by Sarah Carter
“Go through wall,” Lexi says, without flinching. “We go find Daddy.”
Claire turns around and looks at the wall. She touches it. It’s solid. “You can just walk through things?”
“Uh huh,” Lexi says. “Or Lexi do this.” She touches a closed door and the door turns into water and rushes over the floor.
“Oh my god,” Claire exhales. “What else can you do?”
“Lexi do all,” Lexi mumbles. “Come. Come. Daddy!” She starts jumping around.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Claire says.
Lexi puts her arms up. “Mommy carry Lexi.”
“I thought I had to hurt people,” Claire says.
“Time shift Mommy,” Lexi replies, putting her hands up higher.
Bending down, Claire picks up Lexi. “Okay honey. Where am I going?”
She points forward. “Go straight. Just straight. And straight. And straight.”
“I’m going through walls aren’t I?” Claire sighs.
“Uh huh,” Lexi giggles.
“This is so weird.” They go through doorway after doorway and wall after wall. Suddenly, they come into a room. “Whoa.” Claire sets Lexi down. “Are these all her computer files?”
Lexi looks around. “Yeah, she erasing them.”
“As we speak?” Claire gasps.
“Yeah,” Lexi says.
“We have to stop her,” Claire says. “How can we stop her?”
Smiling, Lexi closes her eyes and tilts her head. “Lexi stopped,” she whispers, keeping her eyes closed. “Mommy come here,” she says. They walk over to a computer panel. “Take this off.”
“Just rip it off? Is that a good idea?”
“Behind here,” Lexi says, pointing to a metal panel. “Take this off.”
“Okay,” Claire says, she punches at it and makes a hole. Carefully, she yanks it off.
“There Mommy. Take those out.”
Claire looks down at her. “Are those the hard drives?”
Lexi nods. “Yeah Mommy. Mommy take those out and then we go get snuffles and Barbie.”
“Is that where you’re leading me?” Claire asks. Lexi smiles and giggles. “I thought we were going to Damien.”
“Have to show snuffles to Daddy,” Lexi states. “Mommy takes those out.”
“It’s not as easy as that,” Claire says. “We need screwdrivers and we have to be careful.”
“We go get Snuffles,” Lexi says.
She points to the computer panel. “I have to take those out and it may take me a minute to figure out how to do that.”
Rolling her eyes, Lexi waves her hand. Slowly everything is taken apart. Claire watches slack jawed. She reaches out and grabs the drives. “You’re like Xander to the tenth magnitude.”
“We get snuffles now?” Lexi asks.
“Yeah, I have to carry these though, so you will have to hold my hand.”
“Okay Mommy,” Lexi laughs, she grabs her hand and drags her through walls. Finally, they come to a room. It’s decorated for a little girl.
“This is not what I expected,” Claire says.
“Snuffles!” Lexi cries out. Claire looks at the bed. There’s a purple blanket, a mermaid Barbie and a pink polar bear. Lexi grabs the polar bear and holds it up. “Snuffles!”
Claire smiles. “I see. Very cute. Grab your stuff because we need to go outside before Daddy’s head explodes.”
“BOOM!” Lexi giggles.
“Yeah, boom,” Claire laughs. “Come on.”
Lexi grabs her stuff in her little arms. “All ready.”
“Let’s go find Daddy.” Claire grabs ahold of Lexi’s shoulder and they make their way outside.
When they finally make it outside, all the guards draw their guns. “Mommy,” Lexi whimpers, hiding behind Claire.
“Put your guns down,” Claire yells.
Damien comes forward. “You need to step away from her.”
“Is the building secure?” Claire asks.
“Yes.”
“I have the hard drives,” she states. “Lexi got them for us. The Collector already started to erase stuff.”
Reaching his hand out, Damien says, “Come on Claire. Step away from her.”
“I want my Mommy,” Lexi cries, pressing against Claire’s leg as hard as can be.
