"I'm home!", hollered Skylar as she stomped inside the house.
"Hey, honey", greeted Skylar's foster mom, Lauren. Skylar had been adopted when she was very young. She had no idea who her real parents were, so since she had never known them, she was
content to live with Lauren, her husband, David, and her older brother, Daniel.
Skylar opened the kitchen pantry and got out some cookies, then she opened the fridge to get some milk. Though the gallon was still full, Skylar felt no strain as she brought it to the counter. It had been like this for as long as she could remember.
Skylar was extremely strong and fast for kids her age. In P.E. classes, she was always the one to run the fastest and for the longest time without tiring, and the one who could single-handedly lift
up gymnastics mats. Nobody knew how she could do it. She just could. Of course Skylar used those talents to her advantage. She had never been bullied. After a disastrous episode in first
grade, bullies had learned to stay well away from her. In fact, every one stayed away from her.
There was just something about her that made people want to run the moment they saw her. It wasn't really about her appearance. Skylar had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, bushy eyebrows, a rather large nose dusted with freckles and a rather large mouth. Though she was
pretty tall for her age, Skylar still looked like any average thirteen-year-old.
Well, except for the eyes. The left one was a normal shade of hazel. But Skylar's right eye was green. Not just any green, it was a bright, artificial, almost neon, green. Some kids thought it was
contacts but that wasn't the case. Skylar's eyes had been like that for as long as she could remember. It was an anomaly doctors had given up on trying to explain some time ago.
Skylar trudged up the stairs with her backpack. She sat down at the small desk in her room. “Homework, the most dreadful part of my day,” she thought to
herself.
Because whatever extra strength and speed Skylar had, she lacked in brains. She had already been held back a year. She was in 7th grade instead of 8th. She was the bane of all her teachers'
existences. They couldn't figure out how she could forget what 8x9 was, or how pretty much every sentence Skylar wrote had some sort of spelling or grammar mistake in it. After a while they had just stopped trying. The most they could do was give Skylar the homework and hope
she would at least attempt to do it.
But, you see, unlike what you are probably thinking right now, Skylar wasn't some sort of
hopeless thug who purposely failed all her classes and annoyed the teachers. She actually tried to finish her math worksheets and lab reports. She sat at her desk, sometimes for hours at a time,
and attempted to complete her research paper on the Civil War. But no matter how hard she applied herself, after a few minutes the words and numbers and letters all muddled together into
some unsolvable puzzle, leaving Skylar hopelessly lost.
Sighing, Skylar opened her backpack and took out her binder. Today's homework wasn't that bad. She had to do a few exercises from her math book, read a chapter from the book she had been assigned for English, and write a 300-word essay about an animal of her choice for science. She started out by reading the chapter. Then she decided to do some research on her animal for the essay. She opted for chameleons. She turned on her laptop and searched up "chameleon" on Google. She clicked on a random website and began reading, writing a few notes as she went. But after a while her head was hurting. The screen's bright light was making her eyes water. She decided to take a break, and moved on to her math homework. Sighing, Skylar opened her math book at the right page. But three minutes in and she already had a huge headache. Even she ouldn't make sense out of the mess of numbers she had written down in her book.

"I give up", she grumbled to herself angrily.
She worked on her essay for a little while, then she plopped down on her bed with a book in her hand. Finally some peace. Skylar got lost in a fake world of wizards and witches and magic, all
her worries from her real life gone for the moment. She only closed the book when she heard
Lauren cry, "Dinner!", from
downstairs.
"Coming!", she yelled back.
"Hey kiddo", smiled Daniel at the sight of her. He got up and ruffled Skylar's hair. She and
Daniel had a special bond. Skylar had liked him from the moment she saw him enter the
orphanage between Lauren and David. She had liked his easy smile, his curly brown hair, his
laugh. Daniel was pretty much the only friend she had. Nobody at school even dared come near
her, so she confided all her feelings to Daniel. She knew she could always count on her big
brother to cheer her up or help with homework.
"So how'd school go today?", asked Lauren. Skylar shrugged. "Fine", she replied. That was what
she always said. She couldn't say it went well, because it didn't, but at least she hadn't terrified
some poor kid who had never seen her before, like last week, or almost hurled her desk at the
math teacher because he was so mean to her, like last
month.
Then Skylar sat down and dug into her steaming pasta. A few minutes later dinner was
interrupted by David, who had just come back from work. He opened the door, dropped his
briefcase on the floor, and came to sit down at the kitchen table. He had done all this without a
word, which was unlike him. Skylar felt worry prick at her. What was wrong?
The answer came soon enough. "Hi, David", said Lauren, and kissed her husband on the
cheek.
"Hi, honey", replied David. "Hey, kids.", he said to Skylar and Daniel, and then was silent. He
took a few bites of his pasta, then cleared his throat. Uh oh. Skylar knew this wasn't a good sign.
It meant he was going to make some sort of important announcement.
"So...", David began, "I got this in the mail today." He held up a white envelope with Skylar's
school's address on it. "Skylar, you're failing three classes right now!" Lauren gasped at
that.
"What?!", she exclaimed. Skylar's heart sank. She should have expected it. A few days ago her
math teacher had pulled her aside and asked her if she had a tutor yet. On her last history test she had gotten a D-, and her science teacher had actually told her she was very close to failing.

Skylar put her head in her hands and let the tears flow freely.
"Skylar how could you not tell us about this?!", cried David, "If you were having trouble in your
classes you had to tell us!"
"I-I kn-know", she sobbed, "I sh-sh-should h-have, I'm s-sorry! B-but th-the t-t-teachers didn't
even s-seem to c-care, a-a-and--" Usually Skylar didn't speak much, but the words were being
wrenched out of her. All the emotions she was so good at keeping bottled up were exploding out
of her. It actually felt kind of nice to be explaining herself.
"Ssshh...It'll be okay, kiddo", whispered Daniel, and pulled her into a bear hug. Skylar buried her
head in his shirt.
A few moments later David cleared his throat another
time.
Again? Thought Skylar, What now?
"Skylar", said David softly, "Look, kid, this is the third school you go to in four
years...That's...Not so good for your record...Look, I hate to break it to you, but I got offered a
new job position somewhere else, and since you would have to leave this school anyway, and
Daniel's leaving for college soon..."
Oh no. No. Skylar knew where this was heading, but she wanted to hear it from David's mouth
anyway.
"We're moving, Skylar. We're moving to Ohio."

"We're moving?", Skylar repeated dumbly. "You never told me anything."
Dave sighed. "Sorry kid."
"When are we leaving?" asked Skylar. After the initial shock, she wasn't feeling many emotions.
After all, it wasn't the first time she'd switched schools, far from it. But still, moving to a whole
new state--and in the middle of the year--was unexpected.
"In about a month", replied Daniel. "We haven't really started packing yet, though. I guess the
weekend will be a start", he adds. Skylar just nodded, all the tears gone from her face. That
outburst had been unusual for her. She didn't want to repeat it. Dinner continued in an
uncomfortable silence, only broken by the occasional requests to pass the bread or the pitcher of
water. Skylar fled from the stuffy atmosphere in the kitchen as soon as possible. When she
arrived in her room, she changed into her fuzzy pajamas and snuggled under her comforter. She
didn't even bother brushing her teeth. Grabbing her book from earlier, Skylar settled down in her
bed and began reading. When her eyelids started getting heavy, she turned off her lamp and went
to sleep, the evening's events almost faded in her mind.
The next four weeks came and went without any major incidents for Skylar. She continued
sitting in the back of her classes, never talking or raising her hand, pushing the occasional kid out
of her way, and failed two quizzes. She had stopped caring after learning she would be moving
soon.
The only difference in her routine was that she always reserved a small window of time for
packing in her day. Soon a significant portion of her floor space was littered with boxes, mostly
filled with her books. Skylar couldn't think of many other things worth taking. Her room was
small. There was only space for her narrow twin bed, a small bedside table, her closet, a tiny
desk, and a rickety bookshelf filled with her most prized possessions. Books.
That evening was their last in the house. Dinner was a bit more silent than usual. It finally hit
Skylar that she would be leaving the house she had lived in practically all her life, to move to a
new state where she didn't know anybody, where everything would be so different. She knew she
would be going to another public school, which didn't bother her much. In fact she was kind of
excited. Maybe this would be a chance for a new start. Get better grades, and, who knows,
maybe make a friend. Then again, that was what Skylar had been telling herself before going to
each new school--four in total--and that had never been the case. Though the thought dampened
her spirits, Skylar couldn't help but still feel a little flare of hope. Maybe things could be different.
"I'm going to finish closing up all my boxes", she told her adoptive parents and brother the
moment she had whisked her plate into the dishwasher. Without waiting for a reply she ran up
the stairs and into her room.
It saddened her that this would be the last night she spent in her tiny, cramped, yet cozy,
bedroom. Over the years she had turned it into a warm little nook for her. Skylar practically lived
in her room. She looked around the space, realizing she would miss living in this home. Sure, she
was excited to be leaving the state. Skylar had eventually built a reputation that preceded her
wherever she went, especially when it came to new schools. The kids had a habit of knowing that some sort of new girl thug would be coming this year, and her name was Skylar James, and she

was super strong and fast, bla, bla, bla. She couldn't be certain the same thing wouldn't happen in
Ohio, but there was a chance she could start out like a normal, average, stranger.
But Skylar would miss the little things she had almost begun to take for granted over the years.
Watching the sun climb over the horizon every morning, listening to Daniel hum in the shower
in the bathroom they shared, she would miss the feeling of the sunshine kissing her face for the
first time when she walked to school. There were also those nice little memories that would
probably mean nothing at all to others, but which meant so much to Skylar, who was used to
being ignored and estranged wherever she went. Like that time where the lunch lady had slipped
her a free candy bar, or that time when she had fed a little homeless kitten, and it had followed
her around ever since. Sometimes it waited for her in front of her house as she walked out to
school. There had also been that day when so many people had teased and insulted her that she
had run to the bathroom for some peace, she had called Daniel, and he had skipped all his classes
to drive to her school and pick her up. He had stayed with her all day long, watching old movies
together and getting stuffed on popcorn until they burst, and hadn't said a word about it when
David and Lauren came back from work in the evening. Those were the little things that couldn't
be replaced no matter where Skylar moved. Still, she hoped things would get better. As far as she
knew, she hadn't done anything to deserve all the insults and whispers she had been forced to
endure for all these years! It was high time that all ended.
Sighing, Skylar began the tedious art of closing all the boxes with tape and moving them closer
to the door. At least it didn't tire her like it would have other people, and it didn't take her much
time. Sometimes super strength and speed could come in handy. When she was done, Skylar
flopped down on the bed. The moment her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.
*********
The flight to Ohio was long and boring. Skylar spent the hours either reading or watching
whatever movies they had on the small airplane screens. After a while she began to doze off, her
earbuds still in. Soon she was drooling on Daniel's shoulder. Skylar woke up to the tinny voice of
the flight attendant coming through the speakers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned off the Fasten Seat Belt sign. Please use caution
when opening the overhead bins, as heavy articles may have shifted around during the flight.
On behalf of the entire crew, I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip. Welcome to Ohio."
After almost getting lost in the huge airport, going to the wrong baggage claim area, and waiting
for almost an hour for their suitcases to arrive, Skylar, Daniel, Lauren, and David were exhausted.
With David pulling the luggage cart behind him, the four of them made their way to the exit,
where they hailed a cab. Squashed between the cab door and a suitcase, it was a very long and
uncomfortable ride to their new address. It was a relief when the taxi stopped in front of a squat
little house. Skylar opened the car door, eager to get out and feel the fresh air again.
The new house's façade was all white except for the black door. It had three floors and a
basement, and many windows, which appealed to Skylar immediately. There was also a little backyard which mostly consisted of unkempt grass and bright wildflowers. Skylar also noticed a

little corner behind an azalea bush which would be perfect for reading.
She watched eagerly as Lauren got out a new set of keys and opened the door. The first room
was the living room. The walls were a bright, homey yellow and the sun poured through the
many windows. The next room was the kitchen. The tiles were a lively shade of beige and the
walls were warm, chocolatey brown. There was a brown marble counter, an oven, a microwave,
an oven, a dishwasher, and a sink, not unlike their old house. Then upstairs were three bedrooms.
The first was clearly the master bedroom. It was a large and airy space. The walls were a light,
minty green and the floor was dark oak. The second bedroom was slightly smaller with a few
windows across from the door and light blue walls. When Skylar saw the third bedroom she
immediately hollered, "Mine!", and ran in to put down her suitcase. It was the smallest of the
three, but almost half of the wall surface was windows. The walls were a bright, cheerful purple
and the floor was covered in a white moquette. It was the perfect size, not to small but not too
big. Skylar couldn't wait for all her furniture to arrive so she could unpack.
"Aw, man, I wanted that room", joke-whined Daniel, poking his head inside. Skylar laughed and
swatted him away.
She opened her suitcase, wishing the furniture was here so she could hang her clothes up again.
For dinner the four of them went to some cheap restaurant where they shared a greasy pizza.
The next day, their furniture arrived in a huge truck, all wrapped in plastic or bubble wrap. The
weekend was used to unpack all the furniture and move it to the respective rooms. Saturday and
Sunday came and went, soon it was the evening before Skylar's first day of school. Though she
tried to hide it, she was extremely nervous. After all, she would be coming in the middle of the
year, everyone would already be settled down, groups formed, friends chosen. Even without
anyone knowing about her enhanced strength and speed, Skylar would definitely be the oddball.
She went to bed early, those thoughts churning in her mind.
The sun streaming through the windows was what woke Skylar up. Groaning she got up, washed
her face, and proceeded to pick out an outfit. She wasn't like those girls who would spend hours
perfectly coordinating their clothes the night before, or who did their makeup like they were
high-schoolers. So Skylar settled for anything that would make her look as inconspicuous as
possible. She picked up a plain grey T-shirt, a pair of denim shorts, and blue Converse. She tied
her hair in a ponytail and then hurried down the stairs. She wolfed down a bowl of cereal in a
blink, and barely fifteen minutes later she was standing at the front door with her backpack
waiting for Lauren to come down.
"Nervous?", she asked Skylar in the car.
"Yeah", replied Skylar.
"Well, don't worry", reassured Lauren, "Everything will be okay." The rest of the car ride was
silent, Skylar's nerves keeping her from saying much. When Lauren parked in front of a huge
building, Skylar waved to Lauren before reluctantly leaving the relative safety of the car and
heading towards the entrance. The inside of the building was bold and loud. The walls were
painted in bright colors and Skylar was immediately intimidated by the tide of students pouring
in. She noticed barely anyone was alone. She followed the general direction in which everyone
seemed to be going until she noticed a door labeled FRONT OFFICE. Unsure of what to do,

Skylar hesitated for a second, only to be shoved by a boy about her age, who then threw her a
curious glance before walking away. That decided her. Skylar ducked inside the space.
"Hey there", immediately greeted a squat- middle-aged woman sitting behind a large desk, "You
must be Skylar."
Skylar barely had time to nod before the lady continued, "Here's your class schedule", she
handed her a square piece of paper, "Classes officially start at 8:25 but it's best to get here by
about 8:10. There's five minutes to get to each class. The day always starts with homeroom.
Yours is in room 304." Noticing Skylar's blank look, she added, "That will be on the third floor,
one of the rooms on your left, I think. You can always come here if you have any questions.
Enjoy your first day here!"
Skylar thanked the lady and hurried to the nearest staircase. She didn't want to be late to her first
class. As she neared the top, however, she heard the sound of shouts and laughing. Turning to
find out what the cause of all the noise was, she saw a small knot of boys circling around
something she couldn't see. Skylar would've turned away if she hadn't heard their jeering laughs
and shouts of, "Take that!" "Weakling!" "You baby!" If she wasn't mistaken there was someone
inside that circle. As she neared closer, she saw she was right. There was a slight figure lying on
the ground. The boys were taking turns kicking and punching it.
Sickened Skylar ran towards the group. "STOP THAT!", she shouted. Almost out of instinct, she
grabbed two boys by the collars and flung them a few feet away. Then she aimed a kick at
another one who immediately fell to the ground, groaning. The rest of them scattered
immediately. Skylar leaned down towards the boys' victim.
"You okay?", she asked gruffly extending a hand out to help the person up. Her hand was taken
with a light and shaky grip. She looked down into one blue, and one bright, radioactive, green eye.

