Screams were coming from the corridor. I sat up in my bed and peered around the dark room. Nothing. There were now more screams, and crashing doors being knocked from their hinges. I lifted my left leg and placed my foot of the soft Persian rug, then my right leg. Trying not to wake up Kiren or Daniel, I snuck from my room across to the kitchen, then into the lounge room where the door was. As I placed my warm hand on the cold, metallic silver, door handle, everything fell silent. I paused and looked towards Kiren's room, she was still asleep. Another scream let loose through the whole building. This time I recognized the voice, it was Matilda's, my neighbor.

I opened the door to peek out and see what was going on. I saw fifteen maybe twenty tall men in ankle length black trench coats, and a black hat pulled down to their eyes. Mogadorian scouts I thought to myself. One of the scouts turned around and saw me, he looked at my chest and saw the Loralite around my neck. The scout then yelled "Loric child!" in plain English. I slammed the door closed and ran to my room to grab my knife. The door flew off its hinges, they were in my house. Then another door flew through the room. They're in Kiren's room. I heard Daniel yell for Kiren to get me and get out of here. My door flung open and Kiren was about to grab my hand, instead a long gleaming sward with a blade glowing of power, went through Kiren's chest. Just before Kiren died, she grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. She told me that "1-3 are dead, four is next one to die. He is with six, they are trying to unite everyone. Isabelle please find them". Then she turned to ash covering my shoes and hands. That's when my world fell apart.

A scout saw me and aimed a gun at me, as the red flaming ball of deadly power travelled towards me, I knew that it couldn't hurt me, I was eleven, they had only killed three. Then I remembered what Kiren just told me. Four and six are together, they broke the charm. Just as I was about to be hit and die, I wondered how the scar would come up, would the others know it was me who died not four? BANG! I'm not dead, instead Daniel was lying on the floor in front of me, dead.

I grabbed my emergency bag from the side of my bed. I took it with me everywhere, it had my chest and my knife, spare clothes to last me a week, long life food, 3 bottles of water, 5 different identities, and 3 phones all with different numbers in it. I climbed out of my window and raced down the stairs, into the quiet ally beside our apartment. I ran as fast as I could out into the busy night of New York City. Pedestrians filled the sidewalks and every building has lit up signs of companies. I turned around and looked to our apartment knowing that I will never see Kiren or Daniel ever again. Tears burned my eyes as I tried to keep them back but they poured out of my eyes like Niagara Falls. I knew the Mogadorians would be here soon, my only chance was to leave New York. I walked through the crowds of people to a news agency across the road from our apartment. I grabbed the closest magazine to me which was the Gazette. On the front cover of the Gazette magazine was an article of Paradise, Ohio. I thought trying the smaller towns would be safer now that I was alone.

I was a mess. My hair was messy, I had my scraggy PJs on, no shoes and I had bruises and cuts with blood coming from them. A business man came up to me and gave me $50 and a decent size piece of bread. Another woman came up to me and gave me $20. I now had $70 and some bread that would be enough to get me to Ohio. Just as I was about to go to the train station a taxi driver asked me if there was anywhere he could take me. I explained to him that "My parents just got murdered in front of me, and I think the killers are coming after me. I need to get to Ohio" I lied to him saying "My aunty lives there, I'll pay you I have $70". "There is no need to pay me sweetie" he replied in a kind understandable voice. I fell asleep along the way to Ohio. After all that had happened I was surprised that I could actually sleep.

When I woke up we were 2 and ½ hours away from Paradise. I had slept for just over 11 hrs. I ate half of the bread and gave the other half to the taxi driver to say thank-you. That was when I realized I hadn't told him where my "aunty" lives. I couldn't just tell him any address. "Instead of taking me all the way to my auntie's, could you drop me off when we get to Paradise?" I was scared he was going to get suspicious and start asking questions, but he didn't he did exactly what I wanted him to. When he dropped me off I said thank-you again. Now I had to find somewhere to stay.

I ran all through town, fast enough that no one would be able to see me. I couldn't find anywhere suitable. Then I looked up at the house looming in front of me. I need help, desperately, and this seems to be the only house for miles. Maybe I shouldn't knock on that door, I think to myself. But then the wind blows strongly against my body, and there is a sudden downpour of rain. Taking this as a sign, I hurry to the door and knock fiercely on it. My only reply is silence. I bite my lip so hard that I can taste blood, but I ignore it; I have bigger injuries that needed medical attention. I knock on the door again, more loudly this time. I hear footsteps coming towards the door, and it opens. I'm met with a tall man with brown hair and kind hazel eyes. "Can I help you?" he asks me.

I nod, shivering. "Please help me. My name is Isabelle, and I'm being chased, but I've lost them. They killed my father and my Ce-" I catch myself from saying Cepan - "My mother, and now they're after me." It is all said in a rush, and I'm not sure if the man understood a word I said. But to my surprise he nods and opens the door for me, ushering me inside. He instructs me to sit down in a couch next to the warm fire. He disappears for a few seconds before returning with two fluffy black towels and a large t-shirt with jeans and a hoodie. "It's going to be too big for you, but at least it is dry." He sounds apologetic, but I give him a grateful smile and take the offered clothes. He directs me to a bathroom and tells me that I should take a shower, get dressed, and meet him back in the living room. He closes the door gently.

Taking a deep breath, I strip from all of my clothes and look into the wall-length mirror. I look terrible. My dirty-brown hair is stuck to my forehead with rain and sweat. It's all tangled, and has a few twigs and leaves in it. My body is pale and not completely developed yet. I wince as I spot the bruises covering my stomach, upper thighs and upper arms. Some of them are blue and purple, while some of the others are yellow and sickly looking. There is also an infected-looking gash on my right arm, and my left foot is covered in blood. I grimace and clutch the Loralite gem hanging around my neck tightly, before sighing and climbing into the shower. The warm water soothes the aches in my body, and loosens my tight muscles. I look around the shower and spot some strawberry scented shampoo and conditioner (it looks brand new). I open the shampoo bottle and massage the liquid into my hair. After a while I rinse and repeat the process with the conditioner. When I'm done with my hair and the rest of my body, I turn off the water and climb out of the shower. I cover my hair with one towel, and with the other I quickly dry myself off, mindful of my bruises. When I'm finally done I dress into the offered clothes and towel-dry my hair. When I look into the mirror again, I fluff my hair around and scrunch it a bit so it wouldn't frizz. Everything is going to be okay, I tell myself.

