Disclaimer: Logan, Original Cindy, Max, Zack, Brin, Lydecker and
Hannah Sr. aren't mine. Hannah Jr., Aren, Kerry, Laila, Dane, Broodus,
and Mike are.
A/N: Sorry for calling Brin, Bren in P1, P2 or P3 of MK, I'm not even sure
which part now, I found out I was calling her the wrong name like a day
after I posted. Also if you ask I'll definitely let you use any of my
characters, not that any of you care.
THE NEXT WEEK BACK AT LOGAN'S IN SEATTLE
Hannah was sprawled in front of the TV but she couldn't
concentrate on the stupid comedy that was playing. She kept playing over
the past few days in her mind.
They had gone over to Cindy's girlfriend's house and from there had
called Logan, then he had immediately called the airport to get them all
tickets to meet him in Boston. They had met Marie and Hannah had liked
the cheerful woman who didn't have a clue what was going on and had
been all sun and light, in deep contrast to Logan who had been worrying
the whole two days they had stayed there. Cindy had flown to Seattle to
check and see if Broodus knew about Logan's place there.
He didn't seem to and so they had all flown back there telling Marie
that Hannah's aunt had died and they needed to go back immediately to
attend to her burial. That plan had almost backfired because Marie had
wanted to come with them to "look after the little dears" in her words.
Hannah had smiled at this and shaken her head sadly as Logan told Marie
firmly that "it wouldn't be a good idea at such a fragile time." What he
should have said was "Sorry we've got a guy trying to kill us and I don't
think you should jump into the middle of it now." but he hadn't and they
had left Marie worried that they wouldn't make it through such a fragile
time.
They had come back and Logan started acting strange, he almost fell
out of his chair at every sudden movement or noise. Hannah started
worrying about him and it was a few days later at dinner (take out, not a
normal Logan thing) that he told them that he was sending them to New
York. When Hannah started exclaiming over all the shopping they could
do Logan just smiled for a moment before cutting her off in the middle of
saying Macy's.
"Actually Hannah honey." He had spoken with a gentle laugh
forming underneath his words. "I didn't mean New York City I meant
another part of New York State. It's a small town called Hornell."
"Do they have a Macy's?" Laila asked quietly in her soft, slanting
voice trying to make everyone smile, it worked. Logan chuckled gently and
smiled cheerfully at Laila, it was the first time in those few days that he had
smiled. Cindy reached across the table and pulled a strand of her golden
brown hair gently laughing at the whole scene.
"Ya'll are so pathetic." Cindy giggled, but she too was smiling
happily.
Logan chuckled again and then started to fill them in on the details
of departure and who they would stay with. They were to leave in two
days at noon and they would be staying with three women, Sarah, Kirstin
and Tricia who had lived there together for five years. Hannah got a
picture of three old women with gray hair and lots of cats and she sighed
wondering what there would be to do.
She settled back in her chair watching the swarm of activity around
her. Aren and Logan were teasing Dane for some reason and Laila was
talking animatedly with Cindy. Hannah stood up quietly and slipped out
of the room unnoticed. She ambled back to her room and lay face down
on her neatly made bed, even though she almost hated to muss it. She
cried for a long time, because she could never have a normal life, because
Logan would never have time to stop worrying and just be with her and
because she didn't even know what to do with her life, she couldn't spend
it hiding. Could she?
A COUPLE DAYS LATER AT THE AIRPORT AGAIN
Hannah looked over at Logan and frowned, she hadn't talked to him
in two days and she wasn't about to start now. Logan pocketed the tickets
and wheeled himself over toward her; she ducked to the other side of Aren
and Laila only leaving Dane on her other side. Logan dropped back to
cross over to her and Hannah slipped across back to the other side putting
Aren on her other side. Logan stopped his chair completely and all the
others but Hannah stopped to wait for him. Hannah kept walking toward
the gate that they were supposed to board at and all of the others stared
after her shocked at her odd behavior. Aren took a quick running, jump
and caught hold of her hand. She tried to wrench it free but he held tight.
"Hannah why won't you talk to him? He's your father!" He
exclaimed.
"Aren I don't want to talk about it."
