to see if there was any of Dekker in her. But this girl was short and had red hair. If she was Dekker’s kid, there was very little family resemblance. Emma smiled at the girl, hefted her suitcase, duffel and cello all in one hand. In her other hand she carried a field hockey stick. The other girls in our little group gasped at her strength. I glared at her. She may have been Wonder Woman back home but here she was supposed to be a normal girl. I think she realized what she’d done but it was too late now.

“I work out a lot,” she said sheepishly, trying to save face.

Janet nodded, clearly bored. Emma followed Clarice into the room and the door closed. The room next door was meant for someone else. It went like that door the hall, each of the girls with us being shoved off into other rooms. Mrs. Fine made our room arrangements beforehand. I didn’t know who I was going to bunk with but she made sure the three of us were stuck with American girls. It was to help us cut down on the search or something like that. When Stella went into her room with a girl named Brittany, I smiled. There was a lot of potential there. She was blonde, had the same look of Dekker and even looked a bit snobbish like him. When she saw Stella, she gave her the once over and I think she actually sighed. When Stella went into the room and the door closed, I heard the stuck up girl say, “You’ll do nicely.”

I was the only one left now.

“Here we are” said Janet, giving me the once over. “This is Karen’s room, you Hoodies should get along real well.”

She knocked on the door and a few seconds later, it opened. There was no way the girl standing before was any relation to Dekker. For one thing, she had shoulder length black hair and for another, she looked Japanese. She smiled at me but didn’t even look at Janet. Janet didn’t say anything either. She nodded to me and then walked away. I rolled my eyes.

Karen looked up at me; she had to be no more than five feet. “Wow you’re tall.”

I smiled. Then thought of something. “I get that a lot”

Not really but it was something to help segue into her allowing me into her private sanctuary. Karen didn’t say anything else though. Instead, she took the suitcase from me and half carried, half dragged it into the room. I was surprised by how spacious it was. There were two beds, one on either side of the room. Her side was decorated with punk band posters and lots of crazy color. It looked like the room of someone who’d been here a while. I looked at my bed; there was a folded blanket and a stack of pillows on it. There was nothing on the walls save for a little mirror. There was a desk by the window with a little lamp and a dresser. It reminded me a little bit of my old room in the Syndicate. That brought a little pang to my heart, thinking about how Trish and I painstakingly came up with ways to decorate it.

Karen carried my suitcase over to the bed and dropped it on the floor next to it. I easily carried the duffel and cello into the room. I found a place for the cello in the spacious closet; apparently we both had one. Her’s was jam packed with clothes, including several hooded sweatshirts. I nodded, now I knew why Janet said we’d get along so well. I did a crash course on some British slang before our flight yesterday. Hoodies were what they called people who wore hooded sweatshirts all the time. Apparently Karen and I had that in common. But whereas her’s was probably a fashion statement, mine was meant to keep a lot of that dreaded sun and bright light away.

I started to unpack, first the suitcase then the duffel. I half paid attention to all the clothes that Rebecca Logan was supposed to wear. Karen looked at them though and I’m sure she was thinking the same thing I was: gag me. When I got to unpacking the duffel, she saw the laptop but didn’t say anything. When I took out my phone, she gasped.

“They’re not going to let you keep that,” she said.

I held the phone tightly. “But it’s my lifeline.”

Karen chewed her lip. Unlike the other girls I’d seen, she was the only one not wearing a nightgown. She was dressed in a Sid Vicious t-shirt over a pair of gray bed pants. She looked comfortable; the others looked like they were presenting themselves for inspection.

“I suppose you could hide it, you’re only going to be here for a week, right?”

I nodded. “Well if you don’t tell then I won’t and if you’re quiet, I’ll even let you use it.”

She smiled weakly. “I don’t have anyone to call.”

I stopped unpacking, leaving my fake book lying on the bed. I turned to her, seeing the sadness in her face. There was something about her that felt off. I took a deep breath and asked her if anything was wrong. She shook her head and sat on her bed. I pushed a little and got some of her life story. She was the daughter of the Japanese Ambassador to Great Britain, her father a stoic Japanese man, her mother was American. Her parents apparently meant in college. But neither one of them wanted her around so they shipped her off here. It kind of sucked and I felt pretty bad for her. She then told me how it was to be the only Asian girl here and some of the cold shoulders the other girls gave her. I looked around the room and I came to the conclusion it was a little more than her ethnicity that they shunned her for. She was a rebel and in a place like this, I’m not sure if that was a good thing or not.

We talked for a few hours while I unpacked. She helped. She kept grimacing at my clothes until she couldn’t take it anymore.

“You seem cool Becca,” she said, taking a pale yellow dress from my duffel. “So why do you dress like this.”

I groaned. “I am cool. My mother, not so much. She felt I should dress all prim and proper and not in my usual.”

“Which is?”

I quickly painted a mental picture for her, describing my usual wardrobe. She smiled a lot. Then I told her about my hair and what I was forced to do with it.

She frowned at that.

“That must suck,” she said as we put the last of my heinous clothes away. Her face lit up after that. “We’re taking you guys into town tomorrow after the assembly, maybe you and I can sneak away and do some clothes shopping. There’s a lot of great stores around here.”

I smiled at that.

“I think you and I will become fast friends.”

I could become friends with this girl. Maybe it’d help distract me from Dekker and my one woman mission to put a bullet in his head.
After packing, someone knocked on the door and announced it was lights out. I fake yawned. I wasn’t tired in the least, not after sleeping on the plane. Karen looked exhausted though. She told me about the day they were planning for us tomorrow, which apparently was going to start at six am. I groaned over that one. Then I undressed out of my stuffy schoolgirl uniform and into a pair of gray pajamas. Mrs. Fine tried to get me to pack something more girly but I drew the line there. My pajamas would not be seen by anyone but me and Karen of course. So after putting on my PJs, the two of us got into bed. I lay there for a while, listening as Karen slowly settled into her sleep. About twenty minutes later, I slipped out from underneath the covers and over to the desk. I booted up the laptop, ran it through the program to scramble the signal and then logged into the system. It didn’t take long for me to reroute to the Center servers where a technician there hooked me into the Mobile Command Center.

I smiled when Barry’s face appeared on the screen. He smiled too.

“You look different without all the purple,” he said, yawning.

“Nice to see you too.”

He smiled. “What’s it like there?”

“Hogwartish, according to Stella.”

He smiled at that but didn’t make a comment. Barry wasn’t a fan either, at least not as far as I knew. It was strange because we’d been together for a couple of months and though we were pretty hot and heavy, I didn’t really know all that much about him. I suppose that was ok when we were prisoners together in Section Four but now I figured he’d open up a little more. But every time we were together, we did a lot of making out and very little talking. I liked it a lot at first but lately it’s like the only thing we seem to know how to do. I try talking but he just brushes off most of my questions with one-syllable answers. Just like a typical guy.

“You find any candidates yet?”

“Maybe” I said, “put Kit on.”

He nodded and disappeared from my screen. A few seconds later, Kit’s smiling face appeared. “Hey Sarge, you have a half naked pillow fight yet?”

I rolled my eyes. She was as bad as a guy. I ignored the question. Instead, I filled her in on some of the girls, telling her about Emma’s roommate and then telling her about Britney. “She’s the best candidate so far. She’s tall, blonde and snobbish. She even looks a little bit like him.”

Kit nodded. “What about yours?”

I smiled. “Unless Dekker is the Japanese Ambassador to Great Britain, I don’t think so.”

Kit laughed. “I think you might have noticed that.”

I filled her in on a few other details while Barry apparently did a search on Brittany. It didn’t take long. He handed Kit a piece of paper and she read it quickly before telling me what Barry found out. “According to this, Brittany’s father is a business man, her last name is Smith. Her mother is dead and she’s been living at the school since she was about ten or so. She and her father don’t really see one another much.”

She was sounding more and more like our target. “She might be the one. I’ll have Stella try to get to know her better.”

Kit nodded. “Samson will bug the room tomorrow when you’re at your assembly thing. We’ll try to get one on her as well.”

I nodded. “Where’s Connor?”

Kit groaned. Apparently, she wasn’t a big fan of him either. “We were able to get him into Martin’s School for Boys as well. We put him and Brad down as cousins; the two of them are bunking together. Tomorrow morning when your group goes into town, Connor and Brad will meet you and he’ll do his thing again.”

I shuddered. I was definitely not looking forward to that.

Kit filled me in on her end of things. She was all tapped into the school’s security and their communications. The MCU was disguised as a florist van, parked a couple of blocks from the school. From that position, they’d be able to monitor everything that goes on inside the hallowed halls of Chairmont. She was also trying to see if she could place some small surveillance cameras up in the most used places in the building to keep an eye on things. As part of the op, the Headmistress was the only one who knew we weren’t who we appeared to be. It was a risky move but we needed full cooperation if we were to act. But she still thought we were there to uncover some kind of illegal computer hacking ring. Our cover was as three FBI agents, looking for a supposed link in the school. She tried to deny any involvement with her girls but Mrs. Fine was pretty convincing.

After a few more questions, I ended the conversation with Kit. I shut down and sighed, leaning back in the chair. One of these girls was connected to Dekker and as soon as we found her, I was going to make her tell me about her father through any means necessary. I put the laptop away and went to bed, pulling the bullet from my pocket and staring at it until I drifted off to sleep.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's 7...finally. I had a bit of an Internet problem yesterday so it would have been up then. I'd to thank djkauf for the editing and mittfh once again for his English knowledge.

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Chapter Seven:

I woke that morning feeling more tired than I’d ever felt in a really long time. I think it was a combination of jet lag and time zones. Regardless I was barely functioning when I dragged myself out of bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I stumbled out into the hall with the others, trudging to the communal shower room. I groaned when I got into the little locker room, stripped and stuffed my PJs into a cubby hole. Then I got into one of the shower stalls and did my best to clean myself off, hoping the cold shower might help work the sleep from me. It did. I don’t take hot showers in the morning because I like the shock to wake me up. When I got back into the room, Karen was already there, wrapped in a towel.

“Not a morning person, huh” she asked, I only mumbled in response.

I trudged over to my bed, there was clothes already there waiting. Well not clothes in the sense that I would consider them clothes. It was a uniform, a green blazer, white blouse and green skirt. There was also a pair of black shoes and white knee-highs. I turned to Karen and she nodded. I groaned some more. It was bad enough that I had to wear that horrible Catholic schoolgirl outfit but now I was going to have to wear a dreadful Chairmont one.

“They’re kidding, right?”

Karen, still in her towel, picked up a piece of paper from her desk. “According to this, it’s some kind of cultural exchange thing. Your chaperones thought it would be a neat idea, to help you girls feel more at home while you’re here.”

I could sense the joy in her voice. I felt the same way. So without batting an eyelash, I reluctantly finished toweling off and got dressed. I’m not one of those shy, blushing girls who get nervous about being naked around other people. So I had no problem with Karen seeing me in my birthday suit. But apparently, she had a problem with it. She turned around, making sure she was facing the wall while I dressed. I rolled my eyes. She lived in an All Girls school; surely, she’d seen a little flesh here and there. I didn’t tease her even though I wanted to. Instead, I dressed and turned into a Lemming like everyone else.
I turned around and Karen was in her uniform now, sitting on her bed putting on her shoes. She looked up at me and smiled weakly. She had that sad look again. There was definitely something eating away at this girl.

“So what’s on the agenda today?”

She picked up the piece of paper again. “First it’s Roll Call, we go into something called tutor groups for that. I think you’re supposed to stick with me; I’m your Official Buddy or something like that. After Call it’s an Assembly and then breakfast” She took a breath. “After that we board buses and go into town for a bit of sightseeing.”

I nodded. “When do you guys have classes?”

She smiled. “Thanks to you, today is a holiday. Classes will resume tomorrow. You’ll follow the same schedule as I do.”

She said “schedule” the British way, putting on a fake accent. Both of us smiled at that.

After our laugh, the two of us left the room. The other girls were already gathering in the hallway, standing in front of their room doors. I looked down the hall, spotting Stella in green getup standing next to Miss Stuck Up Britney. Further down the hall was Emma with her roommate, I’m not sure if I heard her name or not. There were other girls from the US too; apparently, all of us were shoved into Norwood. The Chairmont girls were standing at attention, like fresh faced soldiers waiting for the Drill Instructor. It didn’t take long for her to arrive. Janet showed up, walking slowly down the hall, a clipboard in hand. She walked slowly past us, commenting here and there. When she got to me, she frowned.

“The hoodie is not a part of the uniform here at Chairmont,” she said in a haughty tone.

“Medical condition” I said with a smirk. “I’m photosensitive.”

“Photo what?”

“She’s sensitive to the light” piped up Karen.

Score one for her. I didn’t think anyone knew what that meant. I turned to her and gave her a nod. Janet’s eyes narrowed at the both of us but I just glared right back. I didn’t have time for a stuck up British bitch giving me a hard time. Apparently, she didn’t have time for me either because she rolled her eyes and moved on. She took her annoyance with me out on a girl a few doors down; apparently, you weren’t allowed to decorate your blazer with anything, especially pins of your favorite boy band.

After Janet finished her walk, she blew a whistle. I kid you not. Then as a group, we followed her down the hall and the stairs. As we congealed together, I slipped next to Stella, our fingers brushing gently. She turned to me and flushed. Her pheromones filled the air, swirling about in an intoxicating cloud of goodness. I bit my lip. Even though they were working on a solution back at the Center, nothing seemed to work for me. The Science Team whipped up a perfume that was supposed to help mask the effects but it only worked on everyone else. For me it was like trying to cover one intoxicating smell with the other. Luckily, it worked on everyone here or else there would be a whole school of girls fondling her.

“How was your night?” she whispered. “Any more nightmares?”

I shook my head. “You turn invisible?”

She shrugged. “Britney didn’t wake up screaming so I think my breathing exercises are working.”

I nodded. Miss Orville was trying to help her overcome her “night invisibility” as we were calling it. She came up with a plain to blend breathing techniques with some yoga. It was supposedly suppose to help her center her mind and relax her body. Dr. Tipps concluded that the only reason Stella was turning invisible at night was that she was too tense during the day. Stella was gorgeous and a lot of the guys were after her. She got no less than five propositions a day, all of which she turned down. It appears that unlike a lot of us---who were bisexual in nature---Stella was one hundred percent homosexual. She only had eyes for the ladies. But no matter how much we tried, we weren’t able to get out of her which one she fancied. I had my theories, as did others but so far no such luck getting her to confirm them.

“Have you talked to her about her family yet?”

Stella shook her head and looked over at Britney who was talking to another girl. I think she was American too and I could cross her off the list as well, unless Dekker liked African American girls in his youth. But knowing the kind of person he was, I don’t think it was all that likely.

“I gave her name to Kit,” I said, turning back to face forward. “She fits the profile but we’ll know more once they can dig more up on her.”

Stella nodded. “She might look stuck up but she’s really nice.”

I nodded. “Karen’s off the list. She doesn’t fit the profile and I haven’t heard back from Emma.”

Stella shook her head. “I talked to her a few minutes ago before we lined up. Her roomie, Clarice, is an only child who lives with her aunt and uncle. Both her parents were killed in a car crash two years ago.”

I nodded. Three down, twelve more to go.

We stopped talking after that and the group headed down the stairs toward the Great Hall for an assembly. Before we got there, the Prefects took a head count. Apparently, this was the roll call Karen was talking about. It must have been kind of frustrating doing a head count on two hundred girls every morning. After that, we went into the Great Hall itself. Stella squealed at my side, making another Harry Potter reference. The Great Hall was a big room, sort like a cafeteria and auditorium rolled into one. We were led over to a table that was especially designated for us while the Chairmont girls sat at the other tables. The Head Mistress and the faculty of the school sat on the stage in chairs, the Head Mistress the only one standing, behind a podium. I’m not going to bore you with the speech.

Then she had Miss Beak Face talk then someone else talked. All in all, it was about an hour before we had breakfast. I don’t think you need to know about that either. There was an uproar of voices while we all ate, it was kind of deafening even more so for someone like me. Stella sat next to me, holding my hand. She knew my pain. In the cafeteria back at the Center, I tried to sit as far away from the noise as possible. It never used to bother me but now with more students there, the noise was starting to become a real problem. Apparently, some of them were on their way to Beta and Gamma sites soon and maybe things could get back to normal.

About ten minutes into the meal, Emma came over and sat in the empty seat on the other side of me. She made sure there was no one in earshot when she asked her question: “What’s next boss?”

I sighed. I hated being called boss just about as much as I hated Sarge. “Once we get into town we’re supposed to rendezvous with Connor. He’ll give us the whammy again and then we’ll be all set until tomorrow morning. Then the three of us are going to play James Bond and get as much information as we possibly can on the other twelve American girls here.”

Emma nodded. “I was wondering when the Stealth in Stealth Infiltration and Reconnaissance was going to come into play.”

Emma wasn’t really here for the stealth part of the team but seeing as she was a girl, she was elected as a stealth operative by default, at least for this mission. I originally envisioned her as the Muscle, someone to have our backs in case things went really bad. She is a powerhouse after all. It’s fair to say that anyone stupid enough to go up against her will end up in the hospital, possibly in a full body cast. I think some part of her knew her place, too. Besides her strength and her rock solid “hide”, she and her brother were skilled Martial artists. Nothing of Ray’s caliber but I sparred with Emma two days after she got at the Center and let me tell you, she’s quite the bad ass. She’s a bit on the unique side of things too, being one of the only people at the Center that I know of who doesn’t need weapons training. After all Emma is the weapon, in more ways than one.

We ate our breakfast in relative silence after that. After about an hour, the Head Mistress got back behind the podium and announced it was time to head to the buses for our ride into town.

___________________________________

Ok so England is messed up. I’m not trying to insult anyone who lives here but the place is completely backwards.

After leaving Chairmont---in several vans and mini-buses---the group of us flocked to a little town nearby. Did you know that they drive on the wrong side of the road here and that the drivers sit in the passenger seat? Ok it’s the driver side seat here and to them they’re not driving on the wrong side but it’s really messed up. Karen was sitting with me in our van, along with Emma and Clarice, the black girl whose name is Monique and another girl from France. Her name is Giselle and her English is surprisingly good with a cute accent---I like French ones. Karen seemed to think it was funny that I was complaining so much and told me she had the exact same problem.

When we arrived in the town, I got another shock. There were no blocks. I can’t even begin to describe how things look other than I’m not really sure how anyone could consider it organized. We filed out of our little van and waited on the pavement---that’s what they call it---for the other groups to file out of their vehicles too. The air is cold here too, colder than back at the Center and for some reason it likes to rain. I could smell it in the air, even if my fellow students couldn’t. After a few minutes of standing around, Stella came over and bumped against me. She looked kind of sad for some reason. She opened her mouth but I cut her off.

“If you make another comment about Harry Potter, I’m going to make sure Mrs. Fine leaves you here when we’re done.”

She closed her mouth and stuck out her tongue. “Where are we supposed to meet the others?”

The others she was referring to were of course the rest of my team. Well not all of them, but the ones that were needed at the moment. I scanned the street, looking for MCU. I found it parked down the block---hey, I’m still calling it that even if it doesn’t look like one. Lingering outside of it was a man in a gray coat and hat. At first, I didn’t recognize him because of the scruffy look but then he raised his head and I saw through Samson’s disguise. He looked about and then over at us. Our eyes locked and he gave a slight nod of his head before opening the door of the van and disappearing into it.

I nudged Stella. “The MCU is over there.”

She looked about and saw the van. “And they have Connor?”

“Let’s find out.”

I stepped away from the group, pretending to wander over to take a look in a storefront window. While Stella stayed behind to distract the others, I reached into the pocket of my hoodie and stuck the earpiece in. I tapped my throat mike---it was disguised as a choker---and cleared my throat: “Eagle calling Nest, are you there Sparrow?”

Last night when I called, I forgot her call sign. Hey, I’m new at this spy thing.

A few seconds later, Kit’s voice came on the line. “Eagle this is Nest, Sparrow speaking.” Then Kit cleared her throat. “You all look really cute in matching green, Sarge.”

I smiled. “If I get to keep it you can have it.”

“Really? That’s so cool.”

I rolled my eyes. Kit was a weird one. “How are things looking?”

Kit became all business.

“Barry’s tapped into the local security feeds and I’ve got communication. Stella bugged Miss Priss this morning and I’ve got Brad heading over to the school right now to get all the rooms.”

I nodded. I frowned a bit too. I was hoping I could get to see him in his school uniform. He was probably really cute looking. I bit my lip and inwardly cursed. I’m not supposed to think he’s cute; I’m with Barry.

“Do we have anything new on Britney?”

Kit sighed. “Her father is pretty clean as far as business goes. His name is Vernon Smith but that could easily be an alias. We don’t have any real good pics on him and we’re having trouble getting any info. on him. We have records going back as far as college but then they disappear. Get this, he and your Mr. Dekker actually went to the same college.”

I smiled. That had to be him; there were too many coincidences. But nothing could be that easy. “Keep looking. I’ll have Stella pump her for information and if need be she can easily snoop about the room whenever we need her too. Just because all the i’s are dotted here it doesn’t mean we’ve got anything definitive. Until she actually confesses to the fact that Dekker is her father then we’ve still got twelve other girls.”

“Six others.”

“What?”

“Six of the other American girls are clean. Two of them have no fathers, three of them have fathers who are too old to fit Dekker and one of them has a very famous father who I’m not at liberty to discuss without breaking National Security.”

Whoa really? I tried to rack my brain as to who it might be but was drawing a blank. Not that it mattered now that she was off the list.

“Who are the other six?”

Kit rattled off some names. Two of the girls were in Norwood with us and were easy enough to check out. The other four were in Potter House. When I heard that name earlier during the assembly, I actually elbowed Stella to keep her from making another reference to a famous British series. But that didn’t stop her from smiling real big.

“Can we get Brad to check their rooms?”

“I’ll see what we can do.”

“Good” I looked over at the vans, most of the girls were out of them now. Everyone was milling about, looking like a vegetable garden as far as the eye could see and I could see far. I sighed. “I have to go. Have Connor ready and as soon as we pass by, he can do his thing.”

“See you in a few, Sarge. Sparrow out.”

I took off the choker---I hated the damn things---and stuck it in my pocket. I did the same with the earpiece then slowly wandered back to the group. No one had noticed I was gone. I slipped up beside Stella, who was now standing with her temporary roomie Britney. The blonde girl gave me a look, it so oozed Dekker that I wanted to grab her and choke the information out of her but instead I smiled and held my hand out to her.

“Becca” I said but she made no move to shake it. What a bitch.

“Stella and I are BFF’s”

I groaned at the use of the term. It sounded like an idiot.

Britney’s eyes narrowed. Then she looked at Stella. “You’re friends with her?”

I bit my lip. God I wanted to punch this girl. I don’t care what Stella said, there was no way she was a nice person. There was no doubt in my mind now; she was definitely Dekker Junior.

Stella came to my defense. “She’s my best friend. We’re roommates in fact, if you’ve got a problem with that…”

Britney lowered her eyes. “I’m good,” she said softly. Then she looked at me and forced a smile.

Before I could respond, she turned and walked away, disappearing into the sea of green. I looked at Stella who just shrugged. I tried to find Britney again but she was gone. Well not gone exactly but everyone looked pretty much the same in their matching uniforms even too my super eyes. I scanned the crowd for her, watching as a lot of the girls turned and looked at me. They started talking amongst themselves. They didn’t whisper because most of them thought they were too far away for me to hear but I did. They were saying stuff about me and the others. Calling us things like “Yanks” and referring to me as a “hoodie” Then one of them called me a “pikey”. I’m not sure if it was bad but one of her fellows gasped and walked away.

I finally gave up looking for Britney. I found Emma though. She and Clarice were standing with a group of girls. I listened to their conversation and sure enough, they were jocks. They were talking about field hockey. Luckily for Emma, she did a bit of studying on the sport on top of the stuff that Connor temporarily put into her head. Most of it was over my head so I didn’t really know what they were talking about. Emma caught my eye and cocked her head. I shook mine then made a gesture toward the MCU. She followed my nod, saw the van, and returned a nod.

Then she turned her head and whispered. “Now?”

I shook my head and held up both my hands, fingers

spread. It was the universal “ten-minute” sign. She nodded. Then went back talking shop with her fellow jocks.

After that, a black car arrived. I think it was what passed for a taxi over here. The car pulled up the curb and a few minutes later, the Head Mistress got out. She looked at our gathered crowd, nodded to a couple of teacher chaperones then wandered over to the group of our chaperones. Apparently, it was the sign that said we were allowed to converge on the town shops. There was no set sightseeing schedule or anything. Karen found me and pointed to a little shop on the corner. I turned to Emma and nodded to her. She smiled then I did the same to Stella. Emma said goodbye to her friends and came wandering over.

“Guys” I said once Emma got there. “This is Karen, my temporary roomie. She’s agreed to show us around a bit.”

The others introduced themselves and the four of us started off. A lot of the other girls were doing the same, wandering off in groups of six or more. Clarice went off with the jocks and I finally caught sight of Britney. She was with Diana and her friends, the group of them chatting like old pals. When we passed, she gave me a look of daggers and I returned the same. There was no doubt in my mind that that girl was related to Dekker. She was so much like him and the resemblance was uncanny. Now I just needed the proof and then I could move on her. I’m not sure what my end game was but I was hoping it involved interrogating the bitch while she was tied to a chair. Ok that’s probably not going to happen but hey, a girl can dream can’t she.

Karen led us to the little shop on the corner she pointed out. It was a corner food market, a Tesco by the sign. She went in, neither of us followed. It was the perfect time for Connor. I looked across the street and gave Samson the signal. HE nodded to me and the back of the van opened. Due to all the girls wandering about still, no one noticed the boy in uniform get out of a florist van and walk slowly across the street. His uniform was blue and his hair was slicked back. He looked as smug as ever. He smiled broadly when he saw all of us.

“Good morning ladies” he said, “love the outfits.”

I glared at him. “Drop the crap.”

His smile faded. “Business first I guess” He said and then turned to Stella. “Pleasure later?”

She scoffed. “Not likely.”

He shrugged then pointed around the corner. I looked about and the three of us followed. We were still in view of the shop so that if Karen came out it was easy to see her. I went first. Connor’s hands were cold. He put them on my forehead and instantly the images started to flood my brain. When he was done, I was woozy. He grabbed my arm, steadying me but I shrugged his hand away. I definitely didn’t need his help. I still wasn’t happy that he was tagging along and was even more pissed at the fact that he was snooping around in my head. I didn’t like the idea of giving a perv like him an all inclusive look at my inner most thoughts. Even though I knew for a fact that he wasn’t a mind reader. It still creeped me out that he somehow went into my head.

After he did his thing with me, he moved onto Emma, probably saving Stella for last. I wandered back around the corner and saw a frantic Karen looking for us. I sighed, hating that I made her worry. I quickly wandered over. “Sorry” I said, huffing. “Stella saw something she thought looked like something from Harry Potter.”

Karen smiled. “There’s a lot of that around here. I mean tourists looking for stuff like that.”

I nodded. I turned and saw the two girls walking around the corner, both of them a little tipsy. It didn’t help that at that particular moment, Connor walked around the corner too. Karen looked from him at the two girls and then back again. He walked by us, sticking his hands in his blazer pockets, then he winked. The three of us ignored him but the color drained from Karen’s face. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that something irked her.

“You ok?” I asked.

She nodded absently but I could tell by her body language that she was anything but. She was fidgety and she kept looking over her shoulder, watching as Connor slowly disappeared down the street. She tried to do it without us noticing but she failed miserably. When Connor was finally gone, she finally relaxed.

Her body untensed and her color returned.

“I had a bad experience with one of those boys,” she said softly, more to herself than us.

I took her hand, squeezing it tightly. “He was some jerk. He made a couple of passes at us but didn’t get anywhere. I’ve got a boyfriend and those two” I smiled evilly at them, some pay back for them mocking me on the plane. “Those two are an item.”

I saw the look of dread on their faces. It was quick but they recovered quickly. Stella smiled and absently grabbed Emma’s hand. Emma looked like she was going to pound me but I think she remembered their earlier teasing. Her angry look faded and she smiled knowingly. I wagged my eyebrows and smiled. Karen looked at the two of them, as if something dawned on her and she smiled too. After that, everything seemed to be ok. I let go of Karen’s hand and the four of us continued down the street. Karen opened the plastic bag she holding, taking out some sandwiches. Though we’d just eaten breakfast, I was still kinda hungry. Emma was too. Unlike Stella, and me her metabolism was crazy. She could eat like a linebacker and not gain an ounce. It was sorta her penance for being who she was. There were a lot of kids like that at the Center, mainly the kinetics.

Except Stella of course. She ate normally and worked off her need for food with exercise. She was kind of a work out junky now. She said it helped her mind focus and kept her sharp. It also supposedly helped her regulate her heart rate and keep her stress free. Her invisibility seemed to be stress related. Though she could use it when she wanted it often came about without her wanting it when she was under too much stress. So that’s why she ran and did yoga and all that other crap.

After eating, Karen took us everywhere. We hit a lot of shops, going up one side of the street than the other. It didn’t take us long to realize that she was kind of loaded. In every shop we went too, Karen bought something. Soon she was loaded down with bags. I can’t say the same for us. Even though we had a nice line of credit for this mission, none of us were keen on shopping. Partially because we were all still partly guys inside our heads and partly because the Center provided all the clothes we’d ever need. But it didn’t stop us from browsing a bit---yes, even me. There were a few things I might have considered buying, especially a black bikini with skulls on it. Seeing it brought back a pang of memory. Back at the Syndicate, Trish bought me one just like it.
Tears swelled in my eyes and I bit my lip to force them back. I made sure none of the others saw me though.

After a few hours of shopping, Karen dragged us to McDonalds for lunch. Yeah they have those over here, who knew? We weren’t the only ones who had the idea though. As soon as we got our food and found a booth, we were surrounded by a sea of green. I didn’t know any of them but Karen did. She said hi to a few but mostly ignored the rest. I got the idea she was a bit of a loner, kind of like me.

When we sat, Karen looked at me and shook her head. “You should have let me buy you those earrings in TK MAXX.”

I shook my head. “They were too expensive.”

That was another thing. Karen kept trying to buy us clothes and accessories but we kept refusing. It wasn’t that we didn’t want her too but we didn’t want to take advantage of her. I think she was just happy to have some girlfriends to shop with. But we finally relented and let her pay for lunch at least. She wouldn’t take no for an answer.

It took us about a half an hour to eat lunch. After that, Karen wanted to hit the shops again. So we offloaded all her bags into the van that brought us then the four of us took another round of the shops. There weren’t a lot in the town but apparently, according to Karen anyway, you could hit them more than once. So that’s what we did. Back in TK MAXX, she was finally able to talk me into allowing her to buy me the earrings. They were cool little skulls. After that she dragged us all into the one store that none of us wanted to go into: a lingerie store she called Marks and Sparks. I don’t think that was the real name though.

Going in there made the three of us new girls really nervous. I wasn’t much for lingerie and neither was Emma or Stella. The two of them kept their heads low, veering away from all the silky femininity as much as possible. Karen seemed to think it was kind of funny though.

She laughed. “You three look like you’ve never been in a lingerie store before.”

Which I think was the truth. I know I’ve never been. I had one little journey while at the Syndicate and it was to a mall. I spent most of my time with Clara, the two of us spending most of that in the arcade. I don’t think I need to rehash what happened there. I went to another mall too with Stella and others, including Brad when we were looking for the missing Emma. Ok not missing, she was actually kidnaped by a nut associated with the Syndicate. I don’t think I need to rehash that adventure either. Suffice to say that most of our time was spent trying to retrace Emma’s steps. Thankfully, none of it led us into lingerie stores. There was a feminine boutique though and that was enough to send chills down my spine.

“Hey Becca over here” said Karen, who was standing near a display of black bras.

I groaned and came wandering over. They were lacy and girly, definitely not me. I was a plain white kind of girl and wore a sports bra if I could get away with it.

“I’m not letting you get me one of those,” I said and she frowned.

“At least try it on” she said, taking one off the rack in my size.

I groaned. It was like being with Mattie. “Fine” I said, snatching it from her.

I walked over to the changing rooms in the back of the store, Emma, Karen and Stella followed. Emma had a nice big grin on her face, enjoying my pain. I didn’t even give her a look as I went into the little booth. I got it over as quick as possible. I pulled my hoodie over my head and slowly unbuttoned my white blouse. It was kind of annoying that girls had the buttons on the wrong side. After that, I dropped the blouse on the floor and quickly undid my bra, allowing my puppies to bob loose and breathe. I looked down at them and smiled. I was proud of their size; I think it was the only thing I really enjoyed about them. Most girls probably would have complained about them being so small---34B---but I liked them. I couldn’t imagine having giant ones, like Stella’s. I don’t think they were D’s but they were pretty close. I’m not sure how she ran with those things jiggling like that. Emma had nice size ones too. Not as big as Stella’s but a bit bigger than mine. Hey I’ve seen her topless, the lot of us shower together on occasion.

“You done yet” whined Karen from the other side of the door.

“Almost.”

I dropped my bra on the floor and put on the black one. It held me quite nicely and I have to admit it did work well for me. It didn’t feel strange at all on over the Second Skin either. Sometimes it bothered me and pinched but this one fit like a glove. I clasped it, turned to look in the mirror, and had to admit that maybe Karen was right. I turned this way and that, smiling a little more than I should have been. Today was a good day for me. There were no dreams last night and this was the first time in a long time that I hadn’t been so angry. Maybe this is what I needed, a little vacation. Ok so technically it was a mission but it felt good to get out of the Center again and stretch.

I took a deep breath and walked out of the booth. Karen smiled.

“See, I told you it would look perfect on you.”

I nodded. “Ok, I think I can let you buy it for me.”

We all had a laugh at that. I turned to walk back into the booth when something caught my eye. Well not, something, someone actually. It was a guy, tall and blonde. I thought it weird that there would be a guy in a lingerie shop but maybe he was buying something for his girlfriend. He was almost to the door when he turned and looked at me. I would have covered up except my heart skipped a beat. I stood there frozen as I stared at him. When my heart started beating again and I could breath, I gasped. It was him; it was the bane of my existence.

Quentin Dekker.

He looked right at me and then smirked. He raised his hand in a wave, showing me a smug smile and then walked briskly out the door.

“Son of a bitch” I said and quickly went after him. I didn’t run because I didn’t want him to know I was following but I walked at a brisk pace. I pushed my way through the store and didn’t even pause at the door when I pushed it open. I heard the woman behind the counter yell at me and an alarm went off but I didn’t care. When I got out into the street, it didn’t even occur to me I was only wearing a bra and an ugly green skirt. All I cared about was Dekker.
The bastard had a huge head start. How was that possible? He just walked out of the store.

I grit my teeth and took off after him in a run. There were a lot of people on the street, all of them wanting to get in my way. I pushed through them though, shoving some of them aside in fact. But no matter how hard I ran, Dekker seemed to be well ahead of me. How in the hell was he doing it? I put on the speed, not bothering to notice the gasps from people I passed. I heard someone blow a whistle behind me and there was the sound of rapid footfall but I ignored it. Dekker was all I cared about. The faster I ran though, the further he got from me. It wasn’t possible; I should have been on him by now.
Finally, he turned a corner and I smiled. There was no way I was going to let him get away. I put on the speed. I’ve got you now you son of a bitch. I could see that he walked right into a dead-end, it was so obvious. I was laughing like a mad woman as I ran, pissed that I didn’t have Reta. But it didn’t matter; I’d beat him to death. When I finally got to the corner and around it, I slid to a halt. My feet gave out underneath me and I fell, landing in the filth. I screamed at the top of my lungs. The dead end was vacant; there was no one there. How could that be? I looked here and there. There was only one door. I jumped to my feet and ran to it, tugging on it but it was locked.

I cursed. He was here. There was no way he could have gotten away.

Someone shouted, “Becca”.

The running caught up with me. First, it was Stella then Emma. I turned to them, tears in my eyes. Then I collapsed to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

Stella took me into her arms as Karen and a police officer arrived. “He was here,” I sobbed, burying my head in her chest. “I saw him.”

“Who was here, Miss?”

I didn’t answer him as Stella put her blazer around my shoulders and helped me to my feet.

Instead, I looked at Emma. “I’m not crazy, Em. He was here; it was Dekker. I’m sure of it and then he, then he got away.”

Emma nodded. “”Let’s get you back to the store and we’ll sort things out.”

I nodded. I wasn’t crazy. They were all looking at me like I was crazy. But I wasn’t. It was him, Trish. It was him and I let him get away.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 8. I was able to write this and seven at the same time the other day because I had a lot of free time on my hands. Any other chapter might be a bit delayed because I'm going to be pretty busy the rest of the week but I'll try my hardest to get nine up before the week is out. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing.

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Chapter Eight:

“You going to be ok?” asked Stella as she handed me a glass of water.

I only grumbled my thanks. The two of us were sitting in an empty classroom, waiting for the Head Mistress. It’s not every day that you get called into a meeting because you were arrested for running like a lunatic through the streets of a quaint English town in your bra. Ok, in hindsight I probably should have put a shirt on before I ran out the door but I was so certain it was Dekker. I groaned and took a sip of the water, it was ice cold but I didn’t care. Stella was sitting next to me, smiling. I think she was trying to reassure me that everything was going to be all right but I knew better. I think I’m losing my mind. I was so certain it was Dekker. He was there, I saw him.

I groaned and took another sip. After my streaking incident, the officer took me down to the station. He filed a report and the four of us---me, Stella, Emma and Karen---had to wait for a chaperone to pick us up. There was a lot of confusion on the part of the police. Stella made up a quick lie to explain things. Apparently, I had a teacher from my old school who was obsessed with me and stalked me. I got a restraining order and changed schools. Then I thought I saw him in the lingerie store and decided to chase him down. It was a pretty good lie and luckily, we didn’t have Lola with us to ruin things. Seeing as I was so distraught at the time, crying and everything, it was a believable one too.

But that didn’t stop them from filing a report or get me off the hook. I was now on academic probation if you could believe that. I wasn’t even a member of their school and the Head Mistress was coming down on me hard. Apparently, she does that when someone embarrasses her school like that. I was wearing half the Chairmont uniform after all. As soon as the chaperone picked us up from the police station, we were escorted back to the school, not able to finish our town visit. When the others got back to school a few hours later, everyone was already talking about it. I apparently was big news. They were already spreading the craziest rumors too, most of them absolutely ridiculous. I was everything from a Serial Streaker to a Serial murderer.

“Do you think it was still him?” asked Stella in a soft voice.

I know she was trying to give me the benefit of the doubt. I sighed. “It sure looked like him. But once I got around that corner, he was gone. I don’t know how to describe him.”

Stella nodded. “We didn’t see anything,” she said softly. “One minute you were there, laughing with us and the next you freaked. We tried to run after you but the woman in the store stopped us. Karen had to pay for your bra even before we were allowed to leave. Then as soon as we got out the door, the cop was there.”

I nodded. “Thanks for all the help. If Karen is still talking to me after this, I’m going to have to make it up to her.”

Stella smiled. “I think she might be in love with you.”

That threw me. “What?”

Stella nodded. “She definitely idolizes you. The whole time we were at the police station, waiting for them to finish questioning you. She kept going on and on about how cool you were how she was the luckiest girl in the world to have you as her roommate.”

I sighed. That’s all I needed. What did the Japanese call them, oh yeah otakus. I had my very own fan girl now.

Stella was about to say more but didn’t get a chance because the room door opened. We both turned and looked and in walked the head Mistress, Miss Pennington. She wasn’t alone though. With her was a tall man in a gray suit. He had black hair that was going gray on the sides and a pencil thin mustache. He was holding a large manila envelope in his hand. He looked at the two of us but his eyes lingered on me for the longest time. Miss Pennington walked over to the teacher’s desk and sat down. She looked at the two of us and frowned. Then she looked at me and shook her head.

“When I agreed to allow the three of you to come to my school, Miss Logan,” she said, not knowing my real name. “I was told that you would do things low key and that you would do nothing to draw attention to yourselves or to embarrass my school.”

“Embarrassing the school was not my intention.”

She held up her hand. “I know it wasn’t your intention but you did so nonetheless.” She sighed. “I am to believe that the man you supposedly chased through the streets was someone of interest in your investigation.” I nodded, she sighed. “Be that as it may I have contacted your superior and have asked her to remove the three of you from my establishment.”

I was outraged. I jumped to my feet, clinching my fists. “You can’t do that. You can’t interfere with this investigation it’s too important to me…to us. If you try to stop this so help me God I’ll…”

I stopped myself. I was acting like a crazy woman again. I sighed and dropped back down into my seat. Miss Pennington gave me a look. I think it was supposed to scare me but considering all the scary people I’ve been up against it was pathetic. I shot her a look of my own. I didn’t think she was intimidated and I didn’t care. If this bitch tried to put a stop this, I’d bury her.

Miss Pennington continued as if my outburst never happened. “I have contacted your superiors and they have denied my request. They believe that this incident of yours was brought on by stress and lack of sleep and I am inclined to agree. The police have several witnesses, including your three companions and there is no evidence that the man you were chasing was even there.”

I looked at Stella and she mouthed “sorry.” I smiled weakly at her. I couldn’t be mad at her, she was just telling it as it is. After I calmed down earlier, I realized that Dekker wasn’t there. I’m not sure why I saw him but it drove me nuts that I did. I’m not sure what came over me. All I knew was that I needed to get to Dekker and kill him. I wasn’t thinking straight and I was reckless. I groaned. I could just hear Mrs. Fine now, berating me for this major goof up.

“I know he wasn’t real,” I finally admitted.

Miss Pennington smiled. “You are to see the school counselor as soon as this meeting is over. Your Mrs. Fine tells me you’ve not been sleeping well for a while and that you’re suffering from nightmares. In order to stay in my institution, you are required to speak to Miss Drake and maybe the two of you can get to the bottom of these problems of yours.”

I nodded but inwardly I was screaming. Not another freaking shrink. What the hell was wrong with these people? I didn’t need a shrink.

Miss Pennington got up from the desk and walked over to the man who up to this point was standing like a soldier, silent and creepy.

“This gentleman is Inspector Munroe from MI5. He would like to ask you a few questions.”

She smiled at me and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Munroe walked over to the desk and sat on the edge of it. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, staring at the two of us. I think he was sizing us up, much like the two of us were sizing him up. When he spoke, there was no emotion in his voice. “You and your team inserting into my country was not a wise thing to do without proper procedure. I should have all of you deported for this incident.”

I bit my lip. Fat chance of that happening. Stella put a hand on my shoulder, cautioning me. I took a deep breath and spoke. “I wasn’t informed that this was an illegal op.”

Munroe stared at me. “Not illegal, unsanctioned. You were well under the radar, Miss Howe, until you pulled that little stunt this afternoon. It’s a good thing no one was hurt. All we need is an international incident on our hands.”

My little stunt? It’s not like I was firing my gun into the ground. I was chasing a supposed nut job through the streets. In the end, I was the only nut job but it was hardly anything dangerous. “I don’t see where I caused a problem, sir?”

This time Munroe smiled. “Don’t try to play dumb with me, Miss Howe. I know all about your mission. I had a nice long chat with your Colonel Harris and your Mrs. Fine. You may have fooled Pennington with your cover story but I know the truth. There are a select few in world governments that know of your kind. It’s not a very large circle but it is growing larger by the day. You may not have thought you were a danger but I know better. I’ve seen the videos; I know what your kind are capable of doing. “

“Our kind? You make us sound like we’re inhuman or something.”

Munroe smirked. “Isn’t that what you are?”

I wanted to tell the guy to fuck off. But Stella beat me to it. Ok so she didn’t swear at him. She smiled sweetly. “There are some of us out there that are dangerous, Inspector. But we’re not them. The place we live and work for, we’re trying to protect people.”

Munroe snorted. “All the while hiding behind that American flag of yours.”

That pissed me off. “We’re not hiding behind anything. We’re not here to harm you or your people. We’re looking for a lead on a criminal, one criminal, an American criminal. It is vital to the national security of our nation and yours that we find this criminal and bring him to justice.”

Munroe snorted again and threw the envelope on my desk. “He’s not here. I ran a check on your Quentin Dekker. He’s quite the well connected man. Your FBI has had him flagged on the no fly list for weeks. If he showed up in this country, my people would have caught him by now. Interpol is looking too and they’ve got nothing as well. It’s like he’s disappeared off the face of the Earth. So whoever you claimed to have seen was not Quentin Dekker. That little stunt of yours this afternoon was reckless and foolhardy. People could have been hurt, it’s a good thing you weren’t armed. If you had been we’d be having this conversation in a jail cell and not a class room.”

I didn’t even look at his envelope. Instead, I asked the question I really wanted to know. “Can we still run our op?”

He smirked. “I don’t have the authority to shut you down.” I nodded. But he wasn’t done. “But just because I don’t have the authority that doesn’t mean you won’t be monitored. You have forty-eight hours. If you don’t find what you’re looking for by then I will blow this thing wide open and ruin everything that you and your team have worked so hard to cover up.”

Forty-eight hours? I groaned, what a prick?

“That’s not going to be enough…”

Stella cut me off. “We can do it in that time. Thank you for being so lenient with us, Inspector.”

She flashed him a big smile, really putting on the charm. It didn’t work of course. He grunted, snatched the envelope out of my hand and stormed out of the room.

“You can’t be serious Stel,” I said, moaning.

She smiled. “Of course I’m not but he needed to hear that. That guy was a dick; I wanted to punch him in the face. He was just trying to pee all over us, show us who’s top dog around here. He doesn’t have any real authority; he was just blowing smoke.

I smiled at her. “You’re the best Stel. I’m not sure what I’d do without you.”

She leaned over and gave me a hug. “Don’t say that too loud, Mattie might here then we’re both in trouble.”

We laughed at that. Mattie is and always be my best friend. But Stella and I were close too, closer than close thanks to our bonding. Dr. Tipps said we were like sisters now and I could see that. She felt like a sister, like someone I could cry to when things got really bad.

____________________________________

“Are you secure?” asked Kit.

I looked around the room. I was in my temporary dorm; Karen was down in the common room with the other girls. Everyone went there after dinner, probably to gossip more about the crazy streaking American girl. I don’t care. All I care about is finding Dekker and making him pay. I know, I’m Broken Record girl but I’ve had some time to think since this afternoon. After leaving the empty classroom, Stella went one way and I the other. I had to report immediately to the school’s counselor, Miss Drake. She was a kind person, with a big smile and a happy disposition. But just like Dr. Tipps, I didn’t want to open up to her. There was just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. Besides, I wasn’t really in the sharing mood. But the best part, she wasn’t Tipps so she didn’t know me.

So I laid it on real thick. I used that fake cover story Stella concocted for the police. I put on the water works and everything. By the end of our session, she was hugging me and crying right along. Adults are such saps, especially ones with degrees. She told me if I needed time to myself that while I was here I could forego any classes for the whole week. How sweet was that? Unfortunately, I knew Mrs. Fine would chew me out for that. So I reluctantly told her I was fine and that maybe a few hours rest might do me some good. So she had me excused from dinner so I could go to my room.

The first thing I did was report in to Kit. She was indifferent about my arrest and actually had a few jokes. I took them in good spirit. Then she said the Boss Lady called. Mrs. Fine wanted me to report in as soon as possible to give her the rundown. I knew what that meant though. It was her chance to bust my balls---figuratively of course. So after dinner---which I skipped---I waited until Karen slipped off for a movie. They were watching, you guessed it, the new Harry Potter movie. I wonder whose suggestion that was.

“I’m good to go,” I said to the Specialist on my laptop screen.

It didn’t take long for Kit’s image to disappear and to be replaced by that of Mrs. Fine. She was scowling, that woman never smiled. I did though; it was a small one, an attempt to lighten the mood. I don’t think it worked.

“What a fine mess you’ve made, Rebecca.”

I groaned. I was in serious trouble if she was using the full name. “Any mess made is mine and mine alone, ma’am.”
There was no way I was going to allow her to penalize the others for this.

She nodded. “I’ve read Specialist Rodriguez’ debrief and yours as well.”

I typed mine up as soon as I got back to the room---during dinner---and sent it along through Kit.

Mrs. Fine sighed. “Is there any proof that you actually encountered Dekker?”

I wasn’t expecting that question. I figured she was going to be like the others and say I was imagining him, too. After all, I was the only one who apparently saw him. But she was right in a way, asking me the way she did. I had no proof, so I shook my head. “I don’t think I imagined him though.”

“It’s hard to believe otherwise with the evidence against your claim.”

I nodded. But I had some time to think about it actually. At first I was convinced that he was a figment of my imagination too. Then I remembered he was a few feet ahead of me. It was plenty of time to get away. There was after all, a door there. It was locked when I got there but that didn’t mean it was when he got there. Maybe he opened it with a key and locked it from the inside. It was a possibility, right? So I shared my theory with Mrs. Fine, she listened intently. Then she started to type on her keyboard, she spoke to someone off screen. She looked haggard, like she’d been overworked.

“Is something wrong ma’am?”

She sighed. “We’ve had a situation here. I don’t want to say too much, even over this secure connection. But that thing you and I were talking about, the one we have feared. I believe it might have come true.”

The thing, what thing? I wracked my brain trying to remember. Then it came to me. Oh God, she was talking about the traitor. “You can’t be serious?”

“I’m afraid so. We have a team investigating right now and a possible lead. That’s all I can say right now at the moment but I’ll keep you apprised of the situation.”

I nodded. “Will it affect my mission?”

She shook her head. “Not sure at the moment. As soon as I get pertinent information I’ll pass it along.”

I nodded. Then someone stepped up behind her. I didn’t see who it was but they handed her something. She looked at it and nodded. Then she turned back to the screen. “We just checked out that dead end of yours. “You’re right, there is something there. That door is the back entrance to a popular nightclub, the Hellcat. Intel is a little rusty but we believe there might to be a small apartment above it.”

I was just grasping at straws but this might actually work. I couldn’t believe it.

Mrs. Fine sighed. “Rebecca, when you decide to sneak into the place for a look, I think it might be wise to take some back up. Maybe someone who can walk through walls.”

I smiled and flushed. “Will do, ma’am.”

Mrs. Fine nodded. “That will be all for now, Sergeant. After you’re done with your recon, I want a full report. There’s something going on here, something that doesn’t quite fit with the pieces being laid out before us.”

I nodded.”I’ll make sure we have better pieces.”

Mrs. Fine didn’t say anything more before her face disappeared from the screen to be replaced by Kit’s smiling one. “So are we going to the club tonight?’ she asked.

I sighed. It must have been fun to be paid to eavesdrop. “Not yet. I want to do some recon on the place first to make sure it’s worth our time. Can you contact Brad for me and see if he can sneak out tonight.”

Kit smiled and I blushed. She didn’t say anything other than “will do, Sarge” before her face disappeared as well. It was replaced for a second by Barry. I opened my mouth to say something but he clicked off before I could. I sighed. What the hell was that all about? Ever since we shipped out, the two of us have been like complete strangers. When I called Kit earlier and sent her my debrief, he barely spoke two words to me. Now he was completely ignoring me. Was he pissed that he was stuck in the van during the whole op? I mean what a way to tell someone but the silent treatment was kind of childish.

_______________________________

I stood on the curb, shivering in my thin hoodie, waiting for my ride. The large stone building of Chairmont stood behind me, looming like a gray ghost in the night. Its stone spires were like sentinels, staring down and keeping a watchful eye on me. I tried not to look, I already felt bad enough as it is. It didn’t bother me about sneaking out, that was actually kind of fun. It was lying to my friends.

Everyone thought I was up in my room, sleeping it off. But in truth, I stuffed some clothes underneath my blanket and went out the window. An old building like this had ivy clinging to the walls and lots of old stones jutting out for handholds. I was glad that I took the time to allow myself some rock wall training. It helped a lot on the wall, scaling it without the use of a rope.

Gideon would have been proud. I shivered. English nights were cold, too cold. Though I didn’t feel most of it, some of it did get through. It was a dull ache, throbbing into me. I hated this feeling; it made me feel as if I wasn’t in control. Lately it was all about control with me. I controlled the outcomes of my fights by knowing when the punch was going to come by hearing it and I controlled the outcome of my pain by suppressing it. In some respects, I even controlled the outcome of my own actions, too. Ok that one was stretching a bit but I sure felt like I did. The cold was one thing I couldn’t control though and I didn’t like that. The only other thing as bad as the cold was Barry. I tried calling him back to talk but he was standoffish at best. He barely paid attention to me, more interested in whatever minimal task that Kit assigned him to do. I was the only one in our group that out ranked Kit and Samson. I thought about asking for a commission for Barry but then I thought about his non-leadership qualities. He definitely wasn’t the guy who should be in charge.
Hell, I shouldn’t have been in charge either. But I guess Kris and the Colonel saw something in me that they didn’t see in others.

The beeping of a horn drew my attention away from my thoughts. A black car was pulling up to the curb, the driver got out on the wrong side again. I’m never going to get used to that. He looked at me, grinning a toothless grin.

“You the one I’m supposed to get, ducky.”

I nodded. “My friend?”

“We’ll get im next.”

He walked around and opened the back door for me. I smiled and climbed inside. He shut the door gently and got back into the car. I just about buckled my seat belt before he took off like a rocket. I was thrown back into the seat, a bit jarred. Who the hell taught this guy to drive, Mario Andretti? I groaned as we lurched around the big circular path in front of the school and headed down the road toward the M5. Chairmont was sort of built into a forested area, away from everything else. It was real pretty especially at night. With all the lights twinkling in the rooms and from the two spires on either end of the building, it looked like a medieval castle.

“You don’t sound like one of em green skirts.”

I smiled. “I’m from Detroit.”

“Ah a Yank, huh. Don’t get too many of you around ere, love.”

“I’m here for a concert.”

There was no point in lying to him. So I gave him the fake life that Mrs. Fine set up for us. He talked my ear off so it was worth it. As soon as we got on M5 and started zipping down the road, he wanted to know everything about me. I tried my best to remember, my Connor thing having worn off about an hour ago. I was still a little woozy from that fading. It only made you dizzy when it came and when it left. It was hard for us but I wondered what Connor must feel. Not that I’m feeling sorry for him but he must have a head full of crap. I can’t imagine he’s ever going to use any of it. But it makes me wonder how much stuff he’s got rattling around in there?

After about twenty minutes, the cab left the M5.

St. Bernard’s School for Boys was just really down the street from Chairmont. Unlike Chairmont though, it looked like a school. It was a gray block of a building; it was even surrounded by a ten-foot tall chain link fence. It was kind of depressing to look at, more like a prison then a school. I got out of the cab and told the driver to wait while I went to get my friend. He smiled and winked, I rolled my eyes. I put in my earpiece and tapped my choker throat mike. Brad was supposed to meet me at the tree on the outskirts of the school grounds, just outside the fence. I found the tree but Brad was nowhere in sight.

“Eagle calling Owl, do you copy, over?”

Ever since Mrs. Fine said they were having a problem at the Center, possibly a traitor in their midst, I was hell bent to stick with formality now and just use the code names. It was kind of corny but it did make me feel more like a spy.

I tried raising him again but there was no response. I panicked a bit and walked toward the tree. I started to look around it, worried that something might have happened to him. It wasn’t like Brad to get caught; he could after all walk through walls. I looked all around the tree, including up into it but he was nowhere. I sighed and fell against it, huffing. As soon as I did so, a hand landed on my shoulder. I stifled a scream and snapped around. A human shape came out of the tree, tall and blonde. I could of kicked his ass but instead I couldn’t help but smile. Brad started laughing as he stepped all the way out of the foreboding oak.

“You should have seen your face,” he said through his laughter.

I smacked him in the arm. “You almost got shot.”

His eyes drifted down to my belt. No Reta wasn’t there. She actually was still back in my room but I had something much better. Kit sent a care package along for me, concealing it in the bushes. After climbing down the wall, I went and retrieved. It was a little plastic case, inside was a single P Gun and six darts. If you’re not familiar with what my little friend does let’s just say it involves a deadly toxin that comes from a place that you don’t want to know.

I’ll give you a hint, there’s a reason we call them “pee” guns. You can eww now.

I tapped my holster, turning my thigh so he could see the gun.

“Is that what I think it is?”

I nodded and he grimaced. “How many of those did you bring?”

I knew what he was thinking and the answer was definitely no. He wasn’t ready for a gun yet. He’d only had minor small arms training. Most of his powers training dealt with how permeable he could get himself by testing what kinds of things he could pass through. Apparently, the only thing that seemed to really slow him down was solid steel. So as long as the nightclub walls were made of concrete or granite than the two of us were good to go.

“You’re not getting a gun,” I said finally, looking him straight in the eye or trying to at least, he was taller than me. “You’re not ready.”

As far as I was concerned, I wasn’t ready either. But after you have it thrust upon you there’s really no choice in the matter.

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he followed me to the car. The driver made a comment about the way he looked and his size but neither of us said anything. Brad was getting his game face on apparently. We got into the back and let the cabbie speed us toward the town. We both sat with the middle open, staring out the window. I kept casting glances at him when I thought he wasn’t looking. I caught him doing the same out of the corner of my eye. Every part of me wanted to reach over and take his hand but I didn’t. I kept telling myself over and over again that I was with Barry and he was a big complication. But every time I thought it, I kept seeing the kiss over and over again in my head. I actually found myself licking my lips and when I closed my eyes, it was Brad’s face I saw instead of Dekker’s. I’m not sure if that brought me comfort or more misery.

After about another twenty minutes on the road, we were finally pulling into the town. It looked different in the dark, especially without a bunch of green clad girls running around. I found it hard to believe that that was only five or six hours ago. Ok more like eight but who’s counting. The point was that the officer who arrested me told me he didn’t want to see me around again, at least the whole time I was in the country. I’m not sure if that was a warning or a chance to save what little pride and dignity he had left. It’s not every day that a nearly topless girl goes running down the street you’re patrolling. Even after I gave him my statement, I think he still thought it was some kind of practical joke.

The driver stopped the car in front of Tesco’s. He turned around and held out a business card. “We have to be called ahead of time for rides. When you two luver birds are done, you give me a call, all right?”

I nodded and took the card while Brad opened the door. He ran around to my side before I got a chance. He opened the door and I melted a bit inside. No guy’s ever opened a door for me. When I was a guy, I was lucky to even think about looking at a door when there was a girl nearby. I can honestly say that I was a bit of an idiot when it came to women. But Richard was always a bit of an idiot. Yeah that’s right; I referred to my old self as a different person. It was something we concocted at the Syndicate to help us adjust better to our new lives. I sighed. Thinking of that place brought back a lot of bad memories.

“So” said Brad as he pulled his coat closed. “Where’s this club?”

“This way.”

I led the way as the cabbie drove off. I stuck his card in the pocket of my hoodie. I didn’t really need it now because it was dark but it was the only coat I had, besides the two school blazers. There was no way I was going to walk around after hours in one of those, though. In fact, my entire wardrobe was improvised. While the others were in the Common Room, I snuck into Stella’s room and borrowed a skirt and tank top from her. They weren’t really my style but they were better than the clothes that Mrs. Fine was trying to put me into. Never again am I letting her decide what I’m going to wear. She has absolutely no fashion sense whatsoever.

“Kit told me what happened today,” said Brad as the two of us walked along. We were pretty much the only ones on the street. “She said that you saw Dekker and chased him into a dead end alley.”

I sighed. I knew what he was trying to do and frankly, it wasn’t going to work. “Did she tell you how when I got into the dead end that Dekker seemed to have miraculously disappeared?”

He nodded. “But he went into the nightclub right?”

I smiled. He was so sweet but he believes that about as much as I did. “That’s what we’re going to find out.”

We finally got to the dead end and I pointed out the door to him. He rubbed his hands together and reached for the knob. He was all set to do his thing when I heard something. I snapped around, pulling the P Gun from its holster. I scanned the dark. Because I was on my own, I didn’t need to hide my eyes behind the contacts. They shone bright purple, cutting my gaze through the darkness. I found what caused the noise. There was someone at the end of the alley, staring at us. She was a girl about our age with bright blue hair and an improvised Goth wardrobe. There were a lot of piercing all over her face and several in her ears. She looked like my kind of person, all except for the lurking of course.

I lowered my gun and motioned Brad away from the door. “Who are you?” I called in a threatening tone.

“Oy” she said, not bothering to move from her spot. “You can’t get in there until tomorrow night. They’ve got that place locked up tighter than a drum.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

She smiled; I saw the flash of her tongue piercing. I shuddered. “You can call me Jasmine if you want.”

I nodded. “Do you frequent this club a lot?”

She smirked. “What do you think?”

Brad stepped forward. “We’re looking for someone. He would have gone through this door earlier today. Tall, blonde hair, walks with a cane.”

Jasmine sighed. “I know ‘im. He comes and goes as he pleases. He’s not home now though.”

“We’re not friends of his.”

Her smile got bigger. “Then you really want to come back tomorrow night. When the club is kicking, he bails. If you want to do some snooping I suggest you do it then.”

I nodded. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear but what choice did we have. She was probably going to stand there all night staring at us. There was no way that we could walk through the wall with her constantly watching us. So I sighed and nodded to Brad, telling him mission over. He slumped his shoulders. I think he was kind of looking forward to doing something on this mission. I was too, in fact. So far, it’d been nothing but sitting around and being bored. Well besides my little streaking incident earlier today that is.

“You’re sure he won’t be here tomorrow?”

“The guy’s got a major stick up his ass. He’ll definitely be gone tomorrow. You can do all the snooping you want and the best part, no one’s going to pop in on you if you’re in the club already.”

She flashed us that smile again. I smiled back. She had a point.

Brad walked over and put a protective arm around me. I think he thought she was some kind of mugger or something. Fortunately, I could take care of myself but I didn’t protest. I kind of liked having his arm around my waist, Barry be damned. He’s been an ass lately so he can miss out on the better things in life. I leaned into Brad, putting my head on his chest and the two of us slowly walked past the girl, back in the direction we came from.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 9. I kind of had a busy week what with moving my grandfather into his new apartment and all. But now I'm back on track...at least for the time being. We finally get to see a little nightclub in this one. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and everyone who had a hand in helping me hammer this one out, you know who you are.

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Chapter Nine:

“Becca” said a voice as someone shook me. “Wake up or you’re going to be late for class and trust me, you don’t want that.”

I opened my eyes a bit, ready to yell at Stella for bothering me so early. But it wasn’t Stella who was shaking me. I opened my eyes further and saw Karen standing over me, already in her dreadful green uniform. I groaned. It took me a few seconds to process where I was. Then I closed my eyes and rolled away from her. I didn’t even need to look at the clock to know how early it was. I could feel the sun on my skin as it seeped through the open curtains. There were a lot of advantages for me as far as the Second Skin was concerned but there were some disadvantages too. One of the biggest ones was the tingling. It didn’t bother me so much if most of my body was covered. But when it was in the direct sun, the suit kind of tingled a bit. It usually only happened in the morning and always when I was trying to sleep.

Karen shook me again. “You can’t sleep in like this; if Janet catches you there will be hell to pay.”

I scoffed, not bothering to turn around. “I can handle her.”

Karen sighed. “That I don’t doubt but they have a rule here. If you get in trouble, I do.”

That caused me to open my eyes. I turned around and pushed myself up onto my elbows. This bed was too lumpy for me; I missed the one back home. Yes, I referred to the Center home; I never had a real one so it’s the closest to one I’ve ever had.

“What are you talking about?”

Karen sat on the end of my bed, making sure to fold her skirt underneath her as she did so. She smiled weakly. “You and your roommate are responsible for one another. If one of you misbehaves then it’s seen as a demerit to the other. Something to do with not watching each other.”

That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I sighed and bit my lip. “You didn’t get in trouble yesterday did you?”

She shook her head. “You were new, you didn’t know the rules. But if you do something stupid today, I will.”

What the hell was with this place?

I sighed and threw off my blanket. Karen smiled. She jumped off my bed and walked over to her own, turning her back on me again. I rolled my eyes. She lived in a girl’s school; surely, she’d seen the others undress. But her prudish behavior was the least of my worries at the moment. I looked at the clock and saw that I only had about ten minutes to get dressed before breakfast. I sighed. I guess that means I’m skipping a shower. I pulled off my bedclothes quickly enough and put on some underwear. The only good thing about wearing a uniform was not going through the hassle of finding something to wear every day. I walked over to my closet and found it hanging there. Apparently, all of the girls only had two or three uniforms. The dirty one was to be hung outside your door every night and someone would come by and collect it to wash. With all of us visiting girls, they only gave us one uniform apiece. So we were meant to hang it outside our door every night we were here. Last night I forgot but someone must have because here it was hanging in my closet, all nice and clean.

I dressed quickly enough. “I’m decent.”

Karen turned around. “C’mon, we’re going to be late for tutor group.”

I didn’t even get a chance to say ok as she grabbed my arm and pulled me out into the hall. The line-up of girls from yesterday was gone. The hall was empty as Karen pulled me down it. I struggled to keep up because I was still putting on my stupid shoes. I guess they were better than the heels they made us wear at the Center. But I still missed my boots.

Unlike yesterday morning, this morning we actually went to a classroom for our roll call. There were about thirty or so of us, the others all sitting at little wooden desks when we entered. We slipped in when the teacher’s back was to us. We found some seats in the back so when she turned around, she didn’t even notice we weren’t there before. I didn’t go to school much when I was Rick. I mean I had school but it never really agreed with me. I’m a bright student, I used to get decent grades but there was something about being bounced from one place to the other that didn’t settle well into a school environment. Besides Dell, I didn’t really have many friends.

“Good morning girls” said the teacher, writing her name on the board. “I’m Miss Cross, for those of you joining us from America for the week; I am the Form Tutor of this group.”

She went on to explain what a tutor group is about. All you really need to know that it’s sort of like home room in American high school except here you’re with the same students pretty much throughout your entire time here. I’m not sure how things go in normal high schools but I used to have a different home room and teacher almost every year---but then again I was lucky to stay at one school for more than a year. Miss Cross droned on a bit more about her job then took attendance. After that, she let us go.

I got to follow Karen around for the day.

I don’t think I need to bore you with every single class. I can give you a rundown of them though. First was English, then Math and Biology. They were pretty much the same as the classes in America except they seemed to be even more boring. After that was History and let me tell you, I’ll take Mr. Royce any day over the troll who taught it here. I usually like learning about World War 2 but this woman made everything sound very bland. It was a lot of blah, blah, blah. After history, Karen had German and yes, I didn’t understand a damn thing. When Connor did his thing, he gave us French. Which is hard enough to have rattling around in our heads. The German was worse though, much worse.

After that, we finally got a break for lunch. We weren’t allowed to eat with one another, though. So I ended up back at the table with the other girls from Our Lady of Angels. I sat in between Emma and Stella. Both of them looked about as exhausted as I felt.

“You can cross two more girls off our list,” said Stella quietly.

“Which ones?”

She gestured slightly with her head. I turned and saw a pair of brunettes sitting together and groaned. How did we miss that there were twins here. Both of them were kind of short and a little overweight. As much as I didn’t want to judge, I just knew there was no way they could be Dekker’s kids. For one thing they didn’t look a thing like him and for another, there was no way he’d ever allow any kid of his to look like that.

“Where do we meet Connor?” asked Emma, sipping her drink. “Because I was dying in French class. I took Spanish in school and even then I struggled.”

I was thinking the same thing myself. So far, I’d been able to get away with my own knowledge but pretty soon, that wasn’t going to work. For starters, after classes today was our first band rehearsal. I think it was pretty safe to say that none of us knew how to play the cello without his little mind “jumpers” he gave us.

Half way into lunch, I excused myself on the false pretense of going to the bathroom. After that, I slipped out of the Great Hall and found a dark, empty classroom. I slipped inside and shut the door. Then I whipped out my scrambled cell. I dialed Kit, she picked up after only one ring.

“Hey Sarge, how’s boarding school life been treating you?”

I ignored the question. “Where’s Connor going to meet us?”

Kit laughed. “I was wondering when you’d call. I’ve got him set up to rendezvous with you three in about ten minutes. Do you know that door on the other side of the kitchen, the one where they get deliveries? He’ll be one of the guys dropping off the newest shipment. As soon as he gets a few moments, he’ll do his thing.”

I nodded and looked at the clock on the phone. I thanked her, slipped it into my hoodie and went back into the Great Hall. I walked over to the table and made some excuse for Emma and Stella. Apparently, it was now my “time of the month” and I needed some help with that. The two of them gave me wide eye looks but after giving them a look of my own, I think they understood. They slowly followed me down the hall and into the kitchen. Luckily, for us there was no one there. We slipped through it silently to the delivery door and waited. Ten minutes later, Connor showed up right on time, carrying a large wooden crate.

“Little help, this thing is heavy.”

I groaned and nodded to Emma. She took it in one hand, carrying it like it was made of paper. She set aside, Connor’s eyes got as big as saucers.

“Stop gawking and do your thing,” I snapped.

He nodded numbly. He did me first, knowledge flooded into my brain. But unlike before, I didn’t get woozy. I think I was finally getting used to it. Everything cello went bouncing around, boggling my mind. When this mission was over, I was going to make sure he never did his thing to me again. I hated how all this new stuff made me feel. I also hated being dependent so much on him. He was a prick and let’s face it; no one wants one of those around. Especially one like him.

“All done gorgeous” he said, just finishing up with Stella.

She was the last.

“Hey” he said, still talking to her. “Kit says you guys might hit a night club tonight, you want to be my date?”

Stella rolled her eyes. “I already told you I don’t swing that way.”

He nodded. “I know, but I figure if I walk in there with a pretty girl like you on my arm all the other girls will get jealous and then become sympathetic when you ignore me the rest of the night.”

I interrupted. “You’re leaving now; Connor or else I’ll have Emma remove you.”

Emma smiled at him, cracking her knuckles.
The color drained from Connor’s face. “I’ll see you tonight, girls.”

I pushed him out of the kitchen and slammed the door in his face.

“Do you think he was a horn dog as a girl too?” asked Stella, shivering.

Emma laughed. “Her name was Maria Velazquez actually. According to Lola, Maria was a real bookworm. She was real shy and quiet.”

“And how does she know that?”

Emma smiled. “They were neighbors. Martin’s Mom and Maria’s mom were best friends. They moved next door to each other. Apparently they drank the same water.”

I nodded. I couldn’t picture Lola as a Martin though. I smiled at that. Then I remembered the hard time I gave her before and frowned.

The three of us slipped out of the kitchen and back into the Great Hall. No one was the wiser.

After lunch, things went by a little faster. Karen dragged me into a Geography class that wasn’t all that bad. I lucked out because they were discussing the US. I think they might have done that for our sake. After that, we went to a Religious Studies class. I’m not even going to discuss how bored I was there. There was a technology class too. I think they wanted their girls to have a well-rounded education. As Rick I would have loved it---Barry would have too, because it was all about computers---but for some reason I couldn’t find myself getting into it. I think a lot of the girls were that way. There were several of them with blank looks on their faces, some of them even staring off into oblivion. Her last normal class was Child Development. You can imagine how well that went over. Emma and Stella were in the class too and I think the two of them were as red in the face as I was. I know it was all a part of being a girl but honestly there was no way I was going to have a kid. Not that there was anything wrong with that but I’m just not that kind of person.