I walk into the living room, noticing that with the man that gave me the clothes was a younger man, probably his son, who looked to be fifteen. They stopped talking when I arrive. The man introduced himself as Henri, his son as John, and motioned for me to take a seat. He also handed me a warm blanket. I snuggle into the blanket and watch the two men wearily. Henri leans forward, looking at me intensely. "Are you in some kind of trouble, kid?" he asks me.

I open my mouth, but quickly close it again. What am I supposed to tell this kind man? I can't tell the truth, he'll send me to a mental institute for sure. Seeing my reluctance to talk, Henri sighs and ask me if I would be more comfortable talking to someone my own age. I give him a blank stare and shake my head. "I need to see a doctor," I say instead of answering the question.

Henri narrows his eyes and inspects my body. "What's wrong, Isabelle?"

Calmly, not showing the pain I've been feeling all along, I say, "There is a large gash on my right arm, I'm covered in bruises, and I think there is a nail in my foot."

Henri and John gapes at me. "How in the name of . . . how can you just sit there calmly?" John asks, astonished and worried.

I shrug and tell them that it's not that bad. Instead of arguing with me, Henri cleans my wounds and removes the nail from my foot, and tears were definitely involved. Luckily they didn't notice my scars from the three dead Garde; it would've led to uncomfortable questions. After it all I'm exhausted and just about ready to collapse. They always say that crying made you tired; it seems that they're right. Henri notice just a little too late, and I was already asleep when he finally carried me upstairs and laid me in his bed.

That night I didn't sleep too well. I kept dreaming about the death of Kiren, my Cêpan. I remember how her eyes looked in her last moments: desperate, sad, defeated . . . dead.

I'm sure Henri and John heard me crying all night, but I'm glad that they respect my privacy enough to leave me alone. But . . . even though I wanted to be alone, I also wanted someone to hold me and tell me that I was going to be okay and tell me that I'm not alone; that everything was just a horrible moment in time that would pass by eventually.

Eventually my wish came true. Henri's bedroom door softly opens and he peeks inside. Seeing me awake and crying, he sighs softly, closes his bedroom door and makes his way over to the bed. He sits down on the edge. He doesn't offer me any comfort words, except the occasional 'Shh'. He softly strokes my hair, and it gradually calms me down until I'm not crying anymore. I sniffle and close my eyes. "Thank you, Henri." I say it so softly that I'm not sure if he even heard it, but a soft squeeze on my shoulder told me that he did. Finally completely tired, I succumb to sleep.

The next morning I wake from the sunlight streaming through the bedroom windows. I groan and roll around in the bed, yelping when I forget that I had a large gash in my arm, and was now laying on it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," I mutter to myself as I sit up, rubbing a hand over my face. A huge yawn nearly splits my face, and after stretching, I get out of bed. I turn around to look for the door, and scream super loud when I notice someone standing there, watching me. It is a beautiful teenage girl with straight blonde hair that falls past her shoulders. She has ivory skin, high cheekbones, and soft blue eyes. "Oh my freaking God!" I gasp, "You scared the shit right out of me!"

The girl looks worried as she says, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, I really didn't!"

"It's okay," I say, my hands on my wildly beating heart. Just at that moment the door bursts open and Henri stands there, looking ready to battle a murderer. He scans the room, but when his gaze falls on the girl, he lets out a relieved sigh. "Oh, Sarah, it's only you."

She pretends to be offended as she says, "Just me, huh? Wow, I didn't know you disliked me that much, Henri."

Henri waves a dismissing hand at her and replies, "You know what I mean."

The girl, Sarah, laughs at him before turning back to me. She looks sheepish. "I'm sorry I scared you. Henri and John asked me to watch over you while they worked on some things." She walks over to me and extends her right hand. "Sarah Heart," She introduces.

Hesitantly, I shake her hand and say, "Isabelle. Isabelle Element."

If she founded that strange, she doesn't show it. "So you're the one who has kept my boyfriend up all night," she jokes.

I smile and shrug. Henri asks if I am hungry, then leads me to the kitchen. Sitting at the table is John eating some cereal. Sarah tells me to sit down and fixes me a bowl with cereal. She warms the milk then hands my food to me. "Thanks," I say as I accepted the bowl.

John looks at me and jokingly asks, "Are you some evil little girl that I'm supposed to be scared of?"

I smirk evilly at him, grab my bowl and spoon and hold it in front of my face, saying, "Oh yes, John Smith, I'm a cereal killer!" To prove my point I harshly stab my spoon into the bowl of cereal, smashing it into tiny pieces. Sarah and John laugh at me, and I reply by sticking out my tongue. Just then something hanging around John's neck catches my eye. It was a gem . . . a Loric gem exactly like mine. I immediately clutch my gem in my hands over John's t-shirt that I am wearing.

"Are you okay, Isabelle?"

I look at John and breathily say, "Just peachy."

John gives me a weird look. "So, um, Sarah brought you some clothes. She said that no girl should wear men clothing, and I agreed. So you can take a shower, and Sarah will leave the bag with the clothes and towels on the bathroom counter." He scratches his chin. "Actually, it's already there," he adds.

I stand up and throw my arms around a stunned Sarah. I whisper a thank you into her ear before bounding up the stairs and into the bathroom. I immediately strip and climb into the hot shower, letting the hot water work its magic all over my body. It actually seems as if everything will be okay, and I hope that it stays that way. I've been disappointed one time too many to handle another one.

Please, I pray to the heavens. I don't know what I'm asking for, but I guess the answer would soon present itself to me. And it did. Hope.

