"These soldiers are different from the ones before," Eary thought as the car he and Calvin were placed in sped down the road.

He glanced over at Calvin. Like himself, he was wearing a bracelet that blocked his abilities. "Are you doing okay?" Eary asked in concern.

"Yeah..." Calvin responded quietly.

It had been twenty minutes since the armed squad separated them into three vehicles. No matter how much they protested, they were given no answers.

"Psst... psst... Hey, kid!" A familiar voice whispered from the emptiness on Eary's shoulder.

Eary quietly replied, "What, Mote?"

The moteling's voice whispered once more. "We need a plan to get outta this mess. And I've come up with a perfect one!" Mote whispered.

Their conversation was interrupted.

"What?"

The voice of one of the guards drifted to the back seat with great unease.

Eary responded quickly, "I didn't say anything."

"Bullshit! So what's the plan?" The guard inquired jokingly.

His British accent stuck out like a perplexing chorus that drew Eary in.

"Look, we're not the bad guys. We have orders to apprehend anyone leaving that place on foot. You and your friends are the first we've ever seen," the guard explained.

The other guard interrupted, his British accent prominently sticking out once more.

"We're taking you to our headquarters. You're not going to be hurt. I can promise you that, love."

Eary stared ahead at the back of the man's head. He was a bit more muscular, with sandy blonde hair. Neatly trimmed short, no doubt for his job. Eary smiled.

"So... you're from England?" Eary perkily inquired.

The guard giggled as he replied, "Yes, I am. Sussex." The guard replied bashfully.

"Wow! That's so cool! I've always wanted to travel to Europe." Eary said flirtily.

The British guard replied enthusiastically, "It's nice there. Once this is all over, you should check it out,"

Eary squealed on the inside. He couldn't tell why he was so interested in this man's words.

"So...you must work out a lot for your job," Eary said, beaming.

"Sure do! I have to keep in shape, love. You never know when I will have to rough up some bloke," the guard proudly replied.

Calvin flashed Eary a disapproving look. "Are you serious, man?" Calvin whispered in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" Eary replied innocently.

Hearing this, the two men in the front erupted in laughter. Calvin shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Name's Denby." The British guard stated warmly. "I'll make sure you and your friends will be cared for. We're all headed to the same place. Everyone like us goes there. It's a safe place for everyone until this all blows over." Denby reassured Eary.

"What?" Eary quickly protested.

"Ah, sir. Mr. Denby." Calvin urgently stated.

"I can't be gone any longer. I have hockey and a mom." Calvin begged as his voice cracked. "Please, my dad just died, and she's all alone." Calvin erupted, bursting into tears.

Eary, glancing at Calvin, broke down, considering his situation.

"Mom is destroyed right now, I know it! If we never come home, she'll never know what happened to us," he thought.

And then a darker thought trickled in his head. One of Ephraim and Josh actually bonding over this. Maybe even getting married. Eary gasped at the thought. The two argued with the guards, but it was pointless. As the car continued down the road, he grew uneasy about the uncertainty of his situation. They jumped back in their seats and flashed each other a concerned look. Calvin and Eary submitted to their predicament, at least for now.

After several more hours, they arrived at their destination. Standing before them was a mid-sized office building, obviously recently built. Exiting the vehicle, they were quickly escorted inside. The two boys were greeted by a tall, dark-complexion woman holding a cache of papers. Denby escorted them to her, and with a smile, she guided them back to a small room with several seats.

"You two will remain here until processing." The tall, darker-skinned woman informed them.

"Wait!" Eary protested. "My brother Luke was with me," Eary stated.

"You were with your brother?" The woman asked, perplexed.

"Yes! If you don't believe me, test our DNA," Eary said coyly.

"That will be part of processing. We will be doing DNA and fingerprints on all of you for identification. You will be reunited with your brother after that," she said. The woman coldly turned and exited, leaving the two teens and the moteling alone.

Sitting down on chairs opposing each other, Eary and Calvin waited. It was an empty and sterile room. They both sunk into the chairs, exhausted. Mote manifested with a trashy magazine in hand. Looking up the horoscopes, he read Eary's,

"You will be met with unexpected challenges today," Mote giggled, "No shit!"

The three new friends laughed at the irony, the night's troubles still weighing on their minds. Eary looked up at Calvin. He had heard his plight. He spoke,

"I'm sorry about your dad,"

"Yeah. Me too." Calvin replied, looking away.

"When I was younger, my best friend in the world had cancer." Eary blurted out. "I sat with him daily so he wouldn't be alone," Eary replied.

"Sounds like he was a lucky kid." Calvin calmly added.

"Yeah, he lived. And then, a few years back, he slowly ghosted me." Eary lamented.

"That's terrible," Calvin exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was. Ephraim was the first person I ever had feelings for. The night I got taken, I discovered he was dating my brother." Eary said, staring blankly ahead.