Can you see me taking care of a kid?

I called Child Development her last class because I don’t really consider PE a class. I was never one for sports when I was Rick because I was always too short and girly. A lot of guys used to rib me a lot about it. I got pushed around a lot too, and being the little guy, the others had a tendency to avoid me when it came to picking teams. But being me now, it was a whole different thing. I’m tall now and athletic. Not as motivated as Stella maybe but I’m pretty fit. So PE was kind of a breeze for me. We played something called Net Ball---which is basically basketball. My team dominated, thanks in no part to me and Emma. She may have been a hockey jock before but she was a pretty good ball player too.

After PE, I finally got that much needed shower.

________________________________

The rest of the day went by too damn slow. I don’t think I need to bore you with the details, especially band practice. I have to admit though; the band is good. I don’t generally like the music they play---all classical and crap---but because of my Connor whammy, I know that they’re excellent. Besides getting the usual, we also got a lot of knowledge about classical music. So I now know the ins and outs of things that I wouldn’t necessarily know. I’m just glad that this crap leaves my head. I can’t imagine what it must be like for Connor, always having it in his head. What happens when some girl needs to know something girly? I can’t help at smile at that. I know Connor was once a girl but the thought of him having makeup and hair care expertise rolling around in his head is just priceless.

After practice, I ended up alone in the room. Karen left me a note though. There was something pressing that needed her attention, newspaper business I guess. I think I might have forgotten to mention that. Karen was a member of the school newspaper, the Chairmont Gazette---not very original I know. She was a photographer or something. Her note didn’t say where she went but I think I remember her mentioning something about having to take pictures of the Netball team. So now, here I was sitting on my bed, looking around the empty room. The last time I had a room to myself like this was at the Syndicate. The memory was happy and sad at the same time. Trish helped me decorate and Mr. Red---aka Greg Dwyer---painted it. He was a pretty cool guy until I found out he was a mercenary for hire who killed my best friend Dell. Yeah that kind of puts the whole damper on admiring someone. I sighed. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d thought about him. Dwyer was one of the good guys at the Syndicate---well as good as can be expected from him. He was one of the three faculty members who helped us escape---Trish being one and Mr. Black being the other.

Dwyer stuck with us a bit until he kinda disappeared. I didn’t care either way. I’m sure if he stuck around, I probably would have killed him anyway. He was a coward. He left me a note after he left, explaining his guilt over killing my friend. He claimed he was only following orders and felt real bad about it. How can you follow orders but feel bad about it too? It made no sense. But I suppose guys like him have no consciences or something.

I sighed and fell backwards on the bed. The ceiling was a dull white color. Why is it that all places like this don’t bother to paint their ceilings? If it were mine, I’d have midnight blue or black. I think that would look cool. Not that I could ever get away with that at the Center. They didn’t mind us painting our walls but for some reason they drew the line at the ceiling. I think it’s just really hard to do. But then again didn’t that Michelangelo guy paint that ceiling, on his back no less? Maybe they’re just lazy or something.

A knock on the door drew me away from my thoughts. I sat up and groaned. Who the hell is that? It can’t be Karen, she doesn’t get done for another hour and besides it’s her room so she has a key. I groaned and pushed myself off the bed and trudged slowly to the door. When I opened it, I felt like groaning again: it was Britney. She was standing there with the sweetest smile on her face, her long blonde hair looking particularly long and shiny today.

“What do you want?” I asked, not trying to hide my distaste for this girl.

She ignored it. “Is it true that you’re going to the Hellcat tonight?”

I inwardly groaned. Does everyone know about this?

I nodded. “If we can find some way to sneak out of this place.”

Britney smiled. “If you agree to take me along I think I have a plan.”
Bring her alone? We were going to be spying on her potential father. How could I drag her along unless…What better way to distract someone then to bring their own daughter. Can you imagine if Dekker saw his darling little girl thrashing about in the club? He’d blow a gasket and cause a scene. It would be enough of one to get him away from his room and us in there. Of course, that plan all hinged on the fact that Jasmine was right and Dekker wasn’t there at nights. But a solid back up might be a good idea.

I regretted my next words. “You can come but no one else. I don’t want this to become common knowledge.”

She smiled big, showing off her shiny white teeth. “Don’t worry; I know how to keep a secret.”

I smiled. I bet she does.

I didn’t wait for her to say anything else as I shut the door in her face. I didn’t slam it though, even though I wanted to. After all, she was going to get us out of this place. The least I could do was be polite to her, at least until we were free. As soon as we were at the club, I planned to treat her like she had the plague.

I went back to the bed and collapsed onto it again. I tried my hardest to get some sleep; it’s hard when someone throws off your sleep cycle. But no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t do it. I hate it when you can’t fall asleep. It’s one of those things that seem to be my weakness. Superman has kryptonite, Homer Simpson has donuts and Rebecca Howe has sleep issues. I can’t really call it insomnia because I do sleep. It’s more like as soon as I wake up I can’t seem to fall back to sleep. Sometimes it just happens, most of that time is when you least expect it. Other times I get knocked unconscious. That happens more than I’d like. Then there are those times when you’re trying to stay awake and you fall asleep. I hate those.

I groaned then continued my tossing and turning.

I never did get asleep.

After tossing about for an hour or so, I gave up and decided to make my way to dinner. I found the Great Hall semi-packed. Karen was already there, sitting with her group. I’m not sure but I think they might seat the girls by Tutor group. I noticed a couple of the girls from this morning sitting with her. Karen was alone at the end of the table, eating her dinner in silence. I felt kind of bad for her. She seemed like the odd girl out and she looked sadder than ever. I’d been meaning to ask her about that. Sometimes she seemed ok, but other times it was like the world seemed to be contagious to her. Every once in a while she’d flinch or tense up. It usually happened around guys too. I wonder if she had a bad experience. I bit my lip. For once, I actually wished I’d brought an Empath on this mission.

I found Emma and Stella at the table too. The two of them were becoming fast friends. I guess I could deal with that. They did have a lot in common after all, both being recent additions to the club. Some of the guys at the Center had jokingly started calling it the “New Thong Club.” They got a couple of laughs out of it until one of the new girls---I’m not sure who---coined the phrase “New Jockey Club”. It’s funny but guys can dish out the jokes until they’re directed back at them. They grumbled a bit about it and then dropped the teasing. Unfortunately, for them, most of us were once guys so we couldn’t wait to tease them with our new name every chance we got.

“Evening ladies” I said, sitting down with my tray, doing a bad Connor impersonation.

Stella groaned and Emma rolled her eyes. “Tell me you weren’t like that before?”

I smiled. “Not on your life.”

We shared a smile then looked at Emma. She was sipping her drink and then did a double take at our twin smiles. “Don’t look at me” she said “just because I was a jock that doesn’t make me an ultimate dick. I was a gamer if you must know.”

We all shared a laugh. It was good to laugh. I’d been feeling so angry lately that laughing was kind of therapeutic in a way.

Stella took on a more serious tone. “Good and bad news guys.” Emma and I both stopped laughing. “I got the 411 on the last of the girls and they’re no go’s either.”

I sighed then the three us turned as one, looking across the Great Hall. Our gazes fell on Britney. She was sitting with a group of girls, giggling and having a good time. There was no doubt about it now; she had to be Dekker’s daughter. I smiled at my foresight. I knew that bitch had to be related to him somehow, I just knew it. It was the way she talked and the way she moved. She was too snobbish and cruel to be anything but.

After staring at her for a few more seconds, I nodded. “Mission accomplished girls.”

“Are we one hundred percent certain?” asked Stella.

Emma answered for me. “There’s no one else. Besides, she looks a lot like him. If she’s not his daughter then I’ll make out with Connor.”

None of us laughed. But Stella did shudder.

Then she shook her head. “She’s not what you guys think. She might be a bitch on the outside but there’s no way she’s a girl who her father abandoned. It’s the way she talks and acts. I know snobby people; I used to mow lawns for a lot of them. There’s no way she’s one of them. She may appear that way but it’s all an act really.” She blushed but neither of us seemed to notice. “She’s different. If she’s Dekker’s daughter then there’s no way she knows it.”

I shook my head. “Regardless, she might be the only link we have at finding him.”

“What about the nightclub? That’s still on right?”

I smiled. “There’s no way I’d pass that up.”

Emma and Stella sighed in relief. I think the two of them were really looking forward to it. I was looking forward to it, too. I invited Barry and Brad. But I was hoping maybe I could get Barry to loosen up a bit; maybe tell me what’s been eating away at him. He was reluctant to accept the invitation---he had a lot of work to do---but I pulled rank. I outranked him and the others. I told him that it was a part of the mission so he finally agreed.

________________________________

Ok, so Britney’s little sneak out plan wasn’t much of a plan. It consisted of the five of us---hey, I couldn’t go without my roomie---making a crank phone call to the front desk about a strange man in front of the school. Apparently, the school took prowlers and perverts very seriously. Chairmont had a small security force. They were notable by the red blazers they wore and how they stood out amongst the green. Mr. Phelps was the Head of Security, he was the only other person in the school who knew who I really was or rather he knew the cover story we gave Miss Pennington. So we didn’t really need Britney’s little distraction but I did want her along so I let her think she was contributing. In truth, Kit and Barry caused the security cameras to malfunction and created an actual emergency---Barry put a virus in the security computers---to preoccupy security.
But we let Britney think it was her doing. She got a big smile out of that.

We followed her down the hall and into the kitchen. We went out the same back door that Connor met us at after lunch today. Britney went first of course. She looked real funny sneaking across the lawn in her short dress and four inch heels. But then again we all looked kind of ridiculous. It was Britney’s idea of course. Apparently, there was no way they’d let any of us rejects---Stella not included---into the club wearing what we usually wore. Luckily, for us though, she had some clothes waiting. Don’t tell me how she knew our sizes. The others were dressed normally; well at least they had more clothing than I did anyway. I think the bitch was trying to embarrass the hell out of me. She was succeeding, too. It’s not every day that I wear a shirt with no back, a skirt so short it barely covers my ass, heels that make me feel like an Amazon and so much makeup that a clown would blush.

“You look so posh though,” she told me after she was done doing my makeup.

She even teased my hair a bit and made sure my heels were so high that I had to walk like a sexy bimbo. When this was all over, I was going to interrogate her so hard that I reduced her to a puddle of piss. I wonder if she knew the three of us were on to her and that’s why she was doing this. She came out of nowhere earlier. She definitely didn’t look like the type that would want to go to a club called the Hellcat but then again neither did any of us. I don’t do well in the whole crowd situation. I never have, even as Rick. There’s just something about a lot of people, in a cramped space that makes my skin crawl. Going into this club tonight would be the first time I’d ever been in a place that packed as a girl too. Both the malls I went into were full of people but there was a lot more room then.

We cut across the lawn, Britney in the lead still. She was clinging to the walls, moving like a sexed up cat burglar. It was kind of ridiculous, watching her slink along like she did. I couldn’t help but smile but as long as she was going in the same direction we were, I was fine with that. If Dekker was there it would truly be a shock for him to see his little girl grinding with some jackass. In fact, I planned to point her out to the hopeless Connor, maybe he’d get his “freak” on with her. He looked like the kind of guy who liked to party hard. Not that I condone those kinds of things but what’s the harm at seeing two asses make bigger asses out of themselves, in public no less.

Finally, we were done playing 007.

There was a black taxi waiting for us. The driver was standing outside and I groaned. It was the same guy from last night. I fell behind a bit, hoping he wouldn’t recognize me.

He opened the door. “Evening, lovelies” he said as Britney slid in first, followed by Stella, Emma and Karen.

I kept my head down as I slowly slid into the car. It’s really hard to do in such a short skirt.

“Ello, ello” he said, recognizing me. “I almost didn’t recognize you luv, what with you being all dolled up and all. Where’s the boyfriend tonight?”

I flushed beet red. Emma gave me a look. Her eyebrow rose. I stumbled over my words. “He’s meeting us.”

The cabbie smiled. “Lucky lad.”

The cabbie smiled and shut the door. I tried my best to be invisible, even slouching in my seat a bit.

“Something you’re not telling us, Beck?” asked Emma, throwing me a knowing smile.

I blushed and ignored her, looking out the window instead.
We drove in relative silence. It didn’t take long to get to the club. But unlike last night where the street was deserted, there was a huge crowd of people in front of the building now. I guess I didn’t really describe the building before. I didn’t have the need too. But I guess it wouldn’t hurt for a little description. The Hellcat wasn’t a place that you’d think was a nightclub because it didn’t look very big. But according to Britney---who’d been before---that was its charm. Most of the club was actually underground. The building was an old factory of some kind during the turn of the century. It was abandoned for years until some rich somebody bought it, gutted it and turned it into what it is now. The top floors were VIP areas and of course the apartment. But the bottom floor and the basement---where the dance floor and DJ were---was all open to the public.

“The best part” said Britney as the cabbie pulled up to the pavement. “They don’t card you here.”

She got out of the car first and went right into line. Stella followed, looking very fine indeed in her tight green dress. She looked posh too according to Britney but for some reason her hair wasn’t as teased and her makeup not caked on as much. But the green did bring out the emerald color of her eyes nicely. Looking at here---all dolled up---made my nipples hard. Hey, the pheromones still work on me remember?

“I’m not so sure about this,” said Karen as she got out of the cab in front of me.

I smiled and squeezed her hand. “We don’t have to go in if you don’t want too. There’s plenty of places we can go. I think there’s a little coffee shop nearby, right?” She nodded.

Then she shook her head. “No, I wanna do this. I gotta do this.”

“Thatta girl.”

We got into line behind Britney and Stella, Emma got in behind me. She was being the ever vigilant sentinel but she didn’t need to be. Inside already were the guys no doubt and my tactical support. I made sure the two of them inserted themselves into the nightlife somewhere. In fact, if I wasn’t mistaken, I thought I saw Kit and Samson together. It was hard to tell though because they were in civvies. Though it wasn’t all that odd to see them out of uniform---especially on a mission---the two of them considered fatigue colored cargos and black shirts as standard non-issue wear. Thankfully, the two of them never followed us around in public. The only time I think I saw Samson out of his “nonofficial” uniform was when he followed us into the mall when we were looking for Emma.
It didn’t take long for the line to start moving along.

When it finally got to us, the doorman let Britney and Stella in without a problem. When it got to me, Karen and Emma he gave us the once over first. His eyes widened when he got to Emma and he smiled real big. Men are such pigs, I’m glad I’m not one anymore.

“You ladies can go,” he said, waving us inside.

I gulped as I stepped through the doorway, my ears quickly assailed by the pounding noise of the music. Everything was overly loud to me. It actually hurt. I stumbled a bit, falling into Emma. She caught me, a look of concern on her face. I shook it off though. I took a deep breath, trying to filter out the noise. But it wasn’t just that, either. The sound was bouncing around the room, coming at me from all sides. That’s why I was so dizzy. That and the smell. I can’t even describe it to you. It was many different ones, waiting around the room in so many different colors. Then there was the people. They were crushing against one another, so many that it was hard to move. Emma took the lead for us, elbowing her way through. She might not look like much but there was no way I’d want to stand in her way.

She pushed us through to an area where they had some tables. We found Stella, sitting alone. There were a couple chairs around her and we slipped into them.

“Where’s You Know Who?”

Stella raised an eyebrow. Then sighed. “She saw some hottie and disappeared into the ground after him.”

I nodded. “Figures.”

Karen fidgeted uncomfortably next to me. “It’s really loud in here.”

I groaned. “You have no idea,” I said softly then louder I said. “We can still bail if you want.”

“No” she said rather quickly. “I want to be here. I have to be here.”

I took the bait. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

She bit her lip, nibbling it a bit. “No…it’s just that my Dad would never let me go to a place like this…he’d blow a gasket.”

I nodded. It was a lousy lie but if she didn’t want to open up I wasn’t going to force her.

Luckily, for me I didn’t have to. Stella took my cue---she must be a mind reader---and started chatting with Karen. I smiled, then scanned the crowd. It didn’t take me long to find Kit and Samson. The two of them were sitting at a table together, pretending to be extra attentive to one another. For once, they looked like normal people. Kit was in a tight pink dress, Samson in a blue button down shirt and black pants. They were laughing and having a good time. It was all an act of course; I could tell by the way they looked over at our table every now and then. I noticed something else too. A certain blonde powerhouse sitting next to me.

Emma was looking over at Samson and Kit too. There was something in her stare that made me glad I wasn’t on the receiving. Unfortunately, it looked like Samson was. There was a snapping crack, low enough that only I could hear because of the music. I looked down and saw that she was gripping the table tightly, the wood having splintered under her vice-like grip. I smiled and looked back over at Samson and Kit. Samson looked like he’d just swallowed a goldfish.

I turned away, laughing to myself.

I scanned the rest of the crowd looking for my posse. The guys were definitely not on the dance floor. But it didn’t take long for me to find them. They were standing at the bar, the three of them dressed in similar fashion. Apparently, there was no make over guru at their school like at ours. I looked at Connor, his shirt unbuttoned a bit at the collar; he’s such an ass. Then I looked over at Brad. He looked as beautiful as ever, his shirt was light blue, it brought out the color of his eyes nicely. I bit my lip, my gaze falling on Barry. He was dressed in black from head to toe. He was nursing a glass of blue liquid and looked really bored. Damn it, what the hell was his problem lately.

“Emma, you going to be ok taking table duty?”

I didn’t get a response. So I turned around to ask her face to face but her chair was empty. I looked quickly over at Kit and Samson but the two of them were sitting together still. Then I looked at the dance floor. It didn’t take me long to find her. She bobbing up and down, dancing awfully close to a blonde guy. I only saw the back of his head but he had one of those looks---slicked back hair, tall and frat boyish---he was definitely not her type. But I think she did it to make Samson jealous. I think it was working too because he kept looking over at them.

I turned to Stella and Karen. “I’m going to the loo,” I said, putting on a bad British accent. “I’ll be back in a few.”

Stella looked past me, over at the bar and nodded. “We’ll stay here and hold down the fort.”

I nodded and made my way slowly through the crowd. I pretended to head toward the bathroom so as not to raise Karen’s suspicions then I doubled back, taking the long way around to the bar. I came up behind Barry, slipping my arms his waist, resting my head into his back. He was so tense but it felt good to be pressed up against him.

“Hey, babe” I said, loud enough for him to hear.

“Hey”

Unfortunately, for me, Brad and Barry said it at the exact same time.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's Ten...finally. I think the weather affects how I write, the better the weather, the faster I write. It's been cold and miserable where I live. I just want to say that there's a awesome cliffhanger at the end of this one, things come to light slowly...I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and my brainstorm friends for helping me work out the last few kinks in this tale, you know who you are.

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Chapter Ten:

The two of them stared at each for a long time, neither saying a thing. I bit my lip, inwardly groaning. Why did I say that, why did Brad? I looked at him, trying to read the look on his face. It was blank but I could tell he knew he slipped up. Barry on the other hand looked like he wanted to punch his hand through a wall. His nostrils were flaring, his hands clenched at his sides. He was angry, it was the first time I’d ever seen him like this. As much as I’d like to take credit for all of this, it wasn’t just my fault. I admit that some of it was---the Brad side of things---but Barry hasn’t exactly been the best boyfriend, either. It’s hard to show interest in someone when they don’t show any in you.

Finally, Brad spoke up: “Look, Barry, nothing happened between us. It was just some innocent flirting, I swear.”

Barry didn’t say anything. He continued to stare; he stared for a long time. I think both Brad and I held our breaths. Ok, so it was a little more than innocent flirting, I think everyone knew that. But you can’t help who you’re attracted or not attracted to. Me, I’m unfortunately attracted to a lot of people, chief among them are Barry and Brad. Hey, I can’t help it, if it makes me some kind of tramp then so be it.

Finally spoke, his eyes glued on Brad. “How innocent can flirting be? I’ve seen you two together, there’s nothing innocent about it.”

Whoa, he actually sounded kinda angry. That pissed me off a bit. I didn’t realize I was being watched. And when, he spent all his time in either that stupid computer lab or the information room. It infuriated me. My anger rose. “Are you spying on me?”
He didn’t say anything.

Brad did though. He cleared his throat and looked like the odd man out. “Look, I’m going to find Emma.”

He didn’t wait for either of us to respond. He silently slipped between the two of us, brushing past Barry on the way. Barry glared at him, looking like he was about to pounce. I snapped my finger in front of his face, getting his attention. Barry was good, heck he taught me but Brad would have kicked his ass. Barry was all skin and bones; I’m not sure why that was, though. Most of the girls to guys that I’ve seen are all ripped. Maybe Barry was unlucky. Or maybe it was because he spent so much time in front of a computer screen and not enough time exercising. Whatever the reason, he’d gotten kind of soft in the last couple of months. Hell, I could probably kick his ass right now.

In fact, I felt like doing just that.

“What the hell was that all about?” I snapped, still infuriated with him.

“I don’t want you near that guy anymore.”

He can’t be serious. He’s going to play the jealous boyfriend now. Especially after being the non-existent boyfriend for weeks. I wanted to punch him in the face and I probably would have if not for all the people currently crushing around us. It’s kind of hard to reel your arm back when you barely have room to stand next to someone.

“So now you’re pretending to care about me?”

“I care about you,” he said angrily.

“Then where the hell have you been?”

I didn’t get an answer to that. Instead, he just looked angrier. Then he slammed his glass on the bar top. It shattered, sending his drink all over the place. It was shocking to say the least. I never saw him get this angry before even when we were escaping the Syndicate. I stared at this guy in front of me, trying to see the same guy with all that passion and fire from before. But he wasn’t there anymore. Instead there was nothing but this shell of his former self. He looked strained too, like he was under a lot of stress and there was something else too. Though he appeared to be really angry, I could something different in his eyes. I’m not sure what exactly but it almost looked like…

“I can’t do this anymore,” he said angrily, interrupting my thoughts.

I did a double take. “Do what, us?”

He sighed and nodded. No one around us could hear the conversation, not even the bartender. But what he was saying was pretty damn clear.

“You want to break up with me? Here and now?”

“Look I’m sorry but it’s not working. I can’t keep doing this with you.”

I was stunned. I knew the two of us had hit sort of a rough patch before and even now but I thought we were going pretty good. Ok so the last few days I’ve been kind of a bitch and I did slap him but he wasn’t much better. What kind of girl wants to date a guy who hides in a computer lab all day? But I still loved him or rather whatever the facsimile of love is at my age. Hey, I’m only sixteen, I don’t think I’m ready for grown up love yet. But the two of us were going strong, at least as far as I knew. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to force back the tears that were starting to well. How could he do this now? We were on a mission, I needed to concentrate and keep my A game up. But he had to go and throw a wrench into it.

I took a deep breath; refusing to open my eyes for fear that he’d see me bawling.”Can we not do this now?”

I heard him sigh. “I’m sorry Becca, I can’t keep lying.”

I opened my eyes finally, the tears rolling down my cheeks. “Lying about what?”

He looked a little pale then shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something then closed it quickly. Instead of speaking, he turned and pushed his way into the crowd. Oh no he doesn’t. He’s not going to drop something like that on me and just disappear. I grumbled and pushed my way into the crowd too. There were so many people; they were so close together that it was like trying to hack your way through a dense jungle. I caught sight of him for a second but then he disappeared again. But I think he was making his way for the door. I groaned and put on the speed, pushing and shoving to get through. There was no way I was going to let him get away that fast.

I got sight of him again; he was almost at the door.

I gritted my teeth and pushed on. I got to the spot where the tables were, barely registering Stella and Karen waving to me. I brushed past. I got about ten more feet when a hand gently grabbed my arm. I spun around, ready to pulverize whoever it was. But all the anger seeped out of me because it was Brad and he looked a bit frantic.

“Have you seen Emma?”

His question didn’t register at first. I looked over my shoulder and saw Barry slip out of the club. Damn it. Then I snapped back to Brad. “She was with some tall blonde guy,” I said, pulling my arm away.

He nodded. “You ok?”

Tears were still rolling down my cheeks. “I’m fine” I lied “I just need some air.”

“You want me to come…”

I didn’t let him finish. I turned away quickly and pushed my way back into the crowd. I heard Brad calling me over all the noise but I ignored him. I didn’t have time to deal with any more boys at the moment. I needed to deal with the one I had, Brad would just complicate that. Besides, if I showed up with him then Barry would be really pissed. What the hell was with that anyway? First, he tells me to stay away from Brad then he tells me he doesn’t want to lie anymore. First, he’s jealous then guilty. The boy needs to make up his mind. He needs to be one and not the other. When I was a guy I was never that way with girls, not that I ever had one. But I never would have sent them mixed signals like Barry.

I finally managed to push my way through the crowd.

I got the front entrance and had to dodge a couple of bimbos who practically bulldozered me to get inside. I shot them dirty looks, pushed past them and ended up back in the streets. The bouncer gave me a look and said something about me, “if I wanted to get back in it would have to be at the end of the line.” I ignored him and ran out onto the sidewalk. But Barry was nowhere in sight. I cursed. If Brad hadn’t stopped me, I probably could have caught up with him. I bit my lip and reached into the little purse I was carrying. I pulled out the scrambled phone and dialed Barry. Emma and Stella were the only ones who didn’t have phones. Mrs. Fine felt that I was capable of contacting them with whatever information I could send them. Besides, it was easier to get one phone into the school instead of three.

I let the phone ring a few times then it went to voice mail. After the beep, I left my message. “Barry, you’re being ridiculous. You can’t just say something like that and walk off. You and I need to talk about this like adults. You better know damn well this isn’t done and as soon as I get my hands on you I’m going to kick your ass.”

I snapped the phone shut and fought the urge to toss it into the road and underneath a passing car. Instead, I stuffed it back into my little bag. How is it that he was able to get a car so fast? I looked up and down the street but the only people around were ones trying desperately to get into the place I just ran from. I sighed. I fought back the urge to whip out my phone again and give him another call. Then I cursed myself. When I started this relationship with him a long time ago, I promised myself I wasn’t going to turn into a typical girl. Yeah I know what you’re thinking and you’re right, I’m as girly as a girl can be now. But there was a time when I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let this thing change my life. So besides fighting back tears and the urge to give my boyfriend another call, I wanted to scream and tear what was left of my hair out.

“Becca” shouted a voice, shattering my thoughts.

I snapped around, ready to chew someone out. I wasn’t really in the mood to deal with one of my friends. But what I saw was a strange Emo girl with bright blue hair and a lot of facial piercings. She was standing in line wearing a neon green skirt, fishnet stockings and boots I would have died for---they looked so much like mine, they even had the buckles. I racked my brain trying to put a name to the face and also trying to figure out if I had given this girl my name.

She pushed out of the crowd and came walking over. “Hey, it’s Jasmine. We met around the corner last night.”

I nodded. That was her name but I still didn’t remember giving her mine. “How did you know my name?”

She smirked. “I overheard your gorgeous friend say it.”

“No offense” I said “I’m not really in the mood for company. I’m having a really bad day.”

“You and Adonis boy get into a fight?”

“You’re half right. Brad is just a friend…it’s my boyfriend…”

“Say no more. With a friend like that guy I can see why your boyfriend was jealous.”

I smiled, I’m not sure why. “I didn’t say he was jealous.”

Her smile was wicked. “How can he not be?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I shouldn’t have but there was something about Jasmine. I’d only met her that once and only briefly. But out of all the people here---save Karen---she was kindred somehow. I’m not really sure how to describe it. Well there was the obvious outward appearance of course. She wasn’t exactly Goth but she was Emo enough to be close. She also had my boots and in my book that was enough to consider her not to be one of the lemmings.

“So your boyfriend…your real one, did he run off or something?”

“We had a fight and he took off before I could discuss things with him.”

She nodded. “Well then girlfriend” she said, taking my arm. “I know just the thing to cheer you up.”

Before I could protest, she dragged me down the road toward destination unknown.

I was half expecting her to drag into a seedy bar or another nightclub but when she pulled me into a little coffee shop, I sighed. I don’t think I was ready for a bar yet. Besides, in the US I’d have been way too young to even get through the front door. But this place was nice. It was a small little hole-in-the-wall, off the beaten path and everything. It had a rustic feel too, complete with roaring fire and moose head over the mantle. There were even giant comfy looking chairs in front of it too. I so wanted to sit there but instead Jasmine dragged me over to the counter.

“Hey, can we get two Irish coffees?”

The man behind the counter frowned at us. “Are you girls old enough for those?”

Jasmine gave him a “duh” look. The guy shrugged and walked off. Me I bit my lip. Irish coffees had alcohol in them, didn’t they? I’m not sure if I was ready for that. I dabbled here and there but only a few sips and it never really agreed with me. I’m kind of a lightweight, well Rick was anyway. I debated internally with myself over whether or not I should drink one when the guy put two beer mugs in front of us. Jasmine scooped her’s up quickly and took a sip, some of the foamy froth stayed on her lip. I took a deep breath, snatched it up and took a small sip. It had a strong taste; there was coffee but something else, too.

“How is this supposed to make me feel any better?”

She shrugged. “It always helps me mum.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Besides, I needed this right now. I couldn’t think about Barry, Brad, Britney, or any of it. I was tired of it at the moment. Right now, all I wanted to do was drown my sorrows, at least for a bit. I took another sip of the coffee and then another. After the first few sips, I forgot all about the strong taste and actually started to enjoy it. Jasmine seemed to be enjoying hers too. She sipped and talked, telling me all about her life. I’m not really sure if I comprehended much of it though. Because unfortunately for me, I was a lightweight in both genders. After only a few more sips, I felt a little tipsy. I swayed a bit on the stool and started giggling at everything that was coming out of Jasmine’s mouth.

“I don’t usually drink,” I said, laughing. “I tried once. I was with some friends and Frankie said that a man wasn’t a man until he had his first beer. So I only took a few sips and nearly puked all over the place.”

Jasmine laughed. “I know.”

I laughed along with her. “Frankie said that after a few more sips I dropped right to the ground, out like a light.”

Jasmine didn’t laugh. “I know.”

I continued to laugh, sipping as I did. I’m not sure when I felt something was wrong. I think was when my arms and legs started to feel a bit sluggish. I set the mug down, it was half full now. Jasmine’s was almost all the way full and was sitting untouched on the counter. How did that happen? She smiled at me but it wasn’t a goofy one like I was giving her. The room started to spin and everything started to blur in and out of focus. I stumbled and see caught me.

“Easy there Becca” she said but there was something different about her voice.

“Heyyyyy” I slurred, my lips felt numb and heavy. “Whatttt happeennned to youuur acccentttt?”

She smiled as she lifted me from the stool, putting her hands under my arms, trying to get me to stand. I tried to push her away, realizing something was really, really wrong. I couldn’t feel my arms and legs now. I looked at the mug on the counter. There was something different about it, different from hers. I looked at the bottom and saw something just finishing dissolving. You gotta be kidding me. I tried to focus but everything was blurry and the world seemed to be swirling around me. I heard a voice ask if I was all right and then Jasmine said that I was just a little tipsy.
She half carried, half dragged me out the door.

Outside I heard a screech of tires. I looked to the road, seeing a gray van parked there. The side door opened up and someone got out. I couldn’t see his face because everything was so blurry. But he helped Jasmine carry me into the van. It didn’t take them long before they got me inside and laid me on the floor.
Someone shut the door and the van started moving.

“It’s about time,” said Jasmine with a snarl, her voice sounded a million miles away. “What took so long?”

“He couldn’t find a place to park.”

I looked over but could only see blurry images. One was a blonde guy behind the wheel, the other was a blonde girl slumped in the passenger seat. I turned to Jasmine and the other guy but they were way too blurry for me to see. I tried to say something but nothing came out. Instead, I groaned, lurched forward and passed out.

______________________________

I opened my eyes and first thing I noticed was that I was floating. I suppose you could say that when you’re drunk and drugged you kind of feel that way but this was completely different. For one I was floating in a black void and for another I was pretty certain I was still unconscious. Great I’m either dreaming, hallucinating or I’m dead. I think I’m going to go with the former. But I’m not sure if I liked that any better than the other two. It wasn’t everyday that someone knew they were dreaming. But I guess it’s better than not knowing. I’m not sure if I could handle another one of those sugar coated happy land ones only to have it shattered before it was over.

At least with this one I knew what to expect.

I looked about, trying to see if there was anything new. I’d been in this void before, a couple of times I think. But in the last few weeks, I’d only been here once or twice. You would think that I’d get sick of it but lately I’d actually been kinda missing it. It was like a second home for me for a while, a place to go to unwind and think about my day. Ok so I’m full of it but what else do I got to think about. I’m floating in fricking void here.

I looked down at myself, thanking myself tht I was dressed normally. That was a good reason to prove that I was dreaming and not dead. If I was dead I was pretty certain I’d still be in that crazy outfit Britney forced me to wear. At least that’s how it usually is in movies; you wear what you die in. Like that one with Bruce Willis---yep, I saw that one. But then again that was the movies. If I ever woke up and get myself out of whatever it is I’m in now, I’ll make sure to ask some of the Ghost Seer people back at the Center. They seem to know a lot about those kinds of things.

“You’re not dead,” said a voice, it bounced and echoed around me.

I groaned. I knew the voice, I knew it really well because it was mine.

“You mind telling me what I am then?”

A mirror appeared in front of me, floating in the void just like me. My reflection was there again but she had my signature streak and purple eyes. She was smirking at me. It wasn’t fair, she looked normal and I felt like an idiot. “You haven’t figured it out, then?”

I sighed. I had a pretty good idea. “Jasmine fucked me over.”

My reflection nodded. “She got you good. You should have seen that one coming.”

“We should have seen that one coming,” I corrected and my reflection nodded. “So what happens now?”

Mirror Me shrugged. “I don’t know; I’m just a manifestation of your subconscious. I’m just here to keep you from going nuts.”

I smiled. “This brings a whole new meaning to the phrase talking to yourself.”

She laughed. “You’re the boss.”

“In the real world maybe but you seem to know what’s going on here. Do you have any idea how we wake up?”

“Not sure” she said “but I think I can get you out of this void.”

I nodded. “Anything’s better than here.”

The mirror disappeared. I frowned. I may have been talking to myself but it was the only company I had. Now I was completely alone. Luckily, I wasn’t in the black for very long. The void started to waver, shimmering like a bad flashback scene. One minute I was floating and then the next I was slowly drifting downwards. At first, I thought I was going to fall into nothingness. Then I felt ground underneath my feet. Looking down I still saw only blackness but it was like there was an invisible floor under my feet. But slowly the floor started taking shape, forming tile after tile. The walls started taking shape around me too and the void disappeared altogether. In its place was a prison like hallway, with its tiled floor and dull colored walls.
You’ve got to be kidding me.

The hallway looked very familiar because I’d been here several times before. Well actually they were all pretty much the same but there was no denying that I was back at the Syndicate, Section Four to be exact, my prison. If this was my idea of a sense of humor, it wasn’t funny in the least. This was the last place in the world I wanted to be. I closed my eyes, hoping that when I opened them I’d be back in the Void or maybe someplace nice. I tried picturing a tropical island getaway in my head. But I couldn’t concentrate. Frustrated I opened my eyes and groaned.

I was still in a Syndicate hallway. But this time I wasn’t alone.

There was someone standing at the end of it. It was a man I think, shrouded in shadow. There was something about him that seemed so familiar. I took a few steps down the hall but he didn’t make any attempt to move, either backwards or forwards. I quickened my pace but he still just stood there. As I got closer and closer, I started to notice things. For one he was wearing a black suit and for two, he was holding a black cane. It dawned on me then who this guy had to be. A fury boiled inside of me and I ran full speed at the son of a bitch. Dream or not, I was going to rip the bastard’s throat out.
I ran as hard and as fast as I could. As I ran, Reta appeared in my hand. It felt good to grip her handle. I raised her, leveling her barrel at the bastard’s chest and fired off two shots. There was no way I was going to miss him this time. I hit him, both found their intended targets. Dekker wavered, dipping into the light so I could see his smug face. He looked shocked for a moment. Then recognition appeared on his face as he dropped his cane and slumped to the floor. I fired another shot, snapping the cane in two. He dropped the useless tool.

I advanced on him quickly, keeping my gun trained on his head. “Don’t move motherfucker.”

He smirked, his teeth smeared with blood. “Clearly you don’t realize the situation I’m in. You put two in my chest; I’m not going to be moving much ever again.”

I smiled, looking at the two holes seeping blood, ruining his nice white shirt. It was less than he deserved but it was better than nothing. A small part of me knew that this wasn’t real, that it was my subconscious finally allowing me to play out my revenge fantasy but frankly, I didn’t care. It was the closest I was going to get to the bastard at the moment.

“Not so high and mighty now are we? This may be a dream and you may not be real but I’ve got you. I’ve got you in the real world too; Britney is going to lead me right to you”

He laughed, coughing up blood. “You are ever observant but not very bright.”

“What are you talking about?”

He smirked. “Britney of course.”

“What about her?”

“It’s too convenient,” he said, laughing. “I might not be real but even I know that Dekker doesn’t have a daughter.”

I lowered Reta, stumbling a bit. “What are you saying?”

“Think about it for a second” he said, slowly pulling himself to a seated position. “You’ve been stressing about killing me for weeks now and suddenly the opportunity just pops up, out of the blue. You probably would have thought that odd if you’d been thinking straight. But all you’ve been thinking about it popping me.” He waved a hand over his chest. “Congratulations on that by the way, you’ve surely killed me.”

My hand started to shake. My fingers got numb and I dropped Reta to the ground. Holy shit it was too convenient. I’d been so blinded by hate I didn’t even put two and two together. I stumbled backwards, falling against the wall and sliding to the floor. I’m a fucking idiot. We were all fucking idiots. It was so obvious and so stupid. I groaned. “Britney isn’t Dekker’s daughter,” I said aloud, groaning.

“Because he doesn’t have one.”

“It took you long enough”

I groaned some more, running my fingers through my hair. “But if Dekker doesn’t have a daughter than what the hell am I doing here?”

He smirked and shrugged. “You’re the big bad girl with the gun, you tell me.”

The world swirled around me and light flooded my eyes.

______________________________

My eyes snapped open and I screamed. The light burned. It burned my eyes and it burned my face. I snapped my eyes shut, revolting from the pain. Someone must have removed my contacts. I rolled about in agony, thrashing and thumping. Son of a bitch. No matter how much pain I could endure, there was no way I could endure the light. The last time someone used it to torture me like this it was at the Syndicate. There were several someones in fact. I think they got a thrill out of watching me wiggling about like a worm on a hook. Some of them might have even got off on it. Me, it was the most excruciating thing in my entire life.

There was a laugh off to my left. “Damn, it’s true. He said it fucked you up but I had no idea.”

I recognized the voice. It was Jasmine, a much crueler and nastier one than before.

“You going to shut off the lights?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I heard the switch flick and sighed. I opened my eyes. At first, I saw only spots but slowly they faded away and then the whole room came to me in the darkness. It wasn’t very large, like a small storage room or something. I was sitting on a dingy cot, stripped to my underwear. I touched the pale skin on my arm and groaned. Someone knew about the Second Skin because it was gone. I bit my lip that was definitely going to complicate things. I looked over at Jasmine; she was sitting on a stack of wooden crates, holding a maglite in her hand. There was a smirk on her face, sadistic and twisted. I couldn’t believe this was the same girl I’d been laughing with before.

“So what’s the deal?” I asked, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs.

She ignored the question. “So you can see in the dark, right?” I rolled my eyes and nodded. “That is so freaking cool. He said it was cool but hearing it and seeing it are two different things. It’s kind of freaky though, your eyes shining like that. Like in Pitch Black but only way cooler.”

I nodded. I had no idea what she was talking about. “Who’s this he you keep referring too?”

She laughed. “He said you’d ask that. He also said you were really smart. I figured you’d have figured it out by now.”

So it was someone who knew all about me. There were only so many people who knew that were still alive, Dekker being one of them. But there was no way he’d work with teenagers; he hated our guys.

Besides, I had every reason to believe that Jasmine was one of us. It was the only way to explain why she wasn’t shocked or even afraid of me. So ruling out Dekker---at least for the moment---it had to be someone connected to the Syndicate and Carson. He had a lot of stuff on us probably, more than I knew I’m sure. Unless….

“You work for the traitor?”

She smiled and shook her head. “He works with us actually. He did a good job of it too, making your people think that Dekker had a little girl, knowing that you’d race off to find her because you were hell bent to find the son of a bitch. Who’d a thought you’d be that stupid though.”

My anger started to build. So I was right, Dekker didn’t have a daughter. But the other stuff didn’t make any sense. Who would want to drag me all the way out here? I mean it was crazy. Someone actually did all this and for what. It didn’t make any sense.

A phone rang, shattering my thoughts. Jasmine reached into her pocket and clicked it on. “Hey, yep she’s up now, about time if you ask me. Yeah she’s asking for you already. You want me to put the light back on so you can talk” She sighed. “You’re no fun. Ok see you in a few, Dee.”

She clicked off the phone and set it aside.

Dee, who the hell was Dee?

The door to the storage room unlocked and opened, a stream of light spilled into the room. I snapped my head away, pulling my body as close as I could get into the shadow. A figure slipped into the room, shutting the door quickly behind him. I groaned when I saw him, the Dee she was referring too. He was different now. His hair was a bit longer and he looked thinner, especially around the face. But he was bundled up in a thick gray sweater and his pants looked a little loose.

He looked right at me and smiled. “Heya Becca, been a while huh?”

His voice sounded off, too but I couldn’t quite place it.

“What the hell is going on, Declan?”

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: I had a lot of free time on my hands...so I was able to get 11 done awfully quick. This is the chapter that will finally end the speculation...the traitor will be revealed. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and my few select people once again for helping me brainstorm.

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Chapter Eleven:

The smug jackass smirked. “You of all people should have figured that out by now.”

Declan St. James. I groaned. The two of us were semi-friends, back before all of this stuff happened. Back then, I idolized him when he was pretending to be someone else, a guy named Frankie. I met him at a foster home and he was the coolest kid that I knew. Then some crazy shit happened and I ended up at the Syndicate. I transformed from tiny Rick into what I am now and as far as I knew, Frankie was a traitor, someone who sold me out to the authorities. I thought that for the longest time but the truth was even worse. He was a traitor as far as I was concerned, but to our own kind. He actually worked for the Syndicate; he was their twisted Front Man, the guy they sent in when they found possible Emergents. He used his Dominator powers to get them to trust him, then he set them up.

But Declan was even more twisted than that. Sometime before I went to Section Four, he’d actually taken over. The man in charge, Mr. Zero---the badass facility administrator---was actually Declan, using another Dominator to create an illusion. The real Mr. Zero, aka Peter Zarkov, had been dead for weeks. Declan was trying to convert us into his own personal, punishment squad, against the wishes of Jason Carson, his father. It failed miserably. The last time I saw the bastard was tied to a chair in one of the rooms on the second floor. But of course, he escaped. I ran into him again about a month later at Section One. He sniped the facility administrator there, Grayson Phillips, while my team and I were interrogating him.

Declan got away again and now here he was in all his smug glory.

“I’m not going to play twenty questions with you,” I snapped.

“Don’t talk to him like that, you bitch” snapped Jasmine angrily, fumbling with her flashlight, ready to give me a blast.

She snapped it on, the beam lancing through the darkness and hitting me in the arm. I screamed out in pain, rolling to the back of the cot. Declan growled and backhanded Jasmine, sending her backwards off the crates. The flashlight fell to the ground and rolled into the corner. Jasmine recovered, clutching her face. Declan ignored her, walked over and picked up the maglite. He clicked it off then smashed it against the wall, scattering the front end of it. He tossed the useless thing at Jasmine’s feet. The blue haired bitch glared at him as she rubbed her bruised cheek.

“I’m sorry about her” he said, “She’s not properly house trained.”

Jasmine gave both of us a look. Then she jumped off the crates. “I’m going to see if Tobias needs any help.”

She didn’t wait for any acknowledgment as she opened the door and stormed out, allowing it to bang loudly as she did so.

Declan sighed. “She’s a bit difficult but you’ll get used to her.”

I scoffed. “I don’t think I’m going to be here for that long.”

He walked over to the crates and sat on the edge of them. When he sat down, he crossed his legs over one another, sorta like a woman would do. I guess you can take the girl out of the boy but. He smiled sweetly at me. “I don’t think you’ve fully come to terms with the situation here. You see, I set this whole thing up so that you’d come back to me.”

“Come back to you” I said, shocked. “You never had me.”

He smirked again. “Maybe not in your sense of the word but surely you must have known that there was no way I’d let you wander around in this world without me. You had your fun, you made your new friends but know it’s time to return home, to your real family.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

This time he looked shocked. But it only lasted for a second. Then he sighed. “Clearly you have been in the dark for far too long.” He reached out for me, in an attempt to pat my knee or something. I pulled back, keeping to the wall. There was no way I was going to let that scum touch me. He sighed again. “It’s kinda cliché but I guess I can tell you the truth of it all.”

“What truth?”

“You never got away from me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

He smiled. “Everything. It was all a part of the plan.” He took a nail file out of his pocket and started filing his nails. I looked at them, they were on the girlish side and if I wasn’t mistaken, they were a light shade of pink. What the hell is wrong with this guy? “You and your friends actually thought you stopped me and escaped the Syndicate and I let you think that. But in truth, I let you escape. I needed you to get to the Center; I needed you inside for me.”

I laughed. “You’re crazy. You didn’t help us, we escaped on our own.”

He smiled. “All the doors were unlocked, yes?”

“Barry did that.”

“The security was running around in chaos?”

“The Deviants were the cause of that.”

“The Chips were deactivated and the Deviants were creating a great deal of chaos.”

I wavered when I spoke. “Barry deactivated the Chips.”

Declan smiled. “Barry deactivated yours and Holly’s. The others were never chipped in the first place. It was all a part of the plan. I needed to let my father think the chips were faulty so he’d cancel the project and stop the experimentations. We don’t need to be controlled and locked in cages. We’re Gods among men, far superior to humans. He wanted to stem all that, he wanted to make us into puppets then when we were done he was going to cure us.”

He said that last bit with a sneer. He got to his feet and started pacing. “Can you imagine it, going back to a world without these glorious gifts of ours? Mind you, this male form is hideous but that’s only cosmetic…easily changeable. But my powers, I can’t live without those. You see I had to do it. The chips were working…you were proof of that…and the cure, his precious cure, they were days away from perfecting it.”

I was floored. They had a cure, something that could have changed us back. I’m not sure how to respond to that. Declan seemed to notice the look on my face and he smiled.

“You see, you don’t want to give it up either. You like being a God, you like being better than everyone else. Who wouldn’t; right? Don’t you see, they’re jealous of us; they crave what they can’t have. Do you know what my father is doing at that Facility X of his?”

I shook my head. “He’s taking us and he’s trying to see what makes us tick. Then he drags us into laboratories, slices us open and takes out our glorious gifts. He calls it Project Hercules; he’s trying to create a super soldier. He’s trying to combine the best of the best into one being, a Super Emergent. He’s got an island somewhere, a secluded little place where he’s dragging the best of the best and pitting them against one another. The winner gets to become a part of his little experiment and the losers; well you don’t want to know.”

I bit my lip. So that’s what he was up to. I had to admit it was kind of sick and crazy. “Why are you telling me all this?”

Declan snapped around, tears in his eyes. “We have to stop him, you and I. I’ve started to gather others, people like Jasmine and Tobias. We’re small right now but I’m finding more, every day we’re growing stronger. When I have enough of us, I’m going to take Facility X and burn it to the ground. Then I’m going to march on my father and make him pay for what he’s been doing to our kind.”

I nodded. It was a sound plan but it was crazy. Declan was crazy. It would never work. We weren’t meant for this kind of thing. We might be great and some of us very powerful but Carson had an army, there were probably hundreds of Syndicate facilities all over the country, possibly the world. There was no way to fight something like that. Declan must have known that. At least he should have known that. The old Declan would have. This guy before me---this shell of his former self---was clearly a little unhinged.

“That’s a great plan” I finally confessed “but we can’t do it without help. Why don’t you let me go and I’ll contact my people, The Center has resources, they can help.”

“No” he snapped. “I’m not getting in bed with the government. Your precious Center is just like the rest. They’re using you too, turning you into good little soldiers to fight Uncle Sam’s battles for them. They’re just going about it differently. Once I’m done with my father and his Syndicate, I’m going after them next. No one should control Gods.”

I nodded. He was definitely gone now. The Declan I knew was history. I bit my lip. I had to get out of here, this guy was too unstable. The others followed him but they were just as nuts as he was. I looked around the room, trying to see if there was anything I could use. Besides the boxes and the cot I was sitting on there was nothing? I looked at the broken flashlight on the floor. I suppose I could use it as a club and smack him when he wasn’t looking but to what end. If he touched me then I was a goner, a slave to his power. Even if I managed to avoid that there was a little problem of getting through a very badly lit place with other E’s out there, probably as crazy as he was.

I sighed, defeated. For the moment, there was nothing to do but sit here and wait. Surely someone must have noticed I was gone by now. It would only be a matter of time that is if they had a way of tracking me. But maybe there was still a chance. Maybe if I kept him talking. There were some things that I still wanted answers too after all.

“Why all this?” I asked, he stopped pacing and turned to face me. “Why drag me out here? Why the whole Dekker thing?”

He smiled. He looked calmer now. He walked back over to the boxes and sat down, crossing his legs again. Yeah, this guy isn’t nuts or anything.

“You’ve been having dreams about him. You’ve been obsessing about him. I knew I needed to get you away from those people so I set this little venture up to get you out in the open.”

How did he know? Realization dawned; it was the traitor. I glared at him. “Who is it? Who’s the bastard that’s been selling us out to you?”

He smirked. “Surely you’re not that stupid. It’s been right under your nose the whole time.” He laughed at my cluelessness. “You see back in Section Four, I needed to see if you were ok, I needed to make sure that my little foster brother was adjusting to life as my new little sister so I sent someone to make sure you were all right.”

The color drained from my face. No, it can’t be.

“He was reluctant at first but I was able to persuade him it was for the good of the mission. So our mutual friend made his move…it was kind of cute, inviting you to the movie like that.”

Tears were streaming down my face. It couldn’t be; it wasn’t possible. “You’re lying” I sobbed, shaking my head.
He smirked. He pulled a phone out of his pocket. “You can come in now.”

I snapped to the door, anger and sorrow molding into one. When the door opened up and Barry stepped through, there was a fire inside of me. He looked right at me but his eyes couldn’t meet mine. He looked guilty but I didn’t care.

“Becca, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for…”

I never let him finish. I snapped up and flew at him. My punch hit him square in the face, I think I heard bone crack. My next blow went into his gut. He stumbled backwards, falling into the door. I screamed at the top of my lungs and started kicking, tears streaming down my face. Barry fell to the ground, groaning but he made no move to fight back.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH” I screamed. “I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!”

There was a sharp biting pain in the back of my neck. I’m not sure how I felt it but suddenly I felt really woozy. I snapped around and saw Declan standing behind me, holding a syringe. He smiled sadly. I stumbled, falling into his arms.

“It took me a while to figure out a dose large enough to take you down. After all those darts that my men fired at you when you escaped Section Four were worthless. I’m glad to say that I think I found the perfect ratio” I glared up at him, my vision starting to blur. “Don’t give me that look. You were far too irrational and emotional to talk to, it was necessary. When you get a little rest, you and I can talk again.”

I reached up, trying to grab for his neck but my arms felt like dead weights. “You bastard” I slurred then slumped unconscious in his arms.

______________________________

When I woke up again the first thing I noticed were that my hands were securely fastened to something. I opened my eyes and groaned, tugging a bit. The room was dark but it definitely wasn’t the same one. I blinked my eyes, trying to work off the fogginess of whatever drug Declan nailed me with. My vision was still a bit blurry and my head felt like someone had just smacked me with a brick. I had cottonmouth too, and my whole body seemed to ache, most likely the pain I’d been suppressing from earlier. I think I severely bruised my hand when I punched Barry in the face. Which given the circumstances I could definitely live with.

I struggled some more. The bed I was on was much more comfortable than the cot though. It looked like one of those hospital beds; it has the bars on the side and everything. Through the darkness, my vision was able to make out the room as a whole. It was much bigger and seemed to be an actual room, modified to keep someone in, though. There were bars on the only window, no knob on this side of the door and the only vent seemed to be securely bolted, from the other side. It had minimal furniture too: a dresser in the corner and a chair by the bed, both of which looked bolted to the floor too. Clearly, someone had gone to great lengths to keep me in here.

In a way it was kinda flattering, it made me think that they were that worried I’d run away. But it also pissed me off too; it meant that they weren’t that serious, either. All that talk about wanting me to join them and help them take down both the Syndicate and the Center. Declan had a lot of talk but in the end he still handcuffed me to the bed. Which meant he wasn’t as trusting of me as he pretended to be. But then again he wasn’t all that great with trust either. Neither were his cronies for that matter, especially Barry. How many months had I been with him…too many to count and this whole time….

Tears started to well in my eyes. I struggled again, the cuffs cutting into my wrists. But of course, I didn’t feel it. When I got out of this, I was going to kill them all.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Why someone bothered to knock was beyond me. I listened as the person behind it fumbled with the lock on the other side. It was a smaller person, a girl I think. I caught a whiff of perfume. I caught something else too; her heart was beating a mile a minute, indicating she was either really excited or really scared. I perked up as the door opened and a person slipped into the room. She was about five foot max with long dark hair and olive colored skin. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, carrying a pile of clothes. She tried not to look at me but curious got the better of her. When she looked over, I noticed a pair of sparkling blue eyes.

“I brought you some clothes,” she said in a soft voice, blushing at the fact that I was still in my underwear.

I nodded. “You don’t seem the type to be one of Declan’s cronies?”

It was true. This girl was meek and shy; she didn’t belong in this place. Compared to Declan and jasmine, this girl belonged with a loving family.

The girl bobbed her head. “They’re good to me. They took me in when my family…”

Tears welled in her eyes. She dropped the clothes at the foot of my bed then turned quickly and made for the door. She stopped before leaving and turned to face me. I could tell there was something she wanted to ask me, something important. She opened her mouth to do so when a hand landed on her shoulder from behind. She flinched and then all the emotion drained from her face. The shy, meek girl was gone, replaced by a stone-faced automaton. The girl nodded to me, her eyes glassed over. Then she turned and walked out of the room. Declan strode into the room, smirking.

“You have to forgive Diana, she sometimes loses herself.”

I was spitting mad. “You son of a bitch, you didn’t have to do that to her.”

I pulled and tugged on my cuffs. He ignored me, walking over and grabbing the chair. He dragged it across the floor and over to my bedside. He sat down, crossing his legs again. “You and I got off on the wrong foot earlier. Here I was trying to make you feel welcome and I went and upset you.” He sighed. “You will be happy to know that I’ve ordered Barry to stay away from you for the remainder of your time here.”

I scoffed. “Ordered or controlled?”

He ignored me with a wave of his hand. Then he smiled. “That’s what I’ve always loved about you; you go right for the throat. That’s why I need you so badly around here. The others are great and all but they’re not throat grabbers like you. You’ve got balls---figuratively of course. You’re not afraid to kick someone when they’re down and you’ll keep us honest.”

“I’m not joining your militia or whatever the hell this is.”

He ignored me again. “I’ve been reading Barry’s reports, Staff Sergeant. They’re quite impressive. This team of yours is most impressive as well. I’d really like to meet the other members given the chance, especially this Stella friend of yours. Her abilities would be most appreciated around here.”

My anger flared again and lunged for him, the cuffs keeping me restrained. “You leave her alone you son of a bitch.”

He smirked. “You and I don’t have to be enemies. You will find that working for me, cooperatively, is a lot better than the alternative.”

This time I smirked. “Is that the only way you can get friends now, Declan? By making them obey you.”

I saw a tinge of anger flare across his face. But it disappeared quickly to be replaced by that smug smile of his again. Instead of responding, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone again. “Send her in please.”

He clicked the phone shut, slipping it back into his pocket. I heard footfalls coming toward the room; it was two people. I snapped toward the door and watched as two people entered. One was a kid with red spiked hair; the other was a blonde girl. At first, I didn’t recognize the girl, because she was looking down. But as soon as she raised her head, I gasped. It was Emma. She was dressed in a black tank top and a pair of tight leather black pants. When she looked at me, there was this moment where our eyes locked. I could see it in her eyes, the real her, screaming to get out. But the rest of her, the girl standing before me was a puppet for her master.

I snapped around to Declan, sneering. “What the fuck have you done to her?”

He smiled. “Emma here is a great asset. Someone with her raw power was wasted being a lackey of the Center. So I liberated her and now she’s joined the good fight. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

Emma walked over to Declan, swaying her hips like a slut. She sat on his knee, wrapping her arms around his neck. Then she gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. “That’s right, Deckie baby.” Her voice came out sounding like a bimbo.

I stared at her, trying to figure out when he’d gotten her. Then my mind flashed back to the nightclub. Emma was jealous of Samson and Kit and she went off to the dance floor. I groaned. She’d been dancing with a blonde guy, one who had his back to me. Declan had been in the club. My fists clenched in anger. He was in the club and I never saw him. I’d been so pissed at Barry that I completely ignored what was right in front of me. What’s worse, Declan took her right from under my nose. Brad’s face came into my head, too. He’d stopped me, asking me if I’d seen his sister. Oh God, Declan probably had her by then. Damn it, why had I been such a bitch to him.

“Emma, can you hear me?”

Emma giggled, playing with a strand of her hair, completely oblivious to me. I glared at Declan. He smiled. “Emma, sweetie, why don’t you tell Becca here how happy you are now.”

She turned to me and smiled. “I’m wonderful Becky. I love living here and working with Deckie. He’s the nicest guy and guess what; he says I can help him. We’re going to take down some really bad people and I’m integral to his plan.”

This personality change was too good, even for Declan. For a second I thought maybe she’d been chipped, except her eyes gave it away. She was still in there, still struggling for control. This was something else, something different.

“What did you do to her?”

He smiled. “Me I didn’t do anything.” He sighed. “After you and your cohorts left me to rot tied to that chair, I had some time to think. As the building was burning all around me, I came to an epiphany. I’m a really powerful Dominator but there are probably a whole lot more out there just like me, some even more powerful, perhaps. So after I managed to tip the chair over and burn off the cord you fools tied me up with, I slipped out in all the chaos. I disappeared for a while, bidding my time. Then I contacted Barry. The two of us had this system, sending fake spam mail, it was quite creative actually. He was the guy responsible for helping the Syndicate find Emerged or Potentials before you two escaped. He was supposed to be doing the same for the Center but he also fed some to me. So I went and investigated”

He took a breath. “I found a girl named Veronica. She had great potential, already exhibiting her wonderful gift. She was like me, a Dominator. When the change happened, she became even more powerful. You see, Miles, as he likes to be called now, is a super Dominator. With just one little thought, he can make you do anything he wants. It’s quite impressive really. He was happy to join the cause. After that it wasn’t too hard, especially after we hooked up with that bitch Strickland.”

Strickland, I groaned. She was the woman who kidnaped Emma.

“You were involved in that?”

He shrugged. “Behind the scenes. She thought she was working for the Syndicate but it was actually for me. I convinced her that by gathering her Emerged that she was actually making a difference, helping to fight the good fight.” He laughed. “She actually thought she was working for my father.” Then she groaned. “Who would have thought she’d get a backbone and call him? He sent his pet psychiatrist to investigate and then your team showed up. I suppose it was only a matter of time before the Center got involved. When you guys shut that place down it set me back a few months though, I had to recruit some new faces as well, except for Tobias of course. It was then though that I realized you were too much of a threat on the opposite side of things. So that’s when I put Operation Dekker into play. After Barry told me you were having nightmares about him, he was only too happy to help create a false paper trail.”

I groaned. It made sense, I suppose. Barry was the one who found the information on the school and Dekker’s supposed involvement in it. But I still felt like an ass falling for it. I guess he had us all fooled. But there was still one thing I wanted to know. “Where’s the real Dekker?”

Declan smiled. “Still after revenge, I see?” He leaned over and gently stroked my cheek; I pulled my face away. “Don’t worry. As soon as we get over this little bump, I’ll help you find him; I’ll even let you pull the trigger. It’s the least I can do, if it makes you loyal to me.”

I scoffed. I don’t care if the bastard gave me Dekker’s head on a platter there was no way I was ever going to join his merry band of nut jobs. I think he noticed my smirk. His eyes narrowed and he sighed. He patted Emma on the butt and she slipped off his lap, giggling. I couldn’t look at her; it pained me to see what this bastard had done to my friend. He was already going to pay for that. He’d pay for the rest of it too as soon as I got out of here.

“I’ll give you some time to think it” He stood up and stretched. “Why don’t I let you get dressed? I’ll send someone with food and after you’ve had some time to think, I’ll come back and see if you’re willing to cooperate with us.”

He reached into his pocket and took out the key. He was about to hand it to me but stopped. Instead, he turned and placed it in Emma’s hands. “Sweetie, undo her handcuffs but watch out. She’s a wily one.”

He turned to the spike headed kid and nodded. He looked around the room once more, then the two of them left, leaving me alone with the brainwashed Emma. She walked over to me and undid my cuffs. I didn’t waste any time. I snapped to my feet and ran for the door. She was on me pretty quick. She put her hand on my shoulder and yanked me back. I flew back through the room, crashing into the bed. I didn’t feel a thing but I knew I would later. I slowly got to my feet and made another go at it. It was futile because like I’ve said before Emma is a powerhouse, but I had to try. Unfortunately, for me, she was quick and put herself between me and the door.

“Emma” I said, trying to see if I could get to her. “I’m Becca, you remember me, don’t you?” She shook her head, I sighed. “We’re really good friends. I helped bring you and your brother in; I rescued you from a place just like this one. There was a woman there, nasty one named Dr. Strickland. She was going to do horrible experiments on you.”

She continued to stare. “Deckie said you’d say stupid things to me,” She giggled. “I don’t have a brother, the only family I have is right here.”

I groaned. What the hell did they do to her? I could see the real her, hiding behind those bright beautiful eyes. But there was no way to get to her. Damn it. “You’re being controlled, you idiot.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

I groaned. This was pointless. Even if I managed to defeat her, there were at least six people on the other side of that door. Who knows how many more? Plus I’m sure it was light out there, too light for me. I groaned. But I couldn’t just sit here and continue to deny him. Eventually he’d send that Miles kid in for me too and then I was really screwed. I’d probably end up like Malibu Rock Head here or worse. I shuddered at the thought. Then bit my lip. It would only be a matter of time before someone would come looking for me. So the way I saw it was either escape or play along. Escaping sounded like a crazy thing to do at the moment so that left only one thing to do.

I smiled sweetly at her. “You’re right, you’re not an idiot” Her smile spread wide and she giggled. I sighed. “I need to get dressed and I’m really hungry.”

She giggled and I rolled my eyes. “I’ll have some food brought.” She walked over and wrapped me in a big hug. “You and I are going to be the best of friends, I know it.”

I pushed away but not before slipping the handcuff key out of the dummy’s pocket.

She didn’t notice. She gave a little wave and then slipped out of the room, locking the door behind her. As soon as the door was shut, I searched the room. I was sure there was a hidden camera somewhere so it didn’t matter if I was caught doing this or not. I pulled the blankets off the bed and flipped the mattress. Then I ran over to the dresser, pulling out all the drawers. If I fell into line right away, Declan would know I was fucking with him. So I needed to make it look like I was still defiant. After pulling out all the drawers one by one, I grabbed one and threw it at the barred window. The drawer shattered on the bars. I picked up another and threw it at the door, screaming for good measure.

I broke the other drawers too, stomping on one and throwing the last few at the walls. I needed to work myself up to make it look like I was pissed off. I thrashed about for a good twenty minutes, feeling like a complete idiot. Finally, I collapsed to the ground, huffing and puffing. That wasn’t an act; I was exhausted. After that, I slowly crawled over to the clothes that were now all over the floor and slowly put them on. The pants were tight and black, like Emma’s but not leather. The shirt was a tank top but purple. I think someone was trying to make me feel right at home. There were no shoes though so I got the impression I wasn’t going to be leaving this room anytime soon.

When I got dressed, I stood up and stuck my hands in my pockets. In the left pocket, there was something small and metal. I wrapped my hand around it and pulled it out. It was my Dekker bullet, I had it in my little clutch purse at the club. Barry---the Rat---must have told Declan about it. He probably thought it would help me feel more secure or something. Anger flared inside of me and I thought about tossing it away. But something stopped me. My revenge had been boiling and festering for a long time now but right now, it didn’t seem to matter. Yes, I still wanted to kill the bastard but now was hardly the time to think about it.

After getting dressed, I took a breather and slowly put the room back together. The drawers were trashed but everything else was ok. I sat on the bed and sighed. I lay down, the pain from earlier slowly coming to me. I winced as it crawled up my back, sending jolts of discomfort. God, she was really strong. I made a mental note not to piss Emma off in the future. That’s right the future. I had every intention of getting her and me out of this crazy nut house.

There was a knock on the door again. I listened and heard the same beating heart and smelled the same perfume. It was the girl from before, Diana. I sat up and the door opened. Diana came into the room, carrying a tray with some food on it. She looked about, seeing the splintered wood all over the place. Then she quickly set the tray on the end of the bed and made it for the door again. Out of all of the people here, she might be the only one I could get through too.

“Wait” I said, stopping her. “What’s your name?”

“We’re not supposed to talk to you’ she said softly.

I nodded. “Telling me your name isn’t really talking to me.”

She nodded. “I’m Diana. I used to be Charles, before all of this.”

I nodded. “What are you doing here?”

Tears started to well in her eyes. “They came for me at school. They told me that they were different from other people and that I was like them. I’m not sure how they knew but I could tell they were different. That’s my thing. Once I Changed, I can sense it. That’s how I know you have Enhanced senses. It’s like this switch gets clicked on when I look at you.”

“That’s an awesome gift”

It was, too. It scared me to think that Declan had someone like her on his side.

She smiled. “I can sense it before people change too. That’s how we found Jasmine and Katrina.”

“How many are there of you here?”

She shook her head. “I can’t tell you. They’ll do horrible things to me if I help you.” She started crying.

I got up off the bed, making my way over to hug her. But she jumped back, moving toward the door. I saw it then. This girl was being abused by them. I could see it in her eyes and the way she was trembling. I saw no visible marks on her but there many different kinds of abuse. Looking at her, my anger started to flare again. How could they do this? I thought Declan was all about his kind and not harming them. Clearly, this girl was being used, probably against her will. It pissed me off to no end.

“If you help me,” I said, taking a chance. “If you help me get out of here, I can take you with me. I come from a place, a place not like this one. There’s a lot of us there, hundreds of us now. We call it the Center and there they don’t treat us like crap.”

She was still crying but her eyes widened. “Really?” I nodded. “Do you think they’d hurt me there?”

“No sweetie” I said, walking over and putting my hands on her shoulders. “They’d treat you the way you were meant to be treated, like a human being.”

She smiled. She opened her mouth to say something else when I heard someone coming. He was fast and quiet. I didn’t even hear him until he was in the doorway. His hand snapped around, hitting Diana across the face. She fell into the room, landing on her side. The guy belonging to the hand was huge; probably six foot four at the most. He filled the doorway. He had slicked back red hair and a tattoo of a dragon on his face. He was one serious looking son of a bitch.

“That was unnecessary,” I said, standing and glaring at him.

He looked me up and down. “You don’t look like much.”

“Looks can be deceiving.”

He smirked, raised his hands. Both his forearms burst into flames. Pyrokinetics, I hate these guys. “You want to dance, little girl?”
Diana got to her feet. “Brock, don’t. She was just asking me about her food.”

The big guy, Brock, glared down at her. “We saw it all on the camera.”

The color drained from Diana’s face. Brock smirked. He reached for her but I batted his hand away.

“Leave her alone, it’s my fault. If you want to deal out the pain, give it to me.”

“You’ll get the pain soon enough, bitch” He put one of his flaming hands on my forearm.

I didn’t feel a thing but I saw the flesh begin to burn. He gave me a shove, pushing me into the room. I tripped over my own feet because the floor was too slippery without any shoes on. I landed on my side. Brock deflamed his arms and grabbed Diana by the hair, pulling her from the room. She screamed at the top of her lungs, kicking and crawling at him. I jumped to my feet and charged him. He was already out the door by the time I got there, slamming it in my face.
I slammed my fists on the door, tears in my eyes as I heard Diana screaming down the hall and way. I slumped to the floor.

A few seconds later, there was a cackle and voice filled the room. “I had such high hopes for you, Becca. I actually thought you and I could come to some kind of agreement but it looks like you’d rather escape than play along.” He sighed; I looked around the room and found the intercom speaker. “I guess there’s no helping it, now. As soon as we’re done with our little insubordinate, I think it’s time you meet my friend Miles.”

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's 12...finally. I've been slowing down my writing a bit to keep myself from burning out. This one shouldn't disappoint though...there's a lot of good action here. I'd like to thank djkauf for the wonderful editing.

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Chapter Twelve:

Son of a bitch. Diana still continued to scream as they dragged her off. I tried to block it out but it was too loud and shrill. She screamed for a long time and then it abruptly stopped. I bit my lip and clenched my fists, anything to stop from screaming out myself. Declan was a bastard. She was one of his own, someone vital to his operation. How could he treat her this way? I knew he’d snapped, but I never pegged him as being a psychopath. It made my blood boil. As soon as I got out of this room, I was going to find the bastard and smash his face in.

I heard them coming long before they got there. There were two of them, one large and heavy footed and the other light on his feet. It was two guys, I could tell by the smell of their body odor. One of them walked with a swagger so I had a good guess it was my friend from before, Brock. The other one was quick, bouncing about, his feet barely touching the ground. I tried to weight my options. They’d only dragged Diana off about ten minutes ago, I found it hard to believe they mind wiped her or whatever this quick. Diana was a good kid, if they did anything to hurt her so help me God I’d make all of them pay.

When they got to the door, I pressed myself against the wall. The door opened and light streamed into the room. I acted out of pure desperation; it was the only thing I had left. I struck out at the first body that came inside. Unfortunately, it was only half effective because the door was still wide open. I did manage to deliver a blow to his head though. It was the big bastard from before, Brock. He staggered and stumbled into the room, collapsing on the floor. For all his talk, he was kind of a lightweight. The other guy on the other hand, not so much. After Brock went down, he leapt into the room like a fricking monkey or something.

He went for the far wall, only lightly touching it with the tips of his toes before he spun in the air and came back at me. He caught me off guard, slamming his outstretched fists into my chest as I was turning to face him. I stumbled, half falling into the light still streaming into the room. I let out a startled scream, pulling my arm quickly out of the scorching UV. The son of a bitch landed lightly on his feet and spun in place, snapping his leg around, hitting me in the side of the head with a kick so fast I didn’t even see it coming.

I went down, hard.

I landed on top of Brock, who groaned. The wily guy came at me again, dropping a heel toward my face. I rolled out of way, his kick connected with the small of his downed partner’s back. Brock moaned some more. Me, I rolled to my feet. It was the kid with the red spiked hair. I think I remember hearing something about him from Brad. There was an incident where Dr. Strickland sent some of her thugs to acquire him and Emma at a motel they were staying at. There were three of them I think. Brad fought them off; one of them was a kid with red spiky hair. I think he said something about the kid being too light on his feet, bouncing about like a freak.

