Aeli

by leena051100

this is not exactly like the x-men but i thought this idea was awesome cuz it's like a few of the ey can change into a creature. pegusi and each-uisages (a really violent horse that drags the rider to the bottom of the sea and when he/she drowns eats him/her) and phoenix everything is real but they're humans who can...ughh i'm not going to spoil the story. just read it.

I wait for Andie to come by; I hate it when she doesn't come early. After all I am obliged to hate her, she IS my older sister. But it's hard to hate her when she acts like she usually does and plus, she's the only one in the house I can talk to. I mean, my aunt, she hates both of us. My cousin she rarely speaks to us. Even though she's a year smaller than me, she's thirteen but she looks at us as she is older even than Andie who is four years older than her and three years than me. It's really fun when your aunt hates you because if she hates you she doesn't want to deal with you that mean she won't stop you. So we can do anything we want but she doesn't do any other thing other than add me in meals, (not Andie). Like dropping off at school or whatever. But that doesn't matter; we've learned to cope for ourselves. That's only because Andie lives a whole other life than me. She's eighteen and you wouldn't think that my aunt would have kept her. That's part of the reason my aunt's house is only a place for us to sleep otherwise we stay outside-yeah she lets Andie sleep. Every day Andie comes by in the evening sometimes in the afternoon and then I would go with her and return at night and she would again go. She never skipped a day.

Sometimes Andie says that I think a lot about this being the same forever. The way she lives her life, it's just…she doesn't have a job or anything neither does she go to college. She lives like a thief. She lives in a which she also stole but it can't be particularly called stealing if no on e wanted it. But anyway, she lived in a little big car. She got all the money she wanted also by stealing. She was good at what she did. People would never find out what was missing of theirs before she was two streets across.

She never allows me to do the same and she never steals in front of me. At first she didn't even tell me how she got so much money.

I was about to give up again and was about to get up from the usual place that I sat in when I was waiting for Andie. Just then she showed up in a scratched up old car. Most people, those most people would only be some from school, said that we looked a lot alike. With our straight dark brown hair and the same grey-blue eyes and I'm even almost the same height as her but still she's taller. She walked, and then ran the last few paces to the door. She opened it without knocking. She never did knock, anyway. I ran to her the second she entered and hugged her. This has been my favorite part of the day since she was sixteen, two years ago. Though I didn't like it when she went away. She would never even tell me, my aunt would have let her stay as long as we kept ignoring her and she could ignore us. Thinking of her she came outside her kitchen the same time as Andie did. Bad timing. Even that doesn't matter she looked away and headed to the living room. My aunt was a plump but not that much plump woman. With sapphire blue eyes like my cousin and blonde hair. The same as my cousin, Tracy, again. Both of us don't say a word not even to each other and head out. The second we are out of the door we start running to the car. She is a little faster than me, perhaps because of all that practice but I seriously was faster than her a few years ago. She reaches the door first and sits. I go to the other side to get in. she lets me drive sometimes, too but we both avoid that. Better to avoid being caught. Even though she doesn't have her license herself. Even though I know how she lives but I still can't believe how it's possible for anyone to live like this without getting caught.

"So?" Andie asks me.

"So, what? I ask back, even though I know what she's asking but I still never tell her this straight without doing this. This is sort of a joke between us, the word, so.

"So, so?

"So, nothing?"

"So, where today?" she asks again.

"So…"

"So…maybe we could do something you've never have done before."

"Which is?" I ask.

"Umm… I've got a feeling that you hate school." She says. "Are you sure it's just your feeling or it's been me telling you this for the past two years."

"No, I'm sure it's just a feeling… but I'm going to let you do it."

"Steal?" I ask jumping up from my seat.

"no." she says immediately. She can never allow me to do that.

"Then what?" I ask, at least it might be something different even if it is what we do every day, that's also awesome.

"Umm…what would you say if I say that I could let you steal something on your own? I mean, you're not going to stay in that boring house forever are you? So…you'll have to go somewhere but then you wouldn't have a job and you wouldn't be able to go to college so…maybe." she asks me, she knows I'm going to say yes.

"YES! YES! YES!" I say loudly, hardly believing it to be true.

"So…?

"So…?" I reply.

"So…?

"Where do you live, then?"

"So, who do you want to rob?" she interrupts but I don't care she never was going to answer any way. I don't know why she asks this. It's not as if she's going to let me steal from whoever I want even if I say a name.

"Every one, you pick." I even hated everyone at school. I had backed off those who tried to make friends with me many years ago. I didn't like to have friends then. Not that I do, now. Andie is enough but when she moved out. That was the worst thing ever. Besides Andie has been to the same school. Yeah and I forgot to tell you that my aunt also payed for us going to school. For her it would be paying for our absence, I don't know what it is that she hates about her. We never did anything bad to her, except for maybe when Andie actually got caught for shop lifting, thankfully it was only for a little crime and she was fifteen then, but my aunt had to pay a lot, then, as she was under age. But she had been the same before that too.

"How about… someone we both hate?" she suggests.

"Ok," even though she knows it won't be that way.

"Oh I know," Andie jerks forward reducing the speed of the car instantly. I fall forward. I look at her, "who?" I ask with a smile.

"Don't you remember the guy from the store by your house?" It's hard not to notice the way she said, your house, not our house. But, yes I remember, she is talking about the guy who caught her stealing from one of her first times of stealing. She's been saying bad things about him for years and she never forgets.

"Ok," like I she's going to accept if I say no. and there's no reason for me to say no, I hate him too. Because he can also be another reason for Andie to have gone from the house because it sure did make my aunt madder.

Andie turned the car back. I'll bet anything that she wasn't even going anywhere other than ahead. We usually did that. She parked outside the store. It was a super market more than a store, a really big one, that is. She stopped there. She didn't move or get out or do anything.

When she didn't move again, I opened the door and got out myself. "first." she said suddenly. I looked at her. She looked back. "You will only do one thing, fine?" I never get what she's trying to say at first. Maybe because she says it like that. Of course she does. Asking first then telling. Andie gets out, too. She doesn't lock the car but I know why not. She comes besides me and whispers to me, "Only go and drop something big, ok? Better if it's one the huge stacks they put, you think you can do that?"

I nod, but I don't like it that I don't get to do much. At least something is better than nothing. I go but Andie follows very slowly that she's left behind I look back at her. She motions for me to follow. I go forward and inside. I see what she was talking about. I've never been to this store; I rarely went out of my house except for school. There was a huge rectangle of some kind of cans I don't know of what. I don't throw them. I don't think Andie would want me to do it without her. But she did tell me to do this even if it doesn't work it would've been an accident, then. The man, Andie hates looks at me do nothing. I go toward another aisle out of the man's sight. I don't why she told me to do this when she wasn't going to come anyway.

Still she told me to do it, I never disobeyed her. Again, not because I couldn't only because I didn't want to and the other thing was she never told me to do anything that I didn't want to. I did ask her to let me steal once, a long time ago. I move further into the store to the second part. She obviously wanted me to let something fall for a distraction, why not a big one. I go right, and then left until I was at the kitchen part. This would not have been Andie's idea, to break something but I really wanted to do something big. After all, she didn't tell me the whole plan so basically I can do whatever I want. Now I was at the part that I do not know which one is it. I went to the far end, fortunately there were toys there not that I wanted them but it's fun to look at things like that. I see a rubber ball and instantly get an idea. I take it in my hand and grasp it tightly I went to the end of that aisle too, the further the better. The bigger the better. I throw my hand backward than forward so the ball went flying through the air and it collides with the glass shattering it instantly into millions of pieces. At first I look at it in admiration. I really did it. But the sound that told me that someone was coming moved me out of my place. There were two other kids looking at me who were already there. I had never felt so good before I run to another aisle and back to the first area. Then walk normally like nothing happened. I see Andie at the counter instead of that man. I smile at her. She raises an eyebrow at me then returns the smile.

Both of us head towards the door and out. We quickly get in the car and Andie drives away.

"What was that?" she asks me with a little laugh.

"Thought you would need it. Though I don't know exactly what I am talking about, it may be help it may be more distraction or it could be anything but Andie gets it.

"Good going, though." She says. This makes me feel even better. It's seven 'o clock now. We don't have any time limit for staying out. Nobody cares but still, when you've got no limit you still have to go some time. I don't believe that but Andie's the one who doesn't let me stay out for a long time and whenever I ask she has too many reasons that I never want to hear.

When we still don't have anything to do now. We head home. Or as Andie would say my home, only. She drops me. I reluctantly get out.

"Lena." She says my name, I look at her. She looks like she's about to say something but then closes her mouth.

"Don't trust anyone. Bye. I'll be back." it's all she says.

"Bye," I reply and go back. When I reach the door I look back at her, Andie also looks at me. I force a smile and wave at her. She keeps staring at me and smiles too. Then waves and drives away. A whole day before she would come again. I hate this part of the day. I drop down and sit at the steps. Watching the place her car was right now. After ten minutes I get up and go inside. I see Tracy in living room, she catches me looking at her so I quickly look away and go upstairs. And sit on the corner of my bed.

Why does Andie go away every day? The same question I ask myself and Andie every day. Where does she even go? She tells me everything but that. I give up. I never get the answer to that.

At school as soon as the bell starts ringing at the end of the last period, I don't wait I just start running towards home, I hope like yesterday, Andie would let me do something that she never allowed me to, before. The worst would be if it was only for one day, the best was if she would not refuse if I told her to do something like we did yesterday. I can never wait to get home. That's why I always run home but I have to stop and walk because my house isn't as near as it would seem. It's a long distance. Even then my aunt only drives Tracy home, not me. No idea what her problem is. As I get near the house enough to see it, I start running again. I go inside and quickly throw my bag on the bed and come down to watch from the window when Andie would come. I usually only had to wait for a few minutes before she would come but yesterday I had to wait for fifteen. I keep watch on the window. My aunt wouldn't be home now; she would be gone to pick Tracy up. She picked her up late because Tracy told her to, she loved school, and she always wanted to spend more time with her huge bundle of friends. So I usually came earlier.

Five minutes gone. Andie didn't come yet. But Tracy and Aunt Jennifer came. My aunt walked passed me. Tracy looked at me, I pretended to look out the window until she went up, which she did. She is so different at school. Aunt Jennifer may be better with her but even with her she is not that friendly. Which is also another reason she likes to stay at school more?

Ten minutes gone, she's still not here. What is it? She came this late yesterday too. Tracy is down again but this time she doesn't look at me. She know why I sit here doing nothing.

Twelve minutes gone, I go upstairs and bring back Tracy's I pad as fast as I could not to waste time. I sit back in the same place. I play a game on her I pad for the time being. Twenty minutes past she's still not here.

Thirty. I close the game and put it back upstairs. She's never been this late. Might be something happening where she goes every day. If only she had told me then I would've already gone there.

Forty…fifty…an hour, I give up after an hour. She might not come today. But she never skipped a day why would she not come today, then. I go to the living room; I only went there a few times a week or maybe a few times a month. Like I said I never stayed at home. My aunt and my cousin both of them are there watching something, Tracy sitting far from my aunt. Tracy looks at me.

"Still here, are you?" my aunt says looking at me. I nod it feels weird, her talking to me. It just never happens. It's just a day I remind myself, she'll be here tomorrow. I keep reminding myself that and sleep early too, the next day I leave even earlier. I mean, the bell hadn't even been rung. I just left and ran home. Forget yesterday, I told myself, it was just an exception but she'll come today. She always does I do what I did everyday wait for her in the exact same spot but this time was different. I gave up after fifteen minutes. This just wasn't right if she was to come she would've come. But still I stayed hoping that I was wrong after another fifteen minutes I go to my room.

There were a lot of options to what could've happened to her, the most possible would be that she got caught but that doesn't make sense no one can catch her. No, I thought, I know why she isn't here. She's only not here because something might have happened where she goes. If only she told me that. I don't even know how to find her now. Maybe my aunt knew where she was but I wasn't going to go and ask her now. I go down to the T.V room again, a personal record. My aunt and Tracy both of them were in the same place that I saw them yesterday. Did they ever change or did they always have the same routine every day.

"Home again." My aunt says without looking at me. I nod. "Where is your sister anyway?" she asks. I shrug. "Have a tongue don't you?" she says in a sullen sarcastic way. I don't say anything in return. I sit next to the opposite side of the sofa as I didn't even want to be close to my aunt. I tried to watch what they were watching but it wasn't something I would waste my time for so I go up my room and watch from the window of my room, where has she gone? I ask myself.

The next day after school, I again went early, just ran through the door, I still wasn't going to give up, that was so not me. I still had the hope of seeing Andie today. When I got home. She was there. Or not there, her car was parked in the place it usually stood when she came home but Andie was not there. I ran inside to see her. But she wasn't there either. Why would she leave her car and go away. If only I came early. It was like when you wanted something badly but it was impossible to get. Right now I wanted to see Andie. Next time I see her I'm going to make her spill out the place where she always went to, if it's the last thing I do. I go back out after leaving my bag inside. The keys were already on the car. She would never do that. She would easily never lock the car that she would do but not leave the keys on the door.

I took the keys and opened the door. It was the same but Andie wasn't there. That was impossible. She didn't even tell me where she was going. Or did she?

She did love disappearing, but that's as far she would tell me about her, she was one mysterious person.. Weird thing is I didn't know anything about her; se seriously kept her a life a little too secretive...

She loved Aeli. She always wished she would be one. even though no one knew about Aeli, because I once tried asking Tracy, but she had never heard about them then I had asked Andie, why no one knew, the only answer she gave me was, 'because no one knows and don't just tell everyone.' Why wouldn't she even tell me where she was going, though she didn't tell me anything of hers? So why should she tell this. I'm not her. I would've left if it meant I could live with her but why now. I leave the car, lock it and go back inside to my room. Why would she even leave the car if she could come here then why couldn't she tell me stuff, too.

When I reach the door and look back to the car, I shake it off, go inside and I slammed the door behind me. I hate her for leaving. I hate her! I go in my room.

The next day I don't run from school I came slowly and when I reach home I'm still angry at Andie for leaving, for my aunt to be such a piss off, for Tracy for doing nothing, for that man in that shop for catching Andie.

That's it! When I reach home Tracy is there before me for the first time in forever. She watches me as I go upstairs; I grab the car keys and head down again. Tracy is still there as I go out and in the car. Andie rarely ever let me drive but who cares. I go the same store Andie and I came to a few days back. I go inside and I'm back in the past. I have to make the stack of cans fall so Andie could come and steal all the money. But Andie isn't coming. I shake my head and go forward to the aisles that I went to before. To the toy aisle where I had taken the ball from there were more balls like that. There were still there. I take another one of them, and throw it hard on the window that had probably just been fixed. I take another and throw it on another window. But this time it's not as a distraction, it's so… it's for nothing it's just because it makes me feel good. I break a whole line of windows before that man comes but I don't run this time I stay. What matters if he knows who I am? I know that the day I came with Andie he thought I was Andie that's why he looked at me like that when I stood besides the can stack. He also knew that I was the one who broke the window.

What matters if he knows that I broke his windows again? I stare back at him then run out stepping on that mess of shattered glass I made myself. I go to Andie's car and drive away. I go faster than even Andie would ever go. I stop by the house to where the car stood before and rush to my room. It used to be both Andie and my room but now I don't mind calling it my room, Andie's not coming back anyway. But Andie's bed was still there and a little bit of her belongings which were nothing but things I had made and given to her. It was all origami junk on a shelf over the bed, like my side was any better with same shelf over the same bed only on the opposite side. It had a few things Andie brought me whenever she came.

I really wanted to punch something then, break stuff. I run around the room a few times. Then jump hard, I still feel angry the same, angry at the world. I put my hands in my pockets and feel something. It was the same rubber ball from the store. I throw it on the wall then catch it. I do this a lot of time. But then my aunt comes in, who looks really angry. It's enough to make my anger go away.

"If I here another noise you'll be gone." she warns me and goes, slamming the door hard. Gone where? As soon as she goes, there's a sound of a door bell, strange, I rarely hear that. I run down, perhaps it might be Andie except she would never ring the door bell. I open the door in a hurry. It's not Andie but it's… I don't know who it is. There was a girl and a boy both would be in their late teens by my guess and by my history of age guessing. My age guessing is pretty accurate. I've never seen them before. But there is a huge chance they might be from school as I don't really look at other kids at school. Plus they wouldn't even be in my class, and then I've got no reason to know them. Then if I have no reason to know them then it's only Tracy who can be the reason that they would be here. But they cannot be here for that, Tracy in middle school. I tell myself to stop guessing.

"Hi?" I say. Whatever reason they're here, why would I care?

"Hi. Are you Elena Huntington?" no one used my full name. I mean it was very rare for anyone to use it. "Yeah," I say quietly. "How do you know?" people are usually used to ignore me as I am used to ignore people.

"Andie told us about you, plus, has anyone told you, you look like your sister." the girl had a squeaky voice. She had short rough brown hair. And dark eyes.

"I'm Astrid, this is Albriech." she said waving at the boy. I still didn't get why they were here. It's not like I knew them. But Andie did.

"You know where Andie is?" I ask them hopefully.

"Umm… we're not quite sure." the spoke. He had light grey eyes, they were so light they looked as if they were completely white, and his hair, black or maybe not black but it was something close to black. Then, why don't they just say why they are here, so I can go back to doing nothing.

"That doesn't matter. You're just like her." she says again. Now I don't like her. She's said that twice now. Now I can't take it anymore. "Why are you here, then?"

"Because, you're just like her." she says again, now, she's getting on my nerves.

"Quit saying that." I say to her. I catch Albriech whisper something to her. "See? I'm not the only one who thinks you're annoying. "

"Oh, shut up, will you. Fine, then you tells her."

"Okay, ok. go." he says back. What is going on here? I mean I'm right here.

"You know about Aeli." it's more of a statement than a question. "So, you also know that Andie is an Aeli." she says. Again I can't decide whether it's a question or a statement. But forget that. What did she even say? "What?" I ask her.

"I said Andie is an Aeli, you know about them, you just said you did." she says. I never said anything to her like that. But yes, I knew about Aeli, a little, they were, some kind of shape shifters. And that they were not one of normal people. Andie did love being one, but never was one. I don't say anything, after a while she says herself.

"Aeli are those who can transform into animals." she says. Albriech nudges her in the elbow moves his head to the side and pretends to cough.

"Okay, fine, sometimes not animals, but mythical creatures, that are not mythical." I feel as if that was something to do with Albriech.

"So?" when are they really going to tell me why they are here.

"So, you can come with us." Astrid says. Okay. That was unexpected.

"Why would I come with you when Andie's the one who's the Aeli?" I ask them. They look at me for a moment but then Albriech says, "Because you're one too. And you know it." Now they are really crazy. ME? An Aeli? I couldn't transform into any animal. I would know that. They have just gone bonkers, I wonder if Andie was even friends with them. Just because Andie was an Aeli doesn't make me one.

"How do you even know if I am one? And if I am, you would know it and not me." I say. That's really got them. But seriously, who do they think they are mind readers. Well, even if they were mind readers they wouldn't say I'm an Aeli then. Plus my aunt hates them; she hates me too, so that doesn't count. I hadn't even thought about that. I chance to get out of this house, but I'm still not convinced that I should.

"I don't." Astrid replies but she doesn't seem sure of it. "It's your choice, but… if you don't go now, you'll have to eventually."

"Okay, I'll go when I have to." I say. It doesn't matter anyway.

"Okay,' they say. They start to move back.

"Bye, and if someday, you figure out your power…" she says and hands me a chit, I don't read it now. They turn back.

"Oh, do not tell anyone about that location and keep an eye out, bye" Albriech says while walking backwards.

"Bye." I say back. I look at them go away, and then head back inside. , my aunt stands in front of right when I come inside. I look back at her.

"Who was that?" she orders.

"No one." I reply. She widens her eyes angrily. I step out of the way and run upstairs so she's left staring at the closed door. I go to my room and open the piece of paper. That was weird. It said six flags. Did they live in an amusement park or what? I've been there like three times, but then it gets boring. I've been there with Andie, but we only went there when we had nothing else to do, also because it was an hour away, from here. But, who cares. The only thing I care about right now is tomorrow's Friday and I would have to spend the weekend in house. The fear was even worse the next day. It was the fear of having to stay at home, all three days.

There still wasn't much happening. It was the same old routine. go to school, go to class, get out of class, go to next class, time's over, next class, then, next class again, oh joy, the break. Then there's the class again. This keeps on going and going for everyday.

The weekend wasn't as bad as I did nothing. I didn't have to go out of my room that was enough for me. But then after the weekend there was again five days of the same old routine. Then came the next weekend. My routine never ever changed, now. Well, at least, it didn't for two more weeks, which makes it three weeks in a row. I came home from school and went to my room, like I usually did. It was a Friday. Yeah, another weekend home. I put my hands in my pockets and find the same piece of paper with the six flags written on it. It was there for three weeks. I don't even know how many times I wore the jeans. I put the piece of paper back on the desk and read a book for a while. A long while, that would be. After an hour or so, there's a door bell.

I won't go to open it. I don't have to. I stay there, pacing around the room. One minute, gone. Three minutes, there's another doorbell. My aunt just won't get up from that couch will she? No matter how much I want not to go down for whatever reason, because there is none. But still I didn't want to go down but curiosity took over me. As soon as I'm halfway through the stairs, my aunt finally opens the door. I sit right there. No need for me to go the rest of the way down. Neither do I need to go all the way back up. Seems like I'm stuck here then.

