Okay, so I think I may make a sequel, depending on how many frequent reviewers I have and if I'm able to come up with another plot.

I don't own Race to Witch Mountain

Chapter Twenty-One: Worry and Fear

(Many months ago)

(Jack Point of View)

Jack was nervous. Seth and Sara's parents Emily and Jared would be arriving soon and he wasn't sure how he'd face them after he'd made the mistake he made. Seth and Sara were his responsibility and he'd lost them, more than likely to Henry Burke. Who knows what that man could be doing to them? 'It's all my fault. It's all my fault,' he thought, bitter towards himself from what had happened. 'I should have been there to defend them and I wasn't. Seth and Sara must hate me now.'

He was standing outside of his house when Harlan, who was inside, (who had agreed to help them find the kids) let out a gasp. He pointed one long finger up towards the sky and Jack stiffened, knowing who it was. "They're here," he said aloud, though to no one in particular.

The spaceship levitated and floated down, landing light like a leaf on water. A few minutes later some light came down and the doors opened, revealing a woman with blond hair and blue eyes, thin eyebrows, brownish red lips, and a man that was tall like Seth was, with brown hair, green eyes, and short cut hair. His lips were brown but he was gorgeous. "I guess I know now where Sara and Seth get their good looks," Jack commented and then stepped forward to introduce himself. He was nervous and his hands were shaking as he held them out. The two aliens looked at his hand in confusion, seemingly unaware that they were supposed to shake it. Jack realized that although they had been introduced to earth culture they weren't yet all that familiar with their customs. "Never mind," Jack said and pulled his hands back, nervously putting them in his pocket. "I'm Jack, and this is my house. Come inside, will you?"

The two alien adults were silent as they followed him inside. They had seen Jack and Alex before, and Jack and Alex had seen them, but meeting them in person was quite something else. You just don't get a full impression by looking at a picture, or in their case a hologram.

Jack gestured to Harlan and his wife Alex. "This is my wife, Alex, and my friend Harlan. Harlan's agreed to help us since he has some background in his research that may be able to help us find them."

Jack's grave voice nearly made Emily burst into tears. Jared put his arms around his wife to comfort her and she sobbed into his shoulder. "You said that you think that Henry Burke did this?" he questioned Jack.

Alex nodded. "We know for a surety that he was after Seth and Sara before, and since he was at one point interested in them for whatever reason he wanted them for I'm sure that he has something to do with this."

"What makes you think so?" Jared challenged quietly, almost in a mourning manner. It was like he was wishing that it wasn't true, like he was hiding something. It seemed almost misleading in the way he had said it.

"Because he was stalking them when they came back to earth. He was there when they announced who they were to the public. That and criminals like Burke don't often change. If they want someone then they'll continue to want someone even if they run away."

Jared looked away, his eyes filled with grief. "What are we going to do?" he quietly mourned, silent tears coming from his eyes. "I don't know what to do to get my children back."

"Don't worry," Jack replied. "As I said, we'll do everything in our power to get your children back."

(A few months later)

(Seth Point of View)

Seth went downstairs for breakfast completely docile. As far as he was concerned he was Aaron Seth Burke, son of Mary and Henry Burke, brother of Elizabeth Sara Burke. He knew he was amnesic and he believed it. How could he not? The evidence was right in front of him. And if that evidence were true which Henry and Mary had told him then surely the other things they said were true.

Delicious odors were springing from what Seth assumed was the kitchen. He inhaled in delight, at peace and excited to try the food. He moved towards the kitchen and saw Mary putting some eggs and bacon on a plate. "Mmm," he said allowed, eyeing the plate in envy. He hoped it was his.

Mary looked up when he said this and smiled. "I see you brought your appetite with you. That's good because I've almost finished making up your plate." Seth smiled when he heard this, glad that it was his plate because he was starving and he didn't want to make much longer. But when his stomach let out a growl Aunt Mary caught his gaze. "On the other hand why don't you sit down and start eating? I'll put the rest on your plate when it's finished."

No sooner had Mary said this than Seth raced with speed to the table and sat down. Mary chuckled in amusement and placed the plate in front of him, then placed the utensils on. Seth dug in right away, scarfing everything down. "Whoa," Aunt Mary crooned. "Slow down; it's not a race."

"I'm starving," Seth replied with his mouth full.

Just then the slam of a door was heard and Henry Burke marched in. As he gazed over at the boy wolfing down his eggs and bacon, and some toast that Mary had just put on his plate he chuckled. "I guess my boy is hungry," he muttered more to himself. He sat down on the table next to Seth and asked him, "So how are you today, son?"

"Hungry," Seth replied, his mouth still containing food.

"I can see that," Henry replied. Then he decided to be more direct. "How are you feeling physically, emotionally?"

