《Unveiled》


 Chapter 1: Rock Bottom

    Kaitlyn Rai


    ¡°look. I¡¯m sorry we don¡¯t have enough money for you to be blowing on drinks and other junk with your friends every day of the week!¡±


    ¡°Since when have you been so concerned with how anyone spends money? Weren¡¯t you the one that went off on that business trip in July? To hang out with your ¡®Boys¡¯ down in Vegas?¡±


    ¡°Kaitlyn, you know full well I didn¡¯t pay for that trip!¡±


    ¡°What do you call losing a grand on blackjack and slots then?¡±


    ¡°OH MY GOD, you never listen to me, you only listen to the things that sound the worst to you!¡±


    ¡°Oh, and how exactly is that?¡±


    ¡°Because you magically forget every time you bring this up, that Alex gave me two k to spend in the casino. That ¡®grand¡¯ you try to blame me for losing was a gift!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t forget! Babe, I just don¡¯t think it makes sense as to why a man is giving another married man 2k to throw down the drain.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sick of this¡­ you¡¯re doing the same thing as always, just shifting the blame as to why you¡¯re making bad decisions on to me.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry... For wanting to be able to go out after a long day of work and have a glass or two of some whiskey.¡±


    ¡°Oh God, here comes the apologies now... ¡°


    ¡°No, you wanted me to apologize. I¡¯m apologizing¡­¡±


    ¡°Not like¡­¡± I cut him off before he gets to stop me from my fake apologies.


    ¡°I¡¯M SORRY! I work from 6 to 7 every day!¡± Here I am, a working mother who just wants some peace every once in a while, getting told off once again by her overly controlling husband.


    ¡°What¡¯s the point in working so much if you blow it on drinks every night?¡±


    I scoff at the fact that he has the nerve to make me look like the villain once again. I stared into his slanted blue eyes to see nothing but judgment.


    ¡°You know what? AIDEN? I don¡¯t have to take this. Whatever this is supposed to be¡­ and I¡¯m not taking it tonight.¡± I turn towards the door and reach for my jacket.


    ¡°KAIT?¡± he calls from behind me. I turn instinctively to see him running his hand through his curly black hair, shaking his head with his other hand on his hip. He calls himself being disappointed in me. I shake my head as I turn back towards the door. I slipped on my Sarah Flint pumps, not even bothering to bend down and strap them on properly.


    ¡°Gonna go drown out your problems in a bottle of alcohol once again, aren¡¯t ya?¡± His words cut into me, it was as if a part of me was trying to acknowledge he was right. I opened my mouth partially ready to answer, but nothing came out. I reached for the door and turned the handle before walking down the hall. I walked to the end of it and pressed the button to descend on the elevator panel. Fortunately, the cart was already on the fourth floor so I didn''t have to wait. The doors opened welcoming me in, I pressed the button to take me to the garage before turning around. I watched Aiden close the doors to the apartment as the doors to the elevator came to a close. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Finally alone, in peace, and quiet. I began to think about why it¡¯s so hard for Aiden to realize I have needs of my own. He has his art thing, he gets to stay home all day, and play on his computer, while I¡¯m out trying to translate messages from diplomats, making sure I don¡¯t start a war because I said ¡°He wants to kill you.¡± instead of ¡°He wants to kiss you.¡± although¡­ the way things go these days, either of those statements could be detrimental.


    I look up and notice my reflection in the elevator mirror. My light brown almost beige colored curly hair framed my heart-shaped face. Despite having tan skin, my face was red as a cherry from being so worked up.


    After hearing the elevator ring, the doors sprung open allowing me to leave. In the garage, I could hear the sounds of rain coming from outside. I walked up to my Audi SUV, happy to avoid the rain. Reaching my hands in my pocket, I realize, however, my keys aren¡¯t there like I thought they were. ¡°They¡¯re probably back in the house, you dummy¡­¡± I think to myself looking past my husband¡¯s Q8. ¡°At least I¡¯m not the one spending almost 70 grand on a car¡­¡± I shake my head again, as if my 60 thousand dollar car was any better. Thinking about the fact that I¡¯ve been through so much tonight, I groan and start heading towards the garage''s gate, deciding to just head off to the bar in the rain.


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    It ended up taking a lot longer to get there than I thought it would. Going anywhere in heels in the rain is not ideal. This drink was much deserved. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever had such a stressful night. Not only did Aiden and I have another argument, but I also had to walk a long grueling six city blocks at that. Being out all alone, I kept my hand on my pocket knife as I headed towards my favorite bar.


    A small sign glows ¡°O''Hara¡¯s¡± in neon purple, though it has a dark undertone to it. Men standing outside leaning against the wall were smoking, with cups of alcohol in their hands. I smelled their toxic stench as I walked past, heading towards the glass door. The taller of the two walked in front of me towards the door, stopping at it and staring at me. I grip my knife¡¯s grip harder, feeling my hand sting slightly from the pressure. ¡°Here you go, ma¡¯am!¡± He says with a smile on his face, pulling the door open wide for me.


    ¡°O... oh¡­ thanks.¡± I release my grip as I slip into the building. I turn around rather quickly, hearing the bells dangling from the door as it closes behind me. Being in the dark, cold city of Seattle is rather stressful. It often leaves me quite paranoid. I fear that anything can happen. The only thing that just makes it worse is that I don¡¯t have a mode of transportation at the moment. If anything were to happen, I can only imagine it would be much harder to get away.


    I shake those thoughts away, as I lower myself onto the magenta bar stool. ¡°Mrs. Rai!¡± A friendly, Irish American voice greets me. ¡°Having problems with Mr. Rai again?¡± I don¡¯t say anything, but give him a hearty chuckle. ¡°Whelp¡­ maybe this scotch will cheer you up a bit.¡± He Says as he pours me a glass of my favorite scotch. Tending to the other people he had sitting at the bar, he leaves me alone as I down one glass after another.


    After a while, a rather handsome man came and sat down beside me. The wavy hairstyle, clean-cut beard, brisk blue eyes, all wrapped up in an expensive suit. With the lift of his finger, a cup was slid in front of him, and three cubes of ice were dropped in, then drowned by the strong smell of bourbon. I watched him take his first sip for the cup as the ice crackled inside.


    ¡°What¡¯s a pretty face like yours doing out so late?¡± He asked, sounding somehow genuine. Looking back towards my four glasses of scotch, I say.


    ¡°Trying to drown out the problems I¡¯ve caused.¡± Oh, how true that was¡­ My husband and I always argue about money. The simple fact was, I spent too much. Robbing myself of ten dollars with every glass. I¡¯m nothing but an alcoholic at this point.


    ¡°There seems to be no end to the stresses I face. Not as long as I have this shovel in my hand.¡± I finish holding up my cup.


    ¡°Ah¡­ we all seem to like to see how deep we can go sometimes, don¡¯t we?¡± He says sloshing the alcohol around in his cup, allowing the ice to clack against the glass softly. I chuckle softly at his remark as he continued. ¡°Anyone who can have their drink poured and served to them without a word is in a pretty deep hole.¡±


    I turn to him with a bit of a confused face. ¡°But didn¡¯t you¡­¡± I stopped myself realizing that there was no way he¡¯d known I¡¯d done that¡­ unless he¡¯d been here since I arrived.


    He points to a little table at the back left of the bar. ¡°I¡¯ve been here for a bit, and its about time I get out of here.¡± I don¡¯t know why I did what I did, but I did it, and because of this, I¡¯d dig myself in a hole so, so deep. That I would never reach the surface. ¡°A pretty face¡­ like yours? At night? Hmmm, you should let me walk you home.¡±


    I felt my face redden from such a suggestion, but I didn¡¯t take it back, nor did I even want to. ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± He¡¯d reply with such a sly smirk.


    With that, I would remove my ring, slipping into my jacket¡¯s pocket. After five years of a seemingly endless, stressful marriage. I took off my ring, and I followed this random man back to his house. I dug so deep I could hear the clack of my shovel. I guess that was rock bottom.

 Chapter 2: Father and Son

    Aiden Rai


    ¡°look. I''m sorry we don''t have enough money for you to be blowing on drinks and other junk with your friends every day of the week!¡±


    ¡°Since when have you been so concerned with how anyone spends money? Weren¡¯t you the one that went off on that ¡°business trip in July? To hang out with your ¡°Boys¡± down in Vegas?¡±


    ¡°Kaitlyn, you know full well I didn¡¯t pay for that trip!¡±


    ¡°What do you call losing a grand on blackjack and slots then?¡±


    ¡°OH MY GOD, you never listen to me, you only listen to the things that sound the worst to you!¡±


    ¡°Oh and how exactly is that?¡±


    ¡°Because you magically forget every time, you bring this up that Alex gave me two k to spend in the casino. That ¡®grand¡¯ you try to blame me for losing was a gift!¡±


    ¡°I won''t forget! Babe, I just don''t think it makes sense as to why a man is giving another married man 2k to throw down the drain.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sick of this¡­ you''re doing the same thing as always, just shifting the blame as to why you¡¯re making bad decisions on to me.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry... For wanting to be able to go out after a long day of work and have a glass or two of some whiskey.¡±


    ¡°Oh god here comes the apologies now... ¡°


    ¡°No, you wanted me to apologize. I¡¯m apologizing¡­¡±


    ¡°Not like¡­¡± She cuts me off abruptly


    ¡°I''M SORRY! I work from 6 to 7 every day!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point in working so much if you blow it on drinks every night?¡±


    She scoffs at me, just like always. Like always she gets worked up over the fact that I am concerned for our daily expenses. She makes it out that somehow I¡¯m the bad guy for thinking about our son, and the rest of my household. I don¡¯t¡­ mean to nag, I¡¯m just trying to get her to see that she''s not heading down a good path.


    ¡°You know what? AIDEN? I don¡¯t have to take this. Whatever this is supposed to be¡­ and I''m not taking it tonight.¡±


    I clench my teeth as I watch her reach for her jacket, and these many feelings stir inside of me.


    ¡°KAIT?¡± I call a bit sternly. She snaps to turn to me, almost as if it was instinctive. I¡¯d hold my face in my right hand and shake my head in disappointment. As she turns around, I feel tears beginning to roll down my face, wetting the palm of my hand. ¡°Gonna go drown out your problems in a bottle of alcohol once again, aren¡¯t ya?¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I get answered by the sound of our door squeaking open and hearing her shoes clack down the hallway. I walk over to the door and watch her as she makes her way over to the elevators. I feel this feeling of loneliness and sorrow sweep over my body in this cold tingle. Once on the elevator, she turns and watches me as the doors close shut. And I let the door to our house come to a close as well.