Outside there's a man, whom I don't know. Of course I mainly know no one who comes to our house. Their house, not mine. I don't care what he says; of course I am just here because I have nothing else to do but he says catches my attention, quick.

"Does Andie Huntington live here?" I raise my head to look at the man. He is not someone who comes every day. Suddenly I remember what Andie told me. Trust no one, that included my aunt and I couldn't trust her to answer that. I run down the stairs and stand in front of my aunt.

"No, she doesn't, wrong house." I answer instead of her and close the door.

"Elena, you go upstairs, this instant." My aunt says furiously. This gets me. I really hate it when she tells me to do something. Who does she think she is, to ignore me whenever she wants and then order me around whenever she feels like it?

"You don't tell me what to do." I say to her. My aunt makes sighs in exasperation, moves past me and opens the door again. The man stands in the same place he was, he hasn't even moved. I stay there too. I want to see what she says now. I will not let her tell someone about Andie. I don't trust her to do that.

"Sorry about that." my aunt says to the man. The man apparently looks like a chimpanzee "and yes, that girl used to live here." That girl. Like she can't speak her name. I don't know why but sometimes I get angry at everything that happens. I'm going to call him orangutan.

"Do you know where she is now?" orangutan asks but I don't think it's to find where she is. Though now I'm relieved. He doesn't know where she is. But still I have a feeling that he already knows that, the way orangutan asked it.

"No, I don't." she says, well, this isn't bad. "But I think her sister would know." Orangutan thought for a moment then speaks, "her sister… Elena Hartington? Yes, actually I came to speak to you about her." how or why on Earth does he know my name?

"Yes?" my aunt replies. I have got a feeling this is not going to end well. I can't stay here. Why is that chimpanzee even after Andie? I still can't stay here. Even if I could, my aunt won't let me. I can imagine her scolding me for wasting her time and for making her do unnecessary efforts. I turn and run to the kitchen. I can hear orangutan say, "Then would you let us speak to her and my aunt replying, "Sure I wouldn't care if you took her away." And orangutan saying back, "then that makes it easier," then I can't my aunt telling him to come inside and take her, if you want, you'll make my life better anyways. I can hear him come inside now and my aunt calling me. I move from where I was and went to the backdoor, I quickly opened the lock from above and pushed at it. It opened. I went outside quietly closing the door behind me and went forward, without looking back. I was fifteen now and by sixteen my aunt would have already pushed me out. Not literally push me out but of course she would make life as miserable for me as possible so I would have to go anyway.

If I don't go myself, then I would be going with orangutan somewhere, right now. And if not even that I would have to leave myself next year. So forget about that, I just concentrate on getting away from here. I run a little fast but then slow down, when I'm almost out of sight of the house. I keep walking forward until I reach the shop Andie and I went to. There I sit on the sidewalk in the parking lot for a long while. Five cars have come and gone, I'm still sitting in the same place and when I say five cars, I mean, a long while, maybe 15 minutes. I don't really know where to go now; I wonder where Andie went when she was away. Then I remember the place Astrid and Albriech told me. Six Flags, even though that's just an amusement park, it's a place to go at least. I wait for another car to come by. When it finally does. The really fat Driver gets out, locks the car and puts the keys in his pocket, couldn't make it much simpler, can he? I get up and follow him into the store. I pull up my hood while entering I can trust the shop keeper to forget my face in just a month but not that much. The fat man stops in front of the wines, sits right there on the floor and looks at the bottles. A little of his pants slips downwards as he sat down, he doesn't seem to realize it, but it gives me a really disgusting view. I slowly bend downwards, and take the part of the keys that's sticking out. Andie usually took cars who had keys already in them, but they are a little, or a lot harder to find.

I slowly slide the keys out of his pocket. He starts to move, so I quickly take the keys out and put them in my own pocket. He gets up and turns to face me. For a moment I think he knows that I took his keys, but I am not going to give them to him, now. He's about twice my size, I back up against the shelves.

"You got a problem?" he screams at me. I shake my head. "Then beat it before I blow your lights out." that dude has serious anger issues. I run for the exit. I don't think the shop owner even looked at me that was one large man. I go outside and get in the car. Is start it, it starts with a big jerk. I go backwards I drive out of there. I don't drive slowly but neither do I drive fast. I go at whichever speed I like. Which might differ? I really don't care about speed, ever.

I reach at six flags much later than I thought I would. Now, I have no idea where I'm going to look for them, it's a big park. And I haven't even the slightest idea why they might be here. I enter, crowded. It was the weekend after all. I get in line for the tickets not that I am going to take any. On second thoughts. I'll take them. Why try to do any unnecessary efforts to get past. I get in line behind the person behind me. Because it's difficult to get money from purses and that lady had a purse. So I got behind a man. Men are anyway, really dumb, they can never know what's happening until it has already happened. I get that person's wallet, take out a hundred dollars and put it back. The man just looks back then turns back forward. It takes me a half an hour more to get in. it's already getting dark.

The park really is a little too crowded. It is Friday. Hopefully it will close by 9:00 or 10:00 then, it might be easier to find them, if they are even here. I walk around the park hoping to find them, but the parks not small enough to walk around the whole of it. I try for an hour then give up, now it's dark so I just sit in one place, the park may close in half an hour. After five more minutes I give up and go to a roller coaster ride, maybe something to do might be better than just waiting. Roller coasters used to excite me so much, whenever Andie and I came, we would take at least one ride on one of them, even if we didn't want to. Still it's fun going so fast.

I go to one named Eltoro just because I like its appearance and also because it was the closest to where I was. It's not much crowded now. So I get in quick. Though my mind is still on finding Astrid and Albriech. I sit, on the seat. I've sat on the coaster before because usually we, Andie and I stayed to this side of the place but we've been on the other area too. The ride started, though I've taken this one too, I've taken every one because I used to love roller coasters when I first rode on one. The ride started, I would really love them more, if they lasted longer. The ride started. It went left then up a hill, the biggest one, I put my head back to not see below, I'll admit one thing, I am a little afraid of heights. Andie used to tease me for this. She forced me to ride Kingda Ka only because I was afraid of it because it was too tall. After the ride I remembered how much fun it used to be riding the roller coasters. After, I sit on a bench. Where the hell would they even be? This is getting really annoying. I try to think of any hints to where they might be from what they said that day. After a long while I only get one thing that it's not possible for all the Aeli to live in an n amusement park. But they even might, in some old broken ride, but that type of things is something no one finds here. They ARE animals, after all. And you don't find many of them here. There are very few people left now and barely any ride turned on. I go to another ride and sit inside it, below the seat so as not to be seen, and then I wait for all the workers to get out too. After they go, I come out and go inside a stall of food and eat cotton candy for a while. Then go inside that ride again, and spend the rest of the night there.

I think it's eight 'o'clock when I wake up, but there's still no one, I get out. My back became stiff from being in the same position but I don't care. I walk around a little until the workers came, okay, that as unexpected, there was Astrid, walking towards me. She worked at six flags! That was obvious.

"Hi." She said. "When did you come? It's not easy to sneak in here, you know unless it's from the forest but I doubt you did that or we would have seen you." Would have seen you! They lived in the forest!

"I was here yesterday." I told her. She seemed to take that. Then I asked her, "do all the Aeli living here, work here?"

"No, of course not. We take turns, that's why you wouldn't have seen us yesterday. But mostly it's Albriech and me because it's mostly us who find Aeli, as you know that is why we were the ones who came to you. Now you're probably wondering how we know about Aeli. We don't usually. But you, we knew about you because Andie told us about you. She knew you were an Aeli because her senses are greater than most, after all her transformation was a dog. Dogs can sense stuff, you know." She said. That was long; she didn't even take breaths between sentences she talked so fast. Okay, that was…something. Andie, an Aeli, a dog…me, an Aeli…she never even told me. But one thing is clear; she used to come here every day.

"You'd better go now, before others start to come." She walked away; I followed her for fifteen minutes, in that we had also entered the forest which was not part of six flags. Even in that forest she kept on going. Some kind of lake was on our left. She kept on going; when we were half an hour away from the park I saw a big wooden cabin. It seemed roughly built. Astrid stopped in front of it. It was a good place with the Lake No one side and the forest covering all the other sides. Of course they would live I the forest, they are animals. Part animals or whatever. Even though the lake did not look clean in that area it looked plenty clean in another. Now what was up with that?

Outside the cabin stood a girl on the phone. She had red spirally hair and sapphire blue eyes that reminded me of Tracy.

"She's Lucy," Astrid told me. As we went closer Lucy saw us and quickly cut off her call and put the phone away. Astrid went inside and I followed her. There were noises coming from there when I went inside it was full of kids mostly looked like they were in their late teens or early twenties. But there were ones who looked really small too. It seemed as if they were playing a game, all of them, mixed. I looked at all of the faces, yup, definitely most of them were older than me with some of them way older than me and some of them just older than me and some of them, probably my age. Some of them looked up at me and said something to Astrid which I couldn't understand because of the noise but there was not one person in the room that did not look crazy, everyone looked and acted crazier than the usual crazy. There was a really bad smell too, like something's been lying dead for a year here. I think Astrid could smell it too. Because she asked another boy she called Skye - he had brown eyes and the same colored hair. Which was a little long? He was one of those who looked a little older than me - what the smell was, the way she said it seemed like it was Skye who was responsible I heard him say to her, "Weren't you supposed to stay in that park, Gobi jerboa." Whatever that was. I don't think this place ever got quiet. Whatever this place was I didn't seem to like it yet. There were about seventeen people in that huge cabin. It seemed like a fun place to stay but sill, so not me. There was only one window at the far end of the cabin.

They seemed to be playing a board game but not for long. There was also a really small child between them, a girl who looked like she was six years old or even less years old. The six year old girl seemed to be scolding them to let her play, but I don't anyone had been listening because she tipped the whole game upside down. Someone, a boy with brown eyes and really dark brown hair, Grabs the child and literally throws her sideways.

"Rudy!" a girl with orange hair and green eyes screams at him, so his name is Rudy. Kind of like the dinosaur in ice age 3.

"Gobi Jerboa?" I ask Astrid just to not look stupid standing there doing nothing.

"Yeah that's the species of the mouse I can turn to, except it isn't a mouse, it has kangaroo feet. I mean it had to be a mouse?" she says. "Anyway, you'll learn to live here. There are two ways through which you can. One, you steal what you can and live through that and two, if you're too noble to steal (she makes a sarcastic face)" like Angela there (she points at the girl with orange hair and green eyes). Then you can just find a job to do." As if she doesn't have a job. I remind her that, "that is not my job, I go there whenever I feel like it, it is a job but all of us go there as workers whenever we want to and plus it doesn't pay since no one knows we work there because we don't actually work there we only have the uniform." That was kind of ridiculous; having the uniform, working there and not getting paid if she meant what I think she did. Even crazier than having a real job.

"What does Angela do?" I ask curiously, who hires under eighteens. And I think she is under eighteen, definitely under eighteen.

"Don't even ask, she baby sits kids, no idea how she survives through my experience with Sam over there." She says. It won't be that bad not that I like kids, I hate them, but how hard would keeping them in control be?

"Sam?" I ask, I didn't know who he or she was but I had a guess.

"That little girl over there." She points at the six year old, and then my guess was correct.

"There others too, who prefer a job rather than just living free? Like Hazel (she pointed at another girl with rough, short, brown hair and hazel eyes).she works at a garage, repairing cars and stuff like that. Then Max also works, he works at an aquarium. You know sea life aquariums and attractions like that, he's also the oldest around here, would have been easy for him to get a job, not considering the fact that he too doesn't have an I.D card. Aora (again with the orange hair but this time she had brown eyes.) works at the super market,"

I noticed that she had told me about almost every girl.

"So you are the only one in the girls who doesn't have a job."

"No, there's Cara, thirteen years old too young to have a job (a blonde girl with blue eyes) and Macey, that would be too obvious since she's nine." She said pointing at a red haired girl with freckles on her cheeks. "And then there are you. Oh, and Ignis." She pointed at a girl with eyes the color of turquoise I did not know if that was even possible and blonde hair. "And Lucy."

That was all the girls. And Max was the only boy working, great. She also said Max was the oldest. So that left me with only one idea about who Max was but I was pretty sure it was exact, he had greenish blue hair and blue eyes that was a weird appearance. He looked in his late twenties while no one else did and while I can really trust myself to tell the age's right I don't have to doubt that he is the one who is Max. That left me with six unknown people. That didn't matter anyway. Make that five I forgot Rudy. Two of them were identical twins with jet black hair and one with grey eyes, the other with green. They were ten years old, Astrid told me they were Peter and Luke, then there was the flaming head boy who literally had red hair like his head was on fire, he was Marcus and Astrid also told me that his hair suited his animal. No idea what that meant. There was the huge guy, Baldor, his name matched his appearance, Baldor, boulder. The last was Skye, which Astrid did not seem so happy to tell. He had light brown eyes and brown hair which was a little long. The twins, Cara and Macy were the only ones smaller than me. The ones a little bigger than me were Angela who looked about my age, Astrid of course but I couldn't guess her age, probably in her late teens, so was Albriech, Ignis, Aora, Skye, Lucy and Rudy. Then Marcus, Baldor and Hazel looked in their early twenties, I do not have a sixth sense that good that I could tell their exact ages but there were really good guesses. I don't know what it was with me but I had asked about every single person about whom she didn't already tell me. That really wasn't necessary but again, it's me and even I can't explain myself sometimes. That may seem crazy but that's what I am. Unexplainable and crazy.

"YES!" someone shouted. It was Skye. He was facing Rudy. "In your face," he said to him and ran outside, laughing.

"You shit me?" Rudy said to himself, glaring at the exit. He ran after him, quickly transforming into a wolf on the way, I think it was a wolf, I couldn't say. It was faster than I could decide what it was. Whatever reason Skye went out, Rudy did not like it.

"You're going to like it here." Astrid told me.

"How do you know?" no one knew me. No one specifically.

"I know how you lived before with Andie." She said. I did not live with Andie but I didn't mention that.

Four days passed. And Astrid was wrong; I did not like it here. Not as much as I would have wanted but it was definitely better than where I used to live. They didn't even steal from random people. They usually stole from those or annoyed those or broke into those people's houses who they hated and they made enemies on purpose so they would have a good excuse for someone to steal from. At least some of them did it like this. Like this one time when Angela also agreed to come with us even though she makes money but she likes a little fun too. And teasing people and stealing from people you hate is the most fun anyone could ever have. This reminded me a lot of how Andie usually lived. So anyway, when Angela came along with us, it was something different and since it was something different we or rather they decided to do something to someone she hated and as she doesn't look like it but believe me she had a lot and a lot of enemies. Now you may also think that why did we have to trouble people all the time. We don't do it (oh my god I've already started to call them and me they) all the time. But anyone could admit after doing it once, it's fun and it's addicting. It's not like THEY do it a lot. Anyways,

"You sure this it?" Rudy asked. It was Rudy, me, Astrid, Albriech and Skye. It's usually us, except for Angela but she often comes or so I heard, this is the first time she came with me there too.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure, why would I forget. They didn't even pay. And they sided with their children when all they told them was lies. except for the one when I tried to put fire on them while in phoenix form." So three people I know, Rudy is a wolf, Angela is a phoenix and Astrid is a mouse which matches her voice. Oh and Albriech is something like an owl which Astrid mentioned weeks before.

"So who's the one the problem here, the parents or the kid?" Albriech asked her.

"Of course the kid, he's five years old."

"Why do you even do this if you hate it this much it's definitely not for the money then…"

"I'm not going to do it anymore. I don't know which kind of parent can trust people they do not know with their children. It's not that I care, it's only a few hours but this kid, I have been looking after him every weekend." She complained.

"Every weekend, eh? Would they happen to need someone to look after them this weekend, too?" Rudy asked

"Probably,"

"Then we've got ourselves something to do today. Elena, you're up." Skye looks at me. And slowly then everybody does.

"Why me?" I asked them. I didn't even know what he just told me to do.

"Well, that is obvious, one, because they are not going to hire Angela again, even though they haven't told her not to come and she goes every weekend but still, they won't. Two, since you've been three days and haven't done much, except come with us. Three, because you're the only other girl here except Astrid who I would never count and people tend to pick girls to look after their kids, though that is discriminative but it's good that we don't get stuck with those creatures." They were good enough reasons.

"Just wait, I'll do it tomorrow on the weekend, ok?" I said trying to avoid talking to unknown people. It was Friday anyway.

"Fine, we'll just go to Tartarus right now, would be much more fun, than standing here, I'll bet." Rudy said.

"Or," I said thinking of my aunt, I hated her. We could do something to her, I thought. I tell them my idea.

"Well, we've got nothing else to do." We go there. Astrid already knew the way, when we reached there, then I wanted to back off, just tell anyone it was a bad idea and just go somewhere else. But I couldn't do that now. She would be home now what was I even supposed to do.

"She would be home right now, forget it." I said hoping that they would get the idea "then where's her car?" Albriech said it like it was a question but I could tell it wasn't. They already knew. Where other place would a car is other than the garage, so we go there. What are they even thinking?

"What are you even going to do to a car?" I ask.

"I've got it." Skye says. "Where even are the keys?" I did not know why he needed the keys but who am I to argue they always make things messy, so I just go right in the house. Telling them to wait. I went to the front door. And right inside, good thing she didn't lock the house. My aunt and Tracy were right on their usual positions on the couch in the living room. I quietly and quickly go the kitchen grab the keys and literally run back outside then close the door lightly and then run to the garage again and hand Skye the keys, seeing that Skye is the one who wanted them, there's nothing good about to happen to her car. Skye transformed into a really fluffy creature, it was a dog by the looks of it. It WAS a dog but it had thick dreaded hair. Even covering his eyes and feet and everything.

"Bergmasco shepherd." Angela tells me. I look around, Astrid is missing, and I don't care. Skye steps into the driver' seat while in his shepherd form. That is not something good to transform into. Anyways, he puts a foot in the air or I think he does it's impossible to see through all that hair. And I was not prepared for something like that even though it wasn't much after a while of his putting his foot in the air, and his tongue out his mouth. Something brown and squishy comes from under all that hair and drops on the seat. Skye jumps out of the car and changes back to human form. Disgusting, but effective.

"Works, right. It's amazing how I can poop whenever I want even though it's not coming and still, I…"

"Stop. Okay." Rudy said to him. "No one here needs to hear the story of your shit."

"Yes." Skye agrees. "They don't need to but they may want to." Then after a while he says "Where's Astrid?" realizing that she wasn't here. We went out of the garage, yup, Astrid was there, painting some sort of yellow square on the house. It was a rectangle. That didn't matter; Astrid told us what it was a second later. Sponge bob. A deformed one.

"Thought the house needed a makeover. Found the paint in the garage. Care to join me?" she said. Well, there was nothing to lose. I went inside and brought another can. The others did too. My aunt had kept it because she had wanted to paint some of the inside walls of the house. There were five cans in total, a red one, and blue, green, yellow and a black one. Most of the main colors. There were seven paint brushes. Skye drew a big red cross on the whole door. Then turned back towards me.

"Like in the books where they marked the houses which had the plague." He said. I smiled. It was a good idea. Rudy drew a devil, his drawing and painting was really good he drew the one in Tom and Jerry where the dog is the devil. That one. Then Albriech just three splashes of paint to ruin every drawing or painting he could. Angela drew what she was, a phoenix. I decided to do something like Albriech; I grabbed the blue paint and painted the bottom part of the front of the house blue. To make it look like it was the sea. In which there was a deformed SpongeBob. A red dog devil and phoenix floating on it with everything covered in black splotches of paint. Skye had also drawn a skull between the cross on the door. When all of us were finished Angela had the greatest idea of all, except for her since she was much too girly to do it. I took the blue, Rudy took the red, Skye took the green, and Albriech took the black. And Astrid of course took the color of her beloved SpongeBob, yellow. Albriech was the first of course he's been doing the same thing before, too. We went to the side of the house and Albriech threw the whole can on the wall so it was like some black goop just came and got stuck to the wall. Then without waiting Skye threw the green one. The rest of us, Rudy, me and Astrid didn't do it turn wise we just threw the red, blue and yellow all together. So it looked like nothing now. Seriously nothing but mixed up paints. Or maybe a little bit like dark vomit but not that much.

"A work of art." Astrid said.

"Better than Picasso, I hope." Albriech added. We stayed there looking at the wall which unfortunately didn't look too bad but in my aunt's view it would be the worst, speaking of my aunt that's the exactly the reason we went. Not exactly, first we waited for her to come by all of the noise and also by the fact that the window was also covered by paint. But she didn't come, probably still watching television. Never comes off that couch even if her house was being destroyed. So we just took a sticky note pad that we also took from inside the house without her noticing-what was it with her and television-Angela was the one who wrote, since she had the best writing out of all of us, and because we were not sure about Rudy if he would write something appropriate or not and because Albriech wouldn't, neither would I. and Astrid's writing was like a mouse had written something which would have been true too. Angela wrote:

Happy birthday, hope you like your gift

From your favorite niece, Elena.