I climb out of the shower and look for the bag of clothes that Sarah left for me. Finally I find it on the counter and I quickly open it. Inside, there is a large amount of clothes, and to my dismay, all of them were brand new and still had their tags on. After putting on some underwear, I pick out a cute casual dress and then some black leggings to hide my three circular scars, and also some pumps. The clothes fit perfectly. I look into the mirror. I look better than I did yesterday. The circles under my gray eyes have almost completely disappeared, and my wet hair looked more alive and clean. I smile at my reflection, before picking up the bag, John's clothes that I wore, and walk out of the bathroom and into Henri's room. Henri is sitting on his bed and reading a book, and he looks up as I enter the room. I smile shyly at him and place the bag on one of the chairs in his room. Just as I am about to leave the room, his voice stops me. "Isabelle, you know you have to tell me what happened, right?"

I don't look at him as I say, "I know." Then I walk out of the room. I suddenly remember the Loralite gem that John wore, and I know that I can trust Henri, so I turn around and reenter his room. "Henri, can I ask you a weird question?"

He makes an 'mm' sound and once again looks at me. He takes a sip from his cup of coffee.

"Do you . . . do you know about the Mogadorians?" As soon as I ask this, Henri chokes and his coffee comes spraying out of his mouth. When his coughing fit has passed, he brilliantly asks, "What?"

I repeat what I said earlier. "What do you know about them, Isabelle?"

I glare at him for avoiding my question. "I know that they are a hostile alien race that came to Earth to take it over, and also to kill the remaining of the Loric race."

Henri looks at me suspiciously, probably wondering how I know this. Then realization dawns on his face and he asks, "What number are you?"

So he does know, and I feel hope bubble up inside of me. I finally found someone, and I'm not alone anymore! "Number Eleven." My voice sounds chocked.

Henri looks worried. "What happened to you and your Cêpan?"

I quietly say, "They killed Kiren and her husband."

Henri disbelievingly repeats, "Her husband?"

I nod. "Yeah. Daniel, he was human. We met him two years ago when we were seeking sanctuary, and he gave it to us. Kiren fell in love with him; they had a small wedding with just his family. He knew the secret. He was with me when I got my scar from Three's death. I don't know how the Mogadorians found us in, New York City, but they did, two nights ago. They stabbed Kiren with one of their swords. Daniel was murdered by them, also." I'm proud of myself for keeping my voice level, and for not crying. If Henri only knew the whole story. It looks like Henri is expecting me to say more about what happened to me in New York, but I keep my mouth shut.

"Why did you come to Paradise, specifically?" Henri finally asks me.

I honestly don't know what to tell him, because I didn't know the answer, myself. It wasn't like I actually knew where I was going, what with it having been night and all, coupled with a storm. I mention this to Henri. He nodded in understanding. "I'll break the news to John later tonight, when it's just me and him, and then we'll be able to choose what's going to happen, now."

"Are you only telling him later because of Sarah being here?" I ask, curious.

Henri shakes his head no. "No, Sarah knows our secret."

"Then why don't you tell him now?"

"I thought you wanted to keep it private, Isabelle," Henri replies.

I shake my head and tell him that we can just as well tell them right now. Or not, I think as I glimpse Sarah and John heavily making out on the living room couch. I make a disgusted face at Henri, and we walk together to the kitchen. I take a seat at the table while Henri makes us both coffees. He hands me one mug and sits down opposite me. I take a cautious sip from the mug, and nearly moan at the great taste. "Oh my God, this is the best-tasting coffee I've had, like, ever!" I exclaim, and then take another sip of the liquid deliciousness.

Henri chuckles at me, saying, "It doesn't taste that good."

I give him a glare, only my gray eyes sticking out as I prepare to take another sip from the large black mug. "It. Is. The. Freaking. Best!"

"What is the freaking best, Isabelle?" John asks as he and Sarah enter the kitchen. Both he and Sarah takes a seat, Sarah next to me and John next to his Cêpan. Henri rolls his eyes, smiling, as he says, "Apparently, it's my coffee."

"You can make coffee?" asks John. "I didn't know that!"

Sarah lightly slaps his arm. "Of course Henri makes coffee," she tells her boyfriend. Then, turning to Henri, she says, "And it really does taste wonderful."

Henri thanks her, before turning serious. John and Sarah notices immediately. "What is it, Henri?" John looks really worried.

"I've found Eleven," Henri says.

John says 'Henri!' and then nods at me. I tell him to shut up and listen. He does.

"Where did you find Eleven, Henri?" Sarah asks, but by the look she's giving me, I'm pretty sure she's already figured it out.

"She's younger than we thought, and she's a lot closer."

I groan mentally; Henri is so doing this on purpose. "She is sitting right here," I say, annoyed about being talked about.

John doesn't get it and looks around the room. Seeing no one, he turns to look at me with confusion. I point my finger to my chest, and realization finally dawns on him. "You?" he asks me brilliantly.

I roll my eyes, replying, "Yes, me, Four."

"But," he says, "You're only thirteen years old!"

"I'm fourteen," I say through clenched teeth.

"You're still tiny."

"Whatever," I say, scowling.

Before John can say anything, Henri loudly says, "I'd like you to attend Paradise High school. You can take a test and they can determine which grade you'll be in."

"What would her cover story be, Henri?" demands John.

"Easy," I say before Henri can reply to John. "I'm the child that Henri never knew of. Henri and my mother, Eloise, had spent a drunken night together, and bam, Eloise is pregnant. Henri didn't know that I existed until last week when he received a call from Mum's lawyer, telling him that he had a fourteen-year-old kid to look after, since my mother died from cancer, and I have no other relatives. I grew up in South Africa, but when Eloise found out that she had cancer, we moved to New York City, two years ago. I was homeschooled my whole life. My name is Isabelle Smith since Henri received custody of me."

Sarah, Henri, and John all liked my story, and it was decided that it'd to. Henri left to make the appointment with the school, leaving me with John and Sarah after being introduced to her.

"How much people here know about you?" I ask John, taking a sip from my forgotten mug of coffee.

He scratches the back of his neck. "Just Sarah and Sam Goode."

Great, just great. "And why, if I may ask, does Sam know?" I ask, irritated. "I mean, I get why Sarah knows, what with her being your girlfriend and all, but Sam? Who the hell is he, anyway?"

