We Are All Strangers (8 page)

I looked around frantically, desperate to get away. But there was no way out. The other guards encompassed us, blocking me from escaping, again. “I won’t do it,” I shouted. “I won’t kill for you.”

“Odd, that you say that.” He smiled, moving in closer. “I saw what you did to Gabriel. I can’t say that I’m sorry to see him go,” Bentley shrugged it off. “Compulsion is a common power amongst Rares, I’m sure I can find a replacement rather easily.”

He motioned for his guards to move in closer, and my heart sunk inside of my chest as I realized that there was no way that I would be able to escape now. Not without killing everyone in my path, which, knowing Bentley, was presumptively what he wanted me to do.  And I couldn’t give him that satisfaction.

“You’re just like your mother.” Bentley’s body shook in a fit of laughter. “You know, she was just as stubborn when we came for her.”

My hands shook at my sides as anger surged through my body. “Don’t you dare bring her into this,” I howled. “She has absolutely nothing to do with this, Bentley.”

He shook his head. “She never told you, did she?”

I didn’t answer.

“How do you think I knew about you, Parker?” His lips rose up in a tight smile. “We make it a point of tracking down Rares, yes, but Covera Corporations only came to know of your existence through me. Now ask yourself, how would I know about you and what you were capable of?”

I thought back to what my mother told me. How Covera Corporations had come for her as a teenager, and how they’d forced her into complying for years, before a young guard helped her to escape. She didn’t tell me what happened, or why he helped her, only that he couldn’t allow a child to be born into that life. That was when it dawned on me. “You’re him,” I stated, shocked. “You helped my mother escape.”

“That I did.” Bentley smiled, pleased with himself. “But do you know why I helped her?”

“It’s obviously not because you’re a good person.” I wrapped my arms around my chest and lowered myself onto the ground. “That much I’m sure of.”

Bentley let out a high pitched laugh. “Ah, that mouth of yours will only get you in trouble.” He stooped down in front of me. “I helped your mother because I didn’t want my child to grow up in this world,” he pointed towards Covera Corporations, “I didn’t want my child to have the same upbringing that I had.”

“Excuse me, what?” I laughed.

“I was born at Covera Corporations.” Bentley reached for my hands, but I pulled back. I hated the man, but I couldn’t kill him. The last thing I wanted was a body count attached to my name.  “Your power? It comes from me. It won’t hurt me.”

“Shucks,” I muttered. “That’s too bad, isn’t it?”

He glared at me. “You may feel that running away, that trying to live a normal life, is the right thing to do, but it isn’t. You were born with a gift for a reason, and now that you’re coming of age, and your power will only become stronger, now is the time for you to join us, Parker.”

Bentley Wilson was clearly nuts. I was seventeen years old. I still had my life in front of me. For him to think that I would willingly sacrifice that, that I would sacrifice everything that I cared about to work for Covera Corporations? It was utterly ludicrous. “No thanks.” I smiled. “But thanks for the offer.”

“Bentley, you’re obviously not getting anywhere with the girl.” A woman emerged from the shadows, dressed in a black leather get-up. “Let me try talking to her.”

Her face was hidden beneath the shadows, but I recognized her voice. I knew that voice as if it were my own. Except there was a certain dominance to her voice now. Even still, I knew who it was, and it scared me, because I knew that she wouldn’t do this to me. She couldn’t.

“Felicia, let me handle this, please.”

I shook my head, trying to convince myself that this was all just a terrible dream. That I was still at home, that I was sound asleep in bed. But when the moon illuminated her face and her bright green eyes met mine, I knew that there was no denying the truth. “Mom,” I whispered. “What did they do to you?”

“She volunteered to take your place,” Bentley scoffed. “We agreed, as we could always use another Morphling. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as willing to adhere to our commands once she’d learned that we hadn’t released you.”

“What did you do to her?” I screamed.

“I told you, Parker, we have a way of forcing Rares into submission.” He waved his hand at her. “She kept resisting, so we had to send in our strongest compulsion Rare to have a bit of a chat with her.”

“I was wrong,” my mother stated. “I was wrong to fight what I was meant to do.”