"Take that, you cripple!" shouted one of the boys. A punch sailed through the air to land on
Jake's rib, where there was already another bruise.
"You baby, too weak to defend yourself?" taunted another one. Jake curled up into a heap on the
floor as a kick in the stomach knocked the breath out of him.
"C'mon you wimp," exclaimed a third boy, "You can do better than that!" He jumped on Jake's
hand. "Fight us!" A hand yanked his head up by the hair, and then let it fall back on the cold,
hard floor. Jake saw stars dancing in front of his eyes.
Then came Jake's nightmare. "Guys, guys, leave him to me," grunted a horribly familiar voice.
Benjamin Moore. A list of all the injuries he had given Jake in the past ran in front of his eyes. A
broken arm. A sprained ankle. A nasty cut on the forehead. Once he'd cornered Jake outside of
school and beaten him until he was almost unconscious.
"So, cripple, we meet again," laughed Ben, looming over him.
It's over. This is it. He shut his eyes and waited for the blow. It didn't come. A voice shouted,
"STOP THAT!" Soon the air was filled with grunts, cries, and moans. Then the sound of hurried
footsteps heading in the opposite direction. Then, finally silence. Jake opened his eyes a crack.
"You okay?" gruffly asked his savior. Jake gripped the hand that was extended to him. He felt
himself effortlessly being pulled up. When he looked into his savior's eyes a jolt went through
him. One brown and one bright green. Just like him. He immediately knew they were connected
in some way.
The one who had saved Jake was a girl. She had dirty blonde hair, and was very tall for her age.
Her build was strong and there was a quiet confidence exuding from her. Maybe other people
wouldn't have noticed that, but Jake wasn't other people. Years of silent observation from
secluded corners had taught him that skill. He knew who he should stay away from and who
wouldn't bother him. He could tell which teachers were more repulsed by him and which ones
might actually go to the extraordinary length of actually calling on him in class. The moment
Jake saw that girl, he was certain he would never leave her side. He could trust her.
"Thank you for saving me," he whispered shyly.
"It was nothing," replied the girl with a half smile. Just looking at that smile Jake could tell she
didn't get that often.
"I'm Jake, by the way," he said.

"Skylar," she said, "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to m--" Jake's legs bucked from underneath him. Skylar's eyes widened in alarm and her
arm shot out at inhuman speed, grabbing his wrist and steadying him right before he crashed to
the ground. Jake's face went up in flames.
Stupid leg braces. He slowly took a seat on a nearby bench and leaned down to tighten the
buckles. They must have come loose during the fight. Leg braces were a pain. Jake absolutely
hated them. They were the cause of all the name-calling and bullying. They were what set him
apart from the others. Even wearing long pants during the entire year couldn't hide much. You
could still see the bulges from under the fabric. But other than that, he looked completely normal.
Sometimes Jake still wondered why so many people hated him just for being different.
Despite the fact the he had been going to this school for years, Jake still had no friends. He
usually ate in the library or in his English teacher's classroom. Mr. Miller was probably the only
teacher who would treat him like any other student. He called on him in class, and let him go up
to the board, unlike many other teachers. Mr. Miller also loved reading fantasy literature, just
like Jake. He would sit down with him during lunch period and have long conversations together
about knights and dragons and castles. Sometimes they would even play chess.
"Are you okay?" worriedly asked Skylar for the second time in several minutes.
"Y-yeah," stammered Jake. What would she think of him now that she knew about his leg braces?
Would she pity him? Get scared of him? Would she hate him? Those were the reactions he'd
encountered in the past.
However, nothing of the kind occurred. Skylar just nodded and continued the conversation as if
nothing had happened.
"Hey, d'you know where room 304 is?" she asked, "I wasn't really listening to what the lady at
the front desk said."
Jake nodded eagerly. At least there was some small favor he could do for her. "Don't worry, just
come with me. That's my homeroom, too," he told her. Just then the bell rang, signaling that
there were five minutes left before classes. Jake hurried up two flights of stairs and into a small
room just in time to hear the bell ring again as they took a seat near the back. Jake furtively
looked around. In his head, he sighed in relief. None of the boys who had bullied him a few
minutes earlier were there.
Unfortunately his homeroom teacher was Ms. Evans. He detested her with all his being. She was
absolutely terrible. More than once she'd given him a worse grade than that of other students who
made the exact same mistakes. She was being unfair and they both knew it, as well as the fact
that Jake couldn't do a thing to stop her. So he just let her torment him in peace.

"All right, class," began Ms. Evans, "Welcome to another day of school. I hope you've all had
nice weekends." Her gaze traveled around the room, smiling and nodding to the students. When
she made eye contact with Jake, however, her eyes narrowed dangerously and she pursed her lips.
Jake could almost see the gears churning in her head, trying to figure out a way to get him out of
her sight. He paid her no mind, however. He knew she wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
"So, give me just a second to take attendance," continued to simper Ms. Evans. She ran down the
list of names, barely pausing to see it they were actually there or not. When she read out Skylar's
name, she looked around the room again.
When she spotted Skylar she gave her what Jake already knew to be a huge, fake smile, and said,
"Oh, looks like we have a new student with us! Skylar, please stand up!" Much to Jake's delight
and Ms. Evan's annoyance, Skylar contented herself with raising her hand and a grunt that
sounded suspiciously like a, "Hi," but no one could be sure.
It was a relief when the bell rang. Homeroom had consisted entirely of students saying how their
long weekends went. After the third "I went to the beach" Jake had begun to zone out and he
could see that Skylar had even closed her eyes and rested her head in her elbows. Their trance
was only broken when Ms. Evans came to their table and dropped--well, slammed would be a
better term--a syllabus for Skylar on the desk. Then the bell had rung, and Skylar had shot up
from her position and half-whispered, "Freedom!" to Jake. Well, perhaps she hadn't said it softly
enough because on their way out, Jake noticed Ms. Evans squinting after them with a look that
was nothing short of murder in her eyes. I guess now I know how this year will go for Skylar, he
thought sarcastically.
As he led Skylar to their next class--they had almost all their classes together--Jake began to
think that maybe the rest of the year wouldn't be so bad after all.

Skylar sighed in relief when the bell rang. Thank god lunch was next--she was starving! To be
honest, her classes hadn't been much different from the ones she'd had back in her old school.
And she'd gotten piles of homework. Luckily having Jake in nearly all of her classes was
extremely helpful. He had been the one to poke her awake with his pencil in math class and he'd
whispered the answer in her ear when the science teacher called on her.
In fact, the only class she found even remotely interesting was English. The teacher, Mr. Miller,
was great. He was extremely energetic. In Skylar's opinion it was nearly impossible not to be
interested in his class when he paced around the room and made huge arm gestures and
impersonated Shakespeare characters perfectly. She could tell this was Jake's favorite class, too.
The way he sat up straight on his chair and feverishly took his notes in his shiny notebook was
proof enough. And he had insisted they go eat lunch in his classroom after buying their food.
Well, actually, Skylar always packed her lunch, but after what had happened in the hallway that
morning, she wasn't too keen on leaving him alone, especially in a loud, unsupervised place like
the cafeteria.
Skylar walked through the big doors, partially shielding Jake with her body. She lined up behind
him even though she wasn't buying anything, which was the right decision to make. A few
moments later she saw a girl roughly jostle Jake to get in line next to her friend. Though she
clearly saw Jake wince at the impact, that girl didn't even bother apologizing, or, in fact, even
looking back at all. Anger filled Skylar. How dare these people treat Jake like he wasn't even
there? Like he didn't even exist?
Skylar's arm snaked out at impossible speed to grab the girl's wrist. The girl turned in surprise,
her mouth twisting in a grimace of disgust.
"Uh, what exactly do you think you're doing?" she sneered, "Can you let me go?"
"You hurt Jake," growled Skylar, gesturing furiously at her friend, who was peeking nervously
from behind her, "And you are going to apologize to him before I let you go." The girl raised an
eyebrow disbelievingly.
"Girl, who exactly do you think you are? Make me apologize to that boy? Puh-lease," she sniffed,
"I'd love to see you try." She tried to pull her arm away, but to no avail. Skylar had her bony
wrist stuck in her vise-like grip, and she was not letting go anytime soon. Though on the outside
her face seemed devoid of emotions, on the inside Skylar's blood was boiling in anger. She
would show that girl what happened when people messed with Jake.

The girl tried to pull away once again but Skylar tightened her grip even more. "Stop! You're
hurting me," whined the girl, her face scrunching up in pain, "Leave me alone!"
"You know what you have to do," stonily replied Skylar.
"Someone help me!" complained the girl, looking around the small crowd that had formed
without Skylar noticing.
"If you apologize I'll let you go," said Skylar, her patience wearing thin. If she didn't restrain
herself she felt like she might jump on that idiot blonde, stick her nails in her eyes, and scratch...
The girl growled in frustration and raised her eyes to the heavens. "Fine," she muttered, "Fine."
"Sorry for pushing in front of you," she snapped, barely looking at Jake. "Now let me go," she
ordered Skylar, who immediately complied, a satisfied grin appearing on her face. The girl
huffed and indignantly marched away to the back of the lunch line.
Skylar felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked back at Jake, who was wearing a worried frown on
his face. "What is it?" she asked.
"Uh...," nervously began Jake, Thanks for defending me and all, but you really shouldn't have
done it."
"Why?" Asked Skylar, confused. "Did I do something wrong?"
Jake hesitantly shook his head. "No, it's just that people never mess with that girl. That was
Megan White, the grade's official mean girl and bully. If you bother her, she will do anything to
get you back. So..." Jake trailed off, looking at Skylar uncertainly. Skylar shrugged.
"Well, if that girl ever wants to mess with you she'll have to go through me, first." she said with
determination. Jake nodded hesitantly as he led her outside the noisy cafeteria, which would be
buzzing with rumors of what had occurred with Megan, Skylar and Jake in no time.
"Come on," said Jake as they walked through the now-silent halls of the school, "We should go
eat in Mr. Miller's class." Skylar nodded. Soon Jake opened the door of the English room. Mr.
Miller raised his head up from his computer. "Hello, Jake. I see you brought Skylar with you," he
said warmly, smiling at them both. This was the first time Skylar had been treated so nicely by a
teacher, and he already knew her name. She was delighted. Jake plopped down on a chair near
Mr. Miller's desk, and Skylar imitated him. She opened her lunch box and bit into her sandwich.
A few minutes later the three of them were talking about books.
"Hey, Mr. Miller, I finally read To Kill a Mockingbird. It was amazing! My favorite character
was Dill." he said enthusiastically. Mr. Miller smiled. "Well, I'm glad you liked it." then, turning
toward Skylar, he asked, "Skylar, have you read To Kill a Mockingbird?"

Skylar shook her head shyly. "I could lend it to you," offered Jake, "I've finished it so I don't
need it, just remember to give it back. I'll bring it to you tomorrow."
"Thanks," grinned Skylar. This was probably the first time anyone had ever offered to let her
borrow anything. "I'll give it back as soon as possible."
They continued talking until the bell rang. "Aw, already?" complained Jake.
"Hey, what do you have next?" asked Skylar, hoping they would be together in their next class as
well. "I have P.E., how about you?" replied Jake. Skylar glanced down at her schedule. "I have
P.E., too! We'll be together again." She said happily.
"Not necessarily," said Jake, "There are always two P.E. classes at the same time. One of them
goes in the gym, the other goes to the field. I'm in P.E. 1."
"Oh," said Skylar disappointedly. She looked down at her schedule again. "Dang it, you're right.
I'm in class 2."
"Oh no. Oh no, this is bad." said Jake, wilting. "This is really bad, Skylar."
"Why, what's wrong?" asked Skylar, frowning.
"Skylar... Megan, Ben, and some other guys are in my class." He said fearfully. Skylar felt worry
sting at her, but paid it no mind. She didn't need Jake to tell her that "Ben and the guys" were the
same ones who had beat Jake up that morning.
"That sucks, Jake, but I don't think they'll try anything," she said as reassuringly as possible.
After all, they wouldn't dare do anything in class, a supervised time.
...Right?
How very wrong she was.
If Skylar and Jake had lingered in the cafeteria a few moments longer, they might have seen
Megan head off to a corner where Ben was lurking. They might have heard her mutter something
to him along the lines of, "If that girl doesn't have P.E. with him......You can get him in the
locker rooms....when everyone's already gone...."
And, worst of all, they might have seen Ben nod, a leer appearing on his face.

Jake slowly opened the door to the boys' locker rooms, a sense of foreboding settling in his
stomach. Despite Skylar's reassurances, he was sure Megan would try to take revenge for being
humiliated like that during lunch. And what better way to get it than to gang up on the one who
couldn't defend himself, the weak, crippled boy. Jake himself. It wasn't that Jake was not grateful
Skylar had defended him. He was, he really was. But now the populars had their attention on
Skylar, and that was far from good.
The sharp tang of body odor invaded Jake's nostrils and the loud voices hit him as he entered the
locker room. Jake looked around cautiously before heading into a corner to change. Though he
couldn't see anyone outright staring at him, Jake couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being
watched. His stomach clenched with worry. He changed into his P.E. uniform more slowly than
usual, observing boys trickle out of the locker room in small groups talking loudly.
Even as the locker room slowly emptied out, the feeling remained. Jake decided to hurry. Despite
the fact that he hated his adaptive P.E. exercises, he wanted to leave the room as soon as possible
and get to the gym, where there would be other students and supervision. The locker room was
completely empty now, so why did he still feel like something was wrong? Jake knew he had to
get out as soon as possible. He fumbled with his shoelaces and practically ran towards the door.
He was about to stretch his hand out towards the handle when something grabbed his ankle. Jake
yelped in surprise and crashed unceremoniously to the ground. Just as he twisted to get up, a
weight fell on his shoulders, causing him to fall back down.
"Help!" shouted Jake, panicking, "Someone he--" A hand slapped over his mouth, muffling his
voice. Jake's heart went into overdrive. He twisted and writhed furiously, managing to flip onto
his back.
"Hey, cripple," sneered Ben.
Jake knew he was done for anyways, so what did he have to lose?
"C-come to finish what you st-started this morning?" stuttered Jake defiantly.
Ben roared with laughter. He leered at him mockingly. "Oh, so now the cripple talks?" he taunted.
"But can the cripple fight?"
Ben yanked Jake up by a sleeve and pinned him against the locker room door. "Your thug of a
friend isn't here to defend you now, is she?" Ben asked with a cruel glint in his eyes. "Why don't
we continue from where we left off in the morning?" He rammed his foot into Jake's kneecap.
Jake yelled in pain, crumpling to the floor. He was powerless and Ben knew it. He kicked Jake's rib once, twice, three times. Jake couldn't breathe. Four, five, six times. He

gasped for air. Seven, eight, nine, ten times. A whimper escaped from Jake's lips. Ben's smile of
satisfaction was close to maniacal.
"Already in pain?" laughed Ben, "But I've barely started!"
He slammed his foot down on Jake's shoulder. A nasty crack echoed through the air and Jake
yelled again.
How long would this go on?
A punch in the stomach soon followed. Jake curled up into a fetal position on the floor, his
stomach pulsing with pain, his eyes watering with unshed tears of pain.
A punch sailed through the air and hit him square in the face. Any resistance he might have tried
to put up before crumbled down. The pain was unbearable.
"S..St..Stop....", groaned Jake, his tears mixing with the blood that was flowing out of his nose.
"I don't think so!" sang Ben cruelly. "Now be quiet."
He punched Jake in the mouth.
Kicked his other shoulder.
Grabbed him from the ground and then slammed him down again.
Jake saw stars. He'd been bullied and beaten up before but this time was by far the worst. It
occurred through him through a haze of pain that Ben could kill him.
Ben jumped on his hand. There was another cracking sound.
Then came a punch on the jaw.
Then a punch in the eye.
Jake's screams of pain had subsided to low, broken moans.
After a while his entire body was hurting so much he couldn't even feel the blows that rained
down on him anymore.
Was this ever going to stop?
After what seemed like an eternity, it stopped. Through his swollen eyes Jake saw Ben lean over
him with a triumphant expression twisting his features.
"If you tell anyone who did this, I'll make sure to actually break a few ribs. Oh, and how about a
strong concussion while we're at it?", Ben hissed threateningly. "When class is over I don't want
to see you here. Go to the nurse or something. But if I find out you told anyone..." The menacing sentence hung unfinished in the air. The threat was more than unsubtle, yet even with his pain-

muddled mind, Jake had no doubt he would go through with it.

"Now move," hissed Ben, kicking him in the temple one last time.
Jake's vision flickered in and out.
He was going to die here, in the locker room because of bullying. When he hadn't done anything.
He was going to die all alone. When the other students came back from class they would find
him laying dead in a puddle of his own blood with half his bones broken. There would be a
funeral. But then he would be forgotten. He'd become a story his classmates would tell in several
years, in college. They would remember that poor crippled boy who had died in the locker rooms.
The one who had done it had never been punished.
Then Jake thought about Skylar. Probably his only friend in his entire life. Why should a
friendship that had begun just that morning, just a few hours ago, end so soon? Did Skylar
defend him for nothing?
No. That wouldn't be fair to her.
Besides, he'd promised to lend her his book tomorrow.
Jake almost screamed in pain again as he used his sheer willpower to pull himself up. Everything
hurt. Everything felt broken.
But he had to get out of the locker room as fast as possible. He didn't even know how much time
had passed since the beginning of class. P.E. might almost be over for all he knew, and if he was
still there when they came back...Ben had made the consequences of that more than clear.
Maybe it was the thought of all the other things Ben would do to him, or maybe it was his
thoughts of his newly formed friendship with Skylar that fueled Jake's steps. In the years that
would come, when Jake looked back to that moment, he would never quite figure out how he had
made it to the nurse's office.
He wouldn't have needed the look of horror the nurse gave him to know that he looked like a
wreck. His nose was still bleeding profusely, he had a black eye, he was limping...Every part of
his body hurt like someone had slammed a baseball bat on it. Which, to be quite honest, wasn't
extremely far from the truth.
And since the nurse must not have been competent enough to be certain of how badly Jake had
been injured, he soon found himself in the back of an ambulance, being wheeled away to the
local hospital.