Seth stopped eating for a moment to analyze himself. "I don't know," he answered slowly, a look of confusion appearing briefly. "I don't really know who I am. I guess I'm still confused. I don't even really know what I'm feeling. I don't understand what I'm feeling."

Henry nodded. "Good to know." Then he brought out a rather large newspaper and began reading it.

When Seth had finished eating he began watching his mother, a pleading look in his eyes. He did this for some time and Mary didn't seem to notice. However when she did she asked, "What is it, honey?"

"Can I have some more food?" he begged, the innocent pleading look still in his eyes.

An amused smile spread across her face. "Well of course!" she responded and took his plate from him. More eggs were scooped onto it and some bread was put in the toaster. She set the plate in front of him and the boy began eating again, seeming as though he was famished.

Henry put down his newspaper briefly to watch him. "How hungry are you?" he asked the boy out of pure curiosity.

"Starving," Seth responded.

"Hmm," Henry replied, deep in thought.

The toast popped up and Mary placed it on his plate. He finished one piece in two bites by cramming everything in his mouth, chewing quickly then swallowing. "Whoa!" Mary replied. "Remember what I said about manners, Aaron?"

Seth gave her a confused look and Mary turned away. "Right, the amnesia."

After that the boy slowed down and took his time eating. One thing was for sure, he felt as if he were malnourished.

When breakfast was done Seth got up. "I'm going back to my room," he said.

Henry looked up at him, a confused expression on his face. "Don't you want to stay downstairs with us?" he asked in a pleading manner.

Seth shook his head. "I'm tired," was all he said before going back upstairs. When he reached his room he curled on his bed under the covers, sighing in content as his mind drifted off to sleep.

(Henry Point of View)

Henry came in later to find Seth fast asleep. He smiled to himself. 'All looks well,' he thought. He sighed then went back downstairs to find Mary doing the dishes. "How are they?" Mary asked, not looking up from the work she was doing. Henry knew that she could do all of a restaurant's dishes in less than ten minutes by hand. That's how fast she was.

"They're fine," Henry replied. Then he took her hand, which was scrubbing one of the dishes and tugged slightly getting her attention. "Let's go outside to talk."

Mary narrowed her eyes, seemingly understanding what Henry wanted and why he wanted the privacy where Seth most certainly wouldn't be able to hear and she put down the dishes and wiped her hands dry. After she followed him out the door they walked to the other side of the street, it being built exactly like a neighborhood minus the fact that they were underground. "What is it?" she murmured when they were far enough away to where Seth wouldn't be able to hear any conversation.

There was a pause before Henry voiced his thoughts. "All seems to be going well so far but we'll need some time to analyze if this is true."

Mary nodded. "From what I've observed he hasn't suspected anything. He seems perfectly at home."

"Which is good. But we'll still need time to see if they start to remember anything. We've never used the serum before, therefore we don't know the effect it will have on the little aliens. We don't know if the amnesia we'd intended to create is permanent or if it is temporary. And even if it's permanent, that doesn't mean that his subconscious isn't fighting this and trying to tell the boy what really happened."

"I thought you said that the serum was supposed to affect his subconscious as well?" Mary asked in concern, her eyes widening as if it were horrific that the children could remember the past.

Henry winced. "It's supposed to, but whether or not it will is another thing."

"Is there any chance that they could remember?"

"Let's hope not."

"And we're sure that nothing we say or do will help to jog their memory and thus make them remember even the slightest?"

"Let's hope not."

Mary sighed. "Sometimes things have to be so complicated. It's a pity that they didn't accept us from the start."

Henry nodded. "For now on we'll have to be careful of them."

Mary paced around the corner of the block for a few minutes, seemingly agitated. "And what about our daughter?" she finally asked. "Elizabeth?"

Henry shook his head. "She hasn't seemed to remember everything, and she seems to believe us, but I want her to spend more time over there. I don't want to reintroduce her to Aaron yet. We both know that they're more prone to trouble when they're together for some reason."

The woman seemed stressed and as she leaned against a pole for support she asked, "When will you bring our daughter home?"

Henry stepped forward. "When the time is right I'll bring her home, I promise."

"And how much longer will that be?" she asked, her eyes piercing.

"I don't know," Henry admitted weakly. "I have to wait and see how she responds. I want to be absolutely sure before I put her in a circumstance that may try her, such as bringing her home."

"And will you ever be absolutely sure?"

The depressing situation seemed to weigh down on both of them. "I don't know if I'll ever be," Henry admitted. "But only time will tell."

"This means that eventually you'll have to try her anyway and bring her home."

