One More Dawn

Prologue

I always knew that we were special. Even when we were younger, and it was just me and him, I could tell. There was just something about us that was different. Unique. My twin and I, we were something else.

Our parents were always scared of us. They would never let us go outside of the house- even for school. Matt and I were home-schooled, and even then the tutors Mom and Dad would hire were scared of us. They could never look us straight in the eye. I don't know how Matt felt about that, but I knew that it made me feel powerful. Thankfully we had our Grandparents to back us up and support us when it came to facing our parents as we grew older, and developed our own sense of free will.

I was never sure what triggered the fear in our parents. They were the ones who should have been there for us, instead of turning a cruel blind eye to Matt and myself. I think it was our first day of school- the first indication that we were 'abnormal'. That's how the teacher referred to us when she brought our parents in to the school. 'Abnormal children who didn't belong in public school', she'd said. She'd also called us a 'danger to society', which had clearly set our parents on edge. It was after that incident when our parents pulled us from school and kept us locked in a room with just each other for company. I was so confused when this happened. After all, I'd only answered a simple question- one that hadn't been spoken out loud.

After this incident we were kept a secret from the world. Hidden from unwanted eyes in a cage with an en-suite bathroom. I make this sound worse than it actually was. We were still well looked-after and treated like any seven-year old twins would be treated, the only difference was that the only people who knew about us were hand chosen by our parents, and sworn to secrecy to tell no others about us. We were peaceful, life was happy and easy, and Matt and I were both content.

Everything changed when they came: the men in the black riot suits wielding their powerful hand guns, and their riot shields with their agency labelled on the front in bold yellow letters. Blood soaked into the carpet underneath where my Mother and Father lay lifelessly staring at the ceiling, their pleas for mercy left ignored and frozen in their eyes. Some would say Matt and I were lucky, but it wasn't luck that saved us. I did. I let out a piercing scream that shattered all of the glass in the windows, and Matt blew the bullets into the necks of the FBI.

I told you. We're special.

We were immediately moved out and sent to live with our Grandparents up in Washington. After being raised in Nevada, the intense green and the heavy layer of cloud was a completely new territory to us. It was a strange experience. After spending almost 7 years seemingly trapped in a luxurious cage, being in the outdoors was novel, sometimes borderline scary. Even the air smelled different outside. Matt was confused by the trees, especially the tall redwoods that grew large and thick next to our new home.

Living with our Grandparents was also full of more new experiences. We were enrolled into the public school, and there was no more being kept in a small room 24 hours a day, 7 days a week either. It felt like Matt and I had gained a new sense of freedom in the loss of our parents, as well as entirely new lives. Growing up with our Grandparents made me realise that, whilst yes Matt and I were special, we could still fit in with the rest of the 'normal' society. Matt and I were raised never hating our parents for what they did, we were always told to love our parents, no matter what mistakes they may have made with us. They had never had cruel intentions towards us, they never wanted to inflict deliberate cruelty unto us. They just didn't know what to do with us.

Optimism. Something else I seem to have innately in me.