"But you're going to! Come over here and sit with me." He led her
to a row of chairs that were pushed against a wall of the corridor. He
gently pushed her down toward the chair and she sat gratefully, though
she'd never admit it to him. He stared into her eyes and she pulled her
gaze away from his piecing stare pretending to be angry.
"Tell me Hannah. Why won't you talk to Logan. After all if it hadn't
been for you, one, we'd still be in Manticore and, two, we never would
have found Logan, or anyone else for that matter." He cocked his head to
the side in the exact way that always pissed her off, but at the same time
made her want to kiss him right then and there. She was always torn
when she was with him, after all she loved him desperately but every now
and then she just wanted to smack him. This time she did nothing to make
sure she didn't blow it either way.
"Aren." She was almost whispering. "I just don't think I can ever
get close to him."
"But Hannah he's the whole reason we're here and not at Manticore.
First we escaped just so you could find him and then he sent us away just
so Lydecker wouldn't get us and now he's doing it again. Hannah if you
don't talk to him, you'll be making all of our efforts useless. You have to
talk to him." Aren was pleading now, something he normally didn't do
and it made Hannah smile sadly. She stood quietly and walked over to
where Logan still sat in his wheelchair. She leaned down and threw her
arms around his neck and she whispered furiously into his ear three
words.
"Logan, I'm sorry."
He looked up at her as she pulled away and smiled to show that he
accepted it. Then he started moving again and she jumped out of the way.
Aren slipped his arm around Hannah's waist and Hannah smiled over at
him glad that she had apologized, she felt so much better, and now if she
got killed, or vice versa, Logan wouldn't be mad at her.
They got to the gate and the plane was already boarding for first
class. Without a word Hannah bent down and kissed Logan's cheek. He
didn't say anything; it was enough for both of them to know that they
would under other circumstances. Hannah slipped through the ticket gate
with Aren showing the steward her ticket as she did. They settled
themselves on the plane and got ready for a long trip.
Hannah woke to the sound of the pilot telling them to buckle their
seatbelts, it was just barely twilight and she yawned as she woke from her
catnap. She clipped her belt and watched as everyone around her did the
same. They landed and Hannah was appalled when the lady behind her
spewed all over her, but mostly in her hair. So she walked off the flight
with puke in her hair and fifty dollars in her pocket, the woman had been
appalled too and had given it to her for compensation. Hannah turned
around in circles looking for the three women who they were going to live
with. She tried to spot gray hair or old outfits but she couldn't see a single
one. She jumped about a mile when a cheery and hyper sounding voice
came from behind her.
"You must be Hannah, Aren, Laila and Dane." Hannah spun around
to find a woman in her early thirties or late twenties with copper hair.
"We might be. Who are you?" She asked cautiously.
"I'm Sarah. You'll be staying with me. If you're Hannah." Sarah
added.
"I am, let's go." Hannah replied.
"Oh my God you smell like shit." Chimed another woman with
brown hair that fell to touch the backs of her knees. "I'm Kirstin." She
added as though there had to be some formality however weak. Yet
another woman appeared, this one a few years younger than the others,
probably about twenty one.
"Hey. I'm Tricia, you look like you've got a story to tell. First let's go
to the powder room and I'll try to get some of that out of your hair. K?"
Her voice bounced about but at the same time seemed to roll off her tongue
making her words almost songlike. Hannah gratefully followed after her
while the others went to get the bags.
They all met up fifteen minutes later out front where Kirstin had
already brought the truck around. They all climbed in the back and settled
in for the long drive from Rochester to Hornell.
Hornell was nothing like Hannah had imagined, it was charming,
but extremely small. It was late when they turned onto a road with an old
street sign that Hannah could barely make out though she thought it said,
'East Van Scooter'. There were lots of cute houses along both sides of the
road and neat lawns with flowers and vegetable gardens, it almost looked
pre-pulse if that was possible so long after it had hit. Hannah smiled as
they pulled up in front of a large white house with green shutters, you
could tell there had been additions added to the once small, original
structure and Hannah thought that maybe that was how the people at
Manticore thought of them, just additions to the original structure. She
brought herself back to the present and slung her bag over her shoulder as
they all tromped up to the door where Sarah pulled out a key and with a
few added flares led them into the house. They entered into a teal living
room and Hannah noticed that there were pictures of the three cousins,
when they were young, hanging on a wall above the couch. They were
given a tour of the downstairs, and upstairs and then Sarah surprised the
kids by stopping them at the bottom of the stairs that went up. Sarah
stepped up on the first stair and then preceded to the next, she knocked
and called through.
