The Anomaly Project

CHAPTER THREE

AUTUMN

Well. What an interesting predicament we have found ourselves in. Locked in a cage, a complete maniac holding our father hostage and wanting to make us into a mini-army.

I can honestly say I've never experienced anything quite like this.

Then again, I've never experienced anything, really, after spending seventeen years hiding away in an abandoned building. Maybe this is normal. Something every teenager goes through at some point in their life. You know, like puberty.

This is a little different from puberty, I hear Noah say. He sounds frustrated, which means that responding sarcastically as I normally would is a bad idea. Instead, I opt to remain silent.

I lay on my back, willing a twig to fly up in the air with my mind, then releasing it and catching it as gravity drags it back down. Noah watches me, sitting with his back leaning against the metal bars, knees pulled up to his chest. His face is masked and unreadable.

I don't understand this, I finally hear him say in my mind. Any of this. Why keep us here? We're of no use to them locked in a cage.

I don't bother to sit up or pause in my game of catch with myself. They have their reasons.

That's not good enough for me, Noah replies, sounding frustrated. I want to know what they're up to.

I look over at him and catch the twig, not sending it airborne again. We'll find out soon enough, won't we? He isn't going to keep us stuck in here forever. Not when he needs to use us to achieve his supervillain ambitions. Taking over the world and such.

Noah relaxes a tiny bit. I guess you're right. Something's bound to happen soon. It still bothers me that I can't read his mind waves, though.

I frown and sit up slowly. You can't read his mind waves? I ask, arching an eyebrow at him. This is news to me. And not good news at that.

He nods, looking grim. It's like every time I try to get into his head, I hit a barrier. Or something. I don't know. It's never happened before.

That's... not good.

You're telling me.

He sounds so dejected, so defeated, that it breaks my heart. Hey, it's okay. We can figure something out.

Can we?

Yeah, we can. We're superhumans, Noah. Come on. I uncross my arms and lean back against the bars of the cage. My brother's eyes meet mine, a tiny smile playing on his lips.

You're right. We're getting out of here, he thinks to me, sounding defiant, which relieves me. That's the Noah I know.

I nod, smiling back. But something tells me we're not going to be able to do it without a fight.

That shouldn't be a problem, is Noah's response. And he's right. In addition to our mind powers, we've both been genetically engineered to be much, much stronger than the average man, and have incredible stamina, battle reflexes, and coordination. Fighting should be easy for us, especially with all the training Dad gave us back home.

So what do we do now? I ask him. We can't just stay holed up here, and wait for a fight to come.

He presses his lips together. Unfortunately, that's the only thing we can do right now. Just sit tight. I've got a feeling something interesting is about to happen.