Syra

Chapter 6

"Alright, kids. Come on out, and we won't hurt you. We aren't afraid to hurt you if we need to," one of the men said.

My siblings and I held each other in fear. I held my hands out and pushed them against the wall with an invisible force.

"Come on, guys. Let's go," I said as I stood up. I helped my siblings up, too, and we bolted for the back door.

I reached for the handle as someone clamped my shoulder. I brushed him off and launched him backwards with my mind.

I turned the handle and my siblings and I ran for our lives. Instead of going home, where I was sure more bad guys would be waiting, I took my siblings to Gram's house.

It took us a long time, but we thought we lost the bad guys by the time we made it to Gram's house. Out of breath and scared, I pounded on the door. In a matter of seconds, Gram was there to let us in.

"What are you kids doing here?" she asked.

"We're in danger, Gram," I said. I explained to an extent what was going on.

"You kids can stay here for as long as you need," Gram said after I finished. "You'll be safe here."

I went up to the guest room. There was only one bed in there, but it was carpeted, so I figured we could sleep on the floor if we needed to.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Syra," Braydee said. "You're my twin sister. I should've listened to you better."

"Who were those guys?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know, but they scared me," I replied.

"Do you really believe that we're gonna be safe here?" Ally asked.

"I don't know what I think anymore. Everything I've accepted as true has all been lies," I said. "My dad, my mom, your dad. Even my powers. What I've known about them is as far from the truth as it could possibly be."

Braydee wrapped her arms around me. Ally did, too, and then Tyler. "Look," Ally said, "we're your family. We are far from normal, but we have each other. We're gonna protect each other, and we're gonna stick together."

"Thanks, guys," I said.

+++++

After a long day of hiding in fear under the blankets of Gram's guest room bed, I came downstairs. She and my siblings were watching Hurricane Leah footage.

"How's the evacuation going?" I asked.

"No one's leaving. They don't think it's a big deal," Tyler replied.

I scoffed. "I hope Mom's getting out of there."

I sat down on the floor to watch the TV. Before I even had a chance to sit, I had another vision.

"I'll ask one more time before I hurt you. Where is she?" I heard.

It was an unmistakeable voice. The anger in his tone. I didn't need to see the face to know it was my stepfather.

"Never," replied another voice. This one wasn't as deep, and was filled with something else instead of anger. It was filled with love and fear.

It was Dad.

"I'll get it out of you eventually," Paul said. "But it's gonna hurt."

"If it keeps Syra safe, then I don't care what you do to me," Dad said.

The image finally started to come into view. Dad was strapped in a chair in a dark room. The only light was a dim lamp beside his chair. Paul stood beside him with a table of torture instruments.

"Don't make me watch him torture you," I muttered. "Please, Dad."

"Where is she?" Paul asked calmly as he injected something into Dad's arm.

Dad flinched. He tensed up and started grunting. "Never," he said. I felt his pain.

"I've got more painful methods than this, Patrick," Paul said. "Just tell me where she is and the pain stops."

Dad was in so much pain, but he wanted me to see what Paul was doing to him, so he was putting on a brave face. "You'll never find her."

The vision faded out and I fell to the floor.

"My God. Syra, are you okay?" Ally said, rushing to my side.

"I'm fine," I replied, brushing myself off. "Paul's not with Mom."

I was about to explain my vision to my siblings when there was a knock at the door.

My siblings and I hid around the corner while Gram opened it. "You're not supposed to be here," she said.

"I need to explain myself. I won't hurt anybody," Paul said.

Paul was at the door. I froze up in fear. Ally grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Braydee rested her head on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and a tear fell down my cheek.

"We know what you are," Gram said. "I don't underestimate my granddaughter. She told me about you."

"It's not me. It's my creator," Paul argued. "Can I please come in and explain myself?"

"Let him in," I said quietly. Somehow, I could tell he was telling the truth, and that he'd confirm my suspicions about his experiments.

My siblings and I stepped out from around the corner. "Tell us what you know, Paul," I said. "But start with how you knew where we were."

"I passed Reema's house and saw you four escape out the back door," Paul started. "I followed you here, but stayed away to make sure I wasn't followed."

"What do you know about the experiments on my father?" I asked.

"The lab is in Ohio. Paul Jordan did go to school with your father, and eventually learned about his powers. Paul wanted to learn the secrets of that power, so he orchestrated a way to get him without anyone noticing he was missing. He had a family that would miss him, so Paul knew he'd have to plan a fake death for Patrick.

"Paul got to Patrick and gave him a type of genetically engineered cancer that only he had a cure for. When Patrick was about to die, Paul told everyone he was dead, took him to his facility, and gave him the cure. Then, he started planning the experiments."

"He didn't even have the tests planned?" I asked.

"He had an idea, but he didn't know how to execute his idea. He created a series of clones to do his dirty work while he could work in secret. One of them is Ally's father, a few work within Paul's facilities, a few others are scattered around the country leaving false trails. Like me, for example. I got myself arrested to divert the attention of authorities."

"Hold on. You're telling me my dad's a clone?" Ally asked, a horrified expression on her face. "I'm half clone?!"

"Yeah. Sorry," Paul replied. "Anyway, that's why I'm sure you've been confused about why Paul seems to be in two different places at once."

"So, what, does Paul want my dad's power? Because he doesn't look like he's gotten very far with ten years of experiments," I said. "And what does he want me for?"

"Because you're a lot more powerful than your dad," Paul said. "And Paul wants your power more. He's only keeping your dad alive because he doesn't know where you are. Once your dad tells Paul how to find you, you will never be able to run or hide from him. I'm sorry."

"You're not gonna tell him where I am, are you?" I asked.

"No. Because that's the only reason I'm still here, too. Once I complete my mission and give your whereabouts to the real Paul, he'll disable all his clones, including your stepfather," Paul said. "I wish you luck. Stay away from Ohio, and watch your back."

Paul left. I was confused, but what I'd been tracking made more sense.

I just wished Mom knew what was going on.

I heard commotion outside. A gunshot went off and Paul screamed. A few seconds later, the front door fell off its hinges. A tall man in black stepped into the house, pointed his gun at me, and fired.