We had been running for what felt like days. The relentless rain and wind hadn't helped either. It had been along, tiring night running through the dark forest near the facility we had just escaped from, but hopefully it would pay off. Hopefully I would finally be able to keep my little brother safe.

We stopped in a small cave as the sounds of the barking dogs subsided. To catch our breath. To think. to re evaluate where we were. To take stock, maybe find a map at a local truck stop, Hopefully find a place we could hide for a few days while we figured out who we could go to for shelter, for rest. for safety.

My brother and I, we had been captured by this organization some 4 months ago. They were vary accomodating at first: letting us walk around the grounds as we pleased, even giving us free reign to go to the mall and shit like that when we wanted to essentially. All they asked us to do was to just show them our powers. The only problem was, we didnt have any.

A few months went by, and the guys in suits that started standing next to the nice guys in lab coats started getting anxious. Things weren't progressing as fast as they had planned. We could never hear what they were sying, and most of the time their faces were hidden, but we knew what was coming. If we didnt show them our amazing, mind blowing abilities sooner than later, things were going to get grim. As Far as either of us knew, there was nothing special about us. We were just two fucked up kids who grew up in a small town and got into some trouble. And now we were here. God help us.

My brother and I grew up in a normal house in a small town outisde of Portland. We skateboarded, we played videogames, and we skipped school. A lot. I don't know if it was me who egged him on or the other way around, but we were always getting into shit we shouldn't have. We were always breaking windows in old abandoned houses, or tresspassing in construction zones. Shoplifting or just causing trouble and mayhem. Our Mom had no idea how to deal with us. Dad had died years ago in a far away country in a plane crash, going to meet with some clients for anew defense contract. He apparently worked for some government contractor, but we never saw much of him. The insurance money that the company paid us covered all of our living expenses, and my mom never had to work, so she was always home, and always driving us crazy. This is probably why we were out of the hosue so much. On the streets, looking for shit to do that would get us into trouble.

Well trouble had found us. Jake and I had finally run to the end of our rope when we got picked up by the truancy officer in town one day, and taken back to school, where the principal called us into his office.. It was the 6th time this year that the truancy officer had caught us. We thought we were sly, paying one of our friends to call our names out in class, but the teachers had caught on, and they knew when we weren't there. My friend we had paid was in serious shit too, apparently he was being held in a separate room. As the truancy officer pulled up, there weren't just cop cars outside, but also a long line of black SUVs with no marking on them at all. All heavily tinted windows. All seemingly brand new.

"Whose cars are those?" I asked

"Shut up Carl, you're in serious trouble this time"

 The truancy officer pulled me out of the car and pushed me up the school steps, pushing me down the hall and into Mr Parson's: The Principal's office.

"Now, Carl" Mr Parson said, looking down over his glasses perched on his thin nose. His nearly bald head of hair waving in the breeze of the central air conditioning. "I know you've had a hard time in school, and I think we're all here just to help you, but something serious has happened, and we need to talk to you about it"

"If skipping school is serious, then you need a new set of hobbies" I said, looking down at my Vans.

Mr. Parson stopped, and continued to stare at me. He was apparnetly amazed that I was either telling the truth, or that I had the gumption to deny whatever he was talking about. The only problem is that I had no idea what he was getting at at all. Jake and I have spent the entire day up in the Gravel Pit, doing jumps with our mountain bikes. Around noon we went and got sandwiches from the local Subway, and that's where the Truancy offier got us. He knew our favorite hookie spots, but didn't want to tresspass on Gravel Pit property himself.

"Carl, 3 men were killed today"

The room went silent. I had no idea what to say. I literally didn't even know where this was coming from.

I stopped staring at my shoes and locked eyes with Mr. P.

 "Where's Jake" I asked.

"He's being held else where" Mr. Parson said "now if you could jus-"

"I won't say another fucking thing until he's in this room with me"

"Jake, you're in no position to negoti-"
"I don't give a fuck WHAT position I'm in, I won't say another word until my brother is here with me"

Mr. Parson looked me dead in the eye, his wispy hair still blowing in the HVAC. The HVAC spun down in our silence.

"I'll see what I can do"

Mr. Parson got on the phone, and made a call to the other room, I could hear the muffled sounds of a man's voice who did not sound farmiliar to the school. He sounded like he was a detective, or a police officer. He was abrupt with Mr. P. Then hung up on him. Mr P. Looked at the receiver in his hand, bewildered and afraid. He then slowly set it down on its hook, his slight hand slightly shaking as he put them back on his desk, folded neatly.

"I'm sorry, Carl, but Jake is in some very serious trouble. I think you might be the only one who can help him."

I had heard that man's voice. I had seen the fear in Mr. P's face. I knew three men had been killed. Or at least that's what Mr. Parson's said.

"Mr. P...Tell me what happened. Jake was with me all day...I don't understand" Tears were welling up in my eyes.

"Well, Carl, " Said Mr. Parson's clearing his voice, and looking around his desk to make sure it was tidy enough for such a conversation  "This afternoon around noon I received a call from the Local police department stating that your home was set ablaze, and Jake was seen running off, in the direction of the Subway where the two of you were found."

"Mom....I"

Mr. P looked down at his desk. he paused for a long moment. The HVAC kicked back on.

"I'm sorry Jake, her body hasn't been found yet"

-TO BE CONTINUED-