I spit blood from my mouth. “You’re the one who tried to get my friends?”

He smirked, bouncing on his feet like a boxer. “And you’re the famed Becca Howe. Dec talks about you all the time” He smirked again. “I was expecting a little more.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

There were too many things that could go wrong here. For one thing, I had to make sure Diana was ok. I’d only known the girl for a few minutes but there was no way I could let these bastards hurt her any more. The other reason for my imminent escape: I had to get Emma and myself out of this place, away from the Dominator and his range of control. I’m not sure why he hadn’t put the whammy on me but I assume it had to be a proximity thing. All the Dominators I faced in the past–save Melanie Crane---all had to be fairly close for their power to work properly. I’m not sure how he was controlling Emma. Maybe he had to have physical contact first, why else would these guys be here to bring him to me.

I went at him. It was a feint, something to throw him off, a straight punch. He danced away from it just like I thought he might. It gave me time to come at him with my left knee. When he was dodging the punch, I drove my knee into his side. The look of surprise on his face was priceless. He rolled away from it, wincing. I caught him in my other leg, driving a blow into his right calf. He dropped and then I landed another blow to his throat. It wasn’t fatal but it would sure put him out of commission for a while. He fell to the ground, gasping for air. For all his fancy footwork, I was the far superior fighter, the only thing he had going for him was his speed.

Brock grumbled and slowly pushed himself off the floor. He looked around a bit, saw his unconscious buddy and looked around. I spun on him and laid a punch into his face, bone cracked and his head snapped back. Once again, not a fatal blow but it served the purpose of rendering him unconscious again. I prodded him with my foot a few times to make sure he was really out then I went rifling through his pockets. He didn’t have much: a carton of cigarettes, a lighter and some hard candy. All of it useless except the lighter, I took that. I went over to Bouncy Boy and checked his pockets too. I found his wallet, flipping it open and laughed: Tobias Funk. He definitely gave himself that name. I tossed the wallet aside and checked the rest of his pockets.

Jackpot, I found a set of keys. Now to get out of here. I turned to the door and grimaced. Light was still pouring it, far too much for me to go into. But I finally got an idea of where I was. I could see a white wall beyond and floor looked to be linoleum. Which meant I was probably in some place similar to Section Four, possibly a lab? I wonder how Declan pulled that one off. I moved closer to the door, daring a peek. I couldn’t get too far because of the deadly UV but I was able to catch a glance of a window further down, it was boarded up. So, if this was a Syndicate facility, it was definitely a former one. Maybe it was an acquired property of his father’s or something they abandoned like their main ones. I assumed I was still in England, I couldn’t imagine them dragging me elsewhere. I don’t think I was out long enough to be taken back to the States. Besides there’s no way we wouldn’t have known about this place state side, it looked big.

I stepped away from the door, cursing. So I took out my captors, great. But I was still a captive, not so great. I looked at the two guys on the floor and groaned. It was only a matter of time before they woke up again and I could only punch them unconscious for so long. I needed to get out of this place and fast. First, I needed to find something to cover myself with. I looked back at the guys, trying to see if I could any of their things. My best bet was Brock. He was a big guy, his shirt like a tent; I suppose I could cover my head with it. My arms would still be bare but it would be enough for me to get out of the room at least, maybe find some place to shut the power off. I bit my lip. It wasn’t the greatest plan but it was better than nothing. Besides it was only a matter of time before someone came running, they did have a camera in the room after all.

I moved quickly, flipping Brock on his side so I could easily work his shirt off. He was ripped, like a body builder. He smelled too, something horrible. It took everything I could not to throw up all over the place. His shirt smelled even worse as I pulled it over my head, turning it into a makeshift cover. His feet were too big for me but Tobias’ weren’t. He was a small guy so he had small feet. I took off his boots and slipped them on. They were a little big but not so big that they’d fall off my feet. With that done, I wandered back over to the door.

The shirt wouldn’t keep all the light off me but it would keep enough off until I could find a dark place to recover.

I took the deepest breath I could and rushed into the hall. Its funny how much you take something for granted until it’s gone. As much as the Second Skin chafed, I definitely forgot what it was like without it. As soon as the light hit my bare arms, the pain was unbearable. I nearly dropped to the floor in agony. I bit my bottom lip to keep from screaming out, drawing blood. I stumbled along, using every bit of will power I had to keep from collapsing. It was hard going, a lot harder than I remembered. I was about halfway down the hall when I came upon the next door.

I threw myself against it but it wouldn’t budge. I cursed and fumbled with the stolen keys. I put one into the lock and turned but it wouldn’t open. I tried another and another. Finally, on the fourth key, there was a click and I stumbled into the room. Thankfully, it was dark inside. I shut the door quickly, falling to the floor. I pressed my back against it and started to pant heavily. There was no way I could do that again; it was too damn hard.

I pulled the shirt off my head and rubbed my sore, red arms. Luckily, I wasn’t in the light for too long so there was no permanent damage. My arms looked a little sunburned but other than that I think they were going to be ok. It was me that I was worried about. I’d only managed to get a little bit down the hall. It wouldn’t take long for them to figure that out. I had to find another way out of here. I couldn’t keep slinking from one room to the other in hopes of finding them dark and empty. There had to be another way, an easier way.

After finally catching my breath, I pushed myself to my feet. I took stock of this new room. It looked to be an office of some kind. There was a desk and a hard back chair. It had a filing cabinet in the corner, its drawers pulled open. There was a couch, too, and a window, thankfully with blinds. I rushed over to the desk, hoping I could something to use. I pulled open the side drawers first but there was nothing in there but a few gum wrappers and useless papers. Then I tried the top drawer. There was more of the same until my hand came across something thin and long. I pulled it out and smiled. A letter opener, score. It wasn’t the best weapon but it was better than nothing. It might be useful if I caught someone off guard and stabbed them in the arm or throat, someplace soft where I could do the most damage.

I went to the filing cabinet next but it was just as empty as the desk. I sighed; I guess the opener was the best I was going to do.
I looked at the window, wondering if I could chance a look. I inched slowly over, lifting the blinds slightly. I sighed in relief. The sun wasn’t out yet. I could see it rising in the distance but it was still too early for it to be fully up. Which meant it was probably early morning, around four or five am. Which also meant I’d only been here for about six or seven hours. I groaned; it felt longer than that. Then again, I had been unconscious twice already. Unless it was dawn on the following day.

I continued to stare out the window, trying to find some distinguishing landmark. The building was in the middle of nowhere apparently, woods all around. I think it was a couple of stories, looking down I saw at least three rows of windows below me. My room was facing the direction away from the entrance but in the far distance, I could clearly see the perimeter fence. I could see beyond it too, but there was nothing there but wilderness. This definitely felt like a Syndicate place: it was secluded, hard to get to and surrounded by natural made obstacles on all sides. Clearly, it was one of their lesser known places, probably a research lab or something.

A noise in the hall drew my attention from the window. I dropped to the ground quickly, crawling over to hide behind the desk. The noise was actually voices, two of them. It was two girls and they were moving fast, probably wondering where those two morons were.

“Son of a bitch” one of them said, it sounded like Jasmine.

I think they just found my handiwork.

“She took them out. I can’t believe she got both Brock and Tobias,” said the other girl.

“Don’t stand there gawking, go get backup. Make sure one of them is that new girl” snapped Jasmine.

“You can’t possibly think you can take her by yourself”

“Shut up and go,” snapped Jasmine and other girl ran off.

So it was just me and Jasmine now. Good, I wanted to pay the little bitch back for earlier. I slid around to the other side of the desk and listened. She was moving down the hall, walking slowly. I hated going into these things not knowing what I was up against but if she had a kinetic power, I was in for a long fight. I didn’t do too badly against guys like me, people with less active powers. It was the big guns I had problems with, the guys and girls who can shoot lightning and throw fireballs. Trust me; I’ve had my problems with those. I had a particularly hard time with a psycho Aerokinetic named Natasha back when we were trying to bust out of the Syndicate. If it wasn’t for my friend Chloe, I’d probably not be here right now.

She was moving further down the hall, getting closer and closer. She was wearing different boots now, these ones had a stiletto heel I could hear tapping as she walked. I now knew that the girl was a definite poser. I’m not sure why I thought she was such a kindred spirit before, maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was whatever she slipped into my drink before. Now that my head was clear and I realized who she was working with I just knew she was the biggest fake out there. She tried too hard to be whoever she was pretending to be. It was a combination of the clothes, piercings and makeup, it was too much. It was like she was trying to get noticed, maybe even by me.

“I know you’re here somewhere,” she said aloud, moving slowly closer to my hiding spot. “I can feel you. I can feel all that doubt and frustration and the fear. You reek of it.”

Feel me? Oh, Son of a bitch, another Empath. Ok so I only knew a few and most of them were really good friends of mine. But to actually have to face one…I could only groan. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head. She could find me by my emotions. I took a deep breath, trying to remain as calm as possible.

Jasmine laughed. “That’s not going to work,” she said, moving closer. “In fact, I think you’re feeling really scared about now.”

Something came over me, something overwhelming. My breathing came out really fast and my heart started beating like a drum. I started to sweat and I got this overwhelming feeling of dread. Images came into my head, horrible images. I kept seeing Dekker coming toward me and laughing, shooting me over and over again. I tried to fight him off but I couldn’t. I tried to fight off the feelings but they wouldn’t go away. I was terrified and it was controlling me. I crumbled into a ball on the ground, pulling my legs to my head and started to sob. The images of Dekker disappeared to be replaced by images of Trish, she was laughing, laughing at me. She was telling me I was a disgrace and she didn’t want me. Then she opened a door behind her and let Dr. Orange into the room.

Outside my head, Jasmine stopped but I didn’t pay attention. I heard the door open and light flooded into the room. I barely felt the sting from it. She walked over to me and looked down at me like an adult would a child. I turned and looked up, tears in my eyes. She looked huge, like a giant with bright blue hair and nasty spiked heels.

“Did you think you could hide from me, you little bitch?”

She reached for me, her hand changing into a wicked claw and I screamed.

_________________________________

When I opened my eyes, I was in a different room. I groaned, the fogginess slowly starting to fade away. I waited for it to disappear before I looked around. This room was similar to the last one, except it had no window and there didn’t seem to be any other furniture besides the bed I was laying on and the chair in the corner. I ignored the chair for a moment because I wasn’t ready to acknowledge the person sitting in it. Instead, I tried to think about what just happened. She did something to me, something horrible. It was foggy at best but I think she got into my head, throttling me with my own fears. My thoughts instantly went to Melanie but what Jasmine did was completely different.

“Becca, you ok?” said the voice of the person I was ignoring.

I didn’t turn toward him when I finally answered. “What the fuck are you doing here? I thought Declan said he’d keep you away from me.”

Barry sighed, dragging the chair closer to my bed. I would have lashed out at him but my hands were cuffed to the bed like before. He rubbed his temples. He didn’t look so good. I’m not saying he was physically tortured but he definitely looked like he was under a lot of stress. I wonder if Declan’s precious Dominator did a number on my ex-boyfriend. Not that I’d shed a tear for Barry anymore but no one deserved that. I felt a pang as I looked at him though, I couldn’t help it. A part of me still cared for him even if he was a dirty traitor.

“I’ve got some time before anyone notices,” he said, lowering his voice. “I disabled the security cameras in this room. I needed to see you; I want to explain some things.” I scoffed but he continued as if he didn’t notice. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, it was the last thing I wanted to do. But you have to understand where this comes from. Things were different when we came up with our plan…things were complicated.”

“Complicated? You made chips to control people.”

He nodded. “They were promising things back then. They told us if we used our powers to help them then they’d cure us” He sighed. “I wanted more than anything to be a girl again, Declan and Beatrice felt the same.”

At the mention of her name, I groaned. Of course, Bea would be involved in their crazy plan. “What about Mattie?”

He shook his head. “Matt was different than us. When he got there, he was already dressed like a girl. When he changed, it was like the greatest thing in the world. I’ve never seen a more happy kid. He was on cloud nine. It didn’t even bother him when they started to run their cruel experiments on us.” I smiled, I knew some about Mattie’s past but I was glad she wasn’t involved in all this craziness. “Declan hated every minute of it. He played along like a good little soldier but on the inside, he was seething. You have to understand that in the beginning he was all passion and fire. It was hard not to follow him. After we were there for only a few months, he was already coming up with an escape plan. The only one not privy to it was Mattie, he said we could clue her in when it got closer to the actual escape.”

Barry sighed. He looked over at the door for a second then continued. “But we needed time and more people. That’s why it took us a few years to get around to the actual plan. More people started showing up and Declan decided to work them in or not. It was easy to sway Beatrice’s cronies to fall into line, but the others not so much. Max was a wild card, so was Donnie. Holly and Chloe were not really important; we figured they’d fall into line as soon as the escape happened. Then Clara showed up, shortly followed by you. Things changed when you showed up, Declan changed. He’d already replaced Zero and was now in charge but his whole plan changed when you came.”

That sent shivers up my spine. Why the hell was I so important?

“I think he was in love with you. For the first time, he started talking about a girl like she was a person he could love. When he found out that little Ricky was one of us, his whole outlook changed. He wanted you in the scheme of things. He became obsessed with you. He started setting up things to test you, to make sure you were worthy or something. For the first time he didn’t care about the cure, it was like he accepted his male self and all he wanted was a girl to spend the rest of his life with.”

I threw up a little in my mouth. There was no way I was going to let Declan do any of those things to me. “You used me?”

He sighed and nodded. “That’s how it was at first. He sent me to your room, made me tell you it was Mattie. He wanted me to keep an eye you, to make sure that no one else got close to you so that you could be all his.” Barry sighed. “Falling in love with you wasn’t a part of the plan.”

Love? My heart skipped a beat. It was only for a second but it was there nonetheless. He loved me. For a second I couldn’t find the right words. I opened my mouth and closed it just as quickly. I took a few seconds to father my thoughts then spoke. “I think I might have been in love with you, too.”

There, I said it.

He smiled. But I shook my head. “I said I might have been. Then you betrayed me. If you were so in love with me you should have warned me, you could have stopped this.” The anger rose in my voice. I didn’t feel anything toward him anymore, except maybe wanting to throttle him. “You led me into a trap Barry. Do you realize what that bastard wants to do to me? Have you seen Emma? He’s going to do the same thing to me. It’s the BMC all over again. Do you really want that?”

Barry groaned and got to his feet. He started pacing the room, mumbling to himself. For the first time I noticed the bandage across his face, over his nose. A small smile came to my lips. So I did break it. But at the same time, I felt a little guilty too. Yeah I know he’s a traitor but I guess I overreached when I punched him so hard. Yes, he deserved it but it ruined his pretty face now.

He stopped pacing and bit his lip. “Maybe I can get you out of here.”

That peeked my interest. Was this another ploy? I scoffed. “In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a lot of them and only two of us?”

He sighed. “I know it won’t be easy, especially with Jasmine and Miles. She can project emotions at people, that’s how she took you down before. But there are ways around that.”

I nodded. “What about Miles? Last I checked the only way to stop a Dominator is to get them before they get you.”

Barry didn’t look so confident anymore. He looked like someone just socked him in the gut. I could see him trying to think things through. After a few minutes though, I saw a smile form on his face. “We’ll have to give them a distraction.”

Before I could say anything, he rushed over to the corner of the room, a place I couldn’t see because I was still strapped down to the bed. As much as I believed him---which wasn’t much---he had yet to un-cuff me, which was kind of suspicious. But I’d let him have his little flight of fantasy or whatever. Clearly he wasn’t thinking straight anymore, like Declan. But unlike Declan, I don’t think it was madness leading him. I think it was guilt. He said he was in love with me but I think he was just trying to clear his guilty conscience. Not that I was complaining at the moment, as long as he could get me out of this place.

Barry came over to the bed, carrying a backpack. Clearly, he’d done some thinking without me. He reached in and pulled out his laptop, setting it up without saying another word. I watched as he typed rapidly, lost in his own little world. I looked at the pack, wondering what other goodies he might have inside. I recognized it as one of the bags from the Center, so clearly he took it with him from the MCU. Thoughts of my friends inside the van came to me. I wonder if he did anything to them or if he had the bag already to go.

I took a deep breath. “I still don’t trust you, you know?”

He nodded. “I don’t expect you too,” he said, not looking my way. “But I think I can prove my intentions to you.”

He stopped his typing and reached into the bag. He rummaged around a few seconds and pulled a few things out. One was a hard black case; I know what was in there. The other was a folded article of what looked like snake skin. But I knew what that was as well: my Second Skin. I looked from it to him. He smiled.

“You’re serious about this?” He nodded. “They’ll kill you once they found out you’ve helped me?”

He nodded again. “That doesn’t matter anymore. Declan’s changed. This was never supposed to be about hurting anyone. I wanted to destroy the Syndicate just like him and let’s face it; the Center isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be either. But harming Diana the way he has been and some of the other stuff---Strickland for instance----that was never a part of the plan.”

“You’re wrong about the Center.”

He didn’t disagree with me. Instead, he stopped typing again. “If we get out of here…will you come with me?”

Whoa, big question. I bit my lip. “Where are you going?”

He sighed. “I know I can’t go home, not like this. But I want to see them again, my family. Maybe write them a letter like Max did for his little sis. I know it’s asking a lot but I want you with me. Maybe we can start a life together, a real one, not this fake crap that I’ve been putting out.”

I nodded. It sounded nice but it wasn’t for me. But if he could get me out of here and if that’s what he wanted to hear then so be it. “I can go with you if you want. Just you and me, with the whole world behind us. I think I’d like that.”

He smiled. He went back to his computer and continued typing. Ok so I was using him but he used me too. To tell you the truth there was no true way I was going to go with him. Even if he did bring me the Second Skin and whatever was in that black case---I had a good idea. There was just no way that I’d ever trust Barry Morrison ever again.

“That should do it,” he said, finally finished with whatever it was he was doing with the laptop.

“What did you do?”

He smiled and held up a finger. I gave him a look then an alarm sounded somewhere. It was loud and blaring. A few seconds later, another alarm sounded somewhere. Barry laughed aloud then reached into his pocket, taking out a key. I spied it suspiciously until he came over and unlocked the handcuffs. I sat up, rubbing my wrists out of habit. They were already sore and red from before. Somewhere after being unconscious for the umpteenth time my pain from earlier hit me because I could still feel some of it. Now I’d have all new pain to worry about. But all of that could wait. I’m sure the two of us only had a very small window before whatever it was that Barry did was discovered.

I slipped off the bed, grabbing the Second Skin. I ordered him to turn his back and he did so reluctantly. Ex-boyfriend or not, we were still virgins. At least I was. The two of us had been getting really close but for some reason I wasn’t quite ready yet to allow him to go all the way. They also meant that he had yet to see me naked. So he reluctantly turned around as I quickly stripped. I donned the Second Skin as fast as I could then put my clothes back on over it. I looked at his little bag and found a pair of shoes inside too. I shook my head, he thought of everything. It made me wonder if he went into this room thinking he could convince me to run away with him.

“So what’s the plan now?” I asked as I sat on the edge of the bed, putting on the sneakers.

“You and I are going to slip away in the commotion. I’ve got the keys for the van. As soon as things are safe, the two of us will go out the back. I’ve made some arrangements to get us out of the country.”

He reached for the black case but I grabbed his wrist. “That’s mine,” I said and he nodded.

I opened the case and smiled at the P Gun. I figured that’s what was inside. I was a little shocked though when I noticed five darts instead of the usual six.

“Did you use one?”

He shook his head. Very interesting.

I took the gun out of the case, loaded a dart and then grabbed the remaining four. There was no belt or cartridge holder for the darts but Barry remedied that when he took off his coat and handed it to me. It wasn’t a hoodie but it had a hood. I pulled it on; making sure the hood was big enough to cover my whole head. With that out of the way, Barry put away his laptop and went to the door. He opened it slightly, peering out. I took the handcuffs off the bed, turning them so I could use them like a makeshift pair of brass knuckles. Barry stepped into the hallway, looking both ways to make sure. I waited in the corner, ready in case someone realized what was going on and ran into the room.

He stepped back in after a few seconds. “We’re clear.”

I nodded. “How many here besides you and Declan?”

He stopped to think. “You’ve already met Brock, Tobias, Jasmine and Diana. You know about Miles?” I nodded. “The only other two you haven’t met are Kat and Reggie. Reggie is a telekinetic; he specializes in throwing playing cards of all things. But Kat is the one you need to look out for; she’s a real nasty photokinetic. She does this thing with light that’s really nasty, especially for someone like you.”

I nodded, including Barry and Declan that made nine. I could deal with that. I just had to make sure that one of these darts went into Miles. Now that I thought about it, Declan and Jasmine had darts with their names on them too.

Barry took a deep breath and led the way out into the hall. I took my only breath and followed. We were in a room similar to the first one; it was possible it was the same one. Instead of bright fluorescent light though, there was red strobes flashing, the alarms still blaring. The noise didn’t seem to bother Barry but it was driving me insane. I did everything I could to drown it out, including humming. When we got to the end of the hall, Barry opened the last door on the left. He gestured me inside. The room was dark, Barry went for the light switch but I grabbed his wrist. I could see what was in the room and I didn’t like it one bit. There was row after row of firearms all along one wall. I understood why Barry brought me in here but I wasn’t about to let him have a gun.
I still didn’t trust him.

“You’re kidding right?”

“Out of the two of us, only one of us is a traitor,” I said, closing the door.

He sighed. “I’m trying to help you escape, doesn’t that count for anything.”

I sighed and looked around the room. There was a shelf with just knives. I walked over, grabbed two KA-BARs, sheathing one for myself and sticking it into my waistband and then bringing him the other. I thought about grabbing an actual gun but it felt like I was cheating on Reta. Besides a gun would make too much noise. We were trying to be stealthy after all.

“You’re kidding,” he said, taking the knife.

“It’s that or nothing.”

He nodded, securing the knife on his belt. “You can trust me, you know.”

I nodded. “I could also knock your ass out and go on my own.”

He opened his mouth to protest but I held up my hand. A noise from the hall caught my attention. It was two noises actually. The sound of running footfall, two people. They ran past our room and stopped in the middle of the hallway, probably at my former doorway. I listened as the two of them talked. It was the girl from earlier---the one who was with Jasmine---and another voice I didn’t recognize until I heard her call him a name:

“Damn it, Reggie, I knew we shouldn’t trusted Barry.”

The guy, Reggie, sighed. “How far do you think they got?”

“I don’t know. But if it was me I’d hit the weapons at the end of the hall.”

Shit. I snapped around. “Barry we have to go now.”

I didn’t wait for him to respond. I ran over to the door and yanked it open, grabbing his arm and pulling him out into the hall. I dragged him along, moving as quick as I could, around the corner and down the hall. I let go of Barry as we ran, he kept good pace. Behind us, I heard a shout and then footfall. Something thin flew past my face, slicing my cheek. I didn’t feel it but a second later, I saw the Queen of Hearts zip past the other side of my head. Son of a bitch. I put on the speed, hoping that this Reggie guy didn’t have the skill that Holly had. Another card whizzed past my head. I saw it hit the wall as the two of us whipped around another corner.

“This is crazy,” Barry shouted.

I didn’t respond. He was absolutely right. There was no way these jackasses were going to leave us alone. We had a could several feet on them so I snapped around and pressed myself against the wall. I could hear both of them, Reggie---being the heavier one–was in the lead. When he came to the corner, he charged around it. I snapped around, slamming my fist into his fast. It was almost as if his face ran into my fist. I didn’t feel a thing but Reggie sure did. The blow took his feet out from under him. He flew into the air and fell quickly to the ground, all in one big fluid motion. I looked to make sure he was down for the count then Barry and I started running again.

Barry laughed. “You don’t pull punches, do you?”

I laughed. “I had a good sensei.”

We both shared a smile. I fought back the urge to reach over and kiss him. Ok, so I’m a sucker for a cute guy and a smile. I know I should have been infuriated at him but there was just something about him that made me all mushy. I know that most of our relationship was a lie but that didn’t stop me from wanting him to hold me in his arms like he used to. I think I can chalk it all up to the excitement of the moment, after all the two of us had a relationship built around all this pulse pounding stuff.

We continued to run even after I couldn’t hear the pursuit anymore. Apparently, that girl, Kat, wasn’t much of a runner. Barry led the way down a couple more halls and then a narrow staircase. Finally, we got to a bottom floor, this one devoid of flashing red and siren sounds. I sighed, resting against a wall. Barry went to a door, using a key to unlock it. He explained as he did so. On the other side of the door was a little garage where they kept the van. When they brought Emma and me here, they carried us up these exact same stairs.

“From here” he said as he opened the door. “The two of us can make it to my safe house. I’ve got this great view, you’ll love it.”

He started laughing and I smiled. He turned and froze. He looked at me, his hand seizing up as his fingers tightened on the doorknob. He was still laughing but suddenly it cut off, his mouth partially open. I saw the look on his face; it was the same one that Diana had from earlier.

“Becca” he said, forcing the words out painfully. “Run!”

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Time for something a tad different. Becca's narrative will pick up again in Ch. 14 but I thought I'd try something new. So this chapter will be told through Stella's POV...please be kind. I have a question to, this was supposed to be a one time thing but I'm curious if I should write at least one more from her POV. I'd like to thank djkauf for the wonderful editing.

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Chapter Thirteen:

The music was so loud I could barely hear myself think. I looked over at Karen and smiled, the girl wasn’t having a very good time. I knew how she felt. This wasn’t exactly my scene either. But unlike her, I wasn’t here to have a good time. This was a part of the mission, at least according to Becca. So far, I had yet to see anything that might even look remotely like Dekker being here. In fact, looking about the place all I saw was young people, save maybe the bartender and the doorman. It was crazy to think that an adult would want anything to do with this place, but of course, none of us could tell Becca that. She had a one track mind and if she thought something was the way it was then it was. There was no arguing the point.
I sighed, all my worry coming to the forefront.

We were all worried about her but I think I was more so than the others. This unhealthy obsession of hers was starting to weigh heavily on all of us. I understood her need to for some retribution but she was taking things one step too far. I hated to think so badly of her, seeing as she was a good friend now but I couldn’t help but wonder how much she was actually herself. Unlike the others, I knew all about what she was suffering through. I heard her moans in the middle of the night, I saw her thrashing about on her bed, unable to fight off the horrors I’m sure she was dreaming. I couldn’t feel her pain physically for her but I could definitely feel it mentally. She was troubled and she wouldn’t let anyone help her. Not that we didn’t try. Everyone tried. But no matter how much we---her friends---tried to get to her, there didn’t seem to be anything in our words that she liked. Before she used to shrug us off but now she was getting downright nasty about it. It pained me to think where all of this nastiness could possibly be going.

I turned to the bar, trying my hardest to see through the people there. Becca had left the table about a minute or two ago, to go surprise Barry. The two of them were sweet together but even that relationship was straining. She didn’t talk about it much but I knew the two of them were having problems, how could you not. The two of them had been rocky ever since they got to the Center together. I’m not really sure of the specifics but I know that she was in confinement for a month and there were stories about what he did while she was there. But things started to look good for them after they got back from Section One, the two of them were hot and heavy for a bit.

But all of that changed when Brad showed up. You’d have to be an idiot if you didn’t notice how he looked at her and how she looked at him. It was clear that something was going on there. Thinking about me always brought a bit a jealousy to the surface. For so long I’d been trying to deny it but there was no denying it now. I had the hots for my roommate. I mean how can you not. Tonight when she walked out of the bathroom wearing that outfit, I did everything I could to keep from jumping her right there. There was just something about seeing a girl in a tiny little number like that that makes me wet. I can’t help it---I wish I could---but there was no denying my feelings.

“You girls look bored,” said a voice, shattering my thoughts.

I snapped my head away from trying to see Becca and over to the interloper. Britney was now occupying Becca’s seat. She was shining with sweat and panting. She looked like someone had doused her with a hose. There was something about a glistening girl that made me blush. I did so now, hoping she wouldn’t notice. There was no way I could deny how I felt about her either. Britney was gorgeous, not Becca gorgeous but definitely right up there. She was a tease, too. She danced around her---our room, for the moment---in the tiniest little underwear, flaunting what Mother Nature gave her. Unlike Becca, Britney knew how I felt.
Karen fingered the rim of her glass, looking uncomfortable. “I’m not sure what to do in a place like this.”

Britney huffed. “You get a drink, you knock it back then you find some hot thing to grind against for a couple of hours until you can’t stand anymore.”

Karen turned a strange shade of purple. Britney laughed and turned her attention to me. “What about you, Red, you want to party with little ole me?”

I looked past her over at the bar again. I finally spotted Becca; she was talking with Barry and Brad. I bit my lip. “I think I want to wait for Becca to return.”

Britney rolled her eyes. She turned to Karen. “You’re coming with me; I’m going to loosen you up a bit.”

She grabbed Karen’s wrists, pulling her out of her seat, ignoring her protests. I watched as Britney dragged a struggling Karen into the throng of people on the dance floor. I sighed. At least some one was having fun tonight. Who knows, maybe some of that would rub off on Karen. She was a strange one. I told Becca I’d look after her while she hooked up with the guys. We talked for all of thirty seconds before Karen quietly dazed off into the crowd. There was a moment when I thought a group of guys might pique her interest though. They were from that school Brad and Connor were hiding at, pretending to be students. There had been one guy in particular that Karen was staring at, a tall dark haired boy. But Karen diverted her eyes away quickly and it looked as if the color drained from her face.

I searched the crowd for the group, hoping maybe Karen would get up the nerve to approach the guy. But I couldn’t find them or her anymore. Maybe Britney was getting her to cut loose after all. I smiled and turned my attention back to the bar. Brad was pushing his way through the crowd, moving back toward the table. He looked like someone had forced him to swallow something unpleasant. He spun a seat around and sat down, the back of which was facing the table. He was good looking---I could see what Becca saw in him---but there was no spark of interest toward him on my behalf. I was one hundred percent lesbian and proud of it.

“They send you away?”

He shook his head. “I chose to leave. It was getting kinda awkward.”

He looked around the table, noticing I was alone. “Where’s Emma?”

I shrugged. She disappeared a few minutes before Becca. I wasn’t really paying attention because I was too busy trying to engage poor Karen in conversation. Now that Brad mentioned it, I hadn’t seen Emma since she disappeared. It was pretty obvious why she stormed off though. Looking over at the table where Kit and Samson were sitting, it was clear she was reading something there that pissed her off. It was pretty common knowledge that sweet Miss Ford and the Corporal had a thing for one another. I’m not sure that made her overprotective brother too happy but I couldn’t see anything happening there anyway---Samson was twenty three after all.

Brad looked over at the table where the two military people pretended to be into each other. He seemed to relax a bit when he saw that both of them were still there. After a few seconds of giving Samson the evil eye, he turned back to me. “Why aren’t you on the dance floor?”

I sighed. I took a chance with the truth. “Because just like you, I’m waiting for something that I can’t have.”

We shared a knowing nod and as one, both of us looked back in the direction of the bar. I like Brad and if he was competition, I’ve already lost. Of course, both of us would still have to get rid of Barry. I didn’t know him all that well. He came by the room only once and a while and mostly to pick Becca up. But in the last week or so even that had stopped. I’ve only been at the Center for a few weeks and I think I’d only actually seen the two of them together five or six times. He used to sit with us at lunch but now he didn’t even come to the lunch room. I’m not sure how she could be in a relationship and not be in one. I suppose she loved him---they had a lot of shared history together---but even that had to be taxing.

The two of us stared in shared longing. Then Barry turned away, looking angry. He stormed off, pushing his way through the crowd. I caught sight of his face the closer he got. There was a look of anger there but there was something else too. I followed him as he approached our table. Brad stood up and tried to talk to him bit Barry slammed into him---shoulder to shoulder---shoving him aside as he charged on past. In his wake came Becca, moving just as fast. I stood half way, waving to her but she ignored him. Brad apparently didn’t want to be ignored because he took off after her.

I looked down at the table and followed. I saw him grab her arm and slowly spin her to face him. I looked past the two of them, spotting Barry push the rest of the way through the crowd. Near the door I barely saw him bend over and pick something up, it looked like a backpack. What the hell? I turned back to Brad and Becca and just caught the tail end of their conversation:

“I just need some air,” she said, pulling her arm from him.

“You want me to come…”

She didn’t even let him finish before she stormed off after Barry, disappearing into the crowd. I saw the look of confusion on Brad’s face. Then the look of determination. I don’t think he was ready to lose her so easily. I smiled. He took a deep breath and followed, calling Becca’s name. I took a deep breath too, taking one last look back at the dance floor. I finally caught sight of Britney and Karen; the two of them were grinding into one another. A pang of jealousy waved over me but I’d deal with it later. I turned back, seeing Brad had a head start. I picked up speed and followed. When the two of us got to the door, we were caught up in a flood of people coming in. By the time we pushed our way through, we stepped panting into the cold night air.

I looked about but both Becca and Barry were gone.

Brad seemed to look too then he went straight for the bouncer.

“Have you seen a girl with short black, about five eight, five nine. Dressed in a halter top and short skirt?”

The bouncer rolled his eyes. “There’s a lot of girls going through here buddy.”

“She just left actually.”

The bouncer smiled and nodded. “She left about two minutes ago with a blue haired chick, I think the two of them were heading that way.”

Brad looked in the direction the guy was pointing then took off. I groaned, running to keep up. It was kind of hard in the heels that Britney forced to wear but I managed. The bitter cold was the problem. I was wearing barely anything at all---my dress was so tiny it barely covered my butt---but Brad didn’t seem to think anything of it. He was dressed like a normal human being though and in any other circumstance, I would have probably been running ahead of him. But without heels, he had a pretty good head start. When I caught up, he was looking this way and that, from one storefront to the other. When we got to the end of the road, we both stopped dead in our tracks.

There was a gray van parked out in front of a little corner coffee shop. It didn’t mean anything to me until I saw what was being carried into the van. There was a blue haired girl and a big burly guy carrying a person between them. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was Becca. Brad and I were standing on the other side of the street and the two of them already had her into the van.

“Hey” Brad shouted, probably not the best thing to do.

The big guy closed the door and turned toward us, smirking.

Brad took off across the street, it was late enough that traffic wasn’t really that bad. Luckily for all of us there weren’t a lot of people about so no one saw what the big guy did next. He raised a hand in Brad’s direction and a jet of flame shot from it. I screamed. Brad just stood his ground as the flame engulfed him. For a second I thought he was a goner until I realized the nature of Brad’s ability. The flame licked around his body but didn’t burn. The big guy seemed to notice something was wrong because he didn’t stand around to try again. He pulled open the van door and jumped inside.

I ran across the road, kicking off my shoes as I went. I looked to make sure Brad was ok, then continued on foot after the van. But you know how that is. There was no way a normal person could ever catch up to a speeding van. I stopped after a few feet, cursing as the van whipped around the corner and disappeared.

Brad came up behind me, already talking: “They took her. I repeat, The Eagle is Gone.”

I cursed. Becca was going to be so pissed when she woke up.

_____________________________

“Son of a bitch” cursed Kit as she furiously typed away at the keys.

I looked around the interior of the Mobile Command Unit---Becca and the others called it the “MCU”. I felt out of place here. I was kinda a geek before the Change but it only went as far as constant hours of World of Warcraft and playing games on Facebook. All this computer stuff---the things that Barry could do---were completely foreign to me. Kit on the other hand seemed to be a master at it. She wasn’t as proficient as Barry was but then again she was a normal person. But tonight no matter how much she tried, she just couldn’t seem to get a break. After leaving the street, Brad and I went back into the club to get the others. Luckily, Britney and Karen were still on the dance floor so we were able to talk with the rest of the team in private. Well, at least I was. Brad got worried about Emma and went looking for her. I filled Kit, Samson and Connor in on what happened. It wasn’t long after that that a frantic Brad showed up, claiming that he couldn’t find Emma anywhere. Samson helped him search but in the end Emma was as MIA as Becca and Barry.

As a group, we concluded that we were compromised.

We cut the club session short after that. I managed to get Britney and Karen off the dance floor and told them what was going on. The cover was that Becca and Emma got a little “lucky” and would join us later. I got the two of them out of the club and into a waiting cab; it didn’t take long for us to get back to Chairmont. Once Britney was asleep, I did my invisible thing and snuck out. The MCU was waiting for me at the gate, the boys already inside.

"Damn thing is fucked,” said Kit, giving up. She pushed the keyboard away, cursing.

“What are you talking about?” asked Samson, coming to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder.

Kit ran her fingers through her hair. “I think we got punked. Whoever took Becca and Emma, somehow hacked our system.”

"p that?”

For once, I actually agreed with Connor. It was unlike Barry not to have his system protected. Barry had two loves in his life and the first one sadly wasn’t Becca. He cared more about his computers than anything, there was no way he’d let someone hack his system. I mean who could anyway. They’d have to be the world’s greatest hacker and as far as I knew, I think that was Barry himself. Becca told me how he hacked the Syndicate’s mainframe and put everything on a little portable hard drive. It was ingenious. I found it hard to believe that he’d be careless enough to let someone mess with his system.

Kit agreed with me. “Barry set up the best security imaginable. The only one who could bypass it is him.”

None of us said anything. It was crazy to think about but crazier things happened. But to think what I was thinking. What I’m sure everyone was thinking.

Connor voiced it though. “How do we know it’s not him?”

None of us had anything to say to that.

It was hard to think of Barry as anything other than a team player but who else could hack his system? I bit my lip, trying to think of alternatives. If I was still Mike, I could have probably come up with some crazy story to explain all of this. I used to be such a geek when it came to these things. But ever since changing not my new self, the geekiness was slowly slipping away. I’m not saying that my mind changed or anything, it was just that I didn’t really like who I used to be. I still love video games---in fact, Emma and I have been playing them since she got here---it’s just that I’m interested in other things too. I smiled thinking about that. If I would have told myself a few weeks ago that, I was going to turn into a girl---a sporty one at that---I would have laughed in my own face.

“Can we contact the Center?” asked Brad, speaking up for the first time. He’d been pretty quiet after we all realized that Emma was missing too.

Kit sighed and shook her head. “Most of the long range communication is tied into a satellite. We can’t access it without the computer. The only communication we have is short range, meaning between ourselves.”

“What about your back up guy?” asked Connor.

Kit shook her head again. “I haven’t been able to raise Baker or his team.”

"What about phone calls?" asked Connor, playing devil's advocate. "What about that guy from MI5?"

Kit frowned. "Something's up with the phones. I tried calling it in earlier but I got nothing but static. I would try Baker but I don't have a number to reach him. There's something screwy going on here, something beyond just what's happening here."

I looked around the van, at all the somber faces. The two soldiers were the only ones cut out for this kind of thing but even they looked defeated. I’m not saying that Becca had all the answers but she was sure on top of things. But it sucked to thing that all of us were too stupid to figure out what to do next. I kept staring at my fellow teammates, trying to read each of them. Connor looked disinterested, Brad looked worried and Kit looked frustrated. The only one who didn’t seem to register at all was Samson. He was sitting next to Kit, staring at the bank of computer monitors in front of her. I think he was trying to figure a way out of this scenario. I think he might have been feeling a little guilty too. After all, he was supposed to be watching our backs and already three of us were gone, taken by the enemy.

I had to say something. “Is there anything we can do?”

Kit sighed. She looked like she was going to say something but stopped. Then I saw a look on her face and she smiled. She didn’t say a thing but she went right into typing. Her hands flew across the keys. I looked at the screen in front of her, watching as window after window scrolled across. She was good with that thing---not Barry good---but better than me. I couldn’t make sense of much of it but whatever it was; it seemed to make her happy because her smile kept getting bigger. After staring for a few seconds, I noticed a map pop up on the screen. It was replaced seconds later by a landscape. First, it was a forest then it slowly started zooming in, a gray rectangular building slowly came into view.

Kit finally stopped typing. “I’m such an idiot,” she admitted, tapping the screen.

“What is that?” asked Samson, leaning forward to look. Then he read something aloud. “Barton Research?”

“That’s where they are,” said Kit confidently.

This time I leaned forward, surprised. “How do you know that?”

Kit smiled. “I was so caught up in everything that was going on that I forgot one key detail” She paused for the dramatic effect. “Becca is bugged.”

________________________________

It was her bullet. The night before we shipped out from the Center, Kit slipped into our room and took Becca’s Dekker bullet on Mrs. Fine’s orders. They replicated the bullet---making a fake one with a tracker inside. Then they replaced it without Becca’s knowledge. It was a simple little maneuver. Mrs. Fine knew that Becca had been carrying the damn thing with her all over the place. She also knew that given the chance Becca would eventually do something crazy and stupid so she put this plan into effect. It paid off too. I’m not saying that whatever Becca did to get caught was stupid but it was definitely fortuitous that she was being tracked.

After Kit shared that amazing little bit of info with us, we had something to go on. The tracker operated on a different frequency that the rest of the communications array. Though the two of them were connected to the same satellite, there was no reason for whoever to know about it. So when we were initially locked out of the computer, the hacker---I’m not ready to admit the obvious---had no reason to think that such a tactic existed. Kit forgot all about it because she assumed that she’d be locked out of the program. Then she remembered that it was on a different network, one of her own design and not something, that Barry had any access to. Yeah, she was kinda convinced Barry was involved somehow.

It helped that only she and Mrs. Fine were the only ones who knew about the bug. Now we were on a deployment. Who would have thought I’d ever think about that. Ok so it wasn’t really anything special. After discerning the building’s location from the bug, Kit and Samson handled the details. We still didn’t have communications but they were able to organize a lot. The MCU had pretty much everything needed to storm a facility---i.e. guns and tactical gear. Kit and Samson were all decked out now. Samson was in front driving; Kit was at the computer giving him directions while the rest of us were in the back. Me, I wanted to piss myself. I was doing everything I possibly could to keep my mind off what was about to happen. We were going to storm a secluded facility, in the middle of nowhere, with possible hostiles waiting for us. Ok, they didn’t know we were coming so we had the element of surprise on our hands but it was still not very reassuring.

“You look green, Princess” said Connor, who was sitting next to me.

I wanted to punch him. “I’ve never done anything like this.”

He laughed. “Ever play paint ball or laser tag?”

I groaned. Paint ball was too much work for me but I’d played my far share of laser tag. I was kinda a geek after all. But that was all pretend, this was real life. Even though I didn’t have a gun---Connor and Brad did---I was still wary of the things that I might have to do. I knew this was a possible part of the whole deal but I was definitely having second thoughts about this whole commando thing. When Becca first pitched the idea to me, I thought it was something that I might enjoy. After all, I had a unique skill set, one almost built for this kind of thing. She mentioned that there might be situations where we would have to engage the enemy but I figured she and Emma would handle all that stuff. I had no real combat training---a couple hours in the shooting range maybe---but nothing like this.

I looked over at Brad who was sitting on the other side of me. He smiled weakly. I could see it in his eyes, the mixture of anticipation and fear. I reached over and squeezed his hand.

“What about me?” asked Connor, sticking his hand in my face.

I swatted it away. He laughed.

“Ignore him,” said Brad “I usually do.”

I nodded. “Are you ok? “

He shrugged. “I’m not really good at protecting my sister.” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Back when the roles were reversed, she did everything to be the best brother possible. I used to envy her for being so cool. Then the change happened and everything is different. She’s still the same cool person but it seems her emotions get the better of her now. I should have been watching her better; I should have made sure she was in my line of sight at all times.”

I squeezed his hand harder. “We’ll find her. She’s going to be ok, I promise.”

I continued to hold his hand, looking out the window of the SUV. We left the MCU back in the city, opting for an SUV instead. The van didn’t really have the all-terrain capabilities that we were looking for. Besides there wasn’t really all that room for us to sit. Kit transferred what she needed onto a laptop. She tried to reestablish a connection to the communications network but it was still down. She seemed to think whoever hacked it, might have done it on both ends. But that didn’t stop her from trying. She did everything she could think of to try to reconnect. But so far, she was having no such luck. So the four of us were still on our own.

The SUV was currently bumping down a dirt road; passing by small stone walls on either side. I could barely see anything, though. Looking out the window there was nothing but blackness on either side. A part of me wished I had Becca’s night vision. I kept thinking that there was something lurking out there, waiting to strike. I knew I was being kinda paranoid but you never know with these Syndicate types. Yeah, Syndicate, who else could they be. I knew it was kinda strange, especially considering what Becca told me about Dekker. He was kinda an ass; he didn’t much like our kind either. So why would he be working with them? I guess it didn’t really make much sense but then again none of this did.

I continued to stare, glad that I had charged myself up before going to the club tonight. That’s how I work, you see. It’s not so much that I turn invisible or even bend the light around myself. I sorta absorb it, pulling it into myself. So I’m not really invisible, I’m kinda using the light like a shield. It’s really complicated and I don’t understand it much, other than that, it takes a lot of concentrating to do. Marnie---that’s what Miss Orville told me to call her---has been helping me. She went to school for sports therapy, with a specialization in alternative forms. They recruited her a few months ago. She was “young and with it”, according to her. She’s been helping me with breathing exercises and yoga. She was the one who got me into my running too. She said that having a regiment would help me deal with stress better. When I’m stressed out, I tend to disappear, literally.

Right now, I was doing everything I could to keep my breathing under control. I looked down at my hands; the one still clutching Brad’s was slowly fading away. I bit my lip and concentrated. It reappeared and I sighed. He looked at me and smiled.

“I have problems too,” he said, demonstrating by making his free hand go transparent.

He leaned forward and stuck it through the seat in front of him, the one where Kit was sitting. The Specialist gasped.

“Not cool” she snapped.

Brad wiggled his fingers as they poked through her chest. We both laughed and Brad slowly slid his hand out. Kit patted herself down, to make sure she was all there. She snapped around and glared at us. Brad shrugged which only got us laughing more. After that, Brad and I played a simple game of Show Me. He started by doing funky things, like putting his hands through the windows and things. I’d counter by making my limbs invisible. We had a good laugh over it. His powers were much cooler than mine though. Unlike me, he could take my hand and bring it through the window too. I tried to make other things invisible but I can’t. It was one of the things they had me try to do in my powers training. We spent hours trying to do it but invisibility is all about concentration, something that inanimate objects don’t have.

I’m not really sure why it doesn’t work with other people.

“You two done playing?” asked Kit from the passenger seat.

We snapped to attention but were still laughing.

“Sorry” we both said at the same time.

She smiled at us from the rear view mirror. “Good because we’re approaching the target.”

I looked ahead, letting go of Brad’s hand. There it was, Barton Research. THe building stood out in contrast, the gray showing up like a beacon through all the green around it. The sun was coming up too, peeking its head over the clouds. I completely missed that.The place surprised me though. It wasn’t what I was expecting. For one thing, there was no one outside. There was a perimeter fence but it looked to be chain linked. There was no barbed wire on top, at least none that I could see. The building was beyond it, looking like a large gray rectangle. I was kinda disappointed. This was supposed to be a dreaded Syndicate facility. Where were the electric fences, black suited guards, and crazy E’s who shot flames? I was expecting a firefight as soon as we got here but this place looked deserted. I huffed and sighed at the same time. Only a part of me was disappointed. The other part was really happy that there was no welcoming committee here to meet us.

We stopped the SUV along the fence. Samson got out first, bringing a gigantic gun with him. It was a new addition to the Center’s arsenal, something he requested after the Section One mission. They’d only just gotten it in right before we left and I think Samson was itching to try it out. He called it AA-12; it was supposed to be a badass combination of a shotgun and machine gun. Samson talked about it the whole time we were prepping; he talked off anyone’s ear who would listen. It was designed for urban combat or something like that. To tell you the truth, I only half paid attention. Mike would have loved hearing about it but now I think I was more girl than I wanted to admit.

He moved along the outside of the vehicle then ran over to the fence, checking both ways as he did so. I think he was just as perplexed about the lax security as we were. After a few minutes of scoping things out, he gestured for the rest of us. I unbuckled my seatbelt as Brad opened the door. Connor was already outside, raising a sub machine gun. I hated that he had no real weapons training. All he had to do was read something and bam, he knew it. He was a literally Encyclopedia on legs. Me on the other hand, it took me hours to even shoot straight. I was getting better but nobody would be handing me a gun anytime soon.

When I got out of the SUV, Kit had the back open and was rummaging around in a hard black case. She gestured me over, pulling a pistol out of it. She held it out for me. Ok, I stand corrected; someone was actually going to hand me a gun.

“This is a Springfield X-Dm-9 3.8. It’s a 9mm, twenty rounds. It’s a fairly new piece of equipment. I know you’re not up to speed on weapons training but I’d feel safer if everyone on the team has a firearm, just in case.”

I nodded numbly, taking the gun from her. She handed me a shoulder holster and showed me how to put it on. I was familiar enough to put the gun in right making sure it was secure. When she saw that I was all set, she nodded and closed everything up. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach, knowing that I now carried a deadly weapon with the intent to kill. I’m not sure if I was terrified or mortified. Maybe a little of both. But I think they’re the same thing.

I tapped my pistol. “Ok Bart” I said, yeah he had to have a name. “Let’s hope I don’t have to use you.”

Samson took the lead with his mighty AA-12, Kit took up the rear. Brad got near Samson first, grabbing his shoulder and walking through the fence with him. Then he came back for Connor and me. It was one thing to have your hand phased through a windowpane but it was another to pass through something as big as a chain link. I was still tingling after I was through. Kit was the last one who went through. There was a green look on her face, as if she was about to throw up. Brad checked to make sure she was ok and when she nodded, the five of us moved on. Samson was always in the lead. We moved fast, trying to keep out of the light coming from the building. Which wasn’t much of a problem, considering most of the light was only coming in slits. When we got closer to the building, we realized that most of the windows were boarded up. I bit my lip. What the hell was up with this place?

We came up to the side of the building; there was a lone door there. Once again, no guards. There was something real screwy about all this. It should have been swarming, right.

“Ok, radio silence, guys,” said Kit, slipping ahead of us as Samson went to the door.

He reached into his pack, taking out a little block of gray clay. I knew what that was. He started to shape it around the door handle. He did something else but I couldn’t see because he was in the way. Then he stepped back and motioned away from the door. We went back several feet; he pulled something out of his pocket and pressed down on it. There was a loud popping blast and the door was blasted from its hinges.

Open Sesame.

Samson went first, followed by Connor. Brad made me go ahead of him, I was glad that I had their guns all around me. Brad and Kit were behind me. The hall in front of us was narrow and poorly lit. We moved down in single file. We got about half way down when an alarm sounded, red lights flaring all around us.

I bit my lip, lost my concentration and disappeared.

-----

Author's Note: Here's 14, it starts out in Becca's POV then switches to Stella then goes back to Becca. Don't worry, I label the POV switches. I'd also like to apologize for the Character Vs. Character that seems to pop up in this chapter, it just sorta happened. Though it might be interesting to listen to the theme song from the Mortal Kombat movie while you're reading it. I'd like to thank djkauf for the fantastic editing.

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Chapter Fourteen:

Barry’s words echoed in my head. Everything fell into slow motion for me. I saw him standing there, one minute laughing and now frozen in fear. The look on his face, the way his expression seemed to disappear. I’d seen it all before, in fact very recently. It was Emma all over again and if so, that meant the two of us were no longer alone. I’ve dealt with Dominators before; hell, they seem to be the staple of the Syndicate army. I’ve had run-ins with Declan, his crony Scarlet, little Melanie Crane and most recently that demented psychopath Anastasia. But all of them were peanuts compared to this guy. I haven’t even met Miles and I could already tell he was a force to be reckoned with.

“Barry?” I asked softly, seeing the blank look on his face. “Can you hear me?”

I know I should have been running but I just couldn’t leave him. Call me a moron all you want but there was no way I was going to lose any more friends to this asshole.

My former boyfriend continued to stare ahead, his eyes the only thing that seemed to have any life left in them. I bit my lip, waving my hand in front of his face. His eyes followed it and a tear slowly started to swell up. I cursed. Barry was there but there was nothing more he could do to help me. I didn’t waste any more time after that, I turned and ran. My heart was pounding in my chest, my feet pounding heavily on the floor. I knew I was going in the wrong direction but I didn’t have much of a choice anymore. I’d find another way out, there had to be more than one. I heard Barry running after me, his feet pounding just as loud as mine. Ok, so my ex-boyfriend was now a brainwashed zombie. I could deal with that, I think.

I put on the speed, trying to get some distance between the two of us. This has been one of those days---or has it been two? I really need to figure this stuff out. Clearly it’s morning now, at least I think it is. Regardless of the time of day, I need to figure out another game plan. Barry had everything worked out; of course, he was a lying traitor so I wasn’t really keen on his plan from the start. But it would have gotten me out of this place. I could have dealt with him after we made tracks. But now that plan was shit.

I got to the end of another hall; I think it was my third one. I’m not sure what way I was going though, all these damn halls looked the same to me. As I was turning the corner, I saw him. I stopped dead in my tracks, skidding to a halt. It was that gargantuan pyro jackass, Brock. Damn, why can’t that guy stay down? He looked pretty battered; there were bruises all over his face, his top lip swollen and purple. All of it my handiwork. He didn’t notice me at first but I knew that wasn’t going to last long. I snapped back around and heard Barry coming. Son of a bitch, they had me pinned in. How is that something could go to shit so quickly?

I closed my eyes, concentrating on the rest of the noises. There were a lot of them. Earlier when we were escaping, I thought I heard a dull thud like an explosion but it happened so quickly I couldn’t be sure. Now I heard a lot of running. I think Declan had the whole place on high alert. Barry’s little diversion worked pretty well except I was pretty certain they knew it was fake now. So the question was why weren’t there more people out looking for us? I concentrated more on the running and noticed something off about it. There were too many people. There were at least ten people in Declan’s merry band of rejects, which included him, Diana and Barry. Brock was included in that as well and I knew for a fact he wasn’t running. Listening to the footfall around me, I picked up at least five more people.

I smiled. Things just got very interesting indeed.

But interesting or not, I still needed to get my ass out of here. I weighed my options. I could deal with brainwashed zombie or crazy, pissed off pyro. I took a deep breath and snapped around. A fist drove into my face, knocking me on my ass. Son of a bitch. Brainwashed Barry stood over me, smirking. How he’d sneak up on me? I’m losing my touch. I jumped to my feet, wiping blood from my mouth. I raised my hands in a defensive position, ready for it. Barry cheated, whipping out the knife. I groaned, I knew I should have never given him that. He came at me, quick, aiming for my left breast. I spun with his slash, rolling up his outstretched arm, driving my elbow into the side of his head. He stumbled back, clearly taken off guard by my ability to outmaneuver him. I guess all that practicing with Ray really paid off after all.

Barry may have been a badass who taught me everything I know but he’d been going soft. He spent all his time with his computers and very little in the training room anymore. On the other hand, I’d only gotten better. I trained whenever I could, honing my skills and picking new ones up as well. Let’s face it; Ray was a far better teacher too, not at all distracted by me because he had his own lady friend.

I used the stunning blow to land a few more. I came at the other side of his head, delivering another swift elbow. Barry blocked it but it was a feint. It distracted him from my real blow, which was the knee I delivered to his chest. Guess what, Becca learned a new fighting style. It was called Mauy Thai, native to Thailand; it uses a technique referred to as the “Art of eight limbs.” It was something that Ray recently picked up, meant to train others who might find themselves in close quarter situations. Naturally, he went to me first with it, knowing how much I liked to get into my little scraps. Every chance we got the two of us practiced. It didn’t take me long to pick it up. I still had a lot to learn but I was getting the basics.

Barry stumbled back, allowing me to deliver another elbow to his head, this time he didn’t block that one. He dropped his knife, abandoning it on the floor. Brainwashed Barry was sloppy, a clumsy shell of his real self. I think Miles took too much away when he did whatever to control him. There was no finesse there, no real purpose other than to turn Barry into a mindless automaton. I pushed Barry back down the hall, delivering blow after blow, changing things up with fast moving fists, elbows and knees whenever he allowed me to get close enough. He fought back valiantly but I overwhelmed him. I was too fast, even the real Barry knew that. The only real chance he had against me was the knife and he lost that.

I delivered another punch, hitting him in the left temple. Barry dropped to his knees, I smirked. I’m not even sure why I ran from him before. I think I thought he was going to be more of a threat. But this was kind of pathetic actually. Declan prided himself on his Super Dominator but clearly Miles was a really bad puppeteer.

Ok so maybe I was getting too cocky or maybe I was losing myself in the moment because what happened next I never heard coming. I felt it though. It was a sharp sting; it exploded in my shoulder blade. I didn’t feel any pain but I felt what came after it. There was a great on rush of heat, whatever it was in my back got extremely hot. I snapped around. That brute Brock was standing behind me, Barry’s knife in his hand. The blade of it was red hot, covered in blood. I stumbled, feeling woozy and disoriented. Oh God, the burning sting. I felt the blood trickle down my back, soaking my shirt. The son of a bitch stabbed me.

The blow came from behind, right in the back of my head. I saw stars and then everything went black.

___________________________

Stella:

I can’t believe they actually made me go into a room and promise to stay there. It was kind of infuriating, like a little kid being told not to touch anything. But at the same time, I guess I can’t complain too much. After all, we were in enemy territory now and anything was bound to happen. So here I was---in a dark, cold room---trying my best to keep my mind occupied. It’s not as easy as you think. There’s no windows and the only chair is a hard wooden one, near a desk. The worst part, I’m not sure the last time this place was cleaned. I could feel the dust creeping into my nose, tickling it horribly. I withstood sneezing at the moment, in case it was going to draw attention to me but it was only a matter of time before I let it blow.
Ok, so I’m, not exactly the greatest spy but I’m not pretending to be one.

After we arrived and the alarms sounded, I actually panicked a bit. Hey, I thought it was us. Brad had to drag me into a corner---after I rematerialized of course. He was able to calm me down enough and told me that this wasn’t really a place for me. I didn’t argue there. I did argue with the fact that they wanted to leave me behind, though. Connor offered to download some of his combat knowledge into my brain but I refused. It was bad enough that he put all that other crap in there before but there was no way I was letting him near my head again. It was too damn creepy. So after refusing that, the others thought I was too much of a liability. I’m not sure why they didn’t tell me that before they let me follow them into the dangerous, enemy run facility.

I took a deep breath, trying my hardest to occupy my mind. But when you’re sitting here, all by yourself there isn’t really much to think about except how much you want to be with everyone else. Maybe I should have taken Connor up on his offer after all. I reached into my shoulder holster and took out Bart; he was a lot heavier than I would have thought. Back at the Center, Becca talked me into using a Beretta for my Small Arms training. She said it was the perfect gun for girls like us. I think it was because she was so in love with hers that she wanted everyone to feel that very same love. The only thing I felt for Bart was fear. Here in my hand was something dangerous, something life ending. All I really wanted to do was toss him aside, crawl into that corner over there and curl up into a ball. Yeah, I’m a coward but come on, who wouldn’t be in a situation like this?

A noise in the hall startled me. I gasped, dropping the gun. In the empty room, the thudding sound of it hitting the linoleum echoed about. I cursed but was glad that I knew enough to put the safety on. As I was bending to pick up, I heard the same something in the hall. It probably would have passed me by if I hadn’t dropped the stupid gun. Damn it. Instead of picking it up, I left it there and slowly slipped out of the chair. Whoever was on the other side of the door---it was definitely a person---was now stopped directly in front of it. I heard a jingle of keys and then the doorknob turned slightly.

I took a deep breath and lowered my concentration. When I first turned invisible---back before my Second Emergence---it scared the hell out of me. It’s not every day that a kid vanishes into thin air like that. I mean I was standing, feeling like hell and them wham, my arms disappear. It was pretty damn jarring. I wandered about the forest, dazed and confused. I puked a few times. I would have felt a whole lot worse if Becca hadn’t found me when she did. I owed her a lot. But even after I transitioned, I was still really scared of it. I knew there were other photokinetics at the Center--- hell Heather and I are really good friends---but it took me a long time to open up to people. Once again, Becca helped me with that too.

Now turning invisible was like taking my clothes on and off. Sometimes I did it without even thinking about it.

Now wasn’t one of those times.

The door opened up and a blue haired girl stepped into the room. My heart skipped a beat. It was the same blue haired girl I saw carrying Becca out of the coffee shop. I gripped my fists at my sides. This was the bitch that kidnaped one of my best friends. I bit my lip, forcing back all my anger and hate. The girl looked around the room, squinting her eyes. She didn’t step from the doorway but she didn’t leave either. Behind her, the hallway was bright and welcoming. I wonder if there was a way I could slip past her without her noticing.

She smirked. “You think you’re pretty clever don’t you?” she said, there was definite malice in her voice. “You’re Stella, right?”

How in the hell did she know that?

“I know all about you. In fact, I know a lot about all of you. I’m not sure if you’ve gotten the 411 yet, honey but you’ve been compromised.” She laughed again, stepping into the room and shutting the door. “Your buddy Barry has been feeding us information for a long time now.”

I gasped. Son of a bitch. So it was Barry, he really did sabotage the communications. That bastard was so dead. But I still found it hard to believe he could be involved with this girl. She kidnaped his girlfriend.

“You want to know something else?”She didn’t wait for me to answer.

Instead, she walked into the room further and stared right at me. She smiled real big. “I might not be able to see you but you’re emotions are all over the place.”

Damn it. A fricking Empath, that’s all I needed. I’m not sure which was worst, knowing that she could read me or trying to force down anything that might draw her to me. I tried my hardest to keep things in check but there was a combination of things floating around in me at the moment. Top among them was fear, followed a close second by anger. I wanted to tear this bitch limb from limb for fucking with my friend. But I needed to keep that in check or else…

“Oh, such strong emotions” she said, walking over and sitting on the corner of the little wooden desk in the room. “You don’t need to hide from me anymore sweetie, I know exactly where you are.”

I didn’t rematerialize. Instead, I slowly slipped along the room, making my way ever so quietly toward the door. Unfortunately, for me, this bitch seemed to follow my every move. It was as if she had x-ray vision or something. I guess she kinda did. If she could feel my emotions, it was probably the same thing as seeing in the dark. I probably lit up like a Christmas tree as far as she was concerned. Did that mean I wanted to stop doing what I was doing, hell no. It just meant that I needed to be a little more secretive about it.

I took another step toward the door. “Seriously” she laughed. “I know what you’re doing. You honestly think that slipping out of here is going to stop me from finding you.”

There was no point keeping quiet anymore. “You may have the upper hand but let’s see if you can outrun me.”

I made a mad dash for the door. I grabbed the knob, pulled it open and started running. I got a pretty good head start too. I took off down the hall, running like a bat out of hell. Hey, there was a reason I ran every morning. Only part of it was to keep from being so lazy like Mike used to be. I was tired of being looked upon as someone less than they should have been. My father was a big track runner in high school; he was All State and everything. At my old school, there were several trophies in the display case and every morning I used to see them when I walked into school. They used to taunt me, showing me a life I could have had if it wasn’t so shitty. I’m sure my father would have helped me to follow in his footsteps. But all of that was shattered because some drunk jackass couldn’t show some restraint and not get behind the wheel.

I got to the end of the hall when I felt this overwhelming feeling of dread. My entire body seized up and I dropped to my knees. I’m not sure what was wrong with me but for some reason I just couldn’t run anymore. I didn’t feel like it. My entire body trembled and all I wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry. There was a laugh behind me and someone came down the hall. I turned my head, tears in my eyes. It was the blue haired bitch, laughing as she walked slowly down the hall. She had the biggest smile on her face.

“There you are,” she said, stopping about ten feet away. I looked at my hands, they were visible again. “You are a lot prettier than Barry reported.”

She put a hand on her hip, smiling. “What’s the matter, sweetie? Feeling a little depressed?”

I glared at her. “What did you do?”

She smirked. “I’m what you might call an Empath with Attitude. Unlike your little friends at the Center, I like to wear my feelings on my sleeve and sometimes I like to give those sleeves to other people.”

I groaned. The dread slipped away and I felt excited. Really excited. My nipples started to harden and I was moist between my legs. I moaned, rubbing my hands across my chest. This bitch was going to pay. I rubbed my nipples, giving them a good squeeze. She laughed even harder, walking over so she was only a few feet away, crouching down to look me right in the eye.

“You’re kinda pathetic you know that” she laughed. “You and your friends. You didn’t think you could slip in here without us knowing. Declan figured you’d try to pull something like this. In fact, he was counting on it. All of you’ve been a great interest to him for quite some time now.”

Declan? Did she just say Declan? I thought this whole thing was Dekker’s game. But if Declan was involved, Oh God. It was a setup, the whole damn thing. Not only that, it was the biggest trap imaginable. Declan was a nut job. If there’s one thing I knew from being Becca’s roommate, it was how much she couldn’t stand this guy. She told me all about him, all the crap he pulled, all the shit he wanted to do. He took over Section Four; he was there at Section One and killed the guy in charge there. Every day Becca said she regretted leaving the bastard alive instead of killing him.

She reached forward, grabbed a bit of my hair in her fingers and actually sniffed it. Yep, this girl was a real winner. “So beautiful” she said, stroking my cheek. All I could to was moan and play with my nipples some more.

“You’re a bitch,” I moaned, my voice laden with ecstasy.

She laughed. “When this is all over I can make you mine.”

Her hands moved down my chest, brushing against my breasts and stopping on the necklace dangling around my neck. To the naked eye, it was probably nothing more than a plain looking bauble. In most instances, you’d probably be right. But for me it was something else entirely. Ever since I got to the Center, the R&D team has been working on a way to keep my pheromones in check. After some rigorous tests, they’ve discovered that somehow jade seems to keep it at bay. I’m not sure why---there was some technical mumbo jumbo---but it worked. Well on everyone except Becca. Feeling her running her hands over my breasts was enough of a fake excite---she was doing it to me after all but maybe there was a way to turn things around.

“You like it” I moaned, barely containing myself. “Why don’t you take it? Consider it a gift from me to you.”

She smiled. “Don’t mind if I do.”

She slipped the necklace around my neck and as soon as she did, I saw the look on her face. I’ve only seen what the pheromones could do from a distance. I know what they do to Becca and I’ve seen what they can do to others. But most of the time, I turned invisible and disappeared before things got out of hand. Now, with her so close, things were interesting indeed. Double for her because she was an Empath. I’m not sure how much control she needed to keep me going but however much it was it didn’t seem to last very long. As soon as the necklace was off, it was like flipping a switch. Whatever whammy she was giving me, my pheromones probably turned it back on her times ten.

She screamed out, moaning and started writhing on the floor. It took me a few seconds to recover from my own orgasmic throes but as soon as I did, I clambered to my feet. She reached out for me, rolling about on the ground like a cat in heat. I smirked and disappeared. She screamed and I lashed out with a swift kick. My foot connected hard, snapping her head to the side. It wasn’t a deadly blow---I’m not a monster---but it was enough to knock the stupid bitch out. After that, I grabbed her legs and dragged her back to the room I’d been hiding in before. I took Bart off the floor, stole her keys and locked the door. Before I left, I took back my necklace, slipping it around my neck where it belonged. No point in having a repeat performance. If I was lucky, she’d be out cold for the remainder of the mission.

I didn’t even turn back. I made a decision about which way to go and ran as fast as I could. I needed to find the others before they blundered into a trap. I was running pretty strong, only paying half attention to where I was going. When I came around the corner and slammed right into something, I didn’t even know what it was until I landed on my butt. Staring down at me, in the trashy outfit imaginable was one of my best friends.

She looked down at me with a blank expression on her face. “Hi there” she said in a bimboish voice.

“Emma?”

“Do I know you?”

Oh shit.

___________________________________

Becca:

I groaned when I finally managed to open my eyes. It was kinda embarrassing being knocked out all the time. I was supposed to be a team leader and I probably spent more time on the floor then my whole team combined. I sat up -- surprised I wasn’t strapped down-- and rubbed my head. The room was dark, which was perfect for me and there were no windows. I was lying on another cot, in a room that was a similar shape and size to the first room they put me in. I have to stop getting knocked in the head and waking up in places like this. I moved to take in the rest of my surroundings, noticing a few new things about my situation. For one I was clad only in a bra and another, I had a bandage on my shoulder. I twisted my body---not feeling the pain I should---and looked at work. Someone was pretty skilled; it was a field dressing.

I looked around the room, hoping to find something to cover up with. When that jackass stabbed me with the knife, it cut clean through Barry’s jacket, my shirt and the Second Skin. I could still feel the Skin on me but there was a bare spot where someone cut it away to dress my wound. Though I felt no pain there, it was still pretty tender. I’m glad that most of the pain was over now; I probably succumbed to it while unconscious. I guess being knocked out has some advantages. But that still didn’t mean I enjoyed the practice. It was kind of jarring waking up in a strange place, sometimes with strange and crazy people all around you. I thought I was done with it all after I left Section Four but apparently, I was losing my touch. It was one thing to let Brock get the drop on me with that knife but for Brainwashed Barry to do it only a few seconds later. I was really starting to slip…

I finally found something. There was a blanket lying on the floor, it was probably covering me at one time. I climbed off the cot, my shoulder was a little stiff but I managed to pick up the blanket. As soon as I did, I heard someone coming down the hall. I quickly slipped into the corner and listened. It was a small someone, moving slowly, with little feet. It was a familiar sound, one that I didn’t expect to hear anymore. The person stopped in front of my door and it slowly opened. A head peeked inside and I heard a soft feminine voice:

“Becca?”

Déjá  vu? It was Diana. I watched her for a few seconds, looking for any tell tale signs that she might be brainwashed like Barry and Emma. But she looked normal enough, if a little battered. There was a bruise on her cheek and her top lip was swollen. It made my skin crawl to think those bastards would hurt such a sweet girl. I watched as she continued to search for me in the dark. She didn’t act brainwashed either. But then again Emma acted like a semi-normal person. It could all be an act. I needed to know for sure so I paid careful attention to her eyes. For some reason the eyes were important. I’m not sure why but both Emma and Barry seemed so alive when I looked into their eyes.

Looking at Diana’s eyes, I could see she was still with me. There was no despair or pleading in them.

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows. “Close the door” I said, softly.

She jumped, startled by my presence. Then she quickly shut the door behind her.

“I brought you a clean shirt” she fumbled into the room, trying to find her way to the cot no doubt.

I grabbed her hand gently and guided her over, helping her sit on it. She was trembling and her arm was so cold. I sat next to her and put my arm around her. She dropped the shirt on the ground, rested her head on my shoulder and cried. She cried for a long time. I whispered soothing words into her ear, telling her that everything was going to be ok. In truth, the two of us were in hell. A hell that there didn’t seem to be any escape from. But I couldn’t tell this poor traumatized girl that.

Diana stopped crying finally, wiping her eyes and grabbing the shirt from the ground. “I was worried about you, seeing you lying there like that in the hall.”

In the hall? “Did you find me?”

She nodded. “There’s some crazy stuff going on here. Some people blew a door on the south side of the facility and have breached it. We thought it was another one of your diversions to escape until the gun fire started.” She burst into tears again. “They killed Reggie. He tried to fight back but a female soldier shot him where he stood.”

I bit my lip. I wanted to comfort her for the death of her friend but at the same time I was pretty certain it was my team. Who else could it be? “I’m sorry about your friend” I finally managed.