"Maia, come out and meet our new tenants." She called through the
closed door. There was a shuffling on the other side of the door and then it
was swung open by a fairly short, black girl. The girl's hair frizzed on her
head but she wore it long and held it back with a large clip, her dark
brown eyes wandered over each one of the kids and then she smiled in an
amused way.
"So you're the genetically engineered killers that are going to be
staying with us." She said this sarcastically as though she could care less
that they could snap her neck before she could blink. "Which of you is
Hannah?"
"I am." Hannah announced stepping forward and smiling, she
already liked the girl who was looking her over while still smiling making
Hannah feel like a part of her family.
"You know we're technically cousins, just not by blood." Maia told
her.
"That's neat." Hannah replied.
"Wanna see my room?" Maia asked.
"Sure." Hannah told her enthusiastically, and they disappeared up
the stairs, closing the door behind them.
"Well let's get the rest of you settled in." Kay smiled as she said this.
She'd known that Hannah and Maia would hit it off from what Logan had
told her about Hannah.
TWO MONTHS LATER IN NEW YORK
"You still can't get me!" Hannah yelled back at Maia as she dogged
away from her grabbing hand. They'd been playing tag all day, everyone
but Hannah had been it at least once and Hannah wasn't about to get
caught now. She ducked under the kiddie bars and dashed over to the
boardwalk. She jumped up, not using too much of her advantage, but just
enough to boost her a step ahead, and grabbed hold of the wooden plank
that connected the bridge. She hauled herself up and snuck a peek behind
her as she ran along the bridge toward the stairs that led down to the
monkey bars. Then she realized that she was falling. She put her hands
out as though trying to balance and felt someone take a firm grip and haul
her back up. As she swung up her eyes focused on Kerry who stood in
front of her looking as though she had never been away except for the fact
that her left eye was swollen shut and bruised.
"Hannah who's that?" Asked Maia coming up behind them from the
way Hannah had come. "And what happened to her?"
"I am Kerry and Broodus happened to me." Kerry spoke through
her teeth as though she didn't think it was any of Maia's business.
"come on let's get you back to the house and fix you up with a room and
some ice for that eye. It looks nasty." Laila took over, coming up behind
them and Kerry went with her no questions asked. Hannah and the others
trailed after them. Hannah wanted desperately to ask Aren if they should
trust Kerry, but she knew that he trusted her already. Hannah wondered
how Kerry and her could be half sisters, after all they were barely alike in
any way. When the rest of them arrived Kerry and Laila had already
disappeared inside. They entered the living room to find Kerry talking
cautiously to Kirstin.
"Look Kerry we can't help you if you won't talk to us." Kay informed
her. "Do you know if Broodus followed you?"
"He didn't." Kerry replied.
"How can you be sure of that?" Hannah asked sitting on the arm of
the chair that Kerry was in.
"If he had followed me he wouldn't have waited this long to snatch
me up. I've been 'free' for three weeks." Kerry retorted crossly. "Now can
I get a bed with some clean sheets so that I can get some rest?"
"Of course." Tricia came bustling into the room and reached for
Kerry's hand. Kerry didn't give it to her, just stood up and waited for
Tricia to lead the way. Tricia led her out of the room and Kerry followed.
She was taken to Maia's room.
"I'll just make Maia sleep down on the couch for a night or two and
we'll fix up the computer room for you to sleep in, we're out of real rooms
at the moment." Tricia bubbled while Kerry looked around the dark green
room that she'd be staying in for a night of so. She turned to look at Tricia
as though saying 'you can go now'. Tricia took the hint and left the room
leaving Kerry alone, with the phone.
Kerry crossed to the bed and picked the phone up from the
nightstand. She dialed a number and listened to it ringing for a moment
before it was picked up. A gruff male voice answered and she responded
immediately.
"Broodus, they're at 44 East Van Scooter St. Hornell, New York." She
rattled off the address that she had memorized as soon as she had gotten
there, they had known that the others were in Hornell but they hadn't
known where they were staying, now they did and they could pick them
up easily. She hung up the phone and lay back on the bed waiting for him
to show up.
