DISCLAIMER: The Pretender and it's characters don't belong to me, and I sure as hell ain't making money from all this. If I did, I might have more than one buck on my bank account.
NOTES: This is a sequel to 'the Alternative', but beware, I wrote the last one a year ago, so I'm a bit rusty. Also, I have no idea what kind of weather it is in Seattle, but who cares.
SUMMARY: The story about the young Pretender continues, along with the search for Jarod. Are they getting closer to capturing their lost Pretender?
FEEDBACK: So it has recently been brought to my attention that someone liked those two stories. As requested, a sequel, All I'm asking for is R/R.
A Chance for Freedom
by EdenAdvance
I'm back in my cell, preparing for a SIM I'm supposed to perform in little over five minutes. I glance once more at the file they gave me three days ago, a day I remember very well. The day that I betrayed Jarod by agreeing to help the Center in his retrieval.
By now, I know the contents of his file, having completely studied it. I don't want to fail the Center; afraid for the punishment that follows failure. I look at the small clock hanging on an otherwise empty wall. I smile a little, in the last three days I could've worked on an escape plan instead of searching Jarod. I know, deep inside, that any escape I would've attempted would've been in vain; since my last escape not so long ago, they're keeping tabs on me more than ever. They learned from the last escape were another flaw in their security was. The only results of my escapes were in their favor.
I look in the direction of the door when I hear footsteps approaching. Only seconds later, the door opens to reveal three sweepers, there to bring me to the SIM-lab. Sydney is with them, for which I'm glad. Sometimes I feel like I can trust him, trust him to protect me from harm.
This time, I cooperate and walk freely to my destination, where Broots and Miss Parker are waiting for me. Waiting until I find Jarod for them, so they can lock him up again, like some caged animal. As I enter the lab, I notice Mr. Raines and Lyle hanging back in a far corner, keeping out of sight.
Sighing, I sit down on a chair, placed in the center of the room. I try to concentrate on the task ahead, trying to block out the voice in the back of my head, telling me not to go through with it, to lie to the Center. I close my eyes, in order to focus better. The information from Jarods file flows through mind, and I feel myself slipping into my role.
I don't remember much when I do a SIM, remembering only feeling, impressions, but no actual details. When I'm finished, I look up, opening my eyes. It takes a few seconds for my eyes to focus on a person, and when they do, I see the anxious faces of Miss Parker and Lyle, waiting for my results.
With a shaky voice, I give them their answer. "Seattle... he's in Seattle."
As I see the look on their faces, the voice in the back of my head is back. It's now or never.
"I can't give you a precise location, I'd need to be there to be sure." I speak, hoping they will believe me.
My hope is nearly crushed when I see the doubt on their faces. From behind me, Sydney moves closer to stand behind me.
"Sarah's right. Jarod is a pretender, like her, but he's more skilled at hiding out. If she was in the area, she could be of more help for us." He spoke.
I feel my hope grow again: Sydney is on my side. At least, I think he is. With him, you can never be sure. When I look back at Miss Parker and Lyle, I see them nod their approval, and I nearly smile. Nearly, because I don't want them to suspect anything.
My first image of the outside in years: a blue sky, with hardly any cloud in sight. I gaze up at the sky for a few minutes, until I'm pushed forward into a car by a sweeper. As a kid, I always wanted a dog. From the moment when I found out about the four-legged animal, I knew I wanted one. But I never remember requesting it in the form of a bulky sweeper.
Inside the car, I give some directions of things I remember vaguely from my SIM. A construction terrain, large apartments on either side. So far, it is the truth, and in my mind, I say a small prayer, hoping Jarod is prepared to run again. So far, everything is going right, except I still haven't figured out the rest of my plan, or at least, what someone would call a plan. I got myself outside, but I still need to solve the problem with the sweeper that's tagging me. I sigh, I'll just have to make it up as I go and hope for the best.
When we stop again, I'm pushed out with force; the sweeper isn't in such a good mood. I look at Miss Parker as she follows me out of the car.
"Okay, you're on the site, now tell us where Jarod is. If you've been fooling us, you're going straight back to that cell of yours, got it?" she says, looming over me. For my fourteen years, I'm small for my age, not to mention too thin. I nod to her in return, answering her.
Looking around, I slowly close my eyes again, pretending to do a SIM. A bright side to being a pretender; you can pretend to cooperate, and they won't suspect a thing. Opening one eye slightly, I look at my surroundings, searching a place to disappear. Suddenly I notice a familiar figure... Jarod. He's talking with another person, and I'm torn between yelling to him to run or act as if I haven't seen him. I make my decision when I hear one of the sweepers yelling that they've spotted him. When I open my eyes completely again, only my personal sweeper has remained at my side, making sure I don't make a run for it.
When I glance over my shoulder again at the sweeper, I see him distracted, looking in the direction the others went in. I follow his gaze; Jarod ran into a nearby crowd, disappearing.
"It's really now or never," I say to myself, and ram my elbow in the sweepers gut as hard as I can. Then, not checking back to see if he's immobilized, I make a run for it. Ahead of me, I can see a few abandoned buildings coming closer, and I know where I'm headed for. Behind me, I hear the sweeper yelling, maybe at the others, maybe at me. Just a few meters until I reach safety, and I'm telling myself that I can make it, that I'm free. A second later, I hear a gun being fired, and I stumble, an unknown force pushing me ahead.
I fly through an already broken door and into a solid wall. Shaking my head, to clear it up, I struggle to get to my feet. A searing pain goes through my shoulder; a bullet hit me. The rush of adrenaline makes sure that I'm not feeling too much pain, but I know it won't last. I need to run again, to disappear, like Jarod did a few years ago. It's my chance for freedom... I'm taking it...
PS: Cookies come in very handy when bribing me for more fic. Trust me, it works.