Chapter 1

Lena possessed a vast knowledge of the world, and hated what she knew. Ignorance must be bliss, she thought. After all, the majority of the planet goes about their day peacefully and without incident. God, she envied them so much it hurt.

Her childhood was a secret kept by the members of her family. First they were the Johnsons, then the Smiths, the Clarks, the Jamesons, the Parkers—always generic, never drawing attention. When they came to a new place they entered as the typical family, parents happily married with two girls. In the beginning she mingled with the other children in the neighborhood, but quickly learned it was a pointless endeavor—soon they would be gone like a thief in the night, onward to their next identity.

Lena was five when she first showed the signs, playing in the sprinkler in the backyard with her younger sister Marnie. The sprinkler pattern went awry, spraying everywhere and then nowhere until the hose detached itself completely. The water shifted to ice and then back again. Lena had only a blurred memory of what happened next, some open bags, watching her home get smaller and smaller until it faded into the horizon.

Her father had reared her to always expect the worst, to always keep a strong and stable defense against the rest of the world physically and mentally. "We needed to be strong, agile, discreet, and cunning if we wanted to survive". Lena knew the threat was real. He father had told her the stories countless times. How hundreds of year ago benders and non-benders had lived peacefully; How the Equalist movement initially strived for equal rights but developed into something much darker—thousands of benders massacred. He told his daughters the stories of their ancestors in hiding and warned them of the great danger that was always nipping at their heels. "The Equalists are looking for us girls. Don't be afraid be ready. Be smart". For 17 years they were good at it, but everything has an expiration date.

…

When Lena approached the house from her brief trip to the market she immediately knew something was wrong. Everything was quiet, and her father should have been back by now but she didn't see his car. The front door was unlocked, and it was never unlocked, ever. Calm down, Lena, go through the motions, stay focused, it could all be some sick test, Marnie is always pulling something. First the kitchen, the pantry, then move onto the living room, check the closet, breathe in, light on your feet, breathe out now. She repeated her father's protocol in her head. Nothing looked out of place. On to the hallway.. Oh god.. stay.. Oh god. The lamp was shattered, the wallpaper marred and torn, blood spatter on the floor. Her hand involuntarily rose to cover her mouth. She bit down to suppress a scream. And then it was blurry—broken pictures and a destroyed vanity, her mothers limp body in the corner on the bedroom, so much blood, Marnie was gone. She remembered kneeling down next to her mother's corpse and trying her best to revive her. The healing techniques she had been taught were useless—there wasn't enough water in the world to bring her mother back. Despite knowing the danger, she couldn't leave. She couldn't even bring herself too stand. She sat quietly, eye closed, begging for this all to have been a terrible nightmare.

"Lena" She heard his voice from behind her.

"Dad I.. Mom.. I don't know where Marnie is" she stuttered. Briefcase still in hand her father came toward her and with one arm pulled her away from her mother and turned to face him

"We don't have much time" He wiped the tears from her face; she hadn't even realized she'd been bawling. He swiftly dashed to the closet and grabbed the bags, the dreaded bags.

"No Dad.. we can't.. what about Mom.. what about Marnie"

"Lena," He replied sternly, "Take the bag. Fill it with necessities; pack as lightly as you can. Meet me back here in 10 minutes"

Lena filled the bag with the basics. She was accustomed to her family's disappearing act but this was different. She grabbed a few outfits, the camera, her mother's favorite photo album, the laptop. On her way out of the room she grabbed Marnie's journal and few other precious items for when she saw her sister again. She would see her sister again; it was easier to think that way.

The drive to the airport was tense. Her father handed her all he could scrounge up at a moments notice for her new identity. Lena Maj, 17. Parents dead in a car crash, only child. Graduated early. Moving in with her Aunt and new legal guardian. The files included identification, faux newspaper articles described the car crash in Utah that killed the Maj family. The crash had been brutal; she shed a practice tear for her faux parents and a real one for her mother. She knew she needed to harness these emotions in order to be convincing. Too feeling or too unfeeling would both stand out respectively—balance was key. Next was the address and phone number of Elaine Gellar along with a photo. She was much younger than Lena's father, but resembled him. She seemed happier, her eyes shining the way his once did, back before the disappearing started. Lena couldn't help but resent Elaine for her happiness.

