Chapter Thirteen

In a matter of seconds the light disappeared and we were sitting in a dark, empty room. A soft glow peeked from beneath a nearby door.

"Where are we?" I whispered. My voice echoed in the small space. This time I wasn't going to let them ignore my question. One of them would be answering.

"OnyxFive," Samuel finally whispered, matter-of-factly.

"Where exactly in OnyxFive?" I asked, annoyed at his response.

"A room," he responded, pointing at the little bed off to the side as he crossed to the front wall and placed his hand on it. "Get ready. It's only a matter of seconds before they figure out we've come back home. They always love to send a welcome team."

"What? That's your big plan? You're going to let them know we're here, at OnyxFive? Shouldn't we have discussed this in a little more detail?" I asked, my cheeks burning. This felt like a set-up. "I thought we were going to find Luther. Not just land at OnyxFive and then let everyone know."

"Relax, Esa. This place was once our home," Samuel said as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

I abruptly shook it off, not appreciating the gesture. "Our home?" My voice rose. "This may have been our home at one point, but from everything you've told me, it's definitely not our home any longer. Why in the world would we just jump here and give ourselves up?" I was trying to mentally workout how this so-called mission made any sense. It didn't seem like we had a well-thought-out plan.

"We needed to get inside to see if we could find Luther. Besides, do you have a better idea? They will find out anyway. Every move in this place is monitored and tracked," Samuel said.

Rage ignited inside of me. Samuel had led us into the lions' den, and the lions were right outside the door. I could hear them trying to claw their way inside.

"This doesn't feel right," I said. "Maybe next time we could discuss the plan beforehand? I do recall you mentioning that, at one point, I was a leader of this team. You need to learn to respect me, now that I've returned."

My own words made me stop. I had never been so rude to anyone. It just didn't sound like me.

Theo's jaw was clenched. Before I could get out another word, the door flew open and three large men dressed all in black rushed into the room. A flash of light came from something they were holding in their hands. There was no time to react. I fell backward from the shock.

***

I woke to find myself lying on a narrow aluminum table in the middle of a dark room. There were several large screens on an opposite wall. Each one showed a different scene of what looked like African wildlife. One of the screens had a leopard hunting some sort of smaller exotic animal, another had giraffes running, and a third was underwater video, showing what looked like a large snake.

I turned my head left to right, to see if anyone else was in the room with me. Samuel was lying on a table several feet away. His eyes were closed and he bore a serious expression.

My head ached. I tried to raise my hands, but they wouldn't budge. Something was keeping me pinned to the table. My heart pounded as my eyes followed my arms down to two metal contraptions with an electric beam which covered my hands.

A bright light suddenly came on above my head, shinning directly into my eyes.

"Gah!"

The light made my pupils burn, so I snapped them shut again. Even with Samuel's special lenses, it was too intense. Blinking several times, I tried to get my eyes to adjust, and then suddenly the room was dark again. It was quiet, except for the sound of my breathing and the soft hum coming from the electric beams keeping Samuel and I locked to the metal tables.

"Welcome home, Esa." A man walked out of the shadows. "I've waited a long time to talk with you again."

The man was of a medium build, with a chiseled jaw and gray hair. His white teeth were almost perfect, and glowed despite the darkness of the room. There was something in the way he talked that sent chills up my spine.

"Who are you?" I could tell this man wanted to instill some sort of fear in me, but I had to be strong, to show him that wouldn't be possible.

"My name is General Paul James," he responded, leaning his face closer to mine.

"You're Paul?" I stared back at him.

"Yes, my name is Paul. I'm your father."

His last words hung in the air. How could this man be my father?

"My father?" I mumbled, unsure how the words managed to escape my lips as I thought back to all of the information Samuel and Theo had told me. They had mentioned Paul, but then Samuel hadn't wanted to talk too much about him.

"Yes. That's correct."

"If you're my father, why do you have me on this table with these contraptions covering my hands?" I asked nervously, trying to shake my hands free. They still wouldn't move.

He let out a soft chuckle. "Esa, I'm very aware of the enhancements your mother gave you, and your current abilities. It makes you very special," he said, a slight sneer curling the corners of his mouth. "Besides, I'm not entirely sure why you decided to pay me a visit today. It's very out of character for you. So, I'm taking extra precautions."