"So...That's why I didn't come to school the past week." Finished Jake lamely. It was taking all
of Skylar's willpower to not jump out of her seat in the cafeteria and go murder Ben and Megan
on the spot.
"How could they do that!" She hissed in fury. Jake had just finished telling her about the events
in the locker room. After somehow managing to drag himself to the nurse's office, he'd been
wheeled off to the hospital. There were no serious fractures but he had a sprained ankle and wrist,
his ribs were bruised badly, both his eyes were black, and he had a mild concussion. They'd
asked him to stay at the hospital for a few days, and then told him to spend the rest of the week at
home.
"But how could you not tell anyone about this!?" exclaimed Skylar, "Things will just get worse if
you don't say anything!" Jake looked down at the floor.
"I shouldn't even be telling you about this...Ben told me that if I told anyone he'd do worse than
this time," admitted Jake. "Skylar, I thought I was going to die in there!"
At those words, Skylar shot up from her seat. She was furious. How dare that little punk go
around beating people up and threatening them? How come no one had come forward to accuse
him? Something told her Jake probably wasn't the only victim Ben had sent to the hospital in
similar conditions!
"Hey, it's okay now," Jake said reassuringly, "You'll just make it worse if you go beat them up."
Skylar knew he was right. She grudgingly sat back down. "I'll get them sooner or later," she
muttered to herself.
*******
"All right, students, I have your quizzes to return. Remember, don't share your grades with
anyone," said Ms. Evans.
Skylar and Jake were in math class. They had taken a quiz a few days before, and Skylar was
certain she'd failed. She had fallen asleep at her desk trying to study for it the night before, and
the fact that Ms. Evans most likely hated her didn't help either.
Skylar cringed at the sound of Ms. Evans' tacky heels clicking against the floor. She was coming
towards Skylar's desk with a triumphant expression on her face. Uh oh. The last time Ms. Evans
had had that look was the time she'd given Skylar an F on her homework.
"Skylar, I think you're going to need a tutor, and soon," was her only comment as she handed
Skylar the quiz.
“Great, I so failed this quiz,” ruefully thought Skylar.
She unfolded the paper to see a big D on the corner of the quiz. Skylar sighed, unsurprised. Soon
all the teachers would see how terrible she was in school. This was just the beginning.
"What did you get?", she muttered to Jake from the corner of her mouth.
"A," mouthed back Jake. Skylar grinned and gave him a thumbs up.
"So, I'm assuming you're good at math?", asked Skylar. Jake nodded. "It's my best subject after
English," he replied proudly. "What did you get, by the way?" 

"D," sheepishly replied Skylar, "Honestly I'm surprised I didn't get F. I suck at math. Ms. Evans
said I needed to get a tutor."
Jake perked up. "I could tutor you! You could come to my house twice a week and I could help
you with math!" He exclaimed enthusiastically.
Skylar sighed in relief. "Thanks so much. Oh, and while you're at it...Do you think you could
also help me with science? And history? And Spanish? Oh, and music?", she asked in a rush.
Jake raised his eyebrows. "So basically with everything?"
"...Yeah..."
"Okay. I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do," sighed Jake, "You can come over every
Tuesday and Thursday."
"Thanks so much!", said Skylar gratefully.
The bell interrupted their conversation. As usual, there was a general stampede towards the door.
Math with Ms. Evans wasn't a very popular class.
"Hey, what do you have now?" asked Jake.
"Science," replied Skylar, checking her schedule, "You?"
Jake's face fell. "Music," he said, "So I guess I'll see you at lunch, right?"
"Yeah."
Skylar and Jake headed in different directions towards their respective classes. As she was
walking, Skylar noticed that her backpack felt lighter than usual. She moved to the side of the
hallway so as to not get in anyone's way, and opened up her backpack. Riffling through the
various papers and notebooks, she realized that she was missing her science textbook. Skylar
groaned in annoyance, turning around and doubling back. Her locker was in a completely
different building--she would be late to class.
Unless...
No, that wasn't a good idea. The last time Skylar had used her enhanced speed, she had landed in
the principal's office for knocking down at least three students and crashing into a cabinet. Not to
mention she had gotten many strange looks in the hallways in the days following her little stunt.
It was safe to say that Skylar wasn't exactly in control of her special...talents...
But, debated Skylar, if she didn't come to class on time she would get in trouble. And she was
supposed to be the first one to share her presentation on energy sources.
The arguments about school convincing her, Skylar dashed though the halls at top speed. As she
zipped by, almost a blur, people stopped making their way to class to stare and point and whisper.
The school's newest gossip would most likely be all about her, but Skylar didn't worry much. It
would eventually die down, as it had in her other schools.
Finally Skylar arrived at her locker. She was slightly breathless, but she grinned in relief when
she saw that it had barely taken her forty seconds to get to her locker. If she took the same
amount of time to get to science class, she would be fine. Skylar quickly entered her locker
combination and grabbed her textbook out of the locker. Despite having used it for no more than
two weeks, it was already chaos in there--crumpled papers, wrappers, books, pencils were all
jumbled up inside. As she was about to close the door, a small, folded paper fell out of Skylar's locker, catching her

eye. She bent down to pick it up, examining it. Huh. It wasn't the kind of paper Skylar used. She
opened the little square, and read the writing inside.
Skylar, meet me at the Starbucks across the street from school at the end of the day. -Jake
Usually when Jake wanted to tell her something he told her in person, not through a note, but
Skylar didn't think much of it. There was nothing strange about leaving a note in her locker. With
that, she speeded through school and reached the science lab just in time.
*******
When the bell signaled the end of the day, Jake sighed in relief. Finally the day was over! He had
spent the last period of the day in history class, preparing for a group project. His two partners
refused to do any work, so Jake spent the hour doing everything for them. He knew disagreeing
to anything would mean more taunts and bullying, and Jake--still extremely sore from his
encounter with Ben--wasn't keen to get any more.
Jake hurried out the door, trying to get to his locker before the halls were invaded with tides of
student leaving the building. He managed to somehow elbow his way through to get to his locker.
He put in his combination and his eye scanned over the perfect rows of books and papers. Huh.
Something was out of place. There was a slightly crumpled piece of paper lying on top of his
lunchbox. But Jake's papers were never crumpled. Curious, he grabbed the paper an smoothed it
out. There was a note written in Skylar's untidy scrawl.
Hey Jake can you come to the Starbucks across the street from school after school today? -Skylar
Jake mentally ran over his schedule for the day. Good, his afternoon was free. He hurried outside
the building, worried he would be late. He could never walk as fast or for as long as other kids.
He had gotten used to it, but it still sent a pang of sadness to his stomach when he saw other
classmates run around happily. It was something Jake wouldn't be able to do because of his leg
braces.
Already slightly breathless despite the short walk, Jake pushed open the doors of the café. He
saw Skylar already sitting down at a table. She waved him over.
"So, why did you want me to meet me here?" curiously asked Jake.
Skylar raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean? You were the one who put that note in my
locker telling me to come here" she said.
Jake frowned. "I never put any note in your locker--it was you who put one in mine," he replied.
"No, I never put anything in your locker," said Skylar incredulously.
"This is really weird," muttered Jake.
"Yeah, and also, who wrote the notes?" added Skylar, "It looked just like your handwriting."
"So did mine," replied Jake. "Seriously, who would do this?"
"I did," said a voice from behind. Jake and Skylar whipped around to meet the gaze of a woman
who was probably in her late thirties. She had flaming red hair that tumbled down to her
shoulders, and she was tall and athletic. Jake couldn't help noticing she was beautiful.
"Why?" asked Jake, trying to instill confidence in his voice.
"Who are you?" asked Skylar, suddenly shy.

The woman looked at them knowingly, her eyes looking older and wiser beyond their years. A
small, sad smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"My name is Clarice."

Finally they were back. It had taken money, lying, stealing, bribing, fake ID's, and so much more,
but they had finally returned. Thirteen years later, they were finally back to where everything
had started.
The woman was gazing at the lab, awed. After over a decade of abandon everything was still the
same. All the machines were still shiny, the beakers still intact. All the computers were still
plugged in, as if, with one touch, they would turn back on. Besides the thin layer of dust that
coated everything, the space looked like it had been in use yesterday. The woman delicately
traced a bony finger over the walls, leaving a clean streak across the surface.
"Look, look," she whispered feverishly to her husband, "Everything is like before. Nothing
changed. We can go on from where we stopped." To the woman's disappointment, the man didn't
even look at her, he simply nodded distractedly before continuing his examination of a small
object in his hand, a tiny vial.
"This isn't the brand we used." Muttered the man. Upon the woman's closer inspection, she
realized he was right. They only brought supplies from one brand, an illegal one at that. It was
the only company that overlooked background checks, as long as they got their money. But this
little vial looked nothing like their usual beakers and test tubes. How had it gotten inside?
"Take this to the microscope," ordered the man. "Check for anything--fingerprints, traces of any
materials--and inform me if you find anything." The woman nodded and hurried to the
microscope.
A few minutes later she conveyed her results to her husband. "There are no fingerprints visible
so either there were none or they have faded away with time," began the woman. Her husband's
lineaments tightened with displeasure at that, so she hurriedly went on, "However, I did find a
trace of liquid. I have tried finding a match in our search engines but I can't find any."
The man frowned and began pacing around the space, an irritating habit of his. "If no
fingerprints are visible this must mean that the vial was put here before we...left," he muttered.
He paced some more. "And this strange liquid...," he mused, "It couldn't be a coincidence that
this vial appeared around the time we conducted our experiment..." The woman was still as she
observed her husband pace nervously. She knew never to interrupt him during moments like
these--they usually resulted in the man making a discovery or finding significant information.
Suddenly he grasped the woman's shoulders. "This must be what disrupted our experiment," he
said forcefully. "The reason the experiment failed was because of this chemical. And now that
we have it in our hands..." The woman saw where this was going. Her heart beat madly as she finished the sentence. "...We can fix this. We can fix the mistake we made so many years ago!"

She exclaimed. "We can find a cure and start all over. And all our visions will come true," she
breathed. But her husband had already turned away from her, he had already began rummaging
through the equipment and extensive stocks of chemicals.
*******

"So...Why did you write those fake notes?" repeated Skylar, slightly fed up with this woman
who called herself Clarice. Her name wasn't important, Skylar wanted to know the reason behind
the fake notes, the planned appointment.
"And how on earth did you know where our lockers were? Or our handwriting?" challenged
Skylar.
"And how did you know our schedules?" piped in Jake suspiciously. Skylar's hand had
unintentionally tensed on the back of Jake's chair. She couldn't help feeling a sense of a
protectiveness toward Jake. He almost felt like a brother to her.
"Ah, that is just a matter of talking to the right people and acting the right way," vaguely replied
Clarice with a tight smile.
This ambiguous reply did not satisfy Skylar in the least. Clarice's unwillingness to give them
answers was just making the woman more suspicious in the girl’s eyes. If this Clarice did
anything dangerous or even just remotely suspicious, she promised herself to get her and Jake
out of the little cafe as fast as she could.
"That's not a good answer," deadpanned Jake. Skylar nodded in agreement. Her eyes met
Clarice's and their gazes locked. In that look, Skylar tried to convey all her determination. She
wanted real answers. She wanted to know everything.
Finally, Clarice dropped her gaze. "I had better sit down," she sighed, "This will take a while."
She lowered herself into the empty chair at the table. A corner of her lips lifted as she saw
Skylar's attentive gazes. "I'm warning you, what I'm about to tell you is going to seem crazy to
you...You probably won't even believe me, but that's understandable. Still--"
"Just get on with it already," interrupted Skylar, eager to hear what she had to say. Clarice
nodded, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "So similar to..." Clarice trailed off with nostalgia in
her voice, but Skylar had heard.
"Similar to who?" she asked sharply, her curiosity piqued.
Clarice shook her head. "That will be for another time," she answered firmly.
"Please just explain why you wrote those notes," interrupted Jake impatiently. Clarice nodded resolutely.

"I am sure you will understand when I say that I cannot tell you everything. There are some facts
that will have to wait to be revealed," she began. "But for now I will tell you this. Several years
ago, two scientists went...astray. They stopped using their resources for good, left their research
group and all but disappeared from the face of the earth. They began creating experiments of
their own, dangerous ones. Most definitely illegal. And for a while they were mildly successful.
Their inventions sold at very high prices, and the money made was used to create more
experiments, and so on. But one day they went too far. They decided to try to create the
impossible: perfection. They wanted to...enhance humans. They wanted to make people, but
stronger and smarter. I don't know how they could possibly ignore all the consequences that
would come with creating something like this, but eventually they managed to create a substance
that once injected into one's bloodstream would increase their strength and their intelligence.
You might be wondering why this affects you. I didn't know this until very recently, but these
scientists...They experimented their substance on you two."
For several moments Jake and Skylar stared at Clarice, dumbfounded.
"So you're saying that these two mad scientists used Jake and I as their lab rats," recapped Skylar.
"Well that little experiment clearly went wrong," said Jake bitterly. "I mean, look at me. I'm a
cripple! I'm--I--my legs don't work!" He practically spat.
"Yeah," snapped Skylar, "Us? Enhanced? You've got to be kidding me! I can barely solve two
plus two!" She scoffed with contempt.
"Seriously, how is this possible?" exclaimed Jake, "Sure, I get the best grades in my year, but I
wear leg braces! And, Skylar, you're freaking unbelievable in P.E., I mean, I didn't even know
you could do that many push-ups in one minute, but besides P.E., I think your highest grade has
been a C ...Oh." Jake looked at Clarice, understanding dawning on his feature. "Oh..." He
repeated.
"What? What is it?" asked Skylar, extremely confused. Clarice softly smiled at her.
"Think about it. One of you has exceptional brains, but barely any strength. The other has
exceptional strength, but in terms of brains...well...you know what I mean."
Skylar's eyes widened as she understood as well. So that was why she was so strong, and Jake
was so smart. The explanation was so far-fetched and unrealistic, but it made sense, it filled in all
of the missing puzzle pieces.
"So...Somehow I got half of the--powers, let's call them powers--and Jake got the other half. I got
the strength, and he got the brains...And also what power I'm missing, Jake has, and vice versa
for Jake..." Skylar trailed off. "You have no idea how unbelievable that sounds," she told Clarice. Clarice nodded and stood up. "Now I have to go. I can't be seen around." She glanced around

nervously and hurried out the door.
Which left Skylar and Jake to stare dumbly at the door Clarice had just exited from.
"Wow," they said at the same time, and grinned at each other.

"Okay, last time," said Jake.
Sighing, Skylar typed in the name Clarice W. into the Google search engine. The "W" was
because as Jake watched Clarice leave the Starbucks the other day, he had seen the initials C.W.
embroidered into her bag. It was a talent of his, noticing the small facts about a person that
would escape other people.
Jake and Skylar looked expectantly at the screen, hoping something useful would pop up, though
it must have been the seventh time they'd searched the same name along with a string of key
words. The computer took a moment to load, then the results popped up.
Skylar began scrolling through them. When Jake saw something interesting he made her pause
and open the website. So far, they were out of luck. The websites they had opened were about an
ice cream shop somewhere in New Jersey, a babysitter looking for work, and some girl's
Facebook. There wasn't even a Wikipedia entry for the said name, or a university webpage.
Sighing, Jake slumped his back on the chair. "Come on, it's no use. There's nothing about her on
the Internet."
Skylar growled in frustration. "But then how are we supposed to find more answers? This
random lady meets us by faking notes in our handwriting, tells us we're the result of a crazy
experiment gone wrong, and then just disappears into thin air? Jake, we have to find her again!"
Discouraged, Jake put his head in his hands. "I know," he agreed, "And, besides, why would
Clarice suddenly decide to talk to us about something that happened years ago? What if the
scientists are back or something?"
"Ugh, I can't think!" groaned Skylar, "I am so done with this! Clarice can go die in a hole for all I
care!"
Jake nodded, sighing. "Yeah...Hey, maybe you could come over tonight and we can research
more there," he offered.
"Cool!" Grinned Skylar, "I'll just have to ask my parents first."
Then Jake had another idea. "Also, maybe you could also have dinner with us on Friday--it's my
birthday, so we'll have cake and stuff."
Skylar looked at him, surprised. Jake raised his eyebrows questioningly. He really hoped he
hadn't said anything wrong. Skylar was his first friendship in probably forever and he didn't want
to ruin it. "What?," he inquired nervously. 

