Everyone is laying on the floor. Dr.Saltzman gets up and groans.
"I'll go after her." He says standing up.
Hope stands up and looks at Josie.
"I'll go!" Hope demands.
Josie nods her head. "I'll go too."
Dr. Saltzman starts to protest but Hope stops him.
"It's much safer for us to go." Hope says looking at Josie.
Dr. Saltzman nods his head in agreement. "Be safe out there."
Josie and Hope both nod before they walk out of the house.
They are both walking in the woods and come up upon a treehouse. They both stare at it in amazement.
"Well if I needed a place to calm down this would definitely be it." Hope says looking at Josie.
They both walk up to the ladder and look at each other. Hope climbs the ladder and pushes on the hatch. It doesn't move.
"Skylar?" Hope says banging on the hatch. "Are you in there? We just wanna talk."
They wait but no one responds. Hope sighs and climbs back down. Josie climbs and tries to open the hatch.
"Listen Skylar we didn't come here to take you away. We just wanted to talk to you and your parents." Josie says. "If you let us in we can clear things up."
They hear footsteps inside and the hatch opens. Skylar is standing looking down at them.
"Not much to explain," I say as I walk away from the hatch.
Josie looks down at Hope who is half way up the ladder. They both climb in and look around. I sit down on a couch by a window.
"Nice treehouse," Josie says.
I look at Josie. " My dad built it for me a little while after I got here."
I sigh looking at Hope and Josie who are now both in the treehouse.
"How long have you lived here?" Hope asks as she closes the hatch.
"11 years," I say turning to Hope. " I got here when I was six. I don't really know where I was before that."
Hope and Josie look at each other. "What do you mean don't know?" Hope asks.
"It's a blur before I got here. It's like I'm missing some parts of my memories." I say turning to face them. "Doctors say that I could have been through trauma and I am suppressing some of my earlier years."
Josie looks around and picks up a picture of me and my uncle. She turns to look at me showing the picture.
"Who's this?" She says walking up to me.
I look at the picture. Josie looks at me with a puzzled look.
"Oh," I say as I grab the picture from Josie's hand examining it. "That's my uncle Jace," I say handing the picture back to Josie to look at.
Josie shows Hope the picture. "Did something happen to him?" Hope says and Josie puts the picture back on the shelf.
"No," I say as I sit down at the table.
I motion to them to sit down. Hope and Josie both grab a chair and sit down.
"One day he just left," I say as Josie scoots her chair in. "My parents say that he got into some fight with his parents and that he needed to be alone."
I pause looking at Hope and Josie who are examining me.
"What do you think happened?" Hope says quickly changing the subject.
I take a deep breath. "I don't really know. He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye."
"So you guys were close?" Josie says quietly.
I nod my head. "I guess you could say that. He was like an older brother to me. He's not much older."
Josie nods. "Why are you so crazy about people touching you? Is it about germs?"
I shake my head no. "You saw what happened when my dad touched my shoulder."
Josie shakes her head. "Actually we didn't because he didn't touch you. You get mad and flew everybody away from you."
I sigh. "I don't know why that happens when I get angry."
"What happens when someone touches you?" Hope asks looking at me.
I look at them then take a deep breath before reaching my hand out. "I'll show you," I say motioning for Hope to take my hand.
Hope gives Josie a quick glance before grabbing my hand. I feel my body tense up and my eyes go red. Josie and Hopes eyes widen at the sight. I pull my hand away. They look at each other in disbelief.
"Does that happen every time you touch someone?" Hope asks quickly.
I shrug. "Last time I touched someone was my uncle. That was the last time before he left."
"How long ago was that?" Josie asks.
"I don't know. A few years ago." I say. "Why?"
Hope looks at Josie. "I don't think Dr. Saltzman is going to know what she is."
Josie gives Hope a serious look. "We have to go to New Orleans."
I look at both of them with a confused look. They both turn to me.
Hope says, "Do you have a car?"
I nod my head. "Yea It's parked in the driveway."
"Good," Josie says getting up. "We should get going."
They look at me and I nod my head in agreement.