    Turning around, I''d lean back onto the closed apartment door and allow myself to slowly slide down. I didn¡¯t have any more tears as I¡¯d cleared them from my face. I cry from time to time, sure, but I could never let my son see me like this, so¡­ broken, conflicted. I often at times find myself sitting in my empty apartment living room alone, wondering why I was.


    I remember from the past my Kait would sit on the couch alongside me and watch all kinds of shows. We¡¯d put together puzzles, draw together, and cook. I couldn¡¯t understand why this had all been lost. Every time I¡¯d sit alone, I¡¯d ask myself the same questions, but never actually provide myself with any type of answer. ¡°Why am I such a bad husband? Why doesn¡¯t she love me anymore? What did I do wrong?¡±


    Those were the questions that were flooding my mind right now. I couldn''t figure out what It was that I, specifically, was doing wrong. All I knew was that for some reason, one way or another, my wife and I were like a bridge that didn¡¯t connect. This, for rather obvious reasons, made me upset. I wanted to reconnect, and I¡¯ve tried multiple times in multiple ways, but it just never seems to do anything.


    ¡°Is mommy going to come home tonight?¡± I heard, looking up, I saw Kaiden peeking out from his room. ¡°I don''t even know what to tell him..¡± I think frustratedly while doing this weird half nod, half shaking my head in motion. I don¡¯t know if it means yes or no myself. I can¡¯t expect him to guess what it means either. Nor can I just leave him unsure.


    He just stands in the doorway looking so innocent, so pure, his hair¡­ Reminds me of Kaitlyn¡¯s¡­ It takes her color and combines our texture. The bright brown hair practically glows as the light from the moon strikes it. His murky blue eyes droop heavily. They are dyed softly with a bit of redness, as if he''d been crying.


    This upsets me deeply, knowing that I''ve caused my little boy some kind of distress. I know I have to make it right. Frankly, however, I¡¯m not really good at that type of thing. If things keep going the way they are at the moment, I''ll be a professional in no time. I give a soft chuckle to the idea, but refrain from doing more than that.


    I slowly stand up pressing my hands against the cool wooden floors at the door, allowing my back to slide up against the door. Being so upright, I walk over towards my son to give him a bit of comfort. His room is just down the hall past the Living room, directly across from Kaitlyn¡¯s and my room. ¡°Kaid, you should be sleeping right now, buddy.¡± I try to keep an earnest soft voice as I speak to him, I definitely wouldn¡¯t want any of my¡­ stress, from my wife, to show through to Kaid.


    ¡°I heard you and mommy talking loud, it wake me up.¡± He would rub his eyes and sniffle a bit. Crouching down a bit I lift him and carry him back into his room where I hold him for a bit. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Kaid, mommy, and I didn¡¯t mean to wake you up.¡± I apologize to him, keeping my soft tone. ¡°I get sad when you talk loud to mommy.¡±


    Ouch¡­ His innocent words pierced straight through my heart. I wanted to cry.


    I would lay him down softly into his bed, covering him up with his starry sky quilt. ¡°Mommy and I just get a little upset with each other sometimes.¡± I start to explain with a sigh while I tuck him in neatly. ¡°Sorry we get so loud buddy, I¡¯ll try to be quieter next time¡­ mkay?¡± I say, finishing tucking him in.


    ¡°Okay.¡± He responds with a quaint sleepy voice. I nod with a bit of a heavy sigh, ¡°I Love you Kaiden.¡± I make sure to emphasize as I rub his beautiful hair. ¡°I love you too, daddy.¡± I smile and give him a kiss on his forehead as I start to head towards the door. ¡°Can you read me a story?¡± He¡¯d say very softly. He was pretty much asleep already.


    I¡¯d chuckle, knowing he wasn¡¯t going to be awake much longer. I went and grabbed a random book from his shelf, before lowering myself onto the floor beside his bed. ¡°Jon Graham: The Law Firm, He¡¯s a really good author you know¡­ I think you¡¯ll really enjoy this. Maybe you¡¯ll grow up to be a lawyer or something. That would be big.¡± Turning around, I see his blue eyes gazing at me. They seemed to have a glow to them.


    Opening the book I''d begin to read. The combination of complicated words that were compiled to form a sentence after sentence. Many of the pages were filled with words I''d never even heard before. As I read, I''d lean up against my son¡¯s bed. It was actually pretty interesting. I''d never read it before. These books were more of Kaitlyn''s type of thing. She liked the thrill of the murder mystery and the excitement of the court.


    We''d read somewhere in an article reading books that were harder to understand to toddlers, helped them go to sleep quicker. It made sense in all honesty. I found myself dozing off a couple of times. Even then, the book drew me in. I was pretty sure Amanda planted the Knife in Jeremiah''s car. But the detectives were taking Him into custody for Phil''s murder. Stupid detectives.


    I''d scoff at my thought when I heard Kaid toss and turn behind me. Looking up, I''d see Kaid''s eyes peacefully shut. It was calming seeing how well he slept. Watching his chest rise and fall as he breathed. As a smile spread across my face I would close the book, carefully place it back on the shelf as I stood. Before I walked out I''d turn and watch Kaid for a little longer. Even if I didn''t have my wife, I would always have my son. I took comfort in this, however; it was scary that I''d think that way in the first place.

 Chapter 3: Custody

    Kaiden Rai


    Getting older, growing up, It''s pretty funny if you ask me. You see, when you''re younger, you see everything. All the fights, all the crying,all the missed dinners and birthdays... You hear everything; the yelling, cursing and screaming, the calls of friends complaining, and the propaganda preached to you about how bad the latter is. But regardless of all that you never truly understand any of it until you get older. Looking back, everything that had happened then makes so much sense to me now. It''s funny to me just how ignorant I was as a child. I guess I still am... because even today I still don''t understand exactly what I felt. Rather, What I feel.


    All of my mom, and dad''s feelings in the heat of the moment I could feel. The anger, the confusion, the distress. From what I remember, I could always sympathize with my father more than I ever could with my mother. And being older now, I can realize why. I remember all the times my father tucked me in and kissed me goodnight... but the memories that stick with me most about my mother was having her tell me how much she loved me with scotch on her breath In the middle of the night, or the morning before I went to school.


    I also remember the night she walked out on us. The mixed feelings of defeat, anger, and disgust filled the air as my father brooded about what he''d done wrong... What he could have done better. My younger innocent self felt these feelings as I soaked them up like a sponge. Children being as impressionable as they are, it was to be expected. But my anger quickly turned to confusion as I watched my father break down into tears. That was the first time I''d seen him cry. Not to say, of course, that he never cried before that night, But It was the first time I''d seen him cry.


    Walking over and wrapping my small arms around him was all that I could do. Even as I felt his warm tears drop into my hair, I didn''t know how to feel, what to feel. When I realized this, it led to me feeling lost, which only led to feeling anxious and scared. My body began to shake in my father''s arms as I started to cry, too. Not even understanding why I was crying, why I was so crushed, I just bawled with my father as my body shivered as if I were left out In the cold.


    And because of all the emotions which converged into that moment, making It so memorable, I will never forget the words my father whispered to me. "Mommy''s gone, but I''ll always be here for you." I believe that night I gained some special kind of bond with my father... one that I don''t believe most get to have unfortunately It was at the cost of my relationship with my mother.


    With that said, however, I still had a relationship with my mom. Just not a very satisfying one. I couldn''t get past what I felt like she had "done" to my father. After all, my father had to learn that mom was having an affair from a bartender... Not to mention that the bartender had been serving him and, on occasion, with his wife, at times when they went on dates and such. He felt like she had stripped him of his dignity. He''d been carelessly calling this woman his wife for three months, all the while she was with another man. He felt like nothing more than a joke.


    She even had the nerve to ask for forgiveness, for a "second chance" as she put it. But by then her father wanted nothing to do with her, and rightfully so, of course. Along with the divorce came a long and dirty battle for custody over me. If it were up to me, I would have chosen to live with my dad and have forgotten all about my mother the first chance I had. If it wasn''t for his past petty larceny charges, He probably would have gotten full custody. Unfortunately, my wicked mother used his record to discredit him.


    What we all ended up with was a really rare and ineffective custody system that the judge proposed. To my parents, the arrangement sounded good enough. I would spend January through June, with my father, and then July through December, with my mother. The Judge decided that this system would be best due to My mother having moved out to Washington DC after the divorce where she and Gaben got married... The moment I realized that he was the one that put the final nail In my parent''s marriage I couldn''t help but hate him.


    It started at the beginning of 2007, the system would start with me staying In Seattle with my father. He made sure that he spent every possible moment with me. He focused on building memories, trust, and respect. Even though this was the first of the six months he taught me a lot. All he''s done for me has stuck with me. Though it wasn''t without its bumps, or its twists and turns. Though that¡¯s to be expected, seeing as how he never had to be a single father before.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    In July I was put onto a plane for the first time and shipped out to DC. A part of me was looking forward to seeing my mother, but then the rest of me still held a lot of resentment. Despite being so young, and not understanding the situation totally, I knew that the way things were wasn''t fair. It was like being out on timeout for doing something bad. The way I saw it, was that this jerk was taking me away from my dad for the rest of the year. Seeing her though after I got off of the plane my feelings changed a bit. It was something about her that was different and it confused me at first.


    As we rode in the car it kept my interest piqued the whole way back to her house, an apartment building. Which was much nicer than I''d imagined. It was something that was out of one of those, Modern home magazines. The interior design was elegant and contemporary. My youngful energy and mind immediately made me take off to explore this newfound territory. It was huge for being a city apartment. Thinking back now, the place must''ve cost a fortune, it was a two story apartment in the middle of Washington, DC.


    I probably went into every room at least twice before I was ready to head up the stairs to the second floor. The stairs were made of stained light-colored wood, and were trimmed with black steel. In between the steps were these tinted glass panels. The sides of the stairs were covered with this strange mesh. I was left even more confused as I reached the top of the stairs, finding that It was blocked off by some kind of gate.


    I struggled to open it at first, being so scrawny and incompetent. But eventually, I got it open. As I did so I could hear My mom and Gaben whispering and giggling. For some reason, it made me mad, but I didn''t understand why. As I ran around I found that the second floor had two bathrooms, one at the left of the stairs, and then another in what I assumed was my mothers and... her husband''s room.


    The next room I found was painted This minty green with dark trim and filled with kids'' toys and a white crib. Standing in the doorway I looked, confused. I''d already found my mother''s room... I knew I couldn''t be my room, this was a baby''s room. Things weren''t making sense. After all, I hadn''t seen any babies. I could feel My mom and that man standing behind me. so turning around, I''d just ask flat out, "Whose room is this."


