Out of Darkness

Hope

"We are members of a group that we call The Academy, and we specialize in helping people."

Mr. Blackbourne lowers himself until he his sitting on the coffee table directly in front of me.

"Miss Sorensen, your life until now has been quite alarming, and I am afraid that you are not yet free from that burden."  He reaches out and takes my hands in his.  It's strange how comforting this gesture is, coming from someone I've known for only a few days.  "You were born into less than ideal circumstances, and your blood family have done nothing to teach you what I mean when I call you ours, if you'll have us."  The others all shift closer, and the intensity of their attention is palpable.  "Miss Sorensen, it is undeniable that you connect with each and every one of us, and I want you to understand how rare that actually is.  We have attempted to bring new members into our family before, but there was always something that kept it from feeling like a good fit."

Kota wraps his arm around me and squeezes gently.  "Sang, you fit in so well with us, that it's amazing to think that you haven't been here all along."

Victor puts his hand on my knee and strums his fingers.  "Princess, you feel it too, right?  It's not just us?"

I don't know what to think.  It's true, that I feel comfortable with all of them, but I haven't really been around a whole lot of people, either.  I know that my heart is already reaching out towards each of them, but I'm scared to let that happen.  What if I find out that they don't really mean it?  What if they realize that I'm a burden and that they've made a mistake?  It's been so long since I've had anything to wish for.  And I've learned that letting yourself want something only makes the disappointment more absolute.

Dr. Green claps his hands three times and shoos everyone back.  "Let Pookie breathe, boys."  He turns his sparkling emerald eyes to me and says, "You're all putting a lot of pressure on her right now, and there are more urgent matters to discuss right now,"  he winks at me and continues, "like what kind of ice cream we're going to have after dinner."  The mood in the room lightens, and I give him a small smile as thanks.

I turn back to Mr. Blackbourne with a few important questions on my mind.

"Could you please explain what you mean about this secret do-gooder ninja group you all belong to?  Why are you helping me?  How old are all of you, I mean, sorry, you all seem to be about my age, and is Dr. Robert's part of this, because the way he flipped that guy was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, and can you teach me how to do that, and did you mean it about me being a part of your family?"  I took a big breath to stop my rambling.  I turn to Luke.  "And how did you find me?"

Just as Mr. Blackbourne looks like he is going to respond to my torrent of questions there's a huge crashing sound from somewhere else in the house, and I flinch and then shrink into Kota.

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?"  someone shouts.  I'm too scared to look up, and I curl tighter into Kota's side, trying to make myself smaller and hide from them.

I hear a grunt and the sound of a fist striking flesh.  There's a few more thwacks, and then Gabriel hollers, "Don't you fucking shout like that around Trouble, you dumbass! You're scaring the fucking shit out of her!"

There's a beat of silence and I peek out from where I'm hiding. North is holding his stomach and is slightly hunched forward. Gabriel and Luke are standing in front of him like a mismatched pair of guardian angels, and Nathan and Silas are just now entering from the hallway.

I realize that it must have been North who was yelling, and I take a breath and decide to be courageous. I stand up, and though I'm a little wobbly, I make my way over to Gabriel and Luke. I touch each of them on the arm.