"He's my friend, alright? And he figured it out by himself. If it weren't for him, Henri might've been dead."

Immediately I feel bad. "Sorry," I say.

John shrugs and pretends not to be bothered by it. He asks me, "What's your story?"

I suddenly don't feel so happy anymore. Why did he have to ask that?

"Didn't Henry tell you?"

"When was he supposed to tell me?"

"Well if you weren't so busy making out you'd know!" With that I storm out of the room. I know that I'm being childish, but I don't want to talk about it! Why can't John realize that?

I sigh and look around me. I'm standing outside and I'm looking at the greens around me. It's beautiful, but it would never compete to Cape Town… I shake my head angrily. Now is not the time to remember my old life! The door opens behind me and I turn. Sarah is making her way towards me. "He's only curious," she tells me.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to talk about it."

Sarah nods. "We're not forcing you. But remember, we're here and we want to look out for you."

"Hey, thanks," I say, and really mean it.

I stayed outside talking to Sarah about Paradise and the school I'll be attending. John came out later and apologized about before. "I'm sorry to John, I just wasn't ready to talk about that kind of stuff with you." He completely understood. All three of us walked into the kitchen. Henri had already started making sandwiches for the four of us. "Isabelle, John has to train after lunch. Have you done any training?". "Kiren always strategized to stick to the huge cities. That had its benefits, it was easy to blend in and hide. But that also meant that there were limited places to train. I think I have trained five times in the past two years." Henri offered for me to train with them and I accepted his offer. John was excited to be training with another one of the Garde.

I went up into my room and went to my bag I arrived with and got my training suit out. As I stripped my clothes off I could feel someone's eyes on my half naked body. I turned around and was looking at a young man about the same age as John. He was short and skinny with dark brown hair and thick black glasses. "You have one awesome bod" he told me. I was embarrassed at him looking at me like this, so I used my telekinesis to throw a pillow at him, not realizing if he knew our secrete or not. Did I just blow Henri and John's cover? Blocking the pillow with his arm he asked "What number are you?" Astonished that he knew I replied that I was eleven. "What number are you?" I asked him "I'm no-""Wait are you Six!?" I cut him off excitedly. "No I'm Sam Goode". So this was Sam, the other one who knew our secrete.

Sam was wearing black board shorts and a white top that looked two sizes too big. I turned with Sam still watching me and put on my training suit. I raced outside to where John and Henri were stretching, Sarah was sitting on the grass a couple of meters away from them. Sam ran towards John and looked as though he was about to attack him. Before John could react I pounced towards Sam almost knocking him out cold. Sarah, John and Henri frantically walked to Sam to check if he was Ok. "WOW! I thought you said that you have only trained five times in two years? I figured that you'd be a bit rusty. Man you showed me!" John trailed off looking in Sam's direction to make sure he is Ok. I feel bad now, he was only going to play tackle him and now he's injured because I was protecting family.

Sam sat up, "Is Eleven going to be training?"

"Yes Sam, if you don't want to get hurt than I suggest that you sit today out" Then looking towards me John told me "I'll go easy on you today Isabelle, I don't want to hurt you" I cracked up laughing at his statement. "You hurt me!? Please"

I sat beside John and stretched with him. Then standing and pacing out fifteen steps away from John. I turned around to look at John, he was talking to Henri. I decided to use an advantage I have, teleporting. I teleported through the air, everyone thought my legacy was invisibility. But when I came out from the air I pounced on top of and surprised John, landing above him.

"That's not fair, I wasn't ready!"

"Oh, I'm sorry John. But try telling that to a Mogadorian, do you really think they aren't going to kill you because you're not ready?" We did the basic training for the rest of the day. John taught me how to use my telekinesis to move bigger objects. And I taught me some combat moves Daniel had taught me. Just the thought of him made me want to crawl into a hole and die. He sacrificed his life for me. Which reminded me about six. "John, do you know where six is?" Hesitantly he looked up at me and told me she went looking for the others and left him behind.

That night I was too tired to eat anything. Instead I had an apple and went straight to bed. I had a better sleep that night. I only had one dream, it was about the wedding. Kiren looked so beautiful in her white gown, and then I remember the look on Daniel's face when she walked down the aisle. Everyone was so happy, I didn't want to be in any other place. Then everything went black, I was flying across a green field with perfect lush green grass, tall trees and beautiful shrubs and flowers, to my left there was a crystal clear water stream. I followed the stream and it lead to a town. It still had the same perfect environment but there were houses and people everywhere. I went to one house and looked through the window. I saw a family of four sitting around the table eating what looked like pasta but it was almost alien like. My God I'm on Lorien! I thought to myself. Just as I thought that the bright blue sky turned black, blazing fire balls came flying towards the town. Screams were almost exploding out of the Loric's mouths, babies were crying along with everyone else. Suddenly everything went into a blur and flashed before my eyes. Almost everything on Lorien had been destroyed. I turned around and saw a ship. There were 9 children all different ages, and what looked to be their cepan with them. I tried to look for Henri and John but I couldn't find them anywhere. The ship then left Lorien heading towards Earth. Then once again everything was a blur and the sight flashed before my eyes. Another ship appeared. I could see the family from the house the parents were crying holding their two daughters tightly against their chests. I felt sorry for them I knew those two girls would never see their parents again. Then a beautiful woman standing at the ship caught my eye. Kiren. Only then did I notice that one of those girls was me and the other my sister. I couldn't see anymore, I was about to mentally break down.

I couldn't wake myself up so I yelled out for either John or Henri, I'd prefer John because he had to go through the same thing that I had to go through when we were kids. Not long late my door opened, I was still tossing and turning. "Isabelle? It's OK I'm here now, everything is going to be OK" It was John, relieved I woke up. I told him about my dreams the one of the weeding then the one about Lorien. I didn't tell him how I was on the second ship… with my sister. "I had dreams like that a couple of weeks ago" John told me. John got up off my bed and was about to leave when I asked him to stay here tonight. He walked back to my bed and climbed in and cuddled up to me.

