The Traitor

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Unknown Truth

Jasper took his precious time explaining everything, enjoying every moment that he held me captive by his words. Meanwhile, I waited anxiously for him to give me answers; answers that could potentially change my life.

He smiled as he began, "Teya, you're different than most people, and I don't just mean the Daines. I'm talking about your family too. You know what I mean, I'm sure." Of course I knew what he meant. He was referring to the fact that I was adopted, and I knew that, but how did he know? The only person I had ever told I was adopted was Jackie- I never mentioned it to anyone else; especially Jasper or Savannah.

"How do you know I was adopted?" I asked suspiciously, but Jasper didn't miss a beat. And he clearly wasn't trying to hide the fact that he knew. He wanted me to know, and it was driving shivers up my spine.

"Oh, Teya. There's a lot about you that I know, some of which you don't even know about yourself." He smirked, knowing full well he was being vague enough to leave me on the edge of my seat- too vague, in my opinion, to understand anything he was saying. I knew he was trying to build up the tension by stalling and giving up as little information as possible, and all I could do was just keep asking and hope he eventually reveals the secrets that were driving me insane.

"What do you mean?" I pried. I was growing more impatient by the second, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could sit and wait for him to explain before I exploded. But he was taking his own sweet time getting to the point, and with every word he said, I became even more anxious.

Again he smiled, but this time, instead of just a smirk, his smile just looked 100 percent evil. "Like, for example," he began casually as if he didn't just admit to being a stalker, "you're no ordinary human, Teya. You're special. Just like Savannah and I." He pulled Savannah close to him and winked at me, knowing he was just rubbing salt in an open wound. As much as I hated to admit it, his betrayal still hurt, though with everything he'd done in the past half hour, I knew I could never like him that way- or at all- ever again. Nonetheless, it hurt.

"I am nothing like you!" I shouted before thinking twice. "Despite what every other Daine thinks, I am not a traitor!" I immediately regretted shouting the second I finished, and I worried that maybe I had gone too far, but Jasper made no notion of chastising me for most likely crossing the invisible line. I wasn't exactly sure what he could do to me if I provoked him, but I also wasn't sure I wanted to find out. Just in case, I took a step back, but my eyes kept a careful hold on Jasper as I awaited his response.

"Oh, but you are," he disagreed calmly, and to my relief, he began to explain. "You, Teya Raine, are a RAY." He and Savannah smirked like they had both just told me they had turned me into the police for something I didn't do, but I was unimpressed and confused. I could tell they were waiting for to me to have some big reaction to what they just said, but I just stood there, stunned and confused, as I tried to understand what he was trying to tell me.

"I'm a what?" I asked, half curious, half bored of my very existence being completely changed right in front of me.

"You're a RAY," he repeated, then finally decided I still didn't get it and proceeded to explain, "RAY stands for Robotically Altered Youth. I mentioned that you're no ordinary human, but what I meant was, you're no human. You're a superhuman." Now I was stunned. Okay, so first he told me that my entire life as a Daine was a setup, and now he was telling me that I was some kind of superhuman? I think I would know if I was a superhuman. I was bound to have found out somehow, right?

"A superhuman? No offense," I replied, my voice drowning in sarcasm, letting him know that I couldn't care less if he took offense to it, "but that's ridiculous. I think I would know if I were a superhuman."

"Don't be so sure," he replied in a snarky, know-it-all tone, that just made me hate him even more than I already did- if that was even possible.

He made no move to explain his side of the argument, so I spoke up. "Really? Because I don't see myself shooting lasers out of my eyes or lightning bolts out of my hands," I retorted in an equally snarky tone, sharp enough to cut right through the walls surrounding us and bring down the building. That wouldn't be so bad, I thought. If I had superpowers, I would've already used them to get out of here. Too bad Jasper was lying. He was lying, right? Was it possible I was actually a superhuman, or as he had called them, a RAY?

Jasper just chuckled. "Clearly, you know nothing about RAYs." Obviously, I wanted to say. "See, RAYs don't have ordinary superpowers, we're what's known as 'hot bait.'" Again, he must have noticed the confused expression I wore, because he went into more detail. "A RAY is a half-robot, half-human, which is programmed to attract the attention of anyone who sees us so that we can lure them into our trap. In other words, a RAY is an extremely good-looking superhuman designed as bait to attract the target and trick them right into our hands. And you fell for it." He smirked, knowing I understood, and I wished I could slap that devilish smile right off his face.

"So how did I end up with my family and not working for Head Quarters like you?" I snapped, still partly hoping they were wrong about me, though I knew there small chance of that happening.

Jasper hesitated as if hoping I wouldn't ask that question, which only made me want the answer even more. "You were...misplaced and ended up in an orphanage when you were younger. The Wens searched for almost a year before finally locating you at a nearby house, thankfully still on the Wen Side. But we knew it would be too risky to kidnap you, so we waited. We watched your pattern of life for years, keeping close tabs on everything you did, down to the smallest choices, knowing one of them would eventually lead you to make the decision between Wen and Daine. By the time you turned ten, your rebellious behavior meant you would undoubtedly choose the Daine Side when the time came, and we figured that would be the perfect time to lure you back over without drawing too much attention. That's where I came in."

As he finished explaining, I realized my jaw hung low from my face and I quickly closed it, still in shock at what I was hearing. So it was true: I was a RAY. Despite all the lies Jasper had told me, for some reason, I believed this. It all made perfect sense: the train bombing, Jasper and Savannah's mysterious appearance out of nowhere, the fact that Savannah had known exactly where I was going even without telling her- everything. There was just one thing I didn't get. "So then why did Brandon show up on a 'mission' to the Daine Side, and how did you know where he was?" When it involved me getting tricked, I could handle it, but when it involved my family, especially Brandon, that was where I was upset.

Jasper didn't miss a beat, clearly elated at being able to explain yet another part of his devious plan. "After you told us about Brandon that first day, we knew it would be the easiest way to get you in trouble since we knew you would try to save him if he was captured. So we sent him on a fake secret mission, ensuring he would be captured, then lured you right into where he was being imprisoned. It was all too easy once you mentioned that Brandon was your best friend- we finally had some bait." His smirk grew even larger still and my frown deepened.

I stood there, shocked and horrified. "You hurt Brandon just to get to me?!" I growled in exasperation and Jasper took a step back but continued to smirk. His amused gaze never left my face.

"Very good, Teya," he mocked like I was a toddler who had just taken her first step. "You've almost figured out my entire plan." He folded his arms across his puffed-out chest and glared at me, waiting for my response.

"What's the rest of it?" I asked, hesitantly, not sure whether I was about to walk into yet another one of his traps. He had made a web and I was caught and tied in the center of it; there was no way out.

"Glad you asked," he replied.