An icy chill came over me. This man was my father. I had always wondered about my parents, secretly hoping they would find me and that we could live happily ever after in a house with a white picket fence. Never in a million years had I thought the first meeting with my father would include me lying on a table, unable to move, while he towered over me, looking sinister. Paul approached the table again and pulled out some sort of device with a large needle.

Panic overtook me. What in the hell was he going to do? I tried to wiggle, but he was too quick, and plunged the needle into my stomach. Small bolts of electricity jumped from the area where the needle touched my skin.

"What... what are you doing to me?" The liquid inside of the syringe felt cold as Paul continued to press it into my body. Slowly, my body began to grow numb.

"I've given you a special serum to make sure you don't try to lie to me again. I'm done with your games, Esa. Your last stunt was a little over the top; wouldn't you say?"

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course not." His face suddenly appeared right in front of mine. "I guess I'm just supposed to believe you disappeared for three years and suddenly you're back. Bravo child. Bravo."

"Yes. I'm still trying to figure everything out myself," I pleaded; although, I wasn't really sure why I was telling him anything. I couldn't help myself. The words just came out.

Paul asked several more questions, and I knew I probably hadn't given him the answers he was hoping for, but it was all the truth.

"Esa, do you know where you are?" He asked, looking up at a monitor above my head.

"Yes."

"Why did you come here?"

"To find someone named Luther. He's missing."

"Really? Luther is missing?" Paul began to rub his chin. "Interesting—"

"Yes, that's what Samuel and Theo told me," my eyes grew wide as I continued to talk. I couldn't help myself. The words just kept escaped from my mouth."

"Is that the only reason you are here?"

"Huh? I guess," I said, calmness finally setting in. "Where's Theo? He was with me."

"I've put Theo in a special room while I talk with you and Samuel. This is a conversation meant just for family." He folded his arms over his chest as he continued to look directly at me.

"Family? That doesn't make sense," I spat out. This was one of those moments where I felt like my perfect lines were showing slight shifts of imperfection. "You can't be a part of my family. I don't know you."

"Hmm," he murmured, walking around the table. "That is your mother's fault. She stole you and your brother from me when I needed both of you, and the rest of the team, the most. You put your home at great risk. Is that what family does to one another? The people here needed you to help provide food and new supplies, but you all just vanished, making us suffer."

"But, I was told we still assist."

"Do you?" He moved closer. "I bet you didn't think I would notice that you and your mom then left the rest of the team, but it quickly became obvious you both had disappeared. Where have you been for the past three years? What have you been working on? Is your mom plotting something against me? Tell me now, child, before I find out on my own and kill all of you."

"Huh? I don't know what you're asking," I said, raising my eyebrows. Something wasn't right with this introduction. There were no warm fuzzy feelings between us. This man, my father, was walking around me as if he were examining one of his military weapons.

"I'm done with your lies, Esa. Your team stays alive because I have allowed you all to live. I'm starting to think it's time I reverse that order." That said, he marched out of the room.

Samuel began to stir. "Esa, who were you talking to?" he asked groggily.

"Paul was in here, and then he left," I said, still bewildered at the entire scene that had just unfolded.

Samuel grunted as he tried to lift his body up. He fell back onto the table after only making it a couple of inches off the hard surface.

"He asked me where I had been, and then he asked what I had been working on with our mother."

"Don't let him get to you."

A smaller man, wearing a similar black outfit to Paul, entered the room. His shoulder-length blond hair fell in waves around his slightly puffy face. He walked over to me and then across to Samuel, examining our bodies.

When he paused to check the contraptions on Samuel's hands, sparks suddenly flew from Samuel's table as the clunky contraptions fell to the ground. The electric beams holding down mine also snapped off. I looked over at Samuel in surprise as I pulled my hands free. He leapt off the table and grabbed the man's shoulders.

"Who are you?" Samuel demanded, holding onto the man's collar and pushing him up against the wall.

Surprise overtook the older man's face. "H-h-how did you get out?" He tried to shake free from Samuel's grasp, but he was no match for Samuel's strength.

Samuel held out the palm of his right hand. A thin line of electricity danced in the middle. The sight made the man's eyes widen in fear.

"N-no, no, no. Please don't."

Samuel let out a small laugh and then thrust his hand against the man's shoulder, causing him to arch backward before crumpling to the ground.

Samuel's eyes burned with rage. "One down. Let's go find the others."

I stared at him, unmoving. I had never seen Samuel so aggressive. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" He turned his head back towards me.

"Kill him." I stood numbly looking at the man's body on the floor.

