by Lucy Rains
My eyebrows came down and I scowled. “I said no one’s home.”
Kyson looked around, not meeting my eye, “That could always change.”
I rolled my eyes and headed towards the door leading inside the house. We all filed into the mudroom and then entered the kitchen. I stood still, surveying my surroundings as the guys moved expertly through the rooms. From my standing point I could see through most of the downstairs, being that the house had an open floor plan layout. The hallway, dining room, living room and entry area were all cleared out. No decor, no lamps, and no furniture. There were a few stray boxes on the tile floor, filled with miscellaneous items such as linens, canned goods, cleaning supplies.
I peeked through a few cupboards and the pantry. All empty. Why leave the house? I wondered. How did my sudden disappearance push my mother out of what had been our home for so many years? I couldn't begin to understand her actions.
And where was Charles?
If she was leaving and moving out of the house, I guess she would have no more need for him. The thought made my heart ache with sadness.
Soft male voices filtered down from the upper level. I ascended the stairs, and made my way towards my old room. The guys were still filtering in and out of rooms, guns held ready, checking all closets and cabinets. I heard words like ‘bugged’ and ‘surveillance’ but I paid them no mind.
When I pushed my door all the way open, my heart sank at the empty feeling that came with the empty room. My bed, my dresser, my desk, all of it was gone. I walked over and opened my closet, a trinkle of hope that maybe my clothes were still inside. But there was nothing. What would she have done with my stuff? It was like my life never existed.
I paced inside, lightly brushing my fingers over the bare walls. I couldn’t help but think that my life with her had meant nothing. Me. My life. My presence in her life. Of course, an inner voice reminded me, you had meant something. You were a science project. A tool in a game.
I shook out the melancholy thoughts that were overtaking my mind and walked back downstairs. I rounded a couple corners and went into the last room that might hold some answers. My mother’s office. Alex and Kyson followed me in and all three of us froze at what we saw. My mother’s computer and computer desk still remained in the room.
Alex’s gasped softly. “Eureka.”
He quickly moved in front of the computer and went down on one knee. There was no chair to sit in. His fingers began flying over the keyboard, the screen flashing.
“But-” I stammered, “How? Why?”
“Maybe she’s waiting to move the most important item last?” Alex asked, “Who knows.”
Kyson and I moved around the large mahogany desk and attempted to open the drawers, only to find them locked.
This, however, did not stop Kyson. He braced a hand on the desk and wrapped a large fist around the handle, squeezing his palm tight. His feet spread for floor leverage and then he gave two powerful pulls on the drawer. On the second one, the drawer cracked and ripped free from the lock, sounds of wood cracking at the release. Kyson let out a breath and my shoulders slumped at the empty drawer.
“5 more to go,” he said.
Unfortunately, all five drawers were empty. “Why keep them locked?” I wondered.
Pierce and Gavin appeared in the doorway, “Outside is clear,” Pierce said. “We’re going to check around for the surveillance cameras or equipment.” He eyed Alex on the computer, “Any luck?”
Alex stared intently on the screen, “I’ve found some research files from the lab, some test results, analysis about current test subjects, but nothing I haven’t already seen.” He continued to pound the keys and the screen flickered.
“Why did you think she was here?” I asked in annoyance, looking at Pierce and Alex. “You said she was at home? What exactly are you tracking? Her car? Phone?”
“Her phone,” Alex said in a flat voice. “Apparently she used our strategy. Left it here, while going somewhere else to throw off her scent.”
“Have we found her phone?”
“Yes.” Pierce and Alex responded in unison.
Pierce nodded and then he and Gavin disappeared again. Kyson laid on the ground, facing up and began searching under the desk with a tiny flashlight. He ran his fingers over the wooden panels, knocking on the boards, searching for hidden compartments.
I walked over to the closet and opened the door, expecting it to be empty. Which it mostly was, except for a small box on the top shelf. I pulled it down and open the top flaps. The box was filled with gems, in several different colors.
“What did you find,” Kyson spoke from under the desk.
“Jade.”
“You found yourself?” Kyson responded confused.
