The A.I. Protoforms

Chapter Seven: Run

Ivan looked at Jensi and they both nodded in agreement. The shady people were fast, but Jensi was faster. He got in the car and quickly moved the gear in reverse.

As they swerved out of the driveway, he noticed that they were gone. Everything in him wanted to believe that what he saw was a mistake. That maybe everything was just a big misunderstanding, but he also knew better. He wasn't getting tricked into being taken or worse shot and he definitely wasn't putting Ivan in that danger.

He drove off, out of town, far away from everything he knew, praying his family wasn't in trouble. Ivan eventually told him to stop at a gas station.

"Listen." He started. "We don't know what happened to Amaya. Truly we don't because we bolted. Which we should have, but still. I don't want you freaking out like you usually do. So in order to keep you and me safe, I think we should go home."

Jensi stared in disbelief, surprised by what he was saying. "You want to go back?! Even with all of those people around who are definitely after us now? You want to put my mom in danger?" He put emphasis in 'family' hoping Ivan would get the memo.

"No I completely agree with you. But Rose gave us that device which 'teleported' us back to your house, so obviously they don't know where we live. And thankfully you drove us right out of town, so they definitely don't know now. I think the safest option is to not worry your mom."

Jensi understood and turned around to head home. Not without gas though, so he made sure to fill up the tank fully.

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When they returned home, Ivan stayed with Jensi. Luckily his mom was out of town on a business trip, so she couldn't ask questions. Not that she would've cared, just that she needed to not stress so much.

When they got to Jensi's room they both laid down, exhausted and a little overwhelmed by how their worlds were crashing down. Jensi looked outside his window at his long yard, that seemed to go on forever and ever thanks to the mountains in the distance. Tennessee was always the best at hiding the rest of the world from view and making people feel like they were alone in their own little world.

Looking out the window always helped Jensi when he was feeling stressed.

"So, you think we should look for clues about these black suited people and where they might've taken Amaya?"

"How do you know they didn't..." Jensi took a breath and shuddered before continuing. "How do you know she isn't dead?"

Ivan thought about it a second and replied. "Because it seemed like they had business with Rose, I mean the condition of her house says it all. But also we heard no gunshots, and we were there for a while don't you think?"

Jensi couldn't help agreeing, but he also remembered how they were almost shot when they found the girl at their school. Though they probably just scared her. But nobody shoots someone unless they are hiding something super important. What if they are after them... What if they think Jensi and Ivan know too much. Which would have been the reason Amaya was taken and Jensi guessed they took her dad too. He put his head down. He had a headache.

"Woah, woah..." Ivan said, rubbing Jensi's back. "Don't stress about it, we don't have to look for clues if you don't want to, we could always rest."

But Jensi didn't want rest, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he did need to go searching for clues. This isn't something that was just gonna go away with time. For it to fully end, they had to end it.

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They decided the best place to go looking was at the scenes of each crime. Amaya's house and the school. Jensi slowly drove, looking around at anything suspicious as they parked a few houses away from Amayas house. Hopefully this wasn't illegal, he hoped.

They walked in the front door which was swung wide open. Jensi had no idea why the neighbors didn't think that was a big deal.

As they walked into what seemed like the living room, the door closed behind them.