The review button is calling your name… It's saying: "Please review or Seth doesn't get a girlfriend" JK…or am I?

In all seriousness, I hope you're enjoying this. And I really want to hear what you think. So please review! Thanks! ~Moore12~

Questions

~Thirteen years ago~

"What are you trying to tell me, Mrs. Morris?" the man sneered, not even trying to hide his rage. "Are you saying that my daughter isn't normal?"

Mrs. Morris looked at him exasperatedly and answered, "No, Mr. O'Neill, I didn't say that. All I said was that Kyra spends most of her time by herself. She doesn't play with the other children at all."

O'Neill returned her stare with a furious glare. He wasn't about to listen to this nobody preschool teacher tell him there was something wrong with his daughter. "Look, Mrs. Morris, I appreciate your concern, but you're wrong. Do you get that?"

He was surprised when Mrs. Morris looked at him sympathetically and asked, "Have you considered hiring a nanny?"

And then he knew what she was suggesting, and he resented her all the more.

Jack

I motioned for everybody to stop because I knew I had to face whatever was out there alone. As usual, Sara picked up on what I was thinking and whispered angrily, "Jack Bruno, I am not about to allow you to go out there alone."

"Fine," I whispered back, making sure to let her know that her reading my mind again had irritated me. And then I turned to Alex and Jimmy and ordered, "Stay here."

With that, Sara and I walked outside. There was nothing there as far as I could tell, but Sara seemed to know something was wrong because she breathed, "Seth!"

"What's wrong?" I asked as I stopped dead. If she knew what was waiting for us, I figured it would be better to know that not know.

Sara didn't answer me, as usual, and instead rushed by me to go around to the side of the house. "Not again!" I exclaimed to nobody in particular.

I quickly caught up to Sara, and, when we turned the corner to go into the backyard, I saw something that almost made me panic. There standing in my perfectly landscaped backyard was a Siphon. And clinging to that Siphon for dear life? Seth. "Darn it, not my lawn!" I groaned as I went to help Seth.

But, before I got there to put a few dents in the darn lawn killer with my baseball bat, the Siphon just fell over. It dropped to the ground and hit with a large crash. Seth, who had jumped off right before it fell, landed on his feet right in front of me and growled, "What word in we do not require your assistance do you not get?"

Ignoring that, I asked, trying not to yell at him for all the good reasons I could think of, "Where did it come from?"

"Space," Seth muttered sarcastically as he knelt down by the Siphons side.

Finally Sara spoke. For awhile there, it was almost like she wasn't even there. "Seth, when did you learn how to do that?"

Her brother only shrugged as he removed a large chip from inside a casing on the Siphon's back. Looking at it for a moment, he pocketed it without saying a word. So he's not even talking to his own sister, I thought, starting to wonder what was wrong with that kid. What could he be hiding?

I knew right away that Sara had been reading my thoughts when she said, "Seth, we must tell them the truth."

Standing up, Seth just glared at her and snarled, "That is not necessary."

"Seth," Sara groaned exasperatedly, "please. We cannot leave them in the dark."

"Oh, yes we can," Seth just laughed as he walked away.

Sara

Sitting at the table with Alex, Jack and Jimmy, I decided it was in our best interest—regardless of what my brother wanted to believe—to tell them the truth. Besides, Seth was not there to stop me so I could do whatever I wanted. Jimmy, who was sitting beside me, had put his hand on my hand. I stopped to read his thoughts for a moment and realized that he only did that because he was worried about me. Humans can be so cute, I could not help but think as I smiled over at him to let him know I noticed his hand there. And then I stopped myself because I could not allow my feelings to cloud my judgment.

"Okay, Sara, what did you want to tell us?" Jack asked as he looked at me with a concerned expression on his face.

Clearing my throat to prepare myself for our long story, I wondered what Seth would think about me going behind his back like this. For some reason, I did not really care about his feelings. "Jack Bruno, you were right to believe there is far more to our story this time than last time. And I apologize for my brother's behavior. He is just…he is just under a lot of stress."

Alex—a very concerned look on her face—cut me off and questioned, "What's bothering him so much? Is he alright?"

