While I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing, there were so many red flags. This guy, who didn't look older than I was, had a key to my apartment. All I knew was something wasn't right, and I needed answers before this guy came any further into my home. Moreno looked at me, stunned, as I held the sculpture of two figures holding hands aloft as if to strike.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"You let yourself into my apartment," I said. "And you've answered none of my questions."

Dad ran into the room dressed in a white shirt and pajama pants. His hair was messy, he was barefoot, and he pointed a gun I didn't even know he owned at us. Then he looked directly from me to Moreno. I half expected him to shoot the intruder. Instead, Dad lowered the gun. He wore his PR business face that I usually only saw when he went to talk to shareholders about his brother's company antics.

"Terri, drop the sculpture," he said. "Moreno, what happened?"

My expression must have been priceless. Dad knew his crazy guy who'd swung down to save me? Seriously, what was going on?

"There was an attack in the elevator," Moreno said slowly. "I saved Terri."

My stepmother Elise appeared behind Dad, wrapped in a silk dressing gown and holding a baseball bat. The color drained from her face as she looked from me to Moreno.

"No," her voice was faint.

"Dad," I said. "What's going on?"

"She's safe for now, but I suggest she doesn't stay here long," Moreno said.

Dad's business-like demeanor broke at once. He looked at me with hollow brown eyes. Every so often, he would do this, especially if someone brought up my mother. My egg donor didn't deserve to be a part of my life, especially since she hadn't seen me or had any contact since a relative dropped me off with my unprepared father when I was just one day old.

"Dad?" I tried again.

Jilly came around the corner with her damp black hair braided back and dressed in her school uniform. She assessed the situation, her eyebrows knitted together.

"Mom?" Her voice was mixed with confusion. "Chuck, what's going on?"

"Mr. Oakeley, we need to go," Moreno said. "They are coming."

As if whatever "they" were was the worst thing in the world. Dad gaped like a fish. Normally, my father was levelheaded in a crisis. Instead, it was Elise who moved first.

"Jilly, grab the earthquake kits and prepare your brothers for an evacuation," she said. "What do you suggest we do, Moreno?"

"You could run," Moreno said. "Or there's always the option of my people's protection."

"You think we should take her closer to the danger?" Dad looked incredulous.

Jilly inched towards the rest of us, only to be met with a disapproving look from Elise, who then signaled towards the room's exit. Elise usually only reserved that for when she was upset, and Jilly and I knew not to cross her when she got quiet. She backed out of the room, and I could hear her barring my half-brothers from entry.

Elise set a gentle hand on Dad's shoulder. They were always a united front. They had been since they'd gotten married when I was seven.

"The compound is probably the safest place for her, Chuck," she said. "They can protect her."

"I'm not ready," my dad sounded fragile. "I never have been."

"Sit down," Elise said. "Breathe, Chuck. Your mother can help with the explanation. We can call Suzie for legal advice. Moreno, do whatever you think is necessary until we can get out of the building."

My dad fell down, losing all strength. He struggled to breathe and curled up, hugging his knees. Elise rubbed his back and whispered something soothing. When I was little, Dad woke up from nightmares and hugged me to his chest every night. He'd been seeing a therapist weekly since he met Elise. However, I hadn't seen him break down this badly.

"What do I do?" I asked Elise.

She turned to me. "Terri, your life is in danger. I want you to pack what you need and help Jilly with your brothers. Moreno, make sure she's safe."

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

I took that as a dismissal and walked down the hall into my room and opened the door. Jilly and I shared a pretty big room. There were gold polka dots on the walls around a two-meter-tall mirror. The frame was a masterpiece of sculpted and gilded gold that my dad found at an estate sale outside the city.

My side of the room comprised my study nook for virtual school, my bed, and a wardrobe. Moreno followed me into the room, leaning on the doorframe. Like me, he almost had to duck under the door frame to enter the room.

"You're pretty tall, too," I said.

He almost smiled at that. "You've nearly got an inch on me, though."

I crammed my laptop and my folder of school materials into my backpack. "How do you know my parents?"

"I met them through my job," he said.

"How old are you?" I asked.

His lips curved into a full and wicked smile. "Eighteen, like you."