"Nothing really," grinned Skylar, "It's just, that's when my birthday is, too."
Jake frowned. "Are you sure?", he asked.
"Yeah," affirmed Skylar.
Immediately, the gears in Jake's head began turning furiously. At moments like this, he barely
even felt in control of himself. His mind would take over, clouding everything else. His brain
worked at supersonic speed, processing information, making connections.
When Jake reopened his eyes, Skylar was staring at him. "Are you okay?," she asked hesitantly.
Jake didn't even reply to her question. He looked into her eyes--those eyes which were so similar
to his--and said, "Skylar, we're related. We've got to be, it's the only explanation that makes
sense."
"What?," asked Skylar blankly, "Why do you say that?"
"Several reasons," began Jake. By the time he finished explaining everything he had thought of,
Skylar was nearly convinced.
"But we need to get a look at our birth certificates or something. Besides, how does this help
answer our questions? What does this have to do with Clarice's story?"
Jake already had an answer ready for that. "Because," he explained, his eyes lighting up with
excitement, "Think about it. If we really are related and Clarice didn't tell us, it probably means
there's more to her story than she told us. I mean, don't you find it weird that some random lady
would suddenly pop up and tell us about something that happened years ago? I mean, this does
explain a lot, but what was the point of telling us, and why at this time?"
"I don't know, Jake," deadpanned Skylar, "You're the smart one here!" she said grinning slightly.
Even though Jake knew that Clarice showing up probably meant they were anything but safe, he
couldn't help feeling a thrilling sensation in his stomach. Maybe he would have an adventure,
just like in his books. For a second, he imagined he wasn't just a little, crippled boy who couldn't
even walk by himself.
"Skylar," he said, taking a step forward, trying to add drama to the situation, "What if these
scientists are back?"
*********
"I don't understand this!," exclaimed the man, frustrated. "I have never seen anything like this
chemical before!" He held the little vial under close scrutiny once more and then dropped it
forcefully on the counter. The woman hovered a few feet behind him, uncertain on what to do. She knew her husband was

irritable when he couldn't understand something.
"How are we supposed to complete this experiment if we don't know what stopped it in the first
place?," roared the man. He fingered the vial again, but he must have applied too much pressure
because soon he found himself holding a small pile of glass shards. He roared in anger again. His
wife took a small step back.
"Now what do we do?" desperately muttered the man, repeatedly running his hands through his
hair. "We need another dose of this chemical!"
"But the only other existing dose would be in the subjects' bodies," shyly pointed out the woman.
The man rounded on her, an expression of thoughtfulness on his face. "Actually, that isn't such a
bad idea," he said approvingly. He began pacing the floor.

Three days had passed since the day Jake and Skylar had talked with Clarice. Two days since
they had begun researching, but they hadn't found a thing. Skylar was back in the computer lab
with Jake. The mood was irritable. They had wasted their lunch period to do some more
research--this time looking for anything related to the experiment they had taken part in--but to
no avail. There was absolutely nothing.
Skylar wondered when Jake would understand that it was no use. Something told her that if
Clarice didn't want to be found, then she wouldn't be found.
"Jake," said Skylar firmly, "Drop it. Clearly there isn't anything on the web about this, let's stop
trying to find answers that aren't there."
Jake groaned in annoyance. "So where else do we find answers, Skylar?"
"We have to find Clarice. It's the only way we'll learn anything else," said Skylar. She knew it
was true.
"But how?" Half-shouted Jake. "How are we supposed to do that? The only way to talk to her is
for her to come to us!"
Frustrated silence enveloped the room.
Jake ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, Skylar," he said, "I'm just really stressed about this..."
He trailed off uncomfortably.
But Skylar understood. She knew what Jake was feeling. If Clarice had found them, then these
scientists--who would have better resources and equipment--would definitely be able to as well.
It felt like they weren't safe anymore.
"It's fine, Jake, I get it." She replied with a smile, "Let's think about it this way: as long as Clarice
doesn't contact us, it probably means we're safe because she would probably tell us if the
scientists were looking for us, right? So let's just forget about this crazy story until Clarice comes
back, okay?"
Jake's expression cleared at those words. "Good idea. And to think I was supposed to be the
smart one," he laughed.
********
It was fifth period, and all Skylar wanted to do was fall asleep. She and Jake were in history class,
and they were currently in the computer lab, working on some essays. Skylar had barely written
two paragraphs, and it was due the next day. She dropped her head in her hands. Despite having
reassured Jake multiple times about Clarice and the scientists, the stress was catching up to her
as well. She understood Jake's logic, and a small part of her being was beginning to wonder if he
was indeed right.
Needless to say, Skylar didn't feel safe anymore. As she half-heartedly typed in a few more
words on her essay, Skylar was half expecting two scientists to burst through the door and
kidnap Jake and her at any moment. Skylar glanced over at Jake, who was in the seat next to her. She was planning to ask him for

help, but he was completely immersed in his writing. She decided to leave him alone. Since there
were only about fifteen minutes left till the end of the period, Skylar just gave up. She quickly
scanned the room to make sure the teacher was looking elsewhere, and then searched up a
website with online games. She mindlessly played a couple rounds of Angry Birds, until
boredom assaulted her once more.
Sighing, Skylar began to drum her fingers on the table. She stared out the window, waiting for
the bell to ring, until a notification on the screen caught her eye. She had gotten an email. Since
there was nothing better to do, Skylar logged into her inbox.
Sure enough, there was an email from someone named Unknown User.

Mystified, Skylar dragged her mouse to the email. Despite having suffered through the usual do-
not-open-emails-from-strangers lecture countless time, she was curious. Something told her to

open it. The email was short and to the point.
Skylar,
Meet me at the Starbucks we went to last time at the end of the school day. Tell Jake as well.
-C
P.S. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL OR SHOW IT TO ANYONE ELSE BUT JAKE.
Skylar muffled a gasp of surprise in her hand. It was Clarice, it had to be. And if Clarice had
contacted them again, something must have happened. With worry, nervousness, and a little bit
of excitement coursing through her veins, Skylar nudged Jake. When she caught his eye, she
pointed toward her screen.
She watched Jake's eyes widen as he read the message. "So, do we go?," muttered Skylar out of
the corner of her mouth.
Jake nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face. When he got that faraway look in his eyes,
it was because he was up to something.
"What is it?," whispered Skylar.
By the time Jake had finished telling her his plan, Skylar had an excited grin on her face.
"That's actually a pretty decent idea," she exclaimed. "Of course, not counting the amount of
things that could go wrong..."
*******
As Skylar nervously peeked around the door of the Starbucks, she saw that Clarice was already
there and sitting at the table from their last encounter. She opened the door, hurried inside the
little shop, and sat down across from Clarice with Jake right beside her.
Clarice's head shot up in surprise and smiled tiredly. "Skylar, Jake. I was hoping you would show
up."
Before even taking the time to reply, Skylar scrutinized Clarice closely. She looked more tired
and worn out since the first time they had met. There were dark circles under her eyes and her
skin had a slightly paler sheen to it. It didn't take a genius to see that Clarice was completely
exhausted.
"Oh, of course you were. I know, clearly, we could have just put this off for another time,
because we totally have a way of contacting you--we could have just called you or sent you an email to get answers on these mad scientists," replied Jake, his voice quite evidently laced with

sarcasm.
Skylar mentally gave him a pat on the back.
Clarice sighed. "Look, I know that this is a big shock to you, and I am sure that you're obviously
suspicious about me, but you have to trust me. It's better for all three of us if neither of you have
any way of contacting me or know much about me," she said looking from Skylar to Jake.
Skylar scoffed at those words. "You know, person who calls herself Clarice, in the books it's
usually the person who tells you not to trust anybody but them who betrays you."
Clarice smiled a little at those words. "That's true, but please eliminate those ideas from your
minds for a second." Her expression darkened visibly, "This is important."
Skylar immediately tensed. She glanced at Jake, who was hanging onto every word Clarice was
uttering. What if Jake's theories were right? Fear stabbed through her stomach. Their safety
could be at risk.
Clarice cleared her throat. "Something's happened. I'm afraid that the scientists I talked to you
about last time--they're back."
Silence greeted those words. Skylar felt dread invade her, but somewhere in the pit of her
stomach she was expecting something similar to happen. She looked at Jake again, and saw that
his face held the expression that mirrored what she was feeling at the moment. Their worse
theories were correct.
"I have no idea how it happened. For some reason, nobody thought or bothered to destroy the
underground laboratory they were using, meaning that their resources have always been
available, they just had to find them once more. And found them they have." Clarice took a deep
breath.
"But--" Jake started to ask. Clarice, however, ignored him completely.
"Which means that they will most likely attempt to finish what they started--you two. Which, in
turn, I am afraid to say, means that you, Skylar, and Jake, are not safe anymore. Once they have
finished creating whatever device or concoction they intended to make the first time, they will no
doubt come searching for you." She leaned forward across the table, an intense look in her eyes.
"Do you understand what is at stake?" She asked urgently, her hands gripping the table's wooden
edge. "If these scientists find you, you might not make it out alive."
Anger sparked inside Skylar. "This is great and all, but instead of telling us we might die soon,
why not tell us what we can do to stop it," she suggested sarcastically. Though she had felt her
stomach sink at Clarice's words, Skylar was expecting her to say something along those lines.
Clarice pursed her lips in annoyance. "I was getting to that," she said dryly. "Listen carefully
because I will not repeat myself ag--"
"Are Skylar and I related?," blurted Jake from his spot next to Skylar. Skylar whirled her head to
stare at him. Clarice's mouth parted in surprise and she immediately stiffened. Skylar watched
silently as she watched a staring contest between Clarice and Jake unfold.
One blue and one electric green pair of eyes met one brown pair of eyes. Skylar could almost see
the tension and the unspoken argument that was passing between the two. Finally, she saw the
brown pair soften a fraction. Slowly, Skylar watched Clarice give in.
"Yes," softly admitted Clarice, "You're twins."

"Twins?," blankly repeated Skylar. Her emotions were in complete turmoil. "But...how?"
She looked at Jake, and saw he was already looking at her. Their gazes locked. They began a
silent conversation with just their eyes.
“Why did she not tell us this before?” asked Skylar.
“Yeah, and how does she know this in the first place?,” soundlessly countered Jake. Skylar
frowned, wondering how she hadn't thought of that before. How did Clarice know all those facts
about the scientists? How did she know their past? And how did she know where to find them
after so many years?
But that wasn't the greatest question pulling at her mind. Looking into Jake's eyes, she saw that
something else was nagging him as well.
Who are our parents?
That was what they were both wondering.
Skylar tore her gaze from Jake, her twin. There were still so many unanswered questions.
Whenever they met with Clarice, it seemed like the answers Clarice gave them only brought on
an even greater onslaught of new questions.
Clarice’s voice tore her from her thoughts. "Now listen, you two." She said with a strange, new
authority. Skylar knew without being told that what Clarice was about to say was important. "So
now you know that you're twins. You have to be extremely careful. Nobody can know about this,
do you understand?"
Skylar and Jake both nodded mutely.
"In fact," continued Clarice, "I shouldn't have told you this in the first place," she sighed, "But no
matter. I'm not saying this could happen, but chances are that the scientists will eventually track
you down. They will eventually figure out that you, Jake, were adopted from so-and-so
orphanage by so-and-so family, and now attend this school. They will find out that you, Skylar,
were adopted from a different orphanage by a different family, that you recently moved, and now
attend the same school Jake does. They will find a way to get inside the school and find out who
goes by the name of Jake O'Malley and Skylar James. And when they know who you are, they
will do everything in their power to complete their experiment."
There were a few moments of silence following those words in which Skylar processed what had
been said. Then, everything finally sunk in and she realized what it meant.
"So if they find us, they'll probably kill us?," she asked in a small voice. She looked over at Jake
again. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
Skylar was sick of everything. At first, all the events had seemed like a lighthearted adventure,
almost a game. All she felt when thinking about it was the thrill of figuring out a mystery, almost
like being a hero in one of the many books on her shelves. But now, reality had sunk in, and
Skylar didn't like it at all. The stakes were too high, and now that reality was stark before her
eyes, she didn't like what she saw one bit. She and Jake could die. All she wanted to do was
sprint to her new, cozy, bedroom and curl up under her quilt.
Jake offered her a half-hearted smile, which cheered her up a bit. At least that question had been
answered. They were twins, and Skylar was happy about that. Yes, they would have to keep it a
secret for an indefinite amount of time, but she could wait. Skylar grinned back at her brother. Clarice sighed, something she seemed to have begun to do quite often. "Well, I have to go now.

Remember what I said," she reminded Skylar and Jake, "Do not tell anyone about what I said to
you. And if anyone, anyone at all so much as grazes the subject, contact me immediately."
Jake and Skylar looked at each other, frowning, no doubt wondering how they would contact
Clarice. That question was soon answered.
Most likely for the sake of appearances, Clarice pulled the twins into a quick hug, to then
hurriedly leave the Starbucks.
Skylar then realized that she was holding something in her hand. She unfolded her fingers to see
a smallish square of plastic nestled in her palm. She realized it was a prepaid phone.
"Look," she whispered to Jake, and showed him the little phone. Jake took it from her hand and
opened it. He frowned in confusion.
"What is it?" asked Skylar, curiously. She peered over Jake's shoulder. He angled the screen of
the phone towards her. On the screen was a single contact under the name of "C", which no
doubt stood for Clarice. But there was no email, no phone, number, no address. Nothing that
indicated a way to contact her.
"And I can't even exit out of this page," muttered Jake, "Look at the keyboard." Skylar saw that
instead of the usual numbers and call/hang up buttons there was only a tiny redial button. "I
guess all this phone does is call this contact, 'C'," muttered Jake to himself.
Then Skylar remembered what they had decided to do. "Hey, Jake?", she asked.
"Yeah?" He replied.
"We forgot..."
"Our plan," they said at the same time.
Before Skylar could reply, Jake had already grabbed her arm, dragging her outside and after
Clarice.

Yes, that was Jake's plan. They had decided to follow Clarice after she left, and hopefully find
out more about her.
Now he realized this was a stupid idea. Like Skylar had said, the amount of things that could go
wrong with a plan like that were endless. Jake felt a stab of worry. Maybe he shouldn't have
convinced Skylar to get on the same bus Clarice had gotten on, to tail her as she walked through
a maze of unknown streets for more than half an hour, and to duck into more than one dark
alleyway not to be seen...
Tee hee.
But now it was much too late to turn back. Jake and Skylar had already texted their respective
families saying they would be out until the evening with a friend. Jake was almost positive that
the only reason Skylar's family must have agreed to this was because of how rare it would be for
something like that to happen to Skylar. Jake's parents, on the other hand, didn't care one way or
another--but now wasn't the time for such depressing thoughts. They had a mission to
accomplish!
The next stop was announced, and Jake nudged Skylar, who had been dozing off in her seat.
Skylar frowned sleepily at him. "I was tired...," she mumbled incoherently.
"Now's not the time for sleeping, Skylar!," whisper-shouted Jake, "Look!" He nudged her arm
and pointed in Clarice's direction. From their spot at the back of the bus, they could barely see
Clarice's red mane of hair, but it was enough. Jake watched with trepidation as Clarice stood up,
preparing to step off the bus. Skylar began to stand up as well, but Jake pulled her down again.
"Wait until the very last moment," he hissed, "So that when we get off she might already be
walking!"
Skylar nodded uncertainly and sat back down. The bus finally came to a stop, causing Jake and
Skylar to lurch forward. In the few moments it had taken Jake to recover, Clarice had already left
the bus. Jake tried to stand, but was smothered by the sea of other passengers moving to leave or
board the bus. Glancing out the window, Jake saw that Clarice was nowhere to be seen.
"We're gonna lose her, Skylar!," urgently whispered Jake. Skylar nodded quickly, and then
pulled him up in one fluid motion. Before he knew it, Jake was being yanked by the arm through
the sea of bodies and toward the nearest exit. Skylar finally managed to get close to the doors
and practically shoved Jake out of the bus. Relief filled him the moment the fresh air hit his face.
But now wasn't the time to take a break--Clarice was already a silhouette in the distance, only
noticeable because of her red hair.
"Look, she's already all the way over there," pointed out Jake. Skylar nodded once again.
"Come on, then. We've got to catch up to her," agreed Skylar. She renewed her grip on Jake's
arm, and began to walk in long, fast strides. If not for her hold on him, Jake doubted he would be
able to keep up with her for long. The two weaved through the occasional passerby, purposely lagged behind, then jogged to catch

up, crossed the road multiple times, even tried going on parallel streets to Clarice's so that she
wouldn't notice them. Soon, Jake was absolutely exhausted. His lungs were burning, and one of
the leg braces had probably come loose.
"Skylar...Can we stop...For a second?" He begged, panting quickly. He hadn't quite understood
just how much of a hindrance his lack of strength was until that moment. Skylar peered at him
worriedly, and stopped walking.
"Are you okay?," she asked.
Jake had to take a few deep breaths before answering. "Yeah...But I think I need to take a
break...But still pay attention to where Clarice is going!" He chided sharply, noticing that he had
distracted Skylar. His twin nodded, before looking down the road to make sure that Clarice was
still in sight. Then she glanced back at him.
"But, are you absolutely sure you're okay?" She asked again, "You're really red..." She trailed off
anxiously. Jake felt his already-hot face blaze up with embarrassment.
"Yeah, that always happens," he replied uncomfortably, scanning the road to track Clarice's
progress again. To his shock, she was already a speck in the distance. The realization caused him
to shoot up with alarm. He shook Skylar's arm.
"We're gonna lose her, we have to get going!," exclaimed Jake.
"Oh, crap, you're right!," quickly replied Skylar, before glancing back at him. She seemed to
think for a moment, then she lit up. "Quick, get on!," she told Jake, bending down slightly and
gesturing at her back.
"Uuuhh...You mean, like piggyback ride?" Jake asked tentatively, frowning.
Skylar nodded resolutely. "It's the only way we'll catch up to Clarice," she said firmly, most
likely unaware of her accidental insult of Jake.
"I mean, I know we're twins and all...," awkwardly began Jake, "But still, wouldn't that be a
bit..." He trailed off uncomfortably.
Skylar rolled her eyes. "Just get on," she ordered, huffing when she saw Jake lingering
uncertainly. "Look," she pointed toward the now almost-invisible dot that was their target, "If we
wait anymore, we're going to lose Clarice."
That had him. Trying not to think about what passers-by would think when confronted with the
strange sight of a thirteen-year-old girl giving a boy her age a piggyback ride, he climbed on,
steeling himself for what would most likely be a very bumpy ride.
The moment Skylar took off, Jake finally understood just how much he had slowed them down.
Maybe Skylar's strange new idea wasn't so bad after all... If you tried to tune out the fact that
your teenage twin sister was letting you ride on her back, it was actually kind of fun.
Jake found the sensation of the wind whipping into his face and messing up his hair quite
exhilarating. He resisted the urge to unhook his scrawny arms from his death grip around
Skylar's neck to raise them up in the air and shout. Unfortunately, an old lady was crossing the
road at that moment, and the look on her face was what brought Jake back to earth. He roared
with laughter, and shouted in Skylar's ear, "Did you see the look on the old lady's face?" He
shouted in her ear, still grinning with mirth. Skylar shook with laughter beneath him. "Yeah! Priceless!" She yelled in response, the words