She shook her head. She looked up at me and even though there were tears in her eyes, she was smiling. “He was the worst. The son of a bitch got what he deserved. I’ve just never seen anyone killed before.”

I nodded. I needed some information. “Can you tell me how many people there are?”

She shook her head. “It happened fast. There were at least two soldiers and two guys, about our age. When the shooting started, everyone ran. One of the guys took off after Tobias, he ran through the wall.” I smiled, so it was them. It was only a matter of time then. “I ran too. I was going for the exit and that’s when I found you lying there. I thought you were dead. I saw the stab on your arm but luckily for you it looked cauterized too.”

Probably when the hot knife went in. I urged her to continue.

She took a deep breath. “So I made sure you were all right and I dragged you here. There was a lot of shouting by then. But I was able to get you this far without being noticed. I dressed your wound and after I left to get you a shirt I ran into that new girl, Emma” She shuddered. “I’m sorry but I had to tell her that you were here. She asked me what I was doing and I told her I caught you. It was the only thing I could think of to keep her from dragging me back to Declan. She’s strong; she had one of them on her shoulder already, a red head girl.”

I bit my lip, forcing back my anger. Stella. I was so going to kick Declan’s ass for this. Diana burst into more tears, burying her head in my chest. I soothed her again, rubbing her back. We sat like this for a while but I needed answers. I hated being the heartless bitch but we didn’t have time for the crying game. I took a deep breath and gently pulled her away.

“Where’s Declan and the others?”

She shook her head. “If I know him he’s probably holed up in the west office, he always goes there. It used to belong to the facility administrator. It’s heavily fortified now. Miles will be there too and Jasmine if she’s not already dead.” I nodded. “Are these your friends? The ones from the Center?”

I nodded. She smiled real big. “They’re here to get me and Emma.”

“Do you think they’ll take me too?”

I smiled. “I’ll make them take you.”

This time she laughed and threw her arms around my neck, wrapping me in a big hug. She hung off me for a little bit. I laughed too then gently pushed her away again. “But in order to do that, you need to get me out of here.”

Diana nodded, passing me the shirt. But before she did so, she pulled something out from underneath it. “I found this on you. I think it’s yours?”

This time I smiled. It was the P. Gun, now we were talking.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's 15...things are starting to wind down in Declan's crazy funland. There's a nice cliffhanger at the end. I'd like to thank djkauf for the wonderful editing.

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Chapter Fifteen:

Everything was quiet now. I’m not sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing. Diana was leading the way and being awfully cautious about it, too. A few minutes ago, there was a burst of gunfire from another part of the facility and she refused to move for a minute or two. She was convinced that our odds of escaping had lessened after that little burst. But I knew better. It helped that I could hear a lot of what was going on. The gunfire was definitely my team, which meant someone from Declan’s little group probably was no longer with us. I was hoping it was the fucking Dominator but I wasn’t that lucky. Especially not today.

We reached the end of another hallway, Diana stopped at the corner. She poked her head around it and sighed. “We should be almost there,” she said softly.

After we left the room, she wanted to take me straight to the exit. It took everything I had to convince her that there was no way I was leaving here without my team, and that included Emma. She tried to talk me out of it, claiming my people seemed pretty well equipped to take care of themselves and that this was our only chance. I understood she was afraid but there was no way I was leaving anyone behind. They came for me, risked their lives to save me and there was no way I was going to run off while they needed me. I’m not sure Diana grasped that concept fully but I was able to convince her that it was imperative that this little operation be shut down immediately. She reluctantly accepted that to be the truth. So instead of the exit, she was now leading me to Declan’s office.

Luckily, the two of us had encountered little opposition along the way. Which could be luck or a big trap. I’m not saying that Diana would willingly lead me into one---even though there was a small part of me that didn’t really trust her---but things like that happened. The biggest thing that bothered me at the moment was the lack of noise. Only a few minutes ago I heard a lot of running, some shouting, even the sporadic pop of gunfire. Now everything was too quiet. I reached out with my ears, trying to pick up even the smallest bit of sound. I heard Diana’s heartbeat, my own and those of a few others nearby. I sighed when I heard those, glad that there was someone else alive and kicking.

Diana fidgeted. “We can still go, there’s still time.”

I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “What’s wrong?”

She bit her lip. “Miles is there. I can sense his power. He’s in there with Declan and your friend, the computer expert.”

I nodded. So that’s why she was so scared. “What about the others?”

Diana sighed and closed her eyes. When she first explained her power to me, I wasn’t really sure I understood what she could do. She said that Declan called her a Sensor, it’s a form of telepathy wherein she could reach out with her mind and sense what kind of Emergent you are or were going to be. So far, he’d used her to find Reggie, Kat and Brock. There were others too, other people he had on a list in his office. She wasn’t sure how many but there were a lot. She wasn’t sure where Declan got his list but he was protective of it. The only time she ever saw it herself was when he wanted her to go out into the field with him and scan for a new potential. The last one they picked up was Kat, that was about two weeks ago. They found her in Ontario, visiting Niagara Falls with her family. Declan and Miles didn’t really give her much of a choice.

That pissed me off. It was one thing that Declan was willingly recruiting these kids to his cause but to force them to join him was madness. This needed to stop. My people were killing these kids and some of them didn’t deserve to die like this.

I took a deep breath. Diana sighed, opening her eyes. “I can’t sense any of the others nearby. There was something a few seconds ago, I thought it was Brock but he disappeared after the gun fire.”

I nodded. Did that mean what I thought it did?

I groaned. Before we continued any further I needed some answers. I looked around the hall and spotted a room a few feet away. I grabbed Diana’s shoulder and pulled her over, pushing open the door and dragging her inside. She looked scared, like I was going to hit her. But I shook my head and gently closed the door behind me. Diana eased up a little, sitting in the room’s only chair. Me, I went over to the window and closed the blinds. The morning sun was pouring in and I wasn’t ready to get a face full of it.

“You’re not angry with me are you?”

I shook my head. “I need to know how many of you have been forced here against your will.”

She sighed and nodded. She took a deep breath. “Before I changed, Declan came to me. He said I was special, said I could help me make a difference in the world. He was pretty persuasive. He told me how special I was and how the world was full of special people just like me. He showed me his powers, what he could do. I can honestly say that I was pretty dam impressed.” I smiled and nodded. “He convinced me to run away from home and come with him. I’m not sure how he knew I was like him but it didn’t take long for the change to happen. About a week or so. He took me to his little hideout; it was an abandoned house in a part of town where no one went. I was the first one there. There was another girl too but she was never there, she was off doing something. I think her name was Scarlet.”

I interrupted. “Scarlet?” That was that psycho who pretended to be my friend, the one that Declan used to fuck with everyone at Section Four. “How long ago was all this?”

Diana stopped and thought. “About five or six months ago.”

Holy shit. Declan’s been running this little rogue group of his that long. How in the hell did he do it under the Syndicate’s nose. “You were the first?”

She nodded. “The first of our little group. After recruiting me, Declan disappeared for a while. He told me he was off to find more soldiers. He was gone a long time. I was on my own forever but that was cool. A couple of weeks later, Jasmine came. The two of us became really good friends. She said Declan sent her. We did a lot together during those first weeks. We were as thick as thieves and then something changed. Declan came back up night, battered and beaten. His clothes were charred, his hair singed. He was angry about something, cursing and spitting mad. He was alone, too. Usually when he came back after long periods of being away, he had Scarlet with him. But apparently, something happened, something bad. He changed after that, he became angrier and different.”

She stopped to take a breath. “Jasmine changed too. I’m not sure, if he was doing it to her or if it was the change in the tactics. He started making me look for people for him. He had this list and he kept pointing to names on the list. That’s how we found Miles. He was living on the streets, post-Emergence. I’m not sure who he was before but now he was a wreck. Declan helped him, fed him and clothed him. When Declan found out what Miles could do, everything was different. The two of them started going off together. It’d been a month since he came back all charred and now he was a different person. He went off alone one night with a rifle, said he had something to do. We were in Maine then and when he came back later he was even grumpier.”

Maine. That must have been the night he killed Phillips at Section One. “That was the first time I saw him since we escaped Section Four,” I said, filling in the blanks. “It was about a month after the escape, my second mission in so many days for the Center.”

Diana nodded. “That’s the first time I heard your name. He became obsessed with you after that. He kept talking about you and a plan. He wanted you so much. We started gathering others; Reggie, Brock and Kat, but you were always on his mind. About a week or so after the Maine incident, we moved again and Tobias came. After that we really ran. We ran far and fast. We went to New York, slipped onto a cargo vessel and fled to England. That’s the first time I heard about the plan. It’s also the first time I refused to play by his rules. He was forcing me to use my powers to find people. Before he was cool about it, he’d come and ask me gently. But after miles, things changed. When I refused, he made Miles do it.”

She stopped and started crying. I walked over and wrapped my arms around her. She cried onto my shoulder for several minutes. I held her, telling her everything was going to be all right. After a while, she pulled away, wiped her eyes and sighing, nodding that she was ready to continue.

“I tried to talk Jasmine and Miles into helping me escape. At first, I thought the two of them were going to help me. You see, there’s this thing about Dominators. They can control other people but they can’t control other Dominators, their powers cancel each other out. I thought maybe Miles could control some of the others, get them to turn on Declan.” She started to tear up again. “That’s the first time I realized I was on my own. They beat me pretty good.” She shuddered, rubbing her arms. “That was a week ago. Ever since then they haven’t let me out of their sight. When you and your team arrived a few days ago, they made me follow you around. I was the only one who could sense you, tell them where you were going. I was with Jasmine the night you and that other guy met her in the alley outside the club. I wanted to scream out to you and tell you it was a trap but Brock was nearby as well and he would have…”

I nodded, squeezing her hand. “I think I know the rest,” I said and she nodded.

She finally got back to my original question. “I’m not sure how many of us are being forced by Miles. The only one I know of for sure is Katrina. She was a lot like me when she got here. I wasn’t even sure why Declan wanted her; most of the others had powers useful to him. I figured it out when I met you though. It’s her power, her ability to control the light. He wanted her as insurance in case you didn’t cooperate. When those two---Brock and Tobias---came to get you they were taking you to Kat. She was going to use her powers to force you into submission. If that didn’t work Declan was going to order Miles to do his thing on you.”

“Why hasn’t he already?”

She smiled. “In order for Miles to control you, he has to look you in the eyes the first time you meet. Seeing as you were unconscious the first time they brought you here he wasn’t able to look into your eyes.” I nodded. “So as long as you keep your eyes closed when he’s around, you should be fine.”

I nodded. Good to know.

Diana opened her mouth to say something more but I stopped her when I heard a noise in the hallway. I held up my hand, she closed her mouth. I walked over to the door and listened. There was someone coming and they weren’t alone. I took a chance and opened the door a crack. What I saw caused the color to drain from my face. It was my team or rather most of them. I saw Connor, Kit and Samson being led down the hallway, Emma on one side and someone else on the other. It was a guy but he didn’t look all that foreboding. He was tall with a mop of brown hair and glasses. Who wore dark clothes and had a bit of a swagger. Diana slipped up behind me and I heard her intake of breath. I watched as they went passed, wondering where Brad could be? I felt a pang at the thought of him being dead.

I closed the door. Diana looked restless. “That was Miles,” she said softly.

It took a moment for her words to sink in. When they did, I cursed. Miles had my team. This was going to make things a whole helluva lot harder. I sighed, turning my back on the door and sliding to the floor. Diana walked over to the chair, dropping into it. She looked like someone who just lost their puppy. I couldn’t blame her; I was feeling pretty down myself. I was counting on my team to cause a bit more of a distraction while I went in there and put Declan down for good. But with them captured and possibly brainwashed, that was going to complicate things a great deal. Ideas started popping into my head but no matter how hard I tried there was no way I could get around harming my friends. I had five darts in the P Gun and more targets than I wanted. My best shot would be to get Miles but I’m sure he’d have some kind of protection. What could would that do because as soon as I looked at him I’d be a zombie like the others.

The only way I could nail him was to sneak up on him and that was impossible.

“We’re screwed aren’t we?”

I opened my mouth to say “totally” when I heard something. Diana perked up a split second later and then Brad stepped through the wall. He looked around the room, squinting in the dark. He seemed confused and tired and something else. He stumbled and I rushed over to catch him as he fell. Diana was up and at his side a second later. The two of us carried him over to her chair. Diana checked him over but I could already see there were no wounds thank God. He was clearly exhausted though.

“Brad, you ok?”

When he heard my voice, his eyes opened and he sighed. It took him a few seconds to respond. “Oh sure, we do all this crap and you’ve already freed yourself”

I laughed I couldn’t help it. It definitely wasn’t the time for it but it was so good to see he was ok. My emotions took over after that. Before I knew what was happening, I grabbed his head and planted the longest kiss imaginable on his lips. When I was finally done and pulled away, he had this sheepish smile on his face. Then he winched, clutching his side. I lifted his shirt, saw what appeared to be a large purplish bruise and wanted to hold him until we passed out. Instead Diana touched the bruise with her fingers and he winced some more.

“Broken rib, possibly more than one’ she said, sighing.

“That sister of mine has a mean right hook,” he said, wincing as I lowered his shirt.

“Emma did this?” He nodded. “What happened?”

He sighed. “We breached a door to get into this place and then an alarm went off. We left her behind and went off to look for you. I’m not sure what happened to her but we ran into a little problem. There was some freak throwing cards. Kit dropped him with a shot to the head. It happened so quick that none of us knew what was happening. It was like a reflex. After that two more of them came. A girl who was shooting what can only be described as light balls at us and that jackass Tobias. We took them out---non-lethally---then moved on. We moved on after that, securing our prisoners until we ran into a really nasty pyro. He got the drop on us, burned Connor pretty good. He put up a damn good fight, almost got all us until I pulled him into the floor by his ankles. After that, Samson put him out. That’s when Emma and the Dominator came. I tried to talk reason into her but he did something to her. She wasn’t my sis anymore. She punched me in the side before I could react, sent me flying into the wall. Luckily, I kicked in before impact or it would have hurt like hell. I went through the wall, a couple of them in fact, before I stopped.” He took a deep breath, wincing as he did so. When I finally stopped flying through walls, I doubled back but it was already too late. The Dominator had the others. He tried to get me too…”

Brad was unique. I’m not sure how or why but Dominators didn’t seem to have any effect on him. That was another reason why I wanted him on the team. He was a valued second offense in case my team was compromised. My original idea was to include Marcus as well but after our last mission together, he was still recovering. Fighting Dominators was a taxing ordeal and that bitch Anastasia took a lot out of him. He was currently in the clinic, trying to recover from the mental lashing she gave him. It’s a shame really, because with Marcus’ mental shielding there would have been no way that Miles could have gotten the others.

Brad took another breath and continued. “After that I went from room to room, trying to see if I could put some distance between them and me. I think I got lost though. That’s when I stumbled in here and you know the rest.”

Diana gasped. “Miles’ power doesn’t work on you?” Brad nodded; she smiled real big. “He’s it; he’s the chance we have. With him, we can take out the son of a bitch for sure.”

I was happy that Diana was so happy but there was no way I was going to let Brad anywhere near that room. He looked like hell and his ribs seriously fucked up. Brad had other plans though. He pushed himself up out of the chair, wincing as he did so. He wobbled a bit but righted himself. He couldn’t see us in the dark of the room but he nodded in her general direction.

“Not happening,” I said, “it’s too dangerous. You could get yourself seriously hurt doing something this reckless.”

“Not your choice” he said, there was an edge to his voice. “That bastard has my sister. He’s not going to live through this.”

I couldn’t argue with that even though I wanted to. Instead, I sighed and nodded.

____________________________________

Diana and I moved quietly down the hall, she led the way. Brad went on ahead; it was a part of the plan. Not that we had much of one but seeing as how he was the only one that Miles couldn’t affect I needed him to disappear and become the last line of defense. He wasn’t too happy about it but he understood the situation. As much as I wanted to see him rip out Miles heart, he was too emotional right now. We were all a bit emotional but I needed someone with a straight head, someone who wouldn’t charge stupidly into the room and start making demands. Someone who wasn’t about to do what I was about to do. Ok, yeah so I’m about to do the opposite of what I should be doing but I needed to let them think they had me.

We stopped at the end of the hall, Diana sighed. “Are you sure about this?”

I turned to her; I could see the fear written all over her face. She knew the plan as well as I did. She was afraid she was putting me at risk but it was the only way the two of us could get safely into the room. “We have to do it this way,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze.

She nodded. “I hope you’re sure about this.”

She pulled my hands behind my back and slipped a plastic tie around my wrists. Then she took a deep breath and gave me a little shove forward. She needed to sell it. I stumbled, making it look like I was in pain. I needed to sell it too, and the only way either of us could do that was to be as realistic as possible. It was a good bet that Declan had the hallway monitored. Even though Barry took out the security from before I was pretty certain that a guy like Declan wouldn’t keep the security around his office on the same network as the rest. He was unhinged after all and probably paranoid. I’m sure he had the whole hallway monitored.

When we rounded the corner, my suspicions were justified. Not only did he have cameras in the hall, I could see them, he also had security. Of course, they were my teammates. Kit was standing on one side of the door, Samson on the other. Both of them looked all right though you could see they were struggling for control. Like Emma and Barry, I saw it in their eyes. Even though the two of them stood as stone cold sentinels on either side of the door, their eyes followed me. I could see the disappointment in them and the sorrow. I think they thought I escaped. I wish I could tell them that everything was going to be all right. But their minds were the only things that seemed to be intact, well at least partially. They were puppets now, being controlled by a very dangerous puppeteer.

I felt Diana tense behind me as we approached the door. I could hear her heart beating like a drum and I could her sweat. Hang in there, Diana; you’re doing good.

“What is this?” asked Samson, giving me a once over.

“Becca Howe” stammered Diana. “I caught her trying to escape.”

Kit scoffed. “You caught her?”

“You have a problem with that?”

Both soldiers gave each other the eye but neither of them said anything else.

Diana took that as confirmation that she was allowed to proceed. She walked up to the door; it opened before she got there. So they were clearly watching the hallway. When the door was fully open, I saw Connor on the other side of it. He looked a little more roughed up then the others. Brad had said he’d been burned and I could see it on his arms. It wasn’t overly noticeable but his left hand was wrapped in bandages and when he moved, he winced. So clearly, he was in pain. But there was something else about him, something different than the wooden puppets outside. When I looked in his eyes, there was no sorrow or pain there. I stared at him for a whole minute and then he winked. Son of a bitch. It was quick but it was there. Connor wasn’t a zombie.

“Bring her here,” said Declan.

I looked past Connor to the man in charge. This room was bigger than the rest in the facility. It reminded me a lot of Phillip’s office at Section One. There were glass windows behind the desk, a sofa to one side, filing cabinets to the other. The cabinets were toppled on their side though, made into a makeshift stand for a large LCD TV set. There was a Playstation 3 hooked up to it. The game on the screen was paused. Next to it was a stack of video games and BluRays. So clearly, Declan was as male as he appeared to be. But there was something else about him, something I didn’t really pay much attention to before. He was sitting with his feet up on the desk, his ankles crossed. He looked thinner and his hair was at his shoulders now. When I saw him before I thought the stress was making him eat less but it was more than that. On the desk in front of him was a compact and I could swear he was wearing makeup.
What the hell was that about?

“Becky” he said, smiling. “So nice of you to finally join us.”

I groaned. Becky made me sound like a ten-year-old. He smirked. He only called me that because he knew it pissed me off.

"Cut her ties please" said Declan, waving off the matter like it was nothing.

Clearly he trusted me that much. Connor walked about behind me like a robot and slit the plastic ties from my wrists. Before walking away, he whispered in my ear. "I'll move whenever you give the go ahead."

"Too risky" I whispered back as he stepped away.

I looked over at the sofa, sitting there was Barry and the nerdy kid from before; the one Diana said was Miles. I stared at the little bastard, trying to show I wasn’t afraid. I knew the implications of staring at him, I knew what that meant. He stared right back, the corners of his mouth curling up in a wicked smile. Smile all you want you bastard. I looked at the other person in the room. Emma was sitting on the corner of Declan’s desk, wearing the tightest denim skirt known to man. Her legs were crossed in a seductive manner and she was filing her nails. She looked even more like a tramp than before. I looked in her eyes and saw the same pain that the others had.

“Diana” said Declan, addressing my supposed Captor. “I’m impressed. I underestimated you and I’m sorry. Why don’t you walk over to the couch and join the others.”

I felt her tense up behind me. She took a deep breath and slowly walked away from me. She sat on the couch, slipping in-between Barry and Miles. Miles smiled at her as she sat down.

Declan picked a glass of wine off the desktop and sipped slowly.

“You and your friends have caused quite the problem. You…” he trailed off, as if realizing something. “Where’s the other one? Your friend, Brad?” I shrugged.

He groaned. “Hey Blondie, go find your brother and bring him here.”

Emma stopped filing her nails. “I have a brother?”

Declan groaned, casting Miles an angry look. The bespectacled Dominator shrugged. Declan turned back to Emma. “He’s tall and blonde; he’s not that hard to miss.”

Emma giggled, slipping off the desk. She pecked Declan on the cheek and sashayed out of the room, mincing off on four-inch heels. Declan rolled his eyes and took another sip of his wine. He cast Miles another nasty look then turned his attention back to me. “Good help is so hard to find.”

I scoffed. “Or brainwash.”

Declan gave me a sour expression. “Yes, well sometimes a little persuasion is needed in order to achieve your goal.”

“What’s the matter, Frankie, can’t make friends of your own so you control them instead.”

I saw the anger flare. I wanted to piss him off. I wanted to push him as far as I could. Angry people made mistakes and that’s what I needed. Ok, so I can honestly admit that my plan pretty much ended here. I wanted to get into this room and I achieved that goal. Anything from this moment on was me winging it. But maybe I wasn’t as outnumbered as I thought I was. I cast a sideway glance at Connor. He was still standing near the door. He was pretending to be the good little soldier but we both knew better. He seemed to talk with his eyes, looking at Miles and then over to Declan. I responded with mine too. I think I knew what he wanted but there was no way I could pull the two of them into a fight together. Pissing Declan off was easy but I knew next to nothing about Miles.

No, the best chance any of us had was Brad.

I looked over to the couch, searching each of the faces there. Diana was nervous, fidgeting. When my gaze fell on Barry, he averted his eyes. So clearly, he was no longer a zombie. There was a bruise on his cheek and the beginnings of a black eye forming. So, my beating was starting to show. Looking at Miles only produced a shiver up my spine. He turned and looked at me. I was already in his control or at least now, I could be. I’m not sure how I felt about that. Obviously, this guy took a lot of pride in making people his bitches. Before, I thought, Connor was a smug jackass but looking at Miles, he took jackass to a whole new level. He was powerful, quite possibly the most powerful one in the room and he knew it. That was definitely unsettling.

“So what’s it going to be?” said Declan, forcing me to turn my attention back to him. “Are you going to join me willingly or are you going to join your friends in ignorant bliss?”

I looked over at Connor again. He had a lot of knowledge bouncing around in his head, he boasted about it all the time. But even now, I could see that he was just as stuck as I was. I turned back to Declan.

“Release my friends first and I’ll consider the offer.”

He laughed. “What so they can go crawling back to your precious Center and bring the shit storm down on me.”

“It’s the only way you’re going to get me to join you willingly.”

He picked up his glass and drained it in one gulp. He set it down on the desktop and sighed. He looked from me to Miles and back to me again. “As much as I’d love to have you as a willing participant in my little grand scheme, I’m afraid that I can’t risk disobedience.”

Miles smirked and slowly got to his feet. “I’m going to take great pride in this one.”

I took a step back and he took a step forward. Son of a bitch. A wave of dizziness swept over me and I felt drowsy. My lips got real heavy and my eyelids started to flutter. I stumbled, falling into the far wall. Miles advanced slowly and his face seemed to fill my head. I heard his voice as it bounced about in my mind, whispering to me, telling me everything was going to be ok. I tried to fight it but it was strong, too strong for me. It was nice, gentle, and happy. My eyelids fluttered some more and got really heavy. I couldn’t fight it anymore and closed my eyes.

As soon as I did, darkness surrounded me.

Something clicked inside of me and my eyes snapped open. The room was cast in darkness, the bodies taking on the telltale glow that I was so familiar with. Miles’ voice was still there but it was like a dull echo now. I heard it trying to force its way into my head but it didn’t matter anymore. I looked around the room, seeing everyone standing where they were. Everything was in slow motion; Miles had stopped moving and looked confused. I was in the Dark World again, the place that I knew very little bout. For the longest time I thought the ability was gone. It was strongest back when I was at Section Four, the only other person whoever knew about it was Trish. She said it wasn’t unheard of for Emergents to have secondary powers but she wanted me to keep this one to myself. So I hid it from everyone, including Declan.

But after I left Section Four, it seemed to disappear. I thought maybe it was gone for good until it returned again while I was at Section One. Melanie Crane tried to force one of her illusions onto me and I fought it off by going into this realm. I’m not sure how it works but somehow when I’m in serious trouble it snaps in. I guess now constituted as one of those troublesome times.

Miles voice finally reached me but it sounded slow and dumb: “What did you do, bitch?”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I took the opportunity and charged him. The pressure points on his body seemed to glow like beacons. That was one of the advantages of this little ability of mine. I got up pretty close and slammed my fist into the one in his arm. I saw a look of shock on the bastard’s face. He stumbled back, clasping his limp arm. Around the room, everyone had a look of shock on their face. Everyone except Declan. He seemed to be smiling. He looked right at me and smiled even bigger. Did he know what was going on? As if to answer, he reached into his desk drawer and pulled something out of it. It was a gun; he pointed it directly at me.

His voice shattered the darkness: “Enough games. Back off or I put a bullet in that pretty little head of yours.”

“NO!” Another voice blasted through the darkness, one coming from my left.

I snapped around and saw Diana. She was standing now, the P Gun in her hand. She took it earlier to make it look like she really caught me. Now she had it pointed directly at Declan. Her body was shaking and tears were flowing down her cheeks. Clearly, she was damn serious about this. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again, the room came rushing back to me, the darkness vanished. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Miles was resting against the desk, cradling his arm. Barry and Connor were standing there, trying to figure out what was going on and Diana and Declan were both pointing guns. One was at me and the other was at him.

“Drop your gun, little girl or I’ll drop her,” said Declan as calm and cool as ever.

“Not on your life, you son of a bitch” snapped Diana, tears streaming down her face. “I’m going to make you pay for everything you’ve done.”

I bit my lip. As much as I wanted to see her pull that trigger, I knew I couldn’t let her do it. Diana was a frail and fragile creature. If she pulled that trigger, she’d regret it for the rest of her life. I knew she was hurting and I knew how much revenge seemed to be the answer. But I also knew that it would consume her and no matter how much killing Declan might quell it, she’d just find something else to fuel her anger. Killing him would only sate it for the time being.

“Diana” I said softly, moving slowly toward her. “Lower the gun, killing him isn’t the answer.”

“Listen to her” snapped Declan

I glared at him.

“He has to die” she sobbed, “He’s a monster.”

I nodded. “He is but he can be a monster rotting in a cell for the rest of his life.”

I saw Diana’s resolve waver. I knew she wanted to hurt him but she wasn’t a killer. She knew that, too. Her hand wavered for a slight second. She sighed and lowered the gun. As soon as she did, Miles jumped to his feet. I saw the look on Diana’s face, the glassy, doll like expression take over. Her hand snapped back up and the gun went to her chest, the barrel hovering over her heart. Declan laughed, I screamed. Miles smirked, Diana’s tears continued to roll down her cheeks. The situation went from resolution to nightmare in a matter of seconds.

“Let her go” I screamed.

Miles smirked. “I’ll let her go.”

What happened next was in a split second. I heard the shot but I didn’t even have time to react to it. No one did. One minute Miles was standing there, smirking, looking like the smug jackass he was. The next minute a bullet burst through the window behind him and slammed into the back of his head. It happened so fast. He was caught in a laugh, his entire face went blank and his head snapped forward. The bullet exploded the back of his head and his lifeless body dropped to the floor. Everything after that seemed to take place in slow motion. I looked out the shattered glass fro a split second before I hit the floor. I saw a man clad in black, crouched in a tree. I expected another muzzle flash but none came. When I hit the floor, Diana hit it right at the same time.

I panicked and crawled over to her, thinking she’d been hit.

I checked her pulse but she was unconscious. Connor crawled over to me. “I got her, you stop them.”

Them? I looked up. In the chaos, Barry and Declan made a mad dash for the door. I jumped to my feet and ran after them. Out in the hall, Kit and Samson were slumped unconscious too. So clearly killing a Dominator meant his puppets were freed from his power. That was good to know. I looked at my unconscious teammates for a split second before I ran after the two fleeing guys. Declan had a big head start but Barry was only a few feet ahead. I shouted his name and he stopped, turning toward me. The look of desperation in his eyes told me there was no way he was ever going to come back with me.

“I can’t” he said, “They’ll lock me up and throw away the key.”

My heart sank. I knew it was true. “I can’t let you go.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry for everything. I really did love you.”

I smiled, a tear rolling down my cheek. “I love you too.”

He smiled and turned to go and that’s when I heard them.

Two shots sounded in the quiet hall.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 16...it starts with sorrow and ends in surprise. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing.

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Chapter Sixteen:

Everything happened in slow motion. I heard the shots, I even saw the bullets. But all of it was too late for any kind of reaction. I’m not even sure where they came from, all I know was one minute Barry was standing there talking to me and the next he was falling forward. My entire world seemed to stop in that moment. Someone screamed, it took me a few seconds to realize it was me. I ran forward, catching him as he tumbled backwards to the floor in front of me. He collapsed into my arms, pulling me to the floor with him. The world snapped back into full motion after that. I was still screaming, tears streaming down my face. Both bullets hit him, one in the lower stomach, the other higher. Blood swelled from the two wounds, blooming out from the small holes like giant red flowers. I pressed my hands to them, trying to stem the flow of blood, but it was no use.

“Barry” I sobbed, “you have to stay with me now.”

He smiled, his lips barely parting. His skin was already starting to go pale. I could see the life leeching out of him. He gently grabbed my hands, trying to push them away from his chest. The abdominal shot was enough to kill him, the blood there almost black. The one in the chest was even worse; it was so close to his heart. Tears ran down my face, mingling with the blood. I groaned. There was so much of it, flowing over my fingers.

He reached up, gently stroking my hair. “Becca, I’m sorry. I should have never agreed to this stupid plan of his.”

I shook my head. “Don’t talk, please don’t talk.”

He wouldn’t listen. “If I’d of known how much of a wonderful person you were, I would have never done any of it.”

I sobbed. “You’re talking crazy. You’ll be ok.”

“I only regret not being able to get to know you longer. You’re a great person, the best person I’ve ever met.”

“Please” I begged, my tears flowing hotly. “You can’t do this to me. Not now, not after all this.”

“You have to promise me one thing” His voice was a whisper. I nodded. “You can’t seek revenge for this. I know you, it’ll eat you up inside and I can’t let you do that for me. Trish wouldn’t have wanted it either. You need to stop all this nonsense. Revenge isn’t the answer. It’s never the answer; promise me you’ll let this go.”

I nodded. He smiled. “I promise.”

No more revenge. If that’s what he wanted then that’s what he’d get.

“Good girl” he said and then his hand dropped away.

I’m not sure when I knew he was gone but as soon as I did I screamed at the top of my lungs. There was running behind me, several people, but I didn’t pay much attention. Someone got to me first, put a hand on my shoulder. I heard Connor’s voice but I pushed the hand away. No revenge. Connor came at me again, grabbed my arms. He lifted me off the ground while someone else took care of Barry. I think it might have been Diana. I was barely paying attention now. I was looking down the hall, toward where the shooter had been standing. I’d been in too much shock to realize who it was but now I was certain. It was Declan, his face was so clear now. He stopped at the end of the hall, waiting for Barry to catch up. But when Barry stopped, I only half registered the look of anger on Declan’s face. That’s when he fired, that’s when he took the second most important person in my life from me.
No revenge.

“Becca” said a voice as someone gently shook me. “Becca, are you there?”

Connor was shaking me. But I didn’t pay much attention. I was still looking down the hall. Declan had a good head start but he couldn’t have gotten that far. There was only so much hall and really only one place to go. No revenge but maybe justice. Justice is different than revenge right, Batman sought justice instead of revenge, didn’t he? I finally acknowledged Connor. I turned toward him and smiled. He smiled too, he let out a sigh. I think he thought I was going crazy. But I wasn’t crazy, I was pissed off. Before he could react, I lunged for his holster. I pulled the pistol free and pushed him away. He stumbled back, nearly falling over Diana in the process.

I turned and ran. I ran as fast as I could. I heard Connor shout for me and give chase. But I had a good start on him. I ran down to the end of the hall, whipped around the corner and took off down the new hall like a bat out of hell. People kept dying around me, good people, taken long before their time. The two most important people, killed right in front of me. Barry was right, revenge wasn’t the answer. But justice was another story. I’d catch up with the bastard and make him pay. Maybe I’d kill him; maybe I’d just beat him senseless. Regardless, there was no way he was getting away from me, not now, not ever again. I ran hard and fast.

I went down one hall and then another. There were flights of stairs I went down too because I had a pretty good idea where Declan was going. It was the same place that Barry tried to take me. It was the only place to escape. I just needed to get there before he got away. If he did, there was no telling what kind of things he could accomplish. He’d raise another army, possibly a stronger one. He didn’t have his super Dominator anymore but the little bastard was resourceful. He’d probably go crawling back to his Daddy and everything would be all right. He’d plead and beg and Carson would take back his weasel of a son. As soon as that happened, there’d be no way I could touch him.

I finally reached the hall where Barry had tried to stop me before. The door at the end was wide open. I ran full speed toward it. I tore into a large garage, not unlike the one at Section Four. Except this one only had a few vehicles and there was only one door out of there. It was a large metal one and it was slowly rising. I looked around, frantic. There were two SUVS and the van. But on the other side of both I saw a sleek BMW. It wasn’t a convertible like I expected but its passenger was who I expected. I saw his mop of blonde hair, the smug satisfied look on his face. He thought he was getting out of here scot free. Like hell. I tore into the room; my pounding footfall caught his attention. He turned to me and I saw the panic in his eyes. I bet he thought he got me with one of those bullets. I bet he thought popping Barry was going to turn me into a pile of mush. But I’m not that kind of girl.

I raised my gun and fired. The window was already rolling up when I did so. I squeezed off two more shots before my first one even got there. The first shot was the only one that made it through before the window fully went up. The last two hit the glass, spider webbing it, saving him. The first whizzed at his head. It was a good shot but off by a fraction. Instead of hitting him directly in the head, it tore by his left ear, tearing the top half of it. I heard him scream from the confides of his car. I saw the anguish on his face, the look of total shock that I actually shot him. He thrashed and clutched his head; the pain was probably unbearable.

I ran forward and fired two more shots, both hit the windshield. The bastard had bullet proof glass but that didn’t stop me. Using my super sight, I fired bullet after bullet into the same spot, one after another until I emptied the entire clip. The last two made it through. Unfortunately, I was at the wrong angle and they tore into the seat around his head. He recovered after that, my shots shocking him back into reality. He revved the engine; put it in reverse and fishtailed right for me. For a moment, fear gripped me. Something else gripped me too, something surreal and calm. He was going to barrel right into me and I didn’t care. Let it be done, let the world be rid of me.

The son of a bitch was smiling behind the wheel. I dropped the empty gun on the ground and waited for the end to come. The car was within a foot from me when I felt someone grab me. I was swept up into strong arms. It took me a second to realize who it was and then the car skidded right through us. It swerved around before hitting the wall, screeching about the garage. It floored around the van and two SUVS and then made a go for the door. I watched as it peeled away and then buried my head in Brad’s chest, crying.

Declan was gone, gain. Declan was gone, Barry was dead and I was alive.

I wanted to scream in anger but all I did was cry.

_________________________________

Stella:

I pressed the cold pack to my head, grateful for the cold, soothing relief it provided. Not that it was helping much; my head was throbbing. But it was a start. Now if I could just find one that covered my whole body and I’d be set. I don’t think I’ve ever ached this much in my entire life and the worst part is I don’t remember much of what did it to me. The last thing I remember before waking up a few minutes ago was running into Emma in the hall. But she was completely different. She was dolled up like a hooker and she didn’t seem to know who I was. I’ve never encountered a Dominator before---during Emma’s rescue mission, Becca made me wait in the SUV---but I knew the stories. I knew what they could do to me, how they could mess with minds. I’m pretty sure that’s what happened to Emma. I’m also pretty sure she kicked my ass.

Thinking about it only made me groan even more. When I was subdued, apparently the brainwashed Emma dragged me into this room. It was small, there were no windows and the only furniture in the room was a desk. It looked like someone had stripped the place and in a hurry. There were papers scattered about the floor and the desk drawers were pulled open. I was confused at first when I woke, my head pounding. I tried the door but it was locked so I did the only thing I could do and started pounding. I’m not sure how long it took but eventually someone opened the door. I didn’t recognize him. He was tall, dressed in black commando gear. He had an automatic rifle slung on his shoulder. He said his name was Corporal Moore and that they were currently sweeping the facility for stragglers.

I think he thought I was one of Declan’s people. Even after I explained things to him, he told me to stay put and went off to find someone to confirm my identity. That was about five minutes ago. Now I was sitting here, waiting to find out what the hell is going on. The last thing I remember before running into Emma was that the place was still under hostile control. Did we get Becca? Was the place secure now? I hated not knowing, sitting here in the dark. At least he gave me this cold pack for my head, not that it was helping much. I wasn’t really angry with Emma; it wasn’t her fault after all. But still the girl could have shown some restraint. I’m not even sure what she did but whatever it was it hurt like hell now.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Before I could answer, the door opened up and Kit slipped inside.

She smiled and sighed in relief at the sight of me. “There you are, we thought we’d have to look everywhere for you. It would have been hell to find an unconscious invisible girl.”

I half laughed at the joke. I winced, that hurt my head. “What happened?”

“Hell.”

She quickly gave me the rundown of events, from her end anyway. Apparently, after they left me, they encountered a little resistance. She said she might have overreacted when she shot and killed the first kid but it was pretty hectic. They got ambushed. First, by the telekinetic; she tried to kill them by a photokinetic, pyrokinetic and some kid she wasn’t sure about. Brad took out the pyro and the bouncy kid. Connor managed to slip around behind the photokinetic and took her out. They were doing pretty good after that until Emma came. After she threw Brad through the wall, there was little they could do to stop her. Kit said everything else was pretty fuzzy after that. She said she remembered someone else coming, a kid with glasses then the next thing she remembered was waking up in a hallway. Apparently by then the fighting was over.

I nodded. It explained some things. I quickly told her about my fight and then my encounter with Emma. I think that probably took place before her bout. But there were some questions I wanted answers too. “Where’s Becca?”

Kit didn’t answer at first. I saw her conflicting emotions. She took a deep breath and told me the rest. “We lost Barry. I’m not sure of all the details because Becca is a bit inconsolable right now but from what I can gather, he was working with Declan. But after he saw what was happening here, he turned sides. He tried to help her escape but it failed. Connor didn’t have all the answers. But after the Dominator was taken out, Barry and Declan fled. Connor said it looks like Declan shot Barry to make a clean getaway.”

Oh God, no. I jumped off the desk. She must have been a wreck. I dropped the cold pack and wobbled a bit on my feet. I stumbled and Kit caught me. She tried to get me to sit back down but I didn’t have time. Becca was my best friend and she needed me. After pushing a bit, she let me go. I ran to the door and pulled it open. Corporal Moore was on the other side. He stepped in my way but Kit waved him off. He nodded and let me by. I had no idea where Becca was but I needed to find her. I ran up and down the halls, looking in empty room after empty room. I only stopped for a second when I ran past the room I left that blue haired bitch in. The door was open and no one was inside.

Son of a bitch. I looked about; one of our guys was walking down the hall toward us.

“What happened to the girl in this room?”

I approached me and peered inside. “There was no one.”

Shit. “Are you sure? She had blue hair, about my height?” He shook his head. I groaned again. “I subdued her earlier, locked her unconscious ass in here.”

“I’m sorry, Miss, we only have three hostiles”

I didn’t have time for this. “She’s really dangerous. You have to find her.”

The soldier nodded and I ran off. As much as I wanted to help him find that crazy bitch, I was worried more about Becca. I knew how much losing Trish crushed her. I can’t imagine what losing Barry was doing to her. I needed to be there for her, even if it meant standing outside a locked door. Friends were there for one another in times of tragedy. I had one really good friend when I was younger; her name was Sally. She lived next door. When she heard about my father dying, she came over and hugged me. I cried in her arms. She and her mother took me to her house, made me a sandwich and sat with me while the authorities explained things to my grandmother. It was one of the worst times in my life. I couldn’t imagine losing two people that you were really close with.

I saw a familiar face when I ran around the next corner. It was Brad; he was leaning against the wall, near a door. He was shirtless, a bandage wrapped around his chest. He looked up when he heard me running. His face lit up a bit but other than that, he looked like someone had run him over. I ran up to him, out of breath when I finally stopped. He didn’t seem to mind; instead, he slid to the floor, sliding over to offer me the spot next to him. I slid to the floor too, taking a few deep breaths to catch up. Neither of us said anything to the other for a few seconds.

Finally, I need to break the ice. “Your sister kicked my ass.”

Ok, so not the best line to use.

He snorted. Then pointed to the bandage. “Mine too.”

We both laughed. Then we both winced, clearing laughing wasn’t the best idea.

I waited a whole minute before asking what I wanted to know. “Is Becca in there?”

He nodded. “I carried her there after saving her from Declan. He tried to run her over and she just stood there.” He shook his head, fighting back tears. “We could have lost her…”

I leaned over and hugged him. I knew how much he cared about her. I cared about her too. “Is she going to be ok?”

He shrugged. “After I got her back here, she tried to make it look like nothing was wrong. You know her” I nodded. “Samson and I had to hold her back. She wanted to help us sweep the place, look for others. But it was clear that she was in a lot of pain. Then one of Major Baker’s team came in, a medic I think.
They gave her a nice cocktail of something; it had to be pretty strong to put her out.”

I sighed. At least she was ok for now. “Where did Baker come from?”

He shrugged. “When I got back with Becca, he and his men were coming down the hall. They just arrived. I’m not sure how they knew we were here but he didn’t look too happy.”

“I’m sure Kit will get that all sorted out.”

After that, the two of us sat and talked for a bit. We didn’t cover anything that happened here. Brad talked about nonsensical stuff, mainly about his life before. I knew some of it from Emma but it was interesting to hear it from his side of things. It was strange to think of this strapping Adonis as a girl but then again it was probably hard to think of me as a guy. But it was still kinda funny to listen to him talking about finding the right pair of heels to go with the cutest skirt. I take it that Stephanie---his former self---was a bit of a fashionista, among other things. I filled him in on my former life too, or lack thereof.

Ten minutes later, an ensemble came down the hall.

We both perked our heads up. Major Baker was in the lead, dressed in black like his men, minus the assault rifle. He walked with this air of superiority and why not, he was technically the highest-ranking man here. He was a tall guy, with closed cropped graying hair. He was in his forties, there were lines on his face already that made him look older. Over his right eye, there was a little scar. I didn’t know much about him other than the fact that he was our Back Up. He led a squad of ten, elite commandos. Most of them I wouldn’t know from the other. Except Captain Jones, his second. Jones was walking next to the Major. He was a tall, bald black guy in his thirties. I knew Jones by face alone, some of the soldiers played cards in a Rec Room back at the Center, Jones was one of them.

Behind them came Kit and Samson. The two of them looked kinda subdued.

Brad and I stood up as the group approached us. Baker stopped in front of Brad.

“Is Sergeant Howe in there?”

Brad nodded. “Yes sir but one of your men sedated her.”

That didn’t seem to faze Baker. “I need to speak to her and apprise her of the situation at hand.”

Brad and Baker stood head to head, sizing one another up. Clearly, Brad didn’t appreciate this guy barging in like this. I didn’t really like it either. I understood he was just doing his job but she just lost her boyfriend. Couldn’t he have shown her a little decency?

“I understand that, sir” said Brad “but she’s still sedated.”

Baker ignored him and turned to Jones. “Captain, go retrieve Corporal Curtis to bring something to rouse her”

“Aye, aye sir”

Jones took off quickly. I glared at Baker. This was the first time I’d really met the guy and first impressions were supposed to tell you a lot. I didn’t like this guy, I didn’t like him one bit. I glared at him. I caught eyes with Kit and she looked about the same. But unlike me, there was nothing she could do but stand there like a stone-faced statue. After all, he was her superior. It was kinda strange really. Technically, he was Becca’s superior as well except she somehow called all the shots. The only time Baker was needed was if things got out of hand. So I didn’t really know who was in charge then. I’m not really up on all my military protocol. But knowing Becca, I’m sure she didn’t like bending over for this guy.

Jones came back a few minutes later with a baby-faced soldier caring a medical bag. Corporal Curtis no doubt. I was surprised at how young he was.

“Sir” said the baby faced medic. When he spoke, I realized I was mistaken. He was in fact a she.

I squinted. So she wasn’t baby faced, she was just a girl. She was kinda cute in that boyish type way. She had sandy blonde haircut in a boyish style and striking blue eyes. She had the cutest dimples. I flushed and turned away.

Baker and his men didn’t waste any more time. Kit took out a pair of keys and unlocked the door. Then all the soldiers went inside, except for Samson who stood watch. I sighed and looked down the hall, noticing for the first time that we were in fact not alone. Apparently, the soldiers blocked her from view but standing there was Emma. She was still dressed in the trampy outfit from before but she was wearing a green army jacket that was three sizes too big on her. I bet the name tag on it said Samson. Her face was devoid of all that makeup and it looked like she tried to untease her poofy hair. She toed the ground, barely able to look at either me or her brother.

Brad broke the silence between the three of us. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her. “You are never to leave my sight again.”

I heard her sigh as she wrapped her arms around him. Then she sniffled a bit. The two of them held onto one another for a while. When they finally let go, she looked over at me guiltily. She opened her mouth to say something but I held up a hand to cut her off. Then I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around her too. It was so good to see that she was ok. The two of us cried a bit. Yeah, we’re girls, girls cry when they’re happy. I held onto her for some time, it felt good to have a warm body pressed against me.

When we finally separated, she finally spoke. “I’m really, really sorry. It wasn’t me. I saw what I was doing but there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

I nodded, wiping the tears off my cheeks. “Don’t worry about it, water under the bridge. I’m just glad to see you’re back to normal.”

All three of us laughed. It didn’t hurt me as much but Brad winced again. Then we sat down in the hall and waited. There wasn’t much more to do. Besides, I wasn’t going to leave this spot until I knew my roomie was ok.

____________________________________

Becca:

“Sergeant, are you still listening to me?” asked Baker as he continued to debrief me on the situation.

To tell you the truth I wasn’t really listening. Baker and I had an understanding like that though. He’d drum on and on about something and I’d pretend to listen. I wasn’t particularly interested in what he was saying anyway. He was talking about the clean sweep he and his men did after they arrived at the facility. He kept referring to the people therein as the “targets” and the ones that got away as “escapees”. Yes, I said ones that got away, as in plural. Need I remind you that I failed to obtain Declan, once again? I’m sure I’d get hell as soon as I got back home. I sure got it when Baker walked into the room. He seemed to think I dropped the ball on that one. And for once, I actually agree with him. I’d been sloppy and reckless. I should have put a bullet in Declan’s head.

But I made a promise.

I shifting in my chair, looking around the cramped room. There were three soldiers standing before me. Captain Jones---Baker’s right hand lackey---was standing by the door; Kit was lingering in the corner. Baker was almost directly in front of me, lecturing as usual. He was my superior but he wasn’t in control here. Even though he liked to think he was. I think he secretly hated the fact that I---a sixteen-year-old girl---could give him orders. What’s worse, he was the guy on standby. I’d read Baker’s file, he’d done two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was also some black op stuff on their too. He was Special Forces and he never let you forget it. He talked big and liked to talk down, a lot. Not that I blamed him much, being back up was a shitty assignment.

I caught eyes with Kit. She rolled hers. I smiled weakly. It was all I could do at the moment. I’m not really sure what happened after Brad saved me from being squashed by the BMW. I vaguely remember crying in his arms, burying my head in his chest. He carried me out of the garage and down the hall. As we were making our way back toward Declan’s office, Baker and his team came barging in. They had guns blazing, moving like the commandos my team should have been like. All of his guys were well trained, except for maybe Curtis, the medic. She was kinda green, fresh from wherever they shipped her in from. She was the youngest too, barely nineteen I think. I’m not even sure if she was a full medic yet. She was a last minute replacement though. The previous guy, Corporal Hughes, busted his knee on the basketball court two nights before we were set to “deploy”.

Kit smiled back at me. I could tell she was feeling my pain. We were all in a little bit of pain. It was one thing to find out that one of your friends is a traitor but it’s another thing entirely to know that they were dead. I don’t think it has fully sunk in yet for me. I know he’s gone, he died in my arms. Just like Trish. But I’m not sure why I felt so calm about it. I vaguely remember falling apart before, screaming bloody murder before I ran off after Declan. Now there was nothing. I felt hollow inside, my body gutted of everything that mattered. Looking at Kit I could tell I wasn’t the only one. She---like me---didn’t really know how to react to something like this.

Baker’s words interrupted my thoughts. “We’re going to move Miss Xavier and Miss Pierce along with Mr. Brody in a few hours.”
The names meant nothing to me. “Who?” I asked, finally getting back into the conversation.

He smiled slightly before answering. “Your new little friend, the one with the extraordinary gift. Diana Xavier I think she said her name was. We currently have her and Katrina Pierce in look-down in the room three doors over. Corporal Moore is questioning them right now.”

I’m not sure I liked the sound of that. “Diana is innocent.”

Baker nodded. “That may be but she was still a part of this terrorist cell.”

A Terrorist Cell. That’s what they were officially calling this place. About an hour after Baker arrived, MI-5 tried to push their way in. But the good Major only allowed the agents as far as the front door. I’m not sure how he got them to leave but he made it very clear that as soon as we were done with our investigation then they’d have their chance. I suppose Baker was good at some things. He had some pull somewhere. I think it was because he and the Colonel were old friends. There was a picture of the two of them fishing, on the bookshelf behind the Colonel’s desk. The two of them were smiling and looked like them were having a good time. It was strange to see either man smile.

I wasn’t about to let him treat Diana or Kat as suspects though. “They’re not involved in this, either one of them. They’ve been abusing Diana for weeks now and Kat has been under the Dominator’s sway. They’re not to be prosecuted or harmed.”

Baker nodded. “They will be shown the courtesy we show all of our guests.”

I didn’t like the way he said “guests”. I knew full well the courtesy they showed guests at the Center. I was one of those “guests” for nearly a month. I even had my own cell to prove it. Ok, so maybe I’m a little fired up by the situation. But I promised Diana that I wouldn’t allow these bastards to mistreat her like Declan and his cronies.

I got to my feet. “I want to see them now.”

Baker sized me up. He was a good head taller than me. I’m sure he was well trained too, he’d probably even be able to kick my ass if he got lucky. But he’d have to be real lucky to stop me. As he stared me down, I think he realized it too. There was a flicker of fear in his eyes and then he backed down. I pushed past him toward the door. Jones stepped in my way. He may have been younger than Baker and possibly better trained but he was still nothing. I could have torn through him in a heartbeat. He stepped aside when Baker gave him the nod. I pushed my way through the door; it took me about a second to realize Kit was following. She didn’t say a word as she sped up to me, walking along side me, keeping up.

The guy standing guard at Diana’s door was Corporal Janks. I knew all Baker’s men by name because I had to read each and every one of their files. Janks was in his twenties, enlisted after high school. He gave me a nod as we approached, opening the door for us. Janks was a good guy, the two of us sparred every once in a while. Inside, Diana and Kat were sitting on a sofa, Moore was talking to them. They both perked up when they saw me. Moore, sensing he wasn’t alone, turned and grimaced. Yeah, I didn’t like him either.

There were advantages and disadvantages about being able to hear just about every conversation. Moore was a bigot; he hated all of us “freaks” with a passion. I’m not sure how he ever got through the screening process. I suppose he could lie really well. I’d have to make a mental note, remembering to bring Lola with me the next time he was present. I’d like to see how he held up under her gaze.

“Staff Sergeant” he said, I could hear the dislike in his voice. “I was in the middle of interrogat…I mean questioning these two.”

I nodded. “You’re dismissed, Corporal.”

“Yes ma’am”

He pushed past me quickly and out the door. He made a “freaks” comment to Janks under his breath. Janks bit back, telling him to “shut the fuck up”. Like I said, I really liked Janks.

“How long are they going to keep us here?” asked Diana, fidgeting.

“We haven’t done anything wrong,” added Kat, looking nervous.

This was the first time I’d come face to face with her. She was a thin girl with straight black hair to her shoulders and one of those cute noses that only looked right on a doll. It looked good on her though. Her most stunning feature was her eyes though. I’ve seen green eyes and then I’ve seen green eyes. But these eyes were so green it almost looked like they were glowing. I stared at those eyes for a few seconds. I think she got uncomfortable because she finally pulled away.

Kit fielded their questions. Me, I just had to make sure they were all right. There was no way I wanted the two of them to be lumped together with the rest of the scum here. Not that there was much of that left. One of the first things Baker told me was how many of Declan’s people we were able to capture. Including, Diana and Kat, the number was only three. Besides Declan, that bouncy monkey kid Tobias was gone as was that bitch Jasmine. If I ever saw her, again I was going to shoot first and ask questions later. I stood in the corner and listened to Kit try to reassure the two of them that everything was going to be ok. After a few minutes, I asked if she had everything under control, when she nodded, I slipped out of the door.

Janks nodded to me. “Ma’am.”

I nodded back. I started back down the hall but stopped after a few feet. There was something I wanted to check with him. I spun around. Janks was the team sniper. He was a damn good shot, not my caliber but still aces. “That was a good shot back there.” I said, in reference to the one that put down Miles.

“I’m not sure I’m following, ma’am?”

I nodded. It was just as I thought. I had suspected there was someone else out there---hell, I saw him. My first thought it was Janks; he liked to hide in trees. But there was something about the shooter’s style that seemed off. For one thing, he was using a completely different rifle. Janks also favored a laser pointer. Besides sparring, the two of us spent a lot of time in the shooting range. Janks used a Barrett M82 50 caliber rifle. The shooter earlier was using a different type. Janks favored body shots too but the person who fired at Miles went for the head. It was farther out than Janks liked to shoot too. I was pretty confident it wasn’t Janks but I had to make sure. Now that I knew, it kinda worried me to know that there was someone else out there. It worried me even more that he knew about us and had chosen Miles as the target. There were several choice targets in the room---myself included----so what was so special about Miles. I suppose he was the most convenient at the moment but I was certain there was more to it than that. As soon as Baker arrived, he said his men swept the surrounding forest but they found no out there.

So the mystery shooter would remain just that. For now, anyway.

I left Janks and returned to the room where Baker and Jones were. The two of them were talking quietly. When I reentered, they finished up. We discussed some things for the next half an hour or so. It was agreed that Emma, Stella and I would return to the school for the time being. Baker’s radio tech, Grier, was able to reestablish communication with the Center. Apparently, they were having problems of their own. Baker had spoken briefly with both Mrs. Fine and Colonel Harris. They both agreed that it was imperative that the three of us finish up, at least until the morning. Baker’s men already had Brock secured in a van ready to take to the airport for shipment stateside. Diana and Kat were booked on a flight for tomorrow morning. Brad and Connor---both of whom were wounded---would accompany them.

They also made arrangements for Barry. My eyes stung with tears as I thought about it. He and the others killed here tonight would all get proper burials back home. I never did ask what the Center did with their dead. I didn’t really want to know.

“Are we all done now?”

Baker nodded. “My men will sweep the place one more time then we’ll move out.”

I nodded and shook the Major’s hand. “Thanks for the backup, sir.”

I left the room for a second time. Samson was waiting for me this time; apparently, there were some people who wanted to see me. He had a big smile on his face as he led me down the hall. When he opened the room, Stella was the first one to tackle me. She wrapped me in the strongest hug. She even cried a little. Her warmth felt good. It was comforting. I took in a big whiff of her pheromones, hoping maybe they’d do something to get me out of my funk. They didn’t. Emma came next; her hug was light---thank God. I didn’t hug Connor. The two of us shared a nod though. I’m not sure when it happened---probably sometime in that room---but I’d grown to respect him. I hated to think about it now but maybe he’d just earned a permanent spot on my team.

Brad was the last to approach me. We didn’t say anything. When he hugged me, wrapping his strong arms around me, for a moment I didn’t want him to let go. There was definitely something between us but I wasn’t ready to find out what just yet. I knew the two of us played with kissing but I couldn’t think about those things, especially after Barry.

We left after that. I was pretty damn glad to do so. We all went in one vehicle. Diana and Kat left earlier with Baker in one of the SUVs his team brought. I think the two of them were going to like it at the Center. None of us said anything on the ride back to Chairmont. We dropped the guys off first at their stuffy boarding school then we got dropped off. When we slipped into the building, it was mid-afternoon, right around lunch. We quietly crept through the halls. There wasn’t even anyone waiting when we got there. Baker said he called the school ahead of time and had spoken to the Head mistress. We were safe to enter without any troubles. Which was good because I was done with troubles.

I said good-bye to Emma and Stella as they went to their respective rooms. My body ached, my mind was mush and there were so many conflicting emotions dancing around in my head it was on overload. All I wanted to do was walk into my room, strip to my underwear and get a well deserved rest. No more problems, no more complications.

I opened the door and froze in the doorway. Karen was sitting on her bed, a glass on the floor in front of her. There was a strip of water leading from the glass---floating between it and her. She looked from me to the glass then back to me. The color drained from her face.

Me, I sighed. I guess today was one of those days.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: We have come to it at last...here is the last chapter of Best Served Cold. We'll finally get to find out the identity of the mystery shooter. I'd like to thank everyone who's posted comments and said good things. I'd also liked to thank djkauf for editing another story for me. In a couple of days---after I rest my cramped typing hand---I'll move onto a shorter Mattie side story.

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Chapter Seventeen:

“I can explain,” said Karen, the stream of water dropping to the floor with a splash.

But before she could do so, she burst into tears, burying her head in her hands. I think by this time I was so into the emotional meltdown myself I was kinda on autopilot. I walked quickly into the room and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tightly to me. I was still in a bit of shock, too. How did I miss this? I’d been spending almost all my time with this girl over the past two days or so and I missed this. She was an E, an E trying to hide herself. I should have seen the signs. But I was so wrapped up in my own damn stuff I missed what was staring me right in the face. Some temporary roommate I turned out to be.
I let her cry in my arms for a long time. I think she needed it because she cried and cried. I knew exactly where she was coming from. When I first Emerged, it scared the hell out of me. I can’t imagine how she must have felt. At least I had someone there to explain things to me. But this girl---this tortured thing in my arms---it looked like she had no one. She probably thought she was a freak or even worse, she was losing her mind. Not that I blame her. It’s kinda hard coming to grips with something that big. She cried for another ten minutes, my shirt was now soaked in her tears. When she was finally done, she pulled away, wiping tears from her eyes.

“You can’t tell anyone” she sniffled “please don’t tell anyone. My father will freak.”

I nodded and smiled. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”

She shook her head, violently pushing me away. “You’re just saying that. I’m a freak, the biggest freak in the world.”

I smiled again. I couldn’t help it. “You’re not a freak. You’re a normal, everyday sixteen year old girl.”

She glared at me, angry and upset. Instead of responding, she snapped her hand at the pool of water on the floor. In seconds, the puddle formed into a sphere about the size of baseball. She floated it about five feet off the ground, moving it toward the open window and dropped it outside. Then she dropped on her bed, sniffling some more. Me, I was awestruck. There were a few hydrokinetics at the Center but I’d never actually seen any of them in action. Watching her float that ball across the room and out the window was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.

“I’m a freak,” she said, crying again. I slid over to sit closer to her. She pulled away. “You better stay away, it could be contagious.”

I smirked. “You can’t infect me.”

She shook her head. “How do you know?”

“I’m pretty confident that it doesn’t work that way.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

I shook my head. “You probably feel scared and alone but you’re not. I know how you feel. I feel like that a lot. But there’s no reason to be scared and there’s no reason to feel alone”

I looked around the room, finding a pen. I snatched it up and looked around. I smiled when I spotted a good target. It was a poster on her wall, some hunky teen heartthrob. I turned to her and smiled then without looking I threw the pen. I’d already picked my target before turning to her so I knew without looking that I put the pen right into the center of the guy’s eyeball. The look of shock on Karen’s face was priceless. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Instead, she slid away from me further and stepped off the bed. She walked across the room and pulled the pen out of her poster. She fingered the spot where I threw it.

“How did you do that?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I asked her a question. “Who were you before?”

She didn’t say anything at first. She bit her lip and started to tremble. Then the tears started to flow again. “My name is…was David” she trembled “David Momochi” She took a deep breath and walked back over to the bed, cautiously sitting next to me. “My father is Japanese, my mother was American. Before all this happened, I was a happy Japanese American kid; I went to St. Bernard’s School for Boys”

I nodded, that’s why she freaked a little when she saw them walk into the club. “Do you want to tell me how it happened?”

She nodded. “One day I was in the shower with the others, I’ve always been sorta an outsider you know, I liked to shower away from the rest of the guys. The others guys were all almost gone now, it was just me and my friend TJ. He was showering two stalls down from me. I’d been feeling lousy all day. I went to the clinic but the nurse there said it was probably a touch of the flu. She told me to take it easy but if you knew my father, he would have been furious. He’s always about academics, sickness is for the weak. So I grinned and mustered on. I went through that day feeling horrible. Things went from bad to worse in the shower. One minute I was washing my back and the neck I was doubling over in pain. TJ ran to my side and when he saw how much pain I was in he told me to wait there and he’d get the nurse.”

She took a deep breath, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. “That’s when it happened. It was like all the water in the room exploded from the pipes. It swirled about me, spraying everywhere. I blacked out and when I came to I was in the nurse’s office. I was scared and confused. I heard the nurse talking to the Headmaster; the two of them were talking about what happened to me. I didn’t understand what they were talking about so I got out of bed and wandered into the little bathroom. When I saw the girl staring back at me, I screamed and fainted again.”

She started crying uncontrollably now. I squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to?”

She sniffled but shook her head. “When I woke up again, I was in the car. It was my father’s limousine; my father and stepmother were sitting across from me. They could barely look me in the eyes. I tried to ask them what was going on, how I’d gotten there but neither would speak to me. I later found out that my father arrived shortly after my second black out, he was enraged. He was convinced the school did something to me. He threatened to sue them, to do horrible things to the Headmaster, the nurse and even poor TJ who found me lying unconscious in the shower stall. He pulled me from school; he threw a lot of money at the problem. A few weeks later, he had a medical explanation ready when I was enrolled in Chairmont. Apparently I was intersexed and had decided to start living my life not as a young man but as a young woman.”

She burst into tears again, unable to continue. I wrapped her in a hug again. I couldn’t imagine what that must have been like. I’d never known my folks but if my father had ever treated me like that, I think I’d have kicked his ass. I mean what kind of person treats their son/daughter that way. She cried on my shoulder for a while again. All my problems seemed miniscule compared to hers. She was terrified; hiding who she was really was, hoping no one would ever figure it out.

When she was finished crying, she wiped her eyes again. “That was six months ago. I’ve been here ever since. My parents haven’t even tried to contact me. They send money, care packages; they let me buy whatever I want. But they want nothing to do with me otherwise, I’m a freak to them. My father arranged it so I’d have this private room so no one would discover my secret.” She sighed.

“You’re the first person I’ve told. I tried contacting TJ but he’s gone. After my father paid him off, his parents pulled him from Bernard’s. I’ve emailed him a couple times but I never got any responses. Then a month ago, Miss Pennington told us a group of girls from our sister school in America were going to be staying here. She was looking for girls who had singles to volunteer some of their space for the week. I happily volunteered. The girls kinda avoid me around here, it got out the second week I was here that I used to be a guy. They treat me like I have the plague. I tried to explain things to them---gave them the fact story my father compiled but no one believed it, they think I’m a transsexual pervert.”

Kids can be cruel. Especially girls. Thinking about that made images of that bitch Samantha flash into my head.

“You know everything else,” she finally said, smiling. She sighed too; I think it was a big weight off her chest.

“You were really brave sharing something like with me.”

She nodded. “I still don’t understand what’s going on though” She sniffled. “I’ve been to a couple of private physicians but everyone is baffled. Do you know what’s wrong with me?” She bit her lip. “I’m scared. Can you help me, please?”

I smiled and took a deep breath. “Let me tell you my story.”

_________________________________

I was staring out the window now, watching the ocean through the clouds. England was an hour behind us and we were traveling across the Atlantic. It would still be several hours until we got to New York then from there at least another day before we took a flight back to the Center. A part of me was happy to be finally going home but another part of me wanted to stay away as long as possible. There were so many things I was going to have to face as soon as I got there. One of the biggest was Karen. After Karen and I talked yesterday, I got some z’s. A few hours later, I woke up to find Karen gone. At first, I thought maybe she ran but it turns out, she was doing some things of her own. One of those things was making the first phone call to her parents in months. She told them how things were and how they were going to be from now on.

While she was off having a heart-to-heart with the folks, I finally got around to touching base with the Center. After securing Declan’s compound---Baker’s designation for it---we were able to reestablish communication using Baker’s untampered with equipment. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones having problems. The Center had another traitor on top of Barry. They had a nasty computer virus that shut down all their systems and a murder to contend with. Mrs. Fine didn’t want to give me all the details via video chat. She said she’d debrief me once I got stateside. I gave her a rundown of events. I tried to be as objective as possible, telling her my mistakes and how I jeopardized the mission with my revenge. She didn’t say anything. She told me we’d discuss everything in my full debrief once I got back. The only good bit of news I had to share was the acquisition of three new students.

Yeah, that’s right, three.

After having a long discussion with her father, Karen was able to convince the Ambassador to allow her to leave Chairmont. The Ambassador was reluctant to allow her to leave England first but Karen was able to convince him that she’d be with people just like her. Suffice to say when I told her about the Center she was extremely excited. I think the prospect of knowing you’re not alone goes a long way. Of course, I didn’t tell her the real reason why I was in England, that was classified. I gave her some bull story about one of our Precogs sensing Emergents in the area. So as far as Karen was concerned, my team was in England recruiting. I guess it wasn’t far from the truth, after all, we were bringing her, Diana and Kat back with us.

“You look deep in thought” said a familiar voice.

I turned from the window as Emma slipped into the empty seat next to me. She was dressed like a normal person now, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Even though the jeans were a little tight and she was wearing the cutest boots. Remember, they got to wear normal clothes, I was so jealous. I was stuck in one of those dresses Mrs. Fine made me pack. It was an airy blue sundress, which showed off way too much skin for my liking.

I looked past her over to Karen. She was sitting alone, too. The plane was only half full so most of the passengers got to sit by themselves. Karen was looking out the window too.

“You think she’s going to be ok?”

Emma looked at her and nodded. “We’re a resilient lot, we bounce e back fast.”

I smiled. “You sure did.”

She frowned. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Emma was Miss Apologetic since the moment we left Declan’s place. First, she had apologized to her brother and Stella. She thrashed them pretty good. Then she apologized for throwing me across the room. I tried to tell her it wasn’t her fault but that didn’t seem to matter. She kept telling us she’d make it up to us over and over again. There was no convincing the girl that what she did, she did under severe mental control. Miles wasn’t the first Dominator she’d encountered but I think he was the first one to put the whammy on her. Though she would probably never admit it, I think it shook her up a lot. But that’s what Dominators did. They were nasty pieces of work. I’ve had my run-ins with more than I’d like to admit. They leave a mark on you, one that takes a while to get over. A few nights after my run-in with Declan and Scarlet at Section Four, I was still having nightmares about it.

“It gets better” I told her, squeezing her hand.

She nodded, tearing up. I changed subjects quickly, deciding to breach one that I knew would make her blush. The first mention of Samson and she went as red as a cherry. It was kinda funny. When he first saw her back at Strickland’s place, he went beet red. I think she was too busy to even notice he was looking. But once things settled, the two of them got talking. It had been a cute little scene and I don’t think she noticed but the two of them had been flirting like crazy. It’s strictly forbidden of course, for them to have a relationship, besides a little illegal. He was twenty-five after all but it was cute nonetheless. So I ribbed her a bit about it, asking her if she was really jealous when she thought Kit and Samson were hitting it off in the nightclub. She got even redder and tried to change the subject. But I pushed it and we had a good laugh, not before she defended herself and Samson.

“There’s nothing going on between Peter and I?”

“Peter?”

She blushed at the slip. The two of them were on a first name basis.

She turned things on me though. “What’s going on with you and my brother?”

This time I flushed a bit. Ok, so I liked Brad, I think everyone knew that. But I also liked Barry. Even after he turned into a traitor, I still couldn’t stop thinking about him. Now…it’s going to take some time to get over him. After cleaning up a bit at the “compound”, Brad and I only had minutes to talk before he and Connor shipped back early. We didn’t really know what to say to one another. He knew I was still hurting over losing Barry and I knew he was relieved to see Emma was all right. It was kind of strange and awkward. I owed him so much though. He saved my life after all. I was about to let it all go; I was going to let that bastard run me over. I didn’t even hear Brad coming when he scooped me up in his arms and did what he did.

I sighed. “It’s complicated,” I finally admitted.

Emma laughed. “I’ll say. Me I have a crush on a man’s man and you, you’re crushing on my former little sis.”

I punched her in the arm for that. We both had a laugh though.

We talked for a few minutes more then she went back to her seat. I went back to staring out the window. Watching the puffy white clouds floating by made me drowsy. I fought sleep for a long time though, my mind still reeling. I was still numb to everything that had happened in such a short period of time. Barry turned out to be a traitor; Declan was creating an Army, failed and got away. That one was going to haunt me a bit. Then Barry’s death. When it happened, I was a wreck. Connor told me afterwards it took him three times to actually get my attention. Then of course, I went nuts and stole his gun. Most of that was a blur now. I remember doing it but I don’t really remember why. I think I wanted to kill Declan, I almost did. But I made a promise too. Barry’s last few words were still dancing in my head: “Revenge isn’t the answer. It’s never the answer; promise me you’ll let this go” But could I really honor them?

I sighed. Sleep finally got me. My last thoughts before drifting off were of Trish and a tear rolled down my cheek as I slowly drifted off into dreamland.
____________________________________

“No more bad dreams. When I woke on the plane, we were making our final approach into New York but I’d dreamt happy things. Dekker was gone from them.”

Dr. Tipps smiled. She was sitting across from me, her legs folded over one another. She looked professional sitting in her chair. I was sitting on the little couch, spilling my deepest darkest secrets to her.

“How do you feel about that?”

Ok, yeah so I caved. It’s not like I had much of a choice. I was tired of feeling like my life was going to explode all around me. I was being pulled in different directions, everything coming at me at once and I just couldn’t handle it anymore. The England mission taught me one very important thing; it taught me that I can’t keep things bottled up inside anymore. Diana and Karen taught me that lesson. Here was Diana, a girl who thought she was with the greatest people in the world and they turned out to be monsters. All her rage and anger toward them built up to a point where she almost killed Declan. Something I think she would have really regretted.