I gave him an annoyed look, “Actually it's Jadeite, which is more valuable than Jade.”
Kysons head dropped onto the ground so he could look up to me, wanting answers.
“Stones,” I held up a translucent oval shaped gem to show him, “Gems. Rare ones.”
He went back to poking around under the desk. “I don’t get it.”
I dropped the gem back into the box, “There are Jade gemstones, and then there is Jadeite, which is a higher quality of Jade gemstones. Jade is a lighter green, easier to scratch. Jadeite is a richer color, harder surface.”
Kyson pulled himself up and brushed off his pants. He walked over and peered inside. “Why was this left in there?” he asked.
I shrugged. “She's always had it, use to let me play with them when I was little.”
“Do you think she left it here on purpose?” Kyson asked.
My eyes lost focus for a second, thinking about his question. Would my mother do that? Leave these here as a message? Blinking, my shoulders shrugged again, “I doubt it.”
My mood was shifting darker as the minutes passed and all the coldness of my previous life starting seeping back into my bones. My posture drooped, my mouth frowned.
Suddenly there were footsteps in the kitchen, then the hallway, and a presence that was heavy with caution.
The click of a gun brought all our attention to the door. Where Charles stood with a silver firearm pointing at us.
“Charles!” My voice was excited at first then trailed off in a mixture of confusion and surprise.
Kyson grabbed my arm to pull me back and I flexed my bent arm, fighting off his grip.
My mind couldn’t make sense of what was happening. This man who had been like a father to me throughout my life, was pointing a gun in our direction. Realization washed over me that he saw the guys as the enemy, wanting to protect me from them. I looked at Alex who shot hostile glares at Charles.
“Charles? It’s fine, they won’t hurt me.”
His soft grandfatherly features were hard in a way I had never seen. He moved the gun in my direction and time stopped. My body froze, no longer trying to go towards him. I stared into his cold blue eyes, frightened at the man that I saw.
“You shouldn’t be here, Jade.” His normally soft voice, sharp like a knife, gutted me and I cringed like I had been stabbed in my gut.
My gaping mouth closed. Goosebumps formed on my arms and the hairs on my neck rose. No emotion from him, no words of greeting. Warning bells went off in my head.
I glanced down at the gun and back up to Charles blue eyes. “What do mean? Why is the house empty? Where is mother?”
Charles eyes glanced towards Alex in front of the computer, who had gone back to the computer and was quickly typing during our exchange.
“She should be here,” I continued. “Where is she?”
“She doesn’t need it anymore. Or me.” He glanced away from me and back to Alex. “The information you’re looking for won’t be on there.”
Alex stopped typing to look up at him. My mouth fell open at his words, and I tried to understand what Charles was saying.
“Won’t be on any computer.” He continued pointing his gun towards Kyson and I.
“How d
o you know what we’re looking for,” Alex asked.
“Won’t be at the lab either.”
My heart skipped a beat and my knees threatened to buckle. “No,” I whispered. Pain etched into my voice. I swallowed, tried to move forward, but Kyson latched on to my arm. “The lab? How do you know about the lab?”
Charles continued as if I hadn’t spoken, avoiding my questions. His arm with the gun lowered slowly, resting by his side. The tension in my chest did not ease though, his words had brought a new wave of panic.
“She has a small office, outside of the city.”
My head tilted, his words like a different language. “Charles, what the hell?” I demanded. I looked to Alex, who also held unspoken questions in his eyes. “How do you know about the lab? Who are you?”
There was a pause for a beat. For two beats. Three.
“What kind of secrets are you keeping?” I demanded, anger starting to lace my words. “You lied to me? All this time?”
“What about you?” Charles asked, tilting his head like mine, mimicking my movement. “What about your secrets?”
My back stiffened like a board and this time I took a step back rather than forward.
He glanced at Kyson quickly and then back to me. “Do they know yours? Have you told them about the woods?”
Blank shock. Speechless. Everything around me disappeared as I narrow my eyes on Charles.
“What do you mean?” I ask, with a pitiful tone.
His eyes darkened, his mouth turning down. “You know exactly what.”