"Yes," Henry replied, though he didn't look to eager for that. He seemed as if he'd rather be sure before forcing her into any situation that could make her revert back. Henry put his head in his hands briefly, apparantly stressed, and then he looked up at his wife. "Let's head back."

(Sara Point of View)

Sara was lying on a cot, taking a nap, when she heard the door to the doctor's office open. She stirred awake, and looked to see Henry Burke talking as quietly as possible on the other side of the room to her babysitter, a doctor that was watching her. 'They seemed rather concerned because of the amnesia,' Sara thought, thinking on all her observations. 'Is that why they have a doctor watching me?'

Henry's conversation ended and he walked over to her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Sara shook her head, causing her hair to get rather messy since she was laying her head on a pillow at the time. "I'm confused," Sara told him, a little distress in her voice. "Why can't I remember anything?"

"We don't know," Henry replied sympathetically, getting a chair so that he could sit beside her. "We want to do some tests so that we can figure out why your memories can't come back," then the man frowned. "Or at least attemptto figure out why they haven't come back." He sighed and stroked the hair out of her face gently, trying to comfort her.

Sara turned away. "I wish I could remember," Sara longingly wept, though no tears showed up. "I don't even remember the accident."

"It must have been too traumatic."

"And that can cause one's memories to go away?" She turned back to look at him, searching his eyes, hoping for something that could explain the terrifying reality of why she didn't know anything about herself.

"That could be one cause," Henry solemnly admitted. "There are many things that can cause one to lose her or his memories. Some cause temporary memory loss, others permanent, others could be either or and you just have to wait and see."

"I want to know who I am!" Sara wailed, then began sobbing hysterically, stress seen everywhere, in the way she held herself to the way she acted.

Fear and pain for the girl were in Henry's eyes and he began rubbing her back, hoping that it would calm his daughter some. "I know this is frustrating, but please hold on," Henry confided quietly in her. "We'll figure this out together."

"Why am I here?" Sara asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked, surprise in his eyes, and it was lucky that Sara wasn't facing him for there was worry also.

"Why are the doctor's looking after me?" Sara rephrased, and she turned her head more into the pillow to muffle her sobs.

Henry relaxed some, glad that she wasn't saying that she had remembered something. He remembered the days when she'd had her memory quite clearly. She had asked that same question then.

"You're here," Henry explained the best he could, attempting to find satisfactory words that wouldn't give anything away and wouldn't cause Sara to question him more. "Because I want to make sure you're all right. I'm concerned about what this incident might have done to you."

"And where's my brother?" she asked.

"He's at the house," Henry unwillingly admitted.

Sara turned around. "Why am I not at the house?"

"Because I think the separation would be good for now."

"Why?"

"To help with the healing process."

"And how does that help with the healing process?"

Sara's probing questions were of some concern to Henry. 'I hope she doesn't keep this up. That kind of personality trait is not necessarily good. I need her to accept everything without questioning.' He was careful as he answered her, trying to make the conversation seem as casual as possible. "By separating you two," he replied. "It allows us to observe the two of you individually and to treat you individually. I feel that if we were to keep you two together for treatment it could cause panic and I want you two to be calm."

"And how would that cause us panic?" the girl asked, confusion in her eyes, but not a challenge.

Henry thought on how to word this before he said anything else. "If you two were together," he finally said. "Then I fear that because the both of you were in the accident together and the two of you know that, then by simply seeing each other it might cause the both of you to panic because you share in the confusion and pain. I want to minimize that. I want everything to be calm for the both of you. You both were traumatized, there's no need to cause greater fear in both of you. I want to talk about positive things and more than likely, because you two can relate, you'll talk about your confusion and loss of memory, which is negative and not conducive to a healing environment. That in itself might cause panic."

Henry was relieved that the girl didn't question this. He sighed and began tucking her in. "Get some rest," he urged. "You're still healing; you'll need a lot of rest. I was about to have Seth spend some time downstairs with us, but when I realized he was tired that's when I realized that I'd made a mistake. He showed me that you both need rest. You need to get your energy up."

Sara nodded and curled up under the covers. In a matter of moments she was asleep.

(About two months earlier)

(Jack Point of View)

It had now been about three months since the kids had disappeared. Jack was worried. Sure, Seth and Sara's fan club had kicked in and launched a bunch of protests, but it still didn't get the government to release them. In fact they didn't even admit that they had taken the kids. Emily and Jared had even spoken in front of congress, begging them to release their children.

"They never meant anyone harm," Emily had cried. "Why won't you release them? Please! We're begging you! Please give me my children back! How can you do this to us? They saved your planet! Please!"

But Emily's tears had meant nothing to them. At that moment a senator George Normandy had spoken up. "We're sorry," he said. "But we can't give you what we don't have."

Jared, desperate and outraged, shouted out, "The evidence is against you! Please release our children!"