whipped away by the wind.
After an indefinite amount of time, Jake finally told Skylar to stop. Clarice was now about fifty
feet in front of them, and still walking with the same, fast pace. Jake got to his feet as quietly and
quickly as possible, and motioned for Skylar to be silent. The two continued to tail Clarice, this
time more cautiously. If she noticed them, there would be too many questions.
As he walked next to Skylar, Jake began to take in their new surroundings. Gone were the neat,
pastel-colored townhouses with their manicured lawns, gone were the tidy little stores with the
shiny window displays. This was definitely a poorer part of the town. The sidewalk was old and
cracked. It clearly hadn't been restored in years. The houses that lined the road were smaller and
much more decrepit. Their peeling paint and cracked woods exuded a sense of foreboding. The
fact that it would soon be twilight only contributed to the hostile atmosphere.
"This is creepy," muttered Skylar, voicing Jake's opinion.
"My thoughts exactly," replied Jake. Now he was definitely beginning to regret his plan. They
must have been tailing Clarice for an hour and a half at the very least and Clarice still hadn't
arrived to her destination.
"How about this?," decided Jake, "If Clarice doesn't stop somewhere in the next fifteen minutes
or so, we'll turn back, okay?"
"Sounds good," Replied Skylar.
They continued to walk a good amount of yards behind Clarice. Finally, she turned onto a street
mostly lined with shabby little shops. They all looked run-down and definitely not the kind of
places where a seemingly respectable woman like Clarice would be found. Jake silently decided
that if she entered one of the shops, they would not follow her in.
To Jake's relief, Clarice didn't go inside. She just leaned on a streetlight, and fumbled in her
purse, taking out a phone.
From their spot behind a wall several feet away from Clarice, Jake and Skylar watched with rapt
attention.
Clarice turned on the phone. Something on the screen must have angered her because her mouth
turned into a thin, straight line, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes seemed to fill with lightning.
Her hands tightened around the device. A few seconds later, her phone rang.
Perhaps it was just a trick of the bad lighting, but Jake could have sworn he saw Clarice pale
slightly as she glanced back at the screen. She lifted the phone to her ear, and Jake and Skylar
craned their necks forward to hear what was being said.
"...Yes, yes I am...," huffed Clarice in response to an unheard question.
"...No, nobody is around, and no, I was not followed here!," she snapped. Jake and Skylar
immediately ducked back behind the wall. Jake's heart was beating furiously. Who was on the
other side of the line? Was it Clarice's boss? A friend? What was their relationship?
"...You don't need to make sure of anything! I know my stuff, and you, out of all people, should
know that considering I'm the one you've turned to for help with this ridiculous project of yours!
Even after all these years of not talking to each other!...You do know that, if you're caught by the
government, the consequences will be extremely bad, and even if you weren't, your chances of
succeeding in something like this are quite slim."

An avalanche of questions overwhelmed Jake's mind. The one that stuck out the most was, what
was this "project" Clarice was talking about?
But something--a mocking, little voice in the back of his mind--told him he might already know
the answer to that question.
Clarice's phone call continued.
"...Yes, I am in Texas right now, and I've looked all over the place, but I haven't found a thing."
Jake shared a confused look with Skylar. Why was Clarice lying? She wasn't in Texas, this was
Ohio!
But it was Clarice's next reply that made the blood freeze in his veins.
"...No, the twins are nowhere to be found..."

Though she was used to physical exertion, the forty-five minute walk had rendered Clarice
slightly breathless, and her legs had become sore. She had woven through alleys and deserted
streets, blended into crowds and modified her pace every few minutes--she was confident that
nobody had managed to follow her. Tired and worn out, Clarice leaned against a nearby lamp
post to catch her breath. Her mind traveled to her encounter with the twins. Skylar and Jake
were not as she had expected them to be. Jake wasn't as bitter about his weaknesses as she had
made him out to be, and Skylar was surprisingly shy and gentle for a girl of her strength. But
there were so many things about the two twins that reminded her so much of--never mind, now
was not the time for such thoughts.
Clarice sighed. Though she was in what didn't seem like a very respectable part of town, she
yearned for a bed to sleep in, at least for a few hours. Maybe she would stay at an inn or motel
nearby.
The sound of her ringtone interrupted Clarice's thoughts. She took her phone out of her purse and
checked the caller ID. Her heart sank at the sight of the number on the screen. She would
recognize it anywhere, especially when they had called her back after so many years of silence.
Clarice's thoughts dashed back to a few days before, when she had received her first call from
them in over a decade. She remembered the feeling of dread as she had picked up the phone,
almost certain that whatever she was getting herself into wouldn't be good. Alas, she had been
right about that.
Hands shaking slightly Clarice picked up the phone.
The man didn't beat around the bush.
"Are you somewhere where you won't be overheard?," he asked bluntly.
"Yes, yes I am," huffed Clarice, annoyance flaring through her. They were so confident in their
abilities, so certain they were winning their little game. If only they knew half of it.
"Is anybody around, and are you positive you haven't been followed? I need to give you
instructions."
"No, nobody is around, and no, I was not followed here!," snapped Clarice. All she wanted to do
was find a warm place to sleep and forget the deep mess she was in. Couldn't they just get it over
with?
"I suggest you watch your language, Clarice," ordered the man. His voice was venomous, almost
deadly. These were the moments that made Clarice think he was out of his mind. "I'll let you go
this once, but next time don't be so sure. Now, calm down, I am perfectly confident in your
abilities--I was simply making sure."
At that point Clarice lost it. "You don't need to make sure of anything!," she shouted. "I know
my stuff, and you, out of all people, should know that considering I'm the one you've turned to
for help with this ridiculous project of yours! Even after all these years of not talking to each other!...You do know that, if you're caught by the government, the consequences will be

extremely bad, and even if you weren't, your chances of succeeding in something like this are
quite slim."
The man laughed icily, a sound that sent shivers down Clarice's spine. "Control that temper for a
moment and hear me out. I'm assuming you are in Texas by now?"
Clarice tensed at the question. Could she really do this? She would be stepping on extremely
dangerous grounds--but that couldn't be helped. She made up her mind.
"Yes, I am in Texas right now, I told you, and I've looked all over the place, but I haven't found a
thing."
Even without seeing him, Clarice was sure the man had begun to drum his fingers impatiently on
the nearest surface--his trademark sign of annoyance.
"You are positively sure that you've searched every orphanage for records of the twins?"
Again, Clarice tensed nervously. She was tempted to just admit everything, but now was too late
to turn back.
"No, the twins are nowhere to be found," she replied firmly.
The man sighed from across the line. "Very well, that will be it for today. Next, I would like for
you to search Ohio. You know the drill--you do your research, then go to the locations. You
cannot be seen. Report back immediately if you find anything."
He didn't even give Clarice the chance to reply before he hung up.
She slouched back against the streetlight for support, completely and utterly spent. That phone
call changed everything. If they figured out her plan, she would be done for. The stakes were
higher now--one mishap and everything was over.
Wincing at the chilly breeze, Clarice sauntered off to find a place to stay for the night.
A couple of hours later, Clarice lay on the cheap, flea-ridden mattress in the small room she had
taken at an inn. Just as she was about to slip into the land of sleep, the ringtone of her phone
interrupted her hazy thoughts. She immediately shot up, wide awake and filled with adrenaline.
A glance at the caller ID confirmed her fears.
Could they have already found her out?
"Hello?" She said tiredly.
"Clarice, we have found a very important potential lead in Ohio--definitely worth investigating."
Clarice's stomach sank. They hadn't figured out her true intentions, but this wasn't much better.
"Very well, give me instructions and I'll begin researching first thing next morning," she said
quickly.
But the man's next words made the blood freeze in her veins.
"Oh, no, that won't be necessary. We are going to Ohio to investigate ourselves."

The man stepped off the private plane, briefly glancing back to see if his wife was following.
Satisfied, he gripped his briefcase tightly and hurried to the baggage claim area of the airport.
The man stifled a yawn. The plane ride had been a long one, and though he hated to admit it, he
wanted to rest. The research and experimenting had taken its toll on him and, before beginning
the search tomorrow, it was important he had energy. Turning back once more, he beckoned to
his wife to hurry. The earlier they went to sleep, the earlier they would begin investigating. It
was crucial they found the twins, if they wanted the serum to succeed.
********
Twenty-four hours later, the man was sitting in front of the expensive computer that had been set
up in their suite.
"Bring me the papers," he ordered his wife. The woman quickly handed him a small stack of files,
the list of possible orphanages the twins could have been sent to. The man riffled through them,
searching for the ones located in Ohio. He discarded those of a few other states, such as Texas.
Those were all the states where he had sent Clarice, who had reported to them saying they held
no evidence.
Finally satisfied, the man scanned down the list of names, wondering which one to start with. He
ordered his wife to come over.
"I need you to put this in the map-maker," he told her, "Make it fast."
"Of course," muttered the wife.
The map-maker was an invention of theirs, one of the man's personal favorites. It was a small
screen equipped with a keyboard--almost like a phone--into which you would type a list of
locations. The search engine would generate a map of some sorts, including each location, and an
outlined route showing the fastest way to get there. It even had a built-in GPS. The ghost of a
smirk fluttered across his mouth as he remembered how he had stolen a police car to test it out.
When the map finished generating, the man quickly printed it out.
********
Several hours later, he and his wife had returned to their suite with the information they had
been looking for.
"Get some sleep," he told his wife, "You'll need it."
They had things to do tonight.
*********
Principal Montry closed his briefcase sharply and tiredly ran a hand over his eyes. As usual, it
had been a long day, and he was glad it was over. Reprimanding troublesome middle schoolers,
signing forms, and replying to emails had taken their toll on him over the years. Mason Montry's hair was streaked with gray, his back slightly hunched due to hours sitting at his desk, and under

his eyes were tired bags that never seemed to leave.
Eager to get home and eat dinner, Montry shrugged on his coat, grabbed his briefcase, and exited
the school. The cool night air hit his face, refreshing him. He hurried towards his parking spot,
taking his car keys out of his pockets as he walked. Just as Montry's hand closed around the car
door's handle, he felt someone grasp his shoulder. Letting out a faint exclamation of surprise, he
whirled around to face a man and a woman hovering behind him. Montry squinted, trying to
make out the man's facial features, but the combination of darkness and bad eyesight did not
permit it. All Montry saw was that the man was wearing a rather expensive-looking suit, along
with a scarf and dark sunglasses, despite the fact that it was dark outside.
"What do you want?," asked Montry, suspicious. He had never seen these people before. Why
were they here?
"Oh, nothing much," smoothly replied the man, "We just need you to answer a few questions,
then we'll leave you to your business, Mr. Montry."
"How do you even know my name?," exclaimed Montry, alarmed. These were complete
strangers to him, yet they knew who he was, his workplace, and his schedule. Perhaps he should
call the police.
His decision made, Montry tried to take his phone out from his suit pocket as discreetly as
possible, so as to not alert the man and the woman of his actions.
"Now," continued the man,"you are principal of Nathan Adams Middle School, correct?"
Montry hesitated to answer. He would be unveiling his personal life to a complete stranger.
The man must have seen his unwillingness because he smiled chillingly.
"There is no need to worry, Mr. Montry, I assure you," he said, "that is, unless you don't comply
with our requests."
Before he knew what had happened, Montry felt the smooth, cold, tip of a pistol touching his
temple. He paled. Oh, he was definitely calling the police.
As the man repeated his question, Montry's eyes flickered down to his hand holding the phone. If
he tried to run while the man was still speaking, perhaps he could...
"Calling the police?," whispered the man, leaning in so that their noses were almost touching.
Montry gulped nervously and silently shook his head.
"Good," said the man, satisfied, "Because if you do, your family will suffer. Your wife is
currently at home, preparing dinner--it would be a shame if the stove somehow caught fire while
she was cooking, wouldn't it?" The man's eyes glinted dangerously, and any hopes Montry held
disappeared. He would just have to comply.
"Very well. I will repeat the first question one last time. You are the principal of this school,
correct?"
"Yes," replied Montry, his voice barely above a whisper.
"And do you know whether the following people attend: Skylar James and Jake O'Malley?"
"Sir, you go too far!," protested Montry,"I cannot divulge private information about people
without per--"
"Just answer the question."
Montry shivered as the pistol dug into his skin. He wracked his brain for an answer, desperately hoping he wouldn't come up with anything. Unfortunately, he did. The name Jake O'Malley

immediately sparked something. Wasn't he that kid who had gotten perfect grades in all his
subjects ever since he had attended the school? And he remembered that Skylar James was the
girl who had begun attending only a couple of weeks ago.
"Yes, they both go here," resignedly said the principal.
"Wonderful," calmly said the man, lowering the pistol from Montry's temple. "I'm sure you won't
mind me and my wife coming to your school tomorrow to interrogate some students at random?"
The idea to refuse never even crossed Montry's mind.

Everything had been strangely normal during the past few days, reflected Skylar as she sat down
with Jake at their usual table, the din of the cafeteria assaulting her ears. Besides trying to help
Jake make sense of what they had overheard Clarice say, nothing out of the ordinary had
happened. Clarice had not contacted them, and besides the occasional sneer and snide remark
from Megan White, she and Jake hadn't been disturbed.
"Don't you find it strange," remarked Skylar as she munched on her sandwich, "That Clarice
hasn't contacted us at all these days? Especially when she was saying that the scientists were
looking for us, so we had to stay in touch?"
Jake's face darkened. "Oh, there is no telling what will happen with Clarice as our only help.
How are we supposed to trust her? I mean, I know she lied about where we were, but that makes
her even less trustworthy. She could be lying about the whole scientist story in the first place."
"Yeah," Skylar sighed in agreement, "Now who do we trust?"
The two friends continued eating their lunch in silence. Skylar was worried. What if the
scientists were looking for them this very moment? What if they had already found them? She
needed answers even more than before.
Skylar's prayers were answered because a few seconds later, a faint, unfamiliar ringtone reached
her ears. She shot up, quivering with excitement. Her mind flashed back to when Clarice had
slipped the phone in her hand. She must have put it in her backpack without noticing.
"Jake, did you hear that?," she exclaimed, "It's coming from my bag!"
Jake's eyes widened. "Then get it out, what are you waiting for! It's got to be Clarice's phone!"
Skylar practically dived under the table to reach her backpack before the phone stopped ringing.
She tore the zipper open and furiously rifled through the contents, throwing out crumpled papers,
candy wrappers and stray pencils until her hand brushed the sleek plastic of the phone. Hand
shaking slightly, she took the phone out of her backpack, accepted the call, and brought the
phone to hear ear. Jake leaned in as well.
"Hello?," nervously asked Skylar.
"Hello? Skylar, is that you?", came a breathless voice from the other side of the line.
Skylar barely had time to reply before Clarice's voice overlapped hers.
"Skylar, this is very important. The scientists have found out about you and Jake. Come to the
usual place with Jake right after school."
The call ended, and an anxious silence descended between Skylar and Jake.
"I was expecting this to happen, but not this soon," whispered Jake.
Skylar was a mess of nerves, adrenalin pumping through her body. Clarice had proved she wasn't
exactly the most trustworthy person, but what choice did they have?
"Yeah," she agreed softly, "So I guess we just go to the Starbucks this afternoon. There's nothing
else we can do, really."