    Gaben and Mom gave each other a funny look and then chuckled as my mom rubbed her stomach. Even then... I still didn''t understand. "It''s going to be your brother''s room, Kaid." she''d say with a soft smile. Gaben crouched down and put a hand on my shoulder. "Me and your mom... are having a baby." He says with glistening eyes like he was about to cry. "Well, your mom is. I''m just helping her out." He chuckled, and mom did as well.


    At this point, my head was spinning, not being able to grasp this, grasp the concept of birth yet. "So he''s inside your belly?" I asked, could that be the reason she seemed so different to me. "Well, kinda." She again answered with a light giggle.


    "How?" My curious mind would press for more information. Thirsting for such knowledge.


    "That''s something you''ll learn about when you get older, buddy." Gaben said, standing back up as he took his hand off my shoulder.


    At the time, I couldn''t figure out if they were messing with me or not. It didn''t make sense to me that my "brother" could be inside my mother''s belly. Maybe that was why they kept laughing at me. It wasn''t until my mother told me to put my ear against her belly that I believed her. It took a while. In fact, I even lifted my head after waiting so long. "with patience you create and discover great things. If you want to hear you have to be patient." My mother whispered.


    So after a little while longer, waiting. I finally felt it. It was like a little foot kicked me in the face. For some reason afterward, I couldn''t stop giggling. I think mostly because It had caught me so off guard. My childish laugh spread like a virus to my mother and Gaben as we all stood in my baby brother''s room laughing like idiots. That laughter was just one of the many things that made me drop my guard. A mistake I''ll never forget as long as I live.


    The other moment that got me to drop my guard was the day my baby brother was born. September 16th, 2007, was the first time I got to see him. Even though I was so ecstatic to have a little brother, Gaben was nearly heartbroken. The first time he held Kora Gabriel Simmons, I think he realized he was Kora Gabriel Rai. They had it confirmed by cross-checking my brother''s DNA with my own.


    Instead of being happy for his wife, however, he just felt like he''d been lied to. He complained about all the money he''d spent on "somebody else''s kid". Just like my mother, he was the type of person who coped with things not going his way by drowning himself in booze. Within a month, he and my mother had started smoking. They would later claim in court that it helped "calm their nerves." Gaben truly was the one who started my mother''s spiraling downfall. Any stress he felt he''d project onto her, leaving her to try to cope with spirits and cigarettes as well.


    As It happens, the DC family courts didn''t believe raising a newborn in such living conditions was healthy or even a good idea. This led to my father gaining full custody over Kora. My mother even tried to appeal the decision by showing up to court with smoke-stained clothes. The judge immediately threw out her appeal and wasn''t having any of her nonsense. While at the time it seemed like a good thing, which it was a good thing, It still left me all alone with two drunks and smokers. For six months, every year¡­

 Chapter 4: The Spiral

    Chapter 4 - The Spiral


    While things were already on a downward spiral, like a prop plane with a blown engine. Things, believe it or not, got worse. Everything that happened next revolved around my stepfather and is the reason why I loathe him so much. The Drinking, the smoking, the swearing was okay, I could deal with that. Even though It wasn''t good for me as a, then, six-year-old child. Because of all the second-hand smoke, whenever I was with them, I''d cough my lungs out. Of course, I wasn''t the only one the smoke had an effect on.


    One day at the end of September, my mother picked me up from daycare after she had gotten off work. Afterward, we''d gone to a corner store to grab something to fix for dinner. As we got back to the apartment, we could hear a loud sobbing coming from inside. Mom pushed the door open revealing drunk out of his mind Gaben sitting on the floor. That was the day he found out he had lung cancer.


    Back then treatment wasn''t as good as treatment someone can get today. So he was almost certain that it was going to kill him. This was where the promises began. Those famous promises people make, and never keep. One like "I promise we''ll get through this." "I promise I''ll stop smoking" and so on. It''s interesting how many promises people make when they think they''re going to die.


    The very next morning Gaben went to work drunk as a skunk. Obviously this didn''t bode over well with his boss who promptly called him a cab and told him to go home and never come back. All he could do was grab his things and oblige, after all, there was no point in him making himself out to be an even bigger idiot than what he already had. Being arrested for drunken and disorderly conduct isn''t exactly something anyone wants on their record.


    On his way home he asked the cabbie to pick me up from school. I was surprised when I walked out to see him in the back of a taxi. Though I was happy to be able to go home early as school was never really my thing. Weirdly enough he was so friendly as I got in the car he greeted me with a "Hey buddy". Maybe he was trying to hide the fact that he was so distressed. angry and mad at the world for kicking him while he was already down.


    To be fair to the dirtbag he did have a lot go wrong in quick succession. He lost what he thought was his kid, found out he had cancer, and lost his job. The problem is that he let those things build up into anger. Gaben wasn''t the type to get a membership at a gym and take out his anger on a real punching bag. Rather, he was the type to pick me up early from school, get drunk and beat on me instead. He beat on me while telling me why I was so worthless.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    One would think that a mother would see this and immediately put an end to it. That, a mother would never allow a man to beat on her child. But in her mind, the excuse he gave was enough, not to prompt any more questions. "He got into a fight..." he said... "Had to pick him up early from his school." For some reason, she was okay with that. Maybe it was out of fear, knowing that if she said something, he could do the same to her. Whatever her reason, I hated her for it. As long as she didn''t question It, she was promoting it.


    Once he knew he could beat me like I was some stray dog and get away with it, he''d beat me over and over. Apparently It made him feel better about himself... Some sick kind of way he got off from watching me bleed and cry. And I couldn''t do anything about it, seeing as how he threatened to hurt my mother if I said anything. I guess I didn''t get back then that If he was in jail, it wasn''t like he''d be able to hurt anyone.


    I guess that warning served as my parting gift because the very next week, I''d be back at what I really considered home with my Dad and my baby brother. In a way, I kinda forgot what it was like to live in a peaceful home again. My dad didn''t smoke, he never swore, and he hardly ever drank. In comparison to Kait and Gaben, he was like an angel. I loved it, I felt like I was living in one of those tv shows where the family is perfect.


    My dad wasn''t blind though. He asked me about the bruises which I would just lie about. It wasn''t like I could tell him the truth. Nor was It like my dad couldn''t tell when I was lying. He''d never given up trying to gain full custody over me after the day he saw my bruises. and burns. Burns from where Gaben would put his cigarettes out on my back. But It boiled down to me, who constantly denied any accusations against the guy who had done those things to me. So as July came around, there was nothing my dad could do other than send me back.


    After all, there was a chance that Gaben would have changed. That Gaben wouldn''t be so angry any more like he was before... But in the end, thinking like that was nothing more than wishful. As I got off of the plane I was greeted by Gaben. When I asked where my mother was, I learned that she was away on a business trip.


    She had to translate overseas for an important conference between a ton of different companies. After she found out Gaben lost his job, she went and got a better one to help pay the bills. She started working as the lead translator for some fortune 500 company I always forget about. But she wasn''t meant to be back in Washington, DC until the week after I got there.


    Gaben was different though. He was nicer, and he seemed more receptive. One of the first days of that first week we''d gone to the park, and he bought me ice cream. Even still though, I feared him. Anytime he''d lift his hand or anything of that sort, My body would freeze up. It was due to my body trying to brace itself for being hit. Regardless of all the nice guy stuff, he was doing my nerves in, and I knew better than to let my guard down again.

 Chapter 5: The Surge

    All it took was three days. After my third day back in DC Gaben found himself at the bottom of the bottle once again. I tried to just hide away in my room. Locked the door and everything, thinking that as long as I stayed away from him nothing would happen. That I''d be safe, and out of harm''s way. For a while I was safe, I could just hear him singing loudly along with old cassettes.


    He was having so much fun that he came to me, asking If I wanted to sing along with him. I sat up against my bed as I watched the door. My breathing started getting louder as my heart bounced against my ribs. Not answering him quickly took him out of his joyful mood. "ANSWER ME!" He''d scream as he pounded his fist against my door. I jumped and let out a resounding No.


    "Oh come on Kaid." He tried pleading with me as his voice slurred. "Just one song." He then started twisting the handle on the door. I guess It took him a moment to realize the door was locked Since he spent a solid minute trying his best to open the door. "Hey Kaid, come open this door." He''d demand. I''d answer back, No.


    "NO?" He''d bark through the door. "Open this stupid door or I''ll open it for you." there was that voice again. The voice of anger and hate... I wonder what would have happened if I had just gone and sang with the monster. Fact remains that I didn''t, I didn''t move an inch towards the door. For a moment, I heard his footsteps walking away from my room. It wasn''t until the music switched off that I realized he was no longer in a singing mood.


    Then I was scared, and rightfully so. I knew that as long as he was keeping busy with something else, he would leave me alone. When he was done, with whatever was sidetracking him, his focus fell on me. I was his focus... That became more apparent as he started to beat on my door again. I watched from my bed as the door would bend in the middle from where he hit from the other side. Objects in my room would shake as the force he exerted vibrated through it.


    Then It went quiet... it seemed like for a moment the whole world had shut up. Or maybe I had fallen deaf for a little bit. All I could hear was my pulse echoing in my eardrums. A steady, but rapid throb In anticipation for what was about to come. It''s interesting how time and space seems to freeze when you''re scared. Good moments can fly by, whereas the scary ones last an eternity.


    The silence however was broken by a loud bang as I watched my door burst open, ith Gaben¡¯s leg falling back to the ground. "I told you I was gonna open it for you." He''d scream as he rushed over to my bed, I quickly jumped up. As I tried to avoid him, I jumped down to the other side of the bed. It was no use though. I screamed as I felt his hot sweaty hands grab a hold of my wrist. His grip was tight and strong. Being so small, It was easy for him to pull me back up onto the bed.


    "What did I tell you about ignoring me?" He''d scream in my ear. The smell of alcohol permeating the air as he pulled my arm behind my back. Even though he was drunk, It seemed as if he knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn''t confused or blinded by anger like before. But this time, he was thinking clearly. He wanted to hurt me... and he was going to.


    I struggled to answer him, as I groaned from pain, not having responded quickly enough he grabbed me by my hair and slammed my head into the mattress repeatedly where he''d then hold it. Seeing as how I was already hyperventilating for the fear and pain, having my head pressed into the mattress made it harder to breathe. As he pulled my head back up he asked me the same thing.


    "What did I tell you about ignoring me, little boy." Though it was even harder to answer now, I still tried my best to. "T-to answer when you''re talking to me, sir." I wail through tears. Unfortunately, that wasn''t enough, Flipping over onto my back he''d grab my throat, I could feel his nails dig into my skin as he tightened his grip. As I gasped for air, and freedom from the situation, my hand flailed as I searched for his face, where I let my fingers scratch from his eyebrow down into his eye.