"We don't have them," the senator stated flatly and the two were dismissed from congress, empty-handed and weeping.

Emily sat on the steps leading up to the building after that, crying, with no one able to comfort her. Jack tried, Alex tried, Harlan tried, County Marshall Anthony tried, Tina the waitress tried, and Jared didn't even try as he was silently grieving himself. The crowds of protestors, who were waiting outside, started murmuring. Finally one spoke up, "Were you successful?"

As neither Emily nor Jared was able to answer from their grief Alex spoke for them. "We were unsuccessful," she announced. She, Harlan, Jack, Anthony, and Tina had been in the meeting with them and had heard every word of what was said. At times they even pitched in. "Even after we let the evidence that pointed to the government being behind this go public, they denied having anything to do with it. And the evidence was very conclusive. There is no way that they weren't behind it in some way or another. We even used the information that we'd miraculously gotten from inside sources, and they still denied it. They won't even tell us where they are."

They'd tried raiding Witch Mountain a week earlier, after getting a surprising leave from the national Supreme Court to do so. But they'd found nothing, in fact they'd discovered that Seth and Sara had never been there. They'd wondered why the Supreme Court had then allowed them to do that and Jack and Alex concluded it was because they wanted to make Jack and Alex look bad. But that had never happened. It had only raised the question of where else the government might be keeping them.

"Perhaps they're being kept in a secret facility that was built specifically for them?" said some.

"Perhaps they killed them," said others.

"Perhaps they dissected and killed them," the others argued back, though this train of thought was so horrific for Emily and Jared that they learned quickly to not listen to rumors. "After all Jack and Alex said that last time they'd tried to study them. Alex suspected herself that they were going to dissect them. Some people, like Erica Roberts, said that's what happens to aliens captured by the government and she said that long before we knew about Seth and Sara."

"Isn't she one of those UFO government conspiracy experts?"

"Yeah, she is!"

'Those poor children,' Jack kept thinking through the months. 'Those poor children. Who knows what could happen to them? They must be so frightened by now. I hope we find them before – before it's too late.' Jack couldn't stand to think of what they could be going through. It was too hurtful to him. One thing was for sure, he wanted the children safely back in their parent's arms.

And so after they weren't successful in finding the kids through raids Jack nowadays resorted to finding more information about the government in hopes that it would give him some way to find them.

Emily and Jared still remained on earth, hoping that they would find their children, but Jack could tell that their hope was failing. He knew that he had to find something, and soon, before it was too late. 'But where to look?' he thought.

Under the various searches on the internet that he had done he'd discovered that Henry Burke was more than likely involved in top secret things for some time. He also discovered that Henry Burke was a doctor, which made his insides turn and made him more afraid for the children. There was no doubt that Henry Burke knew exactly what he was doing to them and exactly the affect it would have on them, and yet he still did it out of pure greed and evil.

For two months he searched and for two months Emily and Jared were kept alive on hope, but finally their hope gave up. They were about to return to their planet and consider their kids dead when Jack found something. Granted, he'd illegally gotten someone to hack government files and steal them and such in order to get it, but he'd found something.

"What is it?" Emily had asked, eager that perhaps they would find their children.

But Jack shook his head, knowing precisely what she and her husband were thinking. "It's not a location," he told them.

"Then what is it?" Jared had demanded, his patience giving away. After all, these were his kids he was talking about!

Jack couldn't bear to show them what he'd found. "I think you need to read it for yourself," he informed them gravely, looking away.

Emily snatched the files out of his hand and took it over to the dining room table to read it, her husband close behind. Immediately she tore through her files to see what Jack was talking about. "I may not have found a location, but I found that they're alive. They're... suffering." There were tears in Jack's eyes as he said this truth. "From what I've been able to skim from what we got from the government, they're using them for horrific purposes."

Emily's eyes were now stuck on a piece of paper, her mouth opened in horror. Jack was immediately concerned that she'd gone into shock. Beside her, Jared was stalk still. "No!" she started sobbing, and the piece of paper dropped. "He wouldn't! He didn't do that to them! NO!" She placed her head on the table and began weeping. "NO!" she grieved.

"I'm sorry," Jack, told her, crying as well.

"Whatever those experiments are that they're describing, they're terrible! I don't want my children turned into some monsters!"

"They've been altering their bodies," Jared replied, toneless, his face pale. "They gave them tails."

"NO!" Emily sobbed again.

Jared turned to Jack. "What now?"

I'm sorry to update so late in the week. You're all probably disappointed in me. So here this chapter is, before the week is over. Currently, it is Friday.

Please, please, please review if you are reading this! I need more reviews for this story. Give me enought frequent reviewers and I may make a sequel to this story!

Read and review, please!