I woke up early that morning thinking I would be up before John, but he was up before me. I went downstairs and found that he had made breakfast for me, two eggs and a couple rashes of bacon. As I was eating John came down stairs dressed in sweat pants and no top on. He had a bag and was ready to start the day. "Are you going for a run?" I asked him. "No I run to school, it saves Henri having to drive there, I could wait for you if you want to come with me or Henri said he can drive you." I munched away on a piece of bacon then answered "Yes" I finished my breakfast, ran upstairs quickly got dressed in some exercise clothes and put some spare clothes in my bag, then ran downstairs where John was waiting patiently on the couch in the living room for me.

We ran out the door together then down the drive and onto the road into town. We had run two miles when John stopped and ran into the forest, I followed like a puppy dog behind him. We arrived at school in the car park, there were only three cars there. John directed me inside then to the ladies bathroom where I could have a shower and freshen up. I heard other voices enter the bathroom. I turned the taps off, dried myself with a towel then put on some tight jeans and a tight fitted rose pink tank top. I walked to one of the mirrors to do my hair, I had my loralite hanging out of my top around my neck. I couldn't help but notice one of the girls staring at my loralite. "Hi you must be new. I'm Kiren" one of the girls not looking at my loralite held out her had to introduce herself. Her name ran through my head over and over again. I shook her hand, "I'm sorry did you say your name was Kiren?"…"Um, yeah". Tears formed in my eyes, but before I could cry the girl looking at my loralite asked me where I got my necklace from. "It was a christening present" I lied.

"Do you know John Smith? He is three years older than you" Kiren asked

"Two years actually, I'm fourteen"

"Oh, good you do know him…wait…how do you know him? Kiren looked at me suspiciously.

Here comes another identity "He is my half-brother"

"Wow, because he has the same necklace but a different pattern on it…Oh sorry I forgot to introduce myself I'm Lisa" Lisa was the one who was looking at my loralite from the beginning.

Before I could say anything more the three of them left. I turned back around to finish doing my hair. I walked outside to groups and groups of other kids. I was terrified, they were all looking at me. Where are you John? I thought to myself. I only knew the way from the entrance of the school to the bathroom, so I headed back towards the entrance. I couldn't see John anywhere, only people in their cliques. Then I saw Sam get out of his truck. I couldn't be more happier to see him, I ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. He winced in pain, I had completely forgotten that I injured him yesterday. "Oh sorry Sam, I forgot. I really am sorry about yesterday" He knew I meant it. Everyone was still watching me. "Where's John" Sam asked curiously. "Well we ran all the way here and we had a shower and now I can't find him and I have no idea where I'm going" Sam knew how I felt about being the new kid at school so he showed me the way to the school office, where I was met by the principal. "Hello Miss Smith" He greeted me, he could tell I was nervous. "Don't worry John has gone to his first class. I'm principal Banks" I shook his hand.

He lectured me about the school's history and gave me a detailed profile of each of the teachers at this school. As he stood up he told me that he will show me around the school. "Here is you first class, Home Economics, your teacher is Mrs. Manfred she is very nice I think you'll like her. After this class you have recess" He opened the door and everyone looked at me, Mrs. Manfred stopped teaching and walked over to us. "Mrs. Manfred, this is Isabelle Smith, she has just moved here from New York City" principal Banks was basically telling it to the whole class instead of just the teacher. "It's been a long time since we've had a city girl" Mrs. Manfred told me. I walked to one of the empty tables at the back of the class room. Everyone was still staring at me, when the teacher started talking again everyone looked back at her except for one boy he stared at me for the whole half hour left of class. I completely zoned out of the class, I kept thinking about my dream, the girl called Kiren and then the boy who is still staring at me. I hope I can find John, Sarah or Sam at recess. I heard a bell ring, everyone stood up and walked out of the class room. The boy who was staring at me came up to me and introduced himself "Hi ya! I'm Ty Berna!" Grabbing my hand and shaking it enthusiastically. "Hi, I'm Isabelle. Sorry but I have to find my brother" I walked out of the class and followed the crowds out to the grassed areas.

I still couldn't see John anywhere, or Sarah or Sam. I wasn't watching where I was going and I bumped into one of the football players and spilt his drink all over him. "Oh my God I am so sorry" I tried to help him wipe it off. Before I could help him he grabbed my bag and chucked it around to his friends, I couldn't be bothered playing their stupid games. I thought of using my telekinesis to grab the bag from them, but then again I would show my powers which would force Henri, John and me to move. So I decided to go along with it. Then out of nowhere the guy I bumped into shoved me really hard, I skidded across the concrete floor and into the wall, to show that I was human I cried to show the pain that I actually couldn't feel. Everyone looked at me then one of the teachers came over to me and asked if I was ok, she helped me up and took me to the first aid room, before leaving she told all of the football players they had a week's detention and took my bag off of them.

In the first aid room I asked for them to get John. The teacher shook her head and went to find him. Five minutes later the teacher walked back into the room with John. I was so relieved to see him I jumped off the bead and flung my arms around him. He held me close to him. Recess was almost over and I told the nurse that I was fine. John walked me back to my locker and placed my bag in it. I didn't want him to be late for his class so I told him to go to his class. I wasn't the slightest bit interested in going to class. I reopened my locker and grabbed my belongings, and left the school grounds making sure no one saw me. I went to the town, it was quiet, to quiet. I went to a small shop to buy some chips. I got to the counter and looked at the man who was looking at my loralite. He was tall with a thick black mustache. Is he a Mogadorian? I paid for the chips and the man handed me a receipt after I told him I didn't want a receipt. I turned the receipt around and there was a letter on the back.

It read: TO THE PEOPLE OF EARTH:

There are mysteries in human history for which there are no apparent explanations. There are unexplained jumps in the development of human technology. No one can explain things like the lost City of Atlantis, the Loch Ness monster, the Bermuda Triangle, and, of course, crop circles and UFOs. The explanation for these, and many other of Earth's mysteries, is that aliens have been visiting your planet, and influencing events, for as long as the planet has existed.