Then there was Karen. The poor girl was alone and confused for so long. She didn’t know what was going on or why it was happening to her. So she pulled into herself, shutting herself off to the world. It didn’t help that her father and stepmother completely ignored her. She was such a bundle of emotions that I think she was really relieved when I walked into the room and caught her doing her thing. I know she was a bit scared I’d think she was a freak but she was happy too that someone else knew her secret. She wasn’t alone anymore.

Both of them helped me in more ways than one. After getting off the plane in New York, we spent the next hour or so in the airport. We had one of two options, catch a flight immediately back to the private strip that would take us to the Center or spend the night in the city. Karen was really excited to get to her new home but the rest of us were bushed. We ended up spending the night in New York. It worked out rather well for us though. Karen’s family had a penthouse in the city that they rarely used so we got to stay there instead of the hotel. I guess being an Ambassador had its perks. But it surprised me to find out that all the luxury actually belonged to Karen. Like Emma and Brad, her mother was loaded too. Upon her mother’s death, Karen or rather David became the sole benefactor of her family’s immense wealth. Her father was caretaker of said wealth until Karen turned eighteen. Until then she was given weekly allowances to help her with her expenses.

Us four girls had one hell of a night. We got to have a limo pick us up and take us to the airport in the morning too. From New York, we flew to the private strip. The Center’s private jet was waiting for us when we got there. Kit and Samson were there too. They took an earlier flight than us. I think Emma was happy to see Peter---I’m going to have so much fun with that. We flew to the Center in quiet solitude, all except for Karen who kept bombarding Kit with questions. I think after she got over her initial shyness, Karen really opened up. All the time at Chairmont she was afraid of the other girls, not sure how to act around them. Now she was a completely different person, so alive and vibrant. It was hard to believe that she was the same girl that I spent two days with. I think she was just happy to be rid of that place; I know I was. After coming home from Declan’s, Britney was kinda sour with all of us for abandoning them the way we did. Stella hadn’t really explained things all that well to them and she didn’t like being brushed aside while we had fun elsewhere. So Stella got a cold reception for the rest of the time she and Britney were roommates. As for the rest of our short time at Chairmont, we kinda blended in with the crowd. I think the girls in the band were kinda bummed that we had to bail so early but Miss Pennington promised she’d find us some local replacements.
I think she was happy to see us all go.

“Rebecca, are you ok?”

Dr. Tipps voice shattered my thoughts. I sighed, forgetting where I was. I only agreed to come here because Stella and Mattie nagged me into it. Yeah, Mattie turned on me too. But I could forgive her; she’s had a rough time with things too. I guess there was a little excitement here why I was away. But she didn’t really want to talk about it---something that was on the need to know apparently---so I dropped the questioning.

“I’m sorry,” I said, smiling fakely at her. “I was lost in my thoughts.”

She smiled. “You were telling me about your dreams.”

What can I say, when I open up I really open up. After getting back to the Center and going through a two hour debrief with Mrs. Fine, Kris and the Colonel, I barely got about an hour of sleep before Mattie and Stella roused me out of bed. They said that there was no way they were going to let me get away with loafing around anymore. So they dragged me out of bed and forced me to go to Dr. Tipps. They may think that they’re doing me a favor but wait until Stella finds out what I have planned for her and the rest of the team. After the debriefing, Mrs. Fine and I discussed the team’s performance. We both agreed that we did all right overall but there was definite need for improvement. So I decided it was high time that we got really organized. That meant there was going to be no more slacking. I was going to whip everyone into the team they should be.

So I opened up to Dr. Tipps a little. I think she was as surprised as I was. I told her everything that had been on my mind for the last few weeks. It didn’t take as long as I thought it was going to. When we got to my dreams, I faltered a bit. I wasn’t really sure if I was ready to handle the Trish stuff yet. It was like opening a wound that I wasn’t ready to close. But Dr. T seemed to want to know how her death was fueling my dreams. I wasn’t sure how to respond to that but she kept on asking me how I felt. How do you even respond to something like that?

“You seem distracted, Rebecca,” she said, setting down her notepad.

“There’s a lot on my plate.”

“Understandable” she said, looking at the clock sitting on the coffee table in front of us. “The two of us have been talking for about two hours now.”

Really. Who would have thought?

She continued. “I think we’re making good progress but there’s something I need for you to do on your own.”

“As long as it doesn’t require me going around and hugging people, I’ll do it.”

She laughed. “Nothing that extreme. But I think it’s time you come face to face with your grief.”

____________________________

It took me about a day or so to do what she suggested.

I kinda dragged my feet because I wasn’t sure if I was ready to do what I think she wanted me to do. I’ve been avoiding it for so long, but I knew it was about time. So after leaving Dr. Tipps’ office I made some arrangements. Where I needed to go was off Center. I went to Mrs. Fine and told her my plan. I wasn’t sure what she was going to say. She kinda surprised me when she told me it was a good idea and actually asked if I wanted her to come along. But I refused, telling her that something like this really needs to be done alone. I think she understood that.

So after that I built up enough courage to actually do it. I’ve been avoiding it for so long…I didn’t know how to do it or even what to say. Stella actually gave me some sound advice. She told me to just be myself, talk about whatever comes into your head, maybe say good bye.

“So here I am, Trish,” I said, talking to her headstone.

It was a nice one, real big and made out of marble. Homeland Security went all out. They placed her in a private part of the cemetery, near these real pretty yellow rose bushes. There was even a little fountain a ways away and a copse of trees behind her. The cemetery was a couple miles down the road from the Center. Officially, it was an unsanctioned government plot. There were a few others buried here too, most of them in unmarked graves. A lot of the enemies we killed were buried around here---I don’t know where and I don’t care. Barry will be placed here too. I’ve already sent in a request to get him a headstone though. I didn’t like the idea of him not having one. I’m still waiting for the authorization on that.

I cleared my throat, fighting back the tears. “I’m sorry it’s taken me a while to get here but I’ve been really busy.”

I told her everything. I know it sounds stupid because I’m not sure if she can hear me but I did anyways. I spilled my guts to her, finally succumbing to my tears. It took me a long time but I think in the end it felt pretty good to get it off my chest.

“I’m sorry if I disappointed you too,” I said, now on my knees. “I went after him. I know I shouldn’t have, but he killed you. I couldn’t let that bastard just walk away like that. He took you from me, ruined our lives, ruined our plans. But I failed. I was tricked into following a false trail and in the end, I ran into something much worse. Barry is dead because of it.”

I didn’t tell her about Barry being a traitor. It would have broken her heart. He helped us so much, helped her so much. I think she would have been appalled to know that we inadvertently led him to the Center. I did tell her about Declan though, telling her how I should have killed him back in Section Four and all the problems he’s been causing. Once again, I’m not sure if she can really hear me or not. I’m not sure what I believe as far as the Hereafter goes. I’d like to think there is a place where good people go and where bad people are punished. Declan and Dekker deserve the bad place. Hell, all the Syndicate bastards need to rot there---I’m sure some of them are.

I stayed on my knees for about ten minutes, muddying my brand new tights. Yep I wore a dress; Trish would have laughed at that. She would have liked it too.
A snap sounded behind me. I didn’t react. I knew he was there; he’d been following me since I left this morning. I’m not sure when I picked him up but he’d been tailing for at least a couple of hours now. He was a good soldier, stealthy and sly. But sloppy too. It took me a long time to make the connection. When I saw him on the plane going to England the beard through me. He looked so familiar but I was distracted. I spotted him again in the city, when I was running after my imaginary Dekker. I only caught him out of the corner of my eye though. I didn’t pay much attention there. It was at Declan’s though that I kinda figured it out. When he shot Miles. It bothered me when I thought it was Janks. But when I all but confirmed it wasn’t, it could only be one other person.

I sighed, slowly getting to my feet. My escort was back at the car, probably reading the paper. But it wouldn’t matter. If the guy hiding behind the tree wanted me dead, he would have done it when he first followed me into the cemetery. He was here to talk. He was unarmed; I could tell by the way he was standing. The only weapon I had was a small dagger and it was in my purse---something that was lying two feet away. Not that I needed it though.

“You’re getting sloppy, Mr. Red.”

I heard a slight laugh. I turned and he stepped out from behind the tree. He was dressed in a large trench coat, buttoned up. His hair was slicked back, he was wearing dark sunglasses and he was recently shaved. The last time I saw him, before half recognizing him on the plane was months ago. He was with us when we left Section Four. I thought he was a good guy back then but he was just a snake with a conscience. He killed my best friend, Dell, left a note explaining the whole thing. I suppose it was the least he could do. Gideon had told me to ditch him anyway. Mr. Red aka Greg Dwyer was a Merc, a hired gun. He was brought in to teach us all how to be more efficient killers or some shit like that. All the girls used to fawn over because he was so damn cute. Even now, standing by the tree, he was still a looker. But that warming smile was gone, replaced by a hard edge.

“How long have you known I’ve been there?”

“Since outside the gate” I said “your bike makes too much noise.”

He followed me from the Center on a motorcycle; I think he thought he was being stealthy. But you can’t hide those things from the likes of me.

He smirked. “You’re getting better at those things.”

“I had a good teacher.”

He nodded. “You should give him an apple then.”

The pleasantries were annoying now. If I had a gun, I wouldn’t hesitate to shot this bastard. Dell was the only friend I had in that hell hole of a foster home I came from. This man took that from me. He deserved to die. “I take it this little meeting has a purpose?”

He smiled. He opened his coat to show that he was unarmed. “I come in peace.”

“I know. If you’d been armed I never would have let you get that close.”

He laughed. “As astute as ever” I nodded. “But sloppy too. You should have made sure the bullet went into that bastard’s head.”

I nodded. “I missed the opportunity.”

“You hesitated. You had a chance to shoot him in the hall after he shot Barry. You could have taken him then.”

I didn’t disagree. “What’s done is done. I’ll get him next time.”

There would be one too; I had no doubt about that.

He smirked. “He’s going to run back to Daddy you know.”

I nodded. “Is that why you came here. You the Messenger now?”

“Consider me someone concerned for your well being.”

“I’m touched. Is that why you plugged Miles?”

He didn’t deny it. “I don’t like to leave things hanging. I wronged you and I was trying to make amends for it.”

The fire flared in me. So one murder for a next. That’s what he called making amends. How fucked up is that. “I could have handled it”

“No you couldn’t have and you know it. They had you beat. I gave you the upper hand.”

“You come here for a thank you, then?”

“No” he said, leaning against the tree. “I’ve come here to tell you that I’ve found who you’ve really been hunting for.”

Dekker. I felt a pang of excitement. Revenge? I’d been duped before, by people I trusted in fact. But by someone I don’t trust, someone I don’t even like. “I’m not interested.”

He smiled. “Oh yes you are.”

He had me there. “I’ve gotten over it.”

He shook his head. “No you haven’t” He leaned off the tree and reached into his coat. He pulled out a large manila colored envelope and tossed it at my feet. “Everything you want to know is in there.”

I glanced at the envelope and quickly back at him. “Does this make us even now?”

He chuckled. “No this makes us partners.”

“Partners?”

He nodded. “I want the Syndicate gone just as much as you do. I hate it when I get screwed over by pompous billionaires and their bratty progeny. I figure you and I have the same goals. We both want to ruin Carson. I figure you help me do that then the two of us are even.”

I still didn’t look at the envelope. “I’m not interested.”

He ignored me. “When you open it up and look inside, you’ll find a card. That’s my personal number. Don’t bother trying to trace it because it’s scrambled. When you decide to make your move, give me a call and I’ll give you whatever back up is necessary. You might even get a chance to use that fancy engraved bullet you’ve got burning a hole in that pocket of yours.”

I looked at my coat pocket. How did he know? I snapped back up to ask him and he was gone. Son of a bitch. I ran to the tree but he was nowhere in sight. I listened for him. I caught him running off, toward the fence. I suppose I could give chase but there was no reason. Besides, I had to admit that his offer intrigued me a little. I heard him gunning the motorcycle a few minutes later and listened as it peeled away. I went back to Trish; the envelope was lying on top of her grave. I stared at it, biting my lip. Everything I wanted was in there. Dekker was in there, everything about him. My hand trembled as I bent down and reached for the envelope.

I stopped for a second before picking it up. Could I really do this? I looked at Trish’s headstone. Can I do this, Trish? Revenge has brought me nothing but heartache. Its lead me down a nasty road. I hurt my friends, I hurt myself. I hurt you.

I sighed and made a decision. I grabbed the envelope but at the same time reached into my pocket and pulled out the bullet. Revenge led me down a horrible path. But doing the right thing was going to lead me down the other. If there was information in here that I could use against the Syndicate than I was going to use it. If I happened to run into Dekker along the way then I’m not sure what I’d do about it. I’d handle that when I got there. But revenge… I took a deep breath and laid the bullet on top of Trish’s headstone.

Then I turned and walked away.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart

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Author's Note: So here we are once again. Sorry it took me so long to get this one up and rolling but there were just things about this new story that just weren't flowing right. I think part of the problem is filling in some of the plot that I wanted to do. I have an end game in mind and key plot points I want to cover but its the in-between things I having trouble coming up with. As it is, I think I have most of those ironed out. Once again I will post a chapter a week and I highly recommend that you read Just Roll With It because like Peter Jackson I don't do that whole recap thing.

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1:

The gentle knocking on my door woke me.

I think I was dreaming. It was a pretty good one too. I dreamed that I somehow miraculously changed into a girl, practically overnight. I hated it at first, was scared of it in fact but slowly I accepted it. I tried to hide it from everyone but people found out---Sara and Kate for starters. Things were going well until I collapsed after my soccer game. Then I went to the hospital and everyone found out. My crazy bible thumping mother found out. She didn’t take it so well. It was a strange dream.

I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

A dream, though.

That’s when I felt the weight on my chest.

And there it was.

Well, there they were.

My breasts.

If only it had been a dream. I’m not saying I really wanted it to be one. It sounded like one, though. I mean guys didn’t change into girls but here I am. I’d been a healthy---albeit small---boy and now I wasn’t. In the mirror, I was so much different now. I was a bit taller, a lot curvier and definitely not a boy. I was happy though too. I still can’t figure that bit out. I shouldn’t have been happy. I mean what normal boy would be happy to turn into a girl. But I was, I truly was. Maybe it was because I wasn’t much of a boy to begin with or maybe it was the lie.

The lie grandpa and Emily wanted me to tell.

Maybe it was the truth after all.

They still didn’t know what had caused this.

Hey, it’s possible.

I groaned, pushing myself out of bed. My new assets swayed a bit as I made my way to the bathroom. Last night, Sara had surprised me with a new set of pajamas. I frowned a bit at it of course. It was a cami top and pair of short sleep shorts. My sister seemed to enjoy it, though. She went out of her trouble to get them for me. Even though I wasn’t thrilled, I pleased her last night when I put them on. I pleased her, even more when I told her I’d let her take me shopping today. Sara apparently wanted to do the whole sister bonding thing.

She’d been so thrilled about it last night, I didn’t have the heart to tell her no.

Truthfully, I just wanted to veg around the house today.

It was Friday after all. I needed today and this weekend to relax because I knew Monday was gonna be hell. Emily called last night; apparently she’d managed to set up a meeting with my principal and the superintendent. My mother was supposed to be there as well. They were to discuss my future schooling plans. Emily told me she’d instructed Mom it might be wise to have a lawyer present too just in case. I doubt Mom really cared.

I didn’t really know what Mom thought.

I was asleep when she came home last night.

I was just thrilled she didn’t pack up all my things or lock my door on me.

I was stripping out of my sleepwear when Sara came waltzing into the bathroom. Startled, I covered myself with my discarded clothes.
“Sweetie, you have nothing I haven’t seen before”

My sister might not have been very modest but I was. At least, I appeared to be now.

In my defense, though, she startled me.

“Not everyone is keen to show off their bodies like you,” I said, tossing my clothes into my hamper.

She smirked. “And what a body it is”

She gave my butt a gentle smack.

I swatted her hand away.

I was just glad I remembered to pee before I got naked. I didn’t want an incident like yesterday morning. Peeing all over myself was a onetime thing I didn’t plan to repeat.

“We have a big day planned,” she said, starting to fill me in on it.

I tuned most of it out while I got into the shower. The running water tuned the rest of it out. I could hear her talking but I closed my eyes and lost myself to the massaging jets caressing my new, much more sensitive body. If by some miracle they found a way to change me back, I’d refuse simply on the principle of the shower.

It felt so good.

Sara wasn’t there when I got out but she left two towels for me. I sighed; I’d probably have to change the color of those. Mom had color coordinated our towels to make it easier for her. Sara had rose pink and I had a teal blue. I suppose they still worked but it just felt a little weird. I wrapped one around my body and the other around my head. It felt like I was stealing my brother’s towels. I know it was silly but I couldn’t shake that feeling.

On the bed was an outfit.

Sara apparently didn’t think I could pick out anything.

Not that she had a bad taste of course. It’s just that thinking about the outfits she brought me yesterday, I cringed thinking about what was apparently in store for me today. Looking at it, though, I found it was surprisingly plain. Another pair of jeans and long sleeved top. I finished drying off then went to adorn myself. I slipped into another pair of my boy cut panties then a bra that matched. The bras were a bit of problem I noticed. I only had a few after all and they were given to me before I went into the hospital. They were a little tight and didn’t fit quite right. I thought about wearing the sports bra again but I’m told it smushes the boobs.

I’d get it all sorted today.

The bra wasn’t the only ill-fitting thing.

The jeans were small. They still went on but I had a hard time getting them buttoned.

“Wow, look at you,” said Sara, coming back into the room with her hairdryer.

She took me by the hand, through the bathroom, and into her room. Sitting me down at her vanity, she went to work. She dried my hair then proceeded to style it. She went with a simple French braid, making me pay careful attention to what she was doing. I tried but it looked hard. She made a comment about the length, suggesting we make a hair appointment to get some of it trimmed up. I didn’t argue there. I had way too much hair.

“Makeup is tricky,” she said, turning my face in her hands. “I know what Cindy did the other day but it was frankly too much. A girl your age, less is more. Besides Mom will never let you go out of the house wearing too much anyways”

I remember.

Sara was sixteen before Mom let her really go all out.

In the end, she decided on a bit of eyeliner, some light shadow, and some lip-gloss.

It was enough to make my face pop.

One thing she did do was finally get at my brows. She’d been trying for what felt like weeks now. I tried to protest but this time, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. When she was done, I had to admit them looked a lot better, much more feminine and they made my face look different too. I already looked different but now I looked more like a girl.

She did her best with my nails too.

A little shaping and some light pink polish.

She deemed me ready after that.

“Isn’t this a little too much?” I asked, keeping my fingers spread like she said so they’d dry.

“You’re a girl now right?”

“Yes,” I said, blushing.

“Ok then”

“It’s that simple?”

She shrugged. “This is new territory for both of us. Sure I’ve had girl friends and we’ve done things like this but I’ve never had a sister before. I’m kinda winging this whole thing”

Honestly, I couldn’t really remember Sara doing this with her friends.

At least never when I was around.

Then again, she only ever really had a handful. Gina was the only one who I really remembered. She and Sara didn’t hang out much anymore though because both of them worked a lot. Gina was also still on the team too. I think after quitting the team, their friendship changed. It also didn’t help that Sara planned on going out of state to college next fall. Gina was going to a community college to study makeup. It was sad because they used to be pretty good friends. It made me wonder what Kate and I would be like in a few years. Would we have interests that would push the two of us apart too?

“C’mon, get your shoes on so we can go”

We went back to the Galleria.

It was definitely a lot different on a Friday morning when most if not all the teenagers were in school. It was still pretty well packed but there was, at least, some room to maneuver. As soon as we got there, Sara made one thing very clear to me. Everything was on her. I was not to spend a single penny of my money. She wanted to do this for me and there would be no arguing. So begrudgingly, I let her be the boss. Of course, just like our previous trip, she took charge immediately.

She was bound and determined to build me a wardrobe from the ground up.

We hit the teen-oriented stores first.

Rue21, GAP, American Eagle.

Lots of jeans and shirts were purchased there. She even managed to wrangle in a jean skirt or two. I did like leggings though I discovered. I’d been seeing and I guess admiring the ones that Kate wears and wanted some of my own. That’s actually how I ended up with some skirts. I did give her quite a scare though when I suggested we try shopping in Hot Topic. It didn’t take her long to realize I was joking. She got me back though when she dragged me into Victoria’s Secret. This though wasn’t a joke. She only got me one set there, though.

She really wanted me to go there to get properly fitted.

32 A just like Emily’s measurements said.

After that, we did all my underwear shopping in Penney’s.

In Foot Locker, we got some shoes.

She got me another pair of Nikes and another pair of Converse. She also talked me into getting this really cool pair of pink Converse heels. They were like a converse sneaker but with a wedge heel. I actually fell in love with them and managed to convince her to let me wear them out of the store.

It was nearing noon when we left the shoe store.

“Ok so lunch?”

I nodded. “I’m starved”

We started for the food court, lugging my many bags. I felt like one of those spoiled princesses.

We decided to have pizza. It was quick and easy. There was this great place that sold New York style with slices bigger than my head. Sara tried to talk me out of it but I ordered two slices. I was halfway through the first slice when I realized what she meant. My eyes had apparently been bigger than my stomach. Though I did discover something about my new self. My appetite had clearly changed. I always used to have a huge appetite but had a real fast metabolism. It used to drive Sara nuts. Now it would seem I still felt like I could eat a lot but my body was telling me differently.

“I told ya,” she said as we got a box for my second uneaten slice.

“Another thing to put on my list,” I said.

Last night after getting home and situated, Sara and I had a nice talk. She wanted me to let her know if I ever felt bad or upset. She didn’t want me to bottle it up; she wanted me to come to her with anything. What happened to me was drastic and the fact that I was taking it so well scared her. It was her idea to come up with a list. She wanted me to write down anything new I was experiencing or anything that had changed or was different. She even suggested a diary. It was a good idea but I wasn’t ready to take things that far yet.

When we finished, Sara looked across the food court.

“Hey I was thinking, you want to hit Claire’s before we go?”

“What for?”

She tweaked one of my earlobes. “Well, I thought you’d like to try having those pierced?”

Pierced?

“I hadn’t really thought about it actually”

“Well, I thought maybe it might help. I’m not saying you should but it would help embrace the girl a bit”

That was another thing we talked about last night.

Embracing girlhood.

It was actually my idea. If all those tests over the last week had proved, it was that there was no going back. Whatever happened to me was permanent and no amount of anything---save surgery---was gonna change that. I was a girl now. As such, I decided I wanted to embrace it as much as I could. Like my father’s motto, I decided I was going to roll with this girl thing and see where it took me. I want to try what life had to offer me now. I didn’t really have much of a life before outside of school and soccer. I wouldn’t even have gone to that Halloween dance if not for the bet. I wanted to change that.

Christy was going to be social.

Christy was also a girl and most girls I knew pierced their ears.

So yeah.

“That sounds like a great idea!” I said cheerfully and meant it.

Sara raised an eyebrow. “Too much I think”

We both laughed.

Sara left me with some money. She wanted to take our bags to the car. I say our bags because there was no way in hell she’d come to the mall and not shop. I offered to help carry them too but she waved me off. She scooped them all up in her arms, carrying them without a problem. I seemed to always forget that she was a lot stronger than she looked. I watched her go. I walked over to the trash bins, dumped our trays and turned around to find myself face to face with Amber.

Shit.

“Chris?” she asked, looking a bit confused.

Now or never.

“Hey Amber,” I said with a smile.

“OMG”

Yes, she actually said it that way.

She squealed and gave me a big hug.

“I’ve been so worried about you,” she said, “I mean I heard what happened after the game Sunday night. Then they said you were in hospital and…you’re a girl?”

I nodded. “Last time I checked yep”

“No I mean” She lowered her voice. “You were a boy before?”

I nodded. “Medical condition”

I decided to go with the lie. I mean Amber knew some of it already but the lie could really work. It would explain some things while being an explanation for others. Like how I was seemingly in a boy’s locker room and on the boys soccer team. The whole “well they thought I was a boy but it turned out I wasn’t really” thing could really work for me.

I gave her a quick explanation of it all.

She gave me another hug.

“That explains so much now,” she said, nodding.

“It was a bit of shock to all of us”

“Your boobs?” she asked, looking at the very noticeable bumps on my chest.

“Most of it padding”

I’d have to tell a few more lies to work this. Breasts just did not grow as fast as mine did so they’d have to be “padding” until I could safely reveal my “true” ones.

“My hair is extensions too,” I quickly added.

That had also grown too fast.

A few little lies, no harm in that.

“So does this mean that you’ll let us teach you how to be a cheerleader now?”

Crap I’d forgotten all about that.

That first practice was nearly two weeks ago. It felt like a lifetime ago. I guess in some small way it actually was. I hadn’t really given it much thought, though. I mean I did have fun. There was just a lot of other things on my mind then and now. I didn’t hate the idea actually but I think I needed more time to figure things out first.

“Maybe,” I said, hoping it was a vague enough answer.

She nodded. “So are you shopping?”

“Just finished,” I said, sad at her look of disappointment.”I was going to hit Claire’s though. Get my ears pierced. You want to come along?”

She practically beamed at that. She took my hand and dragged me over. Ok dragged is a strong word, more like aggressively led me there. She seemed to know the twenty-something girl behind the counter because they talked like old friends. Amber explained the situation---about my ears, no my medical thing. The girl didn’t seem to care. I was apparently the right age that most girls got their ears pierced actually.

The piercing itself wasn’t that bad.

I was surprised how quick and painless it was.

I was now the proud owner of two little fake diamond studs.

Amber helped me pick out a couple more pairs then a really cute gold chain.

“So I was meaning to ask,” I said as we left the store. “Why aren’t you in school?”

“It’s a Girl’s Day”

Is this something I should know about?

“What’s that?” I asked.

She lowered her voice. “I was feeling really shitty this morning---you know my time of the month. Me and the other girls started calling it a Girl’s Day. So whenever we start, we always take the first day off”

I nodded understanding. I understood for other reasons as well.

I was dreading my first Girl’s Day.

“I don’t even want to think about it,” I said, shuddering.

“Can you have?”

I nodded. “Full girl. I can have babies and everything”

“Wow. That must have been an eye opener”

“Yeah, shocked the hell out me”

“I can only imagine”

We changed subjects as we went to find a bench. This was the spot Sara told me to wait for her at. As we sat, Amber wanted to know what I was going to do for school. I told her what I knew but of course, I’d know more after Monday morning. Legally I knew my rights. The school district had laws about transgendered students and the like. There was a great tolerance plan in the books on it. Though I wasn’t exactly transgendered, I had a pretty good idea that that was how they were going to treat this. Emily seemed to think she could get more. I was a girl now. Her hope was that I would be treated as if I’d always been that way just with a “misdiagnosis” at birth.

We talked a little more until Sara arrived.

Amber and I stood up together to greet her.

“So you have my cell number right?” she asked, I nodded. “Good, I’m gonna call you tomorrow night. Let me know if you want to do practice again, ok?”

I nodded.

She gave me another hug.

“It was so nice to meet you again, Christy”

She left after that.

“Practice?” asked my sister, giving me an evil look.

“Don’t even?” I said.

Sara laughed; I gave her a little shove and then took off for the exit.

Talking to Amber at the mall made me realize one very important thing.

I had a lot of catching up to do.

I avoided my cell the whole time I was in the hospital, even after they gave it back to me. I knew I had a lot of texts and voice mails but I wasn’t really in the mood to explain things. They were still there when I got home last night and they were definitely still there when I got back from shopping. Putting them off or ignoring them didn’t help me any either. So after getting home and putting all my new stuff away, I set about taking a look. The first several were from Sunday of course, mainly people trying to see if I was all right. Monday’s messages were much of the same. The ones from Tuesday were a bit more frantic.

It was there that people realized I was in the hospital.

Several of the messages were from John and Kate. I had a few from Greg. I noticed more than a few from Dan as well. I smiled at that. The messages seemed to peter out on Wednesday though. They stopped coming from Kate after she visited. Then she never visited again. I’d like to say I was mad about that but I knew how much she hated hospitals. It was connected to her mother so I understand that completely. I was just happy that she even showed once. I was a little annoyed that she was the only one, though.

Yesterday there were no messages.

I checked my email next.

It was all pretty much the same.

I read what I could but got tired of the same so I deleted a lot of it. Hey, I’m not being heartless but tired of reading the same stuff over and over again.

An hour later, I was done.

Absolutely exhausting.

Now I needed to make the phone calls.

The first one on my list was Kate.

She answered on the second ring.

“Hey,” I said, there was a long silence.

“Wow,” she finally said with a laugh. “Took me a second to realize this strange girl calling me out of the blue was you”

“I’m using my cell”

She laughed. “Sorry just not used to connecting that voice to you”

I knew the feeling.

“It’s different,” I said, we both laughed.

“So,” she said, “How’s girlhood treating you so far?”

“Good. Went shopping today, got lots of clothes, had my ears pierced”

“Damnit”

“What?”

“I wanted to be there for that” she actually whined.

“Sorry”

“Can you do it again?”

“Do what again?”

“The ear piercing thing. I missed it. I want to be there”

“Kate, I only have two ear lobes. I can’t exactly have them pierce them again”

“Of course, you can!”

I knew exactly what she was thinking. After all, she had three piercings in each of her ears. She also had a ring through her left eyebrow.

“Ummm yeah not happening”

“Oh c’mon” She whined again.

Since when did she turn into such a whiner?

She spent the next few minutes whining some more and trying to convince me to at least get one more in each ear.

I didn’t cave.

I decided to change the subject. “So how are things?”

“Boring,” she said, “school is dull without you. I had to sit by myself in class and in lunch and I had to listen to those three nerds talk about stupid stuff”

“Oh poor you”

“I’m giving you the finger right now”

I laughed. “So what’s the verdict on me?”

“Well everyone knows by now you’re in the hospital. Thanks for letting me know you got out by the way.”

Oops.

“Anyway, there’s some interesting theories about what happened. None of them close to the truth. It’s going to be fun when that comes out” she said then paused for a moment. “What is the plan for that anyways?”

“Medical condition,” I said and quickly told her the company line.

“You think that will work?”

I shrugged. “We’re meeting with the school people on Monday. Hopefully, if things go well, I’ll be back in school on Tuesday”

“So how’s your Mom?”

Ah, the elephant in the room.

“How do you think?”

“That bad huh?”

I quickly told her about what little I saw of her over the week then about the incident in Emily’s office. She thought it was awesome that Emily actually threatened to fire her. When I got to the part about my grandfather, Kate was ecstatic.

“I never thought he had it in him,” she said, impressed.

“Yeah, surprised me too”

“So you think your Mom will play nice?”

“Doubtful”

We talked a bit about how my Mom was cracked then I had to ask about the boys. I almost said “other boys” but realized I was no longer in that category.

“You need to call John. He feels really bad. He said you had a bit of a tiff before the game. He somehow thinks whatever happened is his fault”

Shit.

“I told him everything. He got a little annoyed at me when I told him I wasn’t going to see a doctor about it”

“No problem there anymore,” she said laughing.

‘What about Greg?”

“Neither John nor I knew what to say. I think most of the school thinks your appendix burst or something. We were going with that”

Wow, that’s going to be fun.

“Hey guys it wasn’t’ my appendix, just my manhood”

“Hey,” she said, after another moment of silence. “Snap a pic of yourself and send it my way”

“Why?”

“I want to know if I should be jealous”

I groaned. I spun my phone around and took a quick selfie. I felt like such an idiot. I sent it to her anyway, though.

“You bitch,” she said after a few secs.

She laughed though so it was all good.

“Seriously, though, you look so different.”

“Really?”

“Ok so maybe you still look like you but a girl you. Does that make any sense?”

“I think so”

“Ok so I see some Hannah in there a bit and some Sara but it’s mostly you. Just a softer, more feminine looking you”

“I was feminine enough”

“Not like this, though”

Well, that’s comforting.

“So you want to hang tomorrow?” she asked, jumping to another topic. “Hit the strips, do some window shopping. Maybe blow some of that birthday cash of yours?”

More shopping?

“You’re ok with that?”

“It’s Saturday. What else is there to do in boring town?”

She was right about that.

So we made our plans. She’d be by about ten in the morning or so. She said she’d arrange a ride. We’d hit the stores, maybe get some lunch afterward. Exactly what I did today with Sara. Except this time, it would be with Kate. As much as I loved going out with my sister today, I was really looking forward to tomorrow. After we made our plans, I let her go.

I thought about calling John but decided against it.

I did text him real quick, though.

OUT OF HOSPITAL. FINE NOW. TTYL---C.

Simple and to the point. I shut my cell off before I got a reply. I didn’t want to be one of those girls, you know waiting around for that text. I hated those girls. I went to the computer after that, replied to some of my emails then hit the Xbox. I groaned when I saw my gamertag---Lazerguy26. Hey, I made it when I was ten all right. It was stupid and pointless now, though. I decided to leave it be and made a new account. I would have to replay all my games again but I didn’t care. I was planning to get a One anyways.

Setting up a new profile was a pain in the ass, though.

New Tag too.

PixieSoccerGirl.

I liked it.

I spent the rest of the night jumping from one multiplayer session to another. I learned something important too. When guys found out you were actually a female gamer, they could be real scumbags. It got especially worse when I kicked most of their asses. I ended up reporting more people than I’d ever reported before. A couple of them ended up on my Ignore list. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was safe to shower with bleach afterwards.

Guys were pigs.

Yeah, I said it.

I’m glad I’m not one of them anymore.

Yeah, I said that too.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note:And Welcome to Ch.2. I saw it was a rather slow Sunday as far as chapter postings, So I decided to put this up today as a nice treat. We'll get to see some of her friends react to the brand new Christy in this chapter. I think there might be a surprise or two there.

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2:

“Now you’re getting it,” said Sara, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

We were sitting in front of her mirror. She had just spent the last ten minutes giving me another crash course in makeup. After a few do over’s, I was finally getting the hang of it I guess. I’d done this before of course. When they gave me that crash course back for Halloween. According to her, though, that was rudimentary. It was Mom and her telling a boy how to do makeup on a boy’s face. Sure it was a very feminine boy’s face but a boy’s face nonetheless. Things were different now. For one thing, I didn’t need all that concealer and other tricks to make myself look more feminine.

Simple and light was the key.

I liked what I was seeing.

“You sure you don’t need me to drive you?” asked Sara, for the umpteenth time.

“No,” I said, capping the eyeliner and picking up the lip-gloss. “Mr. Duncan is gonna take us”

I applied the gloss like a pro.

Satisfied, I smiled and left the vanity.

My sister followed me back into my room where my new coat was waiting. It was too cold now for the moto jacket which was a shame. It was a funny thing about that jacket. I thought for sure it was a men’s jacket until I tried it on and it fit like a glove. Sara confessed after that. Mom had been too busy with work and asked her to pick it out. Of course, sis knew about my changes and got me a jacket appropriate for my new body. Mom however never noticed. She never really noticed things like that, too preoccupied with herself to care.

My other new coat was something Sara bought me last night.

An item we forgot on our shopping excursion.

It was a lot like my coats I had before with a few exceptions. One it was cut for a slimmer body and two it had a large faux fur lined hood. It was warm, though, with these nice fleece cuffs. I had a pair of these fur lined leather gloves to go with it and one of those bands girls liked to wear just to cover my ears. I’m not sure where Sara was getting the money but I really needed her to stop. She only got minimum wages at the gift shop but I knew she was spending a fortune. I just for the life of me couldn’t figure out where said fortune was coming from. Sara had no money left from Dad; she spent all of it on the car. So where were the expendable funds flowing in from?

Kate interrupted me asking.

“Hey, where are you guys?” she shouted from downstairs.

Once again, she let herself in.

“We really need to lock those doors,” said Sara, rolling her eyes.

We both laughed and met up with Kate at the bottom of the stairs. Well, Sara did anyways. I was still descending when Kate just popped up.

“Jesus” she mumbled as I came down them. “I feel like a shlub now”

She wasn’t a slub, far from it. She was wearing her usual except now her leather jacket was over a hoodie. I did have to wonder how she kept warm in those skirts of hers, though. I mean she was wearing leggings but still she had to be freezing. There was snow on the ground after all now. It had been steadily snowing for the last couple of days. It was official, winter was here. Kate, it would seem didn’t get the memo.
“You’re not a slub,” I said.

“Whatever you say Princess”

“Well if I’m the Princess,” I said, putting on a snobbish tone. “Then peasant you may carry my bag”

I held out my new purse to her, holding it by the strap like I was too privileged to bother.

“As you wish, highness,” she said, giving me an elaborate bow.

We both laughed. I slung the purse over my shoulder and we hugged.

Yeah, I had a purse now. A hand-me-down from Sara but all mine now.

The purse was weird. I’m not sure I was ever going to get used to that. I mean before I just carried things in my pockets. Then again, I never really had to carry much just my wallet, maybe some loose change and my house keys. Now I had to carry all that plus some makeup, tissues and other feminine products, including a brush. I was a little embarrassed though last night when Sara threw a couple of her pads in there. It got even more embarrassing when afterward she showed me how to use one.

I’m a girl now with all the bells and whistles to go with it.

“You have enough money?” asked Sara as Kate and I went to the door.

“Yes mother,” I said in a mocking but sincere tone.

She gave me a shove. I gave her a hug and the two of us left the house. I started down the walk when I noticed her Dad’s pickup a bit full this morning. I mentioned that Kate had brothers right? Well, Sam was behind the wheel, I was used to him. What I wasn’t really used to was Brian. He was a few years younger than us, fifth grade I think. He’d always been a little pest to us before. Following us around, trying to be with the “cool” older kids. Now it seemed things had not changed.

“Sorry,” she said as we approached. “Dad had to work. Sam was the only one who could drive us and we couldn’t leave Brian”

I nodded.

More band-aid time.

When I approached the car, neither boy was really paying attention. Sam was listening to his iPod, Brian was plugging away at his Nintendo DS. It was Sam who noticed first. He turned toward us as we approached the truck. The look on his face was priceless. The last time I saw him had been that day in the kitchen, the first time I’d shown up at Kate’s in a couple of months. I had only really started to change back then but I looked pretty much like a boy then. Now I was all girl and the look of shock on Sam’s face was pretty evident.

“Holy shit,” he said as we got into the truck.

Kate got up front with her brother; I got into the back with Brian.

Brian looked at me and looked confused.

“I thought we were getting Chris?” he asked, looking at me like I was some kind of alien.

“That is Chris, dumbo” his sister said.

Brian looked at me closer. I smiled, his eyes only got bigger.

“Shit,” he said.

“Watch your mouth!” both his siblings snapped at the same time.

I noticed the truck still hadn’t moved, though. Sam kept shooting me glances in the rearview, ones that I wasn’t sure how to react too. Kate seemed to notice though and smacked him. That seemed to break him out of whatever stupor he was in because he started the vehicle after that. I did feel a little uncomfortable all of a sudden, though. Not from Sam’s constant looks, though, it was Brian. He stopped playing his game and definitely wasn’t hiding the fact that he was staring at me.

“So you’re a girl now?”

Kate answered for me. “Not now dumbass, always has been”

I think she was taking the initiative to use my cover story.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“I have a medical condition,” I said, realizing I’d have to get used to explaining it. “When I was born they thought I was a boy but I was actually a girl”

He gave me a strange look. “How is that possible? I mean boys just don’t turn into girls, do they?”

That’s what I wanted to know.

“She wasn’t a boy. She’s always been a girl”

“Doctors are stupid,” he said and finally went back to his game.

He did shoot me a smile, though.

I think I was going to be ok in his book.

I thanked God that I didn’t have a little brother. Not that I didn’t want one, I was just trying to figure out how all of this might have affected him. I was still afraid how it was going to affect my older one. Sara told me she’d been telling Ken everything but so far he didn’t bother to reach out to me. I’m not sure how I wanted to take that. Was it rejection or something else?

The ride to Main Street was fairly quiet after that. Though Kate finally smacked Sam hard because of his staring. The truck swerved. It was not cool.

The brothers Donovan dropped us off in front of this little ice cream shop. Then the two of them headed off to their movie.

“You tell Dave yet?”

“Not yet”

Dave was her older brother. He was the same age as Ken. Ken and Dave were best friends. It was actually through Dave that Kate seemed to come into my life. Like my brother, he was off in college too. Unlike Ken, though, he couldn’t afford to leave the state. He was going to a state school, learning to be a cop I think. At least that’s what Kate said. Kate’s parents were not all that different than mine except they were older. Her folks had Dave in their twenties. Then proceeded to have kids every few years afterward. Then sadly her mother got sick. Kate always used to say she was her “mother’s pride and joy” When her Mom died, I think Kate and Brian got the short end of the stick.

I mean Kate was six, Brian was only three.

One of these days I knew I’d have to get her to talk about her Mom.

Kate was an avoider, though.

“So girl friend,” she said, emphasizing the girl part. “Where do you want to go first?”

I shrugged. “The Princess shall follow her servant”

“As you wish my lady”

We laughed again then hit the shops.

We didn’t really buy anything. At least Kate didn’t. She, however, seemed bound and determined to get me to buy things. We hit a lot of the little boutiques. After the second one, it became very clear to me that Kate had an ulterior motive on this little trip of ours. She wanted me to be her personal doll. I’m not exactly sure how I felt about it either. She kept throwing outfits at me, wanting me to try them on but not bothering to try anything on herself. We were in the third or fourth shop when I’d had enough.

“What the hell is this?” I asked, holding the most recent outfit she handed me.

“It’s a dress,” she said.

It was a nice one too. I’d seen a lot of girls at school wear them. A skater’s dress I think they were called. This one was a light blue.

“I know what this is,” I said, holding up the article of clothing. “I was referring to all the clothes and junk”

“Its two girls shopping?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s one girl shopping and other one taking great pleasure out of said shopping girl doing it. What the hell is going on?”

Kate had been smiling before but as soon as I snapped, her smile evaporated. It was replaced by a look I’d never seen on her before. That look was followed by tears and before I knew what was happening, she was out of the store. Cursing, I threw down the dress and rushed after her. The sales woman shouted something at me but I ignored her. I found my friend sitting on a bench a few stores down, crying. I approached her slowly, dropping down next to her. I put my arm around her, pulling her into a hug. I let her cry it out, waiting for her to tell me what was wrong.

“Its I’m sorry ok,” she said, still teary-eyed. “I…the other girls…they don’t like me”

“That’s not true,” I said, not really believing it myself actually.

Kate came off strong. She’d always been that way, though. It was one of the reasons she got along with the boys so well. Looking at her now something dawned on me. She might have gotten along well with said boys but it was clear she didn’t really want too. Sure, she did the same things we did but I think that’s what happens when you have three brothers and only a father to raise you. Kate was a girl after all and girls needed to be with other girls too. Something else occurred to me too. Us cutting her off, I think it was more her letting us go then the other way around.

At least trying and failing.

“You want to talk about it?”

She wiped her tears. “When you guys ditched me, it hurt. It hurt really bad. I thought there was something wrong with me you know. I cried for days. My Dad didn’t know what to do; my brothers definitely didn’t know what to do. It was Cindy and my aunt that seemed to pull me out of things. That’s why they took me on vacation. I think they thought if I spent some time around them that I might feel better. I did too. Then I met Chloe and she was awesome. Everything was good”

I nodded. “What changed then?”

“I got back to school,” she said sadly. “I thought that I could make new friends, girl friends. I tried but all of them were scared of me. They knew me only as K.C. and I tried to change that. I started calling myself Kate; I quit soccer and other sports. I started dressing more like a girl but nothing seemed to work. Then I saw you at the dance, dressed like that. It surprised the hell out of me. When we started talking again, I thought what the hell why bother. This is where my true friend was. I had you guys back, I had you back”

I gave her another hug.

“When I noticed your boobs growing, I freaked,” she said, sniffling. “I know I’m a horrible person. Then I got to thinking. If you were a girl---like me---then I’d have what I was missing. So I pushed you”

“No, you didn’t!”

She nodded. “Yes, I did. I shouldn’t have but I really wanted too. I was being a selfish bitch about it. I wanted so bad to have a real girl friend I thought that if I could somehow make you into her, even a little bit…”

Wow.

“Then when you started to change…I thought…I thought…”

She started to cry again. I held her, letting her sob into my shoulder.

“You thought you caused this?” I asked softly.

“I prayed to God every night for a friend, a girl friend,” she sobbed. “Then you started changing…”

“Kate,” I said, holding her shoulders gently. “You didn’t cause this”

She wiped her eyes. “You’re sure?”

I nodded. “The doctors don’t know what’s going on but it wasn’t you.”

“You were a boy…”

“And now I’m a girl. I’m happy like this”

“You are?”

“Yes,” I said truthfully. “It was a little surprising at first but I’ve accepted it. Let’s be honest here too besides the soccer and video games, I wasn’t much of a boy to begin with”

She didn’t argue.

Just what I needed.

“I’m still a bitch,” she said finally, though.

“Why?”

“Well after we both realized there was probably no going back, all I could think about was myself and how I got my wish. I had this girl friend now, the one I always wanted. Then I started to get scared you might not want to be friends with me. So I started doing things with you that most girls did together”

I sighed. “That’s why you wanted to go shopping?” She nodded. “You hate shopping!”

“I know!” she said, laughing through her tears.

I hugged her again.

“Kate all girls are different. You don’t have to force yourself to be someone you don’t want to be. You can be KC if you want or you can be Kate or Katie or even Katherine”

She made a face at the last name, which got us both laughing.

“It doesn’t matter who you are,” I continued. “I’m still going to be your friend. Your best friend if you’ll have me?”

She nodded then hugged me this time. I started crying a bit after that.

When we were done, I realized we were both probably quite the sight.

“C’mon, we look like raccoons” I pulled her up from the bench.

We went into the nearest shop and made our way to the bathroom. Kate watched me with interest as I reapplied my makeup like a pro. She was stunned a bit, I noticed.

“You really are a girl aren’t you?” she asked with a smirk.

“And proud of it!” I said with a giggle.

“Thanks, Chris,” she said as we left the bathroom.

I realized something else too. I think I knew who Chris needed to be. Sure I was Christy but that was just a nickname after all. It was a name that had also been thrust upon me. I liked it but it still needed something more.

“Christine,” I said with a smile. “I think I like Christine”

“Ok,” she said, stretching the “k” out a bit. “Is it ok if I still call you Christy, though. Because Christine sounds like the name of a bitch”

She laughed, I gave her a shove.

The sales woman in the store gave us a nasty look which only caused us to laugh more.

We weren’t two enemies, though.

We were two best girl friends.

Now and forever.

The shopping trip ended about an hour later in front of Leo’s, a local pizza joint that a lot of teenagers favored.

We were standing outside the door but had yet to go inside. I was seemingly frozen in place. I had one shopping bag in hand and a lot of butterflies in my stomach. We went back to that shop---the one where she had her breakdown. I bought that dress. It was just too damn cute and it looked amazing on me. Surprisingly Kate bought one too. Though hers was black and she planned to accessorize the hell out of it with skulls or something, it was cool she bought one. Maybe together the two of us could find and embrace our inner girly girl.

One thing we also had to face together.

Social situations.

Kate grabbed my hand.

“You want to eat somewhere else?”

I shook my head. “We have to do this eventually,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze.

It was a Saturday afternoon and of course, Leo’s was packed. It was always packed on Saturdays after all. This time was no different except everyone inside. Half of them were classmates, the other half an assortment of kids from Huntington and Prescott. Outside of school and social circles, Leo’s was a good place to mingle. It didn’t matter your social status or standing in there. It was like the Teen UN, all were welcome. I just couldn’t help but wonder how these “ambassadors” were going to respond to me.

Well, Just Roll With it.

Kate went in first, I followed shortly behind.

No one reacted.

I mean some people looked at us but only because they somewhat recognized us but no one said anything. We got into line, ordered our food then managed to snag one of the booths. A real score for us considering how sought after they were. I couldn’t help but feel there were eyes on me, though, like everyones. I glanced over at a group of girls from our school. They were Becky’s friends I think. One of them was Carla Jones; she was in my math class. She caught me looking---gave me a strange one in return---but went back to talking to her friends like I was nothing.

A moment later though, another girl at the table looked at us.

“Ummm, why is the Barbie Patrol looking at us?”

Kate called Becky’s friends the “Barbie Patrol” because most of them were blonde.

Like Carla and the other girl---Marcie---I think her name was.

Like me too I might add.

“I was kinda being nervous,” I said “you know looking around. I saw them, Carla saw me see them and now…”

Carla and Marcie’s looking was apparently contagious because the two other girls at the table were looking too. I cursed and nearly lost it. I could after all only see Carla and Marcie because they were facing me. The other two girls at the table had their backs to us so I only saw heads. However as soon as one of the heads turned, I wanted to die.

It was Becky.

And why wouldn’t it be, she didn’t go anywhere without them.

I locked eyes with her and she knew.

I could see the recognition on her face.

“Let’s leave now!” I said, getting up.

“Why?”

“Because Becky just realized who I was,” I said, trying to bolt but Kate grabbed my wrist.

“Oh no you don’t,” she said “we have to do this. Now or later, you can’t run from these people”

She was right of course.

I sat back down and sure enough Becky was coming over. I wanted to crawl under the table and never come out. Hey, it was a nice restaurant, I’m sure the owner wouldn’t mind a teenage girl living here.

“Hey guys,” said Becky, looking at me strangely.

“Barbie,” said Kate with a sneer.

“Becks,” I said then silently cursed myself.

“Chris” she gasped. “It really is you!”

I nodded. “In the flesh”

“What the hell happened?”

She quickly waved her friends over. Great, more Barbies. Somehow they thought it was an invitation because they slipped into our booth where they could. Kate gave me a look so I knew how she was enjoying it. There wasn’t enough room so two of the girls had to sit at the nearby table. All of them were looking at me. When Becky said “She is Chris” that got them to look even more. Begrudgingly and probably not for the last time, I told them the lie. I was getting pretty good at telling it now though so at least that was a plus.

“Wait so you’re a girl?” asked Becky.

I nodded. “Yep”

“How can that be,” she said then blushed. “We used to bathe together when we were little. You had a little thing, I saw it”

“It wasn’t real,” said Kate “at least not in the sense you think. It was more like an extension of things down there”

She made a gesture to her groin area.

Where in the hell did she learn that?

The girls seemed to nod. Becky nodded too but she was making a face as well. Not a good one either I noticed. And there was the first. I think I saw it as soon as she realized who I was. It was the disgust. Not quite the same as my mother’s---Becky hid hers better---but it was there nonetheless. Her friends didn’t have it I’m surprised to say but she sure did. She kept looking at me then looked away. She was reading me, though, I could tell. I knew then too. I knew from that moment I could no longer consider her a friend.

The girl I once liked now hated me.

Her loss.

Kate and I tried our best to be civil with the Barbies but we really weren’t in that crowd. After about five minutes or so, the novelty of me wore off and they went back to their table. I was glad to have them gone. I was especially glad Becky was gone too. I hated the false way she seemed to be “okay” with me when she clearly wasn’t. Looking at her, I remembered something too, something insignificant until now. Our mothers were friends, did a lot together---including going to that group together.

Unlike me and my siblings, apparently Becky believed the bull.

I felt sad for her.

“Well that was shit,” said Kate sadly. “You had a thing for her right?”

“Emphasis on had,” I said and she gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“Well fuck her”

We both agreed then and there that if someone couldn’t accept me for me then they weren’t worth our time. I didn’t choose to be like this but I was going to chose to live like this. I was a girl now and if people couldn’t accept it then they weren’t really my friends after all.

Our pizza arrived and we tried to put it past us. The two of us were back to having a good time. I did notice that Becky left soon after talking to us. She was the only one, though. Her friends were still there. Carla looked at me and mouthed “sorry”. I think she knew. It was hard not to. It was nice of her, though, I mean to show some genuine concern. I tried to not think about it. It helped that Kate was distracting me. She already had another trip planned. She wanted to see if someone could take us to the Galleria to do some serious shopping. She’d even let me get her into some things I picked out. I liked the idea of it even if I didn’t really know what I was doing.

We finished our pizza a little after that. Of course, we had to get a box to take the leftovers. We both agreed to give them to Sam for driving us. While Kate was calling him on her cell, I noticed three familiar fools walking our way.

I cursed.

Greg, Brad and John.

Apparently, I was already replaced. I mean I knew Brad was getting chummy with the two of them, I just never thought he’d downright replace me. I was wondering why neither of them had been around much lately when I called. Now I knew why. I was a little pissed. I say a little because I realized I’d been doing pretty much the same to them except with Kate. She and I had been spending a lot more time together, time that I usually spent hanging with them. Not that we really did much together---me and the boys---besides just playing games. Lately, it was a lot of listening to them talk about which girls they wanted to date and that crap.

Nothing I could really join in.

Seeing them now together---the three of them---made me peeved.

It also made me really nervous.

Sure John knew about me but he’d seen me at the game. A me that was a lot different than the me now. Greg and Brad, of course, had no idea.

The worst part was they were heading our way. I was hoping they wouldn’t notice us but of course, John saw Kate. He was still hung up on her, it was sad really.

“Hey Kate,” he said as she finished her call.

“Hey guys,” she said, looking a bit surprised and nervous.

“”Hey,” said Greg and Brad.

Both of them were looking at me strangely.

“Who’s your friend?” asked John, giving me a good look.

I think it dawned on him a second later. I saw it in his eyes. Just like Becky, he suddenly realized who I was.

“Pixie,” he said softly.

Not soft enough though because Greg, of course, twigged on it.

“No fucking way,” he said, giving me a look.

A Becky look.

Shit.

“So this is what you’ve been doing?” he asked, clearly disgusted. “This is why you can’t hang with us anymore. Because you’re out traipsing around in a dress, playing girl with Kate”

“I’m not playing anything”

“Yeah,” said John defensively. “She is a girl”

“She?” asked Greg. “What, he has you calling him a girl now?”

“She is a girl,” said Kate, clarifying.

“I was misdiagnosed at birth…” I started to say, giving Greg the same talk.

“Bull shit,” he snapped, really angry.

“Bull nothing” snapped Kate.

Greg wasn’t buying it. “You’re either a guy or a girl. You can’t be both and you can’t decide you want to be one or the other”

“She didn’t decide,” said John, coming to my defense again. “This was how she was born. She didn’t even know it until puberty started”

Greg didn’t seem to be listening anymore.

“Bull shit” he snapped again, angrier than before.

He started to push past us, really pissed off. In the process, he gave me a shove. I nearly fell over from being caught off guard in my converse heels. Kate reacted of course. She shoved him back, angrily I might add. When he balled up a fist, aiming toward me I was surprised when Brad grabbed his arm. I was even more surprised when Greg was on the ground a moment later, eating pavement. It had been so fast. I never even saw Brad move. Brad was on top of him now too, a knee in the back of Greg’s neck.

“You owe the lady an apology,” he snapped, angry.

“That’s not a lady”

“Apologize now!”

Brad grounded his knee into Greg’s shoulder blades. Sam apparently arrived in the middle of the scene. He saw what was going on and got out of the truck. At the sign of our apparent distress, he got Greg away from Brad. Not to help him up of course.

“Did you touch my sister you little punk?” he asked, grabbing the front of Greg’s shirt and lifting him a couple of inches off the ground.

Greg looked like he was about to piss himself.

“Sam we’re fine,” said Kate, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Sam let go of Greg but gave him a shove, away from us.

“Start walking and if you go anywhere near these two girls again, you better wish my sister is there to stop me”

Greg took off. Brad and John I noticed didn’t follow.

Both of them apologized for how stupid Greg had been. I just wanted to leave. I thanked them and Sam for the help. I was starting to feel the tears though and didn’t want them to see me cry. Kate caught on and told the boys we had to go.

“See you later” I managed as I got into the truck.

Sam was alone this time. I was happy for that because I didn’t want to cry in front of Brian either. As it was, Kate got into the back seat with me. The tears didn’t start to flow until we were pulling away, the boys in our rearview. Kate wrapped me in a hug and held me as I cried.
Two friends.

I’d lost two of them today.

How in the hell was I supposed to Roll with that?

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here we are again, another week, another new chapter. Something happens in this chapter that people have been asking for so I hope it pleases people when it happens. I think I might have to slow down posting or write faster because I only have one more finished chapter after this written lol.

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3:

“I can’t believe I’m wearing this”.

I was in Sara’s room, standing once again in front of that giant mirror of hers. I’d really have to get one of my own. As it was now, though, I was safe in the fact that she even let me use it. What I wasn’t safe with was what I was currently wearing. I’ve avoided wearing dresses for the simple reason that it felt like a “point of no return” for me. Sure I owned a few thanks to my shopping excursions with both Sara and Kate. I loved the dresses I bought but they were just that---something I bought. I never actually thought about wearing them.

That is until last night.

I came to the realization that I’d missed church two weeks in a row already. The first weekend was because of that cheer practice I got roped into. Then I was in the hospital for the next one. The latter was unavoidable of course but this week I had no excuse. I wanted to show grandpa and the others that I wasn’t afraid either. I knew the road ahead was going to be tough but I wanted to get in front of this now. Most of my fellow classmates would be at church, it was a good time to show those who already didn’t know that this was who I am now.

Chris is gone, Christy here to stay.

Yesterday had solidified things for me in that regard.

After my run-ins with both Greg and Becky, I cried myself home. I cried for a while afterward too. Then I came to a decision. Well two of them actually. The first was that I wasn’t going to ever let jerks make me cry again. The second decision was bigger, though. I decided that I was going to get ahead of this thing before nasty rumors started to spread. Church was the perfect place to do so. If people still had problems with it then that was their problem. Narrow-minded idiots were always going to be that way and very little could change that.

I needed to be me now.

And the me I needed to be had to wear a dress.

This dress.

Sara bought it for me last night when I told her my decision. Unfortunately, I’d have to face the music alone. Sara had to work today. It was ok, though, I had to do this alone. Why I had to wear something this girly was beyond me, though. According to my sister, it was a cap sleeve dress---something she said I’d have to learn. It was white with tiny black polka dots, a black tie sash, and collar. The skirt went to my knees, very suitable for church. She had me pair it with some white stockings and heels. It was supposed to show everyone who I was and that I wasn’t afraid to be me now.

The me I wanted to be had to wear this dress.

It had its advantages I suppose.

I did look good in it at least.

Hey if I had to wear this then I better look good in it.

Ok, that sounds shallow but I needed shallow right now. After dealing with yesterday’s shitty friends, I needed shallow to make me feel better.

“You’re pretty, you look good and no one can make you feel bad today”

I nodded to myself in the mirror.

As if on cue, there was a knock on my door. I heard my mother’s voice a moment later, calling from my bedroom. Mom and I hadn’t spoken at all since the incident in the hospital. She was apparently doing what she did best---throwing herself into her work. We briefly crossed paths last night when she asked me if I was going to church. When I said I was, I got only the slightest of nods before she retired to her room to hide. If not working, she was always there. Hiding. To add to it was the fact that neither Mom nor Sara were speaking again. Mom seemed to blame Sara for what happened at the hospital. It was after all my sister who called my grandfather in. It had the desired effect at the time but I think Sara thought it would do more. I could tell she and Mom had words about it too. I could always tell when they fought and tried to hide it from me. There was this charge in the air whenever the two of them were in the same vicinity.

That charge was still lingering.

“What are you doing?”

Mom was now standing behind me, dressed for church. Her dress wasn’t all that different than mine actually except much more mature. It was strange how she dressed---like a grandma---when she was so young. I understood that it was church but even the Moms older than her didn’t dress like that.

“Just finishing up,” I said, taking one final look in the mirror.

“What on Earth are you wearing!”

I heard it in her tone. Anyone who wasn’t a zombie would be able to recognize that tone. I saw it on her face too. It was the look. The same one she gave me in the hospital. The same one from the office later too. It was a look that no mother should ever give her child. It was one of contempt but I wasn’t going to let it get to me. She’d made it very clear what she thought of me. I was just going to have to make it clear to her what I thought of her.

“What is it the wrong color?” I asked, feigning a frown.

I started to preen, knowing what it was going to do.

I wanted my mother to finally see. I wanted her to know. Chris was gone. I accepted it and she needed to as well.

“Get that off this instant!” she snapped.

She stormed into the room. She made a grab for me but stopped midway, probably second guessing her actions. After all, she was the one who used to pay for my martial arts lessons. Not that I’d ever hurt her. She was my mother after all, even if at the moment she was the biggest stranger in the world to me. I knew she was going to react badly to all of this but I never in a million years thought she’d treat me with such disdain and pure hatred. When we looked at one another I could tell she no longer saw me as anything but the abomination she thought I was.

I’d been a coward about it before too.

Hiding behind the doctors or even my grandfather.

And Sara.

Letting others fight for me.

No longer.

This was my fight. I needed to make her see that I was her daughter now and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.

“You think everyone at church would like it if I showed up in my underwear?”

“I think everyone in church---God included---would like it if you showed up as the boy you were born to be”

I scoffed. I wondered when God was going to come into this.

Now who was the coward?

“I think God knows I’m no longer a boy, Mom”

It was the wrong thing to say.

“Who are you to speak for God”

“Who are you to speak for him either!”

This time, she did go for me. She grabbed my arm, digging her nails into it. She dragged me out of Sara’s room, through our bathroom and back into mine. I was surprised by the gesture. My mother wasn’t a violent person. Sure she liked to yell and she carried a grudge like no one’s business. But I’d never seen her hit any of us. She and Sara got into some really nice ones, huge screaming matches but neither of them ever touched one another. Grabbing me now, Mom had escalated things to a whole new level. A dangerous threshold that once passed would never be able to be undone.

I think she realized it too.

She let me go as soon as we got into my room. It was a bit of a shove, causing me to stumble in my heels. Thankfully I caught the bed with my knees. After saving myself from disaster, I spun around, ready for a fight. Mom acted as if nothing happened. In fact, she was in my closet, looking through my clothes.

“Where are your good church clothes?”

She was rifling through my wardrobe. My new wardrobe, the one Sara and I had been building for the last week or so. I was proud of those clothes. It was strange the journey life had thrown at me. A few weeks ago, I was Chris, a fairly happy twelve-year-old boy without a care in the world well except for the whole slightly feminine thing. Now I was Christy, a well adjusted and very happy thirteen year old. Sure there were still bumps but I was learning to accept this life now. It was me and I was happy. The only one in the room that apparently wasn’t was my mother.

“I’m wearing my good church clothes,” I said defiantly.

“You’re wearing a dress and you look ridiculous” she snapped.

Had she finally lost her mind?

“What am I suppose to be wearing?”

“That nice button-down shirt and gray slacks you usually wear”

She had lost her mind.

“I can’t wear those anymore”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m a girl”

Mom stopped looking through my closet. She turned around and looked at me. I think she really looked at me. I saw it too, the real her, at least for a moment. The chink in the armor was gone and my mother was staring back at me, at her daughter. It was gone in a flash, though, replaced by whoever it was that she was pretending to be
.
“I know what you think you are but it’s nonsense. You’re my son. I’ve let you have your little game, I let the hospital have their little game but now it’s over. You will find your good church clothes and tomorrow we’ll go to a different doctor. Then the barber shop. This delusion of yours is coming to an end”

“The only delusional one here is you!”

There I said.

“How dare you!”

She swung at me, ready to slap me but this time, I was prepared. I caught her wrist in midswing, surprising both of us I think. My mother wasn’t a strong woman but she always had this presence. Maybe it was because she was so tall and beautiful but she always felt so foreboding to me. Even when we had our disagreements in the past, I never really truly fought with her. She and I used to have a very good relationship. That is when she was actually around. She’d always been a little controlling and I always used to play the good son but something happened in the last few weeks. Not just to me either. She had changed as well too.

The woman I loved---the woman who gave birth to me---was like a stranger now.

A stranger who couldn’t stand to look at me.

A stranger who I suddenly realized I didn’t want to look at either.

“Why you little…” she started but never got to finish.

“No” I snapped. “I’m talking now. I’ve put up with your bullshit for too long. This is the real world lady. Things here work differently than the tiny world you seem to live in all by yourself. I’m not sure what happened to me or why it happened but I’m going to be like this for the rest of my life. No amount of prayer or ignorance or denial is going to change things. Your son is gone. Chris is gone. I couldn’t bring him back even if I wanted too. You and I are just going to have to live with that”

There I said my piece.

I felt pretty good about it too.

The look of shock on Mom’s face was priceless too.

I was the last one left. Now I was in defiance of her will too.

So be it.

“You’re not going to church with me dressed like that,” she said, standing her ground.

“Then have fun sitting by yourself”

I didn’t plan on it but now I didn’t really feel like going anyway. Not if I was going to be with her. My grandfather would understand. I’d call him later and tell him what happened. God would understand too. I’m pretty sure he knew what was going on and he was the forgiving kind. I’d make it up to both of them as soon as I could.

Mom thankfully didn’t wait around to say anymore.

She stormed out of my room like a spoiled child. Me, I sighed and dropped heavily to my bed.

Well, that could have gone better that’s for sure.

There was this little community park a few blocks from our house. Mom used to bring me there when I was little. Dad used to as well but of course, I don’t remember that. It was one of those urban parks, you know a large stretch of green in the middle of the neighborhood. In the case of this particular park, it had a path for pedestrians, about a dozen trees, a few picnic benches and of course a playground. It was usually crowded but on this particular Sunday morning, I pretty much had it all to myself. This suited me just fine because I really didn’t want the company.

Trying to distract myself from the November chill and my bitter anger, I watched the few occupants.

There was a mother with a couple of small kids. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-five or so. I’d seen her here a few times before. This park was on the way to school. I passed by here most mornings actually. I never really did pay her much attention but today I couldn’t help but watch her. The kids were young, three or four maybe. Two little boys, I think they were twins because they looked alike. The little family was currently on the swings, the mother taking turns pushing each of her boys. A couple of weeks ago I never would have even stopped to look.

In fact, I usually just passed on by.

Today, though, there was just something about them that kept me transfixed.

Maybe it was my gender flip.

Or maybe I was just too self-absorbed before to care.

Whatever the reason now, I felt something for her.

Kindred spiritedness or something.

“Her name is Rachel,” said a voice as someone sat down on the bench next to me.

No, not someone, the other park occupant.

I knew him as well.

An older man, silver gray hair, expensive looking overcoat. I used to see him all the time too but not during the week on my way to school. Only on the weekends, on my way to and from soccer practice. If I had to guess he was a business man of some type, probably came out here before work or on his lunch break. He was rarely here during the afternoon, though. Every time I saw him he was either reading a newspaper or feeding the pigeons.

“Excuse me?’ I asked.

“The mother over there,” he said, setting his folded paper on the bench next to him. “Her name is Rachel, the two boys are Marcus and Jonathan. Their father is overseas. Every morning she brings them here, during the week her sister is with her and the two of them take turns watching the kids. On Sundays though her sister works so Rachel is all alone”

Wow.

“You must come here a lot to know all that,” I said, trying to be polite.

He nodded. “I like this park. It reminds me of the one I used to take my children too when they were small.”

“My parents used to bring me here too”

“So what brings you here today?” he asked “I usually don’t see you on Sundays. No practice?”

Wow, this guy seems to know it all.

Well, I guess that’s a given. He’s in this park every weekend so I guess he’s bound to notice things.

“Sunday is church usually”

“Not today?”

I shook my head. “I was going to go as you can see,” I said, waving my hand at the dress I was currently wearing. “My mother and I got into a fight.”

“A very determined woman your mother is,” he said, I looked at him like he was a nut which got him to chuckle. “I see her too from time to time. Most people don’t pay attention to the old man with the paper but he tends to see a lot. She sits over at that bench across the way. She drinks her morning coffee then gets in her car and goes to work.”

“I didn’t know that”

“So what was the fight about if you don’t mind me asking?”

I shrugged. “She’s stubborn. She doesn’t want to accept change even when it's staring her in the face. She can see it but she won’t admit it’s there”

“Change is a hard thing, especially for adults,” he said with a heavy sigh. “something happened to me a long time ago and I reacted badly to it I’m afraid. People involved were hurt and even after all these years, there isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t regret what I did”

I could see it on his face. There was anguish and remorse there. I felt bad for this man. Sadly I don’t think my mother would ever feel anything like that for me. She was so set in her stupid ways I don’t think she’d ever feel anything for me but hatred and loathing. Definitely never remorse or guilt over her actions toward me. I was just going to have to learn to accept that my mother would never warm up to me or come around. I still had Sara to fall back on. I still have Ken too I think. There was always my grandfather as well. My uncle too. Those were the people I would have to rely on the most now.

I did wonder something, though.

“Did you ever get a chance to make things right?”

I knew the answer before he said it.

I could see it on his face.

“Sadly no”

I wanted to hug him but of course, that was a bit unorthodox.

“That sucks”

He nodded. “Life has a way of doing that I’m afraid. I try to make up for it in other ways now. It might be too late but it helps”

“And it’s not too late for me…”

“I wouldn’t know honestly. I’m just striking up a conversation with a nice young lady on a park bench but if you want to know what I think” I nodded. “Well then, I think perhaps you give your mother some time to deal with this change then you try again. Keep trying if you have to in fact. There might be more fighting ahead for the two of you but I think eventually your mother will come to see that she’s wrong and finally accept things the way they are”

I smiled. Now I really wanted to hug him.

Hell, I felt like paying him a fee too.

I wonder how much you paid the park bench guy for sage advice these days?

So how do you follow up such sage wisdom?

You feed the birds.

That’s what we did. Park Bench Yoda had a paper bag full of bread crumbs and the two of us sat there silently scattering them on the ground until we ran out. We bid me farewell after that, having urgent business matters to attend too. I almost hugged him as I stood up to see him off. He gave me a slight smile then headed on his way. I watched him head across the street to a really nice silver BMW. There was a man in a suit waiting to open the door for him. Instead of getting into the driver’s seat, my Yoda got into the back.

Wow.

I waved goodbye a few moments later as the guard drove off.

As soon as the car was out of sight, I’d made up my mind on how I wanted to proceed with things. No, I’m not just talking about my mother either. Though I would have to deal with her eventually and soon if I wanted things to be better. I was thinking about everything. My former friends, my current friends, school, church, soccer. All of it needed to be addressed. My Park Bench Yoda was right. Change wasn’t something to run away from or ignore. I already knew that of course but now I just needed to convince other people of it too.

I think I knew where to start too.

First, though, I needed to go home and change.

The last thing I wanted was to start all of this in my church dress.

“Hey Amber,” I said into my cell as the cab came to a stop.

There was a grunt then a groggy groan of “Hey girl”

Clearly I’d woken up Miss Sunshine. I looked at the clock on my phone, it was only quarter to eleven. I was sure she would have been up now baking muffins for the needy or painting houses for squirrels or something. You know the things that perky girls like her like to do. I guess it kind of surprised me that she was lazy than I used to be on a Sunday.

“So I was thinking,” I said as I paid the cab and shut the door. “Is your offer still legit?”

“What offer?” she asked sleepily.

She really isn’t a morning person apparently.

‘The cheerleader one”

“OMG, yes!” she practically squealed into the phone.

