The Experimentals: Choose your own adventure

Go with Luke

Sariya could hear a distant rumble in the sky and looked up. "We need to hide."

Luke pushed her to the ground and threw a large blanket over the both of them. "Be quiet."

Sariya knelt close to the ground as Luke laid on top of her back. She held her breath as the rumbling in the sky became louder and louder, with the noise almost on top of them before passing. She realized that she was clutching his hand tightly. She could feel his hot breath on the nape of her neck and her heart raced faster. Finally, she could feel his body relax and her hand retracted from his. He lifted the blanket, pulled her up, and gathered up the sheet. "Come on. It's not that much farther."

She trailed behind him hesitantly. "Was that just a blanket or sheet?"

"A what? No, it's a cloaking device. It distorts any heat sensors or electronic signals. You're lucky they haven't put a bounty on your head yet, then every bounty hunter and their uncle would be looking for you. Right now, they think they can just quietly retrieve you without anyone knowing they were betrayed."

Sariya thought of Tom. "What will they do to Tom?"

Luke glanced back warily at her. "Tom? He's dead. You killed him."

Sariya stopped. "No. He said he would just be out."

Luke turned around to face her. "We don't have time for this. What did you think was going to happen to him after you left? He knew what he was doing. He always knew this was his fate. Come on." Sariya trotted behind, feeling wretched the entire way. Would she have done it knowing this now? Why didn't he tell her? Well, she realized she could never had done it knowing that would be the outcome. How could she be alive and he dead? What was so special about her that someone else needed to die? They reached a clearing and Luke tapped his watch, which made his blue and silver pod materialize out of thin air. He helped her into the two-person vehicle and took off.

Sariya looked at him. "Why me? Why am I so special?"

Luke continued looking ahead. "I don't know why you're so special. I just know you're the key to destroying the Aceiavay. That's why they took you and why I'm bringing you to The People. There's something you should know, though."

"I don't think anything can surprise me at this point."

He snickered. "I can only imagine what you're going through. I'm not an Earther like where you came from. My ancestors were once Earthers, but we were taken a long time ago during a time when The People thought we would go extinct. Obviously, you did not. Our people have evolved differently than Earthers over the centuries due to varying climates and more advanced technology. We still have the same DNA, but we call ourselves Psylots. Most others still call us Earthers. Some of us have extra-sensory skills."

"Like what?"

"Moving objects. Mind control. Some of us can suspend ourselves in air using our minds. It varies."

"What about you?"

Luke shrugged. "I'm good at predicting your next move, but I don't know what you'll really do. There's more."

"Okay," Sariya said slowly, "what else is there?"

"You're a Psylot." He waited for Sariya to say something, but she didn't, so he continued. "You're not from Earth. You were part of an experiment to engineer highly specialized beings. It was very unethical and the program shut down. You'd think we would learn from our past, but when something so enticing is dangling right in front of us, we'll make all sorts of excuses to make those same mistakes again under a different name. This time, it was supposed to save us from the Aceiavay, but you all were babies. You were each spirited away into the galaxy, hidden from everyone and yourselves. I was told you were left in front of a police station on Earth and eventually adopted." He paused and glanced at her.

Sariya looked ashen. "I always knew I was different. I never felt like I belong. I always felt like something was missing. Where are the other kids?"

Luke cleared his throat. "You're the last one that we know of. Some are confirmed dead and some are missing. They couldn't take you for a long time because of the Helios Accord."

"What's that?"

"It just means your planet hasn't established contact yet, so they couldn't brazenly take you. They had to wait for an opportune moment to get you."

"Like when I ran away. Why couldn't The People come get me?"

"The Aceiavay are the only ones capable of traveling that distance. We had to wait until they got you back here."

"Where is here?"

"This is a waystation. A no man's land, where there are no laws. It's called Atrudu. You don't want to be stuck here on your own. We're headed to The People, but I need to stop by an old friend. You have to stay in the pod and don't get out. I can't risk you being seen." Sariya nodded as Luke landed the pod on top of a tall building on the outskirts of the city. She could see dry, reddish-brown sand beyond the cityscape stretching for miles. She realized in that moment that she was very alone and very afraid. She just wanted to be back in her mother's arms, but knew she could never return back there. There was too much pain there. Too much suffering. Honestly, she had no future back there, but this present one scared her. She didn't know if she was making the right decisions. What if she was wrong?

Quite some time had elapsed and Sariya tapped on her ring. "JoJo, I need your help."

JoJo rematerialized in front of her. "What can I do?"

"I'm just feeling off. Can you go listen in on Luke and report back?"

JoJo giggled. "Of course. I can be in two places at once. He's talking to a Walut. Big, purple people. They're slave-traders. He's asking how much for the girl."

Sariya didn't have time to be alarmed as debris rained down on the building around her. She looked up to see large, glowing, metallic ships in the sky eclipsing the suns. "What's happening?"

JoJo pressed a button on the control panel and the hatch opened into pure dust and chaos. "Get out. Run away from here."

She jumped out of the pod, barely able to see in front of her, and ran back into the city as more explosions rocked the buildings behind her. As she rounded a corner, she felt a hand grab her upper arm. She looked up to see a young man with midnight black hair and unblinking, large blue eyes staring at her. "Let me go!"

He immediately released his grip. "Don't believe what The People have told you. My name is Azan. I'm like you. One of the experimental children. Come with me if you want to be free."

Through the explosions and fog, she could make out Luke heading towards her. Should she believe this stranger she just met? How could she trust Luke from what JoJo overheard? She had to make a decision and she had to make one fast. Another explosion sounded behind them and the whole building came crashing down, causing a tsunami of debris and dust to rush out at them, swallowing Luke in its wave. She could either go with Azan or she could run towards Luke and she knew she had to make that decision in the next second or they would all be dead.

Stay with Azan Run towards Luke