I shook my head slowly, not wanting to hear this. “No,” I whisper, my vision turned blurry and my fingers came up to my lips.
“Someone had to clean up your mess,” he said bitterly.
How? How? How?
How did he know? I cleared my vision to study him again, unspoken knowledge filled his eyes and I knew. In that moment, I knew that he knew all my secrets. More than even my mother.
“Who the hell are you?” Kyson demanded.
The hand that held the gun twitched at Charles side, but his eyes didn’t leave mine.
Indeed, who the hell was Charles?
My mouth opened to ask exactly that when Gavin appeared suddenly behind Charles. He threw an arm around Charles shoulders, dragging him backwards while simultaneously stabbing a needle into his neck.
“No!’ I screamed, lurching forward but being held back firmly by Kyson. Charles eyes rolled back and Gavin helped him the rest of the way to the ground.
Fury rolled over me, like a wave of heat on a hot summer night. “You son of a bitch!” I yelled at Gavin, who wouldn’t look at me. He kneeled over Charles while searching his pockets. It was like I wasn’t even there, screaming at him.
This only enraged me even more. Hot fire ran through my veins. I fought against Kyson, bucked against his arms that wrapped around me. I brought a foot down on top of his, crunching on his toes which helped loosen his grip so that I could bring up a hand and throw a bolt of energy at Gavin that knocked him backwards into the door, slamming his head back.
“Don’t you dare touch him.” I growled.
When he brought his eyes up to mine there was a darkness that challenged my own. And I welcomed it. I tried again to rush forward but Kyson wrapped both arms around me and held me back.
“Let her go,” Gavin growled.
“Gavin-” Alex started.
“Do it.” He said again.
Alex looked to Kyson and then to me, shrugged and left the room.
Gavin gave me another death glare and followed after him. As soon as I felt Kyson’s arms slacken I ran out the door, determined to reign blows down on Gavin. My mind was racing in anger, sick of Gavin’s disrespect and hostility. So angry at the world, at my life. The image of Gavin assaulting Charles played on repeat in my mind.
Charles was like my family. My only family. The only person who had shown genuine care and concern for me and Gavin had dropped him like an animal. Bile rose in my gut and tears stung my eyes.
But Charles had lied.
Irrational rage filled my mind and anger made me lose all my sense. Anger at Gavin. At Charles. At my life. At the constant endless lies and questions I could never escape. Gavin had become my intended target to release all of my rage.
Gavin spun around as I approached him, knowing what was coming. He threw up an elbow to block my punch that swung for his chin and used his other hand to shove me backwards. A sharp pain stabbed inside the base of my skull.
I had to pause to wait for the pain to pass, drawing in a huge breath. When Gavin turned away again I flew up to strike at his back, only to be grabbed from behind by Kyson and thrown to the floor. I let the motion carry me and I somersaulted backwards, bringing up a hand to release energy at Kyson that threw him into a wall.
Gavin was glaring at me now, shaking his head like I was some misbehaving child. He stomped over to me.
My legs straightened, pushing up from the floor and meeting Gavin as he reached me. A sick sense of victory at his return. I brought up my left fist and when he blocked that, I brought up my right palm to release a shock of energy. But Gavin moved like lightning, grasping my wrist, turning it up and away from him. Not before a tug of energy caught him in his chin.
“No,” he growled through gritted teeth. He grabbed my other palm as I tried to bring it up and pinned my hands against my chest, while spinning me around and pressing me against the wall.
I pushed against him pointlessly, trying to slide out of the position he had me in, but his foot came out, and his leg pressed against my outer thigh to hold me even tighter.
“Stop it,” he commanded.
A bellow of infuriated anger escaped my lips, the sound almost inhumane. So many emotions pulling against my chest and all choking my mind. The fire in my veins causing my energy to throb inside my palms. A darkness had filled all the creases in my mind and I wanted blood. I wanted Gavin to hurt for hurting Charles. I wanted Charles to confess his secrets. I wanted my mother to pay for the life I was in now. I wanted my memories gone, my past sins and trauma buried 6 feet underground.
Footsteps.