I could not really find the right words to explain what was wrong with my brother so I did my best. It was all I could do. I continued, trying to emphasize that what I was saying was vitally important, "Before we left on our mission, one of the elders received a sign. Now, on our planet, the elders are greatly respected and their words are thought of as being the truth regardless of what they are truly saying. This elder claimed to have received a sign that foretells this mission ending in death…What was worse was that, when she saw Seth and I, she collapsed and started screaming, 'Five will go in to save one and only five will come out! Blood will be shed, and a life will be lost!'"

When I paused, it was Jimmy who asked the question I had been dreading. "You don't actually believe that, do you?" he asked as he squeezed my hand tighter. I could almost feel my face turning red when he did that.

"Of course not," I answered brusquely, hoping to not be asked any more questions. And then I continued, ready to explain my brother's behavior, "However, Seth does. Seth has always been…rather superstitious. I do not understand why, but he is."

Both Jack and Alex looked extremely worried, but Jimmy did not anymore. He smiled at me and exclaimed, "Your brother's just being stupid. You're right not to believe any of that junk."

Suddenly Jack muttered, clearly not speaking to anybody in particular, "Can't these kids stay out of trouble?"

No, I thought sadly. Trouble just always seems to find us wherever we go…

Kyra

"Well, what do ya think of that?" Dan asked as we walked down the hallway. I was on my way to a meeting to determine a date for termination of the subject "Nick."

"What do I think of what?" I teased as I already knew what he was asking me about.

But he surprised me. I thought he was going to ask me about terminating "Nick" but instead he clarified, "What do ya think 'bout yer diddy lettin' us use force on 'em aliens?"

Shoot, I thought bitterly. I really didn't want to talk about that. Still, I couldn't leave him hanging, so I replied shortly, "Sometimes you just have to do things that don't seem right to fulfill Washington's wishes."

Dan looked down at me, his blue eyes filled with sadness, and muttered sorely, "I thought ya was different."

What? I thought, shock shooting through me. He thought I was "different"—what was that supposed to mean? I didn't answer because I really didn't want to have that conversation, and we walked the rest of the way to the conference room in silence.

When we got there, I ordered Dan to wait outside even though I normally allowed him to come into the room with me. He muttered something under his breath that I didn't catch, but I didn't care to figure out what was bothering him. I had more important things to worry about, after all. "Kyra!" a scientist named Dr. Wheeler who had literally just received his doctorate greeted me sarcastically. "It's so kind of you to show up on time for a change!"

Ignoring him—because I knew why he had a problem with him—I sat down and said to my friend, a younger scientist just starting out like me named Mike, "What's up?"

That was when I heard a commotion coming from outside. I went to look out the window, and I saw something that nearly tore my heart in two. "Dan," I breathed as I rushed towards the door, only to be grabbed and nearly thrown into a corner by Dr. Wheeler. "No!"

Alex

"So, what do you think about all that?" I asked Jack after Jimmy left with Sara to go show her something. I didn't catch what he wanted to show her, but I was glad he was at least opening up to someone even if it was someone who wouldn't be staying here forever.

Sighing deeply, Jack replied, "I think Seth's hiding something that Sara didn't mention."

"What do you mean?" I exclaimed, trying to figure out what exactly he was implying. "Sara told us everything already. I bet he's just worried about us."

As he shook his head slowly, Jack said softly, "Alex, he disarmed a Siphon. Since when could he do that?"

"So? He learned something new when he went home. What do you want me to tell you, Jack?"

For a moment, Jack didn't reply. Finally, he muttered, sounding rather defeated, "Alright, Alex, I guess you're right. I just don't like the sound of all this…"

I had to agree with him. If the prophecy Sara had told us about was, in fact, going to come true, somebody was going to die. That was when I suggested something I never thought I would. "Maybe we should just do what Seth told us to. You know, drop them and get out?"

"I didn't abandon them last time; I'm not going to abandon them this time. End of discussion." Jack answered stubbornly. I knew right then that there was no turning back…

~Twenty years ago~

He was 16 years old, and he was suddenly alone in the world. Well, in a way that wasn't fair, he had always been alone in the world. But now, the reality of his situation was really sinking in, and he had to wonder where his life was going to take him.

He needed to get away—get away from everything and find a new life for himself. Because he was alone in the world and he needed to take care of himself. So, he left everything behind—left behind the foster homes and the other foster children he had to stay with—and ran.

It was all he could do, after all. He had been abandoned…