Follow Me

We carefully walk to the front door of the abandoned building where the man just entered.  I carefully look inside.  It's a lot darker than outside.  There is no light through the windows and there are only a few lights that seem to go out at any moment.  It is scary.  But, I'm cool.  I don't find anything scary.  Okay, maybe a little bit.  My doubts whether this is a good idea is starting to grow more and more.  But Emma goes for it.  She walks right past me.  She knows no fear.  I wonder if she got that from her mom or dad.

I quickly follow her and together we follow the sounds of footsteps.  We walk through the corridors and arrive at a large room.  There are some big boxes here and there.  And cages.  I can stop Emma just in time before anyone sees us and we hide behind a big box.  "Where have you been?"  I hear a man say.  "Just hanging around town. Stealing a little wallet. Nothing special."  "Are you crazy! You can't just randomly steal. If the cops come after you, they'll come after us. Drake kills you in your own prison cell. You know that."  We hear another man say.  "Relax Jack. I know what I'm doing. No one saw me." 

I hear the man named Jack sigh deeply.  "Did you get any new information. Drake could be here any minute and if we don't have anything then…" "It was harder to get information here. I mean, this town is the center of the rest of this country after all.  But, yes. I have the forms. All children under 15 are in here. It's just a lot harder to find out which of the parents is and isn't unnatural." "As long as you have the papers Luke." Jack says.

Emma nudges me gently with her elbow.  I look at her questioning look.  "Should we attack them now?"  she asks very softly.  I shake my head.  "Not yet."  I'm too curious about this conversation.  What this is about?  Wait and listen before you strike.  I hear my father say again.

I hear the sound of a soda can opening.  "I still think it's an absurd idea. Using kids to take back power. I mean, they're just kids."  I hear the other man, whose name is Luke, say.  "They're not just kids."  Says a new voice.  We see him standing in the opening and he looks straight ahead.  He doesn't seem to notice us, but we still press our body closer to the box so as not to be noticed.  He has a large scar near his eye.  He is tall and has a short beard.  He is older than dad.

He walks further into space, out of our sight.  My heart starts beating faster.  I can't believe he didn't see us.  "These kids have DNA from their parents. They possess the powers that their parents possess. They will do incredible things. Maybe even stronger, faster, more powerful."  A short break.  "With them as an army we take back power. No one can stop us. Because yes, they are indeed just children. Who is going to attack them?"  We hear the new man say and then chuckles softly.  "We have to proceed carefully."  I hear Jack say.  "Especially in this town. The Warners live not far from here. Almost the whole damn team is based here. If they find out what we're up to, Drake, we'll be in real shit."

"I'm not afraid of them. I have a bullet left especially for Aaron. He still owes me that one. Can't wait to see him again."  Do we hear the man called Drake say. We hear some sliding of boxes and another can that opens
"But you're right. We have to be careful. I now have a total of 18 children and those missing persons will soon become a nationwide search."

Then I feel Emma pulling my shirt.  "It's almost 15:00. I have to go home."  she says softly.  Thank God I'm glad she says that.  Somehow I would rather have heard her say I'm afraid.  Let's go.  But this is also fine.  I don't want to be here anymore either.  These men are really scary.

We sneak to the exit of the room through which we also entered.  But when we're almost there, the exit catches fire.  High flames shoot up from the ground against the ceiling of the door frame.  Emma and I both startle with fear and take a few steps back.  "And where did you think you were going?"  We hear Drake say.  We turn around and see him standing with a big grin on his face.

He walks towards us and the men who must be Jack and Luke follow him.  Immediately I stand protectively in front of Emma with my arms wide.  Drake laughs.  "How cute. What do we have here? Who are you?"  Emma and I keep our mouths shut.  Too scared to say anything.  At least I'm afraid.  I don't know how Emma feels.
Drake looks at me carefully.  He absorbs me completely.  Then he looks at Emma.  He looks at her longer.  He narrows his eyes for a moment and then they widen.  "A gift from heaven. Maybe even a gift from Anderson."  He says and looks up for a moment.  Then back to Emma.  He takes a deep breath and with a big smile he says.  "Emma Warner. How nice to meet you."

Then Drake looks at me.  "And who are you?"  I take a deep breath.  "I'm Kai. And now you let us go!"  He chuckles.  "Ah, of course Kai kishimoto. How could it be otherwise."  He grins with satisfaction.  "How did they end up here? Where are their parents?"  Jack asks and looks around.  As if our parents could show up at any moment.  "I have to go. I have to be home by 15:00."  Emma says innocently.  I wonder if she realizes we're in danger.

"Where's your daddy, Emma?"  Drake asks and looks at her again.  I don't like it when he says her name or when he looks at her.  "At home..." "And your mom?"  "She wasn't home. But she will be at 15:00."  Drake looks questioningly at Emma and then at me.  "Who did you come to town with?"  I'm not sure if I should say something.  Whether I should lie or not.  I'm not sure how to get us out of this situation.

"No one. Me and Kai were on a secret mission just the two of us. We climbed into a trailer. And then we came here."  Emma says proudly.  "Can I go now?"

"Emma?"  I say and look over my shoulder to look at her.  "Yes?"  "Leave the talking to me."  "But you didn't say anything."  Emma says slightly annoyed.  "Just let me do it. Okay."  "Okay."

Drake leans against a large wooden box with his arms crossed.  "I'm sorry to disappoint you. But I can't let you go."  I look back at the exit which is still on fire.  But the fire doesn't seem to spread.  I don't understand how it works.  "Not only the heroes have been given a gift."  Drake says and gives me a friendly smile when I look at him. 

He holds out his hand and a small flame comes out.  "Well, well, I got it from my best friend."  He grins.  "Paris."  Emma takes a short breath.  "Your best friend is Paris?!"  she says surprised.  "Can I be best friends with Amsterdam?"  she asks enthusiastically.  I'm thinking about it.  What would a friendship with a capital city look like?

"Why did you choose Amsterdam?"  I ask and look at Emma.  "They have nice rivers there that you can sail in. Who would you choose?"  "Hhmm I think Tokyo." "That's fun too."  Emma says with a nod.  I look back at Drake pinching the bridge of his nose as he squeezes his eyes shut.

"Having a conversation with an 8 year old. What did I expect."  he mutters.  "I'm 10!"  I say offended and cross my arms.  He takes a deep breath. "Paris Anderson. I'm disappointed that your father didn't tell you about your grandfather. He was a great man. He had the right future in mind."  He shakes his head and runs his fingers over his beard.  "But that's in the past. Now it's my turn to make the future perfect again. And you're going to help with that."  I shake my head violently.  "If my daddy finds out he'll find you and he'll beat you."  Luke chuckles.  "As soon as we see your father, we'll put a bullet in his head."  I'm frightened.  "Hey hey, be nice."  Drake says to Luke.  "He'll have nightmares soon. And I can't use that. I hate crying children."
I immediately try not to cry.  And I hope Emma isn't crying either.

"I really really want to go home."  Emma mutters.  "We're going to your new home." Drake says and looks at Jack and Luke.  "You had the papers of the rest of the children, didn't you?"  Luke nods.  "Okay. Let's go then. It's a good thing I brought these."  he says and throws something at Jack.  He catches it and walks over to me.  Before I realize it he grabs my arm, pulls me close and I feel something prick my neck. 

"Kai! No!"  Emma calls and she wants to run to me.  But Drake grabs her and I see him pressing something on her neck.  I try to resist but all my muscles feel weak.  I want to close my eyes but I refuse to let it happen.  "Aaron Warner Welcome back to the fight boy."  Drake says with satisfaction.  Then my eyes close and I can't open them.