    He screamed in utter agony as he let go of my neck. While I tried to catch my breath. He took hold of my forearm and snapped it like a stick, I started choking up again but this time because of the pain. As I stared up into his face, I could see... He wanted nothing more than to kill me. I had made his eyelid and cheek bleed with how hard I had scratched him, and his left eye was now completely shut.


    He grunted as he worked to get himself back together. both of his hands now gripped around my neck as I struggled to get free. I tried rolling back and forth on the bed, but my arm hurt so much I couldn''t even move it. He would then use one of his knees against my stomach to keep me in place as he strangled me.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    I couldn''t breathe, I couldn''t think as time passed my eyes started to close as everything got blurry, and the room started to fade. As my eyes started to close I saw something for the first time, it was like nothing I''d ever seen before. Just these erratic lines moving and flashing behind my eyelids. They were bright, fast, and glowing like a blue energy, like electricity. I stared at it completely enthralled, I watched quietly as it slowly Started to increase in size and come towards me. As it got closer It sped up, moving faster and faster until it reached me. the floating bundle of energy expanded as if it were about to completely envelope me. The erratic mass of electricity surged into me and then suddenly, I felt no pain, no fear, no despair. Nothing but energy surging within my core, as I opened my eyes the darkroom was filled with a brilliant blue light.


    Blue bolts of electricity jumped from me to Gaben with a deafening crackling noise. He screamed out in pain as confusion swept across his face. My face, full of confusion as well. I had no idea as to what was happening. I just watched in literal shock, and awe as Gaben passed out and fell to the floor. I had no idea what had just happened, what was going on, what I had just done. As the darkness returned, so did the panic and fear. Jumping up from the bed I ran out of the room and down the staris. I guess it was the adrenaline, or something like that because I couldn''t feel my broken right arm at all. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the house phone before running out of the apartment and into the hallway.


    Now the hallways in the building we were in were very long with a good amount of distance between each unit. Our apartment was on the sixth floor. to get away from Gaben I ran into the stairwell on the left side of the building while searching for my dad¡¯s phone number.


    When I found my dad''s number I called him, but he didn''t answer, so I called 911 instead. The phone rang and rang for what seemed like forever. My mind and my head were racing so much that when someone finally answered the phone I didn''t even hear them at first. "911 what''s your emergency..." I believe the lady repeated herself before I responded.


    "I-I um... I need help." I got out through my incessant panting as I ran down one flight of stairs and then the next.


    "Everything is going to be alright. Can you tell me what you need help with?" She reassured me and asked.


    "M-my... He''s trying to hurt me!" I tried my best to keep my voice down as I finally slowed down to focus and talk, at this point I had no idea what floor I was on. I was just hoping he couldn''t find me. "All right sweetie I''m sending someone to help you right now. Are you somewhere safe?" Before answering I looked up the stairs behind me and didn''t see anything so I took a seat on the stone stair landing in-between the floors.


    ¡°Um, I think so." I whispered into the phone. The pain of my broken arm finally starting to catch up with me.


    "Do you know the address of where you are?" I struggled a bit trying to say, I could only think of my father''s home address. Not the address here... It must have taken me a long time to reply because the lady asked if I was still there.


    "Le Deux Apartments. Please hurry." I pleaded, still trying to catch my breath. The stairwell was hot mostly because of the large glass pane windows exposing the stairway to those outside. The poorly sealed windows allowed air to easily slip in, preventing the stairway from being well cooled. "Don''t worry the police are on their way. Can you tell me your name?"


    "I''m... I''m Kaiden"


    "Alright, and what happened Kaiden?"


    I guess she wanted to keep me on the phone. It definitely helped, at the time it gave me something else to think about. Right around then my arm really started to bother m. It felt so heavy as well as if I couldn''t lift it even if I tried, and I did try. "My stepdad... Gaben, he was drinking and got mad. He... he wouldn''t let me breathe. And... and he broke my arm, So I scratched him and then he wouldn''t let me breathe again."


    "How did you get away from him?" She''d ask, what a good question it was. I didn''t even know myself. I didn''t know better though. That what I said wouldn''t make sense to anyone. Frankly, not even myself. "I-I don''t know. I saw a bright light, and a loud Buzzing noise... When I opened my eyes, he was shaking on the floor."


    There was a pause... I guess she, like me, didn''t understand and was working to figure it out. "A light, and a buzzing noise?" she repeated slowly as if trying to understand. "Y-yes ma''am." other than that, I didn''t really know what else to add. "And there was this..."


    "This what? hello?"


    I could hear her voice through the phone. I had to blink hard as I tried to figure out what had just happened. The back of my head, It hurt like crazy. and my face, It felt cold, but also as if it were on fire. Although I was just sitting on the landing above, I was now on the landing below laying face first on the cold stone at the bottom of the stairs.


    Looking up I could see the phone. Reaching out, I tried to grab it, but as I did I felt my body get dragged back. My skin Rubbing against the rough ground. My throat closed up feeling like it was being crushed as an arm wrapped around my throat. I gasped for air again, there were sirens in the distance I heard growing closer. They were taking so long though. I knew I didn''t have long... Gaben was going to kill me.


    My left arm searched for what was on my neck and I tried to pull it off. But it wouldn''t come off. He was too strong, Being so much bigger than me no matter how much I tried to pull, nothing happened. I couldn''t do anything, and It made me so angry. But I knew I had to do something. Filled with anger and pain, I shut my eyes and would scream letting it all out. As I screamed I felt it again. That raw power sparking with in me. It felt more clear than It was back inside. My eyes closed as my scream was replaced by the sound of my choking. Gaben crushing my windpipe so nothing could escape.


    I could hear doors close, followed by shouting which I couldn''t understand. I felt this violent surge of power as if I were pulling it to me. The flowing power was followed by a pop and the sound of everything powering down. Then there was this brilliant flash of blue light and another loud crack which echoed through the apartment building and accompanied by an even louder...


    "BANG"


    "BANG"


    "BANG"

 Chapter 6: Lieutenant Garrett

    Lt. Daniel Garrett


    "M153, This is Knox"


    M153: "C153, go ahead Knox"


    Knox (Dispatch): "There''s a seventeen-ten on 447 E Lincoln street, victim''s name is Kaiden, assume the suspect is armed and dangerous, Also possible Quad Zero, over."


    M153: "C153 We are en route, over"


    M155: "Knox this is M155, En route to 447E Illinois street, responding to 1710. Over"


    Knox: "Roger that M155, over."


    "I forgot sir, what''s a 1710?"


    I roll my eyes, Thinking of why I was with yet another rookie... "It''s uh, Child endangerment." Oh yeah... I asked him to tag along.


    "Ah jeez, and a Quad Zero on top of that¡­ I swear the world would be better without purps." Mayner said, His prejudice, slipping in the face of pressure.


    One other thing was bothering me though...


    M153: "Knox, This is M153, please respond."


    Knox: "go ahead M153."


    M153: "Where''s the location of the Child?"


    Knox: "Attempting to find out the true location now... The Complainant is unresponsive, over."


    I sucked my teeth as I bobbed and weaved my way through traffic. The city lights pass by my face, with determination painted upon it.


    "447 E Lincoln is an apartment building, something like The Durr." Mayner started, "Sir... That''s like, a 6 story building..."


    "Alright... and? We go drive around, see if we hear or see anything, and react accordingly." I respond with a heavy sigh. As harsh as it sounds, if we don''t see anything, often we''ll go on. However, with this situation, I pray we can help the kid.


    "Ah... alright." He''d say with a bit of shakiness to his voice. Looking over, I could see his leg jittering.


    "Nervous?" I asked.


    "Yeah... A little, this is my first real response, apart from giving tickets, and helping out drunk people off of the street."


    "You''ll be fine, kid, just stick with me and keep your eyes open. Focus, the apartment is right here." Pulling up outside the building we''d meet with M155.


    "Lieutenant! Up there! On the fifth floor."


    Looking up, I saw a guy running down the steps coming from the sixth. Despite running, he held his chest like he was in pain. "Alright, let''s go, let''s go! 155, go from the south side, we''ll go up from the north." Running around to the back of the building I drew my weapon and gestured for Officer Mayner to do the same. We Entered the building and cleared the bottom floor before we took the staircase on the opposite side from M155.


    We didn¡¯t have time to clear every hallway on our way up. A quick look was enough to know we needed to go higher.


    "Dispatching MFD EMS unit to 447 E Lincoln Street to provide assistance." Dispatch called out


    "Ems1520 en route to 447 E Lincoln Street..."


    ¡°M155 Suspect is located on the fourth floor, Suspect in sight.¡±


    Mayner and I took a look at each other as we reached the landing in-between the third and fourth floor as we listened to the call out. We rushed up the rest of the stairs.


    "MPD Freeze! Wait What the f...." We could hear officer Joyner from the other side, upon reaching the fourth floor. The hallway was illuminated with a blinding light. It flashed quickly like a bolt of lightning before the entire hallways went dark. Whatever it was, it was loud. loud like a gunshot.


    I raised my gun in response,


    "Bang¡±


    "Bang"


    ¡°Bang"


    Three shots ring out my heart jumps, as I look beside me. Mayner stood there shaking. Even with how dark it was I could still see his eyes were wide open staring straight ahead. It was clear his mind was racing, His hands clenched tightly on the grip of his gun. A bit of smoke rose from the end of the barrel.


    "Mayner..." He didn''t respond. "Mayner!" I''d shout again. He turned to face me slowly, I knew what he was thinking.


    "Mayner! I need you to snap out of it alright!" Reaching out I patted his shoulder to get his attention. "Yeah yeah, alright.."The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Come on!" I said with a firm voice. I then started moving to the other side of the hallway. The generator finally kicked on restoring lights in the hallway. I realized then the other officers groaning on the ground, the uniforms had been burned through to their kevlar where they were giving off smoke. "Knox this Is M153, we need a bus, Code three, Officers down, I repeat two officers down over!"


    "Ems 1520 is on the scene." Looking out the stairwell window, I could see an ambulance pulling up.


    "Mayner, what''s his condition?" He was crouched down over the suspect checking his pulse. "He''s alive."


    I dropped down to the kid''s side, lifting my right hand to his neck to search for his pulse. As I did, I got shocked, it wasn''t a light static shock. It hurt so much I pulled my hand back in pain. The kid groaned and rolled over a bit. I stared at him confused and in fear¡­ Despite my initial shock I knew what needed to be done. Every officer has among their kit a pair of nullifying handcuff for people just like him. After cuffing the poor kid who looked, no older than my own daughter I called it in.


    "Knox this is 153, Quad Zero Confirmed, Reporting the sighting of an Unregistered Unveiled, The subject has been apprehended."


