The People with Useless Power

Chapter Twenty-one

"Her family didn't print this."

The windows were boarded up shabbily, and half of the house was burned down. Horrified, Emily backed up, tears leaking out of her eyes and about to run, but Lavender grabbed her wrists and pulled her through the trees.

She didn't want to go anywhere near her 'house'. Squeezing her eyes shut, Emily tried to get away, but Lav was too strong for her.

"Emily," she hissed, "we need to eat."

That was what Lavender was concerned about. Food. When her home was abandoned and half-destroyed. Emily thought she'd feel angry, but as she spoke, disappointment bloomed into her chest. "Oh. I see."

But Lav was right. Emily was starving.

As they walked down the road, looking for a restaurant, she zoned out, her mind consumed with thoughts about her family. Were they dead? Did Mara kill them?

Did Emma?

Her chest tightened, and she blinked back tears as Lav pulled her into a building. Emily winced, the fluorescent lights piercing her retinas. Lavender turned to her and bit her lip, using her palm to wipe her tears. She followed her to a booth and slid in across from her, suddenly self-conscious of the mud on her back, but the waitress didn't seem to notice.

"What can I get y'all first?" she asked in a soft, accented voice. Emily looked over at her, getting distracted by her curly, golden-blonde hair. The waitress stared at Emily back, but there was only one thing written on her face.

Absolute horror.

"Aren't you the kid on the missing posters?" she squeaked, her face draining of its tan color slowly.

"What?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrows, and Lavender opened her mouth to say something, but the waitress scurried off. She came back only seconds later, clutching a missing flyer and shoving it into Emily's hands. Hope lifted her heart as the waitress speed-walked to the kitchen and disappeared from their view.

"My family was looking for me," Emily whispered, ignoring the look of annoyance on Lav's face.

"The key word there is 'was'," she hissed, and Emily's eyes widened. Lav looked down. "S-sorry," she forced out, "just... don't get your hopes up, kid."

"I'm literally the same age as you," Emily laughed, though as she read the flyer, her hopes lowered and lowered, and she got lost in her thoughts.

The picture was from when she was five, from the last time her parents decided to let her take a yearbook picture. They were both huge conspiracy theorists and believed the government was out to get everyone, so when her parents found out that the gov recorded the school photos...

...A few thousand calls to the school were made and her parents were especially jittery and snappish.

Yet they still took pictures. At home.

Her family didn't print this.

"Miss Houston," a husky voice called, and Emily looked up to see a man in a suit. His graying hair only intensified his large, stone-cold silver irises. "I'd like you to come with me." A fake-friendly smile creased his face.

Her legs felt like lead. "I'd rather not."

His smile dropped. In a flash, he yanked Lavender up by her hair and held a gun to her temple. Emily screamed, standing up and slamming her back into the booth. "Let me rephrase that," he sneered. "Come with me."

They slipped out of the booth, he and Lav, and Emily followed quickly, snatching Lavender's wrist.

The mysterious man led them out into the parking lot, and into a white van, where he shoved them into the back with another man in the same suit. He held the weapon up at both of them as the original creep drove.