The feeling was horrible.

It was by far the most pain I'd ever felt, even worse than the first time I felt it. I clutched my leg, watching as the second scar burnt itself into my leg. The scar faintly glowed in the night, lighting up my cold bed sheets as I rocked back and forth, waiting and waiting for the pain to stop. I watched the scar form, growing deeper and deeper in my leg and I noticed faintly a trickle of blood, falling on to my bed and leaving a stain. I wasn't crying, Niomi had encouraged me not to last time. I watched my door, waiting for her to hear my cries of pain.

Right on cue, Niomi burst in through the door. She ran over to me holding a paper towel, and I snatched it up and pressed it up to my calf. She was speaking to me, but I didn't hear. I could only hear the high pitched sting of the scar, and I could only imagine Number Two's last few minutes of life, maybe running from Mogs in his/her last breath. I couldn't stand it. I wasn't next, but I felt scared to death that I soon would be.

I am Number Four.

v

I woke up to food.

It wasn't breakfast food, which was good, because it was 1:25 in the afternoon, according to my analog clock. There was a tray at the bottom of my bed, which held a large chocolate bar and a glass of water. Very appealing. But that was what Niomi had given me the last time I got a new scar, so apparently, chocolate and water helped. Whatever.

"Eat up,"

I turned to look at my door. Niomi leant against the frame, pointing to the chocolate. "We're leaving. At two. I've packed up your suitable clothes with mine, so just pack a bag of whatever stuff you're bringing. Leave the phone and the iPod. Leave the laptop. We're gonna soak those and then burn them, and same with the license plate on the truck. You should get out and say goodbye to your friends."

"What friends," I croaked. Niomi smiled. "But really, Niomi, my iPod? All I'll keep on there is my music." I promised, holding up my pinky.

"Whatever," Niomi motioned to the chocolate. "Eat, drink, and pack. Come on, Four, wake up. Forget about Number Two."

Niomi left and I stood up. I ate two squares of chocolate and sat the rest on my dresser. I grabbed my school bag and shoved in it my small little analog clock and my iPod, followed by the charger and earphones and whatnot. I also took my pendant from my dresser and put it on around my neck.

The pendant is a weird blue, which shines like beach glass. The shape of the pendant was like a half moon, with a small black circular symbol on it signifying my number, Four. The pendant is a little scratched up, but the thing hadn't broke yet. The sides of it were black, from me dropping it so many times, but everything else was still in shape and held together. I tucked it underneath my shirt.

The last thing I grabbed was a birthday card I'd kept on my dresser. It was a special one. It was from one of my only friends ever, Tray. Tray was the nicest guy to me and I wished I didn't have to leave him. He'd even written his own personalized message at the bottom, saying how much he was thankful I was there, because I'd saved his high school freshman year. I smiled just thinking about it.

I stepped outside into the piercing sunlight. With my screaming and pain last night, I hadn't slept for a while, so I was glad I had a chance to, with a most likely long car ride. I threw my backpack in the trunk of the car, which was a topless Jeep Wrangler that we'd bought here in Australia. It was old and the green paint was peeling, but I liked it. It was a fun ride to wherever.

"Hey, Nio!" I waved to Niomi who was across the street, chatting with our across-the-street-neighbors. She gave me a look like go-away, I'm-talking! I jumped up and sat in the trunk, watching her talk. She'd never really liked our neighbors ever before, but this time was different. They were a couple, who had a son my age. His name was Alexander, but I called him Lex. I hung out with him sometimes. Usually at his house, we'd relax and play video games whereas, at my place, we'd camp outside at night. It was fun to have a friend there, like a brother, who I could be totally honest with. Unlike Tray. He was more of a crush, to be totally and un-human-ly honest.

I smiled when I noticed Lex was outside there, too. He waved to me and I gave him a violent gesture with one of my fingers back. He smiled, but then it faded. Looking at him then, I knew something;

I'm going to miss her so much. I guess I'll have to find another girl as chill as her.

I smiled. Lex's mind was always the same.

v

"So, where are we headed, Niomi?" I asked, sitting in the car.

Niomi didn't answer right away. She was eagerly watching the road, checking her mirrors, and thinking.

"New Mexico?" I said before she had answered.

"Stop doing that!" She looked at me, smiling. "It's creepy. I have no privacy."