No one puts their gun down and Claire starts to get pissed off. “Lexi.”
“Yeah Mommy.”
“Give the hard drives to Daddy.”
“Don’t call me that,” Damien snaps.
The hard drives are lifted from Claire’s arms and they go over to Damien. He grabs them and turns to a guy behind him. “Take these inside.”
Damien turns back around and crosses his arms. “Step away from her Claire.”
“No!” Lexi yells.
“Yeah, I’m staying with her,” Claire agrees.
“Claire…”
She turns and looks at Lexi. “Show Daddy who’s boss.”
A twinkle forms in Lexi’s eyes. She looks at all the guards in front of them. There has to be thirty. Suddenly, all their guns are in the air and then they are in the air. Damien spins in a circle and gasps. “Oh my god.”
“Put them down,” Claire instructs. The guards are all back down on the ground. “She also does a lot of other crazy crap.”
“Own ship,” Lexi says.
“We should have our own ship,” Claire says.
Lexi yawns. “Lexi tired Mommy. Nap time.”
“Okay.” Claire bends down and picks her up in her arms.
Putting her head on her shoulder, Lexi whispers, “So tired Mommy.”
“You’ve done a lot,” Claire replies. “Go to sleep.” She feels her go limp. Claire starts to walk over to Damien.
He says, “Give her to us.”
“She would just find me,” Claire states. “She can incapacitate anyone. Walk through walls. Change elements. And obviously move whatever she wants. If she wakes up without me, you’re going to have a problem.”
“She’s not your kid,” Damien says softly.
Claire stares at him for a minute. “She is now. You’re going to have to learn to deal with that.” Without looking back, Claire walks to the ships.
Chapter 17
Xander
15 minutes earlier…
“I don’t like this,” Ariel groans, pacing back and forth.
“Neither do I,” Xander says. “Both of the people we love are in there.”
“Everyone we love is inside that building,” Aurora states.
Ariel throws her hands up. "I want to know what's going on down there."
"I know," Xander groans. "We know nothing."
"We should be able to watch at least."
Xander gives her a look. "This is a top secret mission."
"We are part of that secret! It's been like an hour."
Furrowing his eyebrows, Xander says, "No it hasn't. It's been like twenty minutes."
She glares at him. "Shut up. It's felt like four hours."
"They have to secure the whole building. That isn't done instantaneously."
With a pissed off look, Ariel says, "Didn't they take an army? They should have it secure by now!"
He walks over and puts his arms around her. "You need to relax."
Ariel buries her face into his chest. "Mason's down there fighting. What if he gets hurt?"
"He will be fine," Xander reassures her. "I'm worried about Trinity, too. And Claire."
"Ugh," she groans. "I want to know something."
Suddenly, Mr. Hardrick appears. "You need to come with me."
"What's wrong?" Ariel gasps.
"Well, Mason got to the kids, but everyone is in a corner, scared. We need you to go in. We need you to get them calmed down."
"Let's go," Aurora says, grabbing her sister's hand.
Mr. Hardrick turns around. "Okay, follow me."
They walk through the ship and dissipate down. There are guards all over the outskirts of the institu
te. People are cuffed and sitting in a line on the ground. Xander watches in awe as they pass everything. They finally make it into the institute. “Never been through this part of the institute,” Aurora whispers.
“Me either,” Xander replies.
Pointing down a hallway and to a door, Mr. Hardrick says, “Through there.”
They walk down there and suddenly are in the commons area. Everyone is huddled together in the corner. Finally, one voice screams, “Ariel!”
She goes running over and cries, “Lonnie.” A boy, about the age of six, jumps into her arms.
Suddenly, the noise in the rooms is deafening as everyone starts yelling. “Everyone needs to calm down,” Xander shouts over everyone. The noise quiets. “These guards are from the council. The Neturu council. You’ve been rescued. You don’t need to be afraid of them. They are kind and caring people. They have shown us nothing but love. The Collector can’t get to you anymore.”