Hannah Sr. aren't mine. Hannah Jr., Aren, Kerry, Laila, Dane, Broodus,
and Mike are.
A/N: Sorry for calling Brin, Bren in P1, P2 or P3 of MK, I'm not even sure
which part now, I found out I was calling her the wrong name like a day
after I posted. Also if you ask I'll definitely let you use any of my
characters, not that any of you care.
THE NEXT WEEK BACK AT LOGAN'S IN SEATTLE
Hannah was sprawled in front of the TV but she couldn't
concentrate on the stupid comedy that was playing. She kept playing over
the past few days in her mind.
They had gone over to Cindy's girlfriend's house and from there had
called Logan, then he had immediately called the airport to get them all
tickets to meet him in Boston. They had met Marie and Hannah had liked
the cheerful woman who didn't have a clue what was going on and had
been all sun and light, in deep contrast to Logan who had been worrying
the whole two days they had stayed there. Cindy had flown to Seattle to
check and see if Broodus knew about Logan's place there.
He didn't seem to and so they had all flown back there telling Marie
that Hannah's aunt had died and they needed to go back immediately to
attend to her burial. That plan had almost backfired because Marie had
wanted to come with them to "look after the little dears" in her words.
Hannah had smiled at this and shaken her head sadly as Logan told Marie
firmly that "it wouldn't be a good idea at such a fragile time." What he
should have said was "Sorry we've got a guy trying to kill us and I don't
think you should jump into the middle of it now." but he hadn't and they
had left Marie worried that they wouldn't make it through such a fragile
time.
They had come back and Logan started acting strange, he almost fell
out of his chair at every sudden movement or noise. Hannah started
worrying about him and it was a few days later at dinner (take out, not a
normal Logan thing) that he told them that he was sending them to New
York. When Hannah started exclaiming over all the shopping they could
do Logan just smiled for a moment before cutting her off in the middle of
saying Macy's.
"Actually Hannah honey." He had spoken with a gentle laugh
forming underneath his words. "I didn't mean New York City I meant
another part of New York State. It's a small town called Hornell."
"Do they have a Macy's?" Laila asked quietly in her soft, slanting
voice trying to make everyone smile, it worked. Logan chuckled gently and
smiled cheerfully at Laila, it was the first time in those few days that he had
smiled. Cindy reached across the table and pulled a strand of her golden
brown hair gently laughing at the whole scene.
"Ya'll are so pathetic." Cindy giggled, but she too was smiling
happily.
Logan chuckled again and then started to fill them in on the details
of departure and who they would stay with. They were to leave in two
days at noon and they would be staying with three women, Sarah, Kirstin
and Tricia who had lived there together for five years. Hannah got a
picture of three old women with gray hair and lots of cats and she sighed
wondering what there would be to do.
She settled back in her chair watching the swarm of activity around
her. Aren and Logan were teasing Dane for some reason and Laila was
talking animatedly with Cindy. Hannah stood up quietly and slipped out
of the room unnoticed. She ambled back to her room and lay face down
on her neatly made bed, even though she almost hated to muss it. She
cried for a long time, because she could never have a normal life, because
Logan would never have time to stop worrying and just be with her and
because she didn't even know what to do with her life, she couldn't spend
it hiding. Could she?
A COUPLE DAYS LATER AT THE AIRPORT AGAIN
Hannah looked over at Logan and frowned, she hadn't talked to him
in two days and she wasn't about to start now. Logan pocketed the tickets
and wheeled himself over toward her; she ducked to the other side of Aren
and Laila only leaving Dane on her other side. Logan dropped back to
cross over to her and Hannah slipped across back to the other side putting
Aren on her other side. Logan stopped his chair completely and all the
others but Hannah stopped to wait for him. Hannah kept walking toward
the gate that they were supposed to board at and all of the others stared
after her shocked at her odd behavior. Aren took a quick running, jump
and caught hold of her hand. She tried to wrench it free but he held tight.
"Hannah why won't you talk to him? He's your father!" He
exclaimed.
"Aren I don't want to talk about it."
"But you're going to! Come over here and sit with me." He led her
to a row of chairs that were pushed against a wall of the corridor. He
gently pushed her down toward the chair and she sat gratefully, though
she'd never admit it to him. He stared into her eyes and she pulled her
gaze away from his piecing stare pretending to be angry.