********
When the bell rang, Skylar grabbed Jake by the arm and practically dragged him out the door.
Clarice's words had left her restless and distracted for the rest of the day. The stakes were so
much higher now that the scientists knew where they were. The threat was looming right over
her and Jake, and they only had Clarice to rely on to tell them where it would come from. Skylar
had long since given up trying to understand how Clarice knew those things.
"We have to hurry!," said Skylar, increasing her pace even more. Jake nodded breathlessly and
stumbled after her.
Skylar yanked the door of the café open and practically pushed Jake inside. She looked toward
the table they usually sat at, only to find that Clarice was already seated there.
"Clarice!," she and Jake exclaimed at the same time.
Clarice looked up and Skylar immediately noticed that she looked even worse than the last time
they had met. The bags under her eyes were even more defined than before, and hints of wrinkles
had appeared at the corner of her mouth. In short, she looked exhausted. But, at that moment,
Skylar didn't care--she wanted answers, real ones.
She sat down at the table and was soon mimicked by Jake.
"We're ready," she said simply.
Clarice nodded tiredly, her eyes flickering from Skylar to Jake.
"I'm afraid I don't have much time", she said quietly, "So this will have to be short." Her eyes
swept the area before continuing. "All the scientists know are your names and where you go to
school. They don't know what you look like, where you live, or your families, so you'll have to
use that to your advantage. They will most likely find some way to visit your school and find out
more about you." She locked gazes with Jake, and then Skylar.
"So, you have to stay away from each other as much as possible. There isn't a huge resemblance
between you two, but it is enough for the scientists to spot it if you're together. The next thing is
rather obvious. Jake, you have to wear baggy clothes that will cover your leg braces as much as
possible. Skylar, you will have to refrain yourself from using your strength. The scientists know
what happened, meaning that they will already be expecting to find one especially weak and one
stronger child." Clarice's tone had become faster, more clipped, and underlaid with a sense of
urgency as her speech continued.
"And, finally, you will have to begin wearing these at all times during school hours and until you
get home," finished Clarice. She reached into her bag and pulled out two small cases. She slipped
them across the table to Skylar and Jake. Skylar opened hers, to find one dull, brown contact lens
inside. It matched the color of her "normal" eye perfectly. She glanced at Jake's box to see a lens
that matched his blue eye.
Skylar looked at Clarice questioningly. "Why do we need these?"
Clarice sighed. "You would be much too recognizable with your bright green eyes. The scientists
will be looking for unusual signs such as these ones, I'm afraid."
Jake, who had been oddly quiet throughout their encounter spoke up. "So, basically, we have to
be as normal as possible until this all blows over--if it ever does," he confirmed bitterly. 

"I suppose so, if you want to put it that way," replied Clarice sadly, before standing up. "I have to
go now, sorry that we didn't have more time. Remember what I said and always wear your
contact lenses." She said hurriedly, and in a matter of seconds she had disappeared out the door.
Skylar turned to Jake, who looked as lost and scared as she was.
The fact that this wasn't a game anymore had sunk in for both of them.

It was the morning after Jake and Skylar's meeting with Clarice when it all happened. Jake was
in English class with Skylar and everything seemed to be normal, but halfway through the period
he felt something stir in his stomach. A sense of foreboding descended on him like a blanket, but
he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He glanced sideways towards Skylar to see if she
looked the same way, but quickly brought his eyes back to his paper.
Jake was taking Clarice's advice to heart. He and Skylar had agreed to not sit next to each other
in class or during lunch anymore. They would refrain from talking together, or simply giving any
signs that they knew each other. It was harder than Jake had anticipated. He was realizing just
how important this bond he had formed with Skylar was to him. She was his sister, but also his
only friend, one of the only people who didn't just see him as a cripple.
He realized that he was willing to fight anyone who would try to take that bond away.
As the class wore on, Jake found himself zoning out for what was probably the first time. His
gaze roamed the room, trying to pick out anything abnormal, but to no avail. Everything looked
as it always had. And still, the feeling remained. Whatever sense of safety he felt being at school
had vanished. Somehow he felt an unknown threat looming closer and closer. Jake decided to
break the rules he had established with Skylar. With a strange sense of urgency he scribbled a
sloppy “Something is wrong, do u feel it?” on a piece of notebook paper. He tore it out of his
binder and slipped it onto Skylar's desk. Jake watched anxiously as Skylar glanced at the note on
her desk and scribbled a reply. She slipped it back onto Jake's desk. Jake quickly smoothed out
the paper and read Skylar's reply: “Yeah I can feel it too. Let's talk at break.”
Jake locked eyes with Skylar for a second and nodded, then continued on his worksheet, trying to
ignore the pounding of his heart.
The period wore on for what seemed like hours to Jake. He itched to shoot out of his seat and get
away from this unknown danger that was pursuing him and Skylar. He needed to know what was
happening--it was killing him. Finally, when Jake thought he wouldn't be able to take any more,
the bell rang. Jake jumped out of his seat and packed his things with lightning speed. Roles were
reversed as this time he was the one waiting for Skylar to finish packing her bag.
The moment Skylar reached the door, Jake grabbed her wrist and lead her to the library as fast as
his legs could carry him. He knew that he wasn't supposed to be seen with Skylar, but everyone
knew they were friends anyway.
When they had finally reached a secluded corner of the library, Jake let go of Skylar. He glanced
around the area to see if there was anybody around. Satisfied, he turned back to Skylar, who was
already looking at him, a worried frown on her face.
"Oh my god," she whispered frantically, "I couldn't pay attention in class at all! I swear I could
feel something, too. Something's definitely happening."
Jake nodded. "Skylar, what if it's the scientists? What if this is what Clarice has been warning us
about?"
"Agreed," tightly replied Skylar. "We have to find out what's happening. And we have to remember what Clarice told us--no telling anyone our real names, no showing people our

'powers', we can't be seen together, and we always have to wear the contacts."
Jake nodded again. He remembered those instructions word for word.
The bell signaling the end of break rang, the shrill sound interrupting their conversation.
"Listen, I'll eat in the cafeteria and hopefully I'll overhear if anything happens. I'll text you if
anything comes up and do the same for me," hurriedly said Skylar before waving him a quick
goodbye. Jake quickly headed to his next class.
*******
It didn't take long for Jake to figure out what was going on. The school was buzzing with the
news--Jake hadn't even needed to talk to anyone to find out. He just hoped Skylar knew, too.
The rumor floating around was that two people, a man and a woman, were walking around the
school interrogating students at random. Jake overheard snippets of conversations about it. They
asked for your full name first, but sometimes they would ask more personal questions. Jake had
just heard a girl say they had tried to ask for her address.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Apparently, they had a list with the names of all the kids in the school.
He shivered involuntarily. There was no doubt now, it had to be the scientists.
Upon realizing that, Jake knew he had to get to Skylar as fast as he could. He hadn't received any
texts from her, meaning that she probably hadn't found out about the rumors yet. And that was
very bad. She could run into the scientists at any given moment, and what would happen if she
was unprepared?
Clarice's instructions ran through his head once more: no names, no powers, stay apart, and wear
the contact lenses.
Wait.
The contact lenses.
He'd forgotten to wear them.
And if he had, then Skylar must have, too, because she had asked him to remind her about them
each day.
This was bad.
Out of pure instinct, Jake shot out of his seat in the most secluded area of the library and rushed
through its double doors as though he was possessed. Icy fear pumped through him. He had to
get to Skylar before the scientists did.

Skylar scanned the noisy cafeteria for an empty seat. She found an unoccupied table in a corner
of the room. It was close to another table, meaning that Skylar would be able to hear what was
being said.
She took a seat and opened her lunch, wishing Jake was there to keep her company, but that was
impossible now. They had to stay apart in case the scientists found them.
Clearing her head of such thoughts, Skylar began eating, trying to listen in on the nearby table's
conversation without being noticed.
She wasn't disappointed.
"Oh my god," began one girl, "Did you guys hear about what's going on?"
"You mean that creepy couple walking around and interrogating people?" replied another girl.
"Yeah," chimed in a third girl, "I heard they walk around school and just ask random people for
their full names. Isn't that so creepy?"
Skylar tensed upon hearing that. Hadn't Clarice said that the scientists only knew their names and
where they went to school? So it would make perfect sense for them to come to their school to
figure out who had those names. This was bad. Skylar didn't doubt for a second that it was the
scientists.
"I know right?" continued the first girl, "And apparently Lila got interrogated. She told me they
asked for her name, and then checked something off a piece of paper. And then she said they just
stared at her for a couple seconds and then asked whether she'd been adopted."
"Gee, stalker much?" scoffed the second girl.
"Yeah, And then Lila said no, so then they said she could leave."
Dread filled Skylar. This was exactly what the scientists would do. She didn't know what the
piece of paper was, but she would bet it was a list of everyone's names, meaning that the
scientists could go by process of elimination--which meant that they would know who they had
met and who they hadn't.
Meaning that if they weren't interrogated, the scientists would know it was them, anyway,
because they would be the only ones who hadn't given their names.
Then Skylar realized that Jake probably wouldn't know any of this.
She shot up from her seat, panic coursing through her. She had to get to Jake as soon as possible.
Skylar almost gave in to the temptation to use her powers, but she realized how bad of an idea
that would be, considering she was in such a crowded area of the school.
As she sped through the building, Skylar reviewed her options in her head. It would probably be
better to not be seen in the first place. She would have to hide between classes and lunch. That
wouldn't work out at all, she thought dejectedly.
Her next option was to disguise herself, but she had nothing to change her appearance except her
contacts--
The contacts. She'd forgotten them in her locker. Skylar was now walking twice as fast as she was before, her pace nearing the unnatural. She was

barely holding back. As she aimlessly walked around the school, an internal battle was raging
inside her. Should she get her contacts from her locker, or find Jake?
She finally decided to go to her locker for the contacts and then look for Jake.
With that in mind, Skylar immediately changed directions, heading for her locker. She had to
find her twin before it was too late.
Clarice's words were whirring in her head like a mantra. Don't tell anyone your name, wear the
contacts, don't tell anyone your name, wear the contacts, don't tell anyone your name, wear the
contacts, don't tell--
Oomph.
Skylar collided with someone.
Face blazing, she looked up through her lashes into the eyes of a stranger. Or more specifically,
two strangers.
Immediately, warning sounds blared through her head. Something was wrong.
She quickly ducked back behind the messy curtain of her hair.
"S-sorry about that," she muttered quickly, making a move to circle around the two individuals
and continue her frantic search for Jake, but apparently they had other intentions.
"Oh, it's alright," said the first one, a man, "But before you go, would you mind answering a few
questions?"
Skylar's blood froze in her veins. It was the scientists, it had to be.
Though every nerve in her screamed to get away from them, Skylar knew she had no other
choice but to play along.
"Why don't we find an empty classroom?," smoothly said the second stranger, a woman this time.
The sound of Skylar's pulse was overwhelming her as she followed the two adults into the
nearest classroom.
This was it. One wrong sentence--one wrong word, even--and these people who were probably
the scientists would figure it out.
As one of the strangers ushered Skylar inside an empty math room, she caught a glimpse of her
reflection in the glass on the door. Her face was sweaty and red, and her hair was tousled, but
that wasn't why her step faltered.
She had forgotten she wasn't wearing her contacts, and it was quite obvious. The electric green
of her right eye showed like a beacon against the opaque glass.
Skylar's already-sprinting heartbeat increased even more and her hands became clammy.
Hopefully the scientists hadn't seen her eye yet, but she couldn't be sure. Skylar knew that if they
did, it would be the end of her.
With trembling limbs, Skylar tried to sweep some strands of hair over her bright green eye as
discreetly as he could before finally stepping into the classroom.
The woman murmured for her to take a seat and Skylar complied with relief. She wasn't sure
how long she could have stood without her legs shaking from nerves.
After Skylar was seated, the two strangers settled down on two desks right across from hers.
Though her face was carefully blank, under the table Skylar's hands were bunching the hem of
her sweater in a tight knot. "Well then, why don't we start," began the woman with a tight smile.

This is it, Skylar thought grimly.
She saw the man open the shiny briefcase at his side and take out a packet of paper. Her heart
sank like a stone when she remembered the conversation she had overheard in the cafeteria--
those papers had to be the list of names of every student in the school.
So now what?
Skylar waited anxiously as the man evened out the stack of papers and clicked open a pen.
The man cleared his throat, and Skylar immediately tensed.
"Don't worry, we will just ask you a couple of questions, and then you'll be free to go", smoothly
stated the man.
His smile reminded Skylar of a shark.
"Firstly, what is your first and last name?" asked the man.
Skylar froze in her seat as panic gripped her every nerve. Fear rooted her to her chair and
seemingly locked her mouth shut.
She couldn't have replied to the question even if she wanted to.
Seconds ticked by, and still she couldn't find the will to talk. Her mind was a raging battle of
speculations and disconnected thoughts.
A bead of sweat began making its journey down from Skylar's temple, past her nose, to finally
slide down the length of her cheekbone and off her face. She clenched her jaw and swallowed
repeatedly. Her mouth suddenly felt dry.
The woman delicately cleared her throat. "Would you please give us your name, honey?" she
asked. Though her voice seemed sweet at first, Skylar didn't miss the cold, threatening
undercurrent concealed in her words.
Somehow managing to rouse herself from her stupor, Skylar opened her mouth to reply.
In a split second, her mind was made up. She couldn't tell them her real name unless she wanted
to be discovered, so why should she? She could just use somebody else's.
It was risky, but it was Skylar's only hope.
She said the first girl's name that came to her mind.
"Megan White," she said in a hoarse voice.
The man nodded and shuffled through the stack of papers. With a a beating heart, Skylar
watched as he scanned one of the pages, and painstakingly slowly scribbled something on the
paper.
"All right," the man continued, "Now would you mind telling us, were you adopted by any
chance?"
A beat.
"No", replied Skylar.
"Well, thank you," said the man, "That is all we needed to know." He placed the papers in the
briefcase and snapped it shut. He gave the woman a slight nod, to which she responded by
quickly standing up and hurriedly exiting the classroom in his wake.
Skylar stayed slumped in her seat for a few seconds, processing what had happened.
She quickly shook herself awake, though. It wasn't over--she still had to find Jake.

Since he had English right after lunch, Jake decided he might as well go to Mr. Miller's room a
couple of minutes early. That way he would be with someone, and it would decrease his chances
of being found by the scientists.
As he hurried down the hall, Jake's thoughts traveled to Skylar. Was she alright? Had the
scientists found her? She hadn't texted him since the beginning of lunch, so he assumed that
meant nothing had happened, but he couldn't be sure. A small knot of worry gnawed at his
stomach at the thought.
Though Skylar was more than capable of defending herself, he had begun to feel a bit protective
of her. Their bond as siblings had strengthened exponentially over the past few days. Jake
wondered how his life would have been if Skylar hadn't moved to his state and attended his
school.
Jake's steps echoed almost gloomily in the empty halls. When he was about to round the corner
to Mr. Miller's classroom, he was jerked back by a brutal yank on his shirt.
Petrified, Jake slowly turned around, completely unsurprised when he looked up into the eyes of
his personal bully, Benjamin. In fact, it was strange that he hadn't tried to attack Jake for such a
long period of time.
So Jake supposed he was here to make up for all those long, beating-free days. He knew that
never getting bullied again was too good to be true. Besides, it didn't take a person with
intelligence superpowers to figure out that only reason the bullying had stopped was because
Skylar was always by his side. Without her, everything would come back to normal. It made
Jake realize how much he depended on Skylar. He hated to admit it, but she was the only person
in front of whom he had shown his vulnerability, for whom he had let down his indifferent mask
to reveal the scared, scrawny, useless boy he was on the inside. He had gotten too used to being
with her, and had assumed that he would always be safe because of that. But now that Skylar
wasn't here to protect him, what would happen?
That was what Ben asked him seconds later, as well. His voice was low and chilling, and all of
the pain from Jake's injuries inflicted by him last time flashed before his eyes.
"So," whispered Ben in Jake's ear, his putrid breath making Jake shiver, "That time in the locker
rooms was fun, wasn't it?"
Jake's lips were frozen together. He just stared at Ben dumbly, his pulse beating furiously in his
ears being the only sound he heard. His eyes danced madly down the long hallway, trying to find
any way of escaping, but to no avail. Jake's eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill over at
any moment.
Would he be sent to the hospital again?
"Answer me, cripple!" hissed Ben, aiming a punch to his face, which Jake miraculously managed
to dodge.
But the miss angered Ben. Jake slowly edged away from his bully as he watched Ben's eyes light
up with an oh-so-familiar mad glint. As Ben lunged once more, Jake knew he was a goner.
It would always be like this, he thought bitterly as Ben landed his first hit, he would always be
powerless and unable to defend himself. The bullying would never end. Jake cringed away from Ben as he prepared to launch a new attack on him. He closed his eyes, tensing his muscles,

awaiting the pain that would undoubtedly come.
But it never did.
Tentatively, Jake opened his eyes a crack, just in time to see Ben's eyes widen momentarily
before scurrying down the hall, soon disappearing from his sight.
The ominous silence of the hallway was broken by the click-clacking of two sets of footsteps as
they advanced toward Jake. Upon hearing that sound, Jake tensed again, a different fear filling
him to the brim. Just when one threat had left, another one came to replace it, he thought ruefully.
His enhanced intelligence had already presented him with a list of theories as to who the
footsteps might belong to, and the most likely hypothesis was that it was the scientists. Knowing
he had only seconds until he would have to turn and show the strangers his face, Jake made a
snap decision. Almost unconsciously, he quickly grasped his hood and pulled it over his head,
lowering as close to his eyes as possible. Jake's body somehow knew what to do, because he
found himself taking strands of his blond hair and overlapping them over his right eye. That way,
his bright green eye would be concealed from view.
He was just in time.
One of the strangers cleared their throat, an obvious signal for Jake to turn around, which he did.
He looked up to see two adults, a man and a woman. Immediately, alarms went off in his head.
They looked normal enough at first glance, but Jake distinctly felt an aura of danger around them.
His gut clenched unpleasantly–he was almost positive these were the scientists.
The couple was dressed in the classic businesspeople attire.
The woman was wearing a white, flowy blouse that was neatly tucked into a black, knee-length
skirt. Her legs were clad in beige tights and at her feet was a pair of black pumps, polished to
perfection. She also carried a large brown handbag. But that wasn't what worried Jake. The
woman's facial features were almost completely concealed. She was wearing a scarf that wound
around her neck several times, covering her face from the mouth down. Her eyes were hidden
behind a humongous pair of black sunglasses, and on her head was a black, wide-rimmed hat that
made it impossible to see her hair and cast a blanket of darkness over her forehead. All in all, the
only feature Jake could see distinctly was her nose.
The man was dressed in a similar fashion. He wore crisp, black pants, and shiny shoes of the
same color. His upper body was clad in a white dress shirt and black business jacket, completely
free of wrinkles. His right hand was clutching a briefcase, as shiny as the rest of his outfit. Again,
the man's face was hidden from Jake's view in the same manner as the woman. The collar on the
man's jacket was pulled up to mask his mouth and part of his nose. He too wore a pair of large
sunglasses which not only covered his eyes, but also part of his brow. The man wore no hat, so
Jake could tell his brown hair was cropped relatively close to his head, and was streaked with
gray.
"Hello, young man," began the woman, "Since lunch is still going on, would you mind if we
asked you a few quick questions?"
Jake quickly nodded, knowing he had no other choice.
Any last vestiges of skepticism he might have had about the couple's identity were erased at
those words. The was no doubt these were the scientists. One mishap, and they would find out his real identity. He couldn't let that happen–it would be the end of him.

