Happy Birthday, You're A Freak

25 : Thorns

Spencer

It took us twice as long to return to the institute than it did to leave it and get to where they had kept Rae. She was so paranoid of being followed that she would go off root for several hours before heading back the way they had to come. It was like a game of cat and mouse, we were the mice. There were several close calls after that incident at the small house with the battered windows. We had been at a dive bar, staying in one of the small rooms they offered for rent when Jayden spotted a man called Greyson, whom Rae had nicknamed the Fridge across the street with his back to the bar.

We had left almost immediately and we were several miles away before they realized we had been there. Then there was the supermarket. We were starving and opted to buy some food to take with us when the twins turned up and we had to fight away from them. After what felt like a decade long war we finally reached the safe confines of the Institute. Raeanne was greeted with open arms but she didn't seem to trust anyone. In fact, I myself was surprised she when she requested to live in one of the dorms at the main school rather than in the water housing. They agreed, and even allowed myself and Kat to join her.

Cory, apparently had mysteriously vanished, but I had my suspicions of where she went. After all, her and Taylor had practically been best friends. She felt unsafe, and I couldn't blame her. Who could we trust?

"Spence?" Rae asked, tentatively from across the cafeteria table. We were eating dinner with the rest of the school, and our plates were loaded with double helpings of almost everything. "Can I have your fries?" I laughed and handed them over. "Only if I can have your coleslaw." So she passed the large bowl of coleslaw over and I began to chow down. It was one of my favourite foods. It was almost easy, getting back into our routine. As if nothing had ever changed. Only now we were living on the campus and not in the dorms and we had significantly less freedom. Although, on request we were put on the ground floor in a room with an emergency exit and we had equipped every inch of campus with security cameras which were to be monitored day in and day out, there was still a feeling to the air, as if you are always being watched. As if your waiting for an attack in a moments notice.

Eating our cookies an announcement rang through the cafeterium. "Immediately following lunch, all students and staff are required to move to the auditorium. All students and staff to the auditorium. Thank you." Shrugging, Rae and I swung our backpacks over our shoulders and headed with the rest of the moving masses towards the auditorium and got good seats while letting the rest of the school file in. Once it was packed the Headmaster called for silence and began to speak.

"I'm sure all of you know, but judging by the distortions I've already heard about what happened while Ms. Roosevelt was, away I've come to set this straight. She was kidnapped by a secret society set on destroying our powers and taking them for themselves. Their aim is to build a perfect society, where no one dies, immortality. Where no one falls out of line, and most of all, where there is not an ounce of free will. It is in our natures of choose what is worst for us, being human. This society is called the Varnan. They're leader just so happens to a student here. Mr. Taylor Bennit of the water house." A murmur rose from the mass of hundreds of students and they're total shock was palpable in this situation. Taylor had been a role model, he had helped a lot of these kids with their powers and he was, evil? "I know how hard this is to believe but I'm afraid its true."

"Starting tomorrow, you will train harder, learn how to fight properly against what will be upon us. There will be a war. By next months full moon Taylor will have converted his entire army to immortal states, and you all must be prepared to fight. You must be prepared for what is coming. One of us is not safe, so we will do our best to keep Raeanne safe, because we are a family, and families always help eachother out." We were dismissed and I felt distracted, fight. We had to learn to fight. There was a tap on my shoulder and the headmaster stood next to Rae, Kat, Jayden and myself before beckoning us into his office.