Picture Of You.
At the Meselecu reservation, taking place in Eddies kitchen was a meeting, of the weird and bizarre.
For Chris especially the next twenty minutes were filled with, an inner turmoil that came of, answers and questions, concerns, fear, anger, resentment, excitement, argument and a score of other emotions and actions both productive,to the main issue at hand and not.
Who was her double….. and how did she come to fall into Nasedo's hands,….. was she a twin….. or a clone,… did Nasedo come about her by chance or was he always aware of her existence and if so, why come for her, when he could've had a version of her that was clearly more manageable and easier to mould into the weapon he wanted .
One thing was for certain though, she had more questions now than ever.
Not that she could afford to dwell on any of them, there was lives at stake, she reminded her self. This was no time for a personal crises.
"So, who is she, why dose she look so much like you, is she another shifter, like Nasedo, or what."having Bones voice one of her theory's, snapped her out of her musing.
"No",this was something she was almost completely sure of, the flashes would warn the others to who he or she really was the second he come into contact with any of them, if they were a shifter.
"I think, who ever made us, made more than one set"
"Your talking about cloning"Bones,said left eyebrow arching up his forehead in disbelief.
"It makes more sense,than anything else i've thought of, i've seen the book in Nasedo's mined, the only way they would know what we'd look like is if, we were designed, but... a DNA sequence can not be conjured out of thin air, more specifically human DNA, and Human DNA, means a human template, the reproduction of humans cells and tissue, the many things that make a body can not be made from scratch," her mined was arguments a mile a minuet conjuring up theories and disregarding them, just as fast, when the pieces dint fit,human templates, it was the only thing that made sense,Chris felt her eyes burn with unexpected anger, and tried to shove the anger down.
Nodding to herself, she continued "Their had to, have been templates, after all 83% of our DNA is human." and dint that just make her feel like shed been hit by a sledge hammer, it, wasn't enough that she was an aline, she was a clone to boot. It was wrong,beyond wrong, and though she'd never cared for normal, their was no such thing after all, only the illusion of what person viewed as normal existed, but this, this was so... bizarre,even by her standards, so far from anyones idea of normal, in the whole planet.
"But even if that's true why make more than you,"Bones followed her conclusion with a question, a little alarm in coming through in his voice.
"you can't guess"she,grinned with dark hummer.
The blank expression on face really should be enough of an answer for her. And apparently Bones thought so to, because he dint respond, just watched her expectedly.
"You should really have payed more attention to the chess games we played,theres a reason you lost every time you know"She teased.
"What's the dam game have to do with anything." he grumbled, in obvious frustration to himself, but she herd him just fine and smiled at him to let know it.
" The dupes, if they do exist,are either the back up plan or we are, should the first set fail, at whatever purpose we were created for."
"Or..."She trailed of in thought.
"Or"
"In chess if you make a threat against one of your opponent's pieces; say, for example, my knight attacks your bishop, and the bishop is loose. you can respond either by moving the bishop or by guarding it. If you guards it, I now have a second offensive focus besides the bishop: the guard itself".
"Huh,"he frowns,eyes going from her and to his drink and to her ageing, scrutinises her for a moment longer before he turns his attention back to his drink, "it, really worries me that your speech made me more light headed, than my drink, dumb it down, please kid, your channelling the character with the pointy ears of the show you love so much again, it really is unfair that a girl that looks like you do,can absorb more information than a super computer. Than again,you are odd in many ways."
Doing her best not to lough, considering the topic they had been discussing, she still couldn't help herself from thinking,odd, a fitting term, she supposed.
She often found over the years that when she opened her pouty pink lips,to sprout out things like that,things that revelled she possessed a brain, and one that would proclaim her genius,at that. People in general, got the same dumyfied look on their faces, that Bones had on his now, so he wasn't the first one to react like that to her.
There was just, something about her, her pretty doe eyes, her long corn-coloured hair, the pouty pink lips of her cupids bow mouth, the golden tan of her skin, that had them instantly coo and fawn all over her. Until they took in the determined and hard look in her eyes, that left them fumbling and on edge around the child who looked like an angel, with eyes to old for her face.
Why it was so hard people to believe that a beautiful blonde girl with model looks could have a mined as intelligent anyone else was beyond her, though, she supposed there were pros to being underestimated, and that's just the way things were.
Humans can't seem to understand her, and she had to admit that, she found it hard to form connections with them too, with the exception of River Dog, Bones and Bones mom, Ellen, who, much to Bones dismay, had taken a real shine to her.