"I don't need to go stay with this "aunt" Dad. What I need to do is help you find the Marnie. Its my fault I was at the store—"

"Lena enough."

"Dad"

"Lena. I will contact you when I can. I promise this is not forever, memorize" He tapped his finger on the files

She studied her new license and other documents creating the memories of the life of the made up Lena Maj until she could rattle off random bits organically. We pulled up to the terminal.

"Details Lena, keep them straight"

"I know"

"Its not forever" He said, he poker face melting just enough for Lena to see the pain.

"Dad—"

"I promise" and he was gone

…

"It's an emergency!" Liam shouted

"Hmm? What darlin'?

"I said, Its an emergency! Laney, you aren't paying attention!"

"I am, hun, I promise. Now what's the big emergency?"

"There's a fire! We have to be safe!"

"Do what you have to do, Fireman Liam"

"Wait here" Liam said as he scurried off to retrieve his necessary firefighter tools. Her eyes followed the rambunctious little 3 yr old. He was so vibrant, so curious, so free. As quickly as he left her he was back—honestly she didn't know how she kept up with the kid.

"Laney come on!" Liam shouted, "You're sitting in the fire Laney! Don't worry I will protect you!"

He buzzed around the room making fire truck noises, and waking his baby sister Tara from her nap.

"Oh Tara baby, shhhh its not worth all those tears" Lena said as she lifted the baby girl from her swing. Tara was almost 3 months old, born a couple months after Lena had joined the family. When Elaine returned to her job as a physical therapist Lena became Liam and Tara's nanny, not that she minded; "Lena Maj" had opted for early graduation so it wasn't like she needed to spend any time at school. College had once been something Lena was aspiring towards, but for now it was on the back burner. She needed to lay as low as possible.

Elaine was a nonbender whose early marriage the "normal" Todd have given her an out from the hectic and dangerous live that accompanied association with the bending gene. Lena hated that she would be disrupting Elaine's safe life; Elaine was free, she had gotten out only to be thrust back into a life of lies and deceit by her estranged niece. Unfortunately, little Liam had beaten Lena to it—he had been exhibiting the early signs of waterbending and Elaine was having difficulty hiding his outburst in public and explaining messes to Todd whose ignorance to bending was the biggest defense against the Equalist anyone could ask for. If Elaine could keep Todd in the dark about her past and the big genetic problem she had passed on to their children, she assumed the Equalist were probably off the trail— and Elaine was a master of manipulation. Pipes burst? That damn plumber. Bathtub overflow? The baby was crying, I just got distracted I'm sorry hunny! Elaine reflexes were sharp and she was very quick-witted, traits she had undoubtedly learned from Lena's father. Nevertheless she greatly appreciated Lena's ability to counteract Liams tantrums. No one in the neighborhood questioned Elaine's explanation as to why Lena had joined. Why wouldn't she take in her only niece? And what a shame it was about the girl's parents.

There hadn't been a single incident since Lena had arrived, and Elaine was certainly nice enough, yet something kept Lena from getting comfortable in her new home. Her father had always told her that settling and comfort led to laziness. She had witnessed first hand the consequences of laziness, and she wasn't about to let that happen again. Not to the Gellars; she wasn't about to plague them with the pain that had ripped apart her own family.

"Laney! LANEY! I saved you, you're safe now"

"Oh my goodness, thank you Fireman Liam! How can I ever repay you?

Liam thought long and hard about her offer, "Hmmmm.. I think.. a fruit snack"

She laughed, somehow amidst everything Liam could always make her laugh.

"Yeah, okay, a fruit snack it is"