I am Pittacus Lore. I am from the Planet Lorien, three hundred million miles away. I am one of ten Elders who lived on our planet. I am ten thousand years old. Everyone on Lorien was gifted. We are incredibly strong, incredibly fast, and we are born with powers called legacies. Despite our powers, the Elders, responsible for the defense of our planet, failed.

Lorien has been destroyed. Our entire population was killed, except for nine children and their nine guardians. The Nine fled to earth, where we hoped they would be able to hide and grow, to develop their Legacies and one day avenge the loss of Lorien. Unfortunately, the same race that destroyed Lorien followed them to Earth. They have been hunting the children and have killed three of them. The six that are still alive have started fighting back. Our war has come to your planet, and it will either be won or lost here.

I am telling the story of Lorien, the Nine, and the war at hand so you do not allow the same thing that happened to us happen to you. I am trying to find the Nine and unite them. They may be walking past you right now, or sitting near you, or watching you as you read this. They may be in your city, your town. If they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, they are living anonymously, training, and waiting for the day when they will find each other, and me, and we will make our last stand together.

This could only mean that man knew something I didn't, I ran back into the shop to the counter but when I got there, there was another man at the counter. "Where did the other man go?" I asked him "There is only me" he told me.

I walked back to school so John didn't get worried about me. When I got back to school we still had twenty minutes left of class. I couldn't wait to tell John he had to know now. I went to the office and asked for his timetable, thankfully they didn't ask why. He was in science. I ran to his science class bursting through the door, I looked at John who was standing at the back of the classroom. "We need to talk now" I said to him. John walked out of the school following a few meter behind me. "First of all I'm sorry I skipped some of my classes, but I had to get away from that place. I went to a small shop to get some chips. I asked for no receipt but he gave me one. Here. Look on the back and read what it says." I watched John's expressions on his face as he read the letter. "I went back to find the man who gave me the receipt but he was gone."

John was a scared as I was, I think maybe even scared. We were still meant to be in school but both of us knew we couldn't go back after what had happened today. "Isabelle, I want you to go straight home and tell Henri everything that happened today…even the bullying. I'm going to go back into town and find that man. You never know he could help us find the others, or better Pittacus" As soon as John finished he ran off into the thick bush leaving me standing there all alone. I didn't know which way was home, I only knew that school was West. I headed back to school to find Sam and Sarah outside looking for me. "Don't ever do that again without telling us what is going on as well. We thought you found another number or worse…a Mogadorian" Both Sam and Sarah sounded mad. I couldn't think of a good enough explanation to tell them so I showed them the receipt. 'John has gone back into town to look for the man. He wants me to go home and tell Henri… but I don't remember how to get home" That sounded pathetic and embarrassing. Sarah obviously felt sorry for me "Don't worry I'll drive you home"

Sarah drove up the gravel drive to our house twenty minutes later, we shouldn't have been home for another half hour. Henri opened the old front door with a worried look on his face, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. I slowly opened the passenger door to Sarah's car still looking at Henri's expression. Closed the door, and stood there looking at the house, taking in everything. It was a one story old wooden house. The shingles had grown old and have started to rust along with the railings along the front porch, everything seemed homily. Suddenly I was taken away from my thoughts by the sound of a very scared Henri. I realized Sarah had told him everything while I was in deep thoughts.

"Sarah stay here with Isabelle…I have to find John…he could be in trouble", "I'm sure he's fine Henri" I knew she was saying that to keep me calm, Henri knew there was something going on. I didn't watch Henri, as soon as he finished speaking I grabbed my bag off the grass and walked inside, Sarah didn't come in till later. "Is John going to be OK?" I asked Sarah "Um…sure…he'll…be um…fine" I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. Now I was worried, what if that was a Mogadorian and John found him, what if the Mogadorian came with more of his friends. No what have I done! I have to go help him. "Sarah, I'm really tired. I might go to my room and do my work then sleep Ok" "Yeah sure Isabelle that's fine"

"Wait Isabelle…could I call you Izzie?"

"Yeah sure"

I walked upstairs wondering how I can help John, or where I could find him. My plan was to go upstairs grab my Loric knife, climb out of the back window, run to town and find John. I had one of my legs out of the window when I saw my chest hidden under the bed. There has to be something in that chest that can help me find John. I brought my leg back inside and braced myself as I held the chest in my lap on the floor. I had never opened my chest, so I didn't know how to open it. There was no key hole? I tried everything to open the lock but nothing worked. I was about to give up, I was holding the lock inside my hand when I felt it click open. It must have a loric charm on it. I opened the chest slowly, I didn't know what to expect.

On the very top of all types of crystals was a white envelope, it was addressed to me, Eleven.

It read:

11-

As I write this letter to you I am wondering if it will be my last. Obviously if you're reading this than I am no longer with you. I am so sorry, but whatever has happened to me, please, don't blame yourself. All I ever wanted to give you was a normal life here on Earth.

You were like a daughter to me. I know I could never compete with your real mother, but I hope I did a good job at raising you. As you already know most about Lorien from what I have told you, and from your visions of Lorien before and after.

Where to start, I know, your father was Lokin, he was a extremely powerful man who everyone respected, and your mother was Lora, though I only met her once, she was very beautiful, just like you, and was very strong willed. I was you cepan, my job was to protect you at all costs. Even my life.

I've told you this a billion time but I'll tell you again. We fled the planet when the Mogadorians attacked us. They had destroyed Lorien for our resources. We left on the last ship, it took us almost a year to get to Earth. I was hopeful though, because five hours before we left another ship left. There were nine children all older than you but none of them were older than ten, with them was their 9 cepan. In time your legacies will arrive. Then you can find the six remaining Loric children, then only together can you continue the war against the Mogadorians, and hopefully win so you can return to Lorien and rebuild the planet.

You were chosen by the tenth elder, Pittacus Lore, he chose you because he saw strength, determination, courage and hope. Everything I see in you. You and the other Loric children will return to Lorien and resume their roles as the elders, and can rebuild Lorien to its former glory.

I know you will do us proud, not only me but the whole of Lorien. I put all of my strength and faith into you. I believe in you Eleven. I may not be with you anymore, but my spirit will live on following and trying to protect you.

