PART ONE:

It was cold outside. Amy walked down Hickory Street alone. Tasha had a press meeting about the school newspaper New Year's section and Eric had detention again.

Amy shivered as she passed the street where her archrival Jeanine had used to live. Before she died...

Amy trembled again. She tried not to think about it. It had all been so terrifying. Everyone had thought Amy had killed Jeanine. She hadn't, but even Tasha and Eric had turned on her by the time it was all over.

Don't think about it. Don't remember. Amy thought to herself. It was the second to last day of school before the holidays. For some reason she was thinking bout Jeanine now more than ever.

Jeanine.

It had been shortly after Jeanine had found out that Amy was a genetically engineered clone, and started blackmailing Amy that she had died. Been murdered.

Amy shuddered. She didn't want to think about it.

"Amy!" she heard a faint yell from behind her. Eric was running to catch up to her. "Amy!" he called again. She stopped walking and waited. A few moments later Eric was coming up beside her.

"Do you have any idea how fast you were walking?" he demanded. "No clue, but if I were to guess... Too fast?" Amy suggested playfully. "Amy, you know what I mean. You can't draw attention to yourself like that." He was serious.

Amy sighed inwardly. Her mom had been telling him to watch out for her again. "Eric, please. I wasn't thinking. Well, actually I was. About Jeanine."

A slight frown crossed Eric's face. "She's gone Amy. There's nothing you could do." He put his arm around her and they walked in silence for a few blocks.

Abruptly, probably to get rid of the silence, Eric started speaking. 'Hey, so are you coming to my game tomorrow?" he asked. "Wouldn't miss it. You know I'm always there." Eric grinned. "You know, I think I play better when you're watching." "You've mentioned that." Amy joked.

They parted when they reached the street where they lived. They lived next door to each other.

Amy went strait up to her room to check her e-mail. She was expecting something.

When she opened her inbox there was a new message from the exact person who she wanted to hear from.

Clicking on the message from andy5@yahoo.com, Amy was surprised to see the subject of the message:

URGENT!!!

She scanned the short letter:

Dear Amy,

This is important. I'm leaving for a couple of months. I won't be in touch by e-mail. No computer. What's your address? I need it ASAP if we're going to keep in touch.

Love,

Andy

Amy felt a pang of guilt as she read the last line. Love. Eric and Andy hadn't gotten along. Eric was her boyfriend. She always thought about him when she thought about Andy too. It was hard for her. She didn't know how to classify her relationship with Andy. Andy, Who was a clone like her. Andy, who she had betrayed at Wilderness Adventure. Andy, who she had believed to be an enemy many times, but her always was on her side. It was strange.

She began to type out a response.

Andy,

My address is

1 657 Maple Drive

Parkside CA.

97823

Where are you going? Can you tell me?

Happy Holidays,

Amy

Amy knew that she was being too short in the letter but she couldn't help it. She had promised to go help Eric with his French homework. All she had to do was go "drop off her bag".

She didn't want Eric knowing that Amy was in contact with Andy. She remembered how mad Eric had been after Paris...

She hurried over to the Morgans' house to help Eric. He showed her the stuff her needed to memorize. She looked it over quickly and memorized it. It was easy for her with her super human memory. Plus, Amy was good at French. She took it at school, and even though Eric's class was much more advanced than her's, she had spent a week in Paris. Where she was reunited with Andy and the evil ballerina Amy... She shook the memories off and turned back to Eric.

"Okay Eric, conjugate the following verbs:" She rattled off some verbs. Eric stared at her blankly. "Oh, come on Eric. You're not that stupid."

She knew the comment would get a reaction. He seized a pillow off the couch and threw it toward her. "Hey, I may not have the brain of a super engineered clone with superhuman powers, but I'm not stupid." He said. His tone was annoyed but his eyes were smiling. She could tell he was mocking her.

Amy laughed. "Just try." She advised him. After three more turns Eric had most of the conjugations memorized and they decided to take a study break.

With a plate of cookies and two glasses of eggnog Amy and Eric settled back down on the couch for the rest of the conjugations.

After about fifteen minutes Tasha came through the door. "What's going on?" she asked narrowing her eyes with mock suspicion. "Studying." Amy said with an exasperated sigh. "Eric, are you even trying?" she asked with a smile.

"I don't even want to know." Tasha said and she left the room.

***

That evening Amy walked out of the Morgans' front door and back to her own home. "Hi, honey." Nancy Candler called from the den. "Hi Mom." Amy replied.

She headed upstairs.

After dinner that night Amy sat down in front of her computer. She wanted to surf the web a bit. She was part of a lot of web groups. Groups for people who were gifted in some area or another. The main reason she liked to check up on these was that maybe she would run into someone like her. Exactly like her.

