<Wyatt>
Blackness. Everything was black. Everything felt like one big haze. One moment I was in the library and the next I'm in complete darkness. Or at least that's what I thought until a sheet was lifted over my head. It was clear to me then, that I was in some sort of basement. The room was humid and everything felt off.
I heard the creek of a door and out came my father. Shocking. He had a cold look on his face. And it was now that I had realized something. He lost me. He lost his son. I would no longer call the man before me my father. He's put me and my friends through hell, all for a chance at money, something we've never had.
His footsteps fill the room and I try to spit the gag out of my mouth but there's no point. He takes a seat in the chair placed across from me. He has a smile on his face. Not a happy smile but, rather, dollar signs.
"Hello, son," He says. My jaw is clenched and there's nothing I could do. I was hopeless. Was this it for me? Was I going to become some sort of lab rat for all to see?
I wiggle and wiggle but the knots wouldn't budge. My heart was racing and I was beginning to sweat. "Today's the day. I'm so proud of you." He beams. I feel sick, I wiggle and wiggle, nothing. He takes my chair and wheels me into a room I hadn't noticed. There, I am watched by several spectators. Each person in designer attire. They chatter among themselves until I am in view. Their conversations stop and I'm the center of everyone's attention.
Being the outcast, I wasn't used to this. I've been fighting for so long, was my fight really over? I wouldn't see Jaeden again and tell him I love him one more time. I wouldn't get to see the guys anymore. Yes, we've fought, but we're a family. An unbreakable one.
Everything inside of me stiffens up. I was about to be auctioned like some car. All I was, was money. Memories flooded my head. I looked at my father standing there proudly. A smile toward to audience as he could finally praise his son under the spotlight.
"Daddy, daddy, I won!" I screamed as I raced out of my mother's car and into his arms. He patted my head and crouched down. He grabbed my elbow and I looked into his eyes.
"I'm proud of you, Wyatt." He smiled. I handed him my trophy and he admired it with such pride.
"I scored the winning goal!" I beamed. My mother walked past us and smiled.
"He did, you should've seen him out there." She praised. She walked with my brother inside and my dad stayed with me.
"One day, Wyatt, you're going to do something great and I'll be there to watch this time." He promises.
Only if I knew he'd keep his promise.
They clap as I'm presented. My father mumbles a few things about what's about to occur. Where was my mother? Did she agree to this?
"Wyatt? What are you doing here?" She questions as she sets her book to the side. I jump on top of her bed and snuggle close to her. She wraps an arm around my body and I could hear her heart beat.
"I had a nightmare, mommy." I rubbed my eyes as I heard a sigh escape her lips. She placed a finger under my chin and forced me to look into her eyes.
"Baby, you're stronger than you think, I can promise you that. A nightmare can't hurt you anymore than a dream. (Great book, highly recommend it)." She soothes the fear away.
Only if she were here to do the same now.
I hear the door open behind me and there, Jack is wheeled in. He had a long leg cast covering his whole leg. He had an odd smile on his face. There was a plan.
They began to hook wires up to Jack as he sat before them like a stage dog. "With the cure itself, we have Jack Dylan Grazer," My father presents. In the corner of my eye I could see Jack's father. He looks guilty and almost as if he didn't agree with this. Several people held signs up and shouted random numbers for Jack. But Jack would be useless without me so what was the point. If there's one thing I've learned is that people without money want it and people who have money want more.
Jack looked and me and gave me a chin-up and then he winked. He mouthed one word and one word only. This word changed everything. 'Jaeden'
A smile formed on my face. When Jaeden has a plan, there's no stopping him.
<Jeremy>
After the helicopter was gone Sophia and I ran as fast as we could. We didn't have a plan, no, but we had an idea.
"What are we supposed to do when we reach the other side?" Sophia wonders. Her eyes have a certain spark in them that no other person has. A spark that made me promise to protect her even if it meant the death of myself.
"Think about it, where are Jack and Finn?" I question, knowing the answer.
"The hospital." She answers.
"So at least we'll find Jack and Finn and they'll help us." I scheme. Sophia smiles and we proceed to walk.
A silence falls upon us and both of us don't dare to break it because we find comfort in the silence. Sophia would glance up at me every few times.
"What would you be doing if we weren't here? If this never happened?" She finally breaks the silence. I had to think about it and the truth was unsettling.
"If this never happened none of us would become a family. None of us would have stepped up and change out of societies expectations. It's interesting, really. Some of us had a harder time adjusting than others. And I would probably be in my room writing in my journal." I share. I didn't know why I was sharing. I felt safe when I was with Sophia, like I could tell her anything and everything.
"Journal? I didn't know you had a journal." Sophia almost looked dumbfounded.
"I-" But then it happened. The first piece of light that gave us hope. We both perked up and started running. I didn't know when but her hand slipped into mine.
I realized that I wasn't alone in this. I had Sophia and Sophia had me.
And there we were, standing on the border of the woods and the road. Cars flew past us and we were back in the city.
Sophia looked at me and the car lights lit up her face, showing her natural beauty. We began to walk up the road, where the hospital was.
I knew we had the same thing on our mind. Eagerness and fear. But most importantly, excitement.