"Um, because he was holding us hostage? Esa, this is war. If I hadn't taken that person out of commission we would both still be lying on those tables, being inspected like lab rats. Is that what you want?"

"No."

"Good. Let's go find the others."

"Okay."

Samuel put both of his hands on my shoulders and looked me squarely in the eyes. "You understand we will have to fight against those who want to take control of our team? They're not going to stop or be sympathetic to us. You need to know that. It's the same thing you did to that boy back in 2010. I'm not any different from you. We will fight and we will kill."

"Fine," I responded. It was the only word that really came to mind right now. I had killed someone once, but I hadn't set out to kill him. It had been done in self-defense.

"Very good children," a deep voice said over the intercom. "Very good. You are stronger than I realized."

"Hello, Father. Why don't you come back in here and get a closer look?" Samuel said through gritted teeth. "It's been a while and, trust me, I've gotten a lot stronger and smarter than the last time we met. Besides, I understand you talked with Esa, but didn't want to wake me up."

Laughter vibrated off the metal walls.

"Are you going to unlock the doors or shall Esa and I take care of those as well?" Samuel asked breaking through the laughter.

A glass door in front of us suddenly slid up. We stepped out into a narrow hallway with white walls and track lighting along the floor.

"He's just letting us walk out?" I asked, puzzled but still a little wobbly. I wasn't really sure if I was thinking straight.

"No, Paul never makes things easy. He's watching us right now. I'm sure he will make some sort of move. Be prepared," Samuel said, grabbing my hand before leaning close to my ear and whispering, "Just remember 2010. I'll find you."

I shook my head. "Twenty-ten? What does that mean?"

"Just remember that year. If we get separated, think about the bridge where I found you. It's a place you obviously know well, so you shouldn't have any trouble landing near it. I don't have time to explain how to get to our compound. We have to meet somewhere both of us are familiar. Okay?"

"Samuel, don't leave me," I said, squeezing his hand tighter, feeling a sensation of self-doubt, unsure if I was ready to be by myself. "Paul gave me something. I don't feel right."

"What did he give you?" Samuel pulled me back toward him and began to inspect my neck and head.

"He gave me some sort of serum."

"Is that when he was asking you about what you were working on?" Samuel scratched the back of his head.

"Yes," I nodded my head forward.

"Anything else. Try to remember if there was something else he said or asked," Samuel was now looking at me more intently as if his eyes could hear my thoughts.

"That was it, but he was creepy," I looked back into my brother's eyes.

He squeezed my hand. "Paul can't get on the Jump Line so if you get in a bind, don't hesitate. Make the jump," he said as we walked cautiously down the hallway. I suddenly felt very vulnerable and weak. "I guess I'm going to need to get use to the new Esa."

"What does that mean?" I stopped.

"The old one would never have asked for my help, or told me not to leave," he let out a soft little laugh. "You would have already clocked me for being so nice."

"The old me sounds kind of mean."

"You were tough."

I fumbled with the silver chain around my neck. I still had the medallion. Why hadn't Paul taken it? "He left our necklaces alone," I whispered.

"I know. He can't touch them," he responded. "He knows if he attempted to get on the jump line right now, he would be severely burned. He's smart enough to not even attempt, yet."

"Good to know," I said, holding on tight to the silver medallion.

We proceeded down the hallway, looking around corners, trying to find Theo. A door several feet in front of us suddenly slid open. Paul stood in the doorway.

"I'm done with the games. Come with me, children." He motioned for us to follow him down the long hallway.

It smelled as if the walls and floor had all been recently cleaned. We walked into a room where several people sat in small clusters around large, flat computer monitors. Paul moved his hand and a holographic image appeared in front of us. It was an outline of our bodies.

"We ran some tests on you while you were asleep," he said, pointing at an image that looked like the base of my brain. "Esa, you can trust me. I care about your safety and well-being, probably more than anyone else you know."

"Enough Paul," Samuel said.

A wave of emotions came over me as I looked at the image. A small part of me wanted to trust Paul, but I knew it wasn't possible. Apparently, we were biologically linked, but outside of that there was very little I actually knew about the man, and our introduction definitely had not left me wanting to know more.

Suddenly, all of the electronics in the room exploded in a wash of light. Samuel tightened his arm around me as he pushed me into another room. Everything was happening so quickly. I turned to look back at Paul. He smiled, almost as if he had expected this just as we disappeared on the Jump Line.