Looks like you just need to say the magic word to wake Little Miss Amber up.

In this case, the word was cheerleader.

Amber went into overdrive after that, taking over our little conversation. She started to lay out the plan as it were. The weekends were devoted to cheer practice of course. The two squads practiced separately on Saturdays but on Sundays, she brought together a little impromptu group of both. It wasn’t a regular thing but whenever she felt that both squads needed a pick me up, she put it together. Both the coaches pretty much let her do her thing apparently. As it was, she really wanted to get me out to start my training. Amber was a keen little Cheer maniac. She started rambling off everything she wanted to accomplish, the ultimate goal was to turn me into a little Cheer Queen.

“You know if you do this, you’re turning me into a weapon for the enemy?”

She laughed. “Consider yourself Natasha Romanoff”

Wait what?

“Ummm…”

Holy crap, who would have thought.

‘Hey, I read comics. Of course, if you tell anyone, I’ll have to kill you”

Amber had Geek Cred.

“You’re full of surprises Amber,” I said with a laugh.

“And don’t you forget it”

I hung up after that.

Amber and her group weren’t going to be at the school for another hour at least. I cursed for getting here so early. I guess it would give me some time to tour the old place. Like I said before, I’d been here before. Of course, that was during games and I didn’t really get to explore the campus all that much. It being a Sunday though, most of it was all locked down. Several of the gates were closed and required key cards. I did find a sympathetic security guard who was nice enough to let me into the courtyard, though.

I found myself a good spot on the bench in front of the large statue.

Good ole Huntington the first or whatever.

Charles was his name.

My grandfather was like Charles the fifth or something now.

I didn’t really know much about it, to be honest.

According to the plaque in front of the bronze statue, the house was built in the 1870s and the statue was erected in the 1950s after the completion of the school.

Glaring up at my ancestor, I tried to see if I could see any family resemblance but of course I couldn’t.

It was a statue after all.

Waiting made me nervous too. I couldn’t help but second guess things too. Here I was about to take a really huge plunge into the world of girl. This morning it was the dress and now it was cheerleader. Two weeks ago, I would have laughed my ass off if anyone told me I’d be here right now. I’m not even sure why I was here, to be honest. I didn’t really want to be a cheerleader truth be told but it was better than nothing at the moment. After all, I knew there was no way I could show my face on the soccer field again. Not that I had anything against girls soccer, far from it in fact but I just didn’t want to feel cheated. I would keep on wondering about “What If’s” and I would just get depressed about the whole thing.

So soccer was gone.

It hurt but it had to be.

Cheerleading might be the right outlet. It wasn’t like I was completely foreign to the concept. Thanks to my martial arts, I was flexible. If it didn’t work out, there were other avenues to explore as well. The girls had suggested gymnastics at the last practice. Cindy had even suggested I try ballet. Then again she was probably just trying to land another student or something. I’m not sure ballet is the right fit for me, though, after all, Becky took ballet too. I’m not sure how she’d react to that.

Hefting my borrowed sports bag, I checked my phone.

Amber said she’d be arriving at noon.

I still had about ten more minutes.

Getting thirsty, I scoured the bag looking for my sports bottle. It was the very same one I used for soccer. I’m not sure how I got it back, though. Last I knew, it was in the locker room with the rest of my stuff. Stuff I left there last weekend after I collapsed and ended up in the hospital. It was the only thing of mine that had lasted from my old sports stuff, though. My practice gear from soccer didn’t exactly fit anymore. So before taking a cab here, I took one to a favorite sporting goods store of mine on the strip where I used to buy my soccer stuff. The woman there was nice enough and helped me find some yoga capris and a stretchy lycra tank top. Apparently it was an outfit that most cheerleaders practiced in.

Looking at both items in my bag made a wave of dread pass over me.

I was not looking forward to wearing either in front of a bunch of strangers.

A part of me definitely wanted to run but the other part…

Yep, Just Roll With It.

“Hey” shouted a familiar voice.

I looked up from rifling through my bag to see Amber come toward me, hefting a sports bag of her own. I was in mid-wave when I noticed she wasn’t alone. I was expecting her to not be alone. I was not, however, expecting it to be my former soccer teammate Marcus. He was walking a few paces behind her, hands in his coat pockets. He clearly didn’t want to be here.

Me, my heart was pounding a mile a minute.

I knew I was going to face these guys eventually but I just wasn’t prepared for it.

Part of me was afraid of the reaction.

I didn’t want another Greg incident.

Especially now, here, without Sam to come to my rescue.

As they got closer, my anxiousness increased.

Marcus was looking right at me now. It was a look of confused recognition. As he got closer, though, I saw it on his face:
He knew.

“Hey,” I said, zipping up the bag.

‘Hey,” he returned.

Marcus was always of very few words, except on the field or the locker room.

“So I told Marc about things…you know the whole medical condition…”

“Look, it’s weird but I’m not freaked. No offense Pixie, but you haven’t always been the biggest, manliest man out there”

I nodded. I wasn’t going to argue with that.

“What I wanted to really say” he continued “is that I’m ok with it. I heard about what happened with Greg yesterday. I want you to know that if he pulls any of that shit again, especially on the field, we’re gonna kick his ass afterward”

Greg, so John must have told him.

I guess that was fair.

Wait…he did he say field?

“Marc, I’m not going back to soccer,” I said, deciding to make my stand. “Its just too weird you know. I’m gonna talk to coach about it tomorrow or some time very soon. I know I can’t play with you guys anymore and frankly, it just wouldn’t feel right being on the girls team you know?”

He nodded. “I figured, I just thought maybe…”

Whatever Marcus was going to say got interrupted by some commotion behind him. We all turned to look and saw several more people coming this way. All girls, of course, all of them carrying the purple Huntington cheer bags. I counted six altogether, two of them I knew. Cindy was leading the pack, following shortly behind was a slender black girl and cute red head with freckles. They all appeared to be about the same age, so I’m guessing they were Varsity. The three girls behind them were my age. Amongst them, of course, was Hannah, my cousin twin. To be honest now, though, there were definitely some differences between us.

I decided really see it until she got closer.

Our hair was a different shade now, hers much darker. She wasn’t as curvy as me either. Not that I’m fat or anything but Hannah has always been this little thin thing. I was also taller than her I noticed. So I guess I really had grown more than I thought. Score one for the combination of my parents’ genes.

With her were two girls talking animatedly with each other. One was blonde, her hair nearly white. She was really pretty and I could tell the guys most of really loved her because the Boob Fairy was very kind. The other girl had long straight jet black hair. She was definitely part Asian, I could see it in her features.

All of them stopped a few feet in front of me.

Hannah and I locked eyes.

She gave me a confused look then her mouth dropped slightly.

I smiled softly.

“Hey cuz,” I said with a playful smirk.

“Holy…” she said as she stepped forward, giving me a big hug.

‘Guys” said Amber, drawing everyone’s attention. “This is Christy Ryder and before you think there’s some kind of freaky cloning experiment conspiracy going on, she’s Hannah’s cousin. Christy is going to be joining us for practice tonight. Cindy and I have decided to turn her into a cheerleader”

There was a quick round of intros.

The black girl was Tanisha, her red-headed teammate was Molly.

Pretty blonde JV girl was Debbie, her dark haired Asian friend was Regan.

After the intros, Amber led us to the locker room. That was my second challenge of the day I realized. I was a little nervous before going in. I mean I used to be a boy. I wasn’t exactly sure I belonged in there. The reassurance though came in the form of Hannah, who grabbed my hand. Together the two of us went inside. I let out a big sigh when the floor didn’t open up and swallow me whole. I was surprised that locker room was pretty much the same as the guys. Well almost anyway. The tiles were a peach color for instance and it didn’t smell. The lockers were a lot cleaner too and all of them still had their doors. The biggest difference was how clean the place felt. The garbage cans weren’t overflowing with crap and there was no lude graffiti all over the walls. Even if this was a prep school, I was willing to bet that the boy’s locker room was a pig sty.

Hannah found me an empty locker next to hers.

I was surprised she was taking everything so well.

I decided to get dressed as fast as possible. I kept my eyes forward as I pulled my shirt over my head as quick as possible. I had briefly gone home after leaving the park this morning if only to change out of the dress and into some normal clothes. Well jeans and t-shirt, normal attire for me that is. In choosing a bra, I decided to just go with a sports bra already considering where I was going. I couldn’t help but notice earlier though that my little booblets were getting bigger. Not huge like Debbie’s but they were definitely growing. Emily did say that there might be some more changes as my body settled. She did say it was common though for girls who were going through puberty which is what I was now. My boobs would grow, my fat would shift and I would get taller.

I definitely liked that last part.

I took a quick peek around the room and couldn’t help but smile when I noticed I was the tallest girl here.

“I was at the hospital you know,” said Hannah as the two of us were just finishing up our dressing, i.e. lacing up our shoes. “You were sleeping at the time so you didn’t notice but Mom brought Claire and me”

I was glad for that.

“Thanks,” I said and meant it.

‘Is it true though?” she asked, lowering her voice. ‘They really have no idea what caused it?”

So apparently Hannah was in on the secret.

I nodded. “One day I was me and then the next I started becoming she”

I almost giggled at the stupid joke.

It was the last joke for the next couple of hours.

I think I mentioned how I thought Amber was a Slave Driver. Well, I was wrong. She was Darth Vader in a sports bra. I have never worked so hard in my life. After leaving the locker room, Amber ran us through the paces. First, it was a couple laps around the track then it was the typical warm up exercises. That was the easy part of it all. The grueling stuff came with the actual cheer moves. I thought I was pretty limber and flexible but I was dead wrong. I didn’t even know a human body could move the way she had us moving. I did learn something about myself, though. I could now do a full split, something I knew I couldn’t do before. After the moves, it was the cheers. There had to be twenty or so of them and she made us do them over and over again. She kept saying she was doing it for my benefit which after the tenth time got everyone---including Hannah---glaring at me.

When we finally hit the showers, I was exhausted that showering with a bunch of other girls didn’t even make me bat an eye.

“You did good today,” said Amber just as I was finishing getting back into my civvies.

I grunted. “You’re a bad person”

She laughed. “I had to make sure you had what it takes and I’m happy to say that you passed. Next Saturday I want you here with the others bright and early. I was telling the coach about you the other day. I know you don’t go to this school but she was really interested in your potential. Who knows, she might be able to put in a good word at Prescott if you’re interested?’

You know what, I actually was.

“Can I think about it?”

“‘No rush,” she said then walked off.

A moment later, Hannah dropped down onto the bench next to me, cell in hand.

“Ok so good news and bad news”

Uh oh.

“The bad first”

Like a band-aid.

“So I just got off the phone with Sara. Your mother is in quite a mood. Your defiance of her this morning really sent her off the deep end. I guess she made a bit of a scene at church then at work later. She’s been suspended. It's only for a few days but Sara thinks it might not be such a smart idea going home right now”

Great, just great.

“So now I’m homeless”

I actually felt like crying.

Hannah smiled big. “Not homeless per se. How about an extended sleepover for a few days?”

I think I was floored.

I’d never actually been to Hannah’s before, well at least not alone.

Mom didn’t like us spending a lot of time with the Huntington’s. Even though Hannah wasn’t technically one, at least in name, she was still in blood. She was also “a part of that world” as mom called it. Mom didn’t mind us socially at get togethers---birthdays, holidays---that type of thing but never outside of that. She was afraid they’d rub off on us and make us snobs. It was kind of funny really because Mark and Tracy---Hannah’s parents---weren’t all that dissimilar to us. Mark was a history professor after all. Tracy was a sales rep. They didn’t make loads of cash or anything. In fact, Mark wasn’t even Great Aunt Gloria’s oldest child. So he wasn’t going to inherit half a fortune.

They were normal people.

Like us.

If anything, Mom was the snob.

Still I couldn’t help but smile at how pissed off Mom was going to be when she found out I was going to be spending a few days over at the Greene’s.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.4. I decided to go ahead and publish it after all. Like I said in my blog though, this is the last fully written chapter of the story I have at the moment :(. I'm currently working on ch.5 and hope to have it done by the end of the week, however, I probably won't post it until I have at least Ch.7 or 8 done. So expect a week or two without any new chapters of this story. I didn't want to do this but real life interfered sadly and I haven't had a lot of time to write :(. Thanks for reading and hopefully understanding lol.

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4:

Unlike the rest of the Huntington’s, the Greenes didn’t actually live in Green Valley. Though still very well off, I guess they didn’t quite meet the standards of the gated community lifestyle. Instead, they lived in a newer suburb development toward the end of town. Built around ten years ago or so, Prescott Acres was actually one of those buy a plot and build a house type of developments. So even though the first house might have gone done ten years ago, its neighbor might have only been a few months old. It was just how things that seemed to work.

Looking out the window as we pulled into the development, I grimaced.

It was hard not to.

Sure our house was a pretty decent size but it didn’t compare to the neo-eclectic McMansions that dotted both sides of the street. These things were massive, most with multiple rooms and at least three car garages. The further in the winding road went I knew they got bigger. The last time I visited, Hannah had taken me to one of her favorite places. The end of the development actually opened up into a little-wooded area surrounding a fairly decent sized lake. Being a bit of a tomboy like Kate, Hannah said she used to spend quite a lot of time there fishing and catching frogs.

I still found it hard to believe anyone had ever talked her into becoming a cheerleader.

Up until I was ten, in fact, I thought she was a boy.

The car finally came to a stop in their driveway. I looked up at the house and sighed. This was going to be my home for the next few whatever. I say whatever because no one really knew how long I was going to be here. Apparently Sara had been working on this little solution long before I had my blow out with Mom this morning. My sister truly was a wonder. She just seemed to have one plan after another, all of them in place to help me. After the plan with my grandfather sadly fell through, this one seemed to present itself. Sara had made all the arrangements. I was to stay with the Greene until she could either convince my mother she was being crazy or find a more permanent solution to my problem.

Getting an apartment in the city was even mentioned.

I didn’t like that idea in the least, though. It conflicted with Sara’s plans. She was supposed to be going to college next year, not staying home to take care of me. She’d already sacrificed enough of her life worrying about me. I wanted her to be happy for once and do her own thing. I planned on telling her that too as soon as I could get her on the phone for more than a minute or two.

Like I said, very busy.

“This is going to be so great,” said Hannah enthusiastically grabbing my hand and giving it a good squeeze.

“Yeah great” I lied but not too convincingly.

Hannah frowned. “You sure you’re ok?”

No.

‘Yeah” I lied again, ‘just a lot to get used too”

She nodded. I could tell she didn’t believe me but she didn’t pursue the matter.

Instead, she got out of the Lexus, I followed.

No matter how many times I saw this house, I was always amazed at the size of it. It was like the rest of the houses on the block, oversized, overpriced and way too big for a family of four. I keep on forgetting Hannah had a little brother. Not that my cousin Davey was unforgettable but he was only five so it was hard to remember. He was also really shy, he didn’t do well with strangers. The fact that he barely knew me didn’t help things either. I only saw the Greene’s made four times a year at the most. Davey spent most of that time clinging to his mother’s side. It was no surprise that he didn’t show up at my birthday last week either, I hadn’t expected him too.

Still, though, you could probably fit our entire house in the front yard of this place.

Ok so I was exaggerating slightly but not by much.

Mark and Tracy didn’t make much more than Mom actually. I’m not sure how much they made but it was more than enough to live here apparently. I overheard Mom complaining about it once actually. She was prone to do that from time to time. Not that she had anything against my father’s cousins, she barely knew them after all. They were Huntington's’ though and that was enough for her. That’s how I knew though that Aunt Gloria had actually paid for this place. Mark and Tracy paid the bills but the house had been fully on her. It made me wish that my grandparents had at least one generous bone in their bodies but apparently not.

“You girls good?” asked Cousin Mark as he took my bags out of the trunk.

I nodded as he handed them to me.

“We’re good Daddy, you’re free to leave”

He smiled, kissed her on the forehead then got back into his vehicle.

Mark had a little get together with some college friends every weekend. One that I made him late for because we had to swing by home after the practice. Tracy and Sara both insisted I get a few days worth of things packed just in case. Thankfully Mom wasn’t home when we got there. Sara had made sure the doors were unlocked before she went to work. Hannah had helped me pack then we made tracks as quick as possible.

The last thing either of us needed was a run in with Mom.

Tracy met us at the front door, a big warm smile on her face.

Before I could say anything, she pulled me into a hug.

Tracy was just shy of her fortieth birthday but she definitely didn’t look it. Maybe a few age lines and some gray hairs but that could easily be chalked up to stress and not age. Unlike her husband the professor, she did work for MerTech. All I really knew was that she was a sales rep. I’m not sure if that meant she went door to door or if she was someone in an office somewhere. Given the size of the house and that I knew there were at least two BMWs in the garage I’m shooting for the latter. She was blonde like Hannah but unlike her daughters, it was more strawberry blonde. Whereas I mentioned Hannah having a darker shade of blonde than me, her older sister Claire’s hair could hardly be considered blonde at all actually, maybe a very light shade of brown.

Davey took after his father.

“Now let me take a look at you,” said Tracy as she took a step back from the hug. “Wow, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were Hannah’s twin”

“I know Mom, isn’t it creepy”

We weren’t one hundred percent alike of course. Her nose was a little narrower and her lips a bit thinner. Her skin was a lot tanner than mine too but only because she spent a lot of time outdoors. When not cheerleading, Hannah was also in track and field. The biggest difference about the two of us though had to be height. Hannah was barely five three whereas I was almost five seven now. I was still amazed about that part. Only a few weeks ago I was a shrimp and now look at me.

Of course, I was a guy back then too.

“Come along Christy honey,” said Tracy, taking to my new name just as quick as her daughter. “I’ve just finished setting up the guest room for you”

She led the way into the house and I tried not to look like a fish in its bowl.

Like most of the houses on the block, it had an open floor plan. Lots of open space and high ceilings. There were five bedrooms and three and a half baths. Little Davey got the half while---like Sara and me---Hannah shared hers with her sister. The guest room was the only room on the ground floor apparently, right next door to the guest bathroom. I also noticed it was across from the kitchen too. It was also apparently the smallest room in the house not that I would have noticed. It was definitely bigger than mine.

“I’m sorry about the size of it,” said Tracy from the doorway as I stepped inside. “It’s a little plain too. If you want, Mark can take you out to the galleria after his outing, we can…”

“Its great, better than great actually,” I said and meant it.

To be honest, I’d been feeling a little out of place in my room the last few days.

Not that there was anything wrong with it, it just didn’t feel like me anymore.

“I’ll give you some time to get situated. When you’re ready, Hannah is in the den”

I thanked her as she left.

I dropped my bag on the bed and took a look at the room. Like the rest of the house, it was pretty spacious. It was sparsely decorated, though. There was a simple dresser against the far wall, a queen size bed in the center and a desk on the opposite wall. The room was painted in neutral colors and had a warm, welcoming feeling. It also had a rather large window that looked out onto the back yard I noticed. I took a moment to take in that view and was always amazed by it. Each of the houses here seemed to have half an acre or more of land. The Greene’s were no different, though a good portion of their yard was taken up by the large in-ground pool and jungle gym. In the far corner of it was the tool shed.

We had one of those too. Like Mark, my father used to spend any time he could out there. Unlike Mark, my Dad being an engineer exactly had a good idea what he was doing with his tinkering.

I finished putting my clothes away in a few minutes, after all, I only packed for a couple of days. I hoped I wouldn’t be here that long. I’m not sure what the actual plan was but I wanted to go home. I knew my mother was the problem but I also knew that I still loved her. She might not be the best person for me right now but somewhere inside of her she knew she still loved me too. I was just going to have to wait it out and hope she finally came to her senses. I saw the love there, it was the slight ways she kept looking at me. I’m not sure what was holding her back from it but I knew my real mother was pressing against the outlines of this monster that that man created.

“Wow,” said a familiar snarky voice from behind me. “They gave you the good room”

I smiled big and turned around, finding Kate leaning in the doorway.

I gave her a big hug and emotions took over.

She held me while I cried.

“Hey Princess, you’re getting makeup all over my shirt”

I laughed, pulling away and wiping my face.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised to see her.

She feigned being hurt. “What you’re the only one who can come to this palace?”

I gave her a playful shove.

“I just thought…well never mind, I’m glad to see you. I’ve been having a shitty day”

She gave me another hug. “That’s what Sara said when she kidnapped me”

“Remind me to thank her”

“Remind me to shank her”

We both laughed. After this morning, I needed a good laugh.

It was at that moment, I noticed a similar looking bag at her feet.

“What’s with the backpack?”

She sighed heavily. “I’ve been roped into something you locals call a slumber party”

I gave her an even bigger hug after that.

“Ok girls I’m going to trust you on this today and tonight,” said Tracy, giving all of us the talk as it were.

We all nodded like we were listening.

“I know Christy doesn’t have school tomorrow but Hannah and Katie do, so the three of you need to keep this low key and early. No staying up past ten o’clock and nothing too wild. Don’t forget that Christy has an important meeting tomorrow, one she needs to be alert for”

“Oh, c’mon mom,” said a newly arrived Claire.

She was dressed in her dance practice gear, having apparently just come from ballet class. She looked pretty stylish in her gray warm-ups over her white leotard, the tard only exposed because her top was midriff. Her hair was still pulled up in the characteristic ballerina bun, though. Like Cindy, Claire was also a junior instructor at Madame Gertrude’s. Unlike Cindy though, Claire apparently had a class to teach today.

“Since you decided to have an opinion on it, I’m putting you in charge”

Claire looked like she was about to protest when her eyes fell on me. This was the first time we’d seen each other since my birthday party. Like Hannah, her eyes seemed to pop out of her head. I mean at the party I was already pretty damn girly but of course, now I was full blown. I couldn’t help but smile at her look. She smiled too, which slowly turned into this mischievous look. I didn’t like that look. Sara used to get that look whenever she was going to do something to me.

“Sure Mom,” she said slyly. “I’d love to!”

Tracy left us to it. When she was gone, Claire walked over to me and pulled me into a warm, welcoming hug.

“Welcome to the better sex, little cuz”

Claire was a little hard to get used too. She came on strong in everything she did. She meant well of course but she was the kind of girl that knew what she liked. She was also the kind of girl that knew what you were supposed to like too. I’m not saying she forced it upon you or anything but she was very convincing. I couldn’t remember a Christmas where she couldn’t talk us all into doing something crazy. One Christmas, she talked us all into having a snowball fight barefoot. Last year at her Sweet Sixteen party, she insisted everyone---including the guys---wear an article of pink. My uncles got away with a pink tie or pocket handkerchief. Tom and I actually had to wear pink shirts. It was really embarrassing.

So of course to Claire, I was now the better sex.

Not that I was complaining.

Thanks to people like Tom and Greg, I was beginning to think she was right.

“Claire, you’re smothering her,” said Hannah, pulling me out of her sister’s embrace.

Claire laughed and stared. “Its just so fucking amazing”

“Try living it”

“I’ll bet”

She asked a few questions then seemed to get bored with it.

That was another one of her quirks.

I didn’t mind though because frankly I was getting a little tired of explaining it. Of course, I knew there would be plenty more explanations in my future but at least I had the whole “medical screw up” lie to fall back onto. My family knew the truth. I’m sure some of them probably thought it was my fault like Mom and Dr. Bashir. I was just glad that the Greene’s seem to accept the truth. I just knew how Tom was going to react to all of this. My uncles were a different matter. John was pretty cool, I think he suspected something was up at my party actually. I’m not sure about Chris though. We were never really close, to be honest. Maybe I reminded him too much of my father?

“Ok now,” said Claire, taking charge like usual. “Why don’t you girls get in your jammies, I’ll go get changed into mine and we can get this party really started”

I looked at Kate who was rolling her eyes.

I couldn’t help but smirk.

Claire was going to love trying to get Kate to do things.

It was a disaster waiting to happen.

As soon as Claire was gone, Hannah made a bolt for the stairs, leaving Kate and me alone.

She sighed heavily. “Is she for real?”

I read her mind. “Claire?” She nodded and I laughed. “She’s a force to be reckoned with”

‘Ok if she tries to assimilate me, I want a mercy killing”

We shook on it.

After that, we dropped onto the couch. I took that chance to look around the Greene’s den. Not much had really changed since I’d been here last. They still had the giant sectional, though this one appeared to be new. It had one end that seemed to form a bed which was cool. There was still the wall of DVDs and BluRays, they still had the giant flatscreen too. The focal of the room though was the dance wall. One whole wall in the room was one of those ballet mirrors, complete with bar and everything. I knew from experience that there were mats and things like that in the closet. Claire had been a ballerina since she was real little. I vaguely remember going to a dance recital of hers once, back before my father died.

‘This place is crazy” said Kate, having finished looking around the room as well.

I shrugged. ‘Claire is a dancer, it makes sense her family would do this”

Kate shook her head. “I meant this whole house. I mean, is this how the other half lives?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I said softly.

Ok, so I was envious. I was also a little pissed.

This could have been my life.

I’m not saying I really wanted to be rich but when you knew you could have been, it kind of sucked. Sure my Dad wasn’t a peasant by any means but this life---Hannah’s life---something like it could have been possible. Sure I probably wouldn’t have gone to Huntington but I would have at least had a better relationship with Dad’s family. I knew probably never with my grandparents but definitely with my cousins, at least more than a few times a year.

Kate seemed to sense something was wrong because she hugged me.

“Oh hug time,” said Hannah as she ran into the room, jumping on the couch.

She wrapped her arms around the both of us, squeezing tight.

I couldn’t help but notice Kate flush a bright red.

A moment later, Hannah realized what she was doing because she flushed too and ended the hug rather quickly.

Awkwardness hung in the room until Claire arrived.

Claire kicked the slumber party into full swing after that.

She started with the stupid games. I mean she didn’t want to go all out just yet because it was still light outside. She did get us into a rather interesting game of Truth or Dare, though. We didn’t get too crazy with it, though. She did dare Kate into wearing one of her outfits to school tomorrow, though. Kate got her back with a dare to get a tattoo on her butt. I was surprised when both agreed to it, especially since a tattoo was something permanent. Too permanent we found out a minute later when Claire said it would have to be washable because it was frowned upon in both cheerleading and ballet.

I think Claire had an ulterior motive with the truth or dare, though.

It didn’t take her long to dare Kate and Hannah to kiss.

I noticed her mischievous smile again.

I was happy to see that I wasn’t the only one who noticed what my friend and cousin did not.

I watched with half amusement and half embarrassment as the two of them pecked one another on the lips. I half expected a little more but it was clear they were holding back for our sakes. I saw it, though, that little spark. As soon as their lips touched, you could see how much the two of them liked one another. I was happy for both of them but especially for Kate. Maybe this would finally help her get over Chloe.

My embarrassment came a few moments later.

It was Hannah’s turn to ask.

“So Christy, truth or dare?”

Crap.

“Truth” I blurted out quickly before I could think.

Well, I didn’t want dare either.

Hannah smiled wickedly. “so now that you’re a girl, do you like boys?”

Damn her.

“Oh she most definitely does,” said Kate, smiling just as wickedly.

This got Claire to raise an eyebrow.

“Well then,” said my cousin “my truth to you is this: who do you like?”

Double damn her.

I felt my cheeks start to burn so I just knew I was turning red. I also knew I would have to answer soon because of the looks all three of them were currently giving. Thinking about it didn’t take long actually. I knew who I liked and there was no denying it now. Whenever I thought about boys, his face always seemed to come into my mind. Anyone who was at my birthday seemed to know it too. I didn’t realize it at the time but lots of others did, including my mother.

“Dan” I mumbled.

“What was that?” asked Kate with a smile. “We can’t hear you!”

Damn her too.

“Dan,” I said louder and they all laughed.

Great, laugh at my expense.

And laugh they did.

I got Kate back a moment later when I dared her to wear her Halloween costume---wig and all---to school the day after she was dressing like Claire.

Truth or Dare ended there with us three younger girls embarrassed as all hell. Surprisingly, Claire got by unscathed. Not that we didn’t try of course but nothing seemed to get to her. She was like a rock which only made us try harder. The game became a real bonding experience believe it or not. All our dares were silly and stupid and the truths helped us bond. I was finally beginning to understand some of this girl stuff I saw in movies and things. Guys were close in a way but they didn’t really share things like girls did. I mean real things like their feelings. I felt closer to Kate than ever before and I was learning things about my cousins I definitely didn’t know before.

They revealed things to me, some of them very intimate.

None of which would have been revealed to Chris the boy.

I was fully accepted.

I was happy for that.

After Truth or Dare finally wound down, we moved onto other stupid party games not even worth mentioning.

Makeovers were after that, though.

The thing I dreaded the most actually.

I was surprised to have fun with it, though.

Claire and Hannah were skilled in all things makeup apparently. They were much better than my sister and Cindy even. Claire was especially good, telling me Telling me what product worked with my skin tone and all that. It helped that she worked part time at the makeup counter in the Galleria. See, I didn’t even know that. After helping me, she tried to do the same for Kate. Like Cindy before her, though, Claire had failed to break through Kate’s punk armor. She was dead set on her look. It actually worked for her though too. Hannah didn’t seem to mind it one bit either so that was a plus. With that in mind, though, Claire was able to give Kate some tips on how to better perfect it.

My friend ate it up.

After the makeovers was dinner. Pizza of course. The Greene’s knew the right place because it was from Leo’s. Mark and Davey joined us for dinner.

“Hey Davey,” I said, smiling at my younger cousin as I took a seat across from him.

The kid gave me the strangest look.

“Do I know you?”

“Of course, you do sweetie,” said his mother “this is your cousin Christy. You see her every year for Christmas”

Davey squinted his eyes. “You used to be a boy I think?”

Everyone at the table, including me, laughed.

“Not anymore”

Davey shrugged. “Ok”

Kids were so cool like that.

Tracy then went on to explain to Davey that I’d be spending a few days here. It didn’t seem to faze him in the least. Like I said kids were just cool like that. Davey did have a few questions and we all answered them the best we could. I guess it was decided that we tell Davey the lie. I think his parents probably decided he was too young to understand what really happened. Not only that it might have been a little scary for a kid his age too. I didn’t want him thinking that he could turn into a girl one day just because. I hoped he couldn’t anyway. I also hoped that whatever this was that it wasn’t contagious. I was ok with all of this now but I didn’t want our school becoming an All Girl’s School suddenly.

Though it might be a riot to see Greg turn into a girl just to take him down a peg or two.

John on the other hand. As tall as he was, he’d probably become someone supermodel looking girl and I’d hate her.

I smirked.

“Something funny?” asked Kate, who was sitting next to me.

“Just thinking about a girl version of Greg and John”

She snorted. “Can you imagine Greg?” We laughed together. “And John, God I would kill her. Or maybe kiss her. She would be hot”

I made a mental note not to tell John that.

If he knew Kate might have a thing for girl him, he’d find every possible way to get a sex change just to be with her.

The rest of dinner was pretty quiet. Afterward, Claire left because she had to work. The rest of us girls returned to the den. Hannah decided it was now immersion time. So she pulled from the movie shelf every chick flick she could find. Kate and I groaned at a lot of them. Surprisingly, though, I found myself enjoying quite a few of them. I especially liked the Josh-What’s-His-Face movies. They were from a few years ago but they were still pretty good. It was back when he was a teenager still, not like now. I even saw Kate tear up at one of the films.

She and Hannah also made it clear that their embarrassment about being seen together was over. They were sitting very close on the couch, so close that Kate was almost on her lap. It was kind of cute. I couldn’t help but feel happy for the two of them too. I felt a pang of envy too, wondering if I even had a chance with Dan. I mean he knew me before as Chris. It would probably be way too weird for him. I tried to force the thoughts out of my head and enjoy the movies.

Tomorrow I would worry about those things.

Tonight I was with my friends.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

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Author's Note: Ok so I'm back again and with something new as promised. I'm told this story is a little different than the ones I've written so far so I guess you guys are going to need to bear with me for a bit until I get this thing going. I hope to get back to the DRU as soon as I can but until then I hope you enjoy this fun little tangent of mine. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and my beta readers for their great help.

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1:

There was another car, I think that was four now. Four in the last five minutes. I didn’t really know Crystal all that well, but apparently a lot of other people did. It was strange to say you didn’t know someone, especially considering I used to see her every day. Used to being the key word. Young people die all the time but I’ve never actually known one of them. It doesn’t happen as often either. At least not in the small burgs like ours. In the big cities, sure but not around here. It was kind of sad when you stopped to think about her life being cut so short like that. In a car accident too. I still couldn’t believe how something like that was even possible. The mag rails were fully automated; the cars driving them were completely controlled by the system. There weren’t supposed to be any accidents.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. There were no tears, why wasn’t I crying.

Looking out my window at the Sanderson’s house around the street, everyone there had been crying. Even the couple that was getting out of the most recent arrival. These people were strangers to me and yet they had more emotion than I did. Sure, I didn’t know Crystal as well as I should have, but I should have at least cried for her, right? Her sister Maddie was in my class, I should have been crying for her sake, too. The two of them had been close. Real close I think. I used to remember them playing in the yard when they were younger. They looked so happy then. That was before their older brother Ryan manifested though. Families always seemed to be strained after that. It got worse when Ryan went to live in the Cube with the others and his family decided to stay behind.

It wasn’t that uncommon of course, but I couldn’t imagine why anyone would refuse The Cube.

I tried not to think about it though.

I tried to pull away from the window too, but I just couldn’t. People fascinated me a little bit. It’s not like I wasn’t a people person, sure I liked them but I tried to avoid them whenever I could. There was just something about them that intrigued me. I liked watching behavior, the way certain people reacted to certain things. Mom always said I’d make a great scientist like her because of it. I wasn’t going to be like her though. Not that I thought there was anything wrong with Communication but I wanted to be a Sentinel. I’m sure every guy my age did but some part of me wanted it more than the rest. Sentinels were the only other people besides the Alphas and their families who got to live in The Cube. I wanted it more than anything else in the world.

Another car pulled up to the house. That makes five.

I almost lost interest after that but a moment later, a sixth car arrived. This one piqued my interest a lot though. It was a white Saber, no wheels, retrofitted with grade C hovers. State of the art tech---Dad helped manufacture some of it. It wasn’t the car that interested me though, it was the occupants. As soon as the door opened, I recognized the overly beautiful woman who stepped out. Long legs, gorgeous flowing blonde hair. Tall, beautiful and in total control of every situation----that was what Ms. Scott strived for. She looked just as perfect as ever in her tiny little black dress, not even a wrinkle. Of course she was perfect though, she was an Alpha, a Super Venus, some called her.

I didn’t disagree.

I just didn’t realize she knew the Sanderson’s though.

I tried to lose interest but I just couldn’t especially when the passenger door opened and Teddy slid out. He was my best friend. It was just hard to imagine that he was anything at all related to his mother. Here she was this tall, gorgeous Goddess and Teddy, well he was anything but. Short and far, the only way you could tell they were even related was because they shared the same hair color. Strangely, though, his mother’s seemed to be shinier. She walked around the car, her long legs elegantly moving with the grace of an angel. Teddy fell in behind her, his head low, his shoulders slouched. I knew what he was thinking because he grumbled about it every time he went anywhere with her---he despised his mother. He hated everything she stood for.

She was an Alpha and he was not. She apparently made that very clear to him as well. I felt bad for him. It wasn’t unheard of for Alphas to slum with us lower people, even have children with us. The Alphas frowned upon it of course. It was beneath them to be seen with us. It’s why they all lived in The Cube. It’s why there were Cubes all over the world. At first, they were meant to protect them from us. Back when the Alphas first started manifesting, us normal people didn’t understand. There was a lot of bad blood. Some real bloodshed, too. The government came up with The Cubes to protect them and then the Sentinels to protect us. After the years though, it became less a refuge and more like a standard of living for them.

I continued to watch my friend as he trailed slowly behind his scene-stealing mother.

When they got to the front door, she hugged a weeping Mrs. Sanderson. Then the two of them disappeared into the house like everyone else. A second later, I heard a pip in my ear. I nearly jumped out of my chair. I cursed, tapping the small device just below my left earlobe. A moment later, I heard the recording, “Can you snipe me from that window please?” It was from Ted. I looked but of course, he was already inside now. I was just surprised that he was able to see from all the way across the street. I couldn’t help but wonder if his mother let him finally get that thermal upgrade to his Bio he’d been bugging her about.

It was the same one I’d been bugging my parents about too but to no avail.

“Bio’s aren’t toys, Ben,” my Dad reminded me every time I asked.

A moment later, another pip. Again from Ted. “Maddie looks really upset. I didn’t realize she and Crystal were close anymore?”

Ted and Maddie had been friends since grade school. Their Dads worked the Tunnels together. Ted and Mads had a lot of play dates when they were younger. I think it was just his mother’s way to get rid of him. He was one of us after all. Ted got dumped with his father a lot because of it. It kind of pissed me off a bit, that Alphas could have kids with us and then expect them to be Alphas too.

Everyone knew it didn’t work that way. Alphas were a genetic abnormality, not something, that could be created through procreation. Not that people didn’t try. Alphas even tried with one another but with little success. In fact, they couldn’t procreate with one another at all. It was one of the reasons they slummed so low as to “do it” with us normal people.

Their normal children were a lot like Ted too. No one knows why.

If you ask me, it was kind of a shame for the child.

I was about to return the pip when there was a knock on my door. Sighing, I quickly spun my chair and slid over to my desk. I had a pretty good idea who was on the other side of the door and I definitely didn’t want her catching me gawking. I was proven right a moment later when the door opened and my mother stuck her head inside. Her real head too, not some holographic representation of her like usual. I wonder what the occasion was.

“Ben, I’ve just been across the street,” she said, answering my unasked question.

So the death of a neighbor gets her home but not her two kids.

Typical.

“I didn’t know you knew Crystal?”

“Not a lot but enough. Besides its rude not to show.”

Sure, make me feel bad now. It’s not that I didn’t want to go, it’s just that I felt awkward just showing up like that. I didn’t really know Crystal after all and Maddie and I were barely friends. Showing up at her house to help mourn her dead sister just didn’t feel right to me.

“I don’t really…I mean I didn’t really know her.”

My Mom frowned. “You might not have known her but it’s proper to go and pay your respects anyway.”

Shit. I hated getting dressed up.

“You’re going to make me go aren’t you?”

“You’re almost fifteen now Benjamin, so I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. However, I think your friend Maddie might appreciate it if you showed.”

Double Shit.

How do Moms do that? Sure, she wasn’t telling me to go but she was sure as hell guilting me into it.

I tried to weigh my options. I only really had two of them. Stay here and look like an ass, not only in front of my own mother but also to Maddie. Or I could put on my best clothes, force a fake amount of grief and try to be human once in my life. I sure wanted to go with #1 but I had to do the right thing. Me and my stupid moral compass.

Why did I always pick the right thing?

The tie was too tight. I tried doing it myself but in the end, I let the Auto Dresser in my dad’s closet do it for me. I know what you’re thinking and no, my father knows how to put on his clothes. The Auto Dresser was there for things like that---ties. It was programmed for other things as well but it had this tie tying function. These little robot arms actually tied the stupid thing for you. It was very convenient but also a pain in the ass because it always made things too tight. It was like the stupid thing was literally out to choke you.

I finally managed to get it free from my neck. Loosening it as best I could, I was finally able to take a deep breath before walking out of the little main foyer area.

The Sanderson’s house wasn’t all that different from our own. In fact, it was nearly identical. Most of the houses in the Burb were all prefab things. Created with a computer program somewhere and assembled in a day. They had the same rooms, the same amount of bathrooms, the same two car garages and the same backyard, down to the centimeter. No one could ever say this place wasn’t efficient. The only thing different about the Sanderson’s was the color on the walls and the furniture of course. They also did some minor renovations as well, it seemed. They took out a wall, turning the kitchen and dining room into one large area. There was also a huge holo fish tank that floated down from the ceiling, centering the whole of the living room.

I looked around for their holoscreen, wondering why they would ever replace it. My wandering eyes caught the attention of some nearby adults so I quickly pretended I was scanning the room for someone. I recognized some of the adults. Miss Green was in the corner---she was our home room teacher. She was just as beautiful as ever. She was an Alpha, too. In fact all of our teachers were. It wasn’t unheard of actually. There were only six schools in our Zone. Twenty teachers rotated between each every four months. We had different subjects in the four month blocks. This block was Math and Science; last block was History and English. The next Block would be starting very soon, the Block I was looking forward to. It was the one where we took placement classes, leading us into the kind of career that we wanted to do.

For someone my age, it meant the world.

My little sister Carrie was still in the Under Program. Whereas she had the same teachers, her curriculum was much different. I was in what the schools referred to as the Intermediate Program.

Crystal---before her tragedy---was an Upper. They were already in Career Placement programs in their respective fields. I think I remember Maddie saying her sister was in Med.

Thinking about it actually pained me a little.

I quickly distracted myself trying to find someone I knew. I saw several other teachers, some parents and lots of neighbors. I thought I saw my little sister somewhere in the crowd. She and Mom had come over before me; Dad was the lucky one hiding at work. Nothing new there. I finally spotted Ted. He was with our other friend Joe, trying very hard to blend into the scenery near the food table. I made sure I didn’t run into anyone who might stop me as I slowly made my way over. Joe caught sight of me first, giving me a nod. Ted and Joe struck me as an odd pair. Whereas Ted was short and round, Joe was tall and very thin. Lots of the kids at school referred to them as the number ten whenever they were together. So of course, I referred to them as “One” and “Zero”.

“Hey Minus” said Joe as I approached them.

Sure if they were the number ten then I was the negative. People latched onto that pretty quick too. It was pretty well known around school how anti-social I was. Dark hair, dark clothes, dark demeanor. That pretty much summed me up. My grandfather said they used to have a name for it when he was younger. Someone like me didn’t even get categorized anymore. What with Alphas and the like. To them we were all Jects—short for Rejects of course. So for us to give ourselves denominators due to social status was a bit redundant.

“Hey guys,” I said, keeping my voice low.

Today was not a day to joke with my buds.

Ted turned and looked at me, giving me a nod. “Didn’t think you’d show.”

I shrugged. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”

Ted nodded, clearly reading through my bullshit. That’s what I liked about him; you could never pull a fast one on Ted. He knew when you were lying, when you were sincere and when you were just trying to play it cool to look good. I guess he picked up a lot with a Mom like his. Sure, she was gorgeous but it was clear that she was fake. I looked around and caught her chatting up a group over in the corner. She was flashing a smile, laughing lightly at some joke. I’d only ever met her once or twice but from both those encounters, it was clear she wasn’t pleased to be around me. Pleased to be around any Jects for that matter. I still couldn’t figure out why she was here at all anyway.

“It looks good for company PR,” said Ted as if reading my thoughts.

His mother was the CEO of Scott Pharmaceuticals. They were the leading drug manufacturer on the East Coast. They supplied meds for several Zones, including the big Zone areas like NYC and Atlanta.

It still didn’t explain why she was here rubbing elbows with us little people.

“That guy next to her” said Ted, nodding to a tall, nondescript blonde. “That’s her assistant. Mom’s trying to write this off as some philanthropic PR stunt or some shit.”

Now that I could see. Say what you want about Alphas, they sure knew how to put themselves out there.

Most Alphas were either actors or politicians. Something that put their face all over the world. Though there were some who used their talents for other things. Like sports teams and big business. Alphas were after all stronger than us and much smarter than us. They explained it all in science class more than once but it was never my best subject. It had something to do with manifestation and the over activated brain something or other. Suffice to say, they were definitely better than us in just about anything they ever did.

Ted groaned. “Don’t look now but here comes the leech?”

I just caught a quick glance and saw the “leech” coming over. It was his mother’s assistant. He was an Alpha too, an Adonis. I always felt a little intimidated by them when they were near. Not only did their height make me feel tiny but their muscles and chiseled looks made me feel like I should wear a paper bag over my head for the rest of my life.

“Hey boys” he said in a tone that was borderline condescending. “How ya guys doing?”

Ted rolled his eyes. “What do you want, Jeremy?”

The Leech---Jeremy---feigned insult.

“Just getting another drink,” he said, stepping toward the table.

He stepped right between Ted and me, completely devoid of personal space. He nearly bowled me over too. I had to side step his approach and even then his hands still ended up on me. Trying to step one way only made it worse because he tried to go the other. It was awkward to say the least. After getting another drink, he looked annoyed at first as if he was going to insult me but thought better of it. As soon as he got his drink, he was gone. I watched him go, giving him daggers. I wasn’t the only one either though. As he walked back over to Ms. Scott, I saw the daggers she was giving him too. They exchanged words and whatever she said to him, it clearly took the wind from him because the look on his face was priceless.

I couldn’t help but smirk at that.

“What a tool?”

“Your Mom just bitch slapped him for it,” I said, laughing.

Joe and Ted gave me a strange look.

Yeah, so I didn’t laugh much.

“Hey did you guys see the latest vid?” asked Joe excitedly.

Joe was a bit of a vid nut. He was a techie like my Mom so anything to do with the Bios or Vids or Holos got his blood pumping. We both knew what he was jumpy about today though. It had to be the ASC. They were all over the Vids lately. The Alpha Superiority Coalition. They were a radical group of Alpha nut jobs who thought Alphas were superior to everyone and that the Jects needed to start to understand that or pay the price. They were nothing more than common thugs. Taggers and paint bombs mostly.

“What did they Paint now?” asked Ted, barely interested as he sipped his drink.

“They’ve escalated.”

Ted rolled his eyes but that actually did pique my interest a bit.

I was all for anarchy in all its forms.

“They popped one of trams yesterday, took it for a ride around the Outer Zone before the Sentinels finally pinched them.”

I’d heard the sirens yesterday but I had no idea it was for that. I just assumed some other punk tried to break into the Cube again. Cube break-ins or rather attempted break-ins happened every other day. People were always anxious to see what was on the other side of those high, pristine white walls. Hell, I was just as anxious too. I knew there was a proper way to get in though. Well two proper ways but I was pretty certain I was far from Alpha material. In fact, just thinking about that made my skin crawl. I was going to go about it the only sensible way.

As a Sentinel of course.

“They’ll be old news before you know it,” said Ted, disinterested as usual.

I had to agree with him though. The ASC were harmless, a bunch of street thugs just looking for a little screen time. As soon at their 15 seconds of fame was up, they’d be done.

“How do you pop a tram anyway?” I asked, letting my curiosity get the better of me.

“Not easily” said Ted and Joe together.

“A hack of that caliber” continued Joe “its high quality bio rewriting. Not to mention interrupting the System. Taking a mag off line is no easy task either.”

Joe tended to get loud when he was excited about something, especially when he was talking about his techie stuff. His voice carried and several of the people nearby gave him nasty looks. He didn’t notice but I quickly put my heel down on his foot. After yelping and cursing, I think it finally sunk in. Talking about derailing a mag at such an excited level and especially now, it wasn’t the brightest thing in the world.

“Dude” hissed Ted, looking just as angry as everyone else.

“Oh shit,” said Joe, turning a pale green.

Literally too, actually. He had one of those apps on his Bio that changed the pigment of his skin based on his emotions. It was absolutely pointless of course but a lot of kids our age had them. Well a lot excluded me.

After that, Ted started chastising him which I decided not to stay around for. I thought about going to look for Carrie but quickly second guessed that. I loved my kid sis but she was nine and I didn’t exactly have a lot in common with that. I tried to find common ground with her but she was all about her dolls and Bio pet things. The only thing we actually did have in common were our parents and the house we lived in. Well and maybe Toby. He was our dog. He was a German Shepherd on the good days, a Golden Retriever whenever Dad was around and a nice shaggy sheep dog whenever Carrie played with him.

Toby was a Synth. A synthetic bio-organize pet. Owning real dogs wasn’t allowed anymore so some ingenious company developed syntho-pets a few decades ago. They could literally be whatever you wanted them to be. We got REX003 when I was about Carrie’s age. Dad was always partial to dogs. He actually had a real one when he was a kid. A Golden Retriever named Toby, that’s sorta how ours got his name. Toby was great but according to Dad, he was nothing like the real thing.

I’m just surprised Carrie didn’t try smuggling him in here somehow.

I found my sister in one of the back room, playing with her friend Becky from down the street. They had their dolls out, up walking and talking. It always freaked me out when they did that. Whoever came up with toys like that was a genius of course but that didn’t stop me from wanted to stomp on them.

I thought about going out onto the back patio where I saw my Mom and several others but didn’t want to get into the mess. Maybe I’d just head home. I’d done my part after all. I made an appearance, I saw the guys, I filled my human quota for the day. I made a beeline for the door when I got pipped again. At first, I thought it was Ted again, trying to coax me into staying just a bit longer. I tapped my lobe and heard a voice I hadn’t actually heard speak to me in a long time: “Benjy?”

It was Maddie.

I turned around, confused. Then I caught sight of her. She was sitting in the shadows at the top of the stairs, her knees pulled up under her chin. I sighed, trying to remember the last time anyone ever called me Benjy. It had to be back when I was an Undie like Carrie. Benjy was a nickname that a lot of the kids called me. I actually think Maddie was the one who originated. She was also the only one who still ever called me by it. It’s just been so long since I’d actually heard her say it. I took a cautious breath before deciding what I wanted to do. I had two options again. Either continue out the door and forget her or turn around and go to her. I knew which one my head wanted me to do but my heart was telling me something else entirely.

I have a bit of a confession to make.

The real reason I stopped being friends with Maddie was because of puberty. It was exceptionally kind to the Sanderson sisters. Crystal was near Alpha pretty and her sister was a very close second. Maddie went from this chubby, chipmunk cheeked girl into a knockout over night. It was a pretty amazing metamorphosis actually. Sure, it was longer than over night but you get my drift. Suffice to say it didn’t take long for her to set my hormones racing. Unfortunately, that’s where the problem fell. I wasn’t the only one. I’m not sure which one of us decided it but somehow Ted got dibs. Call it the bro code or whatever but I wasn’t going to muscle in like that on my buddy. So I did the noble and heart wrenching thing and I backed off.

Ted got the girl even if he never actually got the girl.

The only thing the two of them were ever able to muster was a very good friendship. I know it pissed Ted off a lot too.

I made up my mind quick though.

I turned and started for the door just like before.

Pip. “Benjy, please, just once.”

Letting out an even heavier sigh than before, I finally made my way up the stairs. My legs felt like they both weighed a hundred pounds at least. I found Maddie sitting on the top step, still shrouded in shadow. It didn’t matter though because I could still vaguely see her face. Like Joe, she had one of those funky Bio apps too but unlike his, her app allowed her to change her hair color and makeup at will. Today it was all black, no surprise there. I dropped down the step next to her, not sure how to react or what to say. In the end it didn’t matter because as soon as I dropped next to her she had her arms around me, her head buried into my shoulder and the tears soon followed.

I tensed up.

I can count on one hand how many people ever actually hugged me. I can even use one finger to count how many people ever cried on me. To say I was a bit awkward was an understatement but I let her cry. It was the human thing to do; right? And cry she did. I’m not sure how long she actually did it for but when she stopped, I couldn’t help but want to hug her a bit myself. Instead, I took my grandfather’s handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to her.

She dried her eyes. She might have even blown her nose. I didn’t really care just so long as it made her feel better.

“Thanks” she said in a soft voice, still clutching my keepsake tightly.

“I’m sorry about Crystal” I said and actually meant it too.

She didn’t say anything for a whole minute but when she did speak it was softly again. “I don’t understand it.”

“Understand what?”

“They said it was driver error. That Crys accidentally turned off the autopilot and car jerked from the rail going 80. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

She broke down again. This time I did hug her. Her head somehow ended up under my chin this time. Her hair smelled like lilacs. I kind of liked it. I held her a longer this time as she sobbed into my chest. I needed to comfort her, I needed to say something. Then I remembered what Dad said. The car Crystal was driving---the Saber---there was no way that a driver could switch off the auto. That function wasn’t even in the cockpit. He was certain that the malfunction was on the rail itself or one of the mag couplers on the bottom of the car.

It was definitely not pilot error as all the vids were saying.

So I told her that.

She looked up at me, her eyes glistening with tears. “You’re sure?”

I smiled. “My Dad built the car. He should know after all.”

Her face split into the biggest smile I’d ever seen. God I forgot how much I loved that smile.

Then she did something I only ever dreamed. She actually grabbed my head and kissed me. It was a quick peck but it was still on the lips. She pulled away quickly, a little surprised more than anything. I was surprised to say the least too. We stared at each other for a few moments before she finally pulled away.

“Sorry” she said softly, welling up again.

I reached to comfort her again but she brushed me off.

Of course. Mistake. That’s all it even was with me.

No, not a mistake. Grief. I comforted her and she got lost in the moment. Nothing more, soon to be forgotten.

“I gotta go,” I said quickly, standing up.

I started down the stairs, getting pipped as I opened the door.

“Thanks Benjy”

Gods I would pay a million creds to keep hearing her say that name over and over again.

I couldn’t help but smile as I opened the door. Glad no one saw either because two in one day from me, people might think I was sick or something. I managed to smile all the way across the street though. I even found myself smiling as I got into the house and made it to my room. As soon as I got to the bedroom, the smile faded. Well good things can’t last forever, right?

Toby was on my bed waiting, currently a Boxer.

“I guess I might be human after all boy,” I said happily.

He cocked his head, giving me a funny look.

Then there was the pip.

One simple line.

“I saw that.”

Shit.

Ted.

Well it’s officially, I’m definitely human.

At least until tomorrow anyway.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.2, as promised. I'm going to try one chapter a week and see how that goes. I'm currently writing Ch.4 so I'm ahead of things---for now lol. No TG elements yet though just some explanations. Oh and if my science is off, let me know and help me change it please. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and my beta readers for their great help.

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2:

For the next few days, Crystal’s death was the talk of the school. After all, dying in a car accident was a big deal now. My dad used to say such things were pretty common back in my great grandfather’s day when cars still ran on combustion engines and gasoline but the new mag-lev models were supposed to be infallible. Ok, so not totally of course, but an accident like Crystal’s was very rare. While the Vids were still calling it “pilot error”, I knew from Dad that such a thing wasn’t possible. It made me wonder why the government would continue to allow such a lie to sold to the masses. I mean after the Freedom of Speech act was amended to include private protection, you’d think that such a thing would be slander now.

The accident wasn’t the only thing that was on people’s minds though.

It didn’t take long for someone to crunch the numbers and figure out something even more drastic.

Crystal was a Ratio.

Now in some of the bigger Metros, something like that was nothing to fret about. After all, places like Metro One there were thousands of people. Ratios were a dime a dozen and cropped up like dandelions in summer. But here in Metro 656, a Ratio was a big deal. Our Metro wasn’t the smallest but it was pretty close. We only had about five thousand people, not including the Alphas and their families who lived in the Cube. So if one of the Jects happened to croak, it always made everyone take a moment. If one of us turned out to be a Ratio, then it really made everyone stop what they were doing. Especially considering the last one was nearly a year ago.

Population control was a big deal in the Metros. At any one given time, the System knew how many citizens were present and each one of us had a number. Don’t ask me mine because I haven’t the foggiest. The numbers helped the System keep a tally on the ratio between male and female citizens. That Ratio was important for the upkeep and well being of our society. If for instance not enough boys were born and a few of them were to die then there would be an imbalance. Thus, the next number in the sequence would be a Ratio. If another boy was born then the Ratio would go away and all would be fine. It was how the system worked.

There were, of course, unforeseen circumstances.

Like Crystal’s sudden and tragic death.

The fact that Crystal was a Ratio made things even more troublesome.

It meant there was now an imbalance in the female population.

It also meant a new Alpha was about to appear.

Even if a new baby girl were to be born tomorrow, things would not even themselves out overnight. The baby girl would be added to the System’s registry, of course, and as soon as she was processed, things would get back to business. But processing an infant took time and the System would be unbalanced until then. The System could function fine on its own but nature had other plans.

I learn about it every year in science and history class.

Shortly after my great grandfather was born, there was a nasty illness that swept across the world. They called it the XY Plague. Those born after a certain amount of time---mainly males---were susceptible to the plague. Nearly 80% of the male population was wiped clean. My great grandfather one of the lucky few. To compensate for this loss, nature found another way. The best way I can describe it is with clownfish. Say for instance, there are more male clownfish than females. Well then, one of the male fish becomes a female fish and things are balanced out. Well after the XY plague was cured, it was discovered that every baby born afterwards was born with what the media affectionately began calling the “Clownfish gene”.

According to science class, I know this type of change should be called sequential hermaphroditism. Up to that point in the history of the world, it was something only some fish, snails and plants had. However it seemed Mother Nature decided that it was the next step in human evolution. All of us born after the XY Plague are born that way but most of us live normal, healthy lives. It’s only when a Ratio comes up that we have to fear for things to come.

When a Ratio pops up one of us becomes an Alpha.

Now that might sound cool in the long run but the idea of changing one’s gender to achieve such a cool thing rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

I know it did me.

I know it scared a lot of guys.

So suffice to say, the mood was pretty damn somber in school for the next couple of days. I couldn’t walk anywhere without hearing the whispers and the fear. People were running scared. The halls between classes were vacant, the lunch room nearly deserted. There were a lot of stupid superstitions surrounding the “Manifestation”. Some people believed if you stayed isolated, it would keep you safe. Others believed that your proximity to the opposite sex made it easier to “manifest”. There were even some who believed if you fled the Metro completely you were safe from it.

It was all bullshit of course.

Nothing stopped you from manifesting. If you were going to do it, you did it. It was like the lottery. If the right number was picked then that was that. There was nothing you could do to prevent it. History had proven that. When the first Alphas appeared, there was a lot of fear and lots of people ran scared. Scientists all around the globe tried to come up with ways to prevent such a thing from happening but nothing worked. When my grandfather was in his twenties, that’s when the first Cube was made. He was a first generation Sentinel. He was proud of it. The stories he used to tell me were some of my fondest memories of him. Whenever I asked him about what he thought about manifestation and the Alphas, he always used to tell me, “We only have one life and no matter how it turns out, we need to live it and accept it for what it is.” So if we were to manifest and become an Alpha, that was what our life was meant to be.

I always thought I took grandpa’s philosophy seriously.

Well that was before this whole Ratio thing.

Sure, the adults and the older Uppers had nothing to fear, they were immune to the change. It was us kids, the “Inters”, who had to worry. Manifestation usually occurred in teenagers from the ages of thirteen to sixteen. It often happened during the onset of puberty but was not uncommon to manifest later. The change occurred over a period of about a week. The first sign was a slight tingling on the back of your hand. That tingling would grow into a rash which over the course of the day would slowly manifest itself into a rudimentary symbol: the female symbol would pop up on a guy and vice versa for a girl. It was kind of weird actually but who was I to argue with Nature.

To say I was scared was an understatement.

As I walked into the cafeteria, I was surprised to see I wasn’t the only one.

On a normal day the room was packed and buzzing with activity. Guys and girls laughed and co-mingled without a care in the world. Today it was not like that. Yesterday had been bad of course, especially after the afternoon Vids came on. Today was a completely different story. Whereas yesterday there was slight panic today it was a ghost town. There were a hundred Inters in the school on a day-to-day basis. We all ate at the same time in Cafeteria 2. Like I said before, usually it was Grand Central Station. Today it was the Sahara. You could drive a hover truck through the gaps in the people. It was even worse when you considered that the majority of the guys in the room were sitting on one side and the girls on the other.

No one spoke.

No one even looked at each other.

A pin dropping in here would be like a bomb going off.

I scanned the room, looking at all the idiots. I spotted Joe and Ted sitting at an overly crowded table with a bunch of other guys. Ted’s back was to me, eating normally. Joe gave me a look, his face a pukish gray currently. Joe was a smart guy, his parents worked with my Mom in fact. They were smart people too. In just floored me that he’d actually believe some of the stupid stuff. I gave him a look and shook my head. I was actually ashamed at the moment to call him my friend. I wasn’t as ashamed of Ted though. I know he was only sitting there because Joe was.

I also know that he was pretty pissed.

He was angry about the kiss.

I tried to tell him that it was incident and it meant nothing. I also told him that she was upset, I told her something to make her feel better and she reacted. It was innocent and stupid. Ted didn’t see it that way. I’m not sure I wanted to either. I knew what it really was and I think Ted did as well but I wanted it to be more. I wasn’t going to lie to myself. I had it bad for Maddie. She was after all the most gorgeous girl I’d ever seen---not counting any Alpha girl.

Alphas didn’t count as far as I was concerned. Maddie was the one I wanted. She was always the one I wanted. I backed off though. I knew Ted liked her too. He was my best friend. There was no way I could betray him like that.

So I let them have their time.

I left Maddie alone.

It was working too. That is until her sister’s wake of course.

I should have just walked away. I should have just stuck with my guns and left like I wanted too. The only problem was that I erred and decided to be human.

See, being human leads to nothing but problems.

Yesterday I set about to talk to Maddie. I wanted to clear the air. I wanted her to know that I knew the kiss was nothing and that she was upset. Except she wasn’t in school yesterday. I suppose I couldn’t blame her. She was still grieving. After my grandfather passed away, I spent two days crying in my room. I couldn’t even bring myself to go to the funeral. In fact, to this day, I have yet to visit his grave. I can’t do it, it’s just too painful. He was the closest thing to a true friend and definitely a true parent I had. Sure, Mom and Dad were there but they weren’t really. They worked all the time and grandpa; he was the guy who had my back.

Crystal and Maddie were like that too.

So it was only understandable.

Only human.

So after I finished staring at Ted’s back, I decided to see if I could find Maddie. It actually wasn’t all that hard. She was the girl sitting at the table all by herself. The table that was away from every other girl on her side of the cafeteria. Oh yeah, I forgot about that stupid superstition. Somehow, people actually believed that the Ratio was cursed and that anyone who came in close contact with them was cursed as well. That if you even sat next to them, somehow the curse would activate and that either you or one of your loved ones would become the next Alpha.

It was by far one of the stupider ones.

I took a deep breath and started toward her.

I dropped into the seat across from her, though she barely noticed.

I decided with something light to break the ice.
“Hey”

I’m going with the classics here.

She looked up at me, surprised at first.

“You sure you want to be seen sitting with the pariah. You might get cursed and grow boobs out of your forehead or something.”

“I’ll take my chances”

Maddie smiled. God she had a great one.

I was glad to see she was a lot happier today too. Her gloom was gone and in its place was something slightly more her. Her hair was still on the shade of dark but at least it was purple and not black. Her makeup was still black though. She was also sporting a black ring. Most people didn’t really go for the whole black is for mourning anymore. Now the trend was to wear rings. Even the guys wore them but usually only on their thumbs and no more than a day or so. I did notice a few of the other girls wearing similar rings. A lot of the Uppers had them on too, mostly Crystal’s friends.

It was kind of nice they were showing their support.

I thought about getting a ring too but I think it would have soiled my whole loner image.

The Loner cares.

Yeah.

Not.

Good.

“So” I said, trying to find something worthy. “Are you feeling any better today?”

She set down her fork. Not that she was really eating to begin with. All her food was still on the tray, untouched. I think she was just using the fork to move everything around.

She sighed. “I’m sorry, Ok.”

“About what?”

“The kiss”

“Oh” I said, shrugging. “Nothing to apologize for. You were upset. I told you something nice, it was a perfectly normal reaction I suppose. I mean I don’t want to ruin things between you and Ted.”

She scoffed. “Me and Ted?”

She laughed a bit.

“Don’t get me wrong, Ted is a nice guy but there’s nothing going on there” She laughed even louder. “He’s just a friend. I mean he might think something more is going to come out of all of this but I can assure you that Ted and I are never going to happen.”

So maybe I recorded that bit.

Sue me.

I just wanted to make sure I had it on file if Ted ever got into my face about all this shit. I knew Ted. He’d stew about this for a bit, get pissy then boil over. When I least expected it, he’d strike. Usually I just let him come because well he’s Ted. He gets filled with hot air a lot and tends to overreact to the littlest things. He would come at me with this eventually and now I had something to use if he got too carried away. I didn’t want to hurt him, of course, but like I said, sometimes he overdid things. I can still remember what happened when I got a hover bike first. He avoided me for a week then came by with an even better bike. It probably cost a fortune and Ted got it just because he wanted to prove he was better than me.

He was like that with a lot of people.

In fact, it was pretty common when one of your parents was an Alpha. Living with perfection and not being a part of it, it tends to rub people the wrong way. Every once and a while there was a News Vid about some Alpha’s kid going ballistic and doing something stupid. It went with the territory.

Ted was no different.

“Are things Ok with you two?” she asked, clearly looking over my shoulder to see him.

I only half turned, catching him out of the corner of my eye. He no longer had his back turned to me. Instead, he was now staring daggers at us. I could only imagine what this must have looked like to him.

I sighed.

Fuck him.

“I’m fine but you know Ted.”

She nodded. “Unfortunately.”

She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “You should have seen what happened after you left. I mean I only saw because they didn’t see me at the top of the stairs but I caught this argument between Ted’s Mom and that assistant guy of hers”

“Jeremy” I said.

“Yeah him” she said then continued quickly. “I’m not sure what the argument was about but she kept calling him a moron. She was saying something about the wrong one. I think he screwed up some business thing. I overheard her talking to Mom earlier about business. Mom was in the den, on the holo with her. I think that’s why she was there.”

“So she couldn’t even come there to mourn your sister?”

“Yeah I know right” Maddie looked slightly hurt. “Say what you will about Alphas but sometimes those people are real asses.”

I bit my lip. “So do you ever hear from Ryan?”

It was clearly a sore subject, especially from the sneer it provoked.
“We don’t”

“Sorry” I said softly.

I knew her brother was a sore subject and I’m an ass for bringing it up. I remember Ryan growing up, he was kind of cool. He was about ten years older than Maddie and I. Ryan was one of the coolest guys I knew. He used to let me help him wash his hover car on the weekends. When he manifested I was only five. I don’t really remember much of the specifics only that I was upset because I thought maybe Maddie would have to move away. But the only one who left was Ryan. I cried a bit because I was upset that we couldn’t hang out anymore.

Of course, it wasn’t the last I saw of him. Well her now.

After Ryan emerged, he became a super star.

Everyone knew Rachel Monroe.

She was the star of several Vids and Commercials. Her face was practically everywhere these days. There wasn’t a person in the whole Zone who didn’t want to be her friend or to even be in her company. To be in the shadow of Rachel Monroe was like walking in the shade of a giant. I’m even ashamed to admit that I even have a few of her Vids in my personal file storage.

“She” said Maddie, putting it in air quotes. “Wants nothing more to do with the Jects who she once called family. The overbearing bitch could even keep our Ject name.”

Yeah lots of bad blood there.

Open mouth, insert foot.

Gods, I’m such an idiot.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to bring up such a sore subject.”

“It’s ok” she said and sighed. “That person is not my family anymore. She’s not my sister and never will be. I have a sister and she was great. Rachel Whats-Her-Face can go suck it for all I care.”

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

On instinct, I reached out and touched her hand to comfort her. She didn’t pull away. A moment later, there was a pip.

“Dude, Minus” it was Joe. “What are you doing, you can’t touch her!”

I of course ignored him.

I continued to keep my hand on hers for another minute or so. She didn’t try to pull away once. Of course it didn’t last. When we finally did pull our hands away, both of us were smiling. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this good. It was a nice feeling actually.

“So are you excited about this afternoon?”

Was I ever? I think I might have mentioned more than once about wanting to be a Sentinel. Well this afternoon was the first step on my road to achieving that goal. Today after lunch, we were all to meet with our Placement Specialists. We’d get a standard physical then answer a series of questions. For once in my life, I was actually kind of excited. I hated feeling this way knowing that was feeling so bad but from the look on her face, she looked really excited too.

Maybe this Placement was what she needed to help her move on.

“What Placement are you going for?”

“Medical, I want to follow in Crys’s footsteps.”

“I think she would like that.”

Maddie smiled. “How about you? You still want to be like your grandfather?”

Holy crap, she remembered.

“You remember that?”

She laughed. “Of course, Benjy. You used to run around with that old Sentinel hat of his and pretend to arrest all of us. It was so darn cute.”

I laughed. “I just want to make the Old Man proud.”

She touched my hand this time.

“I’m sure he is.”

Pip. “Great now you’re double cursed.”

Still ignoring. I also made up my mind about something. To hell with Ted. She didn’t want him and he clearly didn’t have the gall to do anything so I’m going for it. If she laughed at me then I could take it. I have thick skin but I had to try.

“So Mad, if you’re not doing anything this weekend, you think you might want to catch the new Vid with me?”

Ok so it was lame but I had to take the plunge.

She stared at me for a moment or two.

I was convinced I was toast.

Then she smiled.

“Sure, Benjy, I’d like that.”

BANG.

SCORE.

BENJY ROCKS!!!

A few seconds later the tone sounded, ending lunch. Maddie and I got up separately, carrying our still uneaten lunch to the recycler. We walked out of the cafeteria together, the rest of the world a mere memory for that one split second of a moment.

I found myself grabbing her hand as we walked out the door.

I was so excited I could actually feel the tingle.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.3. I'd like to say I'm on schedule to post Ch.4 next work but sadly I'm only half done with it. Unfortunately, Real Life has interfered with this story and I've been really busy. Sadly I might be real busy for the next couple of weeks now too. I'll try to finish 4 to have it up next week but any other chapter might be delayed a bit after that. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and my beta readers for their great help.

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3:

“Benjamin Daniels?”

The secretary behind the desk was Alpha pretty. She didn’t have the height or athletic build, of course, but she was still a knockout. That’s all I noticed about her though. I was just too nervous to really pay attention to anything else. This was it after all. This was the moment I’d been waiting for ever since my grandfather’s first story. I was finally on my way to achieving my lifelong dream. Ok so it was technically only the first step but it was the first step of my future.

My first human step.

I stood up from the hardback chair, taking a deep breath as I did so.

When I first arrived nearly an hour ago, there had been seven of us. Now there were just two. The other kid was Mark Ross. He and I were mutual acquaintances. Well technically all of us were acquaintances. We all had the same classes together after all, except for PE of course. Even then, though, there was only an invisible line dividing the girl’s half of the gym from ours. I never understood why we had separate classes actually. After all, we did the exact same things. The only thing that really needed to be different was our locker rooms.

Even then, there was some debate.

Mark looked through the vid screen in front of me, nodding as he did so.

I nodded back before I followed the secretary through the door she opened. She stepped aside and stopped, apparently not going any farther.

“First door on the right” she said as I stepped past her.

As soon as I started down the hall, I heard the door close behind me. I was a bit nervous as I followed the hall. When I got to the door, I paused before entering. I’d had quite a few physicals, actually. In fact, it was standard for us to have one every six months. I knew this one was a bit different though. There were certain qualities that the Sentinels were looking for. It wasn’t just physical stuff either. I needed to have a proper mental state as well. Being a Sentinel wasn’t just about patrolling the perimeter of the Cube. I had to be in peak physical and mental condition.

I had the advantage of having my grandfather to tell me what to do.

I took another deep breath and opened the door, stepping into the small room. Inside I found another chair, this one cushioned.

“Take a seat,” said a voice in my ear.

It was always a bit unsettling when the Administration could access your Bio whenever they wanted.

I did as I was instructed, dropping comfortably into the large chair.

A moment later, a panel in the ceiling opened and a console slowly dropped down in front of me. All very routine.