I didn't even know when her birthday was, but she had nothing else to write. Albriech ringed the bell and we ran. To the car. We drove away. Now this was fun, they would call it revenge but I have no idea revenge for what? For ignoring me, I thought I liked being alone, the for what? But I hated her anyway, yeah I got it, revenge for hating me. Revenge for making Andie go, even though she didn't literally throw Andie out but she made life as miserable for her as possible so she would go by herself and no one would blame her. Okay, then my revenge is right, then. We go back to the house. It takes us one hour instead of two since Rudy was driving. Another thing about being an Aeli it doesn't matter to drive no matter what your age is, except if you are too scared and I don't think anyone is like that, here. By the time we are back its night so doesn't do much of anything even though we don't sleep but we don't do anything else either. I slept on the bed on top of Angela's as they were bunk beds. Ten of them. Only three of them were not taken when after I came. Must have been some camping cabin or a summer camp. Or it could be anything but now it was nothing of that sort.

"Hey." Someone whispered. Most of them were asleep, I couldn't see who wasn't. It was Skye.

"What?" I whispered back. He didn't say anything he just pointed down then pretended to have a moustache. Then he whispered that she doesn't wake up.

I got what he was trying to tell me to do but only partly, he then got down from his bed which was one on the right from the bed right across from me. He got back in a minute and threw me something. It was a marker. I looked at him and he threw me something else, a scissor. I got what the marker was for but the scissor? He smacked his head with his hand. And climbed back down. He reached a hand from below my bed. I handed him the stuff, he only took the scissors. I swung my head from the other corner of the bed so I saw everything upside down. Angela slept on her other side. So I only saw the back of her head and Skye. I saw Skye taking the front of Angela's hair on the left side of her head and just cut the whole of them. I got upright then hung down from the other end, taking the scissors from his hand, I mouthed the words, are you crazy? He just grinned at me. Then pointed at the marker in my other hand, I sighed and slowly went down. Angela moved a little and we both froze. Then she stopped moving so I went forward. And drew a really big moustache on her face. She didn't even move. Skye jumped back, I looked at him, he signed me to wait, and h e went and brought, a big bottle of Ketchup,

"I usually keep one, in case of emergencies like this," he whispered. This would have been only what Skye thought of an emergency. He handed me the bottle, I opened it or rather tried to open it but it was sealed so tightly shut it wouldn't even budge. I handed Skye back the bottle. He took it, rolling his eyes. He opened the bottle not so easily himself too and poured the whole of it on her night shirt. Rather difficultly in my opinion as we both smacked the bottle from behind so it would come forward. He closed the bottle and quietly threw it in the dustbin. Then signaled me to wait, again. He grabbed a water bottle of someone's, probably his. I pulled Angela's legs upwards and he poured a little bit of the water there. Then I let her go. I smiled at him, this was really fun too. He closed the bottle and put it back where it was and climbed back to where his bed was, so I did too. This would be really awesome, especially if she doesn't figure out who it was.

By morning I really wanted to see the expression on her face when she found all the stuff that happened to her at night. But she was still asleep, everyone was. So I just lay there, then Hazel was the first after me, slowly everyone woke but she still didn't wake up, why is it that some people are really lazy, including her. And Rudy. Both of them were the only ones left. Some kids had even started leaving. Who leaves at morning and I wanted everyone to see her reaction it wouldn't be one to miss. I know her, even Skye couldn't wait even though of all the stuff he had done, and he would have always been impatient to see other's reactions. Finally I couldn't take it anymore.

"Angela!" I shouted at her. She groaned. "Angela," I said loudly, "You've been shot!" I told her.

"Go away." She says. So I just tell her to at least take a look. She put the pillow on her head but when I didn't say anything else for a few minutes she removed the pillow and looked up, squinting in the light. She shot upright. And she immediately sat up, she stood up then put a hand on the bed and found it wet.

"What the hell." She said in confusion and with the ketchup on her shirt she put two and two together. "Alright who did this?" she said angrily.

"You should see your face. " I said to her.

"Why what's wrong with my face." She ran to the bath room. A minute later we heard her curse from inside the bathroom, Skye and I couldn't even control our laughter. She must have also seen her cut hair. She came out stomping.

"Skye you are so dead, now." she said angrily.

"Always me, did you even consider someone else, no, you, never did, it's not always me!" Skye protested. She seemed to lose a little of her anger there. Must have realized that he was right. He was right when he said that she didn't even think if there was someone else who did it but he wasn't right when he said that it's not always him, it is always him, whenever something bad happens, it's him except this time it was me too.

"This is war." She said still glaring at Skye. "Might not always be you but I have lived with you enough to know that it was you."

"I thought only dogs could tell who was lying." He said. "See, it's always you, don't deny it you said so yourself, you always do."

"So?" he said.

"So…" she started but Skye again said it. "So?" cutting her off. Angela headed outside leaving Skye laughing behind her. How does he always do it, never even gets in a bad mood? Even though he may do it like that but still some of his jokes tend to get him enemies not that kind enemies only the kind no one would want but everyone just cools off before he even does anything again. Like Angela did not talk to him all day but in the evening when we were supposed to go to that house. She cooled down and forgot everything again.

"Come on, will you?" Albriech called us.

"We've got a date with a five year old." Rudy said. Albriech was here but Astrid had again gone to that Amusement Park so we had to pick on her way or leave her, leaving would be much more time efficient. Though Angela was still mad at Skye, she always stayed mad at Skye so there's no big a difference there. We did pick Astrid but because we had to pick her we had to walk to the park and to the exit and had to get another car. But thankfully getting another car from the car parking lot isn't that difficult. So we got one easily. We drove back to the house we went yesterday. And like I thought they still wanted me to go. But of course I didn't want to. And I would have done anything other to not go. So it was Astrid who went but they also reminded me that once I said that I would do anything to not to go, they would take it as literally doing anything. So, Astrid went to the door and ringed the bell. I saw her talk to someone, then she went inside and the door closed behind her. We kept in the same positions in the back of the house-now, I wish I had gone-until we saw the parents leave the house. We went to the front and as soon as they disappeared from sight we went inside without doing anything. There was Astrid already in the living room which happened to BE the front of the house. With a television set on the left which was turned on and there was some kind of kids' fighting show running on it. The kid sat on the sofa opposite to it with his eyes fixed on the screen. The boy looked bigger than his age. He was big. What even was his name? He turned his head towards us when he heard the sound.

"Hey!" he said. "You're not supposed to bring anyone." He said with authority, what was he? Like it was his house, well… technically it was his house. But still he was five.

"Well, now I have. " Astrid told him, with equal strictness. The boy stopped in front of Angela. "What are YOU doing here?" whoa, the anger caught me off guard. He was a really big bully. Might bully his class fellows but us?

"We're here to…"Albriech stopped in between. Looked at us, he didn't actually know the end of the sentence none of us did. Whenever they went somewhere they never knew what we were going to do until the last minute.

"Beat your ass." Rudy finished the sentence, though that was exactly what we were not going to do. I mean, come one. He's only five years old. Astrid looked at Rudy sternly but before she could say anything to Rudy, the boy spoke.

"You mean, give you a wedgie?" he asked but I don't think he understood that Rudy was talking about him not himself. "Give you one." Rudy said. Astrid came in between, "Stop." she said. "God, since when did you start acting like this?" Rudy said. "But it isn't a bad idea kid, we could do that."

"Yeah." The kid said enthusiastically but rather girlishly. I don't think he understood what Rudy was even telling him. But before he could say anything to the kid again, the kid launched himself onto Rudy, knocking him backwards onto the floor. He struggled for a moment to get the kid off him. Then a after a minute succeeded. Pushed him away and stood up. The kid was laughing again, even though what he does is not but the way he does everything is very girlish.

"You little …" he stopped. "I'm going to bite you and turn you into a were wolf."

"You can't, were wolves aren't real." He said as if he was sure about it.

"Aren't they?" Rudy said with a smile and transformed into a wolf. But of course Angle stopped him. He transformed back. The kid looked shaken too. It was not something he saw every day.

"Hey, do you like to fly?" Albriech asked the kid. The kid nodded hard. Which meant he liked it very much?"Well, I could teach you, come on the roof." The kid looked a little confused but agreed. He did not talk much now compared to how he did that before. We went to the slanted roof. It might have been dangerous.

"I'm not allowed to go up here. Mum and dad told me not to." The kid told us.

"You're parents aren't here now are they." He seemed to agree on that, probably because he actually believed that Albriech could teach him how to fly. Albriech made a big loop out of some thick rope, gave one end to me and the other, he was about to give to Rudy but thought better and gave it to Skye. He told Matt, which we learned was his name. To step on the loop. Now we were on the edge. He did because, after all, it was on the roof not in the air. But it was on the edge. Albriech slowly pushed the kid right off the roof, so he was only standing on that piece of rope. There was an immediate pull from the rope but I pulled at it harder. It was really heavy; I mean the kid was really heavy. Matt was screaming now. Screaming to pull him up. It was really funny seeing him dangling there standing on that rope.

"You'll get tired by standing you better sit down." Albriech said loud enough for the kid to hear. Matt seemed to be crying now, I felt sorry for the kid. Astrid went inside and brought out something. My hands were getting really tired from holding that much weight.

I looked back at what Astrid had brought they were a couple of nails and a hammer. I pulled a little harder and put the rope on the roof and around one of the tiles. Astrid nailed the rope in though I didn't know if it would hold, it might, for a while at least. Astrid nailed the other too. And we stepped a little back.

"Might want to hang in there, until your parents get back." Albriech told him and we went down.

"I don't think you should have done that, plus, it's the middle of the night, Matt would get even more scared." Angela said.

"Nah, that kid deserved it." Rudy denied. That would also be because Rudy had made Matt an enemy. Well, he always makes everyone his enemy. Forget it. I thought, his parents would be here in an hour themselves he can hang on that long, I think. We get back in the car and head for home. I don't know why they even let me stay, I am not an Aeli, only Andie thought I was but I am not. I figured that out my second day. But still that didn't change any of it.

When we reach there we get a surprise. Max told us that for a change all of them would be going to the amusement park for a day, and that would be tomorrow. It seemed like fun, but we were just too many people. I mean, imagine, eighteen kids, some who are weird looking, not taking any names (it's Max) well, technically Max is not a kid. He's twenty seven. But still, he IS weird looking. With that turquoise hair of his. When all of them were in bed, that took a lot of time, it usually does. Skye looked at me and pointed towards Rudy. I knew what he was thinking. He wanted to do something to Rudy today. He never stops. I think it was one in the night when everyone finally went to sleep. Skye looked up from his bed and then waved at me to follow. I got out of my bed and followed him. He went to the head of the bed. . He grabbed one end of the mattress and I followed his lead and grabbed the other. We slowly took it outside. This was even heavier than the kid, Matt. Once it was outside. Both of us left it on the ground.

"You know we could do with some sign language." Skye told me. I didn't agree with him but still said, "Yeah." It would be cool to learn sign language but it would take some learning which I do not like, sometimes I like it when it's another language but I get bored by it very fast, it takes a lot of effort to learn another language.

"So, now what?" I ask him.

"It's either in the trees like in the hunger games or it's in the lake like the lorax."

"How are we going to get it in the trees?" I ask him, he puzzles over this. But then there's the idea. A rope. He puts two pieces of ropes, one going vertically beneath the mattress and one, horizontally. He tells me to climb the tree. I can't climb it but I had to try, at least. Thankfully the tree had a few narrow hollows but not much, but it was possible when I was five or six feet above the ground. I couldn't take not because I couldn't go up anymore, because of my fear of heights. Am I scared or what?. But yes, I was unfortunately, I went up a few more feet, but then I couldn't I started climbing back down.

"What was that? Why did you come back down?"

"I can't. Plus I couldn't have pulled the rope from below. I would have to fall to do that." Skye did not seem to agree but, he took it. "Why don't you do it. Huh?" I challenged him.

"Because I don't want to." He says, I just don't say anything else to him. "Then the Lorax it is." He says. I nod. We both push the mattress so hard that one time; it may have been slippery beneath it. It went really fast causing us to fall. How could anyone sleep through this, Rudy was quite a mystery. We push the mattress until it has reached the water, it floats there. I wasn't even sure it would. The ropes that were tied to the mattress were still by our feet. I stop one of them from going into the water.

"Now what is it?" Skye asked annoyed.

"He may float to the park." I say, it was a good enough reason, Skye grabbed the other rope. I felt fur, by my slide along my leg. I looked down, it was a cat. I quickly released the rope, and backed up against the nearest tree. Then when it turned around I slowly moved towards it then patted it. I could feel Skye's eyes on what I was doing, the cat tilted its head and I jerked my hand from its back. I slowly put it there again, with caution I didn't go much closer to the cat.

"Lena." Skye whispers to me. I look at him, I can see, he's getting tired of holding Rudy from floating away. I think of how much time it would take. Not much. I run back into the cabin and look beneath Rudy's bed, I can see it from its top, but I still look at it. I grab a pack of chips and run back outside. Skye had held the ropes with two big rocks.

"Great. Now you come." I shake my head and open the packet of chips and dump it in front of the cat. It's more of a kitten; it's smaller than a cat. It eats it with loud crunching sounds.

"Elena. Stop it." I keep watching the cat as it eats, "Elena, come one." Skye keeps telling me to come. I tell him to go but he doesn't. He comes back, takes the cat and throws it in the water. The shallow side. Oh my god.

"Skye!" I call his name. The cat easily comes out of the water and hisses.

"What? You were never going to move otherwise." He reasoned.

"And you just throw it in the water; it's a living thing for god's sake." We carry this talk in whispers back till the cabin. "I want to keep a pet, someday."

"You're afraid of a cat, and you still want to keep it?" he says. Now he got me.

"I am afraid of all animals but I also like them."I admit.

"How can you like animals? They're disgusting and gross, no wait, that's the same thing but they're both and they're smelly, oh, and how do you know which ones an Aeli which ones are not. How do you know that the next animal you pet transforms into a human and you're petting a human?" He makes a disgusted face.

"Yeah how do I know and yeah you're right animals are gross, especially the one you transform into. Have even washed you dog hair. Because it doesn't look like it."

"Okay, now it's about me." He says accusingly.

"Well you are literally a dog after all."

"Wait till I find out what your animal is then you'll see who the most disgusting is?"

"You won't because I'm not an Aeli." He doesn't say anything after this so neither do I.

When we enter the cabin again one, of the twins wake up, but I'm not sure who. But whoever it is goes back to sleep, right then. I climb back into our beds. Would he do this every night? Probably not. Because others are not so heavy sleepers, it would be risking a lot of bad things on us to do this with any other person but with Angela and Rudy again? We could do it with Hazel but I'm not sure if she would wake up, even Skye won't know.

Morning comes rather quickly. I don't think an hour passed but it did, a lot of hours passed but still it felt like none had passed. When Max woke up the first thing he noticed was the missing mattress.

"Where's Rudy."

"I'm here." Rudy said from the front door. Skye and I saw him, he was soaked wet. "And Skye, even I wake up when there's a fish on my face."

"I swear man; I did not put a fish on your face." Skye said with a hint of a smile. "Why me? I would like to know. You never even think for a second the slightest possibility that it was someone else."

"But you put my freaking bed in the lake! And the greater possibility is much more trustable than the slighter one."

"You mean trustworthy." Ignis corrected him. "Whatever." He muttered and went out in the same damp clothes.

"Better stop doing that, you've already got much on your hands after tonight, you'll only add more enemies." Lucy said. Lucy?

She never even spoke, what had gotten into her now? Must have eaten something bad. And even when she spoke she didn't make any sense. We didn't have anything on our hands, at least I didn't. She gave me the creeps. After all she was a siren. Killing sailors in the middle of the sea. But I don't know if she really did that. There was no sea nearby. Plus it's disgusting. I went out of the cabin; it was rather small for this number of people to live in it. But it was enough to spend the night in it. They never really spend other times of the day inside, except for a few days when there is nothing else to do. I see the rest going walking out of the forest in a different direction in which we usually go. When I am out of the woods. I saw the rest walking forward but Marcus and Lucy go somewhere else, without anyone noticing, Skye had told me that Marcus was a dragon, like in the chronicles of Narnia 3, Eustace becomes a dragon. I ignore them, and follow the others; it looked like a freaking tour group.

"Now." Max turned to face us. "Do whatever you want I'm going somewhere else." Seriously? That was his plan. He turned to go. It would have mattered to us without him, of course everyone was going to go alone any way but I was not hoping for that. I hoped that maybe for once we would do something together, I mean all of us. And I think a few of the others were thinking along the same lines.

"Where would that be, exactly." Hazel, spoke. She also rarely spoke. She kept to herself not like Lucy who speaks to only a few and avoids speaking to any of the rest and even if she does speak it's only to criticize the rest. "Nowhere of your concern exactly." Max replied. What was that? He never spoke like that he always spoke in a bored way. "Okay, then. I'll be going. Have fun." Max told us.

"Have fun? What has he eaten?" one of the twins said, probably, peter, they were not difficult to differentiate, Peter had grey eyes and Luke had green, the rest about them was the same as ever. "Whatever it is, I'm going to find out." the other twin said.

"Good idea." Ignis said to them, all of us looked at her; there was something wrong there too. Ignis never, ever, spoke like that, something was very wrong here. I shook my head. And headed where Max was headed. Everyone was going bonkers. I quietly kept on going after them. I hid behind a ride. When he was getting cotton candy, really? He went to get his own cotton candy? But no, someone pushed me a little but I lost balance and fell forward I quickly scattered back. Ugh it was the rest, they had followed me. I can't say anything it was their idea at first not mines.

"He's getting two." Astrid said, way too close to my ear. And way too loud. I clap my hand on her mouth.

"Shut up." I whisper to her. We follow him while he goes forward, then when he stops we go behind the nearest ride. Hiding and spying is not easy with fifteen people in the same place. I see Max waving to someone, I lean a little forward to see who it is, but then I find out that I don't have to that someone is blonde girl. She's tall.

"OMG" Angela exclaimed. We keep looking at them and they keep talking though I can't hear what they are talking about, then I think Max dares her to go to the haunted place, because that's where he points at. Why would he bring us here, if he was going to go anyway? He would have not been right in the head. They go towards the haunted house; we quickly scramble backwards, shoving each other. Trying not to be seen. But thankfully, we got away, to the other side of the ride. Pretty quickly,

"I don't remember any haunted mansion or house here before there was only the fright fest, but no haunted house." I whispered.

"That's because it's new." Skye answered.

"Come one." I told them. We quickly got in line a two people behind Max and the girl. When the line finished and Max took the tickets, all of us took a spin then turned back forward. Max didn't even look towards us. We took tickets four at a team, so as not to cause unnecessary because no one here would take 15 tickets.

The man handed us the tickets. And we went inside quickly to catch up with them. They were closer than I thought. Both the twins went forward, peter as an owl and Luke as a chameleon. I saw Max and the girl look up as the owl sped over them, and I even heard them gasp as Luke crawled over their feet.

"What is this?" The girl seemed to not like the place's realisticness. Rudy ran forward as a wolf of course, but stayed on the side for now. I heard the others behind me. Rudy jumped in front of them and growled. Both of them screamed but Max recovered,

"Stupid place," Max muttered, under his breath, loud enough for me to hear. Skye did not go as his dog form wasn't even scary. Ignis flew over them. In lightning speed. She was a Pegasus. A grey one, I hadn't known that grey Pegasus were possible but there again, I had again not known Pegasus were possible. Cara didn't go either. But Hazel did scurry between and over their feet, even though she was a squitten. That is squirrel and kitten but that is something not really fun. It's just a cat with short paws, so it looks like a squirrel.

Angela went really upwards, where they had made a cage type appearance she flew over them, but the phoenix was a too bright red,

"Let's just get out of here." Max told the girl. I think he figured out it was us, he DID know their transformations. Astrid went over the girls feet which stopped her and made her look down. But Astrid was long gone. Albriech went over them, but Aora went from the side. After all she was Jersey's devil, should scare people in New Jersey more often. Even though the girl still got scared enough to scream a few times but Max just wore a sullen expression as he went. That proved that he knew it was us, not us, them. I wasn't in it. As we almost were about to go out. I noticed that Baldor was missing and that exact point a three headed dog stopped their way to the exit snarling at Max. But I guessed Max had enough he wouldn't just pretend he didn't know anymore.

"Go away, Baldor." Yup, I was right.

"Baldor?" the girl asked him. Baldor transformed back to human and was smiling. Max looked angry. He looked back and frowned at us. Boy was he angry. Skye transformed into the dog, Bergmasco shepherd. And barked at him. The girl looked surprised, confused, scared and amused at the same time and I couldn't tell which exactly. When we exited. The others too started laughing but Max still looked angry. Even though the girl wasn't.

"How about some other time?" Max says to her.

"Sure," she says and goes away.

"You guy are the worst." He said.

"Then, why the hell, did you even bring us?" Rudy accusingly asked.

"I don't know, I shouldn't have, just do whatever you want to, I'm going home and do not follow me." Do not follow me. What does he want to do now, that he doesn't want him to see. Well, if this time, I won't get caught, if there aren't fourteen other people hiding with me and I can just see what he is doing without him finding out.

"But you have got to admit that was the most haunted house ever." Peter said loudly so Max could hear.

"Well, then I'd better go." I said why I had to say it like that. Part of me always wants others to know what I am doing that part is what makes me act like this, when I don't want to. I am completely weird.

"You're going to follow him aren't you?" I tried to spin the answer around but again, I found myself with all of them hidden behind one tree. Imagine. Fifteen people hiding behind one tree now that was still fine it hid all of us, but this was just like standing out in the open.

