Destiny (The Foreigners Series Book One)

Chapter Thirteen: A Brother's Reckoning

Jason

It hadn't been long since I had come back from the city for what seemed like the thousandth time while trying to look for some clue as to Gen's whereabouts. Between us, we had covered more ground than we had ever intended to thinking that she might have strayed beyond the market place for one reason or another. Maybe she had caught word of the Azure and had moved to listen out for him some other place. Either way, I knew that even if she had moved, she would've met me at the aquarium like we had planned. My instincts told me that she had been taken. What else could make up for the time she had been gone?

I was so fucking furious with myself. I had brought Gen to town, against my better judgment, and had given her a position in the most populated of the two places thinking that there would be less a chance of one of the Foreigners picking her out of the crowd. I certainly hadn't wanted her by that run down parts store in the middle of what seemed to be the shadiest part of town. There were creatures that prowled those alleyways that even made my skin crawl. The thought of me having to fight them off was one thing, but Genesis? Yeah, I would check no in that box every time.

Two days into our hunt for the Azure, and I had lost my baby sister. She was my life now. I had promised mom and dad that I would keep her safe. Hell, I had promised myself that I would keep her safe. She was the only family I had left.

From my experience in the core and with the police, I knew that there was a very small window of time that someone who is taken or goes missing can be found alive. The forty-eight hour mark had long come and gone though, and I was frantic. The only clue that we had found concerning Gen was the locket our grandmother had given her on her eighteenth birthday. It had been on the ground tucked up inside the alcove beside the meat stand in the market where I had sent her to keep watch. The only damn thing that told us was that she had made it to the alcove. She could've lost the locket while she watched for God's sakes.

I paced back and forth in the cryo-tank room as I waited for the others to return. I had told them earlier when we left out again for the city that I wanted to go and check a few things out on my own. I knew that where I wanted to go was dangerous, and I didn't want any of the others coming with me. I was able to be much more effective on my own anyway.

As stealthily as I could manage I had ventured toward the docks where those nasty beasts Gen and I had seen the night mom and dad were killed now lived. Several times I'd had to tuck inside buildings and rush from corner to corner to avoid being seen. Once, I had almost had to jump into the water in the harbor, but it was revolting now. The once blue water was black like tar, and pus pockets floated on the surface. I'm not opposed to getting messy believe me, but that water looked straight up dangerous.

After I had paced for about thirty minutes I heard the door at the top of the basement stairs open, and I drew my sidearm the sights landing near the bottom of the stairs. Now that Gen was gone, I wasn't taking any more chances. I had to find her, and I had to be alive in order to do so.

Chad's lean muscular frame appeared on the bottom stoop just as he threw his hands up into the air, "Hey! It's just me Jason! What the hell are you trying to do?" He looked pointedly from my eyes to the gun in my hand.

Slowly I lowered the weapon, regaining my senses and pushing my momentary fight reaction to the back of my mind. "Sorry." I said pinching the top of my nose between my eyes in frustration.

"You know I'm not taking chances anymore Chad." I placed my sidearm forcefully back inside the confines of it's holster before looking up at him again.