Physicals were done a little bit differently now. I knew from history class that something like this would have been overseen by a medical professional. But with the invention of Bios, most medical professionals were obsolete. Sure we still had them but most of it was lab work now. Medical science was now a hybrid field with computer and biological sciences. The Meds worked closely with the Bio division to find ways to better advance the Bios’ performance. A hundred years ago when Newton Cross invented the Bio, he changed the course of human history. I single device that could tap into an individual’s brain and in essence, their very core self.

The Bios of course had advanced quite a bit since the first version.

Now human beings couldn’t function without them.

“Insert the tube please,” said the voice, referring to the “tube” that came out of the side of the console.

I grabbed the thin, black cord, then slowly inserted it in the little port under my left earlobe. Whereas the right ear was for communication, the left had a tiny hole or “port” for medical reasons. It might seem a little weird and I’m sure when they were first implemented people probably freaked, but now it was how the world worked. I suppose you could say that with the port and the Bio, human beings weren’t really fully human anymore. Add Alphas to that equation and well that was a whole new ball game.

A moment after inserting the tube, the console in front of me lit up. A second later, a small holographic representation of myself appeared. A blue dot appeared near my left ear then slowly started to trail its way through my body, following my central nervous system, lighting up as it went along. I followed the first blue line for a second but lost track of it a second later when it split into several different directions. After less than a minute, the holographic me was all blue lines. It was kind of freaky.

I shifted in my seat.

“Sit still please”

Sighing, I tried not to move anymore. Of course, I started to get an itch. I decided to concentrate on holo me again.

The blue lines remained and a red line started. I watched it for a moment as it followed my blood stream. After that, a yellow line started highlighting my internal organs. Then purple started to highlight my skeleton. Finally, green started to highlight my muscles. When it was all done, holo me looked like a little rainbow man.

“Thank you for your patience” said a voice a moment after the green line finished.

“You’re welcome,” I said, even though I knew the voice couldn’t hear me.

“You may remove the tube now but please remain seated.”

I took the tube out of my port. As soon as I let it go, it quickly recoiled back into the console. A moment after that, a mechanical appendage appeared. Nearly identical to the arms of the auto dresser, the only difference being this one had a syringe. I flinched, guessing what was next.

“Raise your left arm and remain absolutely still.”

I did as instructed.

The arm stuck me fast. I flinched again. Then watched as it drew my blood.

It was kind of funny actually. All this advanced tech and they still used old school syringes. I suppose if something isn’t broke, there’s no need to fix it. After my blood filled up the syringe, the arm quickly retracted back into the console. A few seconds after that, the console returned to the ceiling.

I sat and waited for my next instruction. I didn’t have to wait long.

“Please report to room 213, down the hall, second door on the left.”

I left the tiny room and followed the hallway again. My nerves had subsided some but I knew the hardest part was about to come.

Physicals were very straightforward because Bios never lied. My grandfather had told me that much. According to him, what really mattered was making a good impression during the interview portion of the process. All Placement processing exams were the same. First, there was a test you took the year before. If you passed that, then the following year, you got an appointment. Last year the test had been a joke. Then again, I had a good coach. Unfortunately, now there was nothing I could do to prepare for this next part.

This was all me. No pressure.

I found room 213 easily enough. Not sure what to do I knocked but no one answered. I knocked a second time but finally convinced myself there was probably no one on the other side. Taking the imitative, I opened the door. Sure enough, I was right. I found myself standing in an empty, well, one devoid of people anyway. In the center of the room, I found a table and a single chair. Other than that, it was pretty barren. It was kind of creepy actually. Even creepier because it didn’t even have a window.

I tried to look like I belonged there by quickly making my way over to the table. I took a seat in the chair, hoping that I wasn’t wasting my time in the process.

As soon as my butt hit the seat, my fears subsided.

A holographic image of a man--- wearing the white uniform of a Sentinel---appeared in the middle of the table. The 14-inch high holo-image flicked only once before stabilizing. The figure was middle aged but well fit. I could just make out the insignia of Sergeant on his left shoulder.

“Mr. Daniels?”He asked, I nodded. “Good to meet ya, Sergeant Philips, I’ll be your Orientation Officer.”

“Orientation?” I asked, surprised. “Does that mean I’m in?”

He gave me a look. “You were in, son, the moment you stepped through the door.”

Shit.

“You’d be surprised how many kids your age never bother to take that step. We monitor that hall and out of the seven of you today, only three of you opened the door. You should be proud of that, son.”

I had passed a test I didn’t even know existed.

I suppose it made sense when you think about it. If someone didn’t have enough courage to enter a room without being told to do so then they had no point being there. Well ok, so maybe courage wasn’t the right word, confidence might fit better. Grandpa taught me to be confident a lot time ago. I might be a self-appointed loner but I wasn’t afraid to be myself. I knew who I was and that’s all that mattered. I was confident in who I was too.

“This is awesome,” I said, unable to contain my glee.

Philips smiled. “You’re very privileged, not many kids your age make it into the Sentinels.”

I knew all about that too.

Out of all the potential Sentinel Probates, less than half actually made it out of their first years. Even if you did, things were hardly easy. As soon as I become an Upper next year, I’m going to have to spread my time between school and Sentinel Academy. The Academy was no walk in the park either from what I’ve heard. There was a rigorous training program that a cadet went through. It was the program that caused ninety percent of the washouts. I was ready for it though.

I was ready for it all.

I would not quit.

I would not fail.

I would make my grandfather proud of me.

“You’re Murray’s grandson aren’t you?”

The question took me by surprise. Grandpa only made it to Sergeant rank in the Sentinels. He told me he was happy there. He used to operate the gate on the south side of the Cube. Other than that, he really didn’t talk much about his work. Sure, he would share some interesting stories but the day-to-day stuff was pretty boring according to him.

“You knew my grandfather?”

Philips laughed. “By reputation only.”

Reputation?

What the hell did that mean?

I wanted to ask more but he already moved on.

“Now an orientation with the Sentinels is not easy. There’s a lot of hard work involved. If at any time you feel it’s too much, you let me and we can make other arrangements.”

A washout, not likely.

“I know what’s involved and I’m ready for it.”

“Good, just the attitude I wanted.”

Sergeant Philips spent the next several minutes telling me everything I would need to know. Most of it he said would be covered in the manual they would send me later tonight. After that, he asked me a lot of questions. Most of them I’m sure he already knew the answers to, but he was testing me again. I answered as best I could. After all, I wanted to make the best impression I could. While we were talking, my nervousness began to fade but something else started to replace it. I started to feel the itch about halfway through our talk. It actually wasn’t all that uncommon for me.

I’ve had blood drawn before and each time afterwards, I always started to itch.

I think I had allergic reactions to whatever process they used.

It was no different this time.

I scratched my hand a few times, then tried to ignore it.

Thankfully, the Sergeant didn’t notice or if he did, he was polite enough not to say anything.

When we finally ended our conversation, he stood at attention and saluted me.

“Probate Daniels” he said, making me straighten up a little. “It is my honor to welcome you to the Sentinels.”

I smiled. “Thank you sir.”

I did it, Grandpa.

I’m a Sentinel.

I stood and returned the salute. After that, the Sergeant’s holo disappeared, leaving me alone. I let out a final great big sigh then itched my hand again.

Things were finally starting to look up for me.

The house was quiet when I got home, which wasn’t a surprise at all. I couldn’t remember the last time one or both of my parents were home. Sure Mom made appearances but most of her life was her work. Dad was the same but at least he could work out of home if he needed. He had converted our garage into a workshop a few years ago. My parents weren’t bad parents, they were just really busy. It helped a lot when grandpa was here. He was more of a parent than either one of mine. Like I said though, it wasn’t that Mom and Dad didn’t try. They tried real hard but often saying something and doing something for them were two completely different things.

Hey, they were only human after all.

“Carrie” I shouted, dropping my bag near the door like usual.

More than likely my sister would be in the den. The den had the bigger of the two vid screens and my father’s vintage collection of old movies. Carrie liked to hide away there every day after school. I used to do the same. It was kind of cool to watch some of those oldies. The graphics were a joke and there were no holograms but they were still pretty entertaining. Even the 3D effects were decent if you could get over how flat looking, they were. Dad seemed to enjoy them. Then again, he enjoyed anything vintage. He was a bit of a collector. He had a lot of really cool stuff actually. His pride and joy though was the vintage 2040 Ford Vector. It was the last combustion engine vehicle ever produced. There were only four left on the whole planet.

Dad pulled a lot of strings to get it too.

Unfortunately, it was illegal to drive or else I’m sure he’d be tearing up the streets right now with it.

“Carrie” I called again, making my way to the kitchen.

As soon as I stepped inside, the lights turned on.

I walked to the island and brought up the console there then brought up the holo interface. Scrolling through the fridge, I was hoping to find something quick and easy for dinner tonight. With Mom and Dad pulling another all nighter, it was up to me to feed us again. I continued to scroll, trying to decide what I might be interested in. The fridge was well stocked today. Mom must have reset it before going to work this morning. She even put in Burger King and Domino’s. She must have been feeling really charitable. She usually left the fast food places out of the weekly rotation.

“Carrie” I shouted, hoping I’d break through to her finally.

Third time’s a charm.

My sister appeared a minute or so later, Toby trailing behind her.

“What” she asked, annoyed.

Eight years old and an attitude already.

I turned to look at her, wondering what fashion forward guru she was emulating today. Carrie liked to be hip and fresh. Every day she modeled her outfit off of one of the vid star’s latest looks. Today was no different. Her dress was pink, her hair done in pigtails. I was just glad the dog wasn’t pink too. Toby was looking very fashionable today though, I heard Siberian Huskies were all the rage lately.

“You want Domino’s?”

She shrugged. “Whatever is fine with me?”

“Are you this much of a bitch with Mom too?”

She shrugged. “Wouldn’t know.”

Burn.

The sad thing was it was the truth.

Eight years old and already so wise.

Scary too.

“They leave an ETA this time?”

“Probably” said Carrie, feigning disinterest. “I’m going back to the den, my show is back on.”

She left just as quickly as she arrived, the dog stayed behind.

Man’s best friend, loyal to the end.

I ordered up the pizza then headed up to my room. Toby followed, keeping at my heels. This was routine with us, too. He stuck with Carrie until I got home then he was my pal for the rest of the night. It was how he was programmed actually. His subroutines could be changed at any time but I kind of liked it that way. Of course, when Dad was home, he always liked to tamper with him. I loved Toby, I loved the fact that he would be around forever but I think I would have much preferred a real dog. It was a shame that they didn’t allow them in the Zones anymore. There were still some places out in the rural areas who still had real ones but it was a dying fad.

I mean who would want a real dog when they could design their own.

Man, this society was messed up.

Entering the room, the lights immediately turned on. I also noticed that the indicator light on my wall vid was blinking. Ignoring it for a second, I dropped onto my bed. I just needed a moment to myself. Toby jumped up next to me, laying his head on my chest. I laid there, petting his head and staring at the ceiling. I couldn’t help but smile, too. I did it, I was a Sentinel now. So Ok, I wasn’t even a Cadet yet, but I was in. If grandpa was still alive, I’m sure he’d want to celebrate. I thought about calling my parents, telling them the good news but I don’t think they’d care. Neither one of them was too keen on the idea in the first place. Dad thought I should have followed Uncle Frank and gone into politics, mom wanted me to be a writer of all things.

Neither one of them knew me at all.

I wanted to be like grandpa, the man I idolized.

Why couldn’t they see that?

“They’re clueless Toby,” I said, which caused him to cock his head.

I laughed then sat up, groaning as I realized that someone wanted me to be social.

I took a moment before I answered, though.

Glancing around my room, I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before I gave this all up for a place in the Cube.

I was happy and sad at the same time.

I had a lot of good times in this room.

But I’m not sure I was going to miss it.

Sure, it was my room but it wasn’t very personalized. Carrie’s room was much more decorated to fit her personality. Mom had even let her color change the walls pink. Me, I liked the steel gray of my walls. I also liked the lack of personal things that I had going on. Sure, I had some pictures and my desk but nothing really stood out as being specifically me. The pictures were framed holos of me and my family. The desk had a lamp sitting on it and my console. My cabinet on the far wall had a few books but most of them I had read half a dozen times. I watched vids but not as much as my friends and definitely not as much as Carrie. The only thing I ever really cared about was the Sentinels. Well, that and my grandfather’s old badge. It was also one of the very few possessions of his I still had. I wore it on a chain around my neck, keeping it with me always. It made me feel like grandpa was with me everywhere I go.

My eyes fell on the wall vid and the blinking light.

Sighing, I brought up the interface and waited as it came to life. The typical System logo and message played first followed by a quick scroll of the top news stories. I ignored all that of course. A moment later, Joe’s face filled up the screen.

“Dude, about damn time” he said, feigning annoyance.

“Sorry, I just got home.”

“So how’d it go?”

“I’m in” I said, smiling.

“Of course you are” he said with a laugh. “I got in, too.”

Joe wanted to be in Comms like Mom. I wasn’t the least bit surprised that he got into that.

“What about Ted?”

Joe shrugged. “Not even sure what he was going for?”

Ted was a weird friend. Sure, he was my best friend but he was a very private person. The three of us used to be really close but lately he’d been kind of distant. At one time, he wanted to be a Sentinel like me but something changed. He never really said what and no matter how much we tried, we could never get him to confess the reason. Now neither Joe nor I knew what Ted wanted. Our friendship was a bit on again, off again, too. It was almost as if he was developing a weird mental illness. One minute he’d be just like good ole Ted, then he’d be this complete stranger the next minute. The only problem with my theory was that mental illness was obsolete now thanks to the Bios.

No, whatever Ted’ thing was it, it was all him.

Screw him.

I was tired of trying to figure him out.

“So” said Joe, bobbing his eyebrows up and down. “What’s this I hear about you and Maddie?”

Holy shit.

“How the hell did you know about that?”

“Melissa Jackson has an audible app, she kind of heard you two today.”

Shit, Melissa was a nasty gossip.

So now, everyone knew.

Which meant my good buddy Ted did as well.
Great.

“That girl needs to get a life” I said, shaking my head.

“Ted is pissed.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t see him making a move. I waited; he fumbled so I went for it.”

Joe laughed. “Oh he made his move last week.”

“What? Really?”

Joe laughed even louder. “Oh yeah, it was pretty epic. He came, he saw and he crashed. Maddie busted him up pretty bad. It was fucking hilarious.”

Shit, I had no idea.

I couldn’t help but laugh though.

I had to hand it to him though; I never thought he had the courage to do it. I knew he talked about it a lot but he never actually did anything. I can only give him points for trying. It sucks that she rejected him though. I suppose that would explain why he’s so pissed off at me right now. I had actually succeeded where he failed. That was definitely not going to go over well. I just knew he was going to try harder to top me somehow.

“This is going to be a pain in the ass,” I said.

“Ted is the least of our problems,” said Joe, lowering his voice. “I’ve been following the news, still no manifestation.”

Damn it.

This was bad, this was really bad.

After a Ratio died, it usually took a day for a manifestation to occur. The new Alphas were usually picked up, reported and in the news by the end of the second day. Here it was nearly two days after Crystal’s wake, nearly four days after her death and no new Alpha yet. This was scary business indeed, especially for us guys in the fallout zone.

“How big is the FZ this time?”

“Including you, me and Ted?” I nodded. “Forty six in this zone. I suppose it’s possible the manifestation could occur in another Zone but we both know that’s pretty rare. No we’re looking at forty six potential future Aphrodites.”

Shit.

“You gonna get the shot?”

Shit, not that bogus crap.

The “Shot” was horse crap. It was some homeopathic garbage someone cooked up to make an extra buck or two. According to the latest Vids, this shot was supposed to keep people from manifesting. It was complete crap of course but a lot of morons fell for it. The government was totally against them, too. They kept warning people that the shots were bogus and were a waste of your money but that didn’t stop the idiots. Some people even got two just in case.

“Don’t tell me you believe that crap?”

Joe showed me his arm, where a small band-aid was present.
“Done.”

“You’re kidding right?”

“Hey I’m not taking any chances. Aphrodites may be hot but that doesn’t mean I want to be one. Boobs are great and all but as long as they’re on someone else.”

Hell I didn’t want boobs either but I wasn’t stupid enough to throw my money away on stupid crap.

“Joe, you’re supposed to be the smart one.”

He gave me the finger.

We both had a good laugh.

“You know,” he said, after our laughing fit. “You might actually be hot. You’ve got the bone structure and look your hair is already long enough so it wouldn’t have to grow all that much. Slap you in a dress, you’d make one hot chick.”

“Go fuck yourself” I said, laughing.

Joe joined me.

“Let’s make a pact, right here and now,” he said, getting serious. “If one of us turns, the other gets dibs on asking her out.”

I started laughing but stopped when I realized Joe hadn’t joined me.

Sometimes I really worried about me.

“I’m going to eat now” I said, annoyed.

“You’re not agreeing to the pact?”

“Cya tomorrow Joe.”

“That is so cold.”

I clicked off the vid, laughing again.

Idiot.

As I started out my bedroom door, the itching in my hand came back. I cursed, trying my best to ignore it. Whatever the hell they used this time, it was really starting to piss me off. I’m going to have to see if I can get some cream for it or something. If not, this fucking itch was going to drive me insane.

I found myself absently itching as I walked down the hall, cursing when I noticed my skin starting to turn red as well.

Great, now I’ve got a rash.

Fucking Med Centers.

I just hope it’s not contagious.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

-----

Author's Note:Here's Ch.4. Like I mentioned last week, this will probably be the last update on this story for about a week or so. Don't expect a chapter next week sadly. I'll try to find some time to write 5 but it might be two weeks or so before I get to it :( So no lynching me for the nasty cliffhanger at the end of this one :P I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and my beta readers for their great help.

-----

4:

“You’re going to wear that?” asked my sister from behind.

I was standing in front of my mirror, putting on my only good shirt.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Didn’t you wear that to her sister’s funeral?”

Wake, but yeah she had a point. I sighed as I stopped buttoning it. I was already nervous enough; I didn’t need my picky little sister to add to it. Carrie let out a sigh of her own before coming into the room. Without asking, she started for my virtual closet, scrolling through my collection. I could see the disgust on her face already. She started to grumble, systematically rejecting shirt after shirt as she stopped on them for a moment. It took her only a few moments to go through what I had to offer and clearly, she wasn’t the least bit satisfied.

“You’re hopeless,” she said, shoving me aside as she made her way to my wall vid.

I watched with interest as she brought up the GAP, groaning a bit as I realized what she was doing. I wanted to protest but I realized it was futile. Like my mother, once Carrie set her mind to something there was no stopping her. So if she thought my wardrobe was crap, and apparently she did, I couldn’t stop her from correcting the issue. I learned a long time ago to just go with the flow with the women in my family.

The flow was currently leading me to a really nice blue dress shirt and designer jeans.

An expensive shirt and jeans.

“I can’t afford that”.

“This one is on me, bro,” she said, whipping out her cred chip and sticking it into the wall slot. “After all, Mom told me to spend my money on a worthy cause.”

I watched as my sister quickly burned through her weekly allowance and then some.

I made a mental note to pay her back.

When she was done, a buzzing sounded from downstairs.

“Be right back” she said as she ran out of the room.

Shopping was completely different now that everything was done virtually. Whereas in the past you would have to go to a store and spend hours trying on clothes, now everything was automated. You could shop right from your own bedroom and have the clothes you ordered delivered in mere seconds. It was amazing some of the innovations of the future brought us.

Grandpa said it always used to floor him how simple things were now.

A moment later, Carrie came running back into the room carrying a silver wrapped packet with GAP printed all over it.

“You can thank me later,” she said, tossing it at me before leaving.

I stared at the package in my hand for several seconds, trying to decide the best course of action. It was hard not to trust Carrie’s fashion sense. However, I couldn’t help but think she was setting me up for something too. Though she looked like an eight year old, she was one of the brightest and most devious little brats I’d ever seen. Sure, this package could contain exactly what she appeared to order for me or it could be an elaborate trap. I could open it and it could be a paint bomb or something just as mischievous. Last year when Dad turned forty, she had given him a box, which in all likelihood should have contained a mug. Except when he opened it, there was a loud sonic box in there. Dad said he still had ringing in his ears.

That little stunt had earned her a nice grounding.

It only lasted two days.

Carrie managed to weasel her way out of it.

Dad always was a softie for her.

After several more seconds, I decided the risk was worth it. After all, like she pointed out, I really didn’t know what I was doing.

I braced myself as I tore into the package, expecting anything. I was marginally surprised when I found the designer shirt and jeans she bought for me. I took them out of package, laying them gently on my bed. As I did, I noticed another package fall out. It was wrapped in black, almost like an envelope. I picked it up and opened it slowly. I groaned as soon as I saw what was inside: a pair of sheer, black panties.

Pip. “Just in case you know. Hey, I’ve always wanted a sister.”

Then her laughter.

So it was one of those pranks.

I made a quick mental note to get her back later.

I quickly disrobed. I wanted to get going as quick as I could. Mads and I weren’t supposed to meet up for another hour but it didn’t hurt to be a tad earlier. When I was down to my boxers, I couldn’t help but notice something felt off. It almost looked as if the hair on my legs looked lighter and less dense than it did yesterday. I reached down and touched my left leg. It didn’t feel any different. Maybe it was just my imagination. Maybe it was more fear, though.
Last night’s conversation with Joe didn’t settle well with me.

It was really rare for a manifestation to take this long. The media was running wild with it, too. All of them had their theories of course, most of them were bullshit. The only thing they were doing was making guys like me run even more scared. It didn’t help this morning when I woke to the same. They were even debating shutting school down Monday for fear that there might not be enough students attending to keep the doors open. That bit I didn’t mind actually. I tried to convince myself there was nothing to worry about. Every time I did though, I couldn’t help but itch my hand more.

The itch had gotten worse too.

The rash too.

Mom noticed it last night when she came home. I was in the living room reading over the manual Sergeant Phillips had sent. I was sitting on the couch when she came through the door. It was when she came over to kiss my forehead that she saw my hand. She paused for a moment then frowned. She tried to play dumb, of course, then concerned. She did neither really well. She wanted me to go to a Med Center today to get it checked out but after I told her my plans, she got really excited. She practically gushed about the date. She was happy about the whole Sentinel thing too---even if that was fake happiness. She said she’d try to be here to see me off. She wasn’t but I didn’t hold out any hope that she might be.

Thinking about everything made it worse.

As I redressed, I tried to think of other things.

Mainly what my afternoon held.

First, it was the Vid with Maddie. We picked one of the more popular movies to go to. A lot of kids at school had already seen it and the reviews were pretty good. I really wanted to have lunch afterwards, but sadly, I had to go to the Sentinel Center. SC was the Sentinel headquarters. Last night right before turning in for the night, I got a quick message from the Sergeant. Apparently, he wanted to know if I would be free in the late afternoon so he could give me a tour of the facilities.

I’m not sure what excited me more.

The Date.

Or the Tour.

Why was I so nervous, I shouldn’t have been nervous.

Hell, I don’t get nervous.

Ok, so not true but this was Maddie after all. Sure, she was the girl I’d been crushing on for a few years now but we were friends, too. I’m not sure what was going to happen by the end of today but no matter what I’d still be her friend. If this didn’t work, it didn’t work. I wasn’t like Ted. Sure, I liked her a lot but I wasn’t going to get bent out of shape if this didn’t pull through. Of course, I wanted it to work; I’d be a liar if I didn’t say otherwise.

It has to work.

I tried to take my mind off the date as the tram meandered through the tunnels. Looking out the window didn’t help matters in the least, though. There was nothing but dull gray walls as they zipped by in a blur. Occasionally the dull gray was replaced by the blur of neon light but it was rare. I tried to imagine what things must have been like back in the day. My grandfather said when he was a boy; there were trees everywhere. There were birds too, and insects buzzing about. We still had those things, of course, but it was in a more controlled environment. Trees were in the designated park zones. Birds and insects were synthetic like our pets.

It was for sanitation.

It was also about order.

There was a reason a lot of people called the government, “The System”.

The world was like a computer now. The System controlled every aspect of our lives and like good programs we fell in line.

It wasn’t perfect and it definitely wasn’t living.

But it was life.

Whether we liked it or not.

Thinking about what could have been just made me even more depressed. But thinking about the now was making me nervous.

Damn.

I just couldn’t win.

“Nervous”

Joe pipped in my ear.

I groaned. Why in the hell did I tell him about the date to begin with?

“Don’t you have something better to do?”

“Not really”

Usually Joe, Ted and I spent our weekends browsing through the Net at one of our places or playing some new Vid game. Now that Ted was mad at me though, our friendship was strained. Sure, if not for the date, I would have still hung out with Joe but Ted was being a dick. He seemed to be convinced that Joe was in on this whole thing too. So Joe was just as guilty as I was.

Ted could be a real ass at times.

“So you decided to bug me?”

“I’m bored”

I was too but I wasn’t about to admit that.

“You could always pip Ted.”

“He’s not answering.”

“What about Greg or some of your other Net friends?”

Ted and I weren’t Joe’s only friends.

Joe had a gaggle of cyber geeks he hung out with on a regular basis. The only one he ever talked about was Greg, though. Greg was already career placed, an intern at one of the other Zone Com Labs. Joe had never met him but talked about him a lot. In fact, Joe had never met any of them. That’s why Ted and I started to refer to them as his Net friends. They were all Tech Heads like Joe and like Joe; they seemed to live in their own little world.

“They’re off fighting the powers that be”

That was Joe geek talk for his friends weren’t available.

“And so now you’re bugging me.”

“Not bugging just enquiring after your well being.”

I sighed. “Yes I’m nervous. Are you happy now?”

“Really? What’s there to be nervous about?”

I was about to answer when a wave of nausea swept through me. I felt a little lightheaded too. I gripped the seat and let it pass. I’d been feeling this way all morning, actually. It would come and go though. I was chalking it up to nerves. I mean what else could it be. It’s possible it was connected to the rash on my hand but I’d never heard of allergies making you sick too.

“You ok, your vitals went a little wonky there?”

There was genuine concern in Joe’s voice.

I groaned. “Joe, have you hacked my Bio again?”

Joe had this annoying habit of hacking into other people’s Bios. He didn’t do anything bad; he just liked to show off his skill. He was a pretty decent hacker. Hacking into a Bio wasn’t illegal per se, unless of course you did something malicious. There were some pretty nasty Bio Hacks out there. The things that these people could do was pretty sick. A few years ago, a teenager like me had her Bio hacked. The perpetrator was a young hacker in her grade, someone who claimed to be the product of bullying. The girl---who the Vids never named---was a real bitch to him. So he hacked her Bio and tweaked her metabolism. Once a thin girl, the after pictures were pretty startling.

That was a mild hack too.

Some of the other stuff, not so much.

Thankfully, there were now measures in place to stop things like that.

Joe just knew some of the back doors.

“I’ve been in all ours lately. This Manifestation shit is really scary. I’m just looking out for you buddy.”

“Thanks”

Joe was silent for a moment. “Yeah about that…”

Whatever he was about to say was lost in the drone of the Tram conductor. The electronic voice overrode his pip.

“ALL PASSENGERS, WE HAVE REACHED YOUR DESTINATION”

“Joe, I’m here. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Wait Ben…there’s something wrong….”

“Tell me about it later.”

I severed the connection.

I’m sure he had something long and boring to tell me. Whatever it was it could wait until after my date.

My date.

The nerves started again.

A pip sounded in my ear but I ignored it.

I knew who it was.

I didn’t want him psyching me out anymore.

It was just a shame there was no way to shut off the stupid Bios. Sure, they were really cool most of the time but sometimes you just wanted privacy. With a Bio though, anyone could reach you at any time. Then there was the whole scanning thing. Lots of places had Bio checkpoints set up. Small boxes—sometimes with attendants---that would scan every person as they stepped through. Any abnormalities set off an alarm. If an alarm sounded when you passed through a checkpoint, the rule was to stay calm and wait for the proper authorities.

Then the Silvers swarmed you.

That’s what we called the authorities. Thus named because of the ridiculous silver jackets they all wore.

I couldn’t help but shudder when thinking about being one.

It was a possible life for me if I washed out.

Not happening.

Ever.

“ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE DEPART”

I nearly jumped at the voice in my ear.

See what I mean about privacy.

I sighed heavily, slowly getting out my seat. I stepped aside to allow the old woman behind me to pass before following her out of the tram. In a mass of people, we flooded out onto the tunnel platform. Up ahead, I saw the scanner. Our mass formed into a single file as we slowly made our way toward it. The old woman in front of me gave the box a weary look before she passed on through. She sighed when the alarm didn’t go off. A lot of the times, the elderly set off the alarms. I’m not sure if was their Bios failing, their vitals failing or if it was any number of stims they were on.

Regardless she passed through without a problem.

I took a deep breath when it was my turn.

I’d been feeling a little off all day so I couldn’t help but wonder if I had a cold. If I did and the alarm went off like it sometimes did, I’d be pulled aside. One of those arms would give me a thorough scan then an injection. The viral stim would last until I got a med facility. Of course, I would have to go right away but there was no way I wasn’t going to let something as little as a cold ruin my date with Maddie.

“One moment” said a voice as the scanner passed over me.

This only took a few secs.

They must have detected a fluctuation in my normal pattern.

“I’ve got a bit of a cold I think,” I said.

I felt the prick as something jabbed into my upper arm. Flinching in surprise, I never noticed the arm as it pulled away.

“Make sure you get to a Med center as soon as possible”

I nodded, passing through without further incident.

I walked up the stairs leading into the Mall station.

I think a little rundown of the Metro might be in order now that I’m here. There were several major metropolitan areas in the country, five on the east coast alone. These Metros were broken up into Zones, each had six. I lived in Zone 3. They were all centered around the Cube, blocked off into sections. The only way to pass through each Metro was through the tunnels. Most people used the tram but there were transpo tunnels for cars as well. The mall was in Zone 6. At one time---according to history class---the country had lots of cities and towns. After the XY plague though, the world had a huge upheaval. When the System started to control things, cities became obsolete as the population was smaller than it had ever been.

So the Metros were created.

Then the Zones.

It was all about population control.

Depending on who you were and your occupation, you lived in certain Zones. Maddie, Ted and I were in Zone 3, of course, because our fathers worked in the Engineering Sector. Joe lived in Zone 4 because his parents were in Industrial.

I’m not sure how he turned into a Techie.

Usually Zonies didn’t interact with one another unless we went to the same school. Zones 3 and 4 were together for instance because we were the smallest. Most Zones actually had their own schools. It might seem a little strange to an outsider but it was our way of life.
Whether we liked it or not.

I tried to look like I fit in with the throngs of people zipping around me. Zone Six was all Commercial. It was also the only zone that didn’t actually have anyone living in it.

There were no other businesses in Zone 6 though.

It was all the mall.

It was a large one, too. Over four stories high and claimed to be the most comprehensive shopping center on the East coast. Some of the bigger Metros boasted about having bigger malls but very few could top ours. I’m not sure if that was something to be proud of or not. I’m not even sure why it was needed anymore. Most people did their shopping via their wall Vid screens these days. I guess it was just one of those hold outs. Like movie theaters and restaurants. Man was a social animal after all and to take that away what would that make us. Less than human I suppose.

Like me.

I tried to get my bearings as soon as I stepped out the Zone 3 station.

Already there were tons of people making me really nervous. I hated Z6 for this reason. There were always too many people.

To make matter worse, I couldn’t see Maddie in the crowd at all.

We had agreed to meet at the station but she was either late, I was early or she was swallowed up by all the throngs of idiots around me.

Sighing, I tapped below my ear.

“Bio, display HUD”

A second later, a holographic heads-up-display formed around my head. Looking like a see through motorcycle helmet, the HUD was a feature added to the Bios a few years back. It was a rather convenient way to find whatever it was you were looking for. Like most Bio apps, there were a lot of features you could add to it as well. Mine was a simple as simple could be though. It had several area maps and a Bio locator.

It was all I needed.

“Zone Six” I said, watching as the hologram changed from a featureless screen.

Before me, the map sprang to life, filling in the detail quickly.

The whole of the Zone was laid out before me.

“Locate Madison Sanderson Z3-14-05-56”

We were all designated numbers. As far as the System was concerned, that’s all we really were. It was a little complicated at first to grasp but once you got the hang of it, it was pretty easy. For instance, my number was Z3-14-03-49. Z3 was Zone 3 of course. 14 was my age, 03 designated my standing in the family and 49 was my address. Each year of course the age number would change and when I got old enough, the address would change. When I got married, my designation number would become 01 as well. It was just another one of those little ways that the System could keep track of us.

A blinking green light appeared on my map.

It was moving toward me.

I smiled. “HUD off”

The holographic helmet disappeared.

Gods, I hated those things.

I smiled as Maddie came into view a few moments later. I’m not sure what her dress was made out of, but it shimmered when the light caught it. Her hair was pink today to match it as well. I took a deep breath, feeling the tingling of my nerves coming back. I tried not to think about it but it didn’t seem to help much. In fact, the tingling was a little more intense than before. It was also started to get a little hot, too.

Too hot.

I reached to undo my top button when everything seemed to feel a little heavy.

The room started to sway a little.

Then spin.

“Ben?”

Was someone talking to me?

I tried to focus but everything became a blur.

I heard someone scream though.

Was that Maddie?

I toppled to the ground, ending up on my knees. Everything was hot and spinning. Someone was there next to me, trying to help me up. I looked up to see their face and saw the absolute look of horror on it.

It was the last thing I saw before darkness.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

-----

Author's Note:So finally got around to writing this chapter. What with moving, unpacking and a bit of a block, I'm back on track with things. I'd like to announce that finally the TG has come into this TG story...took me long enough lol. After carefully thinking it over, I decided to change the original pic to a new one. I hope everyone likes it :) I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and my beta readers for their great help.

-----

5.

BEEP.
BEEP.

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

I gave her the strangest look. How could she not hear it? It was this loud beeping sound, almost like an old school truck backing up. I opened my mouth to tell her about but stopped when I saw the look she was giving me. It was the same look I’d give someone in this situation. Great, my first date and she thinks I’m crazy. Taking a deep breath, I decided to ignore it. I wanted this to go off without a hitch and my date thinking me a nut job was definitely not going to get me another.

I smiled. “It’s nothing, probably nerves”

BEEP.
BEEP.

Nerves my ass.

I ignored it, hoping it would go away.

Instead, I tried concentrating on how beautiful she looked. Her shimmering pink dress, her hair to match. She did something with her makeup and nails too; they seem to glow with an inner light. I’d seen a lot of girls do that lately. It was some kind of luminescent app or something. It made it look like parts of them were glowing. It was actually the makeup but it was kind of cool. It was one of those trends started in the vids; I think it might have even been her sister.

Of course, I wasn’t stupid enough to bring that up.

Instead, I just continued to smile.

BEEP.
BEEP.

Damn it.

“I’m really glad we’re finally doing this,” she said, completely oblivious to the noise. “You know I’ve waited so long for you to notice me.”

Notice her? Of course I’ve noticed her, how could I not. She was beautiful. I was just too afraid that I might jeopardize my friendship.
I was about to tell her so but something was different. I stared a few seconds before I realized what it was.

Her hair.

Her long pink locks were now a very shiny black.

“Wasn’t your hair pink before?”

She gave me the strangest look. “Are you sure you’re feeling ok?”

I nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well after you collapsed, I thought for sure they’d take you to a Med Center?”

Collapse? I collapsed?

When did that happen?

This time I gave her one of those looks. I was about to say something about it when I realized that she had changed again. It was height this time. She was taller now, much taller. Alpha tall. Before I could say anything about it, she changed again. Her glowing makeup was gone and her face was different. The girl sitting across from me was suddenly different. Gone was Maddie. In her place was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Long jet black hair, ample breasts, tall athletic body.

Shit an Alpha.

A Super Aphrodite.

Super Aphrodites were what us Jects called the really hot ones.

This girl in front of me was a 12.

BEEP.
BEEP.

“Who are you? Where’s Maddie?”

The girl smiled sweetly. When she spoke, there was something slightly familiar about her voice:
“She’s gone Ben. Who’s to say if we’ll ever see her again?”

“What do you mean gone?”

The girl shrugged. “You know how much she hates Alphas”

BEEP.
BEEP.

“Alphas? What does that have to do with me?”

She smirked. “Everything”

The restaurant was gone. Everyone else around me was gone. The table disappeared a second later and I found myself no longer sitting across from the girl but a mirror. Sure, the girl was still there but she was reflecting back at me. Her smirk was gone, replaced by the biggest look of shock I’d ever seen.

No, I’d seen it before.

It was the same look I gave when I was surprised.

The very same one.

My look.

On this girl.

BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.

My look.

Who.

What.

How.

BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.

I looked up at the girl but the mirror was gone. I was alone. Confused and slightly scared, I felt something. Something off. It was cold too, too cold. It started at feet and moved slowly up my legs. Looking down scared the living hell out of me. Gone were the nice pants my sister bought. My pants were gone, replaced by the very same pink leggings I saw Maddie wearing just moments ago. My shoes were different as well. As I followed the trail of my legs up, I noticed the dress too. Pink just like hers. Then two swelling mounds on my chest. Touching them with my hands just didn’t seem real.
Mine.

They were mine.

BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.

How was this possible?

That’s when I saw it.

On my hand.

Plain as day.

The symbol.

The Alpha Mark.

Shit.

The room started to darken around me. The beeping grew louder, more rapid, too. I felt dizzy and sick. The room spun around and the beeping. It wouldn’t stop. I wanted to scream. I opened my mouth to do so but no sound would come out. Why couldn’t I scream? I fell to my knees, the dress flying up slightly as I did so. I tried crying but no tears. Why did this happen to me? How could this happen to me. The tears finally came then the darkness. It pressed in around me until there was nothing…

I opened my eyes and groaned.

A dream, it was a dream. Groaning again, I guess it made sense. I remember what happened now. I was waiting for Maddie to show for a date. I was in Z6. I clearly remember seeing her with her pink hair and dress, smiling as she came for me. Then things were kind of fuzzy. I think I might have passed out. Rubbing my head, I sat up, blinking as I did so. It was bright here, too bright. I had to close my eyes to get adjusted to whenever I was. As soon as I opened them again, the room was a lot easier to tolerate.

Not my room though.

It was large and circular, also white. Everything was white.

The walls, the ceiling, the floor.

Looking around as I sat up, there were other things I quickly noticed. The first was that my clothes were gone. No, I wasn’t naked. Instead, I was wearing a white skin suit. I looked at my arms, flexing them slowly. There was something different about them, they seemed thinner. As I was flexing my fingers, I took a closer look at the suit. There were only two places where such a suit was needed: either working in a Clean room or being in the hospital. Looking around, I couldn’t help but think I might have been in both.

I tapped my ear. “Bio, HUD”

Nothing happened.

I tapped again, giving the same command but in a louder voice.

Still nothing.

Cursing, I had a pretty good idea where I was.

There was only one place where a Bio was deactivated.

Shit.

I was in the Q.

The Q was short for Quarantine. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who they put in there.

Cursing again, I took a closer look at the suit I was wearing. I’d never seen one quite like this before. Sure, I’d worn them before. When I was a kid, I spent a day in the Med after breaking my wrist. They made me wear one of the suits then but I don’t remember it being like this. For instance, that suit had been gray and wasn’t nearly as tight. This one almost felt as if it was surgically attached to my skin it was so tight. I was surprised I could even move in it. There were the lights. They were faint, just under the fabric but there were red lights running the length of my arms and legs. Flexing my arm didn’t seem to change anything either.

I couldn’t help but wonder if they were reading my bio signs somehow.

It would explain one of the reasons my Bio was deactivated.

Trying not to think about it, I decided to get a better look at my surroundings. I slid off the cot I’d been laying on, allowing the rest of my thin blanket to fall to the floor. Ignoring it, I wanted to see if there was a door. I took my first shaky step, not realizing how hard it was until I did so. My legs were very weak and walking didn’t help any. It didn’t help that they looked different too. Like my arms, they seemed more slender. They also looked longer. A lot longer. I knew my body quite well. My legs were by no means short, but like my father, I was more torso than legs. The legs I was looking at were much longer than my own.

Not my legs at all.

Then again, everything about this body felt off.

It was mine but not.

I took a moment to explore it. Legs definitely thinner and longer, arms too. My waist was thinner but my hips were definitely wider. Then there was my chest. I could already see the telltale signs of bumps starting to form. While I reached up to touch one, I found the mark. It was hard not to notice. It was hard to imagine something like that appearing naturally but sure enough, it was there. Of course, it wasn’t a distinctive sign of the woman; it was more of a birth mark that sorta looked like it. Looking at said mark now, I could almost see how it resembled it. There was a circle with a little line facing toward my wrist.

But looking at it closer, it could have been anything.

What it wasn’t though was a mistake.

I cursed.

So I was an Alpha.

Halfway there by the looks of things.

An Alpha, boy was that going to change things. I turned my hand over---looking at the palm---trying to see if it looked any different. It was a smaller hand and my fingers looked a little more slender. My nails had changed though. They were definitely longer than before, not by much, but longer. Looking at my other hand, I noticed the same and sighed. I guess there was no turning back now. Then I cursed, realizing that my name was probably all over the Vids now. New Alphas were always big news for the first few days. I’m just glad they didn’t force us into interviews anymore.

Us.

Me.

Alpha.

I wanted to think of something else, anything else. There was time to ponder the Alpha thing, right now I had other things to worry about. Looking around the room, I went back to the real reason I got off the “bed”. I wanted to see what exactly I was dealing with here.

I knew a little bit about The Q. Whenever a new Alpha was announced, the Vids said that they were taken to the Q to finish their change. It was also said they were put under observation. It was that last little bit that concerned me. If there was observation than there was a way to see into the room. I knew they could technically use the Bio to spy on me but that would only be a one sided view. You know, looking out from my eyes. No there had to be another way to see into the room. I looked up, scanning the ceiling to see if there were any cameras there. I knew all the usual places they might hide those now.

Hey, I did read that Sentinel manual that the Sergeant gave me.

Cameras these days were small. There was always a telltale sign of them though. The lenses were usually hidden in the wall, made to look like other things. An abnormality in the wall for instance or a tiny hole. Scanning the ceiling, I found none of those. So I drew my attention to the walls. Three of them came up duds but the fourth one definitely drew my attention. It looked just any other wall in the room but there was something odd about it.

I walked closer to it, reaching out to touch it.

As soon as my fingers touched the surface, I smiled.

Clever.

I rapped my knuckle against it.

Sure enough, it wasn’t a wall at all.

“Step back please” said a feminine voice which bounced around my empty room for a few moments before dissipating.

I took a step back. “Am I to guess this is my prison?”

“You’re not a prisoner Benjamin”

So they knew my name.

I also knew this wasn’t a prison either but I needed to test these people.

“So when can I leave then?”

“When you’re done”

Another loaded question but another test too.

Asking questions I knew I wasn’t going to get answers to was pointless. Asking questions I knew I might get some kind of answer to was not a waste of time. It told me a couple of things. One they weren’t willing to tell me the whole truth about anything and two, they weren’t keeping things from me either. After all, some of the stuff about Alphas was common knowledge. I knew roughly how long it took for someone to be fully an Alpha. What I didn’t know was how long they were going to keep me here.

“So how long have I been here?”

“Two days”

Another good answer.

Another truth.

Alpha manifestation took a week---common knowledge. Well a week from when the manifestee started to feel the itch. The itch, I don’t think…wait yes. I started to feel it the day of the physical. Did I get infected then? No, not infected, someone didn’t get infected. What I guess I mean is that I did start to manifest then. How long ago was that anyway? Two days? God, why couldn’t I remember something so simple. Well considering that was the first day that this started and I’ve been here 2 days as well, that meant I was at least four days into this transformation.

Four days.

Looking down, I stared at my new budding chest.

Was that four day’s worth of growth?

I reached up to touch them again when I stopped. Feeling myself up was the least of my priorities right now. Staying my hand, I thought of something else.

“How long have I been manifesting?”

There was a pause.

Why was there a pause?

“Three to four days”

So uncertain. They were confused. Why were they confused? Weren’t they the people with all the answers?

Something else just occurred to me then.

“And my parents?”

“They’re nearby. The first few days of manifestation is hard on some families. We usually like to give it a few days before we allow visitors”

I nodded. “Are they here now?”

“Nearby”

“When can I see them?”

No answer.

I asked again, still nothing.

I waited a few minutes before asking again. When I didn’t get answer the third time, I realized the Q&A was officially over.

Sighing, I went back to exploring the room. Unfortunately, walking around staring at the same bare walls got pretty boring after about five minutes. It was clear they just wanted me to sit here like a good little lab rat or whatever. So that’s what I did. I walked back over to my “bed” and sat down. After about ten minutes, I pulled my legs close to my chest, resting my chin on my knees and wrapping my arms around them. It was something I’d seen my sister do. It was also something I did without thinking about it.

After an hour of this, the fake wall started to blink.

Ok, not the whole wall but a small part of it.

A few seconds later, the vid screen there sprang to life.

I guess they didn’t want me to die of boredom after all.

So I spent the next few hours doing something that normal teenagers were supposed to do---I Vid surfed. Of course there wasn’t much on. I surfed all the news channels though, hoping I’d catch something on myself. Strangely, they never once mentioned me. Now that was odd. After getting bored with that, I found their Vid movie library.

Jackpot. It looked like they had every movie of the last century or so. I’d seen most of the modern ones but there were a lot of good ones from back when my grandfather was younger that I browsed through.

After another couple of hours, food arrived.

Sadly, these people didn’t know what food was.

No Dominos here.

Nutri-paste.

Not even the good kind either. It was the dull, gray flavorless crap.

I picked up the bowl of gray glop and tried to stomach spoonful after spoonful of it. Whoever thought of this shit should have been shot. The commercials said it was nutritious and healthy. I’m sure it was but it also tasted like someone scraped it from between their toes. Not that I knew what toe jam tasted like of course. I’m just saying if it had a flavor then Nutri-paste sure cornered the market on it.

After eating, I started to feel a bit tired.

Laying my head down, I thought a little rest couldn’t hurt.

Over the next three days, my life fell into a routine.

Wake up.

Check out my body.

Ask the same stupid questions.

Get the same bland answers.

Watch Vids.

Eat.

Watch more Vids.

Sleep.

The only highlight of my day was checking to see how much I was gone. This morning upon waking, I discovered that there was very little of Ben left now. Whereas yesterday I could look down and see my feet, today I had two nice sized mounds on my chest. Grabbing them produced a great deal of heft. At least a C cup I think. My suit felt a bit tighter too, but it conformed more to my body now. It was quite a body too. From what I could see, I was going to be a real heartbreaker.

I’m not sure what I thought about that.

Pushing my now rather long hair behind my ears, I slid off the cot and did my morning walk around the room. Everything felt a little off now. My center of balance definitely, but the way my body moved too. These new hips of mine had a slight sway to them and I couldn’t help but feel a tad sexy as I walked about. It didn’t help that all my curves were on display. Running a hand down my body sent slight shivers all throughout it.

Great I’ve turned into a perv.

After my “walk”, I found myself in front of the “wall”

I rapped my knuckles against it.

“Rise and shine” I said, noticing the change in my voice.

Well actually, I noticed that yesterday. When I woke up, I found my voice had started to change. It had felt like going through puberty but in reverse. Today however it seemed to stabilize. It didn’t sound all that different but I’m sure it was. I touched my throat and sighed. Just one more change for the list of changes. If I had to guess, I’d say there was maybe ten percent of the old me left. I knew where it was too. I found that out yesterday in the “bathroom”. When I went to the toilet to relieve myself, I found that there wasn’t much left of me to relieve. Meaning that Little Ben was now Baby Ben. Just standing here now I could barely tell anything was there. Well something was still there but it was beyond baby size now. A nub really.

The last of my manhood.

Turning my attention to the wall, I realized that they were being a little slow today.

“Hey what’s up Doc?”

I pounded on the wall this time, hoping it was enough to get their attention. As my palms hit the glass there, I heard It echo. There was something else though too. Something not there yesterday. The wall shook slightly as I banged it. It took me a second to realize what it was. Alphas were stronger than humans. So of course, I was going to shake the wall if I banged on it. I stopped banging to look at my hands, only taking a second to admire my new longer nails. I flexed my fingers and then flexed my bicep. I wasn’t grotesquely muscular but there was muscle there. It was a runner’s physique definitely. I couldn’t help but smile at that.

As a boy, I was a bit of a couch potato.

I wasn’t fat nor was I a skinny twerp but I wasn’t a sports star either.

This body however.

I felt like the sky’s the limit now.

I couldn’t help but smile again.

“Good morning, Miss Carson”

I kinda flinched at the “Miss” part but it was inevitable. There was no boy here, not anymore.

“Hey Doc” I said, still rubbing my throat. “Thought maybe you guys forgot about me today”

I chuckled a bit.

“And how are we doing today?”

I gave a quick rundown on the vitals. She knew all that of course, I was all wired up in this suit after all.

“These are new though,” I said, hefting my new chest accessories. “Not sure how I’m gonna get used to them.”

No comment.

You’d think these people were trained not to have a sense of humor.

We spent the next few minutes going through the usual question and answer routine. She still wasn’t very forthcoming about things.

“So no ETA on me getting out of here?”

“Soon” she said and then added. “We want to run you through some tests over the next few days. After that, we’ll talk about release.”

I nodded.

I’m not sure what I thought about the whole tests thing though.

Was I just a lab rat to these people after all?

I mean what’s the big deal anyway. I was an Alpha now. They’d seen hundreds of like me over the years. It wasn’t like I could glow in the dark or shoot laser beams from my eyes. I was an Alpha just like every other.

“I do have some good news for you” she said, there was a bit of an uplift in her voice when she said it.

A moment later, the Vid screen sprang to life.

I took a step back and a few seconds later, my parents appeared on the screen.

I was actually kind of surprised to see both of them. I think I mentioned more than once how busy the two of them were. Mom with her medical stuff and Dad with his engineering. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen the two of them in one room together. But here they were, standing side by side, actually holding hands no less. They looked like crap too. My parents were those rare people who actually looked their age. Most people---most parents---when they reached their forties, they took pills and had other procedures to look younger. Sure Mom dyed away the gray but other than that they were all-natural.

The pair in front of me looked older.

They were worn and tired. Dad hadn’t been shaving. Mom’s hair was a mess. Both of them looked like a pair who had been under a lot of stress lately.

Stress generated by me no doubt.

Shit.

“Hey guys,” I said, not bothering to hold back the tears.

“Hi sweetheart” said Mom, choking on her own tears.

Dad just stared. When he spoke the first word out of his mouth was “Whoa”

An elbow from my mother fixed that. A more polite greeting followed quickly after.

“Err…hey son”

I laughed. “It’s ok Dad. I haven’t seen my full self yet but from what I can see, I’m definitely a Whoa”
That caused him to smile a bit.

“How are you feeling sweetheart?”

“Bored” I said, causing her to smile a little. “And I miss you guys.

How’s the munchkin?”

“Sad she couldn’t come and missing her big brother…ummm….sister”

I nodded. “It’s ok, Dad. I’m not used to any of this either.”

Dad looked uncomfortable.

I didn’t blame him. I was uncomfortable.

“Honey, I’m sorry this happened. If there was anything….”

I cut her off. “Mom, there is nothing anyone could have done. It’s the way the world works now. Does it suck, sure; but I’ve accepted it. You guys need to accept it as well. My life is different, my body is different but I’m still Ben.”

“About that” said Mom, looking a bit downcast.

I laughed. “So what do I put on the top of my papers now?”

Mom blinked a few times but looked at her feet again.

Dad answered. “Bethany”

Hey, I could live with that.

It was the name of his sister after all. I always kind of liked Aunt Beth.

I nodded. “I think that’s doable”

Mom let out a sigh of relief.

After that, the awkwardness in our conversation fell away. We talked like usual, save for the fact that I was in a giant white room. They had a lot of questions and I answered what I could. Mom really wanted to know how much of her daughter I was now. When I mentioned what was left, Dad winced. I think this was going to be harder on him than me. Sure, it was pretty hard to deal with but to lose my maleness paled in comparison to losing your only son. I can only imagine what that must have been like. Maybe there was a support group or something. Maybe he could talk with Maddie’s dad.

I’ll have to ask when I get out of here.

Our conversation seemed to die down after the questions were over. Mom still asked me some things but it was mainly about trivial stuff. Dad fell quiet a long time ago.

“So did they say when you can come home?”

I shrugged. “The Doc says they want to run tests. As soon as those are done, I think they’ll let me go.”

Mom nodded. She more than anything understood all that.
Dad rubbed the back of his neck.

“You hang in there, son”

“I will Dad”

Then he awkwardly stepped away.
I was alone with Mom now.

I had to know something.

“Has anyone talked to Maddie?”

I’d been thinking about her a lot over the last couple of days. I felt really bad about all this. I hated that this ruined our date and what’s more, probably our friendship. I knew what she thought about her “sister” and what she thought about Alphas in general.

Mom sighed. “I’m sure she’ll come around”

So she had and apparently it didn’t go well.

I guess that’s one more thing to deal with when I get out of here.

Mom and I talked for a few minutes more but it was clear the conversation was done. We said our good-byes; there were more tears, than she was gone. I couldn’t help but feel a little hurt by it all though. In the last few years, I think that was the longest conversation the two of us ever had. I guess it takes manifesting to get my parents in a room together and talking.

I tried not to think about it as I got the Vid screen to bring up some movies. Walking back to my cot, I sat and watched for the rest of the day. Trying to distract my mind from my life and my family did help some. As the hours waned and sleep started to creep up on me, I couldn’t help but think of Maddie a little more before lying down. I promised myself to make it right with her.

Convince her I was still me, still human.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

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Author's Note: Here were are, Ch.6. I meant to have this up last week but it got a bit delayed in my head.As I mentioned in the Note from last chapter and in a blog, I decided to use a different picture to represent Bethany now. I've gotten a lot of positive feedback on her new look :)Oh and kudos to anyone who knows what those numbers and one letter is at the end but if you do know and figure it out, keep it to yourself please. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and my beta readers for their great help.

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6.

“That’s good Bethany,” said the Doc as I finished my tenth rep with the free weights.

I set down the weights and gave her a friendly smile.

She looked up from making something on her pad, smiling as well.

It was kind of strange meeting the Doc face to face after talking to her for several days. It was even stranger to see how young she was. Or rather how young she appeared to be. The way she looked and the way she spoke were two different things entirely. I couldn’t help but wonder if this pretty blonde twenty-something was actually my Mom’s age or older. I mean it was pretty amazing what surgery could do these days. In a world where people could turn into idolized super beings, superior in every aspect, it was no wonder normal humans would try to compete.

I say try because there was no way they could look as good as Alphas.

As good as us.

I groaned at that thought. Here I had only been an Alpha for a few days and I was already thinking myself better than humans. I swore to myself I wouldn’t let that happen. Sure I knew Alphas were inherently better in every way but I wasn’t going to get a big head over it. I needed to be myself.

I needed to be human.

“Try the five hundred pound one next,” said the Doc giving me a friendly smile.

I moved down the rack of weights, grabbing the one she suggested.

Sure the two of us were becoming a bit friendly with one another but not really friends. I had to keep reminding myself that they weren’t here to make friends with me. The Doc and her silent companions were monitoring, making sure I was everything I could be before releasing me back to the world. If we had been real friends, she would have stopped all this and let me go. She would have also given me her name. She didn’t even flinch when I kept referring to her as Doc meaning she didn’t really care to be my friend. She was being friendly simply because it was her job.

I started to curl it, surprised at my own strength.

So far this morning I had aimed to please.

The Doc was thrilled.

Her companions were thrilled too.

I couldn’t help but sense there was something wrong though, too.

Yesterday while I was doing the written part of my tests, I couldn’t help but feel like I was being watched. I mean I know they’re watching me but it felt like there were a lot more eyes on me. The test itself was kind of easy. In fact, there were several of them. They ranged from different subjects too. Many of the subjects I had no idea what they were, but for reason as soon as I set out to work on them, I was able to comprehend things rather quickly. When I announced I was done, I thought I heard a bit of surprise in the Doc’s voice.

I was an Alpha; I was supposed to be smart.

So why was she so surprised?

I noticed something today too. It was when I was on the treadmill. A couple of her silent buddies kept giving me these looks. At first, I thought they were perving on me but it was more than that. They kept looking at me and then jotting down furious notes on their pads. I think they thought they were being discreet but spies they were not. What’s more, every time I finished a test and they saw my results, they raised their eyebrows slightly.

It made me wonder if I was doing something wrong.

Thinking about it now just made me more concerned.

“You can stop now Bethany,” said the Doc.

I hadn’t really been paying attention but I think I curled the dumbbell about fifty times.

Fifty times with five hundred pounds.

That was fucking crazy.

Even crazier because I felt I could do more.

I knew Alphas were strong but I never realized they were this strong.

I stopped curling and replaced the weight on the rack. I moved onto the next one only to find that I was at the end.

The Doc was staring at me strangely again.

“Good work, Bethany,” she said, though there was something in the tone of her voice that made me think she didn’t mean it.

I looked around quickly.

All eyes in the room were on me.

I rubbed my hands together.

“What’s next?”

“Next?”

I nodded. “You guys have been testing me for two days now. I’ve been poked, prodded, pinched and scanned. I’ve taken every written test known to man. I’ve run on your treadmills, I’ve benched weights, curled weights. I’ve done dozens of pushups, chin-ups, sit ups and any other up I can think of. You’ve run me through my paces. Are we done now or do you want me to write the great American novel now?”

Ok, so their stares were bothering me.

And I was cranky.

The looks I was getting now were even more annoying. They disappeared quickly. That didn’t stop them from frustrating me more. It was clear that I perplexed them but I was no different than any other Alpha. So what was the big deal?

The Doc spoke after a few moments of silence. “We’d like to give you another physical before we dismiss you.”

Dismiss me?

I groaned. “No”

She raised an eyebrow. “I hardly think you’re in a position to argue”

I smirked. “I’ve played your games, jumped through your hoops. I’m done. I WANT to go home now!”

So I raised my voice a bit in the end. I don’t give a damn.

This charade of theirs was over.

I’m going home.

The Doc took a step back. It took me a second to realize I was clenching my fists. I sighed, letting out a deep breath before relaxing. Losing my temper was not the answer. Getting angry wasn’t the answer either. Once she saw I had calmed down some, she took a step forward. She gently put a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Then she turned to the others.

“We’re done here. I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”

This time I was surprised. “Seriously?”

She nodded. “There might be a follow up but there’s nothing more we can learn from you here.”

I was so happy I could have kissed her.

I settled for a hug instead.

I was going home.

“You can’t be serious?”

After it was designated that I could actually go home, The Doc raided their meager wardrobe and presented me with an outfit that would fit my new curves. Unfortunately, for me, they really didn’t have much of a choice. Thankfully, they got me a pair of jeans and a shirt. Not so thankfully was the fact that the jeans were so tight they literally felt a part of my skin and the shirt---if you can call it that---was nothing more than a few strips of cloth. Ok it was a little more than that but it showed a lot of cleavage and exposed both my midriff and back.

The only good thing about all this was the fact that I actually got a look at my body.

For the past few days---nearly a week now---I’d been hidden in that V Suit.

Now I got to see the real me.

Oh FYI, fully girl now.

I lost Little Ben the day after my talk with my parents.

I got a chance to see all of Beth when I was stripping out of the V suit earlier. I thought I’d feel different about the whole thing. I thought I’d feel the least bit turned on but there was nothing. Of course, it wasn’t the first naked female body I’d seen. My grandfather used to tell me that nudity was a bit of a taboo when he was growing up. That though girls readily exposed their breasts in public that the lower part of their anatomy was always covered. It was interesting what a few decades did. Not that girls walked around naked or anything but nudity was no longer something to be shunned. It helped that there was no real religion around to enforce the whole “nudity is a sin” mentality that a lot of people back in the day had.

Sure, there was still church. But after the plague and society’s restructuring, religion took a serious backseat to actual progress. We no longer relied on the All Powerful to tell us what to do. It also helped that the Middle East imploded all over themselves. After the plague, great wars broke out there. They literally wiped one another out. The holy cities were leveled, thousands of years of history lost. Our new world decided to leave all of that where it was---in the past.

Religion was now a private matter.

People were now allowed to express themselves however they wanted.

So nudity was no longer something to be afraid of.

Not that I was prepared to adapt such a policy.

“You don’t have anything else?”

I turned to Deena, looking with pleading eyes.

Oh yeah, The Doc’s name was Deena. She said since I was no longer confined to this place that it was all right if she finally gave me her name. Dr. Deena Chambers, MD, PhD, and all that blah blah. Surprisingly I’d been wrong about her age too. She wasn’t some forty year old trying to look twenty. She was actually twenty-two just really smart. She was something of a savant apparently. A kid genius who went through school early enough that she had her MD at age 12. Though she didn’t say so and I didn’t ask, there was possible genetic engineering involved. Though technically illegal, genetics was something that a lot of richer parents did to give their kids an edge.

Especially in an age where Alphas existed.

“I’m sorry about the top, it’s all there was but the pants aren’t so bad.”

It was kind of weird hearing her talk casually to me now. Before she’s been all strict and stern and official. I guess when whoever wasn’t looking; she could finally let her hair down. Literally too. Before her blonde locks were down up in this weird updo some girls liked; now they were dwon and flowing around her shoulders. That alone made her look so much younger. I noticed her glasses were gone too.

All in all, a very pretty girl.

Woman.

And sadly, I wasn’t attracted to her anymore.

I’m not sure what to think about that.

“You think I can have a mirror?”

It was kind of funny but I’d been here a week or so and still no mirror. It might be one of those things you don’t think about but when you don’t see your own reflection every day, it’s kind of weird. Deena gave me a strange look until she realized their error.

“Sorry about that” she said innocently. “We wanted to make sure the full change was through before showing you the final result. In the past, they used to keep a mirror present but they found in some cases, the new Alpha reacted badly to the changes in his or her new body”

She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze before turning toward the false wall.

She tapped something on her tablet.

A second later, the vid screen there turned to a reflective surface.

I’d seen something similar in my sister’s bedroom.

Me, I just used an old mirror that belonged to one of my distant relatives.

Deena stepped away from the wall mirror to allow me to get a full look at myself. I took a step forward and my mouth dropped open.

Gone was the gawky, slight, tall teenage boy.

In his place was a Goddess.

Tall.

Long Black Hair.

Gorgeous Face.

Perfect Curves.

Athletic build.

An Alpha.

An Aphrodite.

Hell a Super Aphrodite.

This was me.

I took another step closer to the mirror, the girl in it reflecting my same movements. When I touched my face, she did as well. When I ran my fingers through that long, straight raven black hair, she did the same. It was kind of freaky. It was even freakier to think that this absolutely gorgeous person was in fact me. Another step closer and I saw that I was still slightly there. There were some similar features like my hair. Her face looked a bit like Mom’ too---that is if my mother had thousands of dollars worth of reconstructive surgery to look super hot. Not that Mom wasn’t beautiful; it’s just that she was just pretty.

There was something else too.

This girl had my eyes.

No, that’s not right. I had my eyes.

I couldn’t help but smile at that.

When I smiled though something else twigged about my new reflection. I’d seen this girl before. It only took me a few seconds to remember where, too.

The dream.

The girl in the mirror was the girl in the dream that Maddie had changed into.

Shit.

“Kind of shocking huh” said Deena as she appeared in the mirror behind.

For the first time, I noticed how short she really was.

Or how tall I was now.

“How tall am I?”

“Seventy four inches”

Shit. Six Foot Two.

I was barely five eight before. Which was kind of tall for a fourteen year old, I think.

Thinking about my age gave me another slight pause. I looked a little closer and smirked. I’d seen my share of fourteen-year-old girls and there was no way in hell that I passed for one anymore. I was about to ask her about it when I remembered what we learned about Alphas. When someone became an Alpha, they became an idolized form. So young, beautiful, strong etc. The girl in the mirror---me---looked about eighteen.

Damn that was going to be hard to get used.

Not that any of this was going to be easy.

This was me now.

This was Beth.

“Hi” I said softly to myself.

I took a step away from the mirror and turned sideways, letting my ego take over a tad bit. I suppose as far as Alphas go, this new me wasn’t so bad. It was a common misconception that all Alphas were alike. When in reality, there were several different kinds. Or to put it more simply, your Alpha life was partially reflected on who you were before. Sure, an overweight guy won’t turn into an overweight Alpha but he’ll have the same tendencies he had prior to it all. Take Maddie’s brother for instance. He was always really big in theater at school. It was no big shock that he became an actress after the change. Just like if you were a computer geek like Joe, you’d still be an adept computer geek as an Alpha as well.

Me, I’m not sure what I was before.

I just existed I suppose.

Looking at the new me, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of impact she’d make on the world.

Who was I now?

I looked like an athlete but so did all the other Alphas.

I was beautiful now too but so were all the other Alphas.

I didn’t feel any smarter but knew I probably was.

In fact, I didn’t really feel any different.

I just looked different.

“You all right?”

I nodded. “Just wondering what kind of person I’m going to be now?”

Deena gave me a look. It was the one she and her colleagues had been giving me the last several days now.
When she spoke, the look was gone replaced by a smile. “You can be whoever you want to be”

I scuffed. “Except Ben”

She laughed. “That might be a little hard now”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little, too. It hurt some too. Ben was gone, never to be seen again. Sure, I was still me but the Ben Me was no more. I’d be Beth for the rest of my life now. I’m not sure how I felt about that actually.

“So, how about we get you discharged?”

Whatever I was feeling about my old self was lost in that instance.

Discharged.

I was going home.

FINALLY.

“Are you ok, honey?”

I nodded, not sure what else to say.

Honestly, I was far from ok but I didn’t want Mom to worry. It was strange enough that I was her son now daughter and my life was going to be completely different now. It was going to be extremely hard now too. When my going home was discussed a few days ago, the idea of me going to The Cube was the biggest thing on everyone’s plate. Sure, ninety-nine percent of the Alphas lived there but there were others who lived with the Jects. I talked with Deena and my mother about it for a few hours, trying to decide what was the best course of action for me.

Deena thought The Cube was.

Mom thought I should try home.

Me, I was on the fence.

Both places held pros and cons but I wanted some time to decide. I also wanted to see if I could give my old life a shot. I guess I just wasn’t ready to give Ben up.

So I decided on going home.

The closer we got to our destination, however, the more I was regretting such a decision.

“You think this was right?”

“Going home you mean?”

I nodded. “I know this is what you wanted and I think it’s what I want too but I’m just not sure how everyone is going to react.”

Everyone being our neighbors, my friends, even some of my family.

Everyone also meant Maddie.

“Honey, in the end no one but you can make this decision. That’s why Deena and I discussed it with you at such length. If you feel you can’t handle it at home then we’ll get you a place in The Cube.”

By me, she meant me.

Mom and Dad were staying home.

I guess that didn’t surprise me in the least. I just couldn’t help but wonder who was going to take care of the squirt while they were working.

“I know Mom and I’m sorry I’m causing such a mess of things.”

Mom reached over from the “driver’s” seat and gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“Ben…th, you’re not a burden. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her messing up my name.

I decided to think about it as the car sped ever closer to home. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much time to do so as our street came into viewing. Cursing, I never realized how close The Q was to our Zone. I’d only been to Zone 2 a few times and only to the building that Mom worked in. It just never really occurred to me that The Q would be located there too and that it was only about a ten-minute ride from there to our actual house.

I was that close to home this whole time.

Mind-boggling.

We pulled into the garage a minute later. I watched as Mom went through the routine to shut the car down then opened the door. I took a deep breath before stepping out of the vehicle. Thankfully, it was the middle of the day so my sister was still at school. Dad was at work too so Mom and I got the house all to ourselves. When she led the way through the garage door into the kitchen, I couldn’t help but realize that nothing had changed.

Nothing except me.

“You want something to eat, honey?”

I shook my head as my Mom gave me a sympathetic smile.

Without thinking, she walked over and gave me a tight hug.

“Everything is going to be ok. I promise.”

I nodded. “I think I’m gonna go up to my room and crash for a bit. Want to check some of my mail and things.”

I’m sure I had a lot of it too.

I literally disappeared off the face of the planet over the last week or so. It didn’t help that my Bio had been off since then. Deena only got the permission to have it reactivated this morning. Sadly, I hadn’t been allowed to access it until a few minutes ago. As soon as I did, there were several beeping messages and other nonsense. I ignored them at the time but now, the flashing indication in my left eye was starting to annoy me.

I started for the stairs when Mom stopped me for a moment.

“Later, we need to talk about some things.”

I nodded.

I had a pretty good idea what.

Going to my room felt kind of strange.

I felt strange, too.

Like an Outsider.

I stopped in the doorway, staring at what had been my Mecca for all fourteen years of my life. I sighed as I realized how minimalistic I’d been. I had my bed and my desk but like I said before, there was little of anything else. Unlike my friends, I wasn’t one of those kids who liked to plaster the walls with moving posters or set their walls to constantly change colors every few days. I like my blue walls; I liked the little non-moving prints. I liked having this place just the way it was. Now however it felt kind of bland. Sure my taste hasn’t changed but it just felt like something was missing.

Yeah, me.

I walked in and dropped on the bed. I lay there for a few before deciding to tackle the mail.

Most of it was junk, spam.

There was a frantic message from Mom, must have been around the time I collapsed on my date. Then several from kids from school, all spanning over the course of a few days. I had a couple from my teachers too. All of those were pretty standard. It was the ones from my friends that seemed to draw my attention or friend as in singular. All the friend messages were from Joe. At first, he sounded a bit annoyed that I wasn’t replying then he became a bit concerned until finally it was like I was dead or something.

I think the more concerned ones came when the Bio was deactivated.

The frantic nature of his voice showed in those.

I had about a hundred message in all.

But not the one I wanted.

Damn Maddie.

After going through the mess, I thought about beeping her. Then thought against it. I knew what she thought about Alphas, I knew how she was going to react. I’ll catch her later at school. Maybe I can try to talk some sense into her before she turns me into a complete pariah.

My yawning broke my thoughts.

Crap tired already.

I rolled over, fluffing a pillow before trying to get some sleep. I don’t remember drifting off but I must of because the next thing I knew, there was a pip in my ear. I tried to ignore it but when you did that the noise only got louder. Sighing, I sat up and tapped below my ear.

“This better be important,” I groaned.

At first, there was nothing. Then I heard it.

Faint then growing louder.

Until…

44414e474552

It was repeated over and over again.

That same string of numbers and one letter.

What the hell?

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

-----

Author's Note: And We're Back! Sorry for the massive delay, I was stumped then bored then stumped again but now things are back on track. This one is a little short but I hope to make up for that as the story progresses :) I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing.

-----

7.

44414e474552.

What the hell did it all mean? Was someone pranking me? Or was it just some random spam that tends to pop up every once in a while. There were supposed to be filters for those kinds of things but spammers were getting better at bypassing them. I would have to ask Mom about it. Though there was another explanation.

Joe.

Though he’d never done anything like it before, I wouldn’t put it past him in the least to spam me with crazy numbers.

I had half a mind to pip him now and chew him out.

I wasn’t ready for that yet.

I wasn’t ready for any of my friends yet actually.

Especially Maddie.

The numbers could wait though.