She was only through about half of the message boards when the words INSTANT MESSAGE flashed across the screen. She thought it might be from Eric. They liked IMing each other, even if they did live ten feet away from each other.

She opened it. She gasped at the name.

andy5.

It was from Andy! It had to be!

ACandler: Andy?

andy5: Yeah. Amy, have you heard anything about Annie?

Amy was bewildered. It had been months since Paris. What could Annie have to do with anything anymore?

ACandler: No, why? It's been months since Paris. Andy, what's going on? Where are you going? Why did you need my address?

andy5: One question at a time okay? I can't tell you where I am, but I have a feeling Annie is close by. You know what happened, you were there. And the weirdest thing happened the other day...

ACandler: What was it?

andy5: I saw Devon.

Amy paused. Mr. Devon. He had played so many roles in her life. Mr. Devon?! He was dead! It was when she and Andy first met, they had found him dead by the side of the road. Impossible! But she had had that same thought when she found out Andy was a clone too...

andy5: Amy?

ACandler: Andy, its not possible. You and I saw him. He was dead. You wanted him dead more than I was. Where are you?

It was a while before she got Andy's response. He was hesitating.

andy5: Still in Paris. I saw Devon at the top of the Eiffel tower. He was standing right where Sebastian was before he fell. I don't know what he was doing there. I took off running. I've told you before. I've told you why...

ACandler: But what does this have to do with Annie?

andy5: I saw her too.

ACandler: Where?

andy5: At the cafe. I saw Christope too.

Amy gaped at the words. Memories flooded back, Annie, the evil ballerina who hung out with a bunch of neo-nazis that wanted world domination. Christophe, the man who her neighbor Monica, who was supposed to be chaperoning her, had been crazy for.

ACandler: Are you sure it was them?

andy5: Dead Sure.

ACandler: Andy, What could Christophe and Annie possibly have to say to each other? I mean, Annie helped me drive him off.

andy5: They weren't together at first, but then Sebastian showed up and they all got together to talk. I didn't go too close. Annie could have easily seen me if I did.

ACandler: SEBASTIAN?!?!?!? Andy, he fell off the top of the Eiffel tower, he can't be alive! He can't be!

andy5: He was. Didn't have a scratch on him. It was unbelievable.

ACandler: I'll bet. Can we change the subject please?

andy5: Sure. That was all I had to say. How's Eric?

Amy gaped at the words again. What did Andy care about Eric?

ACandler: Excuse me?

andy5: How's Eric? How's Tasha? How are they?

ACandler: They're fine. Uh, Andy, no offense, but, what do you care?

andy5: Nothing, just searching for something to say. :-)

ACandler: How are YOU?

andy5: Fine except...

Except what? Wondered Amy. Did she dare ask? She had to.

ACandler: Except What?

andy5: I think that my life is in danger.

Amy was scared. What was wrong? Why was this happening? How? Who was endangering him? A flurry of questions filled her head. She had to know.

ACandler: Andy, what's wrong?

andy5: Annie.

ACandler: Why didn't you tell me earlier? What's she done? What's wrong?

andy5: I didn't want to scare you.

ACandler: *sarcastically* Oh, well I'm so glad you thought about me first.

andy5: Okay, Okay. Its her and the nazis. Sebastian must have told them I'm not with them anymore. Like I ever was.

Amy could almost hear his voice saying those words. Especially the last part.

ACandler: Andy, where are you? Please answer.

andy5: At your hotel. I'm using that old woman's computer. The one at the desk. Seriously, she can't understand anything I say. All I have to do is point at the computer and she lets me use it. But I have to find a place to stay before they find me.

ACandler: Hold on one second Andy. I'll be right back.

Amy leapt up. If Andy needed a place to stay Nancy had to let him stay here. She knew all about Andy and she had even met him. Amy bolted down the stairs and spilled the story quickly.

Nancy was uncertain. There was a lot of what ifs and buts but after a minute of coaxing Nancy agreed if Amy and Andy could work out how to get Andy from Paris to California.

Amy ran up the stairs.

andy5: Amy? Are you back yet?

ACandler: So, you need a place to stay?

Andy knew exactly what was coming.

andy5: yes.

ACandler: How about here?

Amy's question stayed on the screen. Andy heard a sound. It was footsteps. They're going to find me. He realized. He knew that he had enough money to get to California within the next week.

ACandler: Andy?

andy5: Yes. Yes. That'll be perfect. I'll find my way to your house. Leave it to me. Gotta go, I think they're here.

Amy was about to disconnect the line when a last message appeared.

andy5: See you soon, love, Andy.

She grinned. Copying the whole chat except for the last line she pasted it into her word processing program and printed it off. She could show it to Eric. It would do more explaining then she ever could. With a grin she disconnected the line and ran down the stairs and next door.