    ***


    "Sounds like you''ve had a quite the night lieu..." Detective Samuel Kerns said as he turned and opened the door for me.


    "Tell me about it." I chuckled, unintentionally cutting him off As I followed after him.


    "I''m about to go check on the kid now." He informed me as we both left the hospital room of Officer Hayes and Jones. They were okay thankfully, they had just been knocked out from the impact of that... lighting, or whatever the heck it was.


    "Ah, let me come with you." I say, flourishing my words with a sigh.


    "I was about to ask if you wanted to come along with me." Letting out a relaxed Chuckle.


    "Have you ever heard of an unveiled shooting lightning bolts before?" Sam asked while we walked down the busy hallway crowded with other cops and doctors alike.


    "Nah... and even if I had I wouldn''t have believed it till I saw it with my own eyes." Thankfully we all were wearing body cams as well, We got the whole thing on video. In fact, we''ve got it on video from three separate body cams. Or at least it would''ve been three, if it wasn''t for the lightning that shorted Officer Haye''s cam when it hit him. Hopefully, we''ll get a more clear idea of what happened as we pull the footage.


    Everything that happened after Mayner shot the stepfather was a blur. Thank God the guy has decent aim or else we could''ve had a couple of casualties tonight. Not just of the suspect but of our officers, and the kid too. Unfortunately, we don''t know where those shots went though... For all, we know some poor lady could be bleeding out in her kitchen right now.


    "This is his room here sir." I nod approvingly as Sam knocks. It would serve as more of a warning than a ask of permission as he opened the door without waiting for a response. Stepping inside we saw the kid watching cartoons on the pitifully small TV mounted to the wall. He was sitting up with his arm in a cast, and he had it in a sling providing it with extra support. The poor kid was pretty beaten up. His face was scratched up from where he''d been kicked down the stairs. His neck however was probably the most disturbing about him... It was this dark purple from where Gaben tried to choke the boy out.


    He already looked better than he did back at the apartment building. The doctors and hospital must''ve done a good job of patching him up. They even had a bandage covering the wound on his face. As the two of us walked into the room he turned to face us taking his attention away from the tv.


    "You like Wild Bros too?" I asked with a bit of excitement in my voice as I pointed up to the tv. "I have a little girl about your age, her name is Sara, She loves watching this show!" I tried presenting myself in a friendly way so that he''d be comfortable opening up to us. but uh¡­


    "I hate this stupid show..." It didn''t really work. I chuckled not having expected such a response. "Oh really? Why''s that" Sam asked as he lowered himself into a chair in the corner of the room."


    "The way they talk... it''s like how adults talk to babies." He complained amidst adjusting himself slightly in the bed. The Nullifier cuffs now attached to the bed rattled subtly with his movements.


    "What are you watching such a stupid show for then?" The kid let out a soft chuckle and shrugged his shoulders, with the way he winced afterward, I could tell that it hurt him to do so.


    "This is my friend, Detective Samuel Yates, and I''m Lieutenant Daniel Garret, do you remember me?" He''d give a slight nod.


    "Your name is Kaiden isn''t it?"


    "Yes sir..." Wow... never realized how much two words could make me feel so old. Sir... I guess I ought to appreciate his respectfulness.


    "Sam and I are going to ask you some questions about tonight alright?"


    "Yes sir."


    "Let''s start at the beginning, Why did you call nine one one?" Sam would ask first


    "Gaben kept hurting me, and I was scared." The boy responded. He sounded rather tired with how soft he was speaking, which could definitely be understood. He has had a rather long and eventful night.


    "Why did he hurt you?" I''d ask, trying to get him to open up to us.


    "He was drinking and singing in the living room, and he wanted me to sing with him. But I didn''t want to, so he got mad at me." Kaiden would say, as he spoke his eyes, looked downwards, denying us eye contact.


    "What happened after that?" I asked. Kaiden sighed, I think he got the idea that I wanted to know everything, it was kinda funny, but I couldn''t laugh. This wasn''t the time for laughter.


    "He started yelling at me to open my door..." He began. "But I didn''t, I was too scared. He broke the door though and grabbed... It''s hard to remember everything, but he started choking me and wouldn''t let me breathe. I tried to get him off of me and scratched his face."


    I had remembered seeing his eye scratched out and wondered how that had happened. Seems like the poor bastard messed with the wrong kid. Nothing poor about him though... After all, he tried to kill a kid.


    "When I did that... It only made him more angry. He broke my arm and then grabbed my neck again... That''s when I saw the weird light!" He looked up with excitement but also confusion as he mentioned the light.


    "The weird light?" I thought to myself and then glanced over to Sam who seemed to be as confused as I was. "You said a weird light?"


    "Yes sir... When he was choking me, I couldn''t breathe and I felt like I was going to pass out... And when My eyes were closed, I could see a light."


    "Err... uh, what did this light look like son?" Sam asks now, leaning closer as if it would help him hear better.


    "It wasn''t like a regular light, it was blue and made of, like, lightning or something... I think it saved me, because when I opened my eyes the same light was in the room, And Gaben was screaming. That''s when I ran outside and called you guys."


    Sam and I looked back and forth at each other confused, I couldn''t help but wonder If that''s the same thing that happened when we came up the stairs.


    "Is that the same thing that happened when you were on the stairs?" I asked


    "I¡­¡± Kaiden went quiet for a moment as he fidgeted with the blue cast on his right arm. His fingers ran over it causing a subtle scratching noise and more rattling from the power nullifying cuffs. I couldn''t help but grow a bit anxious over how long the kid was taking to answer. "I don''t know." He finally said.


    "You don''t know?¡± I blurted out, raising my voice.


    " Lieutenant Garrett!¡± Sam shouted back at me. My head snapped over to see his green eyes staring back at me. It took me looking back over to Kaiden to realize I''d been harsh. He was breathing heavily and had jumped back in the bed despite not really having anywhere to go.


    " I¡­ I''m sorry Kaiden." I stroked my beard, letting my fingers ruffle through the mix of black and grey hairs. ¡°I realize I must have scared you. I''m sorry about that. It''s just that, I''m scared too. I want to know what happened so that I can keep you, and everyone else safe. Can you help me with that?¡± I asked. I reached out my hand consolingly as I moved to the edge of his hospital bed.


    He didn''t say anything, but he did nod as I approached, and relaxed, seemingly accepting my apology.


    ¡°What happened in the hallway?¡± Sam now asked again from behind me.


    ¡°Im not sure¡­¡± I could hear Sam sigh in frustration, but seeing Kaiden''s face I could tell he had more to say. I reached out my hand telling Sam to hold on a little longer. ¡°Gaben, He started to hold my neck again. And I, I think I fell asleep, but when I was sleeping I felt that light from before surround me. It was like I became the light¡­ When I woke up, I was In the ambulance and that''s when I met you.¡± He said looking up at me.


    I sighed and nodded my head. From the way it sounded Gaben actually killed the kid, or at least got pretty close. I definitely needed to do some research on this later.


    "Anything I can do for you bud?" Sam asked as he stepped closer to the bed too.


    "Can you take this off, it''s itchy¡­" Kaiden raised his arm with the cast.


    Sam and I both gave soft chuckles. "You need to keep it on so that your arm can feel better," I say as I stand.


    "My arm feels better already¡­ It doesn''t even hurt anymore, how long do I have to keep it on?" He sounded upset and confused at the same time.


    I couldn''t believe his arm had already stopped hurting, probably just the drugs the doctors gave him. "I bet the doctor will let you know next time you see them." I tried to assure him. "I''ll tell you what, I''ll take those handcuff off if you promise me you''ll be good." I posed to him to which he happily agreed to with a nod.


    It was against my better judgment to take the nullifier off, but something just felt intrinsically wrong about having a child cuffed to a hospital bed, no matter how monstrously powerful he may be. I glanced over at Sam almost so as to ask for his approval to which he closed his eyes and crossed his arms. I could tell he didn''t want me to pass the accountability off to him, which I truthfully couldn''t blame him. Regardless I felt like it was important to follow my heart. I walked over to the kids bed and removed the nullifier.


    " Thank you." He said softly before laying all the way down and adjusting himself to be more comfortable. it caused his curly brown hair to spread out across the pillow. Getting ready to leave I turned and headed to the door. Sam held it open for me as I stepped around the bed and the food tray which was at the foot of it. Before we left I turned back to say goodbye to the kid. When I did, I saw him peeling off the bandage from his face. I looked at his face with awe. Even though it had been scraped on the stone


    landing, it was already healed and looked normal. Not even a scar was left where he''d fallen on it. Seeing him left me to wonder only one thing.


    "What the heck is this kid?"

 Chapter 7: Incapable

    Aiden Rai


    As I walked into the front door of the hospital I was immediately blown away by the amount of police presence which filled the main lobby. Looking though to the cafeteria, I could see even more officers grouped together eating breakfast. A luxury I haven''t had time for today. I felt so panicked I didn''t know how to holster my feelings. At the moment I was a deadly weapon with the safety off. I''ve been this way since I received the call from the hospital. I couldn''t help but feel guilty, even though It wasn''t really my fault that this happened. I felt as if it was. It didn''t take long for me to realize either, that was why I received that call. It was my son trying to ask for help and I ignored it.


    Kora has been a handful, Between trying to keep him fed, and happy, I hardly have time for other stuff sometimes. It was different with Kaiden, At least with Kaiden, I had Kaitlyn to help me out. Now I was having to raise Kora all by myself. In the end, it wasn''t my fault at all, It was her fault. It was almost always her fault. Her fault that we''re divorced, That my son had to be away from his father, with some drunken lunatic. It was all her fault, that he had to use his; I needed to stop, I felt so angry but at the same time I was just scared. I was scared and angry that I almost lost my son; That there was nothing I could do to help him.


    With all of that aside, I knew I needed to be here for my son now. I called my sister before I left for DC, getting her to take care of Kora while I was here. Not knowing which room, or which floor Kaiden was on, I had to ask the receptionist for his room number.


    "I''m sorry I can''t give you that information sir." Those words cut through me like a hot knife through butter.


    "What do you mean, you can''t give me that information?" I barked back trying my best not to raise my voice, trying my best not to let my anger rip through my shell. It was clear I had made the young lady uncomfortable with the way that I responded.


    "I-it says here that the patient is under investigation. We''re not allowed to give out his room number."


    "He is my son! I have the right to see my son, Investigation, or not! I was specifically called here to... Get your hand OFF of ME!" I hadn''t realized that I had started to yell. As I turned around, I realized that the foreign hand on my shoulder was that of an officer. I quickly tried to extinguish the fire which was burning inside of me.