With that in mind, Jake quickly ducked into the classroom the man had signaled him to enter.
Jake quickly took a seat on a chair as close to the door as possible. You never know what could
happen, he thought. The two scientists sat down in two chairs opposite of him.
Nobody had bothered to turn on the lights, which gave the room an even more sinister
atmosphere. The man and woman hadn't even started asking questions, and already Jake's hands
were shaking from nerves.
Just get on with this already! He thought as he watched the man fumble in his briefcase.
The man finally set a large packet of papers on the desk in front of him. Jake was hit by another
wave of apprehension as he realized that those papers had to be the list of names of every student
who attended the school. The rumors had been correct.
Clearing his throat again, the man said, "Alright, could you please tell us your name?"
Of course, Jake had his reply at the ready. "I'm Benjamin Moore," he answered quickly.
The man nodded, and opened the packet, flipping through pages until he found the name, or at
least, that was what Jake assumed. He held his breath for an agonizing second, desperately
hoping Ben hadn't been interrogated.
Jake finally blew out his breath as he watched the man mark something on the paper.
"Thank you," said the man, "And if you don't mind, could you please tell us whether you were
adopted?"
Of course, Jake did mind, but he wasn't about to tell the scientists that.
"No, I wasn't adopted," he said instead.
The man and the woman glanced at each other, and after a moment, the woman clasped her
hands in front of her with a sense of finality.
Jake silently observed her. Though he could barely see any of her face, she seemed oddly
familiar to him. She definitely reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite put a finger on
the person's identity. The answer eluded his grasp, and that frustrated Jake.
"And I think that will be all," said the woman, getting up and retrieving her handbag from her
desk. "Thank you for your time."
Jake mumbled an incoherent reply before grabbing his backpack off the floor and exiting the
room as fast as he could without seeming too eager.
But maybe if he had turned around once more, he would have seen the man mutter something to
the woman. He might have seen the woman take her phone out of the handbag and snap a picture
of Jake's profile as he left.

As Skylar continued her desperate search for Jake, she began to see small groups of students
beginning to trickle out of the cafeteria and into the hallways. A glance at a nearby clock hanging
on the wall told her that lunch was almost over.
Yet she still hadn't found Jake, and that worried her. After retrieving the contact lens from her
locker, Skylar had looked for Jake in the most obvious places, such as the library and Mr.
Miller's room.
When she had asked the English teacher whether he had seen Jake, Mr. Miller had sprung up
from his seat, eyebrows creasing in a worried frown.
"No, I haven't seen him today," he had said, looking alarmed. Skylar remembered how he had
even offered to help her find Jake, much to her intrigue. She wondered why a teacher paid so
much attention to her and her twin. The compassion in Mr. Miller's eyes as he spoke to her had
confused her.
But Skylar chased the thoughts out of her head. She had to focus. She had to find Jake before it
was too late. As she entered a new hallway, someone roughly jostled her to one side. Looking
behind her, Skylar saw it was Ben. Just the sight of him made fury spring up inside her. This was
the boy who had tormented Jake for so many years, who had done everything in his power to
make his life miserable. And of course, it wasn't like Ben liked her, either. Skylar hadn't missed
the many times Ben flashed her his signature sneer or some rude gesture in the halls. He was just
too scared to confront her directly, thought Skylar with a tinge of pride.
But to her confusion, Ben completely ignored her as he rushed away and out of the hallway.
As she turned the corner, she saw why. Jake was standing in the middle of the space, a small
bruise already beginning to form on his cheek. Skylar was about to rush to her brother's aid when
she noticed two figures approaching him from behind. Dread filled her when she recognized the
couple who had interrogated her–supposedly the scientists. All of her searching had been for
nothing, she thought dejectedly as Jake turned around and was ushered inside of an empty
classroom.
She tried to remember what Jake had looked like in the hallway–was he wearing his contact lens?
Skylar prayed that if he wasn't, he had at least remembered to somehow conceal his right eye
from view. Everything depended on that. Then Skylar's thoughts strayed to Clarice.
They hadn't heard from her in few days, and she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried
about it. On one hand, Clarice's warnings and predictions had all been correct so far, but on the
other hand, what if her actions were part of a bigger plan? What if Clarice was working with the
scientists? But if that was the case, she could have already handed them over to them, and she
hadn't.
But then Skylar remembered the conversation she and Jake had overheard when they had
followed Clarice. Though her lie about their whereabouts had probably helped them, what proof
was there that all of them would? Skylar turned the thoughts around in her head, mulling them over. In the end, the question was

always the same: Could they trust Clarice? She wasn't sure.
At that moment, the door of the classroom opened, and Jake hurried out of it. Not caring about
being seen by the strangers still inside the room, Skylar rushed towards her twin, engulfing him
in a bear hug. Jake's arms flew around her frame, locking themselves behind her back. The
siblings stayed in the position for a handful of wordless seconds, before Skylar disengaged
herself, grabbing Jake's arm and dragging him down the hallway.
As soon as she thought they would be out of earshot, Skylar began bombarding him with
questions.
"Are you okay? What did they ask you? Do you have the contact on?" she asked frantically,
wiping Jake's sweaty, blonde bangs from his forehead, revealing his electric green eye. "Oh my
gosh! They didn't see that, did they?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," panted Jake, "I don't think they saw my eye, but I'm not sure."
"But what did they ask you?" worriedly asked Skylar again.
"It was barely two questions--"
"Same here!"
"--They asked for my full name--"
"But you didn't tell them yours, right?"
"No, I gave them Ben's name--"
"I gave them Megan's name!"
"--And then they asked if I was adopted--"
"And you said no, right?"
Jake burst out laughing, interrupting their quick bantering back and forth. "Yes, Skylar, I said no,
now please chill."
Skylar gave him a sheepish smile and stemmed the endless flow of questions coming from her
mouth. As the two siblings stood there in silence, Skylar's still-slowing heartbeat echoing in her
head, she knew everything was over at last. Perhaps not everything had gone as planned, but they
had scraped through. Despite everything Clarice had warned them about, it seemed to Skylar that
there was nothing to worry about anymore. Hopefully the scientists were gone for good.
"Hey, I think this calls for a celebration," said Jake with a grin. Encouraged by Skylar's widening
smile, he continued, "How about dinner at my place tomorrow?"
"That would be awesome!" excitedly exclaimed Skylar, "I'll finally get to meet your family!"
Though she had been to Jake's house quite a few times, it had always been only the two of them,
and Jake barely ever talked about his family members. Skylar wasn't even sure if he had siblings
or not.
However when she mentioned Jake's family, Skylar noticed a shadow flit over his face for a
second before he chased it away with a smile, saying, "So tomorrow evening at my house,
right?"
"Right!" replied Skylar.

Skylar was coming to his house tonight. Jake still couldn't believe it. Yes, she had been there
before, but his parents had never been there when she came. In fact, Jake doubted they even
knew who she was, despite mentioning her at the dinner table. He had no idea how they would
cope with an extra person at the dining table tonight, given the fact that he hadn't brought home a
friend in, well, forever.
Jake knew what his parents thought of him. Though no one had said anything explicitly, he saw
the glances his father and mother shared from time to time. Those looks only reserved for when
he refused to try out for a certain sport or asked for help getting to the car. To them, he was only
a cripple, a nuisance.
He was a disappointment.
His mother was a teacher at a nearby elementary school, and his father was the owner of a small
mechanics shop. They had never done anything great in their lives. They were completely
average. And they wanted him to be just like them, but that was impossible. Even at a young age,
it had been obvious that Jake would never be like other boys. When the time came for babies to
begin walking, it never happened to him until much, much later. And that was because his doctor
told him he needed leg braces. Ever since then, the warmth their small family had shared had
leaked out little by little. Now he didn't matter to them at all. He wouldn't become a mechanic
just like his father before him, he was doomed to live like a cripple for the rest of his life. His
parents didn't care, not anymore.
******
Jake was nervously roaming the halls of his house in a crisp, new polo shirt, waiting for Skylar to
arrive. They had decided to go their separate ways first, and then she would come to his house
that evening. In honor of the occasion, Jake had vacuumed the entire first floor, opened windows,
and even mopped the floors. He ignored the strain it put on his weak legs despite the leg braces.
He wanted his family to make a good impression on his twin, even though she had already been
to his house. This was different. She would see how they acted as a family. Jake wanted to
shield her from it.
It was almost a relief when the doorbell rang, and he heard his adoptive father yell for him at the
top of his lungs from the bottom of the stairs. Jake hurried down to the first floor and opened the
front door, revealing a slightly awkward Skylar standing on their doorstep. "Hi, I'm Skykar," she
greeted quickly, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. It was a wonder to Jake how someone so
strong and imposing could look so shy and meek.
Jake's father stepped forward and shook her hand. "Hey, Skylar, I'm Marcus," he said gruffly.
Then his mother joined them all in the entrance of the house . "I'm Lila," she said, taking Skylar's
hand as well.
Jake mentally breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good.
His mother stiffly ushered Skylar inside the house, followed by his father and then Jake himself. He saw Skylar turn back and give him a fleeting glance of worry. Jake sent her his most

reassuring half smile. After all, how badly could things go?
A few minutes later, the four of them were all seated around the small table in the kitchen
making small talk.
"So, Skylar, you go to school with Jake, right?" Began his dad.
"Yeah," replied Skylar, "We have several classes together."
"And so Jake is telling me you two have the same birthday, how interesting."
Skylar nodded wordlessly.
An uncomfortable silence lapsed around the table. Clearly his parents had given up on his
friends, as well, bitterly thought Jake.
His mother finally got up, speaking her first complete sentence of the evening, "I think the
lasagna is ready now." Jake, his father, and Skylar watched as she took out a steaming plate of
food from the oven. Again, nobody spoke as she took out a knife and began cutting portions for
the four of them.
Things slowly went downhill from there. Jake's attempts at starting a conversation all failed
miserably, all met by clipped, one-word responses and the occasional distraught expression from
Skylar. He saw his parents glance at each other with their signature looks of disapproval when
Skylar put her elbows on the table and when she accidentally dropped her fork with a bit too
much force. Jake saw her face flame up more and more as the minutes ticked by, until she was a
blushing mess, slumped in her seat, pushing the food around in her plate. He felt for her--he had
experienced the same thing so many times before. If there was one thing his parents knew how to
do, it was make people feel horrible about themselves for no reason.
By the time Jake's mother pulled out the chocolate cake for dessert, the tension and
awkwardness could have been cut with a knife. Jake was almost certain that another stern look or
sharp remark would drive Skylar to tears. She didn't deserve that, not on her birthday, not ever.
He couldn't take it anymore. Standing up, Jake asked, "Hey, can Skylar and I go upstairs for a
while?"
Without waiting for an answer, Jake pulled Skylar up and hurried her up the staircase as fast as
his brace-clad legs would allow.
When they reached his room, Skylar collapsed on the bed with her head in her hands. "Dammit
Jake," she hiccupped, "Your parents are..."
Jake felt awful, standing over Skylar and unsure of what to do as her shoulders were racked with
dry sobs. This was all his fault. As he desperately racked his head for ideas to distract her, the
ringtone of a phone sounded.
Despite the sound being muffled by his backpack, he knew that ringtone. It was the one Clarice's
phone had.
With a strange fear coating his veins in ice, Jake picked up the phone.
A voice that wasn't Clarice's reached his ears.
"You and your twin will come outside through the back door without being noticed, if you want
to see your adoptive families again." 

Skylar looked up at Jake, whose face had gone sheet white.
"What happened?" She asked, her stomach sinking with an unpleasant feeling.
Jake just stared back at her, clutching Clarice's phone with a trembling hand.
"Jake, what's wrong?" She repeated urgently, "What is it?"
"They have your family, and they're going to find mine soon," he whispered, unshed tears
shining in his eyes.
Shock and fear and horror froze Skylar into her current position on Jake's bed. So it wasn't over
at all. All of their snooping, all the little adventures they had been on, it had seemed unreal.
Even when Clarice had appeared and told them about the scientists, it had seemed so impossible,
so far-fetched.
And yet here they were. Their adoptive families were about to die because of them. She
desperately wished she could pin the blame on somebody else, even considering Clarice, but
deep down, Skylar knew it was almost entirely her and Jake's fault.
"We're going to kill our families," she told Jake, her voice tired and broken, "They're going to die
because of us!"
She immediately regretted it as she saw the tears her twin's eyes had held in for so long mark a
path down his sculpted cheekbones and drip off his jaw. He stared at her with a face that held the
grief of a thousand years.
"But what if they're lying to us?" Jake asked desperately, "What if they're saying it to make us
come to them without a fight? What if--"
He continued to spout theory after theory, his enhanced intelligence making each one more
elaborate than the last. But something told Skylar they were all impossible. If the scientists had
come this far to find them, there would be no half-measures until she and Jake were safely in
their grasp.
And their confirmation of that came in the form of another phone call a few minutes later.
This time it was the ringtone of Skylar's phone that sounded.
She turned the phone on. She didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified when she saw her
brother Daniel was the one who was calling.
Skylar quickly put the phone on speaker mode and then accepted the call, her heart beating
madly.
"Hello? Skylar, are you there?"
Daniel's voice sounded through the small device, and Skylar could have wept in relief when it
sounded the same as it always had.
"Daniel!"
But any feelings of joy she had held disappeared when she heard what he was saying.
"Listen, Skylar, no matter what you do, don't come back home," her adoptive brother said, his
voice low and urgent, "A bunch of men forced their way in, they're armed, we don't know what they want, but they said that if we call the police they'll--" Daniel stopped mid sentence, and for

a few moments the only things that could be heard through the phone were muffled voices and
footsteps. There was a second of silence, after which he continued talking, but with his voice
barely above a whisper.
"Skylar, I have to go, but remember that we all love you very much, and--" He was interrupted
again. From their side of the line, all Skylar and Jake could hear was static noise and more
unrecognizable sounds. Then something--probably glass--shattered in the distance. Loud
explosions sounded.
Then nothing. The call ended.
Skylar was invaded by a strange numbness. She looked at Jake, who was already looking at her.
"Come on," she muttered.
***
"Skylar and I are gonna hang out in the back yard for a while, okay?," hollered Jake from the
threshold of the back door. His question was met with a noncommittal grunt from his father,
making Skylar wonder exactly how far apart this family was.
After all, this could be the last time they saw their son.
But Skylar chased that thought out of her head as Jake pulled her out into the crisp night air of
his back yard. He wordlessly led Skylar through the unkempt lawn, the blades of grass tickling
her ankles, until they reached the small, wooden fence that separated Jake's house and the
sidewalk ahead.
She put her hands on her twin's shoulders and looked deep into his eyes.
"Are you sure you want to do this?," she asked in a whisper. Jake gazed back at her, green eye
glittering in the moonlight. Skylar saw fear, rage, and despair in the long look he gave her.
But she also saw determination and hope. Where you go, I go, Jake was telling her.
It was so very easy to climb over the fence and drop down on the sidewalk on the other side.
When she had hit the ground, she reached for Jake and effortlessly lifted him, then set him down
slowly on the ground beside her.
She was barely surprised when about twenty seconds after Jake's had touched the sidewalk, a
huge, black SUV silently emerged from the shadows and pulled up in front of them.
On a silent agreement, the twins stepped off the curb of the sidewalk and onto the street. The
car's doors opened automatically as they neared it, but its interior was still shrouded in shadows
and darkness. It made the hairs on Skylar's arms rise up, but she knew they couldn't give up now.
Their families would die if they didn't follow the scientists' orders.
So she took a deep breath and climbed into the car with Jake just a few inches behind her. She
immediately sunk into an extremely plush leather seat, the chilly atmosphere of the car making
her swallow repeatedly. There was an opaque, black barrier separating the back seats where she
and Jake were from the front seats, making it impossible to see who was driving.
Heart thumping furiously, Skylar fumbled for her twin's hand.
The warmth of Jake's grasp was the last thing she felt before something cold and sharp pricked
the side of her neck and inky blackness engulfed her.