"Ouch! That sucks. He doesn't deserve you." Calvin said, smiling back at Eary.

Eary sighed and quickly changed the subject. "How did your dad die?" he asked.

"Traffic stop." Calvin quickly replied. He paused for a moment. "He was a cop. The man pulled a gun and shot him. Never found the guy." Calvin shrugged, holding back tears.

"That sucks, too. I hope they find the creep!" Eary said softly.

"Me too... and I hope you end up with someone who deserves you," Calvin replied.

Eary felt a sense of camaraderie with the young man. Calvin and Eary continued their casual conversation until the sound of the door opening ushered in the woman from before. She wore tan dress pants and a black top with a golden necklace for flair.

"Young man! Will you please come with me?" She said as she gestured towards Earhart.

Eary turned back to Calvin and quietly stated, "In case I don't see you again, I enjoyed your company." Eary sat up and moved towards the woman.

"Same," Calvin replied.

Eary flashed him a quick smile and followed the woman out.

The woman led him down a long hallway to an even smaller room. Upon entry, Eary was instructed to sit. Once again, the woman departed and Eary was left to his own devices.

"Hey, Mote!" Eary whispered, "Do you suppose this is a safe place with everything that's happened? I'm not too sure," Eary retorted.

"Neither am I, kid. The guards could hear me? I mean, what the hell was that? This place gives me the creeps," Mote vented his numerous concerns as the door opened again.

A shorter man in a long white coat walked in. Although he looked in his late 20s, his hairline had already receded.

"Hello! My name is Dr. Stephens. I'm one of the medical doctors here at our headquarters," he calmly informed Eary.

"What kind of headquarters?" Eary asked timidly.

"Well, I work for a branch of United Nations. We deal with people like yourself," Dr. Stephens replied candidly. People who were affected by a mysterious event that occurred worldwide, where people started emitting lights and unusual abilities." He paused, looking at Eary in the know.

Eary looked away anxiously.

"It's alright, young man." The doctor consoled. "Earhart."

"It's Eary," Eary replied shyly.

"Eary, I'm going to need to do a few tests. Are you okay with that?" the doctor asked calmly.

"What kind of tests?" Eary replied cautiously.

"No need to worry. I need to do an oral swab and take a blood sample. We're also going to take some fingerprints. It is for identification so we can better understand what's happening with your powers." The doctor informed Eary calmly.

"Why do you need to know that?" Eary, still cautious, asked firmly.

"Because, Eary, we don't know what's going on yet. The more data we collect, the more we can figure out how to help you all," the doctor explained.

"Why do we need help?" Eary asked, continuing his inquisition.

"Bad people are looking to harm people like you, Eary. Not to mention, we don't know the long-term effects of these powers."

As the doctor finished, chills ran down Eary's spine. He had never considered if he could fall ill due to his abilities.

"Okay." Eary consented.

After the doctor was finished, the tall, dark-skinned woman entered the small exam room. She gestured for him to follow, then escorted Eary to his next destination.

Walking down the hall, the two stopped at an elevator. "I'm sorry to hear about the night you and your friends had. I'm Victoria Price." Victoria warmly introduced himself.

"I'm Eary Olson," he said, introducing himself to Victoria.

The elevator doors opened, and the two boarded.

"Well, Eary, are you ready to be reunited with your brother?" Victoria said in enthusiastic suspense.

Eary looked at Victoria in shock.

"I have already spoken with Luke. Both when he arrived and just a bit ago." She smiled smugly. "He informed me that you were not, in fact, brothers and told me to dismiss your claims that you were."

Eary's heart sank. Images of him and Luke returning home popped like bubbles in his mind. A cool heat swelled inside—the cool heat of disappointment and familiar grief.

"But we have access to more advanced technology unavailable to the public, and I was curious about your claim." Victoria smiled firmly at Eary. "Imagine his surprise to find out you were correct."

As Victoria finished speaking, the elevator doors opened. They emerged into a large room. Alice, Sakile, Mei, and Luke were standing in a group. At the sight of his brother, Eary flew into a full sprint.

"I knew it. I knew it," he said to himself.

Luke embraced Eary back.

"I'll remember not to argue with you when you say you're certain of something." Luke joked, patting Eary on the back.

Shortly after, Calvin rejoined from his visit with the doctor.

"Hey!" Calvin said nervously as he approached. "Did you hear?" he asked Sakile.

"Yeah, I did," Sakile responded coldly.

Calvin's expression shifted from hopeful to equally cold. The moment was broken when Victoria walked back into the room.

"Alice, Luke, Sakile. Could you three please come with me," she said.

"Yeah," Alice responded, walking to Victoria.

Sakile followed without a word.

"Hey buddy, I gotta go for a bit. Stay here with Calvin and Mei, okay?" Luke stated, gesturing for the two to relieve him of Eary's grip.