She could admit that, with her always on the move, it was really for the best that, she dint get attached, she dint like to stand still. She was a danger too them, she reminded her self, remembering the last human she got close to, Nasedo, had killed him, but it might have as well been her, realising her thoughts were straying towards a dangerous territory and far from the topic at hand. She shook her self firmly out of them.
"They're decoys, pawns and at the same time fail safes, to fall back on should the original be lost".
"i.e …you",he trailed of comprehension setting in."Your the original".
"I….,i don't know, but, i don't think Nasedo would have tried so hard to mould me when he could have found a more complacent version of me if I wasn't".
"Which, he did,"
"It's too fucking early in the day, for this conversation, not enough alcohol ", he stated, eyes on the almost empty bottle on the table.
"How much like me is she"
"Personalty vies, nothing like you, she's very…. what's the word" he scratched at the side of his chin in thought clicking his fingers and pointing at her with them, before saying", …Preppy,"
"A live barbie, flowery bight coloured dresses, perfectly manicured nails,all around sparkly".
"In the looks department," he continued as he poured a glass of whisky for himself" well…." he looked to River Dog who opened a draw in the table he was standing next to and pulled out a file and hand it to her.
she opened the file, and saw herself, looking, to borrow Bones word,.. preppy"
"As you can see for your self,except for the blue eyes, she's an exact copy, which makes, sense, her being your clone an all."
"Their are pictures of the other three in their to,"he said and in response River Dog pulled out three postcard sized photos from inside pocket of the file.
the first one he hands her is the image of a female, around the same age as her with a … perfect, stunningly gorgeous face, chestnut heir,toffee eyes, and a full mouth, this girl had even her beat in the looks department.
"That's,Isabel Evans"Chris heard River Dog say as she continues to studied the photo, a sense of familiarity going through her, the same one she had gotten when shed seen the metal sketching in Nasedo's mined, she'd seen a sketching of a male too, before Nasedo had reliesed what she'd was doing and pulled himself out of her head.
So she wasn't that surprised when River Dog handed her the second photo and she saw a male with, spiked dark hair, chiselled jaw and hardened brown eyes filled with resentment and pain, that came from being constantly let down, something she could more than relate with.
When River dog finally handed her the photo of max Evans though, she felt something inside herself clench. Her heart? Her lungs? she could swear their was something wrong with her breathing, her hart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to come out of her chest in her panic, she'd think she was having a stroke, if it weren't for the fact that she was to young. But on the other hand she was an alien, anything was possible, she was a living breathing testament of that.
And so was the photograph of a 17 year old male with dark hair and tawny golden, that had featured in her dreams these past few weeks, and god's if that dint start another storm of panicked turmoil brewing in her, she had been hoping, a fool's hope, that it wasn't him, that the man in her dreams with tawny golden eyes, was some fantasy man her teenage hormones had conjured up.
This made things so much more complicated.No, no, no, no, Chris screamed to herself.NO, it, didn't. She thought firmly. She, had a plan, she would stick to it. Yeah, ladies and gentleman denial is not just a river in Egypt, a sardonic voice sung inside her head, she wished it would shut up.
Vision of the future were such a pain, she would pity the girl who's future power she'd unintentionally tapped into, if she weren't so busy pitting herself right now.
Focusing on girl's visions didn't exactly distract her, but it was enough to get her freaking out, under control. She carefully and calmly put the photograph with the other two, without looking at it again.
"So… how much do they know? about themselves? Nasedo? you said they came looking for answers a year ago? what did you tell them?" She tried not to think about anything but the present, as she looked to River dog, for answers to her questions, while avoiding Bones concerned and questioning eyes, who had been watching her closely and silently, she realised.
Before his expression turned to one of fascination. "I'm not sure anyone should be able to change feelings that quickly or ask so many questions in one sentence," he observed.
She ignored him and kept looking at River dog, expectedly. Rilling up Bones was familiar territory, safe, something she was more comfortable with than her thoughts, so she was more than content, when she felt him scowling at her again. it was just to easy, for it not be fun.
"I told them very little,child, only what i promised i would"he said, he too was watching her closely, she was tempted to ask what it was about her that they found so fasting to watch, so intently, so very,very, tempted, she dint think she was ready for the answer though, and so she kept her mouth shut.
"I told them everything I knew about Nesado, how I had not seen him for 40 years, I told them about the murder of Atherton, by Nasedo, I lead them to the drawings in the cave,he had left behind for them, I told them, that someone was after him and that he had to leave in a hurry…...," he paused
" The one with the golden tiger eyes, asked, if anyone else had come looking for answers or seen the cave drawings," her head snapped up at that,panic written all over it," I told him no, i did not mention you, just as i promised you i would not, he seemed….. disappointed, by my answer, though i do not think he himself new why".