Pierce walked up, Kyson close behind. I closed my eyes to block them out, not wanting to see their faces. Tears streamed down my cheeks, uncontrolled. I tried again to pull my wrists out of Gavin’s grasp, but he only squeezed harder. His grip was vice like, pure masculine strength. The skin around his fingers paling with lack of blood flow.
He slowly pulled my hand to his chest and a roar escaped my mouth again. Fury still ripped through my mind. I fought him, pulled against what I knew he was trying to do. Sedate me.
When my hand went to his chest, I balled it up, stubborn against what I knew was exactly what I needed in that moment. My eyes opened when I felt someone pulling my fingers apart, to see Pierce push my open hand against Gavin’s chest.
The relief flowed up my arm and into my chest, loosening the bands of anger that squeezed the breath out of me. I sucked in a breath of air like I had just been resuscitated and leaned my head backwards against the wall, relenting into the intimate connection that bonded us as one. Gavin dropped my other hand and pushed his palm into my chest.
Minutes passed as we stood there like this. The darkness easing and my head becoming lighter. My limbs were heavy, like wet bags of sand. Silence except for my breathing and nasal sniffing. When I finally met Gavin’s eyes there was no more anger. His eyes remained dark as they always were, but there was soft emotion.
“What did he mean, Jade?”
I swallowed and looked at Pierce. He stood only inches from Gavin and I, his face tilted down towards mine. My walls began rising, and I turned my head away from his dominating stare.
I shook my head and sniffed. “I…”
“Jade,” Pierce said, my name a command on his tongue.
“I don’t know,” I whimpered.
“Lie,” Alex said, walking up to stand by Pierce.
My free hand tightened around Gavin’
s wrist in anxiety. The images started to flash uncontrollably and my mouth pinched into a frown, my eyes slamming down against the barrage of pain.
“No,” I choked, shaking my head, constantly turning from side to side. “I can’t.”
My shirt ripping, the sound of a buckle, the stabbing of sticks into my bare back. The sick stench of hot breath on my face.
The energy…
Fresh pain beat into my skull and my head throbbed. A hand went to my chin and my eyes flew open to see Pierce’s face in mine. His eyes not leaving me any room to argue.
“I...I don’t know what happened,” I cried.
“Jade!” Pierce barked.
“I mean, it was an accident! I couldn’t control it! I didn’t know what was happening. I was so scared!” Words fell from my mouth, spilling like a hot tea on a white rug. My dark secrets laid bare. “I didn’t know….” My voice trailed off in a whine.
Pierce filled my vision, forcing me to continue looking at him, squeezing my chin when I tried to turn away. Gavin held my palm to his chest and I tried to pull at Pierce’s hand with my other hand. Squirming against all the grips that restrained me.
“Jade,” Pierce’s deep voice rolled over me and I felt the familiar domination from him run through my skin, into my veins and up into my head.
I whimpered pathetically again. “I went out for a run,” I explained, unwillingly. “For days, for weeks, I had felt so weird, so strange. My skin burned, my palms tingled. It was like my bones ached and something in me burned. I was sweating all the time. I had no one to talk to, no one to ask. I took so many cold showers, drank gallons of water, but it didn’t help. I couldn’t sleep. Could barely eat. I didn’t know.” I swallowed, “I was so close to hurting myself, cutting myself to bleed out the pain.” I paused, lowering my voice to barely a whisper. “So I went on a run. Tried to burn off the feelings. I was out in the middle of nowhere, some forest.”
My throat thickened as the memories progressed and I prepared to share the darkest part of myself that I had sworn to keep forever buried. My eyes looked off, losing focus behind Pierces head. The memories sucking me back in their grasp.
“This guy came out of nowhere. He...he came towards me. Tried to talk to me. I was so confused. About myself, about what he was saying, so disoriented. It was like a fog I couldn’t get out of it. He grabbed me and I didn’t know what to do! He pushed me to the ground,” I sobbed, tears pouring down my face again, dripping onto my neck. “He ripped my clothes, pulled my hair and tried to….and my energy just...exploded. I couldn’t control it!”