Sighing, I pushed myself off the bed. I felt more refreshed now than ever. Ok so not totally true but I couldn’t lie there anymore. I needed to do something, anything. I know I told Mom I just wanted to veg but I’d been doing that for the last couple of weeks. Hell, I’d been doing that for the last fourteen years. I needed to get out and do something. Actually “need” wasn’t the right word, more like “want”. I wanted to get out and do something. I thought back to the tests and the activities they’d been making me do. The exercising. I was never really a fitness nut before but now I felt like a run.

I looked down at myself.

I wasn’t exactly dressed for one though.

Walking over to the wall screen, I stopped to think. What site did Carrie use to buy me clothes?

Groaning, I turned on the screen. I pressed a button, bringing up the intercom.

The Vid came to life, showing my mother in her office.

She was at her desk, working on the console interface there.

“Mom?”

She flinched for a sec. “Honey, you startled me.”

I bit my lip. “Sorry but I need some help.”

She looked concerned. “Is something wrong?”

I nodded. “I want to go for a run but I have nothing to wear.”

She gave me this strange look.

Hey, it’s not like I’ve grown a second head or something.

“A run?”

“Yeah, you know. Around the block, maybe to the park. Something.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

I shrugged. “I need to get out of the house, Mom. Sitting around is making me feel all itchy.”

She smiled at that.

It was actually true now that I thought about it. Just standing around was making my skin tingle a bit. I’m not sure how to describe it. I was never much of a physical person before. Sure, I was in shape for the most part but I wasn’t a crazed fitness nut though. Now I felt like I needed to run, that I needed to flex my muscles and keep my body doing something. Maybe it was some compulsion buried deep down inside before. Something that my new Alphahood is bringing to the surface.

Great, now I’m Wonder Woman.

Or something.

“You want me to help you pick out something to wear then?”

“Well seeing as I’ve only been a girl for a little while, I don’t exactly know what to do .Besides, nothing I own from the past will fit anymore.”

I could see Mom trying to suppress her smile.

Yeah, laugh it up.

I tried to show her how cross I was with a look but I’m not sure she was buying it. In the end, I just gave her an annoyed one in response.

“It depends on what you’re looking for honey” she started and we began.

I quickly ruled out the whole sports bra and tight little shorts thing.

There was no way in hell I was doing that.

I don’t care if I had the body for it.

In the end---after much deliberation---we settled on the combination of gray running tank top and black running tights. I wasn’t too happy about how tight they looked but I’d deal with it. We got some good running shoes too. My new clothing items arrived a few minutes later. Mom wanted to help me to make sure I didn’t mess things up but I turned her down. I was fourteen; I didn’t need my mother to help me dress.

Though if there was one thing about this whole girl thing I was never going to get used too, it was the damn clothes.

Why the hell did everything have to be so tight?

I managed to get both the pants and the top on but damn, it felt like my entire body was being squeezed.

Ok, so a little overdramatic but still much tighter than my old clothes.

I did like the way they felt though.

Male clothes were rough to the touch.

These were soft and actually comfortable.

I could move a lot better in them too.

This body was a whole lot more flexible too. I liked the way I could bend and stretch. Nothing at all like my male body. I couldn’t help but smile a bit about that.

Did I still want my male body back?

HELL YES.

Seeing as that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon though---never in fact---I’d just have to deal with it.

As I was putting on my new shoes, there was a light tap on the door. Not even bothering to turn my head, I knew it was Mom.

“Wow” she said softly.

I laced up and turned slightly. “It’s not too much is it?”

I turned this way and that, looking myself over as I did so.

It was hard to believe that all of this was me now.

“Do you think it’s too much?”

“I don’t really have a choice now do I?”

I’m not sure when the tears started but the next thing I knew, Mom was hugging me.

This whole thing sucked.

Plain and simple.

Mom held me for a while, let me cry it out. It was kind of nice actually. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever held me this long. Not to say Mom was a horrible parent, just not a very attentive one. When I finally finished and we pulled apart, there was this pained look on her face. It was only there for a moment but I think it might have been regret.

“You can stay here with me you know. You don’t have to run if you don’t want to?”

I shook my head.

I needed to run.

I started stretching. “I have to do this Mom. I’ll be back in an hour or so I think.”

“Ok honey, just be careful.”

Careful?

Careful of what?

“I will, Mom.”

When I was younger, Grandpa used to take me to the park. He used to bring me to this little fitness area and we’d spend hours there. He used to regale me with stories about the park when he was a kid. His childhood parks were a great deal different than mine, of course. They used to be much bigger and there was a lot of green. They were more for recreational purposes back then, a sense of bringing some bit of nature into large cities and towns. We learned a lot of that stuff in history class; of course, most of it was pretty watered down.

Grandpa always used to have much better things to teach me.

Sadly, our parks were far from his

Sure they were still about bringing nature in, but I think it was more for a practical purpose than anything else. You couldn’t even really call them parks. Sure there was grass and trees but much like the grass in our own yards, it was well manicured and sectioned off. There were only small sections of it here and there and all well within control. Each Zone had their own park, each one the same size, the same layout. The small fitness area where I played as a kid was still there---unchanged. There was also a tiny picnic area with vintage benches and things. In the center they even had a fountain though the water was holographic. Using real water for something so trivial was a waste in this day and age. My grandfather used to say that the artificial didn’t make it feel like nature anymore. Sure it was real grass and real trees but everything else was fake.

The birds, the small animals.

All synthetic.

Even the flowers were some kind of synthetic nano-creation.

All fake.

All within control.

I tried not to think about it as I ran. I tried to think about little as I made my second or third lap around the bike path.

Sure there was a track that I could run on but that meant going to the school. I wasn’t ready to go there yet. At least, not until tomorrow. Mom and dad had pulled a lot of strings to get me there. Of course, they wanted me to go The Cube. My parents were able to convince the government to give me a chance. I wanted to be as normal as possible. Part of that normality meant returning to the same routine as before. My gender might be different, I might be different but I still wanted to prove to people that I was still me.

Still human.

On my fifth time around the path, I noticed the company.

It was hard not to.

I’d seen the four of them approach. I tried not to pay attention at first. They were a group of guys from my school. John Kingston and some of his buddies from the Free Ball team. What’s Free Ball you ask? Well think of old school football and basketball, remove the court and field and put it in a large domed room. Then remove the gravity. That’s Free Ball. It was the only sport authorized by the Metro government. Our school was pretty good apparently. Not that it really took much skill to play. I mean a monkey could strap on those shoes and go floating around like that.

One didn’t dare call a Baller a monkey, though.

Well not unless you wanted to keep your smile.

John wasn’t a bad guy I guess. We didn’t run in the same circles so I didn’t really know him all that well. His father was a Supervisor---a low man on the government totem pole. In fact, he was the Supervisor of Zone 3. John was a bit of school royalty because of it. He never used that to his advantage though. He did like to show off though. He was after all the closest thing to an Adonis that our school could muster.

For a Ject anyway.

I heard them before I saw them.

The five of them were trying to catch up with me. They started at a steady pace first. After about ten minutes, they started on a little faster. Five minutes after that, I could hear the heavy footfalls. Thanks to my biological enhancements---better sight, hearing---that kind of thing, I could tell they were really trying. Mark Rogers got close, I could hear him huffing and puffing behind me. He kept that pace for a whole minute or so before falling back. Sam and Greg Hodge---the Wonder Twins---lost the race a few laps beforehand. Frank West fell out a minute or so before Mark, leaving John the lone man to try to impress me.

That’s what they were doing after all.

Five idiots trying to show the Alpha girl that they were cool enough to hang with her.

So far, John was the only one who seemed to be doing ok.

I could feel him waning though.

After another lap, I finally felt the burn.

I took stock at where the Ballers were currently collapsed and made a beeline for a bench about twenty feet from them. I was feeling pretty good after my run. My blood was pumping, my heart was pounding and I felt great.

No, I felt alive.

I was also feeling something else.

Something foreign.

I began stretching, using the bench as I perched one of my legs on it and slowly started to lean forward. As I did, I couldn’t help but notice that five pairs of eyes watched me the whole time.

Something stirred inside.

Something new.

Something overpowering.

Pride.

I felt proud that they saw me.

I was proud that these guys saw something when they looked at me.

Them looking made my heart pound even faster.

I finished stretching a moment later. John took that as his cue to approach.

It was a bold move on his part.

He slicked back his sweat drenched blonde locks and slowly made his way over.

As he approached, I couldn’t help but size him up. I could see why a lot of the girls in school saw him as a “prize”. He was well fit for a Ject. His biceps bulged, his muscles well formed in the thin t-shirt that currently clung to his body. Something else bulged too. I felt a bit repulsed by that but embarrassed too. A bit scared as well. Even more scared when I found myself looking. I was a guy, I shouldn’t be looking there.

No Beth.

Not a guy anymore.

Shit.

“Hey” he said, starting to stretch like I’d been doing only moments before. “You’re pretty fast”

“I know.”

It was my attempt at a brush off but I have no idea what I’m doing.

Double Shit.

“I’m John,” he said with one of his prize winning smiles.

“That’s nice”

Come on take the hint.

“You’re an Alpha right?”

All I could do was nod.

“That’s really cool,” he said with another smile. “We don’t see too many around these parts. You live nearby?”

I sighed. This guy wasn’t going to go away.

I took the hip bag from around my waist. It was another one of our quick purchases. It was attached to a thin belt, hanging on my hip like it belonged there. I unzipped it, taking out my water bottle before leaving it sitting on the bench. I took a quick swig of water before speaking.

“A couple of blocks away.”

That seemed to surprise him.

“Not in The Cube?”

“Nope”

Go away please.

“So does that mean you go to my school?”

Oh shit he was hitting on me or trying too. This kind of tactic might work on normal girls---Ject girls---but with an Alpha, he was out of his league.

I think he knew it too.

When he stopped stretching, I couldn’t help but smirk.

John was tall, a good physical specimen of the Ject race. Blonde hair, blue eyes, chiseled looks.

The best that he could offer.

But still a Ject.

A Ject who was a whole head shorter than me.

This guy used to intimidate me in gym class. He never went out of his way to do so of course because like I said “Good Guy” but I was always afraid of him. He was the kind of guy who had a presence. Everyone flocked to him, girls drooled all over him, people opened doors for him. That kind of thing. The complete opposite of me.
Well the old me.

Now though I couldn’t help but smirk.

“What’s so funny?”

I was still amused when I spoke. “Thinking about something from before.”

“Before what?”

“Before all this” I said, waving my hands up and down my body.

He looked confused.

Time to break his precious heart.

“Where do you think Aphrodites come from John?” He gave me a clueless look. I decided to cue him in. “We’re guys, John, or at least we used to be. I’ve only been a girl for about a week or so, John. How does that make you feel?”

He stood there dumbfounded.

His friends must have been close enough to hear our conversation because they started to laugh.

I wanted to laugh too but that would have been cruel.

Instead, I patted his shoulder gently. Touching him made my skin tingle which I didn’t like in the least. Being close to him like that made something else tingle too. That scared me. I knew that this was a possibility but I wasn’t going to let it. I took a step back and brushed past him, leaving him standing there with his mouth open, contemplating my words. As I walked by the table with his friends, I couldn’t help but rub it in a bit.

“See you at school tomorrow boys”

I put a slight sashay in my step as I started walking away.

I got about ten feet or so, when I was greeted by more numbers. As soon as they popped up on my HUD, I froze.

54 68 61 74 20 77 61 73 20 63 72 75 65 6c.

What the hell was going on?

I snapped around quickly, my pulse racing. I looked at John and his friends. John was back at their bench, his friends were still laughing at him. He was still a little dumbfounded. I looked from them to the rest of the people in the park. There was a group of small children playing, their mothers nearby. There was an elderly couple on one of the benches, too. Nothing out of the ordinary. I scanned the rest of the area. The only thing that seemed out of place was a silver sedan. I’d noticed it on my run. Was it there as I started or did it show up after?

I tried to remember but after John showed up, I lost interest in it.

Shit.

Staring at it though made my heart beat a little faster.

Maybe I was being paranoid but I wasn’t going to take a chance.

I started to move away when there was a commotion. John apparently recovered. He was watching me but more than that, he was watching the car, too. He shouted something. I think he must have picked up on my apprehension because he seemed to notice that the car had been there a while too. He started to make his way toward it when the car quickly took off.

Ok that wasn’t suspicious or anything.

I wanted to stick around to say thanks but I was already unnerved enough.

Instead, I turned and started to run.

John shouted something.

I was almost home before I realized I’d left my hip pouch behind.

Damn.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

-----

Author's Note: Here's Ch.8, not a lot of stuff happens here. I like to refer to this as the "School Ch." as you'll see. There are some good interactions here but it doesn't really progress the story much. Chs. 7,8, and 9 are ones that I needed to write so that I could finally get back into the real story in Ch.10. So bear with me a little longer and I promise things will get going again :) I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing.

-----

8.

“Definitely that one”

I couldn’t help but groan as I looked into the mirror. Carrie was sitting on the bed behind me, coaching me as it were. Her words not mine. Out of the two girls currently in the room, she was the only one who was really enjoying herself. She was practically overflowing with giddiness. Me, I was a total fucking wreck. According to her, this outfit was crucial. Making a first impression was ideal for my social well being. True, but who said I wanted to make one. I was still me and nothing was going to change that. Not even little sisters who mean well. Though I could see where she was coming from. After all, it’s not every day that your older brother has a spontaneous gender change and you need to coach him on how to be a girl.

Ok so not really spontaneous.

“Light blue is not my color”

I peeled off the tiny shirt quickly and tossed it into the growing pile already growing on the floor.

Carrie started to pout. It was a ploy of course.

I knew that look all too well.

I also knew from experience that it wasn’t going to work.

“That didn’t work on me before what makes you think it will now?”

“You’re my sister now. I figured all those stupid boy genes were gone for good and you’d start to appreciate my plight.”

I had to give her credit.

“Sorry, different wrapping, same cream filling.”

After coming home from my run yesterday, I was immediately met by the highest squeal I’d ever heard in my entire life. Apparently, while I was out, Carrie returned home from school. I got barely two feet into the house before I was bum rushed by a bundle of energy. She nearly tackled me to the ground. When I finally was able to pry her off me, she never shut up. She was rambling a mile a minute, telling me everything that the two of us could do together. I’d never seen her like that. For the rest of the night I couldn’t go anywhere without her following me with a goofy smile. According to Mom, Carrie was thrilled about all of this. Well, that made one of us.
I needed to go easy on her though.

Humor her.

Mom’s words not mine.

I guess when you’re son becomes a daughter, it’s ok to be a parent again.

No, I’m not bitter.

Just annoyed.

So I took Mom’s advice. When I woke up yesterday morning, I found Carrie waiting. She was overflowing with excitement. Apparently she was bound and determined to “make me a real girl”. Her first order of business was to help me pick out the perfect outfit for school. I was a bit confused to say the least. Especially when I realized I was getting up two hours before I usually did and strangely two hours before I set my alarm for last night.

“Try the green one again,” she said happily.

I sighed, digging through the pile.

Where did all these clothes come from you ask? Well yesterday, a day I thought I was going to have to recuperate and be myself turned into Carrie’s day. After forcing me away, she dragged me to the mall. We could have easily done all our shopping right from home but she insisted. We spent the better part of several hours going from store to store. It was by far one of the most embarrassing moments in my life. There’s a reason I like to shop from home. After our marathon clothes run, we ended up getting the everyday basics a girl might need. I’m not going to bore you with the details. When we got home, I thought we were done but remember how I said Carrie wanted to teach me how to be a girl. Well, we did that for the rest of the night.

Nails.

Hair.

Makeup.

Proper Hygiene.

I’m a real girl now.

I turned back to the mirror and tried not to think about the goddess staring back at me. The one in the pink satin bra.

Me.

“It’s not fair you know,” she said as I pulled the shirt over my head.

“What’s not?”

“You got boobs”

If I was drinking something, I would have totally just spit it all over the mirror.

“Carrie, you’re eight”

“Julie is starting to bud”.

She crossed her arms and started to pout. For real this time.

“Julie’s clearly cheating.”

Julie was one of Carrie’s BFFs. Her Mom worked with ours. It didn’t take a genius to realize that Julie was getting a little help. Some girls popped pills to help them develop. When I was Carrie’s age it wasn’t as common but it was starting earlier and earlier. Though not illegal per se, the government was starting to crack down on it more and more. There were studies that showed that developing at a young age---especially through artificial means like that---had adverse health effects. Sure Julie might be fine now but come her thirties she was going to be a load of hurt.

There was no way in hell Mom would ever let Carrie do something stupid like that.

Thank the Maker.

“You’ll get there,” I said, hoping it was the right thing.

This girl thing.

Whole new territory.

This conversation.

FUCKING AWKWARD.

Carrie smiled. She jumped off the bed and wrapped herself around me.

Another hug.

“I’m glad you’re my sister now”

Well that makes one of us.

A few moments later, she broke the hug and pulled back. She gave me a strange look and shook her head.

“No that one is definitely not it. Try the blue one again”

“You understand the delicate situation I’m in here right, Miss Carson?”

I still couldn’t help but flinch slightly at the “Miss” thing.

But I understood the situation all too well.

Hell, I was living it.

I nodded. “I know the situation sir. I see it every time I look in the mirror”

Mr. Henry looked a little uncomfortable. I guess I couldn’t blame him. He was a good guy, of course, but it was hard to fathom of a lot of these things. Sure Alphas were a part of our everyday lives now but dealing with them didn’t make things any easier. Especially for him. Technically speaking, I wasn’t supposed to be here. I as an Alpha now, I was supposed to be in The Cube. I was supposed to going to Cube school or whatever the hell they called it. I was supposed to be someone else’s problem. I couldn’t expect him to understand or even know how to deal with something like this. I was still trying to deal with it myself but I’d made my decision. I was still Ben Carson---at least on the inside. I wanted to live my life just like I’d been living it. That meant going to school, my school. If this peon didn’t understand that then that was his damn problem.

“I am permitted to still attend this school right?”

He nodded. “There’s nothing that says you can’t, it’s just a little unorthodox”

“Try waking up with boobs” I quibbled.

Mr. Henry loosened his tie a bit.

Then he cleared his throat. “I’m legally obligated to tell you that as an administrator, I cannot deny you an education. However, I’m also obligated to inform you that this establishment will not favor you in anyway. If you choose to attend school here, we can’t protect you from any harm. You attend at your own risk and must deal with the consequences of such”

Wow, way to have my back.

I guess I couldn’t really blame him.

He was a low level Administrative Bureaucrat. A small fish in a rather large pond. Like I said, a good man but one who was afraid of the system, too. I really couldn’t have expected the man to act any other way. I just thought he’d be a little less of a coward. Was he really afraid that I was going to do something or worse, someone was going to try to do something to me?

“I can handle myself now sir,” I told him truthfully.

Hell I could handle myself before as well.

“Its not you I’m worried about”

So he really was trying to protect his own ass.

“I’m not a danger, sir. I know my limits.”

I let out a sigh, thinking.

“I’ll make you a promise,” I continued. “If at any time I feel like I can’t hack it here or I don’t belong, I’ll leave. I know what a problem this is, not just for you either. I want to try, sir, I have to try. If it doesn’t work, I need you to let me figure that out.”

He nodded. “Thank you for the honesty Bethany. I’ll hold you to that promise”

I nodded too, then stood up. He didn’t bother to correct me. I knew when the conversation was done.

Besides no one dismissed an Alpha.

Not that I was being arrogant, it was an actual societal thing.

Alphas were superior in every way and as such, they were afforded certain liberties.

I realized my mistake quickly and started to sit back down but he waved me off.

“Its ok Miss Carson, we were actually done”

He actually chuckled a bit.

I smiled and thanked him before heading out the door. As soon as it closed behind me, I let out a sigh. I’d like to say that the hard part was over but that was a lie. I’d actually arrived here about an hour early this morning so I could get things all organized. Apparently deciding to go back to my normal school meant I had to do everything by myself. The government was nice enough to change my gender and my name but that’s all they were willing to do for me. Not going with the “program” meant that they weren’t going to help me with anything.

So before the meeting, I spent most of my time with a guidance counselor organizing things.

It didn’t take long.

I was able to convince her that I was the same person and wanted the same schedule.

The only thing that changed was my gym class.

Now I was in a class with girls.

Yay me.

I tapped my ear as I started down the hall. I brought up a quick map of the school. Something else had changed too, actually. After I “disappeared” for a week or so, they had to give up my locker. It was nothing new. So I had a new locker on the other side of the building. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far from the office. Walking there was another thing though. Since leaving, the school was starting to fill up. As soon as I turned around the corner, I found myself in a sea of my peers.

And boy was I noticed.

As I walked, I couldn’t help but feel like my skin my was starting to match the red of my shirt.

All eyes were immediately on me.

I tried my hardest not to let it get to me but of course, it did. Here I was wearing a bright red shirt and the tightest jeans known to man.

Of course, people were going to notice.

Damn it Carrie.

Every guy I past seem to undress me with their eyes. Every girl I passed looked like they wanted to drive a stake through my heart. Oh yeah, this day was going to be loads of fun. It got even worse when I approached The Hall. That’s not its real name, hell it didn’t have a name actually. It was just something that the normal people in the school called it. The Hall was where all the popular kids hung out before, during and after classes. There was nothing overly special about it but they seemed to gravitate toward it.

I took a deep breath as I approached.

The cheerleaders saw me first. Of course, they all sneered. Sure, they would. They were supposed to be the school Queens and here I was now.

A God among them.

Actually, that bit made me feel a little better about myself.

I never really had a problem with those girls but I knew Maddie did. I used to watch the way they treated her and it was pretty bad. To them, individuality was a sin and Maddie was the greatest sinner of them all. Now though---with those looks---I was sure they were definitely going to be thorns in my side. Especially with the way, Natalie was looking at me. Natalie St. James---the Queen Bee---cheerleader and bitch extraordinaire. I had a feeling she was going to be a real problem. Even more so because her boyfriend happened to be my new stalker---John.

Speaking of which…

“Hey”

I stopped in my tracks, about ten feet from the girls.

I just barely missed him when he practically materialized in front of me.

Shit.

“I’m gonna be late” I said, hoping it was enough to get rid of him.

It wasn’t.

“You left your bag thingy at the park yesterday. I have it if you want it.”

I knew that was going to be a problem.

“Sure thanks I guess”

I followed him the short distance to his locker---which was of course surrounded by his Free Baller buddies. The guys from the park were there, giving me friendly nods. The others there were all staring at me like I walked out of Heaven or something. I tried to ignore them all and waited impatiently. A few seconds later, my hip pouch was back in my hands. I opened it to make sure everything was still there, getting a quick reassurance from John that he didn’t touch anything.

“Well I might have looked for ID,” he said embarrassed then quickly added. “You know for your address…to uh return it to you.”

“I don’t have one”

Not yet anyway. It was supposed to come in the mail any day now, not that he needed to know that.

I stuffed the pouch in my backpack and started down the hall again.

John of course was right with me.

“So what’s your name anyway?”

I sighed. He wasn’t going to give up was he?

“It’s Beth”

“Beth, cool” he said with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

I laughed at that.

“We’ve already met…several times in fact.”

He gave me a confused look before it seemed to sink in. When the truth dawned on him, he fell silent which was fine by me. What wasn’t fine was the course he seemed to be taking. As I meandered my way through the halls, he seemed to be following. Not out of obligation to stalk me but actually because he seemed to be going in the same direction. No not just the same direction I realized, the same class. I cursed. Of course. I forgot he was in my first morning class. In fact, he was in three of my classes.

Shit.

“This is your class?” he asked when we got to the door.

I nodded. He quickly opened the door for me and we went in. As soon as I stepped into the room, all eyes were on me including a very surprised Mrs. Wren. Even more surprised though was Joe, especially when I made my way over to my usual sit. As soon as I sat down, a murmur roared through the room immediately. Mrs. Wren blinked a few times before giving me a concerned smile. Just like Mr. Henry, it was clear that she knew I was going to have problems here.

“Welcome back Miss Carson” she said, stumbling for a second over the “miss” part.

All eyes were on me.

Joe’s especially.

I wanted to crawl under the desk and stay there forever.

“Thanks” I said sheepishly.

A second later, several hands in the room moved. Most of them up to their ears. The pips were flying. In several minutes, I was pretty sure everyone in the school was now going to know that Ben Carson was now an Alpha.

Shit that’s all I needed.

“No fucking way” whispered Joe, leaning slightly to speak to me.

He was sitting next to me after all.

“Now you know where I’ve been,” I whispered back, refusing to look in his direction.

Joe sad nothing for a minute or so.

I held my breath.

Then he laughed. “I guess we can’t call you Minus anymore.”

I wanted to laugh myself.

Instead, I let out a huge sigh of relief.

One down, two to go.

By the time I got to my second class of the day, the news of my transformation had spread like wild fire. Every person I ran into stopped to stare at me and those who didn’t seemed to linger around longer than necessary. The only people who seemed not to care were the teachers. There was some initial shock on their parts but they recovered quickly. Thankfully they treated me like a normal human being. Even though technically I wasn’t one.

Thankfully, the novelty of me started to wear off as the morning went on.

By the time lunch came around everyone knew.

And everyone had seen me.

Including Maddie.

The first class of the day I had with her was the one right before lunch. When I walked into the room, I took my usual seat next to her. As soon as I did, she got up and moved. Trying to speak to her was useless as well because she wouldn’t even look at me. I’m not sure if I was more pissed off or disappointed. I knew what she thought of Alphas of course but I was hoping she’d be able to get over that prejudice because it was me.

I was still me.

If only she’d let me explain it to her.

When I finally got to the cafeteria, I found Joe at our usual table. As soon as I walked into the room, all eyes were on me, of course. I went through the lunch line as soon as possible then made a quick dash for my usual seat. When I sat, I was surprised he was alone. I let out a sigh, desperately wanting to scream at the top of my lungs.

I picked up my burger and took a huge bite, not bothering to be polite about it either.

Joe gave me a strange look.

“What?” I asked, my mouth full.

“You really are the same, aren’t you?”

I rolled my eyes then swallowed. “Yes”

“So no compulsions?”

It was fairly common knowledge that a lot of recently emerged Alphas went through some behavioral swings and things like that. I knew the drill. Deena actually talked about it with me for some time in-between tests. In fact I think a good portion of her tests were to see how much I’d actually changed. Well besides the whole wanting to be more active---like my running---I was the same person.

“I’m the same guy Joe”

“Ummm” he said, pointing at my chest.

“You know what I mean,” I snapped.

He looked like he wanted to ask more questions but I had one of my own first. I quickly cut him off as he was about to speak.

“So why are you sitting alone anyway?”

We were never the most popular kids in school but we had a small group of friends. We didn’t always sit with them at lunch but sometimes people rotated our way. The usual group at the table was Joe, Ted and I. After Crystal’s funeral though, Maddie had started joining us too. Some of her friends would sit here too. Things got complicated with Ted of course after Mads and I kinda hooked up. I just thought maybe whatever his problem was would have cooled off by now.

“Well” said Joe pointing. “There’s Maddie”.

I followed his finger and saw her sitting with a group of kids I’d never really noticed before. Then again, looking at Maddie I wouldn’t have noticed her unless I knew her. She looked totally different now---even from this morning actually. Her hair was pitch black now, her makeup dark and edgy. I’d say she was in mourning again if not for her clothes: a black shirt with long mesh sleeves, a short tartan skirt, fishnets and black boots.

I knew the look well.

“She’s taking things well,” I said sarcastically.

“Give her some time”

I turned back to Joe. “What about Ted?”

Joe rolled his eyes. “That’s a different thing altogether”. He sipped his drink. “Two days after you were gone, he seemed to grow a pair. He walked right up to Maddie and asked her out. Lot of nerve if you ask me. Well after she spurned him, he kind of freaked. He caused quite a scene. It escalated quickly too. He tried to drag her out of her chair and that’s when things got real bad. One of the Free Ballers stepped in and well let’s just sat Ted wasn’t in a good place when it ended. The day after that he was gone. His Mom pulled him out of school, said it was an “unsafe environment for her son”. Load of crap if you ask me.”

What the hell was with Ted lately anyway?

“Are we still good?”

“Best buds bro,” he said, holding out his fist, waiting for me to give it a bump.

I didn’t leave him hanging long.

It felt a little weird though.

“I think we need to come up with something else,” I said.

Both of us laughed.

After that, I let him ask his questions. He had a lot of them, but I answered them as best as I could. I think my whole manifestation interested him way too much. It was nice to talk about it though. When I started talking about my tests, he seemed really interested. Especially when I told him, I was free weighting five hundred pounds.
He seemed particularly interested in that. I was about to tell him about those strange numbers when the chime ended lunch sounded.

I sighed, maybe tomorrow.

Because of the strange rotating block schedule we had, classes were split into two parts. The first parts were before lunch, the seconds after.

So Math 1 and Science 1 in the morning, Math 2 and Science 2 in the afternoon.

It was a real pain in the ass.

I was on my way to Math 2, when John was waiting for me.

Does this guy ever quit?

“You’re Ben Carson,” he said as I approached.

“I said I was a guy before.”

“You could have said something before I made an ass out of myself.”

“Is this the part where you hit me or threaten me? I don’t have all day you know, so get it over with quick or we’ll be late for class.”

“Wait? What?”

I sighed. “I was a guy. Aren’t all you jocks homophobes or something?”

Being homosexual wasn’t much a problem anymore. In fact, it was part of the norm now. I knew from history class that it was a real problem when my grandfather was younger. Several people actually said it was unconstitutional or some such bullshit. People were stupid. Even though it wasn’t a problem now though there were, still some of saw it as such. It was common knowledge that a lot of jocks seem to think that way.

It was different with Alphas. Though not illegal by any means, it was frowned upon when normal people had relationships with Alphas. It was one of the reasons Alphas were asked to live in The Cube. That way they could meet a respected partner and be done with it.

“That’s kind of offensive isn’t it?”

He looked genuinely shocked.

“And it’s not offensive to be standing here, staring at me like I’m a piece of meat?”

He didn’t respond but by the look of his blushing face, I knew I’d struck a nerve.

I did get him to advert his eyes though.

“So” I said, hoping this conversation was going somewhere. “Was there a point to all this?”

“I just wanted you to know that I don’t care if you were a guy before. You’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever met. Screw what everyone else has been saying.”

Ummm….what.

“What are they saying?”

He suddenly looked like someone shot his puppy. Then he quickly filled me in on the rumors. Apparently, I somehow managed to get my hands on a genetically manipulated sample of the “Alpha gene”. One that not only made me faster and stronger but also made me a Super Aphrodite. It would seem that I was just too damn beautiful to be a normal Alpha so I somehow made myself into a super normal one.

If that even made sense.

Where the hell did rumors like that even come from?

“John honey”

Suddenly Natalie materialized right next to him, making a big display of looping her arm through his.

Was this the fabled “Marking one’s territory” from girl world I’d heard so much about.

Natalie turned to me and gave me a look.

No shit.

She thought I was trying to take John from her.

As if.

“What are you doing talking to him anyway?”

Yeah, definitely jealous.

I wanted to smirk but instead I just pushed past the two of them, hoping to make it to class before the chime.

When I finally did make it, I found my seat quickly. I couldn’t help but smile though, especially when Joe gave me a quizzical look.

So to quickly recap today’s events: Joe was still my friend, Ted was gone for good, Mads wanted nothing to do with me and John was even more of a creepy stalker than before.

Oh let’s not forget Natalie.

I couldn’t help but sigh.

I wonder if it’s too late to go to The Cube after all?

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

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Author's Note: I bet everyone thought I fell off the face of the Earth but I'm still here and still kicking. It took me a while to get things going again with this story sadly. I wrote up to the end of Ch. 8 but when I went to write 9, nothing happened. I also kept thinking of every different story like this and I really didn't want to try to copy something that came before so I was stumped. Then the other day, it just came to me :) So without further ado here's Ch.9 of Clownfish. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing.

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9.

“How are you feeling?”

I shrugged.

It was a good question and one I didn’t really have a good answer for.

“How am I supposed to feel?”

Deena smiled. I’m not sure she had an answer either.

The two of us were sitting in her office. When I left the Q, it was decided that she and I would meet every week for a couple of weeks after my release. Remember how I said MD and PHD, well besides her medical license, Deena was apparently a shrink too. Today was our first official meeting. This morning I had to get up extra early to get ready too. You know how much teenagers hate to get up before noon on a Saturday? Yeah, well Mom insisted. Thankfully, I managed to go through my morning routine without Carrie interfering.

The Squirt didn’t wake up until Mom and I were leaving.

She pouted a bit about that.

No Carrie meant slumming it a bit. Even in a pair of sweats and a loose t-shirt, I still looked like a Greek Goddess.

Damn.

Anyway, I was now in T2, in the same building that Mom’s office was in. Unlike Mom’s though, Deena’s office was pretty high class. Apparently, the different medical fields were relegated to different floors. Mom’s office was on the third floor while Deena’s was on the top one---the forty fifth floor to be exact. Yeah, it was a really tall building. Not that it was out of place, though. Most of the office buildings in the Zones were tall. In fact, there were four buildings of the same height in each Metro.

They had an official name but most of us just called them the Towers.

Mom and Deena had offices in T2.

Dad had an office in T3.

You get the drill right?

There were other differences besides the floor. I wouldn’t say Mom had a small office by any means but it didn’t compare to the size of Deena’s. Her’s was huge. Not only did it have a reception area with a secretary but it also had a little en-suite, a few examining rooms for her medical patients, a room where she met with her psych patients and her private office area. We were currently in the private area. It was pretty spacious too with a horseshoe shaped desk, a large sitting area with a very comfy couch and a great view. When I first came in, Deena ushered me over to the large glass window behind her desk. She wanted me to see the whole of the Metro. It was spectacular, I could see all the zones, the towers, even the semi-transparent dome of The Cube---well at least when the light hit.

Now though, the two of us were on the couch.

This first meeting she said she wanted to make as informal as possible.

That’s why we were in her office.

“Why don’t we start with something else, feelings can wait,” she said, smiling. “Why not tell me about your first week of school?”

“It was weird”

“How so?”

I sighed. I gave her a quick recap of the first day. How the principal basically told me he wasn’t going to protect me if something happened and how everyone reacted to seeing me. I told her about my friends or lack thereof now. Well I still had Joe but Maddie and Ted were probably gone for good. Then I told her about John and Natalie.

“Girls are like that sometimes. You’re new and let’s face it, much prettier than her. It’s only natural she’d feel threatened by you.”

“It’s stupid. Why should she feel threatened by me?”

Deena smiled. “You’re a very pretty girl now, talking to her boyfriend. I think you see where I’m going with this?”

I sighed and nodded.

I knew exactly where she was going.

“How do you feel about John?”

“What do you mean?”

“I think you know what I mean.”

I’ll admit it; I squirmed a bit in my seat. I was hoping I could avoid something like this. I’m an idiot for even mentioning him to her. Now I was going to have to explain something I didn’t want to talk about yet. I was a little scared about it all actually. I knew I was no longer attracted to Maddie or any other girl for that matter.

“He’s not unattractive”

“But he’s a boy” she said and I nodded. She continued. “And that makes you uncomfortable. It’s perfectly understandable. You are still in that transition phase of things. It’s common for new Alphas. In time, it will fade. Eventually you won’t even notice. He’ll be a boy and you’ll be a girl and nature will take its course.”

“I’m not sure I want it to.”

She burst out laughing while I frowned at her reaction.

She apologized when she was done.

“Ok, moving along” she said more professionally. “Tell me about the rest of your week”

Taking a deep breath, I told her.

The rest of the week was pretty routine I guess. The only thing that really stood out---on the second day of school---was my new Gym class. While the boys and girls had different locker rooms for obvious reasons, we still shared the same Gym for actual class. Well mostly the same. The Gym was the largest building in our school; as such, it was large enough for them to section it off. A large glass wall divided it directly down the center. The boys were on one side, the girls on the other. It kept the two classes separate but the same. The strange thing was the opposite nature of it all for me. Both halves of the gym were identical but I couldn’t help but feel I was on the wrong side. Especially because I used to be one of the boys who used to ogle the girls.

Now I was on the receiving end of that.

And boy did they ogle.

Carrie had picked out what she called “the perfect gym ensemble”. Unfortunately it consisted of a white tank and blue shorts, both of which I think she bought in one size too small or something. At least I thought so when I put them on. Apparently, though, it was a standard uniform for girls because just about everyone was wearing them. I mean I guess I noticed as a boy but it just seemed standard or something. Now that I was wearing such an outfit, it was far from standard. I felt naked, especially with all the male eyes on me.

I also felt all the glares.

Every female eye around me was burning holes into me.

Eventually the staring got so bad that Miss Marx---the PE teacher---had to break it up with her whistle. The girls fell in line pretty quickly after that. The boys were a different matter. It was then decided that the “glass” would be “shut off”. It was something that the teachers could do from time to time to lessen the distraction. Basically, both teachers on either side had to push a button. Said button pushing turned the glass wall into a frosty glass wall, making it impossible for either side to see-through. They usually did it when the swimming rotation came around.

Yeah underneath the usual gym floor was the pool.

The only time we ever left the Gym room was when we did the track rotation. Apparently the higher ups just couldn’t figure out how to fit the track into the space provided so it was actually outside.

Well, Gym was the highlight of the rest of my week.

“What about your friends?” she asked after I regaled her with my amazing Gym story.

“You mean my friend,” I said, using air quotes when I said friend to emphasize I only had one now.

“How do you feel about that?”

I shrugged. “Pissed”

Ted I could understand, I mean he was gone now. The rumor was his mother was actually sending him to school in Z1, where a lot of the government muckity mucks sent their kids. The school there was smaller but very exclusive. Ted probably hated it there. Serves him right. If he wasn’t such an ass about things, he’d still be here with us.

Maddie, on the other hand, she was just being downright ridiculous.

She cut ties with everyone.

Including her old girl friends.

Now she was with that other crowd.

It got worse after the first day too. She wasn’t just dressing like them anymore. She was starting to act like them too. My second day back she turned up with several piercings. The third day, she had quite a bunch of weird tattoos. Then there was her attitude. Maddie had never really been a people person but now she was just a downright bitch---to everyone. The only ones not appalled by it were her “new friends”.

She blamed me for it too. She made that abundantly clear whenever I was around her. She would raise her voice and say things like “that freak” or “that thing”.

It hurt.

“She’s hurting too I imagine,” said Deena, comforting me as I started to tear up. “Give her some time; her world has fallen apart all at once. She just lost her sister and now her boyfriend, it’s going to take some time for her.”

I nodded, wiping back the tears.

I knew that.

Deena decided to change things up after that. She started asking me about my home life. Well there wasn’t really much of one. Just like before, it was usually just me and Carrie. After that first day of school, Mom became Mom again. She was still a little more attentive but she lost herself in work again. Dad was always absent. Apparently he had some big “project” he was working on. I don’t think he’s been home once since I have been. I talked to him briefly on the vid but he seemed distracted and distant. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was avoiding me.

It was how he coped.

When Grandpa died, he disappeared into his work for weeks.

So life kind of sucked right now.

The only good thing I had going for me now was the Sentinels.

“I think that’s a good place to end this,” said Deena when I brought them up.

“What about them?”

She chose her words carefully I think. “Are you sure going back to them is such a good idea?”

I nodded. “The Sentinels have been my life. They’re all I ever thought about. I want to be me, as normal as I have been. I want that life”

She smiled, a little uneasily but smiled nonetheless.

“Well good luck to you then.”

The ride from Deena’s office to the main way was a rather quiet one.

Mom and I never talked all that much to begin with, not enough in common. They couldn’t be more far from the truth now. We weren’t technically even the same species anymore. It was one of the reasons why I chose to take up my usual seat in the back of our Jag. My sister usually rode shotgun anyway. Today however Mom and I were alone but I didn’t feel much like talking. I was too worried about how things might go. Sure there was nothing in the rules that said an Alpha couldn’t be a Sentinel but I was setting a great deal of precedence with it.

I was also causing quite a stir apparently.

Though I was an “unknown” Alpha, the News didn’t fail to report my recent controversial stand. Apparently I was something of a rebel now.

Go figure.

I wish they’d get their facts straight for once though. I wasn’t rebelling against anything. In fact, my parents and I had spent the better part of the week talking to the higher ups in The Sentinels. Much like my school, they said they couldn’t give me any preferential treatment, but unlike my school, they said they’d be fully responsible for my actions. Actions, in and out of uniform. So even if I were to streak through the park in my skivvies, they’d still hold me responsible for it and take the necessary action. That action was one thing and one thing only: Removal.

No more Sentinels.

My dreams crushed.

Loserville.

So yeah no pressure or anything.

Thankfully, I was going into this somewhat prepared. Having already gone through the preliminary orientation and having been accepted as a Probate, I was one step closer. The next two weeks however were the real test. My meeting with Sergeant Phillips was just step one; sure they’d accepted me now they needed to see if I could make the grade. That meant putting me and my fellow Potentials through a grueling two-week orientation course. If at the end of those two weeks, I could prove myself to them then I would be an official Sentinel Cadet.

I already made steps toward said goal. Last night I spent a better part of forty-five minutes reading my manual, from cover to cover. My new super Alpha brain enabled me to memorize the whole thing too. Ok so it was a little unfair but it’s not like the other guys weren’t going to have some tricks up their sleeves too. My grandfather told me to always be the “best me I could possibly be” and that meant using everything I had to offer.

Alpha powers activate.

Seriously, though, I was really nervous.

It didn’t help that my mother and sister had convinced me to dress a little more sporty for it. Gone were the sweats and tee I wore to Deena’s office. In their place was a light hoodie over one of my running tanks and a pair of black yoga pants. Yeah, I’m totally hating the pants. At least they let me pick out my own shoes---a new pair of Nikes. My mother tried to convince me a little makeup might not hurt but I drew the line there. I compromised by letting her style my hair into a nice high ponytail. Carrie had wanted to braid it down my back, you know like that girl from those old time video games from the yesterday year, Lara something or other.
Yeah I’m not ready for that yet.

I’m still not ready for a skirt either.

Carrie tried to convince me to wear one to school yesterday but I’ll burn that bridge when I get there. Like I said before, I think she’s enjoying having a sister way more than I am enjoying being one.

“You ok?” asked Mom, bringing my thoughts to an end.

I shrugged. “No better than usual”

She turned around, letting the car drive itself.

In fact, most of the time she let it go on Auto.

“You don’t have to do this you know. I understand your need to be a Sentinel, I know it’s something you’ve wanted but that was before…”

She trailed off a bit, stopping herself before saying the obvious.

I finished for her. “Yes, back when I was Ben.”

She’d been doing that all week, whether she realized it or not. It was tough on all of us, me more than most. Carrie liked having a sister but I could tell even she was weirded out by it . Mom kept making mistakes and apologizing for them. She wanted me to be happy of course too but she seemed to want me to forget who I was before too. Don’t even get me started on Dad. When he visited me at the Q was the first and only time he’d seen his “new” daughter. Ok like Mom, Dad and I had never really been that close. I think he resented the relationship that grandpa and I used to have. I think I mentioned it before but Dad and Grandpa were never close.

Grandpa had been very outgoing, always on the move. Dad was more of a stay in the garage and tinker on something kind of guy.

He was still like that now.

Except instead of a garage, he spent most of his time at work.

Avoiding things.

Like his son turned daughter.

Strangely enough, the only one of the family who didn’t seem to have a problem was Toby. Then again, he was programmed to accept us no matter. I’m sure a real dog would have noticed the difference but not good ole Toby. All Mom had to do was access his memory bank and switch the old me to the new one and for him it was like I’d always existed this way. Kind of insulting but it saved some problems. If Toby hadn’t recognized me, I’d be in a load of hurt. Sure, they were great pets but they had a real nasty security system built into them as well.

I knew my family was trying but that didn’t stop me from getting annoyed about the whole damn thing.

“Honey” she said, trying to take my hand but failing when I pulled away. “I understand how hard this is for you but you need to accept…”

I cut her off. “I’m still me!”

We’d had this conversation before too.

Mom had been continuing to try and convince me that my life as Ben was over and I needed to accept it. I needed to embrace the new and let the old stay where it was, in the past. That meant anything that Ben had been involved with should be forgotten. Things like The Sentinels. I could read her like a book though. She was never happy that I’d been interested in them in the first place. She used to hate when Grandpa told me stories about the “good old days”. She had made it very clear when I wanted to join them that she hadn’t been happy with my choice.

But it was my life.

My decision.

“Car stop!”

I could hear the anger in her voice as the car came to a stop in one of the many nearby parking spots along the road. She unbuckled her harness and turned completely around in her seat.

“Now listen and listen good,” she said in her sternest voice. “I’m concerned for you sweetheart. This obsession you have with your life before is unhealthy. I know how much you loved all this stuff but there is so much more out there for you now. A new life waiting on the horizon, new opportunities.”

“I don’t want a new life or opportunities. I want everything as it was before. I liked what I’d been doing, I liked being me!”

We weren’t shouting at one another but we were getting pretty close.

Mom rarely got angry but when she did, it was something not to be trifled with. However, unlike before, I wasn’t the least bit afraid of it now. It seemed so trivial in comparison to me now. More than that though, it was a human yelling at her superior. If another Alpha or a Sentinel happened to be witness to it, Mom could get fined. It was kind of stupid but it was the law. We used to learn it all the way back when we were children, the Three Truths: Alphas are Superior, Alphas are Strong, Alphas are Never Wrong.

Three Guidelines.

Three Absolutes.

Three things that humans were not allowed to go against.

“Mom” I said, looking out the window, worried.

Mom seemed to notice she’d been raising her voice to me.

Thankfully, for her, we were still a few blocks from the Sentinel Center.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking downcast.

This time I took her hand, tearing up. “It’s my fault and I know what you’re saying but I can’t accept it Mom. This is all bullshit and I want…”

She was hugging me a moment later. Whatever anger either one of us felt was gone in that instance. After a moment or so, I realized how stupid it had all been. We were having the same argument all over again. We had it last night and the night before that. In fact, we’d been having it pretty much since I’d gotten home. It was getting us nowhere. I understood what she wanted and her concern but she needed to understand my concern as well.

I wanted to be me.

I wanted to be human.

We stopped hugging and crying a minute or so later. Mom took a moment to use her Bio to fix her makeup. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. If there was one thing about all this I’d never do, it was that. I don’t care how much of a girl I was now, something like that just freaked me the hell out. Women these days were too damn vain and it scared the hell out of me that I might turn into something like that, something not me anymore.

Like Maddie’s brother.

“We’ll be ok Mom,” I said, reassuringly.

“I know sweetie”

Though she said, I could sense there was something else in her voice too.

Uncertainty.

Another moment later, she had the car moving again.

The rest of the short drive from the parking spot was a quiet one. As the Center started to get into focus, my excitement started. The Sentinel Center was a large complex that stretched around the entirety of The Cube. There were a total of six entrances, each one opening into one of the Zones. From what I understood there were four entrances that opened into The Cube itself. Large and constructed out of titanium steel and glass, The Center was one of the first structures built after the Fall and Upheaval. The Sentinels as I mentioned before were created as Peacekeepers, there to prevent any further hostilities between Alphas and humans. Originally meant for humans alone, there was nothing in the rules that stated an Alpha couldn’t join their ranks.

It had just never happened.

Not until now.

As we got closer, more of the building came into view.

Calling it, a building though was a bit of an understatement. It was more like an elaborate guard tower that wrapped around the transpari-dome of The Cube. Five stories high, build to withstand most explosives and natural disasters, the Center was a literal fortress. At one time, it housed over two thousand Sentinels. Over the years though, the number had dropped drastically. Now only five hundred strong, the Sentinels were a dying breed. Most of the Center was used for training exercises now. Large areas were even sectioned off and abandoned because there wasn’t enough man power to keep the place fully staffed.

A part of me felt sad.

The other part realized the significance of it though.

The Center had been built in a time of turmoil. The large show of force there to convince the humans and the Alphas that they meant business. Now however, it mean that there was peace. Peace was good on all levels except for the Sentinels themselves. Once a force of absolute power, now the government kept lessening their duties and mandates. A once great military arm was reduced to nothing more than glorified security guards and babysitters when needed. Sentinels weren’t even allowed to carry real weapons anymore.

The sign of the changing times.

Mom pulled the car into one of the designated visitor slots.

“You sure about this honey?”

I nodded.

“This is where I’m meant to be Mom”

She gave me a weak smile then a long hug.

I climbed out of a car and gulped, never realizing how enormous all of this was. The large blue steel and glass building loomed high above me. Even higher was the dome of The Cube. This was the closest I’d been to it after all. The dome of The Cube was several miles wide and three miles tall, an engineering marvel. The transpari-dome was designed to simulate a calm and soothing environment for all those who looked at it. On the inside, I had no idea what it looked like. Out here it was currently displayed a serene skyscape of clouds. Every one of my classmates used to gloat about how close they’d been to The Cube and what they saw on the dome. In truth, they were all full of it. Most humans only even got to the designated spectator zones around the perimeter, several feet back. One actually had to get a pass to get any closer and go through two checkpoints.

Very few were afforded those passes.

As a Sentinel candidate, I had special permissions. Mom was allowed to use one of the designated roads to bring us here. On my preliminary orientation---back when I spoke to that hologram of the Sergeant and had that life altering physical---I’d been afforded access to one of the Center’s underground way stations. There were several of those, accessible to anyone. They were there to report problems and things like that. In fact, there were several ones all around the Zone, unattached to the Center actually. Those little way stations were nothing more than call boxes though. We learned about something like that in history class from long ago, police boxes or whatever. We also learned about something called 911.

All of that was gone now.

I was also in the big leagues now too.

No more way stations.

No more underground meetings with holograms either.

I took a breath as I stepped away from Mom’s car and toward the building. My heart was racing as the excitement inside of me grew. As I got closer to the entrance, I felt a little nervous as well. It took a lot to get myself to this point. I’d been through a lot too. Not just my gender flip either. I’d been training for years up to this point. Well not really training but preparing. Sure, I had some rudimentary combat training from grandpa. A mild form of martial arts he taught me, the only form Dad would permit him to teach me actually. I’d also read everything I could get my hands on throughout the years, including grandpa’s old manual. It was miniscule in comparison to today’s modern one but it still contained all the same info.

I knew how to be a Sentinel.

I was a Sentinel.

At the door, a hologram of a man’s head appeared.

There a was momentary look of surprise on his face before he was all business.

“Can I help you miss?”

I cleared my throat, moment of truth time.

“Bethany Carson Z3-14-A1-49”

Yes, I had a new designation now. No longer was I 03 of my family. Because I was now an Alpha and the only one in my household, I’d been designated A1. It was kind of cool but a little embarrassing as well. Not cool though was the change of my last name. I’m not sure if it was noticed at first but I’d been Ben Daniels before all this crap happened. Well society designated men and women a little differently now. Unmarried women took the name of their mother until such a time as marriage. So I was a Carson now, just like Carrie. It was kind of stupid if you ask me but nothing any of us could do about it. Interestingly enough though, if I’d actually moved to The Cube I could change everything, including my name. Mom and Dad picked out Bethany of course but if I had wanted, I could have called myself anything. In fact, there were a lot of Alphas out there with weird names like Johnny Crash, Moonshine Flower and Raven Dark---Johnny was a Free Baller, Moonshine an actress and Raven a poet.

The sky was the limit when it came to Alphas.

The hologram blinked a few times. He looked me over a lot. I was starting to get really fucking annoyed about that bit. He was a Sentinel after all; surely I wasn’t the first Alpha he’d ever seen. Ok so my lips weren’t three colors nor were my eyes neon---don’t ask. I was still just like any other Alpha out there, minus the fact that I was on the other side of their “wall”.

It took him a few seconds to recover.

“You’re Probate Carson?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes”

This guy had clearly been expecting me. Technically Probate Daniels was supposed to report to them last week but circumstances out of my control had changed all that.

“Ummm…”

I sighed. “I’m supposed to be here. Do whatever checking you need to do, I can wait.”

The head disappeared.

About five minutes later, another head appeared.

This one of Sergeant Phillips.

“I’m sorry for the mix up Probate, we were expecting an Alpha but the man here was under the impression that it was going to be a male one.”

“In another life sir.”

Phillips laughed. “I can only imagine.”

I’d only met Phillips that once but I did like him.

“A bit than the last time we met sir.”

“Only on the outside, Probate”

I smiled.

Now I really liked the guy.

“Damn straight sir.”

He nodded. “Well then, I’d like to re-welcome you to the Sentinels, Probate Carson.”

He gave the customary salute gesture---a fist to his chest. I returned the same and the door opened.

Sentinel life here I come.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

by:

In the not too distant future, evolution has taken humanity down a different path. In a society where gender is controlled with numbers, one young man finds that being evolved might not be such a good thing.

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.10, I'm happy to report that I'm schedule with things now too, halfway through Ch.11 as I write this. I'm also happy to report that this story is finally getting into the heart of things. The chapters leading up to this one have been a set up, after this one the story should start to pick up a lot so thanks for bearing with me :) I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing.

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10.

After walking a short corridor, I found myself in some place rather surprising---a spacious lobby.

It was the last thing I expected.

I mean this was a government building that didn’t get too many visitors and here it had a lavish lobby complete with a comfortable looking reception area. It was a pretty good size too; one could get a strained neck looking up at the ceiling. I only looked up for a second, concentrating quickly on the rest of the details. I liked to know a place well, especially if I was going to be spending a lot of time in it. I quickly took note of the exits---there were four and how the architectural design from outside seemed to make its way inside as well.

Here I saw the same blue steel.

The same glass.

Even the column work here was very similar to the two columns I forgot to make note of flanking the main entrance. The difference here was the floor; it was made of polished white marble. It looked pretty impressive, too. It was well kept, making me wonder how often this place was cleaned. I mean everything around me looked sterile and seemed to shine. I could even see myself in some of the surfaces. I couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Can I help you, Miss?” asked a man directly to my left.

Turning I noticed him.

Tall---but not quite Alpha tall---he was wearing the standard white Sentinel uniform; the green bars on his shoulder told me he was a Corporal.

Ok quick rundown on Sentinel rank.

At the bottom, you had the Cadets and Probates. You could always tell them apart from the rest because they didn’t get the fancy white outfits. They usually wore gray tees and cargo pants. Above them were the Corporals like the guy to my left, they were noticeable due to the green bars on their shoulders. Next in rank were the Sergeants, like Phillips. He had three bars on his right shoulder: green blue green. Then there was the Lieutenants with their red stars, usually displayed on their left or right breast. Above them were the Captains. They had gold Stars. You could always tell a Captain because they were usually older, having been with the Sentinels for a long time. There were only six of them as well, one for each Zone. They were in complete control of most of the aspects of their respected Zones as well, only answering to one individual, The Sentinel Major---the highest ranking officer in the Sentinels.

I’m not sure what kind of symbol he wore because I’d never actually seen the man.

All I knew about him was that he had an office somewhere in the Center.

I turned to the Corporal.

“Probate Carson sir” I said, saluting with my fist.

He returned the gesture.

“Sergeant Phillips said to be expecting you,” he said, his eyes roaming me for the briefest of seconds. “I’m Corporal Townes; I’m to give you a quick tour before escorting you to the Rec.”

Like most Sentinels, Townes had his hair buzzed.

I was glad it was only a requirement for men.

And yes, before you think it, there were female Sentinels. Ok, so not as many as the men but they were there. Unlike the men though, they were allowed to keep their hair at shoulder length. Also unlike the men, they actually had a separate Barracks. I didn’t have to worry about all that yet though. Probates were usually still students and weren’t required to live in the Barracks until after they graduated from school.

“Follow me please,” said Townes, leading me out of the lobby.

We went through one of the nearest exits and down a corridor.

It didn’t take me long to realize this place was a lot of corridors.

Townes wasn’t a very adept tour guide though. As we passed a room, he’d point it out and move on. A lot of places we passed were offices. It was kind of disappointing. I was hoping to see something exciting. All I ended up seeing were corridors and doors.

“Mostly empty rooms now I’m afraid,” he finally admitted at my sour look. “This place used to be a lot more active.”

“What happened?”

“Guardians”

I couldn’t help but groan.

The Guardians were starting to be one of those contented topics these days. It was hard not for them to pop up on the vids every other day. It was the Guardians this or the Guardians that. It didn’t help that they had full backing of the government either. They were after all the government’s answer to the Sentinels. Unlike the Sentinels who were their own organization, the Guardians answered directly to the core government. They were more a military branch than the Sentinels too, allowed to carry actual guns and wore advanced power suits that made them easily able to contend with any threat, including the Alphas.

That’s of course where the controversy came in.

Many Alpha officials viewed them as too much.

Of course, the Sentinels hated them for a completely different reason.

They were stealing our jobs.

Ninety percent of the Sentinel recruits who washed out were easily snatched up by the Guardians. They were also tapping into the Sentinels potentials even before they could get to them. To say the Guardians were a real threat to the Sentinels was an understatement. In another few years, they would render the Sentinels completely obsolete.

It was a very scary thought.

“They’re not trying to muscle their way in here yet are they?”

Townes shook his head. “Unfortunately no but I’ve been hearing some rumblings coming from a colleague in Metro One, it doesn’t sound good.”

Metro One was our capital city, the seat of the core government and the current home of the Guardians. We here at Metro 656 were small fry in comparison but the fact that we were now the only Metro out there that still actively used the Sentinels had put us on the radar and into the direct crosshairs of the Guardians. To say we were a threat to them was an understatement. Conflict was coming and coming fast. It was one of the apprehensions my mother had about me becoming a Sentinel.

Of course, now she could add the whole “First Alpha Sentinel” to her growing list.

I tried not to think about it though.

The tour continued down another corridor.

As soon as we turned the corner, however things seemed different. It was still the same bland gray walls as before but now there seemed to be posters lining them. When we passed by one, I noticed the Sentinel symbol emblazoned on it one: a red shield with two crossed swords. It was the very same patch that appeared on the uniforms. There was a poster every ten feet or so.

It was a really long corridor.

At the end of which I noticed a large opening.

At first, I thought we were coming upon another lobby until I saw the stairs.

It was actually a foyer, very similar in design to the lobby actually but with two staircases on either side, winding up to a floor above it. Hanging from the floor above were large banners with the same Sentinel symbols. In-between the two staircases was a reception desk with a rather bored looking female officer behind it. Unlike the lobby, there were several Sentinels moving about. Some going up the stairs, others disappearing into doors and other corridors.

It was almost as if everything I’d seen so far had been a façade.

“Welcome to the Hub” said Townes with some pride.”The true center of this place”

“And before?”

“That was for the public. It’s an oversight committee thing or something. Its where the brass entertain and whatnot. It’s good for the Vids, it keeps people happy.”

I think I understood.

It made sense.

If I was in charge of this place, I wouldn’t want people seeing where the real work was done.

So The Hub.

This is where the real heart of The Center truly lied. It’s also where the real tour began.

“Up those stairs is the conference and interrogation rooms”

Townes didn’t need to point but he did anyway.

“Over there…” he said pointing but I interrupted.

“Interrogation?”

He nodded, lowering his arm. “Every once in a while we get a disgruntled citizen that needs to be arrested. It’s not as common as it used to be, especially on the other side of the Wall’.

“The Wall?”

“Its we call this place around here” he said, “The Center wraps around the whole of the base of the Cube. Kinda like a wall, that separates it from the rest of the Metro."

“Oh I get it.”

He continued with the tour. He wanted to take me to each of the rooms as he told me about them but there would be time for that later. Instead, he walked and talked again. There were four central corridors leading out of The Hub. Standing near the reception desk enabled you to see them all. The ones to the left and right led to Armory and Evidence rooms respectively. The one behind me of course led back to the way we’d came from. The one in front of me---directly behind the desk---led to Rec.

“Not much of a tour” he finally admitted “but there’s really not much to see, not anymore anyway.”

“Where are the Barracks?”

“Down the Rec hall, I’ll have someone show them to you later”

I nodded as he led the way to our destination.

“Sergeant Phillips will give you a brief orientation when we get to the Rec then assign you an FTO to further your training.”

FTO.

Field Training Officer.

Wow, this was really happening.

I was really a Sentinel now.

I could barely contain my excitement.

The Rec was a room a lot similar to the gymnasium at school, except with no glass divider wall and much smaller. It also had one of those rubberized floors like in the weight room. Unlike the gym at school though, it was pretty vacant right now. It reminded me a bit of the weight room at school as well, what with all the equipment. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at the free weight rack, remembering fondly my time at the Q during the tests. As we entered, Townes explained that most of the guys were either on patrol, in the Barracks or in the case of my fellow probates, out running laps.

“You have a track?”

“No, they run the halls”

I guess that made sense.

The room wasn’t completely empty though.

Standing at attention in the center of the room were Sergeant Phillips and a Corporal who didn’t look much older than me. I sized Phillips up, seeing him for the first time in the flesh. Mid forties, well build and chiseled. The hologram didn’t do him justice. I should have been surprised he was in such good condition for his age but I knew better. He was a Sentinel after all. Most were pretty well fit though that did have something to do with their strict regimen and diet. Some also had some help along the way. Though not strictly illegal with Sentinels, it was definitely frowned upon. It didn’t stop some of the older ones though. As I mentioned with Deena, genetic manipulation was seen as an edge.

The Corporal on the other hand…

My heart skipped a beat.

Shit.

Young, very well fit and gorgeous.

Ok forget that last part.

I tried too.

Unfortunately my eyes found themselves giving him a complete once over anyway. I found myself comparing him to John as well. John was the prime specimen of manhood for kids my age, this guy however made John look like a boy. His bulging muscles strained against the gray tee he wore and with the buzzed head and chiseled looks, he was a prime candidate of human everything.

There was a term for guys like him.

Betas.

Men and women so good looking that they could be Alpha but weren’t.

Some of the girls at school referred to John as a Beta.

If only the girls could see this one.

“Probate Daniels, I’d like to introduce you to your FTO, this is Corporal Phillips” said the Sergeant, gesturing proudly to the Beta.

Phillips?

I looked from the older man to the younger one, suddenly seeing the resemblance. It was clear now that the two were definitely father and son.

If I was a father, I’d be proud to have him as a son too.

“Pleasure to meet you sir” I said, giving him the standard fist.

The corporal returned the gesture.

“Ryan, I’ll leave you to it then,” said the Sergeant.

Salutes were exchanged, Townes excused himself with Phillips and now I was alone in Betaville.

My heart skipped another beat.

Corporal Phillips let out a little sigh. He also relaxed his rigid posture a little. It was clear that he was trying to make a good first impression. It was also clear that most of it was for his father’s sake. I couldn’t help but smile at that. When he noticed it was as if he turned to stone. He went right back to the rigid statue he was a moment before.

“Amused Probate?”

“No sir”

“Good” he said, taking a step forward.

Even when he walked, there was an air of statue about him. It was a rigid, military like walk. He circled me a few times, looked me over once or twice. When he was done, he ended up in front of me. I’m proud to say that like John, he was only an inch or so shorter. I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Betas were a thing too. Maybe someone decided that they couldn’t make Alphas but Betas---hell they were easy. I mean it was kind of funny that both he and John were considered Betas and both were the same height.

Hey conspiracy time.

I couldn’t help but smirk.

“Something funny now?”

“No sir”

“If you think this is a joke Probate then you’re wasting my time,” said Phillips, leaning in. “I know what and who you are and frankly I’m not impressed. You might be an Alpha outside these walls but here you’re just like everyone else. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir, I wouldn’t have it any other way sir”

“Good” he said with a nod. “Now how about you show me what you’re made of”

And so it began.

First, it was the pushups then sit-ups. After that, we moved onto chin-ups, squats and jumping jacks. None of which seemed to wind me much. Even after he made me do a hundred of each. After that, he had me hit the weights. We started on the free weights---there weren’t as many as there was in the Q. I went through their whole set, causing him to raise an eyebrow. He didn’t skip a beat, moving me onto the bench press. He spotted me through the first hundred pounds or so. When I got to two hundred and fifty or so, he had to stop.

I was half way through getting ready with the three hundred pound weights when he stopped me.

“You can’t lift that?”

“Yes I can”

He shook his head. “Someone your size and weight…”

“Have you seen my physical results from the Q sir?”

He shook his head.

“Then watch and learn”

So I pressed the three hundred. Then four hundred. I would have gone more because I was barely breaking a sweat but we ran out of weights again.

“That’s impossible” I heard him mumble under his breath.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s an Alpha sir,” I said, making sure I let him know I’d heard him.

He looked genuinely surprised.

My next words threw him for a loop.

“So can I try that treadmill over there next?”

I pointed to the series of treadmills over in the corner. The look on his face was priceless. All he could do was nod like an idiot. Ok so I was showing off a bit but he deserved it for being a jerk. I knew it was his job to ride me but I wanted him to realize what it was going to be like to be with an Alpha. It also kinda wanted him to see what I could really do. I’m not sure why I thought it mattered so much but it did, it really did.

I really wanted to impress this guy.

I was on the treadmill for twenty minutes before he finally stopped me.

“Ok, ok you’ve humbled me.”

“I’m not sure I follow sir?”

I stepped off the treadmill, taking the towel he offered. I wiped my face and the area above my breast. I was just starting to glisten slightly.

“I thought maybe my father was pulling a prank on me or something but you’re serious about this?”

“Yes sir. I’ve wanted to be a Sentinel for as long as I could remember, I’m not going to let a little change in gender and societal status stop me from that.”

This time he smiled.

I stopped myself from asking if he found something amusing.

“So is there anything else Corporal?”

“Ryan” he said.

“I’m not sure I follow sir”

“No sir or Corporal when we’re alone Probate. I like to keep things casual when I’m training. So call me Ryan please”

“Yes sir…I mean Ryan”

Wow, that was a great name.

“Good” he said then took on a more professional tone as he continued. “I think that’s enough for today. I just wanted to see where you and I needed to go from here. It’s safe to say that you can meet the physical prowess of this job. Next weekend, you and I will be back in here, I need to see how well you can defend yourself.”

I was kind of surprised we were done.

“That’s it?”

He laughed.

God he had a great laugh.

Shit.

“I’m not used to probates being able to do that much. Usually I run them through the paces a bit more, weed out those who need more work than the others. I also usually do this as a group but seeing your circumstances, the rest of your peers have moved on. So we’ll be one on one for a few weekends until I think you’re ready. Seeing how you are though, it might be sooner than later.”

I impressed him.

That made me feel all warm and gooey inside.

Oh God.

Gag.

What the hell was wrong with me?

“Thank you sir, I mean Ryan”

“You’re impressive Probate,” he said, smiling.

He dismissed me after that.

He agreed to show me my way out but I was able to manage. Something else cool about being me now, I memorized the route. Not that I did it intentionally or anything. It was just one of those freaky Alpha things I guess. I meandered my way through, finding the entrance lobby without a problem. This time the man at the door saluted me as I left. As soon as I stepped out, Mom piped.

She must have been monitoring me or something.

Parents.

“Hey Mom, what’s up?”

“Honey I’m sorry to do this but do you think you could walk home today. Something’s come up at work.”

Of course, it has.

“Sure thing Mom”

She didn’t even say bye before terminating the connection.

Sighing heavily, I stepped away from The Center.

I knew what I was supposed to do but I knew what I wanted to do as well. I couldn’t help but smile as I took off in a nice jog first then broke into a run.

Ok, so the park wasn’t exactly home but for a reason it’s where my feet took me.

Hey I was dressed for a nice run anyway.

I was on my third lap around the bike path when I caught something out of the corner of my eye. At first, I thought I was just being paranoid; after all, there are a lot of silver cars like that. On my fifth lap around though, I couldn’t help but notice it was still there. I kept it in the corner of my after that, watching. It didn’t move. I knew it didn’t belong there either or else it wouldn’t have bolted after John and his buddies went toward it last time.

There was something else different about things this time though.

The park was empty.

It was strange because it was a Saturday afternoon.

Even stranger though was that I wasn’t alone.

There was a lone man sitting on one of the benches. He was reading a paper. It kind of struck me as odd because no one read newspapers any more. Sure they were still available but most people got the news on their Bios or vid screens. I lost interest in the car and kept him in my sights instead. He didn’t seem to be watching me but it was kind of odd. On my seventh lap, I decided that I was going to see if he spooked as easily as the driver. I made it look like I was winded, which I kind of was. I timed it so I stopped fairly close to the bench.

Huffing slightly, I wandered slowly over.

“Tiring” I said, in hopes that I was convincing enough.

I wasn’t.

The man gently folded his paper and I got a better look at him. Slicked back hair, mid-thirties, nice crisp gray suit.

“Now we both know you don’t get winded that easily Miss Daniels”

Shit.

“How do you know my name?”

I went on the defensive.

He chuckled then reached into his suit, pulling out a thin business card. “My name is Rossen, I work for the Administration”

Ok so he didn’t say it was a capital A but it sure felt like that’s how he meant it.

“Which one?” I asked, looking at the card.

Looking but not taking.

“Does it matter?”

“It depends on what you’re here for”

He smiled thinly. “Very good” He stood, straightened the front of his suit. “I’m not here for anything sinister. I was asked to monitor you for a while, keep an eye on things. My colleagues fouled things up last week. I apologize for that”

When he said “colleagues”, he looked over at the car.

So they had been watching me.

“Why am I so interesting?”

“Come now, we both know the answer to that. I mean it’s not every day that an Alpha chooses to forsake the Cube for life with us lowly humans.”

So that’s it.

They were afraid I was a liability too.

Typical.

“I’m not a danger to anyone. I just want to live my life like before.”

“We both know how difficult that could be. The Cube is there to protect your kind, to keep you safe. We don’t want anyone to do anything to you or heaven forbid you do something harmful to others now do we?”

The threat was subtle but it was there. He didn’t come out and say it but I could read between the lines. They were waiting for me to fuck up and as soon as I did, they were going to “deport” me to where I belonged. After all these people didn’t want the Big Bad Dangerous Alphas to be living in their neighbors, threatening their way of life.

“I’m not dangerous and I’ll be careful”

“See that you do” he said, setting the card on the bench. “I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen. If you have any problems, give us a call. You have a good day now”
He nodded curtly then headed toward the car.

I stood and watched as he got inside. I didn’t stop watching until the car was gone out of sight. As soon as he was gone, I picked up the card. There were only two lines on it, Nathaniel Rossen and directly below that, a number to call. Nothing more, nothing less. I thought about ripping it up and throwing it away but I quickly realized that it didn’t matter. Throwing it away wouldn’t get rid of him. Rossen was going to be keeping his eye on me whether I ignored it or not.

Shit, just what I needed.

Sighing heavily, I felt a little sick to my stomach now. Why is it that dickheads always seemed to know how to ruin your day? Now I was in no mood to continue running so I guess it was time to go home. I stuck the card in my back pocket and started walking. I got about ten feet from the bench when my Bio pipped.

More of those stupid numbers.

44 6f 20 6e 6f 74 20 74 72 75 73 74 20

What the hell was with these numbers? I couldn’t help but groan again. I was getting sick and tired of this crap. At first, they were an annoyance but now they were pissing me off. I think I figured them out though and the sender. Now all I had to do was confront him and figure out what the hell his problem was.

Damn it Joe.

Either he was responsible or he could tell me who was.

I was going to find out either way.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF