The Reborn

Chapter 12 History

Dusk's P.O.V.

"We must show them at some point!" I exclaimed, rather angrily.
"Never will I tell those stupid tramps." she returned stubbornly.
"Look, I know that you don't trust them, and for good reason too, but they are like us, and the girl...." Snow interrupted,"The girl?!"
"Another stinking tramp, Nikolai and Strider were enough?" she added, infuriated.
"These people are not just vagabonds, they are like us. I met Echo in town."
I continued,"She is especially interesting, but I think I understand her."
Snow asked,"What is she?"
I didn't understand her annoyance. "Why, a horse," I said.
She said quickly,"Ugh, I hate horses!"
"You hate everything," I returned.
Snow ran, infuriated to her room. 

I walked to my shed and was surprised to find Mountain there sitting on a thick vine outside my nook.
"I didn't put that there," I blurted out, quite confused.
"I did," he said.
Immediately he added,"Sort of."
I cocked my head waiting for an explanation. He let out a long sigh.
"My marking," he said, gesturing to the mark on his collar bone.
"Symbolizes wisdom, not to brag, but I have grown quite wise," he said a twinkle in his kind blue eyes.
"Continue," I urged.
"Well, you opened yourself up to me," I looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, I think I half know what you mean.
He smiled and said slowly,"That is my best explanation," he paused.
Then continued,"You could make this vine disappear if you wanted, though I might get a soar rear end from hitting the ground."
He chuckled a contagious laugh and soon we were both cheerful.
I said, still trying not to laugh,"Get up please or you will be."
With an interested glint in his eyes he stood. The vine disappeared.
"Try to make another," I said triumphantly.
He did so easily.
I looked perplexed so he said,"We must talk."
He gestured to my nook and the vines opened so we could enter the small area behind the wall of vines, that I called my nook. It was slightly to dark so I made the thick vine that blocked the hole in the roof move, and it did, beautiful sunlight streamed into my nook and it was illuminated.

"We will talk about powers later, now we must speak of other matters."
After a deep breath, he dived right into it,"We are not the first wave of experiments it started with my great grandmother and 99 other kids."
He continued,"My great grandmother's name was Ibis, she lived in Inner Earth."
At that I looked puzzled, and cocked my head.
"I will call her Ibis so it is not confusing while I tell my story," I was thankful for that, cause I failed at paying too much attention.
"Anyway," he said continuing his story,"Ibis lived in Inner Earth, which is the core of earth and we are in."
"Most of mankind flocked there when Outer Earth fell into chaos, violence and death everywhere like an easily caught disease."
After a moment, which seemed ages to me, he continued,"An alliance was formed between the world's greatest enemies and Outer Earth burned."
He sighed, then said,"Well Ibis and 99 others, like I said a moment ago, were injected with something that gave them animal characteristics."
He stopped for a moment, as if trying to remember what else to say.
Then after a sigh he continued,"Well some of the 100 people escaped from Inner Earth and taught the remaining people how to restart their countries and repopulate Outer Earth."
Then he smiled and said,"And they are living on the information given to them so long ago." At stating his grandmother's part in rebuilding the world a huge smile crossed his face, but he soon became serious.
"Well, after Ibis and the others were injected and escaped, men who were interested in the experiment of crossing animals and people followed them to Outer Earth," he sighed, shaking his head.
"Those men continued their experimenting by capturing the 100 and soon transformed the descendents of Ibis and the others into full blown animals, excluding myself and a few others."
He then looked at me and said,"Your parents no doubt were the grandchildren of one of the 100, probably a person with wolf characteristics."
Then he continued,"I was fortunate enough not to be to be changed to a full blown animal, until the latest experiment, which changed us into skin-changers."
I took a moment to process things then asked,"So, me and Snow and you and Strider and Nikolai and any others in the experiment were targeted directly?"
Mountain said,"Yes, but they also changed a few normal animals too."
I asked,"Because we are related to the original 'experiments', right?"
Mountain nodded again and said,"It also caused you and the others related to the first 100 to have higher intelligence."
Just then we heard a voice come from outside the shed, it was slightly squeaky, but still a beautiful sound, it was calling,"Dusk!"
"It paused, then,"Dusk!"

I exited the shed, leaving Mountain in my nook, I then saw a teenage girl, about my age, with blonde hair, standing in the snow listening intently for an answer to her calls.
I walked up quietly and said,"Hey Echo."
Echo jumped, quite startled, then said,"Oh, O.K., it's just you."
She grinned then dramatically said,"Whew!"
Finishing off her act with a hand sweeping across her forehead.
I smiled and asked,"What's the matter?"
She bit her lower lip, slightly nervous and stammered,"Weeell, uumm, I-I was sort of wondering i-if I could," she stopped mid sentence.
She said,"No, never-mind it was stupid thing to try to ask."
I urged,"Tell me, it's O.K."
She gave a sigh and spit it all out real quick,"I don't have anywhere to stay and I wondered if I could live with you."
She looked worried, it was obvious that she worried if she would annoy me or seem rude, which she didn't.
"Of course you can!" I exclaimed, extremely excited.
Echo smiled and said,"Thanks so much, I can't wait." 

Later, Echo was settled in with new clothes and furniture. After shopping for four people quite a while, are money, stolen from guards at the compound, began running low. I knew then, we had to get jobs.

"Yes, jobs," I repeated.
Echo kept asking nervously,"Jobs?"
I kept replying,"Yes, jobs."
After Echo seemed less dazed, Echo, Mountain, and I, heard shuffled footsteps. Into the kitchen lumbered Snow.
"I got a job at the hardware store," she said.
Then, while trying to hold back a glare and a snarl, as usual, she said,"Hello Echo."
Echo nervously replied,"Hey, niceeee to meett you."
To hopefully lighten things up I said mischievously,"Been eavesdropping, eh, Snow?"
I finished with a wink in Snow's direction.
"I get to, not only fix things at the shop, but the owner is giving me tools so I can go fix things at other peoples houses."
With this she brightened up.
I sighed and said,"And so you can find information about Widow and Ghost."
Snow gave me a mischievous grin which answered my question.
"Later I am going to the compound."
A long forgotten Echo piped up,"I am going too."
"Good luck Dusk." said Snow.
A rare look of fondness came over Snow's face, as she thought about Ghost.

As soon as I got a chance, I charged out into he biting cold wind with Echo galloping behind me. It was time to get back Widow and Ghost.