Love, Your best friend, half mother and cepan

Kiren

Tears flooded down my face as I finished reading the letter. I had sat there for half an hour just reading and then rereading the letter over and over again. I hadn't even thought of the other items in the chest. I didn't want to find out anything more about Lorien at that moment. I placed the letter back in the chest and locked it. As I stood up to hide the chest back under my bed my legs felt wobbly…and numb, I had obviously been sitting on them for too long. I placed the chest back under my bed when the front door opened. John! I raced down the stairs still sobbing from the letter and leapt into his arms. Except he didn't catch me…I went straight through him.

"John? What's going on?" I had a panicked tone in my voice. "Have you gotten any new legacies yet" Henri sounded like he knew what was going on. I replied saying "I have only the one legacie which is teleporting".

"Oh… Isabelle we need you to get really worried and emotional. Can you do that?" John said "Yeah I guess so"

I knew how to make myself worried. The Mogadorian have caught John, everyone else… Kiren… my sister. They killed them all. Well that got me worried and upset. "I don't think this is going to work" I announced. "Izzie? Pick something up, but don't use telekinesis to pick it up, use your hands" "Um…Ok" I walked over to the bench at the front of the house, there were some They Walk Among Us brochures, I grabbed them and swung them around. Gasps were coming from everyone's mouth.

"Isabelle… I think you have a new legacie"

"Really! What is it?"

"Invisibility" Sarah spoke up

"Cool!" I was over the moon about getting a new legacie. This could be interesting using invisibility around here. Which reminded me "Hey John, did you find that man I saw earlier?" "Sadly…No I never found him. But I don't think he was a Mogadorian. Henri you said that the elders may be here on Earth right?"…"Yeah why?"

"Well I think it might have been either Pittacus, one of the other elders or even just a messenger for the elders. Who ever it was they know something about the elders that we need to find out"

After that Henri went to check his laptop for any new information that could lead us to the others or for the Mogadorians to find us. John grabbed a coke out of the fridge and went upstairs to complete his school work. Sarah got a text from her mom "Sarah where are you? Your father will be home soon, so where ever you are can you come home soon, we'll be having dinner when he gets home" Sarah left after that, I walked her out to her car and waved as she drove back towards town. Wow, what a day. My first day at an actual school, I get bullied, have a kid stare at me for an unnatural length of time, wag school, maybe saw an elder, and got a new legacie. That would have to beat every other day.

I went back inside to still see Henri at the computer, eyes scanning every line of today's news, and from what I could hear upstairs John was still in his room. I didn't want to go into my room because I would be tempted to open my chest, so instead I walked into the kitchen, grabbed some popcorn and cooked it in the microwave. When the popcorn was finished I went into the lounge room, there was a pile of DVDs that Henri had rented out, on the top was the movie Twilight. Oh Henri. "Thank-you Henri, how did you know I love the soppy romantic movies?" I joked. He looked up at me and started laughing at my comment. I opened the case and placed the disk in the player. I plunked my body down on the three seat couch and stretched out. Bella! Behind you! James is behind you! No! The movie finished and I went into the kitchen to wash my bowl, Henri was making dinner, chicken stir fry. "Wow, they really betray the vampire image don't they?"

"Yeah, but it's all fake, you do realize that? Don't you?"

"Well the betray the alien image, and everyone believes that aliens are fake along with vampires…but we're aliens, so you never know there could be a vampire out there somewhere." John walked into the kitchen puzzled about how I was talking about vampires could be true. I gave him the look to just go with it, and so he did.

Dinner was ready so I grabbed a plate of stir fry and went and sat down at the table in the next room. We all sat there in silence, but from the corner of my eye I could see John watching me in…awe? I know that Loric's become bonded and they stay in love with their bonded for life. His bonded is Sarah, I mean the way he looks at her, she's his bonded. I couldn't help but give him a flirty smile, and he gave me the same flirty smile back.

Nothing happened for the next two weeks. We went to school, Mark and his idiots stayed clear of me, John, Sam and Sarah said that they'll meet at a certain spot in the school every day so I would have somewhere to go, and we trained, John has now found my weaknesses and uses them against me. I have to admit I haven't stopped flirting with John and I think Sarah is starting to think I'm a grade A bitch.

It had been three weeks since I arrived in Paradise, Ohio and there was still no sign of Six returning. I was in history class when Mr. Gouts announced our history excursing was tomorrow and we were going to Washington DC. That was my last class of the day. John had to stay back and work on a science assignment. I went outside of the school to see Henri standing at our pickup truck talking to a tall girl with long rustic blonde hair and gorgeous big hazel eyes, she looked about seventeen. When she saw me she just stood there looking at me Henri had the biggest smile on his face. Before I could ask who she was she took off running into the bush to the left side of the school. Well that was odd. Henri drove me home and dropped me off "Kiddo, I've got to go to out of town to take care of some business. I'll be back in a couple of days Ok" I nodded in agreement and watched Henri back down the drive and drive the opposite way to town.

That night I had another vision of the past. It was on the second ship, the one that I was on. I was sitting playing a game with the girl that I suspected to be my sister. My sister was taller and older than me, she had gorgeous big hazel eyes, and long rustic blonde hair. Then she reminded me of the girl I saw talking to Henri. My God! That girl was my sister! But why would she run away from me then? I had to find her. I went down stairs the next morning to find not only John waiting for me but Sam as well. "Hey! I'm driving you to school today" Sam sounded happy to be driving me to school. "So" John started "You're going to Washington DC?"

"That's the plan" I wanted to tell him how I saw my sister yesterday and needed to find her. But I couldn't find the right way to say it in front of Sam as well. We went to Washington that day. That crazy guy that annoys the absolute shit out of me sat next to me the whole way yapping on about false alien conspiracies, then he shocked me by asking "Hey, have you heard of the Mogadorians?" I almost spat my water over the teachers head but I managed to keep it in. "What do you know about them Tom?"