Meant to do?  She was spewing crazy talk now.

Although gifted, Rares were no different from the people Covera Corporations wanted us to fight. We were still human. Blood still pumped through our veins. Our hearts were still capable of being broken. We were still capable of dying. We were just as fragile as the people Covera Corporations set out to harm.

“Mom,” I cried out. “Do you remember when you told me that no matter what we do, we always have a choice? How every decision that we make impacts not just you, but those around you?” She didn’t answer. “Remember how you told me that, in the end, it all comes down to knowing you did everything you could to make the world a better place? I need you to remember, mom.”

She seemed to consider what I’d said. But the compulsion was too strong. “Parker, dear, it’s time to right my wrongs. It is time for you to use your gift to help others.”

Bentley chuckled. “Now that you’re coming of age, Parker, this is where you should be. This is your home.”

“Let her go,” I whispered. Bentley shook his head. “Please, I’ll do whatever you want, just please, let her go.”

“Will you agree to join us?” he asked, arching a brow.

“Only if you let her go.” Bentley seemed to consider it for a moment. “If you agree to let her go, Bentley, I’ll join you, I promise.”

“Very well.” He snapped his fingers. “Marshall, erase the compulsion, please.”

He pressed his palms against my mother’s cheek and stared into her eyes. A soft hum filled the air, penetrating the silence.  She gasped as Marshall’s hands fell back to his sides. “Parker!” She cried out. “Parker, run!”

Tears pooled at the corner of my eyes as I took in the panic that covered my mother’s face. “I’m sorry, mom. I had to. It was the only way.”

Bentley pulled me to my feet. He placed my hands behind my back and cuffed my wrists, again. “You made the right choice,” he whispered. His cool breath sent a chill down my spine. “You did what you needed to do.”

Underneath the night sky, surrounded by Bentley and his men, I’d succumbed to my greatest fear.

W
hen the call came, I knew something was wrong. Over the past few months, she’d only gotten worse. “It’s a matter of time,” they told us, as though it was supposed to be of comfort. But watching a loved one dissolve right before your eyes was far from comforting.

It had only been a year since she’d been diagnosed with cancer, and back then, we thought things couldn’t get worse. Back then, we thought she’d beat it. Back then, we still had hope. It was surprising how much could change within a year.

Standing in line at the airport, a duffel bag slung over my shoulder, and my boarding bass in tow, I felt myself falling apart. This shouldn’t be happening, I told myself. And it shouldn’t. But it was, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle it.

I wasn’t sure if I could keep it together because inside, I was a complete and utter wreck. My heart pounded against my chest with fear. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what my grandmother must be feeling. I wasn’t the one dying, but it sure as heck felt like it.

“Boarding pass?” the flight attendant asked. Regaining my composure, I handed her my boarding pass and waited for her to scan it, before allowing me to enter the walkway. “Have a wonderful flight,” she said, smiling as she sent me on my way.

I nodded, moving with the crowd. The cold air in the walkway beat against my skin forcing me to pay attention. As we neared the plane’s entrance, I began to panic. In a few hours, I’d have to face reality – I’d have to accept that this was the last time I’d see my grandmother.

Breathe, Sophie
, I reminded myself,
relax
.

Following the other passengers, I stepped onto the plane and made my way down the aisle. I moved down the aisle until I neared my seat. Seat 22A. A window seat.
At least that’s a positive
, I told myself. I could lose myself in the clouds for the next few hours.

I shoved my bag inside of the compartment above and eased myself into my row, lowering myself into my seat.

When my mother told me that we needed to visit sooner rather than later, I knew that it meant she only had a few weeks left – if we were lucky. She’d left earlier with my father and sister, but I’d stayed behind. Until now.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” she told me. “It hurts, we’re all hurting, but the world can’t suffer because of our selfishness, Sophie.”

All that I wanted was more time.

When we’d moved from New Jersey to Florida, as a child, I didn’t think much of it. Heck, all I cared about was that we’d be moving closer to Disney World. I never thought about what I’d miss – how much I’d miss.