"You are keeping something from your vision, from me, young one" he stated knowingly",and it's something, that has you more on edge, than i have ever seen you,".
Her head tipped down at that, refusing to meet his searching gaze.
"what is troubling you"
"There, was a boy, in my vision, who…if,…..when, i do this i will be erasing from existence."she mumbled,woodenly, not once looking up, doing her best to keep, her emotions out of her voice, she continued," I am going to have to live with that, with erasing a boy who could have easily been mine",
"What do you mean, could have been yours" Bones asked his voice a mixture of concern and confusion, while River Dog stayed silent,sharp as ever, probably having already released where she was going with this.
"He would have been my double son,….and Max Evans" she finished voice cracking a little at the end.
When nothing but silence meet her stamen, from either men, she looked up to see grave and pitting expressions on both their faces, something that had her flinching and looking away instantly. She knew that the life of her double's son had been painful, from begging to end, that he had suffered more any of them combined, before being killed at the tender age of fourteen, but she couldn't help but feel she was killing him too.
"Kid…." she heard Bones beginning before, trailing of, clearly not knowing what to say to her.
She heard movement of a chair being pushed backward and someone stand up, she dint look up though until seconds latter she felt a hard and callused hand fall on top of her own and looked up to see River dog, by her side," if he, is truly meant to be, he will be, no matter what changes you make, somethings are constant, believe me", and as she looked at his, wise old eyes, she really wished she could, but she dint.
Pulling her hand from underneath his, she stood up, and turned her back to them" I, don't want to talk about this anymore",a finally in her voice that said the subject was to be dropped.
"What you going to do, I take it you have a plan" Bones said, taking the lead in moving the conversation, in a different direction.
She found herself smiling in gratitude," Of course, I do, my plans have plans",
"Great, what are they"
"Not telling you."
"You don't have a plan do you;"He scowled,and her purpose in life was complete.
"Yeah, I do," she said waited for a moment until he scowled at her even more darkly, before continuing"I'm going to be doing some observing first, then ill let you know".
"Blondes are Satan's besties, i swear, the things they inflict upon the unsuspecting world and me", he grumbled under his breath.
And the laughter she'd been able to contain, up to this moment, finally burst out.
"Satan's bestie, thats me", she managed to get out in-between her laughter.
Until finally she got her self under control,once she settled down from her slap-happy high, she turned towards River Dog, face falling sirius " Im, going to need you to approach them, i cant do it, if their already suspicious of her, they wont believe me,or anything say, i'll be the outsider who's about to wreak their lives,a risk to their safety, if they think I'm Nesado, they'll think I'm a murder, they'll attack before i even get a chance to explain who i am, I'll need you to convince them come out here, convince them to meet you at the bluffs, i'll take it from there."
Nodding at her agreeably, he said"I'll do my best young one, you let me know when."reaching a hand out to pat her softly," stay safe,".
" I will, I'll call you when it's time, though i doubt, it'll be today or tomorrow, like i said,i need to see what's happening first,and that will take more than one day". he nodded at her agin in understanding and with that she watched as he stood up and left the room.
She took a few deep breaths,closed her eyes,reopening them agin before,getting up to leave too. Bones a step behind her, followed her outside
"Kid", he pulls at her elbow lightly, stoping her before she riches her bike, letting him turn her so as to look at him, hearing the seriousness in his voice," I know, caring and sharing, our feelings, isn't our, thing, and you like to keep things to yourself, and i understand, it's drafty out their i know,"Bones sighs. " but you don't gotta do that with me, if you want to talk, I can listen, whenever," he says gruffly
Her owen emotions turning, incredibly mushy and girly, she yanks him to her in a hug" I know Bones, I know", she holds on to him for second longer, to collect herself, before she pulls back.
"She looks him over critically "Your drunk aren't you" she says jokingly, in an attempt to lighten up the serious and overemotional atmosphere that surounds them.
He scowl's at her," very funny, see if ever try and be nice to you again,"
"You nice," snorts",I'd wonder if you'd been taken over by an aliens...or drunk"
" Oh, oh, you know what, just get on the motorised death trap and go, you incredible, pain in my behind",
"At least I'm an incredible pain in your behind, instead of your boring average one", with that she very quickly spun on her heel, blonde locks flying in all directions before she just as quickly made her way towards her motorised death-trap.
Leaving him there gaping at her in the dust.