    "We''ll take you to your son sir." The Man would say. looking around I could see several more officers, all of them focused on me. There was nothing that I could do in this situation. I nodded. As long as I got to see my son I was going to be okay, or so I hoped.


    "Alright, thank you. " I''d say with a sigh, As I looked back towards the girl, I could see how terrified I had made her. "I''m sorry ma''am." My conscience wouldn''t allow me to walk away knowing I''d treated someone so harshly.


    "This way please sir." Another officer held out his hand for me to follow him, so I did. As we walked along, we passed by all kinds of Historic medical memorabilia. From creepy old hospital gowns, to even weirder, Rusted medical tools. As strange as it was, it was sort of cool. It was as if the hallway was trying to tell the story of its own existence.


    I, however, was not in the mood for sightseeing. Even though I didn''t know where I was going; I often found myself getting ahead of my armed escort. It felt like it took forever, but we eventually reached an elevator which took us to the fifth floor. "Your son is down there in room 537."


    Hearing those words, I headed down the hallway Checking the number of every door until I found the room they had told me. As I opened the door and walked inside, I was met with something I wasn''t expecting.


    A man in a uniform and another man dressed in a suit and tie sat on the inside as if they were waiting for me. As I turned around, two of the three officers that had escorted me through the hallway were blocking the door. That''s when I realized what had just happened. They lied to me; They had used my love of my son, and my concern for his well being to entrap me.


    "What is this?" I asked through my teeth as I turned back around. These idiots that were already in the room were obviously the ones in charge.


    "This is Detective Samuel Yates, and I am Lieutenant Daniel Garret. I was the one who contacted you about your son." I wouldn''t say anything. I was to busy trying to figure out what was going on. Where my son was, What they weren''t telling me.


    "Give us some privacy please." Garret would wave to the officers behind me. A bit later, I hear the door close.


    "Where the heck is my son?" I''d blurt out, I could feel my body lunge towards the two of them.


    "Woah hold on now." Yates warned, holding up his hand. "You mean the Unveiled kid that nearly electrocuted two of our officers and his stepfather? Or do you mean the kid WITHOUT a purple band that can completely heal broken limbs and scratches within 9 hours?"


    "W-What are you talking about..." I''d ask in an attempt to play dumb.


    "Oh don''t play dumb! You really expect us to believe you''ve never seen your son shoot bolts of lightning from his hands." This was a difficult situation, I didn''t know what to say, what to do. They knew, that was all that I knew. Somehow I was supposed to get them to get off of my case. But I had no clue how.


    "Look, Daniel, I just want to see my son." I would plead with them, I was able to hear in my voice how weak its integrity was. I was on the verge of breaking down and these two were going to be the straw that made me.


    "We understand Aiden... But what you have to understand is, that thing in the other room almost killed two of our officers." Yates said, his voice spewing hate.


    "That thing?" I thought as I felt my blood begin to boil. I would''ve gotten angrier if I hadn''t realized that he just revealed to me where my son was. He said the other room and gestured wildly over to the left as he said so.


    I needed to get to my son and get him out of here. But the most important question was how. I knew that the hospital was full of cops at the moment. Even if I were to get to my son there was no way we''d be allowed to leave. I had to be smart¡­Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "First of all, My boy is no Thing." I began "Second, if I tell you what you want to know what happens next; hmm?" Briggs would glance over to the Lieutenant as if they could talk through telepathy. Perhaps they hadn''t even thought about what they wanted out of this. A combination of fear and anger could be to blame. Those are dangerous emotions especially when put together.


    "Well... uh, you haven''t committed any crimes. We can''t keep you here, or anywhere else for that matter. Like we said, we just want some answers." Garret would say, now looking less confident than he had when I first walked in. They thought they were going to ambush me. To be fair they had; it''s just that I doubt they thought about how this all would turn out.


    "Then let''s just say my son has a special condition, and leave it at that." I finish off with a bit of a growl. Turning around I''d open the door. I was met with the officers from before standing in front of me. It seemed as if they were looking past me, likely to their lieutenant. Scoffing, I pushed my way past the two of them and out into the hallway; turning right, I''d go to the room adjacent to the one I was in.


    When I opened the door I was met with my son who was fast asleep. Rushing over to his bedside I felt all of my emotions catching up with me. Relife and happiness, as I now could see with my own two eyes, he was okay.


    "Hey bud!" I''d whisper as my voice cracked again. "Hey Kaid, Daddy''s here." I tried gently waking him by shaking his shoulders. As I did so, he started to shuffle around.


    "How are you, buddy?" He''d roll over slowly and look up at me and then he''d start to smile with those beautiful blue eyes of his. I''d smile as well as he reached up and wrapped his arms around me.


    "Wanna go home?" I asked him with a soft voice, to which I could feel him nod as his chin rubbed against the back of my shoulder. "Alright hurry up and get dressed and then we can leave." I''d say as I put him down. I sat on the bed, as he grabbed his clothes and headed into the bathroom to get dressed.


    Now that I had my son back there were other things I had to think about. Things like, what was going to happen to Gaben, How was I supposed to get the rest of Kaid¡¯s things back from Kaitlyn''s house, and most importantly "Where the heck is she..." Most mothers upon hearing their child had just been the victim of attempted murder would have been down at the hospital in a heartbeat. Kaitlyn on the other hand was nowhere in sight.


    As my mind raced with these different things, I could hear Garret shouting from just outside the door. Not much later the door bursts open revealing two men In black suits. The both of them were armed with some serious looking weapons although they didn''t seem to be like any gun I knew of. They were shaped much like Submachine guns as their bodies were short and stocky, and yet the barrel was smooth and long like a silencer, with many vent-like cutouts outlining it.


    ¡°What is this!" I yell jumping up as third and unarmed man steps into the room followed by Garret who seemed just as distraught as I was.


    ¡°I would like to know the same thing, you can''t just take the kid, we''re still in the process of an ongoing investigation, this is our jurisdiction!" The lieutenant protested.


    ¡°The only one who is leaving with my son is me." I now spoke up, realizing the situation more clearly. With Kaiden still in the bathroom, The two men with the guns stood in-between us.


    " I get this seems strange to you all. This situation is far from normal.¡± A third man in a suit began to speak from behind the two gunmen. His posture and demeanor was one which commanded authority. His voice was quiet, but his words clearly enunciated.


    He wore a Black suit which seemed to be rather expensive. His shirt was white, he didn''t have a tie so it left the upper button undone. His hair was dark black it was very short and faded on both sides. He looked to be Hispanic, probably Puerto Rican. The man reached into his inner pocket of his suit jacket and took out a badge. It read ¡°UAD¡± with it¡¯s characters embossed boldly in a simple monogram.


    "I''m with the Unveiled Affairs Division, here to put a handle on the situation. Lieutenant Garret, you simply lack the resources to deal with this child, and Mr. Rai so do you."


    ¡°Who are you to tell me what I''m capable of?" I shout back my frustration now reaching its breaking point noted by the subtle cracking of my vocal cords..


    ¡°I know you weren''t capable of maintaining your relationship with your wife.¡± As the man spoke It was as if I could feel a metal wire begin to coil around my heart.* ¡°I know you weren''t capable of being there when your second son was born because you thought he was the child of another man."


    ¡°That''s enough, shut up.¡± I clenched my fist just as tight as I was clenching my teeth.


    "I know you weren''t capable of maintaining sole custody over your son.¡± At this point it was like my heart grew tighter and tighter with every word. "I know you weren''t capable of protecting your son from his abusive father in law. I know you weren''t capable of being there to stop him when he began to suffocate your child. I know you weren''t capable of helping your son when he was crying out for your help."


    Despite every bone in my body wanting to jump out and strike this man I couldn''t, I couldn''t move a muscle, in fact I couldn''t even breathe. I stood motionless with a hate filled stare. Although admittedly it was all self hatred as I knew not a single word this man uttered was untrue.


    ¡°I know now you''re not capable of doing a thing to stop me. The boy is coming with us, and that''s final." He finally said. His eyes would roll in annoyance as he turned and knocked on the bathroom door. "Kaiden, can you come out please?¡± His voice now takes on a child-like friendliness. It was strange hearing him switch to something so much more pacifying.


    Despite wanting to scream for Kaiden to run, I still couldn''t speak. It was as if my body had been turned to stone. Every muscle was tight, even my vocal cords were incapable of moving.


    The bathroom door opened and I saw my son step out. He''d changed into the new clothes I''d brought. ¡°Daddy can we go home?" He asked as he looked up and over at me.


    In my head all I could do was scream. I could feel a tear well and then roll down my face. That man had done something to me, I didn''t know what, but all I know is that no matter how badly I wanted to move I couldn''t. No matter how badly I wanted to speak, I COULDN''T.


    "We need you to come with us for now, Kaiden. You dad wants to make sure that you''re safe, and we''re the only people that can protect you right now.¡± The man took Kaiden''s hand and turned him around and led him to the door.


    ¡°I¡­ I wanna go home with my Dad.¡± The man got into a bit of a crouch so he could talk eye level with Kaiden.


    "I know I know¡­ But until we know it''s safe, we can''t let you go home with your dad. What you can do, it''s very special, but it''s also very dangerous¡­ You wouldn''t want to hurt your daddy would you?¡±


    Kaiden''s eyes widened as he looked past the man and looked up at me then back to the man where he shook his head.


    "No right? You come with us and we can help you, so that everyone can be safe, okay?¡± The man talked with such a coaxing and convincing tone. Even for a moment I couldn''t help but think about the possibility of my own son hurting me.


    ¡°Okay." Kaiden said softly. My heart was breaking as I could feel bile raising in the back of my throat.


    ¡°You''re a good kid Kaiden¡­ Come on, let''s go.¡± The man stood back upright and turned Kaiden around leading him towards the door.


    Kaiden turned around and stopped for a moment just as he was about to step out the door. ¡°I''m sorry, bye daddy.¡± His voice quivered as if he were going to cry, it was full of fear, not of the situation but of himself. He turned and walked out as the man led him away, the two other guys followed behind.


    It was only then did I realize that the lieutenant who had interrogated me before was still standing there too. His body moved slightly but for the most part he stood still. His eyes searched the room and eventually landed on mine and we just stared at each other. Whatever that man had done to me, He''d done to Garrett too.


    We stood like that for what seemed like an eternity. Before I finally could feel my muscles begin to relax. As feeling came back into my legs, I found myself stumbling to the floor as I could hardly even feel my now numb limbs. It was then too, I realized I was crying. My voice weakly came through as my vocal cords began to vibrate and my face began twisting in agony.


    I just lost my son and I wasn''t capable of doing anything about it.