Now, it came to me in full force. I’d missed getting to know my grandmother. I’d missed growing up with my cousins. I’d missed being around my family, and I didn’t realize just how much it hurt until I was faced to deal with losing a loved one. It was rather pathetic that it took someone dying for me to see what I’d been missing.

The worst part was that I knew that I could change things. I could give her more time. I could give us more time to say goodbye. But my mother insisted that I leave the balance alone.

What was the point of being able to control time if I couldn’t use it for something important? For more time with my grandmother before she left us?

As the plane filled up, a voice beamed over the intercom, urging all passengers to power off their electronic devices before diving into the safety procedures we were to follow in case of an accident.

Such a comforting topic right before liftoff
, I thought.

I strapped on my seat belt, lifted the shade panel on my window and leaned back in my seat. I was dreading this trip, and it didn’t help that the guy beside me insisted upon leading towards me. Two minutes in, and he was already beginning to doze off. Oh, how I hoped he wasn’t a snorer.

I pressed my head against the window and stared out into the clouds, eager to clear my mind, to erase the pain that was desperately trying to overtake me, to claim every inch of me. The clouds and bright-blue sky calmed me, allowing my eyelids to close, to silence the pain pumping through my heart.

The aircraft skidded to a halt on the landing strip at the Newark airport, forcing my eyes open. The creepy guy beside me had somehow managed to rest his head on my shoulder at some point during the trip. “Seriously?” I hissed, pulling forward, causing his head to drop and his eyes to fly open. “I’m not a pillow, you know.”

He looked at me apologetically as he ran the back of his hand across his lips, wiping off a stream of drool.

Great. I was stuck next to this guy for at least another fifteen minutes. I seriously needed to remember to avoid selecting the back of the plane next time I flew. It only meant delays in both boarding the plane and exiting the plane.

I could always fast forward time, I thought. But then again, I wasn’t exactly in a hurry to see my family members. Seeing them would only serve as a reminder as to why I was here. And I wasn’t exactly prepared for that. Not yet.

After fifteen-minutes, my row finally began to clear out. I grabbed my duffel bag from the overhead compartment, slung it over my shoulder, and slowly made my way down the walkway.

“Have a great trip,” one of the flight attendants said I passed her by. I nodded and moved past her, through the walkway door.

The crowd had thinned out, leaving me alone with two other stranglers: the creepy guy from my row, and an older woman who looked to be lost.

Shoving my hands inside of my jean pockets, I hurried up the walkway, past both of the man and the woman, and searched for my mother and my aunt who were supposed to be picking me up.

But it wasn’t my mother and my aunt waiting for me. It was both of my parents and my sister, and they all looked to be crying. Swallowing my fear, I strolled over to them and fiddled with the strap on my bag. “What happened?” I asked.

“They admitted her to the hospital,” my father said, struggling to form a coherent sentence. “We have to go, Sophie. The doctor said it won’t be long now.”

It was the news I’d been dreading this entire time, having only hours - if even that long - to say goodbye to my grandmother, a woman I’d never gotten the chance to know as well as I wished that I had.

“Let’s go,” I said, doing my best to hide the tears that were trying to slip away.

My father wrapped his arm around my sister’s shoulder and pulled her away, leaving me alone with my mother. “Sophie,” she whispered. “I know what you’re thinking, and I understand how you’re feeling, but you can’t do it. You know what will happen if you alter the time balance.”

Screw the time balance. I didn’t care anymore.

If extra time with my grandmother meant setting the rest of the world off balance, I didn’t actually care. My selfishness was overtaking my rational mind. I needed more time to say goodbye.

My mother moved in behind me, pressing the palm of her right hand against the small of my back. “You can’t use your gift for something like this, Sophie,” her voice was low, and I could tell that she was biting back the pain that wanted so desperately to escape. “She wouldn’t want you to. You know that.”

“No,” I replied. “I don’t know that.”

“Sophie, please,” she begged. “You know what will happen if you do this. It won’t go unnoticed. The Time Jumpers will come in search of you. I won’t be able to protect you from them, Soph.” She led me towards the exit. “Grandma wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. Think of her, please.”