The truth is, I want to go back home, even if it means getting made fun of by others. But it sounds wrong, indicating LA as my true home. It's ironic, repeatedly thinking to myself that I will rise one day, but I'm just stuck, period. It's like I'm forced to be Agoraphobic.
"Robert," I spoke clearly. "I wanna go home."
"Really?" he said "After all the things I told you? After all the things that happened? That's it? You're not even gonna fix anything? That's not the Jess I know, the Jess that I know thinks his way out of his problems. He's optimistic. What happened to you?" I shrugged. "You seem different all of a sudden."
"Okay, I'm tired of this. People look at me and expect things from me that I don't like. It's not my fault I'm me."
Robert stands up and took something out of his back pocket, a green marble.
"I'm going, we'll have this conversation when Jackson gets here."
As he stepped inside the hovering portal, another marble peeked out of his pocket. It fell out when he disappeared. The microscopic sphere rolls down and stops at my bed's leg. I swivel around carefully and stepped my right foot on the cold tiles. Ouch! I don't want to move anymore! But sadly, I have to.
"Come on, Jess, you can do it." I reach for the bottom of my bed, it was harder than I thought. I feel my bones failing to keep me steady. It hurts! Finally, I let myself fall and my left hand grab the bars where my feet usually touch each other. I slowly stretch my right arm out and secured the marble inside the gap between my cast. Yes! I got it! I leaned against the side of my bed and bounced my way back to my pillow. I am extraordinary.
12:45 in the afternoon, I wake up when Ace called my name. It's been half a week since I first woke up.
"Jess, hey!" I felt Ace's hot breath burst inside my ear as he yelled. I tried not to move my head because of my cast. "We gotta go, come on!"
"What's the rush?" I see two blonde-headed kids standing by the door, smiling at me. "Who are they?" I asked.
"Jackson and Sarra." Ace said, jumping up and down on his toes.
"Sorry we got here late, Jess. Zach, Alice, and the other Seekers are still looking for the real Mr. André." Jackson said as he walks in with Sarra.
"So far--" Sarra said. "he stopped multiplying after we found a chest full of Power Neutralizers."
"And that's bad news?" I said.
"Yes, because he teleported around the universe to look for more people like you."
"Oh, and he's trying to expose our secret to everyone. Like, everyone! He's gonna destroy the Innate race" Ace said.
"I can't believe this." I sighed.
"Yeah, well, we have to go before these people find out and attack us." Jackson said.
"We need to find a place to stay in before our flight."
"You already booked a flight?" The veins from my neck had no space to expand in.
"We sure did. We're going to Honolulu and we leave in nine hours so we gotta... chop-chop!" Sarra clapped her hands twice with a smile that cheered me up a little.
"You guys can't be serious." I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, we are being serious," Ace said. "One day, they're gonna find us and they'll hunt us down like animals."
"Then what?"
"Experiments, death, extinction..." Jackson answered with a sad face.
"Okay, let's go then." Yes, I believe you! "That was fast." Sarra said.
"Speaking of fast, we snuck inside your house during an inspection so we can pack up your stuff. Everything's in the van, ready to go. All we gotta do is--" It was kind of rude interrupting Jackson, but one thing caught my attention, so I asked him.
"You snuck inside my house? Without getting caught?"
"Those idiots weren't looking that's why." Sarra gets my crutches and handed them to me. I quickly got out of bed without minding the pain or the fact that my hospital gown reeked. I smelled like the OR.
Jackson held my shoulder as I walked to the door.
"Can you walk by yourself?" he asked.
"Yeah, I can manage."
"Good. That's the Jess that we know." Yeah... they know me. But I don't know me. So are they making sure that they know me if I don't even know myself? What am I exactly? No matter what they tell me, I'd still slip away.
"Hey, uhm... I forgot to ask this to Robert but, where are we?"
"Earth. Pluto is truly destroyed."
"W-what about the school?" I sounded worried as Sarra pushed the exit door open after walking a mid-sized hallway and riding the elevator from the fourth floor.
"Destroyed by the clones. We only managed to save half of our mini-city citizens. We mostly rescued students. I feel bad for those kids who lost their parents."
"I wanna help stop Mr. Albert."
"Mr. André." Ace smirked while correcting me.
"Right, him." I was slightly embarrassed.
I place my foot inside the van and scooched inside while Sarra and Jackson pushed me in, it's stupid how the doctors and nurses didn't notice us leave the hospital with no permission. I didn't notice that Robert was sitting at the front, right next to the driver's seat. Ace sits next to me. Sarra sits in the very back with all the other suitcases. Jackson drove away fast with the tires' squeak echoing across the parking lot.
"One question," I said. "Where exactly are we on Earth?"
"That's not really important right now, Jess." said Robert.
"We're in Simi Valley." Ace said. He has an obnoxious habit of blurting things out, I like it. Which is why I agreed to go with them in the midst of my forgetfulness.
YOU ARE READING
Fracted (Book #2)
Ficção CientíficaYOU THINK YOU ESCAPED, BUT YOU DIDN'T! After a devastating experience in Capricorn Academy, Jess tries to heal his wounds. Both physical and emotional. No matter where he goes, his nightmares still follow him. In the midst of growing up, he wonders...