"Tell me Hannah. Why won't you talk to Logan. After all if it hadn't
been for you, one, we'd still be in Manticore and, two, we never would
have found Logan, or anyone else for that matter." He cocked his head to
the side in the exact way that always pissed her off, but at the same time
made her want to kiss him right then and there. She was always torn
when she was with him, after all she loved him desperately but every now
and then she just wanted to smack him. This time she did nothing to make
sure she didn't blow it either way.
"Aren." She was almost whispering. "I just don't think I can ever
get close to him."
"But Hannah he's the whole reason we're here and not at Manticore.
First we escaped just so you could find him and then he sent us away just
so Lydecker wouldn't get us and now he's doing it again. Hannah if you
don't talk to him, you'll be making all of our efforts useless. You have to
talk to him." Aren was pleading now, something he normally didn't do
and it made Hannah smile sadly. She stood quietly and walked over to
where Logan still sat in his wheelchair. She leaned down and threw her
arms around his neck and she whispered furiously into his ear three
words.
"Logan, I'm sorry."
He looked up at her as she pulled away and smiled to show that he
accepted it. Then he started moving again and she jumped out of the way.
Aren slipped his arm around Hannah's waist and Hannah smiled over at
him glad that she had apologized, she felt so much better, and now if she
got killed, or vice versa, Logan wouldn't be mad at her.
They got to the gate and the plane was already boarding for first
class. Without a word Hannah bent down and kissed Logan's cheek. He
didn't say anything; it was enough for both of them to know that they
would under other circumstances. Hannah slipped through the ticket gate
with Aren showing the steward her ticket as she did. They settled
themselves on the plane and got ready for a long trip.
Hannah woke to the sound of the pilot telling them to buckle their
seatbelts, it was just barely twilight and she yawned as she woke from her
catnap. She clipped her belt and watched as everyone around her did the
same. They landed and Hannah was appalled when the lady behind her
spewed all over her, but mostly in her hair. So she walked off the flight
with puke in her hair and fifty dollars in her pocket, the woman had been
appalled too and had given it to her for compensation. Hannah turned
around in circles looking for the three women who they were going to live
with. She tried to spot gray hair or old outfits but she couldn't see a single
one. She jumped about a mile when a cheery and hyper sounding voice
came from behind her.
"You must be Hannah, Aren, Laila and Dane." Hannah spun around
to find a woman in her early thirties or late twenties with copper hair.
"We might be. Who are you?" She asked cautiously.
"I'm Sarah. You'll be staying with me. If you're Hannah." Sarah
added.
"I am, let's go." Hannah replied.
"Oh my God you smell like shit." Chimed another woman with
brown hair that fell to touch the backs of her knees. "I'm Kirstin." She
added as though there had to be some formality however weak. Yet
another woman appeared, this one a few years younger than the others,
probably about twenty one.
"Hey. I'm Tricia, you look like you've got a story to tell. First let's go
to the powder room and I'll try to get some of that out of your hair. K?"
Her voice bounced about but at the same time seemed to roll off her tongue
making her words almost songlike. Hannah gratefully followed after her
while the others went to get the bags.
They all met up fifteen minutes later out front where Kirstin had
already brought the truck around. They all climbed in the back and settled
in for the long drive from Rochester to Hornell.
Hornell was nothing like Hannah had imagined, it was charming,
but extremely small. It was late when they turned onto a road with an old
street sign that Hannah could barely make out though she thought it said,
'East Van Scooter'. There were lots of cute houses along both sides of the
road and neat lawns with flowers and vegetable gardens, it almost looked
pre-pulse if that was possible so long after it had hit. Hannah smiled as
they pulled up in front of a large white house with green shutters, you
could tell there had been additions added to the once small, original
structure and Hannah thought that maybe that was how the people at
Manticore thought of them, just additions to the original structure. She
brought herself back to the present and slung her bag over her shoulder as
they all tromped up to the door where Sarah pulled out a key and with a
few added flares led them into the house. They entered into a teal living
room and Hannah noticed that there were pictures of the three cousins,
when they were young, hanging on a wall above the couch. They were
given a tour of the downstairs, and upstairs and then Sarah surprised the
kids by stopping them at the bottom of the stairs that went up. Sarah
stepped up on the first stair and then preceded to the next, she knocked
and called through.