"Well, it's not like I can read your mind through walls. I'm not that strong with it yet. It's mostly all jumbled, like you're thinking a lot at once. Only a few things are clear, like it's a word-search. It takes patience." I said. "And, by the way, didn't you say the Mogadorian b–?"

"Shh," She looked at me again for a second, and then back at the road. "Quieter, Four. Hey, it's new name time. What do you think?"

I looked out the window. "Maya."

"Okay," Niomi drew out the word, clearly unsure of what to say. I gazed out the window. Life was unusual. I didn't want to say boring, because running from an evil alien race on Earth while developing my own alien powers sounds pretty exciting. Truthfully, it wasn't. It was simply nerve- and mind-racking. I really wanted more Legacies to develop – all I had was weak mind reading and telekinesis, which Niomi hadn't really helped me with yet; we needed some place to practice. All I could pick up were little things, like my iPod or unlocking a door. Those were easier to do, and the smaller the item, I didn't even have to raise my hands to move them. Hopefully, I'd soon be able to even lift up Niomi. I hoped she'd make time to train me, because her time was usually occupied by making our IDs, looking at cell phones, and making sure my pictures weren't on the Internet. We'd never had a problem with a Mogadorian before, luckily, because of how careful Niomi was. I was too – I'd never taken photography classes, told schools to not take my photo, and made sure to not be to vocal or popular, trying to be invisible. To blend in.

The warm wind flowing through the car threw my hair around, and I held it back with my fingers. I watched as we zipped past the sandy surface on either side of us, the sand whipping around behind us. Houses were lined up in the distance as we passed an intersecting road, where two or three cars were parked on the street that I could see. The houses looked dusty, but I knew people lived there. It was Saturday, and in our Australia town, teens were out and running in the sunny woods together, something that we all did for fun. I only ever went with Tray, Lex and some of my other friends. I always wore skinny jeans, because I didn't want people spying my leg (which, at the time, only had one scar on it). One time, when I was relaxing with Lex at home, he saw it. It was ridiculously hot inside, and I couldn't stand it. He saw it right away and asked me what the heck it was. I said a tattoo. He bought it. Right after that, Niomi begged me to leave. I told her no, that Lex was gullible, he wouldn't tell people and I liked it here. Now, getting a second scar was a reason to leave. It meant the Mogs would very soon be looking for me. I hoped Number Three was good at hiding, and was constantly moving, and had their Cêpan. I assumed that some of the Garde had lost their Cêpans, seeing as Niomi told me some Garde could be kidnapped apparently and so could their Cêpans. I hoped that if Mogs took us, I could kill them. Niomi was as killable as humans, so as much as it was her job to protect me, I'd protect her.

I bent down and lifted my pant leg. I traced the blood red outline of my new scar, the circular pattern signifying Number Two. It was unbelievable. I'd thought Number One must've just been a fluke, and the rest of us would be safe and smart. I didn't know that the Mogs had officially started hunting us. I guess, if the pressure was on you for long enough, the Mogs would eventually have to kill you. And that was why I assumed Number One would go quickly, and I was right. I got my first scar when I was only seven years old, and I assumed most of the Garde was that age, too.

Suddenly, I felt a nudge on my shoulder. Whipping around, I saw the backseat was empty except for the sand flinging itself into it. Scared, I turned my whole body around and sat back.

"What?" I heard Niomi, but didn't look away from the backseats. "Someone there?"

"Something touched me."

I heard the car stop. We pulled on to the side of the road and I jumped out. I walked around to the backseat fearlessly and looked around.

I heard Niomi laugh from the front seat. "What?" I shouted. "What happened?"

"It's just a little lizard!"

I ran over to her side of the car. On her hand sat a big red and yellow lizard, its head framed by a lion-like spiky shield of scales. It looked like one of those friendly lizards from a pet store. "He must've hopped in our truck while you were talking," I said, running my finger along its back. It turned to look at me and made a purring noise.

"He likes you," Niomi smiled. "Wanna keep him?"

"Well, whatever. I don't want to get a cage and food. We'll let him out and if he stays, he stays." I mumbled, picking up the little guy and dropping him on my hand. "I'm gonna get in the back and sleep," I said, pointing to the backseat.

I hopped in the Jeep and slammed the door. Luckily, it was a convertible, so Niomi wheeled up the top as we started off again. The car was darker now with its black roof overtop, and I laid on my back with the lizard sitting on my stomach. I could feel it just laying, staying in its position. I soon fell asleep and all my worries were scrambled in my nightmare.