"Well I know that their an alien race who destroyed the planet Lorien, and all of the Lorics apart from nine of them who got sent to Earth. And guess what the Mogadorians found them and have killed three of them and there are only six remaining" How could he possibly know this? Unless… "What number are you?"

"What are you talking about Isabelle?" Shit! He's not one of us, here come the questions, then running back to Paradise to pack and then a whole new identity. 'OMG! You're one of them aren't you!" I slapped my hand over his mouth to shut him up, a couple of others stared at us. Before I could say anything to him we arrived at Washington. We stood in the center of a huge hall that was very open, we were getting lectured about Abraham Lincoln. "So are you going to tell me who you really are?" Tom asked.

"Well I have to now. Yes I am an alien from Lorien. But there were nineteen of us who survived. I am number Eleven. But please you can't tell anyone about me or you will be killed by the Mogadorian for information about me. Do you understand me Tom?" He nodded his head in shock, I don't blame him for being shocked I mean he is talking to an alien.

Then I saw her. My sister. Standing on the other side of a crown listening to the lecture. Then again she ran, but there was no way I was going to lose her this time. I ran as fast as I could, I could feel the whole classes eyes on me. Great John and Henri are going to kill me. But I didn't care, I had to talk to her. Then I was tackled down and dragged into a dark alley way. Shit! Mogadorians! It couldn't be anyone else, then three people walked up to me in hoodies. "Who are you?" But I had a feeling that I already knew who they were. They took a step back and revealed their faces. There was my sister and two other men behind her. "Hey lil' Sis!" So she was my sister. "This is Kamon and Simon" Pointing to the two me behind her.

"Why did you run from me? I mean you knew I was your sister and I figured that out last night"

"I'm sorry. At school yesterday I was going to talk to you along with Henri, but when I saw you I saw mum and I was shocked. So I ran. And this morning I ran to get you here in private." I almost started crying, I look like mum. Then I heard my history class scream, and a cackling laugh. The Mogadorians have found us. "Isabelle we have to leave now" My sister grabbed my hand and dragged me into a porche. "OK hold on a sec! I thought we were meant to keep a low profile! You're driving a freaking porche!" No one listened to me. Before I knew it we were back in Paradise at home. Henri, John, Sarah and Sam were packing Henri's car. Great they heard about how I revealed to my whole class my abilities. John ran up to me and gave me a huge hug "Are you Ok Isabelle? You have me scared sick when I heard about the Mogadorians being there" "I'm fine…Henri where are we going now?"

"Australia…somewhere along the coast where it's hot. The Mogadorians can't pick up our sent in the heat" Yay! Now I need to learn how to surf! We left that afternoon, it took us two hours to arrive at the airport where a cargo plane waited to collect our things. There was a private jet behind it. "Let me guess. This was you doing with the private jet?" I asked my sister. "It helps me feel that we're on the ground…I have a fear of heights" That would explain a lot.

I was stuck on that plane for the next twenty-one hours. Sam had decided that he would come with us, he told us that his father knew something about the Mogadorians and the Lorics, Sarah stayed behind after all someone needed to keep an eye out in Paradise, but I knew she didn't trust me and John together, also on the plane was my sister which I found out that she was Six, Karmon, Simon and Henri. When we got to the airport in Brisbane the cargo plane had already started unloading. There was Henri and Six's cars, the bags with all of our weapons, the bags with the laptops, then we each had a bag with clothes and the things we wanted to keep.

When everything was unloaded we were on the road heading North towards Noosa. We arrived there late at night, it was too dark to see where we were going. "Are we there yet?" Sam sounded like a three year old, I couldn't help but let out a little giggle. "No we're getting on a boat to our new house" A boat? Oh Henri where are you taking us? Everyone was on the boat except for me and John, I was so tired that I collapsed on the outside of the boat, luckily John was there to catch me. I didn't wake up again that night.

I woke up the next morning seeing palm trees surrounding an open room. It was made of bamboo poles and had a thatched roof. The room was sitting over the pool with a bridge leading towards the big house. I sat up taking in the tropical view. I must be dreaming. I was about to lay back down when Six came skipping across the bridge. "Morning sleepy head!" She chirped. "Was this your doing?" "Yep! Do you like our new house? It is on its own island so we are completely private from the main land!" Wow she was in a really happy mood. I walked with her to tour our new house. I wish we never have to leave. This place is paradise. I found John's room, he was on his bed playing with Hadley. I went and sat next to him on his bed, probably to close for us just being friends. "So…this is a nice place" small talk was all I could manage. I knew I was bonded to him…but the question was, was he bonded to me? "Um? John?" "Yeah?" "You know how you and Sarah are a…thing?" "Um, yeah" "Well are you bonded with her?" "Sadly no. Lorics can only bond with other Lorics. Why do you ask?" "Well…this is going to sound crazy…but, um…I think I'm bonded to you" It was silent for a couple of minutes, then John stood up, I thought he was going to leave. The he picked me up by surprise and kissed me. "You think or you know?" Still lips pressed to mine "I know" We kept kissing like no one was watching, but everyone was watching. "Excuse me" Six cleared her thought. Oh God! How long have they been watching John and I make out for? "So I guess we have a bonded couple on our hands" Karmon and Simon joked around pushing each other like a couple of school boys. "John, can I talk to you in private?" Everyone left the room except for Henri and John. "I thought you were with Sarah"

"Well…when I think of Isabelle I see much more than I do with Sarah."
"What happens when she has to leave us or you have to leave her?"
"I always think of having to leave her…but it kills, I can't get my head around having to leave without her"
"Oh John" Henri sighed "That's because you're bonded with her. Remember only Lorics can bond…Do you know if Isabelle is bonded with you?"
"She admitted that she is before" For some reason Henri had a splitting grin on his face. "I knew this would happen! Your parents always joked that you two would bond one day!" He was laughing in astonishment.

Henri and John met us by the pool, we all had our swimmers on and were playing a splashing game together. Henri started "OK everyone… So this is our new house, I know it is very out there but Six insisted we get this house. Simon your name will be Tomas, Karman your name will be Jake, Six your name will be, um, Jane, John you are Frank, ha ha ha, no it is James and Isabelle you can be Juliet