"Why did you have to follow me again?" I whispered al I little louder than I thought I would and louder than I should have. Max turned around.

"Why? Why me? Told you to do one thing and couldn't even do that. That is just a little too much. For what are taking revenge from me for? I'd like to know." His voice went up and down the whole sentence. But he doesn't stop, he keeps on blathering. That's when something weird happens, I think Rudy sensed it. Even though he is in human form but still, he has his wolf senses working. "Stop, Max." he says. He stops, when he sees that Rudy isn't bluffing. "Guys?"

"Problem." Baldor told us, he must have also sensed it; after all he is a dog too. With three heads that is so he would have three noses, six eyes and six ears. Powerful senses. Then should also be able to sense it, after all he is a dog too. Oh, no who am I kidding with all that hair blocking the smell, when in animal form I'll bet he must only be smelling the smell of his own dirty hair. But in human form? I don't know. Well, I don't know if hippo campi have a greater sense or a dog, probably a dog, because, Max didn't believe them. "What kind of problem?" he said annoyed. The rest still don't realize the problem just Baldor told them there was, he could at least tell that to them, like I knew. I'm about to ask this time but then Peter also knows.

"There's someone there." He said. I feel really confused. I search the place all around, but I see nothing. Then Peter flies upwards-in owl form, of course and disappears in to the trees. We keep watch for him to come back. He doesn't for a few minutes but then comes after a few more minutes, they're here.

"Who? Ignis asks him.

"I don't know. I'm not sure." He says. We go back inside.

"Well, it doesn't matter, they might go back anytime. Right?" Ignis assures us,

"I don't think so." Rudy said again, why he had to always tell the bad things he never used his abilities for something good.

"Why is that?" Max asks him. "Because, they're searching for something." He answers.

"How do you know so much, you can't hear them, can you?" I asked irritated by him

"Well, no, but I could before." He says. Good, never say something good. Probably some stupid kids who believed the story from some worker in the park that told them that the park held treasure, especially in the fantasy forest and now they've come to find treasure in the real forest. I'm not making it up, it actually happened once or so Skye told me. "Well, who wants to play monopoly?" Hazel said. Well we had nothing else to do. But still some people refused to play. 12 of us played. With teams of two. I was with Skye. We had barely just started the game when the voices came at the door. At first they were too far away, to be heard by anyone, Rudy was an exception but now they seemed to be close enough for anyone to hear. They were almost out the door. All of us froze and watched the door like it was some sort of animal waiting to pounce the second we made a movement. The people whoever they were stopped in front of the door. I knew because I could see the feet below. Hazel got up so did most of the others and most of them went to the back of the cabin.

"I wish you were a mole instead of a deformed mouse. At least you would have been able to dig a way out." Skye whispered to Astrid. I couldn't decide if he was joking or not. Albriech hit the window by his elbow. It had a few cracks. He only hit it once before the door opened with a loud bang. We turned, it was Marcus and Lucy.

"Seriously guys?" Albriech said to them. Lucy gave a smug smile. All of us went back to normal. I still felt as if there was something wrong. Lucy and Marcus weren't like they normally were, but then again I didn't exactly know how they normally were. They usually spend the days outside. well, Lucy but Marcus was rude to everyone and never really cared about anyone. Lucy was like that too but Marcus was not like the way Lucy was, pure evil.

"You made me break the window" Albriech complained.

"We got back down and played the game ill I don' know how long, until it was really late. Lucy and Marcus also played, so there were seven teams of two. I don't even know who won because no one actually knew how the winner is decided so we just didn't guess who it was.

At night, I still couldn't see why Lucy and Marcus did that. I lie on my side, the others are again already asleep. Why is it always me left awake. I close my eyes, but they again open after a few minutes. I turn my head to see why, I heard a sound but I couldn't see any source of it. so I turn back around. And lie awake for a few more minutes. Then I hear another sound like someone bumping against a bed. When I turn back around I see something from the corner of my eye and the next thing I feel is the prick of a needle in my neck and I go to sleep.

When I wake up, I'm not on my bed. I'm somewhere else. It's definitely not the cabin. There is only but a little light that comes through narrow window with bars. It's some sort of room, well, I wouldn't call it a room, I would only call it space between four cement walls and a top. Because it had nothing. Nothing. I go to the window which is not so low for me to look through it normally. Especially when I'm only this tall. Not short but not tall. I stand on my tiptoes and see though the window, there's nothing to see but another door, like mine. I'm not sure if there's anyone there but since there was no one else I gave it a shot.

"Hey." I keeping my voice quiet but loud enough for anyone close enough to hear. No response. I say it again, hoping now, someone would come. No response, so much for doing that. I am about to give up, not because no one was responding even if there was someone there. Because I can only stand on my toes for so long. I drop down on my feet. Then after a few seconds, I hear someone reply I stand back on my toes. It's a boy, he seems tall enough to not have to stand his toes. He had a little long hair with every shade of brown that is possible. I blink then see, that's not possible. Probably a trick of light. There isn't even enough light here.

"Hi." He says, his voice has tiredness in it. he may have been here from a long time. it might be boring as hell to live here. "Alex." He says.

"I'm Elena." I reply then, I ask, "Been here long, haven't you?"

"I don't know, feels like forever but probably it was just a week." He says turning his head away, I drop on my feet again, it was so easy for him to reach the window. I give up standing there and sit with my back to the door.

"When did you come?" he asks me.

"I don't know, yesterday?" I say. I don't know why I say it like that, but I really don't know, what if it's been more than a day since I was in that cabin. Alex mutters something I can't hear, I don't ask him what he just said. Then having nothing to do gives me nothing to do, so I ask him. "What's your animal?' that came out wrong. "Your transformation I mean?" correcting myself. "Each-uisage." He says, I don't know what he just said I takes me a little time to decide if I heard him or wrong. then I still can't make out what he just said I asked, "A what?"

"a horse." Nope. I'm pretty sure he didn't say a horse before. "it's a dead horse." He says. A dead horse. Great, why did he have to be so confusing. But he answers the question without me having to ask it.

"Not a dead horse, a black horse. Sort of skeleton type. Except it's rather deadly, so I never transform into it. what's yours?"

"I'm not an Aeli."

"then why are you here?" he seems confused the way he asks.

"I lived with Aeli." I tell him.

"I still don't get it. why would you ever live with Aeli, if you aren't one?" it seems a little weird to be talking to someone not in sight. I stare at the wall in front of me, it is a little ruined wall, probably from all that seepage. How am I supposed to answer a question to which I myself, do not know the answer. I remember the day Astrid told me that Andie had told them that I was an Aeli, why would Andie do that?

"I…don't know." I say. Then I remember."They told me I was an Aeli, but I wasn't they found that out too. But I never went away even after I wasn't an Aeli." I said, that's a pretty good enough reason to me to why I was staying there, I was convinced myself. "So what's deadliness of your horse?" I ask mostly to change the topic. He doesn't answer for a while then just says, "Just forget it." it may have been very deadly for him to not tell me. Time passes with sitting in the exact same position as before.

"Another thing I don't get." He said. "what?" I ask. "why didn't you go back when you found out you weren't an Aeli did you not have a family, if it was me I would have gone back." He said. I think about it, I had forgotten that the rest of the Aeli might have families not everyone is like me. The rest of the Aeli would not have liked going from their home the way I had.

"No." I say it as a whisper. "Just my sister, Andie, she was an Aeli, too." I feel like I have told him too much, even though there was nothing of what I said, dangerous or something. But still, I don't tell him about the others, my aunt and Tracy. Hours might have passed with me sitting there. I got up and moved around the room a little just to find something to do. Boredom, was the worst thing that could ever happen to someone. I sit back down, what has Alex been doing all the while,

"Hey," I hear again, at first I think it's Alex but it's not his voice." I go to the window, Alex isn't in front of it. "Hey," I hear again "Besides you." At first I think he's inside the room, but then I see. It's not. It's from the room on my left. The other rooms might not have been occupied or maybe they also had Aeli, in them.

"Hey Zach" Alex says coming back to the window." He seems to know him."

"I heard you two talking, You know what?" he says in a mischievous way, the kind Skye sometimes had, but more. "I'm not an Aeli myself." I look at Alex. He shrugs, "He's just kidding." He said to me as a matter of fact way.

"no I'm not." He says but after a while agrees with Alex. "No, you're right I am not an Aeli I'm much better than that." he said, I usually hate these kind of people who think they are better than the rest, I usually ignore them, but he didn't seem to say that in a way in which he actually meant it.

"well, what makes you better than Aeli?" I ask him teasingly. Alex smiles.

"That I am a better Aeli." That makes me laugh,

"I've been thinking these last few days about what they had done to his head to make him this way." Alex says grinning, this does not seem to anger Zach but rather he seem more amused by this.

"I can't turn into an animal…" he says but Alex interrupts him, "Yes he can, he makes a really good cow." Cow? I laugh a little. That's even worse than a mouse. Mouse! Astrid wasn't there, she didn't come here. Where is she now? "And yes," his voice becomes a little annoyed, "I can predict things to I have a great sixth sense,"

"YOU can predict the future?" I ask.

"Yes, that's because I'm a cow and no not the future but some things." He says.

"Cows don't predict the future." My feet are again tired of standing on my tiptoes, I sit back down again.

"As a matter of fact cows are very under graded and I never said they could predict the future. They can predict other things like the their sixth sense is just too good." He says. I gave a chortled laugh like I don't believe him, well, I don't. "I know you won't believe me but there's a reason the cattle is Apollo's sacred animal." He says. Who the heck?

"The cow wasn't Apollo's sacred animal, it was Hera's" Alex corrected him. "The cattle was Apollo's but you fit in both." Oh boy, Greek geeks,

"So what does it matter that Apollo's sacred animal was the cow? I ask. It's not Zach who answers, it's Alex, " the cow is Hera's, Apollo is the god of the sun, music, poetry, healing and prophecies." Prophecies, yeah right. "But, Zachy here cannot give prophecies, pretending to be an Oracle, he cannot even predict anything, that's just him trying to make the cow special. He can actually only, read faces. If not even that." they get me really confused over stuff.

"You may be right by I can easily know what others are thinking of. I knew yours and I also know now." he said teasingly. "Yeah sure, that was only a guess, it wasn't even exact."

"But it was right. Even if it wasn't I'll tell you what you're thinking now." he says as if to prove his point.

"Keep that to yourself and shut up." Alex said, his voice angered a little.

"Alexandra is…"

"I said shut up!" He really was mad, but when Zach said Alexandra it made me smile again. Good way to make fun of someone. I have got a feeling that both of them have been here long and have probably been talking a lot, enough to make themselves enemies, or friends I didn't get it, whether they hated each other or were they friends. Zach giggled like a girl. Oh my god. They've gone mad. Or Zach was just like this, crazy from the start, I wonder where the others are. I sat there listening to Zach keeping on teasing Alex by stuff and Alex just keeping on shutting him up, but that seems to increase Zach's laughter. His laughter makes me laugh, the way he laughs is just weird, it's like when a seven year old girl's who's hiding something and is being tickled a lot for it. even its description is so weird. This makes me really consider Alex's opinion that they had done something to his head. I go and sit in the corner with my back against both of the walls and shut my eyes. Miracles of all miracle happened, I went to sleep, I should stay there more often helps me sleep earlier. I wake up to something I don't exactly know what?

"Elena." Someone whispers my name, I stand up. it' Alex, thought it would be or I didn't actually.

"what." I say from where I was standing. I don't' want to go there and have to be higher. He doesn't reply, I am about to call him again but then I hear voices, far from here, but not so far, enough for me to make out what they are saying. There are two voices, one female, and a the other is really heavy and male.

"…all of them?" the man asks the lady.

"I am not so sure, sir. All of them may not have been there. The Aeli, who lead us there, she told me that one was missing." She replies. (She had a very toady voice, I am going to call her frog.) Astrid, I think.

"and you seem to trust those two?" the man asks.

"yes, they have helped us. If they were helping the Aeli, they would not have helped us contain them." So Marcus and Lucy really have been spies for long.

"And have you searched for the missing one."

"No sir, but it looks like we hit the jackpot, fifteen in one place. the other the Aeli says is missing was searched for but was not found, rather unsurprising, the Aeli said she was a rat, might have gotten away very easily." The voices get closer so I can hear them very clear and loud now. I think they might be a few doors on the left.

"anything unusual among them?" the man asks the attendant.

"No sir, but one of them was not an Aeli, she was human." I'm pretty sure, the 'SHE' they refer to would be me.

"What was a human doing among those things?" what exactly does the man think we are."

"I have no idea, sir, but I checked the area she used to live in, she has no parents and her sister was an Aeli, rather different."

"A sister an Aeli and she's not one herself but she's living with an Aeli, that's not possible, find more proof, before we let her go."

"And if we can't?"

"living with those things is no different than being them. Keep her. Any other?" They say it as if I'm not there, or maybe they don't know that I'm right inside the door they are walking past.

"we found the source of all that panic they made on the internet and the rumors they made on the internet about a creature was true."

"Which creature is this that you are talking about?" the man asks in a rather low tone, they've stopped now, I think two doors from the left.

"the people call it Jersey's devil," Aora, I think.

"And? Any other unusual creature among them?"

"Yes, in fact we do this time there were quite a few of them really. There's a Pegasus, hippocampus, an owl boy…"

"I don't care, which," the man interrupts her. "You know what to do with them. Kill them as soon as possible. I don't want any human beings to see them, they even might think that the old legends are true and would start believing in the new ones like the one about the jersey devil." Kill them? Now that's rude. I think of which ones is he talking about, there would be Max, Ignis and probably Angela. "And you told me the two Aeli working for us?" he pauses. "They one of the old legends too?" the frog must have nodded. "Kill them, too after they're done helping us.

"But sir, they were helping us in exchange that we let them go." I don't know what happened but the lady quickly agreed, "Yes sir."

"Anything else." I can hear them walk away again. So the sound slowly goes away.

"Yes, there's someone immortal." They stop again. I go closer to the small opening to hear better. No one was immortal among us, might be some other Aeli,

"immortal, how?" the man has curiosity in his voice.

"Have you heard of the jellyfish, Turritopsi Nutricula, it is considered to be immortal, so the girl is immortal." Was she talking about Cara because that's the only jellyfish I know. I think they are. But she wasn't immortal.

"How is she like that?"

"when the jelly fish grows and when it's time for it to die it changes itself back to a polyp and lives it's life from the start, the same may be the case for the Aeli."

"Interesting, so, finally the Aeli would come of use and they could be used to make mankind immortal." They start to walk away again. I hear frog say something about population. But the man says. "nonsense." In a much louder voice and then their voice disappears except for a faint voice that comes whenever the man speaks as he spoke too loudly. I stand higher. "Who's the immortal?" Alex asks me as soon as I appear. He must have been listening to them too.

"Cara, she's thirteen years old, I didn't know she was immortal, she might not have known this herself," or she would have, she must have known that her transformation was immortal and then again, maybe she didn't. I don't know anything about her.

"Why did you live with Aeli anyway and what was your sister's animal?" I stand with my back to the door.

"My sister never told me she was an Aeli, she went away before she could but these Aeli, they came to me, I didn't go to them. They said I was an Aeli because Andie…my sister, she told them that I was an Aeli, but I wasn't. she hadn't even known herself she told them about it and not me." I pause, "Then, I hated the people living where I lived, it was my aunt and my cousin Tracy, my aunt didn't even treat me as if I existed. Then someday, a man came and I don't know what he wanted, I didn't stop to see. I just went, Astrid...another Aeli," I explain. "she had told me where they were." I remember her giving me the chit and me keeping it in my pocket for three weeks then I put it on my drawer… oh my god. I put it on my drawer they had known where we were for quite some time now, maybe, that man who came looking for Andie he may have searched my room or rather my aunt would have. I feel like such an idiot, but that cannot be the reason why they found us, no. then why didn't they find them before I came. They had to find us after I had lived there for a month. Why? They must have figured out why I had written that location on the piece of paper a little late, I hadn't written it. or maybe they knew we were at the park but didn't know where so that day when we went with Max they must have followed us or no, they wouldn't have, it was Lucy. She had gone away with Marcus when we had entered the park she must have gone to tell them that we were there. I still feel like such an idiot.

"Elena?" Alex calls.

"what?" I say. So it was my fault all along, not Lucy, I had only given Lucy an opportunity to reveal them. No it was still Lucy's fault, I remind myself, not mine, that's what the others know and what they should only know, nothing else. Well, if they're alive that is. I stand higher to see.

"what is it?" I said to him but then I knew why he had stopped. "nothing. Just stay quiet." He whispered this time. now I knew why he was doing this.

The same woman, I think who was speaking to the man was coming in this direction, she had a really stern face, she came and suddenly turned towards my door and opened it I don't know how. I was a pushed a little by the door, I lost balance and tripped on the floor. frog really was severe looking. More than my aunt and that was saying something. She whipped her head around, was it even possible to turn our heads that much.

"Clement, inside." She ordered Alex, then she looked at me. "Come with me." She said and turned to walk away, I followed her, no point not doing it. she leads me to similar room to where I was except the wall are white and at least there's light. And the corner of the room is a stool. "Sit." She orders." I did. She went inside a door but doesn't close it. I hear the voice of the same man. I couldn't hear what they said before but then the frog said something like,

"Why, try it again. The previous tests were not successful, the test subjects just ended up like any other Aeli." They were the ones who created the Aeli and now they keep some and kill others. What do they hope to succeed anyway. Then one of them comes and closes the door so I can't hear them anymore. I slowly stand in hope to open the door just to listen a little more but then frog comes back in a hurry. I was tempted to ask what they wanted to do. I even did. Surprisingly she answered. "Imagine, the ability of animals and humans combined, Aeli won't have to be like…the things they are and humans would be so powerful then only if it works." She didn't say this with excitement or anything. She said it as usually says things, in the same sour way. I wonder if she was even supposed to tell me this but what would matter even if she did. So they create Aeli and when they become Aeli they kill them. What better way to show what humanity really is. "they are quite a few people, nowadays the number of results like that have increased, even still, the ratio may be one in a fifty that go right, the rest end up as the usual Aeli."

I don't say anything. What would humans do with all that power they certainly wouldn't give it to all and when a lot of them had the power there would be war anyway, and there wouldn't be much of earth left after it goes nuclear. I don't think any adult understands this over their thirst for power, which kind of power is this anyway, immortality like the jellyfish? poop power like Skye's dog? Definitely not that, but the immortality is obvious. Contractible wings like… I don't know some animal or bird may have that. and some Aeli might have that animal. She takes out a small syringe and pushes the needle into my arm. What do these people have with needles and injections and syringes, they're obsessed with them.

When I wake up, I feel as if I am under water and drowning, my lungs filled with water but then a after a few seconds I realize that I am not under water I am in the same white room. On the same stool. I get up. the doors open. I didn't know where I was going, but somewhere was better than no where even if that somewhere may not be anywhere.

I go back to the room, cage, not room, well whatever I call it, It doesn't matter. Then I turn back, how would I go there. then I go to the room that was besides the white one. Where that man and frog were talking about, they were there, I could see their shadows on the door, it was translucent and not even sound proof, I open it slightly,

"…work?" frog asked something I didn't catch it. "Thank god, do you have another human?" the man asked frog. He said it as if he was asking for another insect he could kill or experiment.

"No sir, I don't" frog answered.

"Then find one. get one from anywhere you can find where you can go unnoticed." The man says.

"make it look like an accident?" frog asked.

"Yes, of course." These weren't real people if they were like that but I had read plenty of books where some people were even worse than this. but of course that wasn't real. Or was it? don't be ridiculous they weren't. now I'm talking to myself. I get aside and stand where the door would go, both of them come outside and I go inside as soon as they are far enough and close the door behind me. This was nothing good to live in. it had a desk with a lamp and a lot of pictures and papers and news papers stuck to the wall and a lot of them lying on a desk in a big mess.

I go there behind the desk and open the drawers. Just as I thought, there was one card lying on another stack of papers what did they even do with all those papers. I take the card and the papers too, whatever they are I don't want them but that doesn't mean that that man should have them. Anything important to him would be bad to everyone else. I go out of the room closing the desk as quickly as I can, then go out. have they even noticed that I'm not there. I don't think they care now if I leave. But I care if the rest of them don't. they're just going to keep them there until they die. Or until they kill them themselves.

I walk fast to the cage I was in, finally I succeeded in calling it a cage not that it's hard to call it one, but I don't know what's the matter with me, what the matter has been with me, I called the place I lived home while Andie called it prison. Even though she exaggerated a lot.

I must have not walked that quietly, it was fast but not quiet because when I reach there, Alex calls, "Elena?" I go to his room, CAGE I correct myself, why do I talk o myself. I put the car on the rectangular place that is the size of the card, though it does not look like a scanner, amazingly the door opens. Alex looked stunned, I go to Zach's room, CAGE, and open it to. He doesn't even know who it is.

"Get up you fat cow." Alex pulls Zach's hands, even though Zach's not fat.

"Who're you calling fat?" Zach's says annoyed. I go out of the room and open another, it's empty, of course it is, if it wasn't wouldn't that person have spoken before. I move to the next, it's also empty, I go forward but then I see frog coming from there, she's not surprised to see me, I quickly pocket the card and back up against the open door of Zach's cage and close it with both of them inside, without frog's noticing. She stops in front of me, I'm afraid she might ask why I am here.