As the two teens pried Luke free, he followed the others out of the room. Standing there, watching his brother leave again, Eary felt uneasy but elated. Luke was alive, and they were together. Keeping it that way might be challenging.

"Ha!" Mote's voice erupted as he manifested in. "I totally saved his ass, too! When we get back, thing are gonna change. Your folks owe me big!" he boasted. "I demand recognition!"

Eary rolled his eyes and scoffed as the moteling erupted in a stream of self importance.

"A large velvet pillow with my name embroidered... A daily offering of 5 tubs of Num Nums... Um, you suppose your folks can afford my drinking habit?"

Eary folded his arms and shook his head as he chuckled. Mote's jaw dropped in astonishment. He was about to cus out his young charge when the voice of Calvin distracted the pair.

"How are you holding up?" he inquired of Mei.

"Not great," she replied, holding back the tears. They said we won't be able to go home until some psycho named Johnathan is apprehended," Mei said, annoyed.

Eary's ears raised at the name. "That's the guy who snatched me! He told me his name. It's Johnathan Tiddle."

Mei looked at Eary and asked, "Did he tell you what to do, and you couldn't stop him?"

"Yes! You too?" Eary shouted in excitement.

Gaining more information made the helpless situation feel less helpless for Eary.

Calvin included "Me too!"

Mote stated, "He just waived his hand and sent me back into the aether. It was some shit guys."

The three of them and Mote looked at each other sheepishly. None wanted to see that man again. Let alone have to deal with his unsettling power. Luke and the others returned. He stood next to Eary. Alice went to Mei, and Sakile went to Calvin.

"Attention!" Victoria announced. "Soon, we will be departing to your new homes. Since there are six of you, and half are minors, we have paired you up. The older two will be responsible for the other while you are in placement. You have been given new last names and backstories. Your mentor will inform you on the bus ride. It will be a long one. Alright, move out." Victoria finished her lecture.

Eary pulled on Luke's arm. "What's going on?" He whispered.

"We'll talk about it on the bus. Come on." Luke said, throwing his arm around Eary and escorting the young man.

Making their way from the small auditorium. Victoria led the group of displaced youths outside. Awaiting them was a large bus. Standing next to the door, Victoria announced,

"Alright, everyone. On board."

Eary was exhausted as he followed Alice up the steps, and Luke followed behind, making their way down the aisle. Eary was surprised by the buses' sparse passenger collection.

"You'd think there would be more people on a bus," Eary whispered to Alice in mild alarm.

"Breaking out of those places is harder than we thought," Alice whispered back to Earhart.

All the way in the back, the group found six empty seats—more than likely reserved for them, considering Victoria was in charge. Luke sat down and directed Eary to sit next to him.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Hey, Mei? Do you want the window seat?" Alice inquired kindly.

"Oh, I would! Thank you!" Mei responded happily.

Alice flashed Luke a snide side eye as the two young ladies down sat across from Eary.

"Sit down." Sakile coldly ordered Calvin.

Calvin, looking mildly annoyed, took his seat with Sakile following.

The bus was busy with chatter. As Victoria boarded, she stood at the head and commanded, "Quiet!" as her voice rang out, the bus's chatter slowed to a hush.

"Alright, everyone. We are about to embark; our destination is Bright Hope, Colorado. It's a mountain-locked resort town with little in the way of outsiders. Our headquarters is the Stargazer Hotel and Resort. No one gets into Bright Hope without our approval." She paused and straightened her posture. "You will all live at the resort. Those who were offered positions with us know what you will be doing. Those who did not will be working as resort wait staff." As Victoria finished her sentence, the bus erupted in clamored whispers again. "Quiet!" Victoria commanded once more. "We have to keep up appearances in Bright Hope. Which means no use of your abilities. We can't have our secrets exposed to the outside world."

Victoria explained. "The minors will also be home-schooled. We have a brilliant former archaeology professor on staff. All children will be expected to attend regular studies with him daily."

As Victoria's words rang in Eary's head, he shuddered at the thought. "A new life? New school? No more Mom, Dad, or even Josh."As the thoughts ping-ponged in Eary's mind, he felt an arm extend around his shoulders. His brother Luke was looking down with a reassuring look.

"Each of you has been paired up into smaller family units. The older of the two of you will know your back story, so make sure to inform your younger 'buddy' along the drive there, which will be a very long one. Also, the hotel only has a few rooms. It has small two-bedroom suites. Each 'family' unit will be assigned a suite upon arrival." Victoria paused and glanced around the bus. "Are there any questions?"

The passengers remained still as Victoria waved two guards onto the bus.

"Bathrooms are in the back. We have also prepared lunches for each of you above your seats. Okay, everyone, we are off."

The bus's engine roared, and the long journey began.