 Chapter 8: Greenhouse

    Kaiden Rai


    I was six years old the last time I saw my father. I walked through the hallways of that floor with the man in the suit and saw everyone frozen solid like statues. I remember so vividly seeing the looks of fear and confusion in their eyes despite some of their faces still carrying looks of sadness, and others happiness.Yet I went with the man anyway.


    After we left the hospital we rode in the car for what felt like hours. I cried quietly in the backseat as I started to fear that I would never see my mother or father again.


    We rode in a black SUV, the windows were blacked out so I couldn''t see anything outside. The two armed men sat in the front of the car. The man in the suit sat with me in the back of the SUV. We drove for a while before I stopped crying before we just sat in silence together.


    ¡°You made the right choice coming with us." The man suddenly spoke.


    I didn''t respond, I just closed my eyes and fell asleep.


    When we finally came to a stop, I had no idea where we were. We had arrived somewhere in the countryside, surrounded by fields and forest, with a clear view of mountains behind the house. The night sky was perfectly clear, free of light pollution. The building itself was large but barely visible in the darkness, except for the light spilling from inside. Outside, a small sign illuminated by the light read ¡°Green House.¡± Despite the name, the house wasn¡¯t green. It was painted dark gray on the lower half and a lighter blue-white on the upper half, with the only green being the front door.


    ¡°Come on.¡± The man who had been sitting with me in the back seat instructed. I got out of the car and waited for him. He walked around the car and placed his hand on my back to guide me to the front door before knocking.


    We stood in silence for a while, only the chirping of crickets breaking the stillness of the night. After a moment, the man began knocking again, but the door was opened before he could finish. He looked down, his eyes heavy as if he were ready for sleep, and motioned for me to enter. I stared at him until I noticed who had opened the door. It was a woman, probably in her thirties, with short, rustic hair and dark brown skin. She wore a brown sweater and tan jeans, and she was notably pretty.


    ¡°Hi there, you must be Kaiden." She introduced herself while coming to a bit of a squat, supporting herself by placing her hands on her knees so that we were eye level. I wordlessly just watched her eyes as she seemed to study me the same way. ¡°I''m Erica. I''m so happy to have you here. I know a lot has happened, and this is all different, but I promise you''re going to feel better in no time.¡±


    She reached out and gave me a pat on my shoulder. Nothing she was saying was making me feel better. I just felt. Hopeless. It felt like at the time I was a monster and everything had fallen apart because of me.


    ¡°Go inside, and I¡¯ll be with you in a moment,¡± Erica said. ¡°I just need to talk to Ian about something.¡± I learned that the man¡¯s name was Ian. He hadn¡¯t said a word since we left the hospital. I nodded and went inside.


    Strangely greenhouse seemed a bit bigger inside than it seemed outside, The mudroom branched off in three different directions. A Closet immediately to the left of the door and an open doorway which lead to the kitchen. Although it was empty I could see a light on over the sink which helped illuminate space. An island sat in the middle made of marble.


    Straight ahead from the mudroom entrance, was a hallway on the left side, and a set of stairs to the right. The hallway lead through to the back of the house where a large set of doors lead outside to a deck.


    As I entered, I noticed a girl about my age standing at the top of the stairs, staring at me. She was a Korean-American with dark brown hair and eyes. The moment she saw me, she turned and disappeared from view.


    The last doorway to the right opened up to a study of sorts, it had a large bookshelf, a computer, and some more doors including tell what they led to at the time.


    ¡°Poor kid,¡± Ian¡¯s voice came from behind me. ¡°I made sure to take care of the files the local cops had on him. My team was able to redact or get rid of everything.¡± I found a spot on the stairs where I could sit comfortably and listen to their conversation.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°How in the world did these parents keep their kids unregistered for so long?¡± Erica asked, leaning against the doorframe as she spoke.


    ¡°No clue, but it works out for us. We¡¯ve managed to pick up three kids in the past month. It won¡¯t be long until our job here is done,¡± Ian replied with a sigh.


    ¡°Ian, you¡¯re too optimistic. Once we¡¯re done here, they¡¯ll just send us to another crazy assignment,¡± Erica shot back with a chuckle.


    Ian chuckled too. ¡°Wherever they send me, I hope it¡¯s somewhere warm.¡± He glanced past Erica at me, gave a wry smile, and waved before lowering his voice. ¡°Like most his age hes got an impressive ability to comprehend what¡¯s going on. He¡¯s also pretty quiet so¡­ take care of him.¡±


    ¡°You know I will, Ian,¡± Erica said, laughing as she gently pushed him away from the door. ¡°Have a good night. Tell James and Cooper I said goodnight too!¡± she called out as Ian walked back to the car.


    Erica then turned to me as the door closed behind her. ¡°Let¡¯s get you settled for the night. We¡¯ll talk more in the morning when you¡¯re well-rested, okay?¡±


    I nodded, feeling past my limit and ready to sleep. Admittedly I had stopped paying attention about half way through their conversation and was picking at my cast. Erica led me to the living room and then to the first door on the left down the hallway. The room had two beds although one of them was already taken. A small black haired boy slept peacefully as the woman quietly directed me into the room.


    ¡°Have a goodnight Kaiden." She says gently before closing the door and turning the hallway light out, making it harder for me to find my way to the bed itself. Despite being hungry I had no desire to eat. Through the dark I shuffled and found my way to the bed. All I wanted to do was sleep, and so I did.


    When I woke up the next morning, the bed on the other side of the room was empty. Light leaked through the central window of the room and I was able to get a better look at it. There was a desk right underneath the window with an assortment of pencils and a few figurines sat atop it. There were also clothes thrown about the room, making it look pretty messy. I groggily threw off my covers and followed the scent of breakfast downstairs. Erica had made a classic American breakfast: pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I was all for it.


    As I entered the Kitchen I realized it all opened up into the kitchen, which then lead into the living room. I saw the girl from last night sitting at the table, tapping it impatiently and kicking her feet underneath. Another kid was also at the table¡ªa boy with pale white skin, black hair and light blue eyes. He had a vacant look, as if he were already tired of life. It took me a moment to realize he was my roommate.


    ¡°Hey Erica, who is that?¡± he asked abrasively. Erica, still cooking, turned to see me and smiled.


    ¡°He¡¯s your new brother. His name is Kaiden,¡± she said, returning to her cooking. ¡°Kaiden, come and take a seat wherever you like.¡±


    ¡°Why does he have to sleep in my room, though?¡± he muttered bitterly. Though he probably didn¡¯t mean for me to hear, I did. I often find that I can hear and see better than most. A strange, burning feeling of guilt bubbled up in my chest as I felt like I was intruding on someone else¡¯s space.


    I followed Erica¡¯s instructions and sat at the table. The chairs were a bit high, which made me feel nice and tall, but I couldn¡¯t help but put my feet up on the chair¡ªa habit of mine. As I sat, the girl across the table stared at me, bouncing up and down. I could almost see her feet still kicking from beneath the table.


    " Hi Kaiden, I''m Jae-yoon and that''s Elijah. He''s pretty mean so don''t pay him any attention.¡± The girl would speak up and say first with a smile.


    " Hey! I am not mean. You''re just annoying.¡± Elijah barked back instantly in an attempt to defend himself.


    " Are too!¡± Jae-yoon said back her tongue now sticking out as an insult to Elijah.


    ¡°AM NOT!" Elijah now yelled the house would give a slight groan and a couple objects would shake and slowly start to lift up from the surface.


    ¡°Elijah!" Erica yelled into the dining room, glaring at the boy. her voice instantly snapped him out of it, the objects that were floating a moment before clattering back down to their respective surfaces. He also sunk down into his chair while crossing his arms.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± He said out of frustration. "But Jae-yoon started it!"


    ¡°Did not!" She quickly started to defend herself.


    ¡°No! Enough! Both of you stop fighting or neither of you will get pancakes.¡± Erica said firmly while pointing the spatula at the two of them. "Now Jae-yoon apologized to Elijah.¡±


    ¡°Sorry Elijah." It was evident the apology wasn''t very sincere.


    ¡°And now both of you apologize to Kaiden." Erica said her voice was still stern. ¡°Looks like you''ve made your brother quite uncomfortable and he''s just got here."


    I hadn''t even realized how tense I was. I sat back in my seat as much as I could, and my eyes were wide in confusion as I looked around at all the stuff that was floating just seconds ago.


    After they apologized Erica bought plates over for each of us. She carried the three of them at once, One on her four arms and another in each hand. It was just like how waiters did it.


    "Let me get some syrup." Erica said idly as if she were just reminding herself of what she needed to do. She brought it over a moment later and sat down at the table with us. "Kaiden, so you like pancakes?¡± She asked as she began cutting into hers.


    I guess she asked because I just sat staring at the food in front of me for a bit. It was strange because I was rather hungry. "Yes ma''am¡­¡± I said, softly. I did love pancakes too. But for some reason my stomach was twisted in knots as I looked at the plate of food.


    ¡°You will like these then, Ms. Erica is a really good cook!" Jae-yoon spoke up with a cheerful voice.


    ¡°You can''t trust what she says she says about food." Elijah leaned over and whispered ¡°She still eats applesauce like a baby."


    I couldn''t help but chuckle, I thought it was silly that liking food meant you were a baby. ¡°But I like applesauce." I whispered back.


    Elijah laughed hard and then whispered back. ¡°I do too, but I''ll never let Jae-yoon know!" As he laughed I looked over to see Jae-yoon glaring back at the two of us and couldn''t help but laugh with him.


    ¡°You really are a meanie." I told him through my laughing and it only made us laugh harder.


    ¡°Okay boys that''s enough. Eat your food before it gets cold." Erica said with a smile as she picked up and bit into a strip of bacon, her hand sat just in front of her face to cover a smile of her one.


    After that I ate my pancakes, they really were some of the best pancakes


    I ever had. But nothing would ever compare to the ones my mother used to make.

 Chapter 9: The Diner

    It took about three months before I felt comfortable at Greenhouse, but I constantly felt homesick. I also was having trouble sleeping, I frequently had nightmares about Gaben attacking me to which I would nearly always wake up to arching with electricity.


    During those first few months I grew close to Elijah, and Jae-yoon. I didn''t realize then, but it must have been frustrating for Elijah to be my roommate. If so he never let me feel bad for how explosive I could be.


    Ms. Erica though, without fail could calm me, or make it so that I wasn''t upset whenever I talked to her. Sometimes the effect was jarring because of just how quickly I could feel her affect. Other times it was subtle, I couldn''t figure out what made her so calming, but I was happy most of the time whenever she was able to help me calm down. Other times I would get even more upset, because I wasn''t getting my chance to express my emotions.