"Down the corridor." She points at the way she just came. " to the right, take the stairs leading up. you'll find you're exit." I get a little confused. She isn't asking why I am here and she is certainly not asking why I am in front of Zach's door and not my own, what's there to ask about it, it would have only one answer to her. "Why?" I ask her. "you're not an Aeli," frog answers then goes on the opposite side. This doesn't feel like the only reason but why ask, At the same time I feel good and bad about not being an Aeli, I turn my head to see her, go, when she's gone. I open the door again,

"What was that for?" Zach says even though he knew what it was for or he would have spoken before. I walk in the direction frog told me to. I don't see any staircase but I keep going forward until I do, there are two. One going up and one going down. I go up. the exit is already open, all three of us go outside, the door closes behind us. "That was easy," Zach remarks.

"A little too easy," I say. There is something wrong about the way it just happened, no one just tells them the way and to get out. unless they do. She said that they needed, Animal abilities not humans transforming into animals themselves, which one was I, she said that I wasn't an Aeli, so was I the other or was I none. This was just a normal building in a normal street except it wasn't a building it was just a really small, really, really small, box type room. It must all be underground.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" I ask them knowing that it I wouldn't get an answer but I ask it anyway.

"Can't do anything, Aeli are not hidden anymore, either that or they will not be hidden any longer." Zach says.

"Why is that?" I ask him. Well, it's impossible to let everyone know in such a short time. short time, yeah right, they have all the time they need.

" you know I was kidding about the Apollo stuff but I was not kidding when I said I could read someone's face very easily." He says. Okay, now his face was serious. Zach had auburn hair, and medium brown eyes. So he had read frog's face. That sounded even weirder than it was. But not quite. What had he read that they had told everyone about Aeli, what if they had, what would it matter.

"Well, yes, but it is what it is." I look up at him. I really need to keep a straight face if I have to stay the next few days with him. Well it would be pointless, to go alone, "but they haven't told this to anyone, except a selected few, but they will tell this tonight on television." Yeah, television, hadn't thought of it, have never got the habit of watching it a lot. Really I've only watched a few times only when I have nothing else to do and not for long, I would never stay that long in the same room as my aunt, who knows what might have happened if I did.

"Come on." I tell them, they do, the only problem if the whole world knows lies with both of them, I am not an Aeli, then I'm crazy going with them, but I would have to live of stolen things anyway, what's the difference. I really have no idea where I am going except I know that it's forward wherever it is. I get a smell, like a fart mixed with dead meat and a little bit of sweat added in it, perfect. We just go in the same direction for about fifteen minutes until we reach the end of the street. I got nothing. I look behind me, Alex and Zach aren't there. I walk back my path, looking in every store, then I find them, inside a fast food restaurant. I go inside to them,

"Seriously,"

"You didn't have to follow us, I'm hungry." Zach says, Alex doesn't say anything. How do they even think they'll pay, I'm pretty sure they're not used to stealing stuff. I don't think they have thought of that, I get in a different line, behind a man. With two children in front of him, talking to him. Alex looks at me curiously but then turns his head forward. The man bends to hear what one of the children is saying. I grab the edge of his wallet and quickly take it out before anyone could notice, then drop it quickly. I take out a fifty, pocket it. Then call him,

"Excuse me?" the man looks back, "You dropped this." I hand him his wallet, he took it and smiled gratefully, I go out of the line, then wait for a moment, then go back in the line Zach and Alex were still waiting. I stand with them.

"What was that?" Alex asks me from behind. I shake my head. After a few minutes, they've finally got their turn, both of them get what they want which might be equal to the dinner of five people, not two. When the lady asks, Zach for money. I come in front of them and hand her the note. We go back and sit on a table. ""how'd you get the money?" Zach asks me and I almost believed him when he said he could read minds or face, whatever.

"Somewhere you never would have gotten." I answer.

"She stole them." Alex says, then he did see me. Now I know what's weird about him saying that, this is the first time he's even spoken since we're out of that place, which isn't even place so it shouldn't be weird but it feels weird.

"What?" Zach seems appalled. I was right when I thought they would have never stolen before, well, they need to learn to steal too, if they are to survive. Because I will not always do that for them. "Why'd you do that? isn't that wrong."

"Isn't that wrong," I imitate Zach. "Are you kidding me, isn't that wrong? so? Go get a job, then." I say partly annoyed by him because of he said it was wrong, well, it was, but it's never been for me. I really don't care who I steal from, I know what Andie would have said, she would have answered, 'isn't life wrong? isn't killing Aeli wrong?' but I don't know if I should say the same thing I am not an Aeli but I am a thief, this is the first time I have ever called myself that. I have never thought that the way I live may be wrong, but who cares I still don't care. I just eat a packet of fries and don't say anything to them, so neither do they, they take an half an hour eating all that , that may seem like a long time for food but the amount at which they ate that should have taken longer.

When they are finished and move out, hoping they might follow me, if they want to come at all, if they don't I don't care, they can live alone, get caught, get killed, they can't live life another way with saying, isn't it wrong to stealing. I'm going to get myself caught by staying with them.

"Elena," I look back it's Zach. "Didn't you want to see something." I look at him, he points at the television set on the wall. Now I know why they really came here. I had completely forgotten about it, I sit back down and turn myself, so I can see properly, there's nothing right now, Zach said that it would be tonight, well, it is almost night. After a few minutes I get straight again. It's not going to come, I'm not even sure if it is. Only because Zach saw frog doesn't mean that there's going to be Aeli on the news today, what if she was only thinking of doing it and never had the intention of doing it. faces do not show that much.

We wait for an hour, why were we even there. it's not going to come but doesn't matter if we wait for the whole night, got nothing else to do.

I think it's two hours that we have been sitting there in the exact place. at nine or around it, finally there is something. Zach was right after all. But only partly right. Well more than half. On the television it finally comes but it doesn't even last five minutes, there is one man he wore a black suit. "recently, there's been a discovery…" then he really actually tells about Aeli, I don't listen the rest, I only look at him. All that he said were lies, lies and add a few more lies. Literally, what he said, Aeli have been seen as a really big threat, they are murderers, criminals, and they might be even more powerful than we think, as long as they are there, no one can be safe. He says it like they are really dangerous, what do they know, they know nothing other than that they are more powerful, this is so not fair. They make it seem like they really are a threat, the only reason they are the slightest bit of a threat is because of their own faults, because they themselves, like to kill them.

Then he says that they will make sure that everyone in this city comes to a place, in a day, (that would be crowded) to get scanned. They can't force anyone can go, they cannot even keep track of everyone going and those not going. even if they make sure that anyone who goes in and out of any place, would have had been checked, they still can't restrain people fully.

They are such dumb asses. No wonder they can't catch Aeli,

"just, let's get out of here." I tell them. They agree. We get out. it feels weird to be coming outside after so long. I mean no one stays in a restaurant for so long, imagine sitting in the same place for two hours, it might be difficult for a normal person but it seems impossible for me when I think of it, but it became possible.

"Well, sometimes, things really do get possible," I accidentally say it aloud,

"What? Zach asks, confused.

"Nothing." I tell him.

"I want to go there." Zach says.

"Where?" I ask.

"The place they said they're going to make sure everyone goes to." He replies,

"have you lost it?" I say.

"Won't be that bad." Won't be that bad? What's the worst that could happen they could get killed that's all. No big deal. Well, it wasn't on me. They must know that even if we get caught I wouldn't even be in trouble it's only them, so why not let them do what they want, they are the ones who are going to pay if we get caught not me.

"Okay. Sure," I say. Zach is still crazy for doing this, I don't even know Alex would do it, but he didn't want to.

"No." Alex said loudly. "What are you, mad?" he had a point Zach was mad, no doubt about that.

"Don't come nobody told you to come anyway."

"You're going to get us all killed," did they always fight like this? I wonder, they fought like this in that place too.

"Hey, not me, just you too." I wasn't going to get killed but I might even be or go to jail, who knows. But I wasn't going anywhere I didn't want to go. I was a criminal anyway, I had done this many times, so it would be easy except I wouldn't even be doing anything wrong.

"Whatever, then he's going to kill both of us." Alex said.

"hey, nobody told you to go, why tag along, why are you here anyway."

"why don't you go alone and mess up whatever you want to then you can come back."

"Hey, it's just you staying and who said it's not helpful, hey Elena." I look up from the lines on the ground, I had a habit of either walking on them and not a step away or walking in the boxes, but that were too big and would get boring. Oh boy, now I would have to come between them

"What?" I say sounding bored.

"It might be helpful," Zach says, not telling me to go but…

"How so?" I ask.

"you're not an Aeli." He said as if it was obvious, it was, but still. "So whatever it is, we can go anywhere we can go if we get that secret pass to everywhere,"

Now he had a point too, but I doubt there would be that much security anywhere. They really don't care about getting Aeli that much, or do they, why did they even name them Aeli, it's a weird name. who name them, anyway.

"You can't possible go like that?" Alex complains. It's more of a statement than a question.

Despite Alex's protests, all three of us ended up going there. why did we even go here. No idea. It was just a wide open space. But this time it had a lot of people crowded in it. it wasn't a wide open space anymore. It usually wasn't when it was crowded but I'm not sure how many times that happened I have never been here. At the far end of it is a door. Which has quite a line, but it goes forward really fast but It keeps growing at the same speed. It takes me barely any time to get in. there are ten separate lines inside, well, that explains the going fast, I go in one. then again nit takes barely anytime to get in, couldn't they have just done something through the internet so I wouldn't have had to come here but then, what else did I have to go. That was also a little bit of the reason why I didn't disagree to coming here, though Alex was still reluctant I don't know why he still came. Probably didn't want to be left alone.

When it's my turn I step forward. I look at the glass and the black piece outside it, I stare at it for a while then the man behind the glass, tells me to go.

"What?" I say in confusion. "Just like that. "But the…"

"Nobody cares," he interrupts. I go out of the line and go outside, to Zach and Alex,

"What happened?"Zach asks, he talks a lot.

"nothing. They don't even care like I told you." I didn't tell him that but who cares. "They really don't care about Aeli, just kill one them when they see one. they know they're not really a threat to them," he nods in reply.

"what are we supposed to do now?" he asks.

"Get out of here," Alex says from behind, that seems like a god option. So we do. After some time when we still can't figure out what to do. I decide to back to the cabin, who knows, what I may find, it burned apart or it, completely sound. Wouldn't matter with both. We go there, takes us a few hours but not that many.

I lead them through the forest. Why do they even follow. I would do alright on my own too. Wouldn't be bad. So would they, then why follow, either they don't want to be alone or they might even be about to go. I really don't care about that, there would be a long list about things I don't care and very little or none, I think none about the things I do care about, there's nothing like that. I enter the cabin, it's not destroyed, it's just as we left it with the half broken window.

"Let's just stay here for the night." I say. They agree otherwise we would have slept in the car anyway. This is better than that. I put my hand in my pocket, there's something there, I take out it's the card from the building. I may have forgotten to take it out, just let it stay in my pocket, I think, the safest place.

I spent the next day in the cabin. Of course not the whole days, we found things to do outside. at the first night Astrid came, I had forgotten that there was a chance she was still there. we had come back from somewhere, when we came back someone was already there, we went inside to find Astrid there, gave her quite a scare too.

"Astrid." I had to call her before she made a run for it. she looked closer.

"Elena." She hugged me. I hugged her back. "where are the rest? I have been trying to find any one of you for the past week." It had not been a week or had it, I don't know I can't keep track of time, anyway. I told her where they were, but that wouldn't matter, anyway unless she was crazy enough to still look for them. Why did she even try to find them, I don't think she has but then again she used to search for more Aeli before too, she liked more or she cared about them killing Aeli. I don't know why she might have been looking for them when she can easily live alone, I would have lived alone. Why don't I? this is so not fair. Astrid moves past me and goes outside.

"Astrid, where are you going?" I ask her from behind.

"Come on," she just says, I know where she is going but I still have a little bit of hope of finding out that she isn't. I go after her it doesn't matter even if I go, I'm not an Aeli and I still have the card. I run after her. She goes to a jeep. She looks at me and smiles. "Look what I found. I found it a few days ago."

"you just don't find trucks lying around, you know." Zach tells her, they're here once again.

"Who're you?" Astrid says not in a really kind way.

"Zach,"

"A cow." Alex adds. "I'm Alex," he says. Quietly, I'm starting to have a theory that he has people phobia. The way he rarely ever speaks. We get in the car.

"where to?" Zach asks, I should name him chatterbox, he talks a lot but I won't since I have seen people talk even more than that, those people, meaning Astrid being on the top of the list. Can't really fill the rest of the list right now.

"You tell me." Astrid replies. Great. what little hopes I had, had been shattered. But it does not matter if I go. Zach and Alex I'm not going to even tell them so they'll follow me in the end like they always do. I guide Astrid back to the building.

"No way." Alex objects. Why is he so scared of everything, the big scaredy cat. It would be fun one day to really scare him. I mean not the real kind, like the one where you scare people knowing nothing bad can happen so we can make a joke out of that but even when he gets scared at things like this there's not much because it isn't very stupid to be scared of such things but still…no one gets scared that much. I'm going to count the things Alex is scared of…1. People. 2. Probably killers that's why he may be afraid to go somewhere they kill Aeli. 3. Getting caught, when he didn't even want to go to one place.. 4. Well, haven't known him for that long but will find other things.

"Stay if you want, but do not tell me that you are scared of this too." I say to Alex.

"Too? what does that mean" he asks, I ignore him and get out of the car. And Alex probably did not want to be called a scaredy cat so he came too. And Zach well, he cannot resist getting in trouble and getting killed, he would be really excited if he could die every day then be brought back to life. I get out. I take out the card to open front door if it even works on the front. I get in front and put the card in the place they may have another card for this but why would they. I get Goosebumps on my arms. It opened. The door opened.

"Where'd you get that?" Astrid asks.

"I was inside." This might not make much sense, because just going inside doesn't give you this. but I don't explain it to her. We quietly but quickly go inside, which wasn't that quiet but it was quick. Too many people too be too quiet, from ever since I left home I have found myself in between other people. Never alone, like I had wanted no, there's people everywhere. We were so going to get caught.

"Hey I have an idea." Zach says, probably to not go inside. "Let's just wait outside while one person can do it. agreed?" he looks at me. Oh, boy, couldn't have made it more obvious.

"No way, I have an even better idea." Alex says. "How about none of us go, just forget it."

"And I have an idea that the idea Zach gave is good because one of us can go, without getting caught." Astrid says again looking at me, why did I not have to be the Aeli it's even more dangerous not to be one if you want to be with them.

"And I have an idea that we all go." I say, but I could tell by their faces no one agreed to that. of course, they were going to back out. why were they going to go when they had the option to stay out. they were going to get scared at the end anyway. I mean who backs out at this point.

"Let's just all go." Alex changes his mind. That was quick and now it was only the ones who were crazy enough to go, scared to go. That was so not fair and now they don't want to go but why do they have to send me? I won't go.

"I'll come with you." it's Alex. I thought he was supposed to be a sacredy cat. I nod. Astrid and Zach go out of the door. and run back to the car, I just hope they're really not going to leave us here. we move down and then left instead of forward which was from where I came before, no reason going to the same place. I go forward. it's a weird place, a maze it may be. because there was nothing different about any part of it.

"Wait." Alex stops me. "follow me." I follow him for not that long. until there is finally a little different sight to see. there's another room almost the same the difference is that the walls were made of glass and the inside it were desks and a lot of computers with dark screens and there was only one man. oh shit, how were we even going to do that. why are we even here it's impossible to get any out let alone get ourselves out. I stare at the man, he's as ignorant as anything. I wish I was an Aeli, than I would have easily threatened people. people are more scared of animals than fifteen year olds. good thing Alex was. we went to one side of the door. Alex quickly transformed into something, he said was a horse, it wasn't a horse, if it was then it would be the creepiest kind. it was like a skeleton horse, except it wasn't a skeleton, but it's skin was so tight against its body, it looked like a skeleton, it was black, and had a fierce mane. it' eyes were full black diamond shaped and it's legs were no thicker than a thin wooden cane. And it's teeth were fangs.

that was the creepiest creature I had ever seen. the horse as Alex told me each-uisage. jumped at the glass at an instant, it shattered into a million pieces. shouldn't have made it out of glass. the man looked behind him, stood up, pulled a gun from his belt and aimed it at Alex or the horse, I cannot imagine the horse as Alex. Alex did not stop he ran at the man with his head bent forward and trapped the man against the wall. the man fired at Alex. it hit him in left arm. Alex transformed back to human, and while the man puzzled over that, he grabbed the gun and aimed it at him.

I ran in there. and searched the screens. they were all too dark. below were three small buttons in one row. a keyboard on their left. and two other buttons on its left. They were all black if they were of different colors it would have been easy, I could have followed the rule, always press the red button, but now how am I supposed o know when the next button is not going to set off an alarm or which one is going to open which. or which one is going to do who knows what? I hate choosing, especially buttons. because they're so small and can control a lot. I don't push any from the thousands of small ones.

"Which ones for opening? I ask the man. he is a terrible guard but who knows how many others would have done the same with the uisage. couldn't do anything about it, could they?

"you can't," he says but I don't feel like he's in charge with the gun on his head. but without any of us saying anything, he adds. "You won't be able to take them all. He gets to his feet, I take a step back suddenly, he stops. Alex hasn't taken the gun away from him, I doubt he even knows how to shoot but after all, how difficult can it really be. sighs then says again. "the middle of the three turns the light. you can't open any from here, you'll have to have the card, which I, thankfully do not have." he doesn't seem like he cares much about it. probably would be here just to get a job,

I push the middle one, it really did turn on all the lights in every cell, except for the corridors since they were already lit. I see the corridors in the screens to the right. it shows light coming through cells better be quick about this. I search every cell most of the people are just unknown to me, of course they would be. but after every three or four rows, meaning every twenty there seems to be someone I know. The screens seem very small to me. there seems to be a thousand screens and about three hundred to four hundred Aeli, that might be my approximate. I don't find all fifteen of them, I find only half of them. Then I remember what frog had been told. To kill all the creatures that do not exist in real life. That would be Max, Angela, Albriech, Aora, Ignis, Baldor and probably Marcus and Lucy too if they wasn't helping them. That only leaves, Macey, Skye, Luke, Cara, Peter, Hazel and Rudy. That's half and half, probably more. I found some of them but I am not just going to search every screen right now. but I think I am sure Andie was not here.

"Alex keep watch over the screens." I point towards the screens that showed the corridors. "switch off the lights for a few seconds if I get too close to someone." he nods. I run forward back to the stair cases, this time I take the one that goes down, I don't really think there were many Aeli in the floor in which we were. Not really.

I go down. This was a huge area, it's amazing how this stays hidden.

I move through the corridor. It's a little weird when the upper portion has more light and the lower portion is darker because of the light that comes through every room come from above. When I reach the end of the corridor, I open the third last one, at least I remember that much. Nope, not even that there's someone inside I don't know, I open the cell opposite to that. yes I was right but not that much. Hazel, was there. I go forward but don't go the whole way I turn left, when it next comes, another thing I remember is that Rudy was in one of these. I open every room. Until I find Rudy in the eighth one I open.

Hopefully they know when to run and when not to. I go near the stair case again but don't go down take a right. There was Peter right below the room Alex would now be in. I go there this one was easy to find, I go to the staircase and now I don't know anything about the next floor, couldn't remember all of those. I keep going forward, before I open any cells, the lights flicker they go dark for a few seconds, I run back and go to the left. I don't open any right now, I couldn't risk opening a lot of cells there would be too many then everyone will be caught for sure. But I still open as many I dare. I find Skye in a about the fiftieth cell, that might be a bit of an exaggeration but still had to open a lot more than I wanted to. I just opened his cage when the lights turn off again. Both turns are too far. I close the door of the cell. And turn back there's already someone there. it's the toad,, I mean frog.

"I thought I told you to get out. why return." She says the lights turn back on. She notices it, of course who can't. and I think she knows, how could she not, would have seen the empty rooms or the man in the security are who used to watch the screens would have told her I don't think she cared much. "I see your friend is already there. not to worry, someone has gone there to see to that." what does she mean now. of course she might be lying or the lights wouldn't have been turned off when she was near, but it doesn't matter with Alex turning into that uisage. There is no threat. I just stare at her, she really doesn't care.

"Since you are here, you might as well help, there's a lot of that needed. In places like this." that was not expected.

"Why don't you tell Marcus and Lucy to do that." I say since I've got nothing else to say. Frog sighs.

"Marcus and Lucy are Aeli I cannot just let them do whatever they want, even though they helped in bringing that much Aeli, never found that much in one place, you know, but they still are Aeli, plus they weren't exactly that much helpful in that too, not as much as you were." I remember the chit, I knew they were not led by both of them, they would never do that, they knew because of me and I knew that when I first came here. But still, I had only let them to the place, Lucy and Marcus are the ones who led them to the exact place.

What is Alex waiting for just turn off the lights so I can freaking go. But then I don't want to go, I remember what she had said to the old buff man.

"Fine." I say , that brings a little smile on her face, great, the first change of her expression. But still she was frog faced and voiced. "If…you tell me where my sister is." I say that brings her back to her original expression.

"I do not know who she is." She says, oh my god. People lie so easily, that is so not good for her.

"Sure you don't, I checked the area where she used to live in, she has no parents and her sister was an Aeli," I imitate the her the way she spoke, that day and I did not forget to make sure to turn my voice to math a frog's. "And since you took the chit which lead you to that park, it was one of you, came asking about…Andie Huntington." This does not get me an expression change.