I raised an eyebrow. "And the whole vigilante elevator exercise? Is that your job?"

He nodded. That raised a lot more questions in my mind, and I thought Dad might be the one who needed to answer most of them. I'd allowed Dad a level of privacy for my whole life surrounding his childhood.

He was the youngest of three and had grown up on a cattle ranch surrounded by redwood trees. He'd followed his siblings off the ranch and to college. While his siblings were focused on their own endeavors, he was looking forward to inheriting the family ranch. Then, I was born when he was twenty-two. Then he left the ranch and started working for his brother.

When I was only one day old, my mother's family handed me over. All they gave me was a name, Theresa, which my dad shortened to Terri. All I knew was I probably looked a little like her. My bright cerulean eyes weren't the Oakeley brown, so at least in that way, I carried her with me.

I took a step towards my bed to grab my favorite travel blanket when suddenly there was a sharp pain on the right side of my head. My eye burned, and I tried to blink away the pain. Instead of relief, spots swallowed my vision.

I stumbled towards my nightstand. I always had a bottle of eye drops on the little gold table beside my bed because I often woke up with dry eyes. My hand moved for the drops, and my knees gave out, but I didn't hit the floor.

Moreno's arms had stopped my fall. He was saying something, but the room was dissolving into mist. I blinked again, and I was no longer in my bedroom.

Instead, I stood in what looked like someone's home theater mixed with a security office. There was a gigantic movie screen on one wall facing one of those couches that looked like movie theater seats. On another wall were a dozen smaller televisions with what looked like security footage of strange rolling clouds and a pale blue sky.

A little girl no older than six with lavender hair in pigtails ran through the open door behind me. A boy around her age, with dark curly hair and a deep tan, chased after her. Behind them trailed a girl with a coiled bun and warm brown skin.

"Jacks, slow down," the boy said. "You're going too fast."

"Shh," the lavender-haired girl said. "He'll hear us."

The other girl giggled and put a finger to her lips before whispering. "You two are terrible at this."

"Joshy is the one who can't keep up, Dot Pennal," the lavender girl said. "Where do you suggest we hide from Uncle Ric?"

There were footsteps beyond the door. The three children squealed and scattered, hiding behind the couches. Despite this, the man entering did not seem to intimidate them.

He was a large man with lavender hair, like the girl. He had a firm square jaw and a build similar to my dad. One of his eyes was a cerulean blue like mine, but the other was a brilliant metallic gold. His smile was goofy, and Dot giggled.

"Ready or not," he said. "Here I come."

I blinked, and suddenly, I was once again back in my bedroom. Moreno was waving his hand in front of my face.

My eye had stopped burning. I was on the floor with Moreno's other hand tucked under my head. His fingers were nestled in my hair, and he looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"What just happened?" My words were slow, and my mouth was dry.

"You fell," he said. "What did you see?"

It was a strange question—like he knew I had a bonkers fever vision. He didn't ask how I was feeling or if I was okay. He only wanted to know what I saw.

"I must have been dreaming," I tried to stand. "I don't know what happened."

Moreno helped me to my feet. Once I was steady, he looked at my face and frowned. Then his eyes got huge.

"Hope you're ready, princessa," he said. "Cause I think I know why they chose today."

My eye still stung, but it was no longer burning. I decided to try the eyedrops again, so maybe I could move past this. I grabbed the drops from my bedside table. Moreno just laughed and took them from my hand.

"That won't help," Moreno said. "Look."

He pointed at the mirror. I frowned, thinking maybe a blood vessel had popped in my eye or something. It might explain the pain and my collapse. Either that or I had something on my face.

However, what met me in the mirror was so shocking that my knees almost failed me a second time. I blinked, hoping that might change what I saw. My hair was unkempt and touched my collarbone. My petite nose had a few pale freckles scattered across it while my eyes appeared wide and unfocused, but that wasn't the strange part.

"That's impossible." I touched the glass and then my face.

"Better believe it, princessa," Moreno said. " Now, tell me about your vision."

My left eye was completely normal, minus the fear. The right, though, had changed color. The iris was a brilliant metallic gold, exactly like the man in my vision. 

Hello Friends!!! So, what do you think is happening to Terri? There's more coming soon!