Mr. Hardrick steps forward and puts his hand to his chest. “My name is Kaleb. I’m the head of the guard. We realize this is a shock and that you are scared. We aren’t going to hurt you. We do need you to exit the building. We don’t know what’s safe. We will provide you with clothes and food and anything else you may need or want. Don’t feel shy about telling us what those things are.”
“A car!” One of the younger kids says.
“Well, as soon as you are old enough and can get a driver’s license,” Mr. Hardrick laughs.
“A bicycle,” another kid yells.
“Anything you want, but we need to get out of the building.”
A teenage girl steps forward. “We don’t want to leave. This is our home.”
“We’re going to get The Collector,” Mr. Hardrick states. “But we don’t know where she is. You will not be separated if that is your fear.”
“Catherine,” Xander says. “They have been so kind to us. They are going to get us real homes. Real houses. With beds. TVs. Everything to make a real home. Most importantly, we will have our freedom.”
She eyes him up. “How do you know this?”
“Because we have been making our own decisions. They did not test us until we said they could. They have taken us to do fun things. Yes, FUN things. We have been able to live this free life. We have been out there for months. It’s a happy place. There are bad things, yes, but the Neturu are so kind. Even the humans. They smile and laugh. They are nice. There’s happiness. What The Collector has shown us this entire time isn’t true. It’s all been a lie, a big lie. The council will protect us.”
“How do you know that?”
“They have not lied. They asked what are dreams were. What we wanted to do. They have talked about making plans so we can go to college. They have praised Ariel’s ideas. They have included us in all aspects of what was going to influence us. They let us know what the results were of our testing.”
Xander watches Bryce walk over. Being the oldest one of them, Xander knows they need to convince him. “Where have you been?” Bryce asks.
“All over,” Xander replies. “They found us in Scotland. They have taken us in and been so kind. We know what we are.”
“What’s that?”
“We’re half Kenga, half Neturu.”
Alli, the second oldest, puts her hand on her chest. “So, we are all like that?”
“No, Mason is full Neturu,” Ariel says, grabbing Mason’s hand.
“We can figure out all there is to know about you but only if you want us to,” Mr. Hardrick says. “We will never force you to do anything.”
Walking over to him, Bryce extends his hand. “I’m Bryce.”
Mr. Hardrick shakes his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“I’ve never actually shaken someone’s hand that I didn’t know,” Bryce says, smiling. “It’s a privilege.”
“Well, I’m Kaleb.”
“Can we call you Kaleb?” One of the little kids asks, walking over to him.
Bending down on his knee, Mr. Hardrick replies, “You can call me anything.”
“Grandpa,” the little girl says, with wide eyes.
He presses his lips together. “Well…”
“You said anything and I want a grandpa,” the little girl whispers.
A warm smile spreads across Mr. Hardrick’s face. “You can call me grandpa but I have to know your name.”
“Sammy.”
“Well, Sammy, it’s nice to meet you. We really need to get you out of the building. Can you come with me?”
Sammy beams. “Yeah.” He stands up. “We need all of you to come with.”
“You will be safe,” Mason says. “Safer than you were ever before.”
“They are kind,” Xander continues. “They will show you a life that you didn’t know existed.”
“And me,” a voice says from in back. Tray comes wheeling through everyone. “What are you going to do with me?”
Aurora gasps, “They want to heal your back.”
“Yes, you are on the top priority list,” Mr. Hardrick says. “We need to see what’s wrong and what we can do. We are also going to remove any scarring from your body.”
“They will help us and we can do anything we want,” Xander states.
“Yeah, talk about doing anything we want,” Ariel grabs Mason and kisses him…hard.
“I can’t see,” a small voice says. “You have to tell me what’s going on.”
Xander’s heart swells. He pushes through the crowd. “Trinity,” he whispers. She moves in his direction. “Oh my god, Trinity.” He puts his hands on the sides of her face.