"you cannot possibly think that I would remember each and every one Aeli." I raise my eyebrows questioning her but she did have a point, even though I believed what she said a little, only because it was only right, but still, she can.

"despite that…she's not here. So…let's start with your first task shall we. She waves me, forward, I follow her and tuck the card back in my pocket. It leads to an office, similar to the one I went in when I first came, but I don't know if it's the same, everything about it is the same but I do not see the white room. So must be a different one.

She stops and sits behind the desk.

"it wasn't because of you or the others that we found that place." She says, I don't get it. "we find every hiding of every Aeli, eventually, and that many people cannot just hide without noise, can they?" I shake my head.

"We've got a few other areas like this with Aeli living in groups not so big as the one used to live in but big enough for us to know. The only problem is, we never get them unless and until we are sure they are not that dangerous and it's always easier when someone from the inside first, makes it easier, otherwise it's too difficult with them just turning into ferocious animals and killing the men." I get where this is going.

"So you want me to go in one of them and pretend I am an Aeli?"

She looks at me as if it is obvious. Like I was going to do that but still, had to get as much as I could. Not Aeli, just information, might be useful someday for what, that I don't know.

"you didn't keep your part of the deal, and I am not going to keep mine." I never meant to help her even if she did tell me about Andie.

"That is something I cannot help you with." She says in the same tone with the same face. She's just like a robot that looks like a human.

"Well, then this is something I can't help you with either." I say.

Now we are at a dead end, both of us. I stare at her hard, hoping she would just give in, but I know she won't, then I hear something, an alarm sort of thing. I run outside. all the doors have opened automatically, frog comes out, and when she sees this she fast walks towards the staircase.

No. why did this have to happen now, she's going away, I think she's the only person I can get to tell me about Andie, when I came here I had no intention to find Andie, I never had one but now that when I'm close why not find her.

"Stop." I shout run towards her, she's only just walking so it's easier to catch her I go in front of her and hold the gun in her face, with both hands.

"You will tell me where she is or you will regret not telling." Even with gun on her head she did not change her expression. Like I knew how to fire it, it felt very wrong in my hands but as long as she didn't know I was safe,

"she's not here." She says.

"Where is she?" I ask her, even being this close I could miss, I have never been too good at aiming.

"She was an empousa, she's dead." Empousa? Didn't Astrid say she was a dog. What was going on there? did she tell anyone any truth? My mouth goes dry, I put my hand down and run in the opposite direction and go upstairs, turn and climb the other set of stairs. It doesn't matter if she's dead. She hasn't been the half the time with me anyway, why should I care.

I go upstairs. To the same glass room. I stop dead as soon as it comes in sight. There's two men lying dead on the floor, their necks covered in blood and teeth marks. Not even teeth marks fang marks, like Alex's uisage's fangs. The third. The one who used to watch the screens still stands, thank god, I look up at Alex for answers, I mean I thought his animal was fierce and scary but it was still Alex, I never knew he would do THIS. I go inside.

The sight of the men was really bad, I've never seen someone dead, not dead, killed, it's a different sight to see.

"Turns out there WAS a button which opened all of the doors at once. I don't reply, I don't know what to say to him now. he's a killer. But am I different? No, I was and am a thief but not a killer. Killing? Hate it. stealing? That turned out to be necessary but not killing. I take in a lot of air at once. Then exhale. Then turn around. He'll follow if he doesn't. It doesn't matter anyway. Now frog's here. She's looking at us, then looking at the dead men on the floor, she sprints towards the control panel and presses another button that sends an alarm.

I run towards the exit, probably wouldn't even be open. I go there and fight my way through all the people and open the door, it opens.

I run out. I see the rest running and the people turning to look in our direction, would be a surprise for them of course if hundreds of kids came bursting from one small, whatever they thought it was, I couldn't make out what it looked like from the outside. probably like the small washrooms at the sides of roads, probably that. I see Astrid and Zach, with Zach looking at me and honking the horn to hurry up. I walk towards the car. I can't get the image out of my head, of the two humans lying on the floor with the fang marks in their necks and blood pouring out of them.

"Elena." Someone calls me.

I look behind me, it's Alex.

I see the humans again.

"you killed them." I say bluntly. If I hadn't left him there he wouldn't have been killed. They are the enemies. I tell myself,

But still they are humans but they are enemies. It doesn't matter that he killed them.

"Yes, I'm sorry." He says. I still don't know if he should be or not was it a bad thing or a good. Should I be mad or not, I can't decide anything right now.

"look." He says. I don't know, I keep walking. "Hey."

"What?" I say, I'm mad at him for some reason but I know I shouldn't be since, they were someone who deserved to get killed but how do I know that.

"see, I know you see the uisage as some kind of beast." That's bit of an understatement.

"I don't see it like that, it is like that." It isn't his fault I tell him but still.

"Elena, come on, I didn't choose that animal you know." He's right, then why am I mad at him?

"just forget it." I really am going crazy.

"just don't mention that to anyone else, please." He says, then runs and gets in the car. What part of it did he not want me to tell, the answer is obvious but I am still not sure even if it is obvious.

I leave the doing anything for later, I get in the car.

"You weren't supposed to let everyone go that would have been too much." Astrid says. Not angry, I don't know what.

"Guess you should have come too." I reply.

"Guess I shouldn't have sent you." She replies

"Guess, I don't care." I say back.

"What's with the guessing?" Zach says, Astrid gets out of the car.

"did you find anyone?" she asks without looking at me. She's back and not mad, well, there wasn't any reason to be. I get out after her.

"Half." I say. She nods at me and runs forward. I get back in the car,

"So now we wait for her?" Alex asks both of us.

"Yeah," I nod. At least for a little while then, I don't know. Then why would I? "No, just go."

"Okay, then." Zach says and drives forward. "Where again?" where? I don't know where, I usually don't know that answer. What is there to do all day. Nothing. Zach just drives ahead.

"you know you are too predictable, Elena." Zach says, why did that come now. I am not that predictable,

"Is it from your special mind reading power." I say teasingly.

"no, that helps with me but others know a lot too." Now we are too far away from the place to seem like we are coming from there. what was he talking about. No one knew, what did others know, when have I done something that others knew I was going to do?

"nothing, just forget it." I leave it, just because I know this wouldn't end anywhere. After a while Zach says again. "Astrid knew you were going to leave her." Okay that's something even I did not know, how did she know? I don't reply, instead I ask,

"Where are you even going?" Zach shrugs. I leave it sometime he'll stop wherever we land we'll just stay there. it takes whole fifteen minutes, for them to decide this isn't right, just going without knowing, that rhymes.

"This is pointless." Alex says. "What do people even do when they are this bored?" great question which has no answer.

"wait." Zach sops us from talking. I see outside. there's only a lake and nothing unusual.

"What is…"

"Sshhh." Zach interrupted. I looked closely, there wasn't anything outside. I was about to tell that when all of a sudden something dropped on the windshield. Sending cracks across it. I jumped back in my seat. I quickly got out before both of them could. In front of the car lay a girl. I slowly moved towards her, the next second she transformed into a phoenix and flew towards me. I ducked. She flew over me. Angela? No. it wasn't Angela, it was another phoenix. If it was Angela I would have known plus the girl didn't even look like her.

I looked back at where she had flown, she flew forward turned then turned and stood besides another girl. Definitely not Angela. Both of their faces looked the same and the only difference in their hair was that both of them had orange hair but one of them had red streaks in it. and the girl with the red streaks also had a red eye, literally one of her eyes was red and the other was orange, she had an obsession with red and orange. Or did she get a lot of color influences from the phoenix. The other girl also had a brown eye and a yellow. What was up with their eyes, I mean, they can easily be of one color, why two?

The red streaked girl transformed back into a phoenix and flew up. the other snarled and transformed into a wolf? No, a werewolf. Yeah much difference were wolves don't stand on all fours, they walk on all fours but stand on two. And they don't have fur, much like the jersey devil except for the wings and the color and the head. Not much left but still the shape is same. Alex and Zach were out of the car. The werewolf came running jumping or hopping whatever it's called it came toward us. I ran to the left and behind the car, the phoenix didn't do much but fly over head. And come swooping down a few times just to let the werewolf get an idea of where we are but I don't think the werewolf had much intelligence but it eventually got the idea.

"do something." Alex said. Looking who's saying that.

"What do I do, I'm a herbivore." Zach replies, Alex grunts. "Why don't you do something, you're a carnivore." Alex shakes his head.

"Can't. too close to water." He says, what is that supposed to mean, what has water got to do with anything. Zach nods as if he understands, what is it that Zach knows and I don't? the werewolf jumps over the car. I look up at it drooling over us. Gross. Didn't werewolves only come at the night of a full moon, it's day and not a full moon then what was up with that. seems like it didn't get all of the werewolves stuff, which might only be fortunate to the were wolf and no one else. I get out from under it and run to the left. The phoenix dived down and this time it sent jets of flame towards us. I got out of the way just In time, only felt the heat of them. I don't think Alex and Zach even moved, from the first place. I hide behind the side of the building at the end of the street and watch. Alex and Zach are nowhere to be seen. I keep looking at the sniffing werewolf. Why do they even call it a werewolf? Why not just call it another name, a more dangerous type of wolf.

I really don't understand any name that any one gives to anything at anytime and that is just too much any.

I spot Alex. Finally, he can transform into his creature whenever he doesn't need to and cannot transform into it only whenever it is needed.

At least it does some good. The only difference between the uisage and the werewolf is that the werewolf isn't black and the uisage doesn't have short front paws and the werewolf has a head of a human plus wolf squashed together and the uisage of course has the horse head. That is a lot of differences there's only left a few similarities, but even then they look slightly bit alike.

I was staring at the uisage and the werewolf fight I hadn't even noticed where the phoenix went before it came and hit its beak on my shoulder, it's talons digging into my arms, I hit the phoenix on the head, much good did that do, I grabbed it with my other free hand and pulled it off than let it go. Why did I ever do that. ouch.

There were red claw marks where the claws were and my shoulder hurt. I ran towards the other direction in which I had come from aware of that dirty phoenix flying above me. I ran harder until I reached the car with its burned roof, the roof seemed like it had melted but not quite. It had gone down a little and it was black but not melted. I went further until there was a bend. I saw, Zach there, just sitting on the road cross legged watching Alex and the girl werewolf fight.

"Really?" I say. I mean who does that.

"what else am I supposed to do? Go in there and make steaks out of myself." Now he was exaggerating.

""You've got horns for god's sake." I answer. Not that horns can do much. He might even be a satyr except satyrs are more useful since they have hands. And can talk. Zach just grunts and looks forward. Alex comes running towards us, but in human form. He looks tired and sweaty.

"Would be a lot of help if you helped." E says.

"How?" Zach says.

"for one thing, no one here knows about werewolves? Come one, how many movies have they been in?" I cannot tell if he's being serious or what? Because I know a little and that is that they are not supposed to be alive and not supposed to be dead. And now it's in both of course that may be because she is a human plus a werewolf, but still.

"what are you talking about?" I ask Alex, he knows how to kill it because he might not even ask for help if he didn't.

"I don't know figure it out. at least kill the bird, it's annoying." Well, phoenix's are not supposed to be annoying first of all, because they are also called song birds and how the hell am I going to get that height and then come close to a fire breathing bird. I can. It's also a fire bird so I can just use the fire extinguisher, but I doubt it will work, still, I could give it a try. Plus I can find it anywhere.

I go inside a store or maybe it is a house but it looks like a store, nope it's a house. I go to the kitchen, none there I run back and find the storage. I find it easily. It is there. I get it out and then get myself out of the house. I search the sky for the bird. None there. I keep looking after a minute it emerges from a corner. I look at the corner, Zach's standing now and holding a thick wooden stick. And a smile, he would probably be enjoying beating something, then why doesn't he?

The bird takes a hard turn in air and comes back again. Zach readies the stick. But push the fire extinguisher open. It jerks backward, I hold it more tightly and aim it at the bird. No, it only extinguishes fire, not fire birds. Should have thought of that before. It comes back down. I don't use the extinguisher again I just swing it towards the bird, it hits it in the stomach. The bird goes flying backwards, hits the ground and transforms back to the girl, with the red and orange hair. And the evil red eye.

Great.

The girl transforms back to the bird and comes towards us again, Alex only called it annoying not dangerous. It flies right past us then turns from behind but then flies over us again. After that it turns. How many times is it going to do that before it comes back down, this time it flies over us sending jets of flame. Finally the extinguisher came in use. But I don't think it will work again, it's out of gas.

I swing the extinguisher and throw it upwards towards the bird. No, could never trust my luck and more importantly my aim, never could trust that. I would be the worst shot of the decade, probably not but I would be a bad shot.

But even when I don't have anything else I could do there's always two things, one, I can only do once, the other is the most obvious thing, run away, always works.

I could even see Alex's uisage was a little stronger than the werewolf but mostly they seemed like equals, still, Alex was stronger.

Why were they even here. Time to not see the bird and get back to the were wolf and then the set the greatest plan to action, to run away.

I couldn't do that so I couldn't get back to the werewolf without first driving it away.

And I have no need of going to catch it when it comes every other second.

When it comes back down, I jump over it. too early, I land on its back.

Bad idea, really bad idea. now, I really wanted to jump off but as soon as I landed the bird turned back to the girl, and dropped to the ground, ouch. I jumped off, I brushed my shirt with my hands, gross, gross. Bird bacteria. Definitely not fun. This is stupid, I am never going to get over my fear of animals, it's okay as long as no one else knows. I'll have to make it so then. Zach held the girl on the ground.

"Now what do we do?" he asks me. Why does he only ask what to do.

"I don't know. Just bind her something, I don't know." I reply.

I see, Alex he's not in uisage form, he's in human form, but they were wolf is still the werewolf, but it's not moving. For a moment nothing happens. But then Alex walks back. I go there. the werewolf still hasn't moved and she hasn't transformed too. I mean what is it?

"Where's Zach?" Alex asks me. I look at him.

"I don't know, he was there right now." I say looking at the same place where Zach was and now wasn't. after a minute, he comes out of nowhere.

"What was that for?" Zach says, what does he mean, the whole thing, or who knows what. I get my answer a second later. "the whole attack, never leave us alone, will they, if not humans then Aeli and then if not Aeli then the humans will come again, this is so not fair." So he meant everything.

"we're supposed to know everything right" I say sarcastically. They don't say anything at the time, the werewolf transforms back. She has a cut on her lip and a few more wounds, she stared at us for a second then runs in the opposite direction. What was that? this just gets weirder and weirder.

"Where's the other?" Alex asks. I look at Zach. He walks inside the house we already went to. Isn't there someone inside. Or are they just gone. Probably not gone, just didn't hear us. Because I could hear them, and with that noise I don't think they hear us. Zach goes towards a door, the door is burned from the center creating a large hole in it.

"Wood." Zach reasons. What's wood got to do with it. oh yeah, phoenix, fire, wood. Someone comes from behind, the same evil eyed girl. She hasn't gone. Why did she not have to go.

"Why did you attack us?" I ask, stupid, stupid question.

"Why did we attack you? Why do you care you're going to be dead either way. So what's the difference."

"Which ways, this or?"

"the humans or the other Aeli or yourself or you never even know aliens?"

"Aliens." Zach's eyes lit up at the word aliens. "from where?" he asked excitedly.

"Nowhere," she says with a disgusted face.

"yeah others might be after us for a reason but why you?" I ask her. She looks up and down like she's trying to figure out what we are.

"there was no reason and even if there was I wouldn't tell you," she sighs. "point is I am not against you."Zach snickered. "sorry for that. now is it fine?" it wasn't because she still didn't tell me why she had tried to kill us. But it looked like she was telling the truth even though she still looked sullen. but if she was not against us why kill us, I don't ask her this because I know I am not going to get an answer. And the other reason is that I still don't trust her that much with her evil looks she looks creepy.

"You still don't know anything." She says bluntly. Now what is it we don't know. There's a lot of things we don't know but it wasn't like we didn't know anything. I stare at her. I hate her.

"the world you live in is a fake. And none of you are Aeli." That was too unexpected. Now she had made me confused, first no one knows about Aeli and when everyone knows about Aeli they don't even exist what is this. but she's not done explaining, it will take a lot I reckon. "they're not humans, not them." Why doesn't she give a straight answer.

"What are they?" Alex asks her, good thing I don't have to.

"What can they be, they are humans but not the kind you would think of, they're the modified kind. In fact you're not even humans too, neither are they. There are only a few of those left." Now she was really getting me confused, she's just going against what she said a few seconds ago. "the humans you think are humans are humans except they've changed themselves. They could use only ten percent of their brains before, now they have changed to use more of that but as they can think more they feel less. Way less. So I would call them robots in flesh and us, the Aeli? How do you think they increased their brain capacities. They weren't sure which animals had how many capacity, even when they knew that they didn't know which animals could transfer that capacity. So they tried with even those animals with the least bit of capacities. But when they tried that with everyone some people did not get the brain power they got the whole animal,

The Aeli. That's why they kill us but then, not all humans are like that. some are just not born like that some had parents who were not like that. and the new humans they despise humans, I mean normal humans, they think that the normal humans do not think for themselves when they are the ones who don't feel anything. Now, only a few or no humans remain."

she truly made the modified humans sound like robots, but they weren't this much of robots, what about…? I don't know but they are not as much feeling less as she makes them sound or…they are, I haven't really been around people much so I don't know but if I was to say about my aunt and cousin Tracy then I would definitely say they are feeling less and like robots, but they are not robots, and why would humans themselves make themselves so feeling less. No one would do that. or even want that. were there really no humans left? U wasn't an Aeli then I would be human so she would be wrong. but then again how many are there, there's no way to know that.

"How long have they been like that?: I ask her even though I don't want to say anything to her, she wouldn't know this, how does she even know thins much.

"Probably half a century." She replies, why does she know so much, she doesn't know everything does she? There must be something she doesn't know. I will find it. I still hate her.

"so why are you here, working with the humans?" Alex asks. The girl looks taken back by the question.

"No, of course not, are you crazy, wouldn't I be dead then?

Thing is the humans aren't done with the experimenting on themselves, right now they are really bad but they're making it worse. They got till 30-35 percent of themselves working at the same time but they want the whole hundred percent to work at the same time. see where that gets them. Thing is the humans do use the whole percentage but they don't acknowledge it. the rest of their brain was used for memories, feelings, decisions and stuff like that but when they've spread one part of their brain too much that doesn't leave the other part with much space. Imagine humans using the whole brain, it would be disastrous," why doesn't she stop talking it's annoying when someone knows so much that you never knew. But still I will prove that she does not know everything.

"So why are you here?" I repeat the question.

"Hope you like zombies." Oh my god why does she not answer questions! "You should because that's how the humans will be after when they can't use their brains for anything but one thing that will not be their survival skill, they will disappear. So when all of them die, because they will never feel hunger. So they won't feel the need of food and then they won't even know when they would be starving to death and when they won't be so all of them will kill themselves that way and then when that happens the thing they can do would come of use and that will only be knowledge that takes all the place in the head they will doing things to their species again and will be able to bring back the dead and those will be zombies of course humans can't make the heart work again so they would be dead or would they, probably they'll figure that out too but that doesn't matter they will just keep on dying without food, and I know it's not like that right now I'm only talking about when they figure out to use all of their brains." Why doesn't she stop taking? I'm starting to think she is not an Aeli she is again another human with too much knowledge, if she wasn't Aeli, I wouldn't have mistaken her for anything else.

"So why are you here?" I repeat again. I don't know how many times I would have to ask her this to answer.

"I hope they don't even make bullet proof clothes later on but why would they their survival instinct wouldn't even be there but what would matter guns won't kill them they would just not feel pain too. A bullet to the head that's how you kill a zombie except these wouldn't be zombie's they would look just like humans, you were saying something." Now who wouldn't be so mad at her after this to stop themselves from killing that person. But I don't and neither do I ask the question again instead I ask,

"What are you?"

"my sister says I'm the sixth but I'm pretty sure I would fit in the fifth I don't know and the sixth meaning she says there are angels, Aeli, humans, modified humans, demons and then there's me but I really don't believe in her I could easily fit in the second, the third and the fifth," well, she would fit in the fifth with the red eyes and all.

"I've got a feeling you are the sixth kind too." I whisper to Zach. At first I hated him too, I found him as much annoying as her except he wasn't as annoying as this girl. Not even close.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he says exasperated.

"Speaking of her, where is she? Oh I know where she might be, come one I'll tell you the rest on the way." The rest? Oh my god, when is she going to stop it, I was about to say no. but then Zach said, "Sure." Then as he walked to the car he gave me triumphant look. I smile. He was getting back at me for saying that, when we get in the car. She said, " sorry about the roof."

Alex looked at her with a confused face. "Who're you?" he asks her, like he hasn't been hearing her for the past fifteen minutes, that might be an exaggeration. "oh, right," she says with a knowing smile, "I'm Tory." I don't bother telling her my name but Zach and Alex do. I still hate her.

"Where are you even going?" I ask her.

"Uh…." She thought for a moment then said. "I know a place, it's safe," great now she's the one who decides where we stay and where we don't I'm not going to. I cross my arms, lean back and look out the window, who's she to control me. After five minutes she stops. It's at the gas station. Been a while since I went to this place. she gets out.