When Jake woke up, the first thing he felt was the cold, hard ground beneath him. Though he
hadn't moved an inch yet, he knew he was tied up. As he wriggled around, trying to stand, he
saw his prediction was right. His wrists were bound together with thick metal handcuffs that dug
into his skin, cutting off the circulation. His ankles were in a similar position, making it almost
impossible to move.
His surroundings were also shrouded in a strange semi-darkness. All Jake could glean from them
was that he was in a small space with no windows. But that was all the information he had about
this place, and it bothered him. He could sense he and Skylar were in danger here.
And now that he thought about it--where was Skylar?
The thought sent terror through every last fiber of his body. He couldn't be alone, not here, not
when he knew he could die. If he lost his life here--
No. He had to stop thinking like that and focus on finding Skylar.
Taking a deep breath, Jake braced himself to get up from his fetal position on the floor. He put
his arms on the ground, already wincing as the rough metal of the handcuffs chafed against the
delicate skin of his wrists.
Though he knew there would be pain, Jake was unprepared for just how much there was when he
put his full weight on his arms. Since his wrists were one on top of the other, the one on top
pushed against his bottom one. He gritted his teeth as the handcuff dug into his wrist hard
enough to draw blood.
Eyes watering, Jake finally got to his knees.
Putting his arms in front of him, he began feeling his way around the room, colliding with
multiple corners and objects that seemed to be haphazardly lying around.
Finally Jake's hand collided with something soft. It violently jerked away before he heard
Skylar's voice murmur, "Jake, is that you?"
On hearing his twin speak again Jake sagged down to the floor in relief.
"I thought I'd never find you," he muttered, fumbling for Skylar's hand in the darkness.
"Yeah, well, now that we're together let's try to find a light switch, shall we?," whispered Skylar.
Jake was about to nod before he realized how pointless that would be. "Yeah, good idea."
Staying in the general vicinity of each other, the twins began to search.
It was a slow process, not to mention extremely painful for Jake, who was soon sore all over and
overcome by ragged breathing. Both his leg braces had come loose as well, making his joints
groan in pain whenever he continued his hunched shuffle on the ground.
As his and Skylar's efforts had begun to weaken, Jake hollered, "Hey, wanna take a break?"
"Sounds good!," he heard Skylar yell from the other side of the room.
Jake's mouth parted in horror. Yelling.
"Shh, Sky--"
But by the time Jake had realized their mistake, it was too late.
A loud rumble assaulted his ears. The room was slowly flooded with light as a section of the wall began rising up. Jake caught Skylar's gaze for a second before she tried to take cover behind a

crate, moving as quickly as she could with her wrists and ankles tied up. But she stopped as
abruptly as she had begun as two figures were making their way towards her and Jake.
Jake knew without a doubt they were the scientists, the same ones who had interrogated them at
school. The sight of them made a mixture of terror and hatred course through him.
The man's voice rang out, breaking the silence. "Well, it seems you've woken up."
Jake stayed frozen in his current position. His brain seemed to have shut down--he didn't know
what to do.
"We can get to business now." The man snapped his fingers.
***
That was how Jake and Skylar found themselves in an enormous, pristine, white lab room, tied
up against the wall with thick, leather straps.
Jake caught Skylar's eye, silently telling her not to break free of her bonds until the time was
right. They had to figure out what the scientists were planning first. Though they were alone at
the moment, he knew it would be unwise to talk.
So Jake and Skylar lay there, bonds digging into his limbs.
Jake knew what would soon come, yet probable death still seemed very far away.
Finally, the doors of the small lab slid open, and the scientists walked through it.
Jake's heart couldn't help beating a little faster.
"So, you must be wondering why you were brought here," the man addressed them coldly.
For the first time, Skylar and Jake could see the scientists properly. He and the woman were
wearing pristine, white lab coats. Though the man's face was beginning to age and his dark hair
was streaked with gray, it was obvious he had been very handsome when he was young. His face,
however, seemed cruel and imposing. His nose was elegant, aquiline, his lips were thin and
angular, and he was clean shaven. There were frown lines at the corners of his mouth and his
eyebrows seemed to be raised in a perpetual expression of scorn and disdain.
Something, either his powers or simply his intuition, told Jake that the man was the more
dangerous one out of the duo.
The woman was more confusing. On the outside, she looked plain enough. Her skin hadn't
escaped time unscathed, proven by the crow's feet at the edge of her eyes and the wrinkles on
either side of her nose. Her light, brown hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail, which had a
few gray hairs as well. But there was something about her--something which had nothing to do
with her looks--that made Jake wonder just how much of an act she was putting up, how much
was actually wrong with her.
He decided to keep that in mind.
Jake's eyes immediately slid towards Skylar again, just in time to stop her as she opened her
mouth to speak.
The man continued. "The truth is, we need you."
Jake resisted the urge to interrupt him to shout that the only thing they needed them for was an experiment in which one of them would die and the other one would turn into a super-human.

"Let's begin, shall we?"
Then everything stopped as a third person walked into the room.
The realization hit Jake like a truck.
That was why the woman had seemed so familiar.
The man gestured towards Clarice.
"I'd like you to meet my wife's sister."

Sister? Had she heard correctly?
Clarice was the woman's sister?
The realization crashed down on Skylar like a waterfall. Clarice had been on the scientists' side
this whole time. That was how they had been found so quickly: Clarice had told them. It was all
Clarice.
What angered her almost as much as this new information was how easily she and Jake had
trusted her. Though she hadn't admitted it to anyone, not even her twin, Skylar had begun to see
Clarice as a steady part of their lives, a mother figure of sorts.
And now that image had been violently ripped away from her.
Skylar was filled with rage. Now Clarice even had the nerve to look shocked to see them there?
"You're sisters?," Skylar finally asked, voice shaking with fury. She strained against her bonds,
and was close to breaking them, before she remembered Jake's warning look from earlier.
Her hands balled into fists and she tried controlling her voice.
"You're sisters?" she asked again in a more neutral tone. "I trusted you! We told you
everything!" She spat at Clarice, her emotions getting the better of her once more, "I even liked
you!"
Clarice was about to speak but the man's voice cut her off.
"Oh, my dear, Clarice had nothing to do with this," he sighed with a condescending expression
on his face, "All she ever did was protect you and your brother. She pretended to work for us to
gain information on your whereabouts and our plans to keep us from completing our little
experiment. Isn't that right, Clarice?"
Clarice had gone pale and her lips had parted as she processed what the scientists had said.
"Jake, Skylar--" she began, but the man interrupted her once more.
"And as much as she helped you two, I don't think she told you quite everything," he said, top lip
curling up triumphantly.
Skylar saw Clarice's eyes widen frantically as if she already knew what the man was going to say.
"Please just--"
"Did she ever mention she was your aunt?"
"What?" Exclaimed Skylar. "Is this true?" She asked Clarice.
The look on Clarice's face was answer enough.
But if Clarice was their aunt, and she was the woman's sister--
"That makes you our parents," said Jake stonily, "Which, to be honest, I was pretty much certain
about already."
The man laughed at that, a grating sound from the back of his throat that sent shivers down
Skylar's back. "Ah, but parents is a relative term. I'd say your births were only useful to us for
scientific reasons," He looked toward the woman, raising an eyebrow as if to compel her to say
the same.
The woman, however, did not speak, simply tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and looking
towards a point in the distance.
A glance to her left told her that Jake had noticed, too, or at least she assumed so seeing the calculating look in his eyes as he stared at the woman—or, should she say, their mother.

Skylar raised her eyebrows almost imperceptibly, asking whether they should act now. An
equally imperceptible shake of Jake's head was her answer.
The man flicked invisible dust particles off his lab coat, and clapped his hands together. "Well,
now that we're all here, why don't we get started?"
A pit of dread formed in Skylar's stomach as she realized what that meant.
The scientists were going to begin the experiment. The beginning of one of their ends.
Skylar watched as the man and the woman walked over to one of the blank walls of the room.
The man then placed his hand on a section of the wall. That part of the wall rotated one-hundred
eighty degrees, revealing the shiny, metal door of a small safe. The man covered the small door
with his body, making it impossible to see what combination he inserted into the small keypad
embedded in the metal. The safe swung open, and the man took out a tiny box trimmed with
black velvet.
Skylar's heart beat faster as the man and woman walked back towards them holding the box,
knowing that whatever lay inside would separate her and Jake forever.
The man set the box down on a shiny lab table close to where Jake and Skylar were tied up.
Skylar took a deep breath as the woman opened the box and took out its contents: two small,
glass test tubes. One contained a dark, murky, green liquid. The other one contained a liquid
that was a vibrant shade of neon green.
In fact, it was the exact same shade as Skylar and Jake's right eyes.
Skylar knew she wanted those vials as far away as possible from her.
The man cleared his throat. "Well then, before we begin, I think it's only fair that we explain
what is going to happen," he began smoothly. "This vial here," --he held up the darker one--
"Will kill any traces of enhanced traits in one of your bodies. Unfortunately, the powers you
were given in the first experiment are contained in certain cells, which have spread to your vital
organs over time. Therefore, killing these cells will also kill the rest of the body. What a shame,"
he finished lightly. Then, holding up the brighter green test tube, he continued, "Now this
solution here will complete the experiment that we failed so long ago. This is the second dose of
cells that will be injected into one of you. They will enhance the half of your traits which was
taken away when we experimented on you the first time. It is complicated--I wouldn't expect
you to understand."
That last sentence was addressed to Skylar, who was struggling to listen through the haze of
anger and fear.
The man clapped his hands together again, an action that Skylar had come to hate in such a short
time period. "Now, let's begin for real--"
"Wait," interrupted Jake, clearly trying to buy them time, "You never told us why the experiment
failed the first time."
Annoyance flashed through the man's eyes, but confidence soon overtook it. Of course, bitterly
thought Skylar, what isn't there to be confident about? We're tied up, one of us is going to die,
the other is going to be turned into a super-human completely under their control. "Well, the truth is--"

"Do you want to know why the experiment failed?" sharply interrupted Clarice, speaking for the
first time since she had entered the room.
The man raised an eyebrow. "And what do you know about what happened that night? Quoting
your own words, you were 'on a plane to go as far away from us as you could', if I recall
correctly."
"Well, I lied." Then, looking at Jake and Skylar, Clarice sighed. "I owe you an apology. I should
have told you everything."
"Then tell us now," said Jake, voice stony, but with an underlying sense of urgency.
Clarice began. "Fourteen years ago, when I got out of college, I went to live with my sister.
Everything was fine, until she met him," she said, jerking her chin towards the man. "At first, he
seemed decent. He would visit my sister at home often, so I got to know him. Then it got more
serious between them and things started changing. Months passed. He started manipulating her.
My sister wanted to become an author, and he made her give writing up. He brought her on long
trips with him, which she wouldn't tell me anything about. The last straw came when she told
me she had started helping him with his experiments, most of which were twisted and against the
law. I asked her to break up with him, to stop doing what he told her to, but she didn't listen.
Instead, she kicked me out of the house so that he could move in, and we didn't talk for months.
So I went to him. I told him to leave her alone. However, it was quite the opposite. Turns out my
sister was pregnant with twins, which they were going to use for a horrible experiment. I
decided I had to act. If I couldn't save my sister, I had to at least try to save her children. So I
pretended to help them. I worked alongside them until I had gathered up enough information to
create another solution, one that would hopefully reverse the effects of their experiment. The day
their potion was finished, I pretended I was moving away. But I came back that night with my
antidote and put some in the potion. My antidote didn't completely reverse the potion's effects,
but it was enough for them to put you two up for adoption in different orphanages so you would
never meet. Years later, though, I found you, Skylar, and recommended your adoptive father to
a real estate agency in Ohio so that you would move here and meet Jake. You know the rest."
Clarice's tale ended, leaving the room silent for a handful of seconds.
"So," murmured the man, eyes shooting daggers, "It was you all along. You betrayed us." And
for the first time, Skylar saw madness glitter in his eyes. "Well, your plan was for nothing,
because we will complete this experiment today. Now."
The man whirled around, grabbed the two vials from the lab table and turned towards Skylar and
Jake.
"Now!" Shouted Jake.
Everything happened very fast from there.
Adrenalin pumped through Skylar, touching every nerve, sharpening her senses. She twisted
around the table she was tied to, breaking free of the leather strips in an instant.
She leaped off the cold surface, reaching Jake in one bound, and tearing him free just before the
man got to him.
"Run, Jake run!," yelled Skylar, already sprinting towards the door.
Jake pushed himself off the table, and Skylar watched in horror as he buckled on his feet for a second, and then fell on the ground in a heap, the leg braces slipping off his legs. She screamed

as the man was onto Jake immediately. He grabbed Jake's arm, and pulled a shiny, silver pistol
out of his coat pocket with his free hand, pointing it at Jake's temple.
"No!" Someone shouted, tearing past Skylar. Clarice furiously ran towards the man, wrapping
her arms around his neck and tackling him from behind. The man let go of Jake, who began to
painfully move away from him and Clarice, trying to reach his leg braces. Skylar immediately
sprinted to his aid, taking his wrist and almost dragging him clean off the ground as she ran with
him to the door, looking back to see Clarice grappling with the man on the ground, then
knocking him out by hitting the side of his head with the back of the pistol.
But when Skylar and Jake reached the exit of the lab, a nasty surprise awaited them. There was a
small keypad embedded in the door, and the small screen above it read locked.
"Clarice!," yelled Jake, "We're locked in!"
Clarice, who was bent in half with her hands on her knees, catching her breath, straightened out
and hurried to them.
"Move. Now." She ordered urgently, shoving them out of the way. Clarice hunched over the
keypad, muttering to herself and frantically typing in combination after combination. Jake and
Skylar watched from over her shoulder, getting tenser and tenser as the seconds ticked by.
Something told Skylar this wasn't over. She turned around, scanning the room once more. The
man was still lying on the floor, probably unconscious, the woman leaning over him, and
throwing the three of them the occasional glance.
Skylar shook Clarice's shoulder. "Hurry," she hissed.
Clarice nodded, neck stiff and beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. She typed in more
numbers, getting more anxious with every red flash of the keypad.
"Skylar, try breaking the door down!" said Jake suddenly.
"Yes, of course." How had she not thought of it sooner? Skylar immediately began assaulting the
door with punches and kicks.
She could feel the metal bending and denting beneath her blows, but the door hadn't given way
yet. Soon she was panting and sweat was dripping down her forehead as she redoubled her
efforts.
Muscles aching, Skylar relaxed for a second, leaning on the door for support.
And everything happened in that instant.
Skylar watched in silent terror as the man flung the woman away from him, and she fell to the
ground.
The man then scooped up his fallen pistol and charged towards the three of them.
Skylar immediately tensed, preparing to run, when she realized they had nowhere to go. They
were pinned against the wall. She heard the woman launch a guttural cry and shakily get back on
her feet.
She watched the man continue to run until he was only a handful of feet away from them.
He, too, knew they had nowhere to go.
With a sickening smile, he aimed his pistol at Jake.
"No!" Shouted the wife from behind, "I won't let you!"
In an instant, she had pulled out another pistol from her own lab coat. 

She aimed at her husband and shot.
The bullet hit him right in the back.
But as the man crumpled down to the floor, he pulled his trigger.

Four days later.
"Clarice, Skylar," softly called the woman, Lila, from the bed.
After the police had arrived to the scientists' lab and learned what had transpired, everyone
agreed to keep quiet about what Lila had done to the man. The act had been out of self defense,
and she hadn't been completely mentally stable at the time. In fact, she still wasn't, hence the
reason she was being watched at a psychiatric ward for now, and Clarice had assumed legal
guardianship of Jake and Skylar, at least for the time being.
Yes, because the man's bullet had hit Jake's left collarbone, shattering it, but avoiding any vital
organs. He was being treated at the local hospital, where Clarice and Skylar had just visited him.
Jake had been exhilarated when his doctors had told him that he could also get surgery to
strengthen his legs so he wouldn't need the braces anymore.
"How are you two? How is Jake?," asked Lila, standing up with a small smile.
"Oh, I'm doing fine, and Jake is recovering nicely. The doctors say he should be out in a handful
of weeks," replied Clarice.
"Yeah, and apparently Jake can get surgery for his legs," happily added Skylar.
Lila smiled again. "That's wonderful," she exclaimed. Then, more seriously, she asked, "And
how are you, Skylar? I heard about your adoptive parents..."
The wave of sharp loss hit Skylar again.
Just two days ago, a police detective had knocked on the door of the hotel room she and Clarice
were staying at. He told them that all of Skylar's adopted family had been brutally shot when she
was at Jake's house. They were in the process of tracking down who had done it.
Fresh tears threatened to spill over Skylar's eyes as she remembered the bitter despair that
overwhelmed her, the pain of learning her hope had been crushed, even though she should have
been expecting this to happen.
Skylar braced a hand against the nearby wall as her chest tightened.
She felt a hand stroke her hair softly. "It's okay to cry," whispered Lila, pressing her against her
frail body.
Engulfed in her embrace, Skylar felt better than she had in a long time. She breathed in Lila's
scent and wrapped her arms around her.
Mother.
She didn't know when she would forgive Lila for doing the things she had, but somewhere,
Skylar knew she had already started.
Clarice joined their hug, and the three of them stood there, bodies close together.
That was when Skylar finally let the tears drip down her cheeks and the sobs wrack her body.
Clarice put a hand on her back. "It'll get better," she whispered, "We're a family now."
And Skylar knew she was right. The four of them, her, Jake, Clarice, and Lila, were a family.
Things would get better.