"Maia, come out and meet our new tenants." She called through the
closed door. There was a shuffling on the other side of the door and then it
was swung open by a fairly short, black girl. The girl's hair frizzed on her
head but she wore it long and held it back with a large clip, her dark
brown eyes wandered over each one of the kids and then she smiled in an
amused way.
"So you're the genetically engineered killers that are going to be
staying with us." She said this sarcastically as though she could care less
that they could snap her neck before she could blink. "Which of you is
Hannah?"
"I am." Hannah announced stepping forward and smiling, she
already liked the girl who was looking her over while still smiling making
Hannah feel like a part of her family.
"You know we're technically cousins, just not by blood." Maia told
her.
"That's neat." Hannah replied.
"Wanna see my room?" Maia asked.
"Sure." Hannah told her enthusiastically, and they disappeared up
the stairs, closing the door behind them.
"Well let's get the rest of you settled in." Kay smiled as she said this.
She'd known that Hannah and Maia would hit it off from what Logan had
told her about Hannah.
TWO MONTHS LATER IN NEW YORK
"You still can't get me!" Hannah yelled back at Maia as she dogged
away from her grabbing hand. They'd been playing tag all day, everyone
but Hannah had been it at least once and Hannah wasn't about to get
caught now. She ducked under the kiddie bars and dashed over to the
boardwalk. She jumped up, not using too much of her advantage, but just
enough to boost her a step ahead, and grabbed hold of the wooden plank
that connected the bridge. She hauled herself up and snuck a peek behind
her as she ran along the bridge toward the stairs that led down to the
monkey bars. Then she realized that she was falling. She put her hands
out as though trying to balance and felt someone take a firm grip and haul
her back up. As she swung up her eyes focused on Kerry who stood in
front of her looking as though she had never been away except for the fact
that her left eye was swollen shut and bruised.
"Hannah who's that?" Asked Maia coming up behind them from the
way Hannah had come. "And what happened to her?"
"I am Kerry and Broodus happened to me." Kerry spoke through
her teeth as though she didn't think it was any of Maia's business.
"come on let's get you back to the house and fix you up with a room and
some ice for that eye. It looks nasty." Laila took over, coming up behind
them and Kerry went with her no questions asked. Hannah and the others
trailed after them. Hannah wanted desperately to ask Aren if they should
trust Kerry, but she knew that he trusted her already. Hannah wondered
how Kerry and her could be half sisters, after all they were barely alike in
any way. When the rest of them arrived Kerry and Laila had already
disappeared inside. They entered the living room to find Kerry talking
cautiously to Kirstin.
"Look Kerry we can't help you if you won't talk to us." Kay informed
her. "Do you know if Broodus followed you?"
"He didn't." Kerry replied.
"How can you be sure of that?" Hannah asked sitting on the arm of
the chair that Kerry was in.
"If he had followed me he wouldn't have waited this long to snatch
me up. I've been 'free' for three weeks." Kerry retorted crossly. "Now can
I get a bed with some clean sheets so that I can get some rest?"
"Of course." Tricia came bustling into the room and reached for
Kerry's hand. Kerry didn't give it to her, just stood up and waited for
Tricia to lead the way. Tricia led her out of the room and Kerry followed.
She was taken to Maia's room.
"I'll just make Maia sleep down on the couch for a night or two and
we'll fix up the computer room for you to sleep in, we're out of real rooms
at the moment." Tricia bubbled while Kerry looked around the dark green
room that she'd be staying in for a night of so. She turned to look at Tricia
as though saying 'you can go now'. Tricia took the hint and left the room
leaving Kerry alone, with the phone.
Kerry crossed to the bed and picked the phone up from the
nightstand. She dialed a number and listened to it ringing for a moment
before it was picked up. A gruff male voice answered and she responded
immediately.
"Broodus, they're at 44 East Van Scooter St. Hornell, New York." She
rattled off the address that she had memorized as soon as she had gotten
there, they had known that the others were in Hornell but they hadn't
known where they were staying, now they did and they could pick them
up easily. She hung up the phone and lay back on the bed waiting for him
to show up.