"now what's so important that we have to stop." I say.

"Relax I won't be long." Yeah right she gets out of the car.

"I'm not going wherever you are so what's the point anyway." She looks back inside the car. "Fine if you want to risk your life then do it." then goes. It's not risking your life going somewhere other than where she wants. I get out of the car. Alex and Zach don't say anything, in fact why do they trust her. I head for the little shop.

There's always something I can get from there, I really was mad at Tory then, this was so not fair and why was I even following her. I wasn't following her I was going with her and why was I doing that. I should not even be doing that. to hell with Zach and Alex if they keep going with her she's going to get us in the worst possible place if not killed. I go through the racks with food. I grab four chocolate bars and stuff them in both my jeans pockets.

After a few more minutes of strolling through the shop I see Tory getting back to the car I go too, I don't take anything else I'm not hungry now. I quickly get in the back.

"If you don't want to go there then we're not going there. fine? But then if something happens it's on you.. you don't even know what's right and what's wrong you do whatever you want without even thinking what will get you in trouble and what won't. you won't even know when you're getting us killed." She speaks too much, a little too much, I would say.

I don't say anything to her.

"Now where do you want me to go?" she asks, finally this was something she said that was short. Bt what matters she'll add something that's longer. I don't say anything to her. I didn't really know where to go I never know where to go but where we end up hopefully it will be better than the place she was going at first. the road is straight ahead so we'll go wherever it takes us, no need for me to tell.

"How about somewhere I want to go it's time I had a choice here, it's always either Tory or you." It's been only a little while with Tory how can it be either Tory or my decision. "How about mars." Mars, yeah right. He can't really come up with a real place, neither can I, since there is no place to go but I am still not going to agree on the place Tory would want to go even if I don't know where or what it is, if it's somewhere Tory would then it's somewhere I would not.

"guys." Alex calls us.

"What?" Tory snaps back rather angrily, okay I did not know she could be angry she wasn't angry for the whole day that I had known her. Possibly less. Alex does not respond. He just puts his head out the window and looks back. Then when Tory orders him to tell what he was about to. He answers.

"You know there's a police car following us." What? I put my head out from the other side. There was a police car, but I don't think it was following us, this was a straight road with no turns it would have possibly be just driving behind us not purposely, but I knew it was wrong because it was gaining speed. And trying to get in front of us there is still a possibility that they are just going fast for another emergency but still this is not it. I know it's not. The only way I know this is because there were supposed to be speed cameras on this road. I don't know if we were too fast. I don't think we were fast, we weren't I'm sure of that but possibly they would have thought that we weren't old enough to drive except Tory looked eighteen. If it was me or Zach driving that would have been a problem, this might be too because I don't think Tory or Zach have licenses or identification cards.

The police came beside us it's siren wailing. How come we didn't hear that probably because it wasn't turned on before.

"Drive." I tell Tory. I meant for her to drive faster, but because it was me who was the one who said this at least that's what I think the reason was, she instead of trying to get away pulled up.

The police car stood in front of us.

"What is your problem, go!" I say louder this time. she doesn't listen to me. And then she said I was the one getting us killed. The police get out of their car and come over to ours. The police as usual ask for I.D card or license. And the stupid, idiot Tory, instead of making an excuse she just said, "don't have it."

"Where is it?" they ask I sit on the edge of the seat and nudge her from behind.

"Never had one." oh my god she had to say that. they ask her age, she says, "seventeen," so I was wrong about her age but I was close enough. Why did she have to tell the truth about everything, why was she such a saukerl.

"Where do your parents live."

"Nowhere." I tell them from behind he looks at me then gives Tory a question look.

"My parents live in Philadelphia." Told the cop emphasizing on my. It would take swine to figure out what she wants to really say. An besides this was Philadelphia. And she makes it seems as if it's another city other than where we are.

"And yours?" he says looking at all three of us. Zach, Albriech and me. I don't reply.

"They don't have any." Tory replies for all of us, that is so not fair.

"Just get on with it and go away." I tell him, not such a good thing to say, I guess, but no one stays that long.

"you're lucky you're not of age otherwise you would be in really big trouble for killing people." Killing people? Now who did we kill? "for killing the two security guards." He adds. Okay, now why did they take their side if they've been there the only thing they're going to notice is the dead people lying or the fact they were surrounded by hundreds of cages which held human beings oh right no one cares about others anymore.

We wait for five minutes but then follow Tory into the forest,

You know where we found ourselves, in a camp or it seemed more like an orphanage but it wasn't. all the kids who were not wanted by their parents or families. Were sent here and those kids who didn't have families. Then they said it was full year camp with summer holidays for some and for some there weren't. discrimination. Oh and Alex ended up here with us only because he told the cop he was fifteen. And Tory, oh my god I have to bear her again, turns out she was already going here, her parents had sent her here but she manages to sneak out I wonder how that is. Truly not from flying out of here. She isn't even a criminal for killing someone she was just giving the Aeli a ride. Oh and she hasn't done anything, has she? Idiot. Well if the cops knew she was with us before which she wasn't but if somehow they knew she would have ended up where I would love to see her, in jail. She can eat the minds out of the other prisoners. And then they would really be sorry for what they did once they had to hear from her.

I remember Angela she was a way better phoenix than Tory and the worst part is that Tory's sister was here too but I haven't met her I hope she isn't as bad as Tory but something tells me she's worse. from what I heard was that the campers right now, were gone somewhere into the forest that surrounded the camp, it really wasn't a forest it was just a clump of trees surrounding six cabins.

It doesn't take long for all the campers to stop, most of them just sit wherever they are on the ground. They look like all ages from 12 to 16. The camp director or whatever they call him, looks strict. it's so not fair that I have to come here.

"Get up the lot of you." The camp director (C.D) shouted. Okay that was one mad man. I am definitely not going to stay here for long. From what the person who left us here told us, the campers were just gone for a little enjoyable run but by his face I could see how much he hated to be there. it seemed they were forced to go, of course, who would want to run for that long. At least I don't have to stay I just have to find a way to get out of here and then before I know it I'm out.

The campers stood up, all of them groaning. this place sucked why would Tory even stay here when she has the option to run away. But then again was another sign of her madness. Who stays in a place where you're being told what to do, even in every home it's like that, I think it's like that.

"I want this place cleaned up before you step under a roof." I eye Tory, she looks back at me like she's saying, 'it isn't that bad'. She just gets weirder and weirder. The director goes inside. I don't see what's dirty over here, there's just dirt and grass and stuff like that, you can't clean stuff like, how mad is he. I watch the rest. They don't do anything, they just ignore what the instructor just said and go inside, it seems as if the camp director (C.D) had a whole cabin to himself and the rest had five.

How did I end up in this mess. Tory, Tory, Tory it's always because of Tory not much happened but I'll bet if there was something bad that had happened to us it would have been because of Tory.

Speaking of her this place was bad enough. This place is even divided. There are six cabins, one whole cabin for the camp director. Speaking of camp check out the camp name. camp grape wood. Grape don't even grow on wood. This was the worst name anyone in the world could come up with.

And continuing one whole cabin is for the camp director, five cabins (they are really small cabins with space for seven or eight kids in each.) for the kids. This sucked more than anything in the world. I will get back at Tory for this. and in that cabin there were ten kids right now, otherwise there were a total of forty campers.

Who can say that's not a lot of campers in one place. This whole world's crazy. And Alex was sent to the same cabin as Tory's. I hope he survives. It doesn't matter anyway, at least I'm not with Tory. And there's a chance he doesn't even hate her as much as I do, of course I hate her more than anyone else does.

I spent most of the night lying awake. How did I end up here? Who knows how? Why couldn't I be an Aeli and I could easily escape from here.

In the morning. They force everyone to wake up at six. Who wakes up at six? And then there's this stupid uniform. It's a beige shirt and a pant. Outside the clump of trees there's a really tall fence with barbed wires over it.

That day was the first day ever. Not only that week was the worst. That's right. I stayed there for a whole week, doing disgusting and boring and weird and stupid stuff. And above all that Alex liked that place. well, I said I wasn't going to stay here, and I am not. Six days through at night I get up. they even make us cook our own food, why do that when you can get it anywhere you want.

I get up. and wake Zach, I can tell he doesn't like it here, unlike Alex. Zach already knows why I'm calling him. He gets up but he first goes towards Alex's cabin. Why does he need to do that now? Alex won't come anyway. I frown and follow him but I don't go inside I hope he doesn't call Tory too. I'm going to kill him if he does. He won't even if he does then he'll be on his own in escaping it takes two minutes for me to lose my patience and go inside. But they are already out. I thought Alex liked this place. then I must be wrong, imagine someone mad enough to like this place. this is madness.

I walk to the cabin of the camp director who was as bad as he seemed, maybe even worse. he was also very gross, very, very gross. I get in good thing these cabins don't even have locks. I go inside. It's a huge cabin for only one person to live in. but he has a ton of stuff thrown all around. And a really disgusting smell, I might add. Like rotten eggs.

I had seen him use knives which I could use. Whatever I want better do it quick before I go unconscious from the smell. I go to the back. Where he usually kept this stuff hidden from others. Only way I know is that others in this camp have snuck into this cabin millions of times, and they say he never wakes no matter how much noise you make but I'm not going to take any chances from what just a kid said.

I see the knives but I'm not taking them, because I found something else, scissors would work better instead of knives, why did he even keep knives. He also kept a toy black gun with him at all times. Who keeps a toy gun, he could easily keep a real one but no he would keep a toy one which sends the sticky toy plastic darts out of it.

He was a really weird man with a bad smell. I take the scissors and run out as quietly as possible. So he really doesn't wake up. when I get out, Alex puts his hand out like he's wanting the scissors to do it.

"Go get you own." I tell him and go to the fence. Okay I was right too tall to cut the barbed wires from down here and the wire in the fence is just too thick to be cut with huge scissors. The holes between the wires are not big enough to stand on. But it'll have to do. I put on foot a little up from the ground, I hate climbing on wire. I put the other foot in another hole, it tilts, it can't be straight and that is not the most comfortable position to put your feet in. I climb higher until I am at least six feet off the ground it was this high. The I let one hand with the scissors leave the fence. My feet are starting to hurt from being tilted on the wires. I hold on by one hand and reach out to the thin barbed wires from the other I cut one. but how am I supposed to take out as many to at least get through. I slowly move to the side. And cut another end. Then I grab the blade of the scissors and put one of the end of the wires through the one of the holes in the scissors.

And pull on it. it comes slowly as much as it can but the rest does not come with it only came as much as it was bent I cut the edge and release it so a part of the wire falls to the ground. This is harder than I thought.

I cut and pull another bit of the wire. I try to pull it with my hands from the little part where there I do not see any barbs. But no, the little spike s still scratch my hand so I just pull it with the scissors, with it slipping a lot of time.

I get the thirds down.

"Stop throwing it at me, you are deliberately throwing it at me." Alex says from beneath.

"I'm not." Assure him. And throw the fourth away. After looking down. This is bad, I can control it but I am still afraid of heights, I'm not that afraid when I have the whole fence to hold on to. It's worse when there's only something I can stand on and nothing I can hold. But with the fence it's not that bad. I stop after cutting the fifth piece. There's still wire on the other side of the fence but I can't reach it so I just go more higher. This whole fence would be twelve feet. When I reach a place when there is no fence ahead of me. There's only some in front of my feet. And I am bending to keep my hands on the fence too that's the worst. I don't like this part. I hear Alex or Zach climb too. I don't turn to see who for fear of falling.

I quickly cut another piece on the other side. This is the worst thing I have ever done. When Zach or Alex reaches the top I can see It was Zach. He motions me to give the scissors to him. And I do. He cuts the rest in half the time I was. I get on the opposite side. Alex is at the top too. I hate this fence. Couldn't they have at least made the holes a little bigger except these holes aren't to be used for climbing. I slowly go down, this is the best part, going down.

I jump when I am five feet of the ground. Which is only after a few feet of climbing down. My knees bend as soon as I touch the ground and I put my hands on the ground then stand up again.

"Hey, I want to jump too." Zach says he was four feet up now, but he climbed back to the top then jumped. Which was six or seven feet up. he lands on his knees. Alex does not jump he just comes down the normal way.

"Hey. You kids." Someone says from inside. I watch the flash light come nearer. It's the guard who was supposed to be on the other side. Well, looks like he heard us. I don't run away neither do both of them, he's inside we're out he can't do anything about it. We just watch him struggle to run faster, that fat man, he reaches the fence looks up,

"Come back inside this instant." I laugh at his stupidity we didn't go out to come back inside.

"What?" Zach asks smiling. I don't reply, "Why're you laughing?" he says still smiling. I shake my head like it's nothing. I mean how stupid can a person be.

"Are you going to come inside or am I going to have to come out?" he says threatening us.

"out." I say loudly, what had gotten into me, seriously, I could at least keep it down.

"Looks like he can't. too fat to climb." Zach says the guard's face turns stern.

"Guy, I really don't think…" Alex starts but he doesn't finish what he was about to say instead he just shuts up.

"look I really don't want to do this to you kid." The guard says, his back. It's almost as if he's the one not doing anything. When he can't do anything.

"I really don't want to do this to you kid." Zach imitates the guard. In a really big voice. We both start laughing at that.

"what can you do? Tell someone on that little walkie talkie of yours." Zach says with a small laugh.

"Not a bad idea kid." The guard says but I don't think Zach was the one who gave the idea to him, he already had it. He took out the phone type talkie type radio. And alerted someone about us. Like someone's going to come there were no other guards here.

"Guys. I don't" Alex says again but Zach interrupts him from saying something else to the guard I don't catch it, I'm too busy looking to the side. Behind Alex.

There really were more guards, here.

"Run." I tell Zach it takes a moment for him to realize why. There were more flash lights coming towards us and dogs barking constantly.

We sprint through the little woods. Towards the end of it.

I move quickly sending the plants and branches that come at my face, but I still don't slow down neither do I stop, of course I don't do that. why would I do that. Zach slowly gets ahead of me. I give a quick glance behind. There are not only dogs, the guards behind them look weird. What were we even doing standing there. the men, there are three. They look deathly pale and thin like someone who wouldn't have eaten for a lot of days in a row. Weird.

When we get out of the trees, we go into a building, probably a hotel, and lock the door. I look out the window the guard sees me but does not follow. He looks around many times, but still it looks as if he's finding us even when he knows we're here. He just saw us. After a while he just runs back into the trees.

Now what was that. I look at Zach. He hasn't seen him, I don't think he has.

"Did you see them?" Alex ask in a high whisper. I nod in reply. That wasn't what I would normally like to see, but I have and something's going on with them. Then I remember something that Tory said, finally she isn't that much useless.

She said that they weren't going to stop at nothing in their experiments when they have succeeded in one they will do another until they've ruined the whole human and they probably would then do it on themselves and then with everyone so there is no normal human left. She also said that they don't feel anything. And once they had the full access to one of their parts of their brains they would lose access to the rest of it and they would no longer have feelings. And they would no longer have the survival instinct and wouldn't even eat and starve themselves until they die.

"Remember what Tory said?" I tell them rather than ask them.

"Yeah."

"What if it's done and the ones who do this to people they know what the problem would be that they would kill themselves."

"So?"

"So, what if they've found a way and there just waiting to get that way. Then they wouldn't even die." I suggest.

"How is that even possible?" Zach asks.

"When we were there. in that basement building whatever it was," I say. "they took all the Aeli who I had been living with, right, except maybe Astrid." I remember leaving Astrid she would be really pissed at me if we met again but then I shouldn't have left her if I didn't leave her then there was a chance I wouldn't have met Tory and that would have been really good. "So there was an Aeli, Cara, who was a jellyfish." I hadn't known this, but I had heard frog say this to that man.

"So where is she now?" he asks me. I won't even matter if anyone knows where she is if now someone knows a cheat to life. Even if it isn't a good one.

"What am I an encyclopedia of people."

"Encyclopedias don't keep track of people." Zach tells me.

"Whatever." I say annoyed.

"whoever is doing this. hasn't done this on many people judging by out surroundings. But how long till they do and how will they do it." it's not as if I care. I don't but still it's fun finding out stuff secretly. It's like being a spy. I love that feeling when I sneak in somewhere. It's like the feeling that comes to me when I steal something, I love that. but there is a whole lot of things we don't know to do that.

"Want to go?" I ask them. Alex looks at me, he hasn't spoken all this while but he rarely speaks so. He has the look of hopelessness as he asks me.

"Why?" I found that out a long time ago which wasn't that long that Alex was scared of a great many things and when I say great many things I mostly mean anything that can get us in trouble. It's not good to be scared that much even if he doesn't show it.

"I don't know, possibly nothing but it would be fun." I realize it a second later I have said that it would be fun for me maybe even Zach but definitely not Alex but then I remember that even when Alex is afraid of many things, particularly that one thing, he is really good at hiding it, in that building he went and Zach and Astrid did not, even when they wanted to and he did not. But Zach is not mostly like that, he can be annoying but he doesn't really run away from stuff. And Alex only not runs away from it when he's at the foot of it. otherwise, he would never be actually willing to go unless forced to.

"awesome but for what, really? This time it's Zach asks.

"I don't know why do you ask questions so much, you know I don't know why, it really isn't necessary for doing everything with purpose, you know." I say.

"And how is this fun?" Alex asks.

"well, breaking in places is fun." Finally he gets it. "but I don't think it's going to be good," okay, I was wrong he doesn't get it. "but we COULD do something else something more fun." Maybe I was right he does get it. "Which does not include finding this out." nope, he doesn't. well, wasn't going to put up with them only talking and doing nothing in a hotel lobby of who knows which and who knows where. I search around for something. Nothing I go out the door, and see, what there is for us. I would only see this as a street with normal houses or more flats, not houses. With one end of the street going to towards another street with shops and the other going to the small clump of trees. But everyone can find something to do everywhere. There is something we could do. Get in a car go somewhere. That would be the only thought any one could come up with but no, something else, that is the only thing we ever do and then we never know where to go, and also because I don't like cars and driving that much. So something else, I switch between houses until something catches my attention. I run towards it. it's inside a gate of a house, but who cares. It is a thin silver bicycle. What better way of transport. I ride towards the hotel door. I remember riding it once before a little while ago from now. it was with Andie, when she used to go to school with me. But it isn't that we rode to school or rode in school or from it. actually that was her last day of school. It wasn't the last day but she didn't want to go anymore. She never really had any friends. She hated many kids in school but in particular it was one group of kids who always teased her. And that was the whole reason she didn't want to go to school. And of course she hated the leader of the group more than anything.

So when we had come home from that day. She took me somewhere. Unfortunately it was the house of the girl whom she hated.

And you can imagine, why she took me there. but it wasn't something good, and her plan wasn't that good too, since we had to run and since she had a car and we did not have it right then, so we had taken her bicycle and her brother's bicycle to get away and that was the last day Andie had gone to school and being at home. Of course it was hell, when she had to stay at home at all times she couldn't take it, so she went away.

Zach came out. "Seriously?" Alex says like he thought bicycling was some kind of theft, okay not a theft because he wouldn't do that to stealing, but like it was some kind of vegetables and he couldn't believe I was eating them, yeah that's it except that vegetables are very under graded they are not as bad as poison. Like the people act, they hate them just because they are supposed to hate them,

"isn't that bit of childish." Alex says.

"And you're an old man now aren't you." Zach says running randomly, what was he doing, okay he wasn't running randomly, he gone down the whole street, I would say he was on the end of it. before he finally went into a house and got another bicycle it was blue and it had a thick metal frame. Not many people keep the bicycles out in the open. Found two on one street. Alex sighed. Not all people even have bicycles. I got off the bicycle. Alex would never go to steal from someone. Yeah, I know what you're thinking now, he can easily kill people but he would never steal from people.

I go inside the house. it takes me about three houses before I don't find a bicycle I didn't need that, I got something better; roller blades.

I quickly wear them and go out thank god it was too late for anyone to be awake. As soon as Alex sees me he gets on the bike. And he's okay with other people stealing for him, I will never understand him. I have rollerblading before too. There's not a thing that Andie and I had left.

Of course when you can do everything why leave anything.

I go forward, I wasn't as fast as their bicycles but I was fast enough o keep up with them not going that fast. but then I had enough, they were more tiring I should have just gotten a bicycle. I grab the back of Zach bicycle and he goes faster now, Alex is slow anyway, might be because his cycle is thicker, not made for speed, might be because he's lazy and hasn't ever ridden a bicycle before. But he can catch up. Zach peddles even faster. It's awesome, it's really fun the vibration in my feet. When he's really fast I push myself and leave it. so I go ahead of Zach . a little too fast I might say with the cars, which were not many but I wasn't going on the side either. I keep slowing. That was fun. Zach goes ahead dodging cars on his way. Shouting slowpoke at me as he goes. The more closer we go the more the traffic. I easy. Have to catch up. this is still slow. I look behind me and focus on car coming. It's red one. I ready myself, but the car is too fast and it's back too slippery. I ready myself again for another car. This one is black and sleek with a spoiler. Makes it easier for me. I bend my knees and extend my arms a little. As the cars go by I can feel the smooth metal quickly going away. Until my hands catches on the spoiler I grab with both hands. Too much vibration, too much vibration. In no time I'm ahead of Zach and I was already in front of Alex, he was really slow. This vibration is too much,

"who's the slow poke now." I say as I pass Zach. The car in front of me stops suddenly and I'm thrown forward. On to the car. Ouch. I look up it was a red light where did this come from.

