Chapter 10

With in a month we were settled in Alaska. Jag had got a job as a lumber jack. Using the money he earned from it we were able to rent a small house with a garage that I use as a mechanic shop on the weekends to get some extra cash for us.

"Ready, Kid?" He asked me one morning as he grabbed his chainsaw and loaded it in the bed of our pickup.

I shook my head no as I looked around the woods surrounding our house. It was early morning and I could smell the moister in the air. It was going to rain today, just like most days since we got here.

"Ah, you'll be fine." He told me with a smirk on his face as he opened the door to the truck. "It's just nerves."

I scowled at him and exhaled, loudly, through my nose to express how upset I was.

I didn't like this idea. It was risky and I knew it would end badly.

I have been telling him for a week now that it wouldn't end well but he insisted it would be good for me. That I need normalcy in my life, the same way he had work. I wasn't normal. I would never be normal.

I had protested so much to this that I actually coughed up blood and left my throat in agony. It was that incident that lead me to refrain from speaking as much as I could. I thought that if I spoke more often the pain would go away but I was wrong. It was agony to talk and the more I did it the more it hurt. If I needed to, I could make myself speak but if I could avoid it, I did.

Just more proof of how NOT normal I was and how pointless this plan was.

As I climbed into the truck, I couldn't help but think about how screwed I was.

As we pulled away from the house, Jag rolled down his window and let his elbow hang out of the truck, a small smile on his face as the warm, pre-rain, air blew in through the window.

"We did it, Kid." He said as the radio played quietly in the back ground. "We're under the radar, living a normal life."

"Foolish." I said, ignoring the pain in my throat and turning to look out the window.

We were free and we were together. I didn't want to risk that over something stupid like this.

Jag sighed.

"We're off the grid out here." He told me. "The lab would never think to look for us out her. It's the perfect place to start a life. A real life. And who knows, maybe you'll find you like it." He paused. "At least promise me you'll try to give it a shot."

I sighed, silently, and nodded.

I didn't trust this but Jag seamed so excited by the possibility of a normal life. I kept asking my self if it was selfish of me to ask him to continue to sacrifice what he wanted incase of the slim chance the lab could track us here.

I didn't know if I was right or wrong. All I knew was that I was in the truck, being taken to someplace I didn't want to go. I couldn't shake the feeling deep in my gut that this was a mistake.

So as the truck came to a stop I shrunk down in my seat and pushed my sunglasses higher up on my nose to conceal my eyes better.

"You'll be fine, kid." Jag said next to me as I glanced out the window at the building next to us and tried my hardest to sink into my seat and disappear.

Jag sighed.

"Come on, kid." He told me. "There are worse places to be then school."

I, silently, sighed and opened the door.

"I'll see you back at the house." He told me as I climbed out and turned around to grab my bag off the floor of the cab. "I won't be home till late tonight. I'm going for some overtime. You'll have to fly home and fix your self some dinner."

I nodded and turned to face the school in front of me, a small crowd of kids already walking in.

"Just give it a shot." Jag told me. "and I'll see you later."

With that he drove off, leaving me at my new school.

And so, I walked in the front door. Inside there were kids putting things away in their lockers and chatting as they walked to their homerooms.

I walked through the crowds to find the office so I could sign in and find my class. When I found the office, I walked in to find it was small and furnished with cheap furnisher and a dangling florescence light. The fixture was one of the ones that held two cylindrical bulbs. One of the bulbs was flickering and making an annoying sound every time it did, only made worse to me by my enhanced hearing.

There was a small desk at one end of the room with a woman behind it, typing on an old computer. On the desk, next to the computer, was a ceramic eagle and a brass plate that read 'B. Young' With 'Secretary' Written under it. As I crossed the room to her desk, she looked up at me.

"Hello." She told me, giving a warm smile. "Are you the new student?"

I nodded, taking in the room for any possible traps. Nothing about this felt right. I felt like I was going to be ambushed and dragged back to the lab at any moment. What was Jag thinking? They could follow us here and use the public records of a place like this to find us!

Even as I thought this though I remembered the hopeful look in Jag's eyes when he found out I would be able to attend school. I hadn't seen that much genuine hope in his eyes since Jess died. Even when he found the Alaska flyer, he held more trepidation then he did now.

The lady 'B. Young' was still smiling at me.

"Well, our principal, Mr. Quick is waiting for you." She told me, gesturing to a door to her left.

I nodded and walking through the door to Mr. Quick's office. When I was inside, I found myself in a plane office with a book case on the wall on the right that only had enough books to fill two of the five shelves in it. The other three shelves had pictures of people on it. It seamed to be some old family photos and a few newer ones. Across from the door was a nice-looking desk with a name plaque that read 'J. Quick' and a few diplomas framed in back of it. On my left was a large window with what must have been the biggest joke I had seen staring out of it.

Mr. Quick was apparently an overweight old man who looked like he couldn't even out run a turtle. He turned to face me and gave me a gentle smile.

"Hello, Ms. Doe." He said. "Welcome to our school. I'm sure you'll find it enjoyable here."

It took me a second to remember that Jag had let slip we didn't have last names when he was hired so they said it was a thing to call someone Doe if you don't know what their names are. Then when he enrolled me here, he did it under that name.

I nodded to the principal to let him know I was listening.

"Your brother mentioned your history." Quick went on kindly, gesturing for me to sit in one of the two chairs opposite his desk. "I can assure you that all the teachers here are aware of your situation and will act with the up most discretion."

I eyed him suspiciously, but nodded to let him know I heard him.

Where was the catch here? In my experience, most humans aren't this nice. The obvious exception was Jess, but look where that got her.

Quick went on about how great the school was and other reassurances that did nothing to quench my paranoia. Eventually he sent me off to my home room though. As I left, he told me to "Have a good year."

I mentally laughed at that.

A good year? Until a short while ago I was living from hour to hour with no guarantees on even having dinner. A good year? That had to be the biggest joke I ever heard!

I rolled my eyes and went to find my home room.