“Is that really you?” Trinity gasps, she reaches out for him. Her hands come up to his face and run her fingers down. “It is you. It’s my Xander.”
“I want to show you what you missed,” Xander whispers. He bends down and kisses her. She jerks for a second and then kisses him back. There is whooping and hollering from everyone. “I love you,” he says, as he pulls back.
“I love you, too,” Trinity replies, smiling. “We should leave. What if The Collector comes back?”
“They wouldn’t be able to do much of anything,” Mason snorts. “There’s an army outside.”
One of the little boys steps forward. “An army?”
“Hundreds of guard members. Hundreds of people here to protect you. But we can’t fully protect you unless we take you out of here,” Mr. Hardrick says.
The little boy grasps Mason’s hand. “Let’s go.”
There is silence. Mason says, “We need everyone to go.”
Tray looks at Bryce. Bryce nods his head. Turning to Mr. Hardrick, Bryce says, “Get us out of this hell hole.”
The guards start helping everyone out of the commons room. “Xander,” Trinity whispers.
“Hey, I have you,” he says. “Grab your stick.”
“I have never been out of this area. I’m scared. I won’t know where anything is.”
He pulls her close to him and says, “You’re safe. I won’t leave your side.”
“Promise.”
Xander kisses her temple and then whispers in her ear, “I’m never going to let you go. Pretty soon you will tell me to get lost.”
“You won’t leave me alone,” Trinity says, putting her stick forward.
“Nope. Never.”
“Even when I shower?”
His jaw drops. “Did you really just say that?”
“We were never allowed to say stuff like that before.” She smiles.
“Yeah, but you are innocent little Trinity,” Xander snorts.
“Innocent. Yeah okay. My Xander. You have so much to learn,” she giggles.
Xander’s jaw is still down. “You’ve never been like this before when you visited me.”
“Let’s walk,” she urges.
He takes her one arm and starts to slowly lead her outside. “You’re doing well.”
“Anyway, I was never like that when I visited because I was always afraid that we would get caught. So,
I always kept it innocent. I have always wanted to whisper inappropriate things to you but was afraid I would be overheard.”
Smirking, Xander says, “And tell me…what were these inappropriate things?”
“I guess you will have to wait until I say them now,” she teases. “Can we sleep by each other tonight?”
“Of course, if you want to.”
“If I want to? Like that’s a question. I have wanted to sleep with you for years.”
That makes Xander stop and ask, “Do you know what you just said? What did you mean by that? It could mean two separate things.”
“Calm down,” Trinity laughs.
“Seriously, what did you mean by it?”
She stops him and grabs his face. “I guess you will just have to wait and find out.” She pulls him down and kisses him.
Everything in him warms. To finally be able to really kiss her. To finally be able to really touch her. To finally say I love you out loud. It’s a dream come true. He could stand here forever and just feel the press of her lips against his.
“Xander.” There’s a cough. They stop and turn to the right. Mason’s there. “We need to get out of the building. Keep the make out session for later.” Trinity blushes. “Ohhh, Trinity’s blushing.”
“Shut up Mason,” she snaps. A smirk twitching on her mouth.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Xander says. They slowly make their way outside. When they get outside, everyone is standing together staring up. “What’s everyone looking at?”
“That’s the sun!” Lonnie yells.
Tray is staring up to the side. “Those are ships. Those are real Neturu ships.”
“You’ll be getting on one in a second,” Mr. Hardrick says. “We are going to have to dissipate you guys up.”
“What’s that?” Tray asks.
“It’s like beaming from Star Trek,” Mason answers.
Mr. Hardrick gets a serious look. “It’s different than that.”
“How would you know? There’s not actual Star Trek beaming technology to compare it to.”
“None the less, it’s different.”
Mason smiles. “You just don’t want to be compared to Star Trek.”
“No, we don’t. We have been an advanced race way before Star Trek was even an idea. Well, since the idea came to be.” Mr. Hardrick glares.