"You alright.?" Zach asks stopping besides me.

"Yeah I'm fine," I reply. To rollerblade by hanging to a back of a car is a bad idea. I walk towards the side, putting on foot after the other it's not that easy to walk with skates on.

I take off the skates leaving the shoes on. Zach also parks the bicycle and come on the sidewalk, he throws it rather than parks it.

"That was awesome." I tell him. Though I can still feel the vibrations, they were so much.

In a few minutes Alex catches up with us. He was really slow. But when he sees us he really parks the bicycle, without throwing it and comes. I see the cars moving again with honking horns and changing lanes and stuff that usually happens. I lean against the window of some shop. Probably some cloth shop or whatever it was or grocery shop, I don't know. I could hear the television blaring inside it was louder than normal.

I had never this type of stuff with Andie and back then I thought I had done everything I could, well, that was true since Andie would not have ever done this with me she would have said it was too dangerous. Even when she never said anything like it but I know she would have found something else to do before replying,

I don't know why, I have never asked her to do this but I have got a feeling she would not have done it, even when she did everything that came to our minds why not this, she didn't hold herself back from dangerous things but still I get the feeling she would have said it's too dangerous, I can never know about her for god's sake I didn't even know she was an Aeli.

We just stand there for a few minutes to rest. When there's something strange, there was something going on the television and something else just came in between it. I can tell by the change of voice I immediately go inside the shop. It's closed, of course, it's too late in the night. if it's closed then why is the television turned on. It is closed and no one is in there and it's all the dark except for the television turned on. Why was that probably the person had forgotten to turn it off when it was this loud?

I go to another shop right besides it, it's also closed, but the television inside it is open. How is that.

I go to the shop on the opposite side of the street. It's open but it does not have a television and I thought all small shops have them.

I go to the next shop. It has it and it's open. I give a quick glance behind me before going in. a lot of the shops on the other side of the street. Are closed and their lights turned off but most of them have square lights coming out of them, what was up with that, and every one had the same channel going, but it wasn't a channel I don't think it was, I go inside the shop it has the same thing. Except this place is too loud and the television almost mute. Why do they even keep televisions in shops.

There's the same news reporter but there's no telling which channel it was. Like I would know but still,

I don't catch much of it but I see pretty much of it for me to not understand a word what she said. It was all a mixture like.

"…tonight…cities all over…through waves…twenty four…useful." And that was it. nothing more. I sigh in frustration, why do I even need to listen. It's nothing interesting. I go outside away from all the noise.

"Twenty four hours." Zach says.

"what?" It made no sense, it's like nothing's going on and he just realized, oh, there are twenty four hours in a day.

"Twenty four hours till they or we do something stupid. That's what she said, twenty four hours until the rest stay like this." I don't get him and I don't ask, I'm going to limit my curiosity for a while, it gets annoying when I want to know everything and I also want to not to want to know everything. If you get it.

"So what do you want to do?" I ask him.

"I don't WANT to do anything." Of course he doesn't I don't want to DO anything too.

"I want to go back to that underground lair, how about it?" Alex says, now what has gotten into him. He wasn't like that he seemed weird right now like not what he really is. He really is the one who rarely ever speaks much less have an idea or you can even forget agreeing on one but he was different right now.

Zach and I switched glances. There was no point in going there. but if that place is empty then it would be pretty cool and if it's not I would finally know what the hell they are doing whoever they are. So either way no harm would be done. Why not?

"Sure."

It would be more than an hour or I don't know I never know ways to stuff so Zach drove because Alex didn't do anything and the funny thing is even he didn't know where it was. He said he knew but you should have seen the places he went and even when I never can know the ways to place I'm pretty sure those [place did not come in the way because they were too far from the path.

But in the end I decided even I could navigate better than him.

"that's enough. Get aside." I tell him.

"Why we're almost there." he complains, almost there? right.

" yeah right. We're in the middle of nowhere, it may be somewhere but it's nowhere we were going. Get aside." I reply.

""No we're not. I know where we're going. We've gone half the way." Took us hours to get only half the way and why do I feel it wasn't even a little bit of the way that he was going in the completely different direction, like we started with Trenton. Or maybe closer. Wanted to go somewhere in Philadelphia and ended up on new York or Manhattan I don't it could be one of that it felt like that. so after a long time of trying to make him admit I fail, only because we did end up in the right place. that is so not fair. That took hours when it was probably an hour away. At least I knew that. when we went down. The front door was open. They must be expecting someone. We climb down the stairs. The whole place is empty. Awesome! So Alex wasn't wrong to come here.

But I still don't get what we are supposed to do here that he wanted to come here.

"Echo?" Zach tries. His voice echoes back. "Just testing." He says lower this time.

"We could use this for so many things, THIS IS AWESOME." As soon as he said the last word the ground began to rumble.

"What did you do?" Alex says accusingly,

"Nothing, I didn't do anything." It was like an earthquake big enough for us to actually lose our balance.

It takes a whole ten minutes for the place to stop shaking.

"Let's just get out of here." I tell them. We go out. the whole place seems normal people moving around.

"no even seems to be affected." I say."Yikes."

"Jinkies." Zach said.

"Jeepers." Alex added. What were they freaking Wilma and Daphne from Scooby doo.

"Jeepers that rhymes with creepers. That reminds me of mine craft." Zach says. I had heard of the name mine craft but I had never played the game, I had no source to play from. So I really didn't know what was in there other than that it was a game and you had to build stuff in it. like it mattered if I hadn't played a really famous game.

"dude mine craft?" he says looking at me.

"Never played, never cared, still don't." I replied.

"You do not just live your life without playing mine craft, it's the most awesome game ever created." I doubt that but who cares if a game is so awesome. Well, if there was an freaking awesome land that had not been discovered which had elves, dwarves, dragons and to make it realistic and to ruin the land a little I'll add the humans. Then anyone is allowed to say that you do not live without going to this land and ride a dragon at least once, that would be pure awesomeness. Riding a dragon. There's also a huge chance that I would shit thousands of feet above the ground. there being that high, but who cares it's a onetime chance. "I spent hours and hours and even more hours than that playing that thing, but most of those hours were to make myself a huge fortress. Unfortunately it got flooded with lava and when I poured water to finish the lava it got flooded with even more water than there was the lava and when I tried to finish that with fire, the house burned and all that credit goes to my intelligence since some of the blocks I used to make the fortress were nuclear reactors and most of the fortress got blown up. so to sum it up I watched my own fortress, to which I spent days making, intoxicated, flooded and burned. I had to start over." He went on and on about that stupid game but I do not think I would hate it because what he says of it I get to create anything I want. But still, I am not going to waste my time. when I can do nothing instead.

To my bad fortune or luck. This went on for a week. Really. He even made me play it, I liked the game but I didn't want to show him he was right so I kept on the act of not liking it. you're definitely not human then, he would say, what's inhuman about not wanting to admit on liking a game. How we got hold of a device we could play on, we've got our ways. Some which are not agreeable by one third of the people (including me) in this car. That is, Alex.

We travelled west for the day. Or at least I think it was west because the only thing opposite to the ocean or sea or whatever is the west if you follow the ocean or sea then you go north or south but this way I am pretty sure it was the west. Forget about directions I don't like talking about them and who the hell cares which direction it was. So let's just forget that and move one.

So we were heading west. Which does not matter. What does matter is what was different about everything, just kidding that isn't important either, to tell you the truth nothing is really important not reading this, so go ahead and stop it if you believe me but if you believed the same thing before you wouldn't be reading this in the first place. life isn't important enough to live the whole of it. forget that. but this part at least was significant as it marked another stage of the world and my life.

The streets were full of people. Weird people. All of them had hollow eyes and cheeks. Their eyes were red and they had black circles under them like they hadn't slept or eaten for days. And they roamed without destination, like randomly right, turn left, forward, backward, turn around, left then left, that's a complete circle. Like alive zombies because I can tell they're alive.

Where were we the last couple of parts of this decade. This cannot just happen automatically.

And the human apocalypse has begun. They are still human and if you ask me, now the real face of humans has shown and the humans we saw every day before, just wore masks, they were masked people. Their real face has shown, no idea who had this brilliant idea of depriving humans of their costumes. But it seems whoever had that idea also had the idea to not only not allow deprive them of masks, they also deprived them of food and sleep. Well, the humans are doing this to yourself I wonder what happens when they die.

I'd love to see that. but first question, what exactly happened to them. Well, they don't look better in their original form but at least they can use their bodies to do what they think and that's nothing. We don't get out of the car.

"I think a piece of hell accidentally broke and dropped on top of this area, don't you think?" Zach said. Well, looked like it but in the previous world it felt like, the only difference is the appearance. Well, I better stop talking, I think you get it, and I think I should stop comparing the similarities between the two different versions of this city. Okay, now I'm going o stop, this is enough of I think you get it, and I think I should stop comparing the similarities between the two different versions of this city. Okay, now I'm going o stop, this is enough of that.

We drove right past them to somewhere else but everywhere was the same. The good thing about it was we could do anything we wanted where ever we wanted and at any time we wanted without someone chasing us off. But still I wanted to know how this happened and till how long would they stay like this because as far as what they look like I would say they have already been like this for at least a few days, two or three, maybe even four.

There's no telling. Some even looked better than the others, probably would have been like this for less longer than the others.

We drove further for how long I don't know. Might have been very long might have a been a little long but I can tell it was long. It felt with no cars on the street, the whole place empty of any traffic. Never seen something like that. it took this long for us to reach a place without even a car, okay the previous places had some cars parked, some crashed. But this place was completely deserted, almost like a desert with buildings I mean seriously what did the people here use for transport. After a while there were a couple of them that looked like they were not even affected. There were two girls and a boy. They just came and stood in front of the car. Zach hit the brake hard and the for a moment we were thrown forward.

"What in the world are you doing?" I asked him angrily.

"Ask the same thing from them." He replied. From these three people, two of them had guns. I don't think it's allowed for people under twenty one to hold guns. They weren't only under twenty one I would say that the boy was ten and only one of the girls looked above sixteen. As soon as we stopped they came to our car window, I got out, but Zach only lowered the car window.

"You've got to see this." she said like there was something happened to someone somewhere, yeah don't care. Both of them got out. and we followed, she led us just into a storage room. There were different symbols etched on the walls with black paint. I had never seen this, but why was she showing this to us, people don't usually just stop people on the street and show things to them in the storages of different grocery shops, the lights suddenly disappeared and the door closed, I turned the three of them were already gone. I turned the knob and had locked the door from the outside. so people really didn't just ask strangers and show things to strangers like that.

"Great had to trust them." We didn't have to but why we did it, no idea, sometimes we're just crazy kids running around the country doing nothing. We must have been easy to fool.

"It's locked," Alex said turning it again to make sure.

"Hadn't noticed," I said sarcastically. He knew I knew that I had tried.

"Nothing's ever locked, there are a million ways to get out of a locked door we just need to know at least one and we're out." Zach says turning on the lights again. Which thankfully were inside.

"You mean a key."

"No, not a key. Another way. You know just forget it, you'll get it when we're outside." I don't say anything to him and ignored him when he tried to bust the door open. Should have know. I should have known that they just painted I t out just so we could see that something was strange, you don't see those symbols in everyday lives but I should have known the smell of paint that was coming. And also the open paint box in the corner.

I go to the paint box and move it behind it is a drawer. The first one only has a few pages inside, the others also had stuff like that. I opened the first again and looked through what they were all of them were about stock supplies and stuff like that but between all those was a paper that looked like it was folded a million times and then unfolded again. It had all the symbols in it, and above it was written elf language so that also might be Santa Claus's language.

There were all the letters there. it sort of looked like. This. Awesome right. It looks like the girls created this writing. Because it sure doesn't exist. But I'm pretty sure they just might have taken it from the internet to fool everyone, there were symbols over there, no now they're here, oops that was paint. Those little bitches. This sucks. If I ever find them again I'm going to kill them. Literally kill them. But I have to admit they are really good actors.

"Success." Zach shouted. Mostly like Dexter would in Dexter's laboratory. I saw how he opened it. oh god, he just broken it with a fire extinguisher. Yeah right every door has millions of ways to open it, with a key, with breaking it…from the top, from the bottom, from the left, from the right, with a paper clip, with a pin, breaking it's handles, well, he was right there are many ways to open it. who knew.

We got out great there was no car. I went back inside while Zach and Alex just sat there complaining. This was a grocery store. Could also live here with all this food. I take a muffin and start eating it, after I've eaten two muffins and half a packet of biscuits (when I've got nothing to do I eat) Zach comes in slowly followed by Alex.

"Those creatures just tried to kill me!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sure they did." I say. And eat another biscuit, got nothing to do.

"I'm serious. The tried to kill me. That's not good."

"That was after you tried to force their whole hands in their mouths." Alex explains. Whole hands in their mouths that was something worth doing.

"Did it fit?" I ask.

"No they aren't dead I just tried to do it but before I could even get to that person he started rampaging. He probably didn't like it." so one thing's for sure they are not dead they are just acting like humans, god I sound like a nature freaking satyr. At least if they're real, well, there were many things that weren't real, they just came to life, if they gave a human goat DNA then I think there's a great chance of getting a satyr or faun or whatever it's called.

I go outside, the humans, (yup they were still alive unfortunately) gave us murderous glare. When will they die, hopefully soon. I searched around for something.. nothing, I turned to go back inside, there's a full store and no one cares how many things I take from it. I had reached the door when I heard a scream. It wasn't one of terror or something like that, it was like I don't know what am I physiologist to know what it meant. But a few seconds later the scream turned into shouts. It sounded like someone having fun. Zach jogged a little further up the slope, a few seconds later the sound came closer and then a boy emerged from the slope moving a little too fast, he looked like as if he was lying on something whatever it was sent blue flames behind and was just one layer of flat wood with wheels, it went by a little too fast. I sprinted after it. it stopped a couple of yards ahead. I doubt turning was possible with it and I don't think it stopped it smacked into a building, breaking into three pieces. "that was amazing." He shouted.

"that was dangerous," Alex said.

"That was awesome!" Zach interrupted him.

"That was madness." I said just because the others had rated the ride so I should too. And besides aren't we all mad. he looks at us. "Hey, I'm I don't give a shit if you even care to find that out." I don't get him at first but I replay his words in my mind three times to understand what he just said, he had a British accent, a one, that I don't think it's possible to understand. But still this guy was crazy. But then again. Aren't we all.

"Say, I've never seen you before. Have I, or have I not, or have I don't care. Or have just been blindfolded all that time." first I struggled to understand his words, second it won't matter to know what he's said if hasn't even said something that makes sense. He stumbled around. "that was one heck of a ride, it would've been plenty more fun if I had crashed into something harder like tar, it would have hurt less." I stared at him, confused. Was he drunk or was he always like this. "I want to do that again, let's do it again," definitely drunk or possibly just some psycho.

"a group?" Zach asks as if he's having a conversation with someone.

"What do you mean a group?" I ask him even though it was pretty clear to me that he had been asking too.

"I mean, he came from somewhere a place with many people. Possibly somewhere hidden and he's either an Aeli or he's a criminal or both or just psycho enough to hang around them." He explains.

"How do you know all that?" I ask. "Simple. I once told you that I could read faces." Well he did, but I had forgotten all about it. and also I never actually believed him. Why should I? now he had given me reason to.

"Where're you from?" I ask him with caution not to step too close the boy, I still think he is psycho.

"There." he pointed towards the direction he had come. "Care to go, well, even if you didn't I am telling you will not regret it, but you are forbidden to shred it. maybe you don't like it. but still you cannot wipe it." that didn't even make sense, wipe it? I asked him where it was he again pointed in the same direction and said 'there' this was so not good. So I just didn't care.

"I'm going, if you're going to come then you better hurry." I followed the path which that psycho took. Zach quickly caught up, and after a few minutes Alex with that boy following behind us. After a little distance the boy shouted. "there you have it." I winced. Couldn't be more louder could he? I saw where he was looking. It was a building. Larger in width rather than size. There seemed to be really loud noises coming from it. and a lake at the other side of it. the lake was completely black and filled with trash. Didn't look like a nice place to stay. We went inside. It looked even more crowded then it sounded. There were a few who gave stern looks at me, and some suspicious and some, well that might be under spoken a lot of them looked like mean bullies, sort of those who have been on the wanted list their whole life and have just come out of jail, but some just smiled. Nuh uh, never in my nightmares would I stay In a place like this.

I turned to get out. but some one, it was a really huge girl, probably twice my size, not a girl a woman blocked my path, I turned to go around her but one of her big meaty arms came in my way and stopped me, normally I wasn't scared of anything, normally I could run from any one, and if not that handle anyone. But this girl gave me the creeps.

I built up my courage and wrestled myself out of her grasp. "Let me go." I said angrily and made a stern face hoping she gets that I am not scared of her and she cannot do anything to hold me down. But her other arm comes up and grabs me by the collar of my shirt. And swings me back in front of her

"Hey." I protest. The woman laughed. And I realized she was toying with me. I gritted my teeth and stood there. whatever I did was just going to come back to me. I kicked her in the leg. I doubt I could reach any higher. Then stomped on one of her feet. She howled in pain. She reached for me I went through her open legs to the other side and kicked her on her back. She quickly turned I don't think this was affecting her at all. So I just ran towards the exit while I could, everyone was watching now. two others which did not look huge but they looked violent. They blocked the door.

"Stop that." Alex told them. But no one stopped him why me?

The woman got in front of him now but made no attempt to stop him.

"You travel with that freak, he came forward she pushed him back. He transformed into. The uisage and then came at her. She didn't look at all terrified. She transformed into a huge bear, well, what else could that huge female be certainly it couldn't have been something small but this bear was even bigger than her, this bear was so big that if it stood on its two paws it would have to bend to stay standing, but it stood on its four and growled at the uisage. A another boy or man or whatever came to help of course a bear couldn't definitely beat an uisage. The boy got on its back, the uisage or Alex stood on his back legs and galloped towards the wall, some were even stupid enough to cheer him on this wasn't freaking bull riding. The uisage slammed into the wall breaking it whole, ouch, that must have hurt pretty bad.

It went right in the lake sending splashes of water. Everyone went silent. No one emerged from the water for at least ten minutes. That big woman had also transformed back and was watching. I kept watch too. Both of them would be dead by now, but still no would dare go into that filthy water. The water seemed normal, there was no sign of them. But still no one moved. After fifteen minutes. The uisage returned, it could swim and breathe under water? Alex never told us. Never mind, but it's fangs. were bloodied up. god, he was mad. Alex turns back no one moved or said anything as he came ashore. He had eaten the whole human. God, that was disgusting. He came awkwardly towards us and went straight for the exit. I still didn't move. Zach went after him. But I stayed there. god that was disgusting.

After a few minutes I went out if not now, I would be stuck again. And who knows with Zach there with Alex, Alex might hurt him too. He was mad. He was….ughh. I went out. Alex was leaning against the wall of the building on one side and Zach was on the other side, careful to keep his distance. I did not go to Alex I went to Zach. "second time?" he just says, I don't really know what he's talking about but I nod slowly.

"They were supposed to do that. you know?" he says. I give Zach a question look. "the human that keep roaming that we thought were the living dead, they are actually not dead they are living there's no such thing as zombies." I caught the disappointment in his voice he spoke quietly. "they're alive they just don't do anything for themselves, they think as much as they did before but they don't do anything for themselves.

These guys they were all Aeli possibly all the Aeli in the country. The humans those who started all this changing, they've done this on themselves too. You know and then…now, they don't want any of the humans like the way they used to be. So they are also killing less Aeli, they keep Aeli as long as they are helpful sort of like their pets, they keep Aeli as pets and when pets don't listen they throw them away or kill them so these Aeli they were only told to kill any human that they can sense and of course animals have good senses. That human being you." He explained.

"How do you know all this?" I ask him.

"I told you I can read mind's" he said.

"Faces." I correct him, he can definitely not read minds. Well, even if he does read minds I have nothing to worry about he can read my mind as much as he wants there's nothing in it. and plus he can't read them, he would have to prove it so I would believe it but without proof no, he can't.

"Same difference."

"what about Alex, now?" he asks me. well, he won't do anything. I go up to Alex, Zach sighs and follows me behind. He doesn't look at us. It doesn't matter if has the right reason.

"You've got to tell something now." he never told us anything possibly this was the reason.

He doesn't say anything for a while but I keep on staring at him until he would. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but the uisage…I don't know what it does, I told you before it was dangerous for me to be that hideous creature, near any water. It's attracted to it but it doesn't go until it's got a rider…"

"What do you mean?"

"When it gets a rider it goes to the-the…bottom and when the rider drowns it eats the rider."

"You say it as if it's something else and not you when you're it?" Zach came by my side.

"I can't control it like you can't control eating hay when you're a cow."

"Cows eat grass not hay. Horses eat hay." He pointed out. "at least some horses." He mutters quietly enough for only me to hear, he means Alex, well I can't stay with someone who can transform into something, bind you, drown, you and eat you, a lovely creature. It may even be better than butterflies or…cows…. I notice that Zach hasn't really ever transformed into his cow.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Um… let me think…. it was only eating up a human and then you killed those guards. I don't know maybe… if you stopped eating human beings." I said.

"Can't make any promises on that." cannibal Zach mutters. "And Uisages are not deaf neither are Aeli or humans, Zach." Alex said and smiled. I still don't trust him.