    While I already knew about the unveiled and had seen them from time to time walking about with their purple bands, she taught me more about what exactly they were. About who I was. She insisted that because we all were special, it made us family. Erica always stressed how we needed to be there for each other, since the rest of the world was so against us.


    I didn''t appreciate that for myself until the first time Erica took us into town. Franklin is a small town in West Virginia. It''s the kind of town where everyone knows everyone else ¡ª and as is the case with most small towns, people have the tendency to pry into the business of their neighbors.


    Greenhouse was about 15 minutes away from Franklin. Despite the relatively short ride, the three of us together could make any amount of time seem as though it lasted for hours. We rode in, at the time, a brand new 2010 Kia Sedona. It was released towards the end of August of 2009. I remember being excited to see Ian drop it off at Greenhouse on the first of September.


    Although Erica Usually cooked for us, on this particular morning she took us to the diner for breakfast. The diner being one of the few restaurants in the town was rather busy as is standard for a Saturday morning. After we piled out of the car the four of us walked into the restaurant. I was caught a bit off guard as the sounds of the restaurant buzzed in my ears uncomfortably.


    The diner had a long bar with a chrome like finish, bright LEDs lit the majority of the diner and caused the chrome to reflect with subtle shine. Red neon lights however, illuminated just about everything else. Chrome wasn''t just on the bar though, it was just about everywhere. and where there wasn''t chrome there was white. Red was used as the accent color and was tastefully used, usually to separate the white and the chrome.


    As a kid, I was fascinated by the diner, which appropriately was named, ¡°The Future Diner" Our waitress saw us standing at the door and came with a big smile. She was a lithe woman likely in her early thirties, she had dark blond hair with grayish blue eyes. Her outfit was the uniform of the Future Diner a white traditional Sever dress and once again red was used as an accent in the form of an apron.


    "Good morning, y''all? Aren''t you a cute little thing?¡± She greets us and then compliments Jae-yoon. Jae-yoon lowers her eyes and quietly says thank you and tries to hide herself behind Erica.


    ¡°She can be shy sometimes." Erica says to excuse Jae-yoon. "And yes please it will be us four, thank you." She responds graciously and our waitress walks us over to a table handing Erica a menu and the rest of us kids menus. I happily opened mine up and started coloring before actually looking for what I wanted to eat.


    ¡°My name is Erica I''m going to be your server today, what can I get you to drink to get started.¡± Our waitress said and we collectively looked up at her, surprised to hear her name.


    " Her name is Erica too!¡± Jae-yoon turned and whispered to me as she and I were sitting on the same side of the table facing towards the door. Although she didn''t really whisper so much as she yelled quietly. Erica, the waitress, heard her and chuckled.


    " Well it''s nice to meet you Erica.¡± She says to Jae-yoon, mistaking her surprise for being our Erica. The whole situation was confusing and I started laughing. ¡°Her name isn''t Erica, her name is Jae-yoon." I tried to explain through my laughter.


    "I¡¯m Erica.¡± Ms. Erica finally speaks up laughing as well trying to explain. After we got all of the giggles out of the way, we were able to place our orders. After Elijah ordered orange juice, I found myself suddenly craving orange juice, and then Jae-yoon followed up wanting the same thing. Elijah noticed how we copied him then tried to ask for milk, when I asked for milk, of course Jae-yoon asked for milk and then¡­ well you get the idea. We all ended up getting orange juice and Elijah drank it grumpily.


    Apart from that we were enjoying our morning until a man and woman walked into the diner. The man was tall, about 6 foot 3. He had short black hair, a full beard and sunglasses covering his eyes. He wore a black coat and blue jeans; his boots could easily be heard clacking on the checkered linoleum floors. The woman was about 5 ''11. She had dark brown hair and also wore shades. she wore a brown coat and jeans, she at least took the sunglasses off revealing her dark brown eyes. I internally guessed them to be about fifty as they stood in the entrance.


    ¡°How are y''all doing today..." She greeted them, though her voice dropped from cheerful to quiet before she let out a soft groan.


    The couple seemed happy to hear a greeting at first " We''re doing good thank you, We''ve heard great things about this place.¡± The woman says Erica''s face is now impassive, unamused by whatever suggestions that they may have received.


    ¡°How nice¡­¡± She says with a sardonic tone ¡°Is it just the two of you?" She asks dismissively, the shift in her attitude made her seem as though she were a different person from just moments before.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Oh¡­ uh, yeah it''s just us two." The man replies with a slight stammer seemingly thrown off by Erica¡¯s shift in demeanor. Wordlessly she walks them over to a table and slams down a set of menus before returning to our table with some straws.


    ¡°Is everything okay?" Ms. Erica asks, wondering why she seemed so upset all of the sudden.


    Our waitress leans in closer to our table and whispers, ¡°Those two that just came? They''re Purps." she whispered like it was obvious. ¡°See their nullifiers.¡± She flicked her head over to the table gesturing at the couple. I had to lean forward a bit to see around her, but could see the light glinting off of the metallic purple bracelets they wore around their wrists, which glowed with a subtle Violet light down the middle.


    The woman looked up and saw us staring and attempted to cover her wrist with her jacket as she looked back down, now embarrassed at her menu. Her husband then reached over and held her hand and offered her a gentle and yet comforting smile which she quickly returned to him. Her eyes stretched at the corners with a tinge of sadness.


    ¡°The VRC has no idea what they''re doing.¡± Our Waitress groans as she pours Ms. Erica a new cup of coffee. ¡°Letting freaks eat with us." The words she spewed came out hotter than the coffee she poured and it made the three of us shudder with discomfort.


    Ms. Erica on the other hand seemed unphased as she lifted her coffee, it was black, just as she made it at the greenhouse. She held it in her hands so as to enjoy its warmth. Her demeanor was surprisingly calm, thinking back she probably was holding back her anger for our sakes.


    Elijah however was not one to hide how he felt about something. "You sound like a jerk.¡± He said flatly, glaring at our waitress. The words didn''t come at as some childish taunt but with the weight of someone who hated to be seen as different, or a monster just for being born.


    " I¡­ well I was just saying¡­¡± Our waitress stammered as she looked to Ms. Erica for help, assuming that she would take her side. Ms. Erica Just stared back quietly from behind her coffee cup, her eyes unforgiving and Unyielding. She lifted the brim to her lips and took an obnoxiously loud sip to indicate her resigned silence on the matter. With a scoff our waitress jerked her head back and walked away towards the kitchen. Likely shocked that no one would take her side.


    "Come on kids, I don''t trust that woman not to spit in our food after that.¡± Ms. Erica instructed, so we all climbed out of our seats and headed towards the door. I looked back to see her counting out a few dollars and dropped them on the table before she came and ushered Elijah and I out the door.


    "Why did she act like that?¡± Was a question I would have expected Jae-yoon to have asked. Instead it was Elijah who asked as soon as we got back in the van. Tears welled at the corners of his eyes, likely as he thought about what had just happened.


    ¡°Some people are just afraid of what we can do sweetie." Ms. Erica said gently, looking back at the rear view mirror as she drove.


    ¡°But they didn''t hurt anyone." Jae-yoon said softly while she fidgeted with her fingers. "They can''t even do anything with those bracelets anyways.¡± Now that we were on our own Jae-yoon seemed more comfortable speaking up about what we just saw.


    "You don''t have to hurt anyone for them to be scared of you. They know you are different and that''s enough for them. Too many people are scared of what they don''t understand." Ms. Erica took a long pause and we rode in silence for a moment before she added. "Especially when they know you''re better than them. We''re better than the veiled in every way. That''s why they try to take our power with those stupid bracelets."


    For just a moment I could hear the same level of hate in Ms. Erica''s voice as I had heard in our waitress''s voice. The same hate, the same name. On the outside they looked different, but on the inside they were the same person.


    I, on the other hand, didn''t know at first how I felt. I knew what I saw made me uncomfortable, it reminded me of how Gaben used to look at me. How Gaben used to treat me, how he used to chastise me for every little thing. Of how he used to berate me, and make me feel so small. As I thought about Gaben I could once again feel his hands wrapping around my neck. My throat began to close up and the voices of everyone in the car became drowned out as I hyperventilated struggling desperately to breathe.


    ¡°Kaiden!¡± I could barely hear Erica yell back. My eyes locking onto hers in the rearview mirror. My eyes wide with fear as I clawed at my throat trying to remove the invisible hands as Erica pulled over. My vision darkened, my hands, my face, my body began to tingle as I choked on my fear and trauma. Jae-yoon beside me was crying as she screamed my name, and Elijah shook me. The last thing I remember seeing was the van door opening and Erica trying to unbuckle my seatbelt before I felt my eyes shut and the world around me fade into nothing.


    When I opened my eyes I found myself to be nowhere. Nowhere that existed, nowhere that ever could. A deep wide expanse of nothing but this ghastly white which continued onwards for all eternity.


    I tried to hold my hand up to look at myself, but rather than seeing the skin and flesh that made up my body, I saw light which seemed to take its place. Enshrouding me. It was the same for my arms, for my torso, for my legs, for my whole being was covered in this light which glowed with a gentle blue hue. It pulsated amidst each passing second much like a heartbeat.


    Around me too floated amidst a vast amount of orbs which pulsated to their rhythmic beating out of sync with my own. In between the orbs a spark would arch from one to the other. Some of these sparks would shoot out with great speeds resembling a bolt of lightning as it furiously stretched out to reach its target. Others moved with more resignation as It moved slowly, wistfully, floating much like a dandelion seed blown by the wind. Upon touching these floating orbs, the static would dissolve into the pulsating mass, seemingly causing it to slow or speed up the rhythm.


    The things that moved in-between the orbs I decided to call them flashes since most of them seemed to be like flashes of light as they moved from one or to the next. It took a while for me to realize that I was also sending out and receiving Flashes. Although it seemed like more flashes were leaving from me than those that came in. After they left they would find an orb and then disappear into it the same as the others.


    This one orb got my attention as I noticed most of the flashes I emitted went to it. The orb pulsed slowly but it was large in size. Apprehensively I reached out to the orb with my ethereal-like hand and touched it. In an instant there was a large spark as the orb exploded in a brilliant blue explosion followed by a current which ran through me.


    I quickly saw up breathing heavily as I blinked my eyes demanding that they focused. Finally awake, Mrs. Erica ran her hand through my hair and gave me a kiss on the forehead. ¡°I''m glad you are okay sweetie, she said softly, her voice as gentle as her touch.¡±


    I didn¡¯t yet understand any of what I saw, But whatever it was, it had me burning through energy. I was so tired I couldn''t move my arms, or anything else as my body still flickered with a pulsating energy throughout my veins.


    ¡°You truly are magnificent." Erica whispered to me as I closed my eyes and fell back to sleep.