Part 3: Square One
Authors Note: Thanks so much to all those people who reviewed. Keep it coming, guys!
I decided to write this chapter in first person. I'll probably go back to 3rd with the thought-subtitles later, it's just that I was in the mood to write in someone's POV. Feedback, please!
1 Arizona-Liz
I stare out the bus window at the baking hot desert outside. I don't really know where I'm going, but I think I'll start off with somewhere with a cooler climate. That means West. I can take this bus as far as LA, and from there I'll see if I can hitch up to San Francisco. After that, I'm thinking Canada, but there's nothing definite in my calendar, you know? It's not really like I'm in danger by going alone; I can take care of myself—genetically enhanced powers—you know the drill.
We stop in some poe-dunk town just west of Phoenix, at some crummy old gas station, and I get off, fishing around for the money I had in my pockets. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning—which is okay—X-5s can last for a while without food and water. Still, I need to go to the bathroom, and while I'm at it I figure I might as well get something to eat for later. As I'm looking at different candy bars the monitor to one of the TV's goes from a pre-pulse football game to a pair of eyes.
(Do not attempt to adjust your sets. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this country. This is addressed to the X-5s out there in the world.)
Barcodes fly across the screen in 1 hundredth of a second, too fast for any human eyes to see. The last barcode is flashing red, and matches the one my neck. I don't know if this is a trap, I don't know if I can trust Eyes Only, or why he would have any interest in me.
(You are in danger. You can receive more information by contacting a traceless number.)
Fourteen numbers flash on the screen for a millisecond, almost too fast for my transgenic eyes to catch. 3-6-8-4-2-8-6-5-3-7-7-9-8-1. I commit them to my memory almost as fast as they appeared on the screen.
(This message will be replayed on the hour until each of you has checked in. Peace. Out.)
My barcode number flashes on the screen, right before the broadcast is returned to football. I don't know who's looking for me. I was under the impression that my brothers and sisters thought I was dead. Hell, I wasn't even sure if they were alive. I'm alone, I'm confused, and right now, I'm feeling like I'm back on square one, right were I started, right after I escaped from Manticore.
2
3 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4 Roswell- Maria
"Lemme see the letter." I try and pry the letter out of Max's hands. He's been staring at it for about an hour after he told us what the what was, which is not really getting us anywhere. I figure that if I want to get my best friend back, it'll be up to me.
"I can't. I mean, um, it's sort of private, you know, and I'm not really sure how she'd feel about you guys seeing it."
I think he's sort of in shock. We all are, really. The eight of us made up a happy little family—okay, a sort of dysfunctional family—but hey, nobody's perfect. Now the only one who's happy is Tess. I don't know why she would just leave like this, out of the blue. I mean, she has straight A's, two wonderful loving parents, an adoring, if not unusual, boyfriend, and the other 5 of us (excluding Tess) who love her like a sister. I'm about to reach for her letter again, but Isabel beats me to it.
"Max, it says here she has a secret. Something that could endanger us…What's she talking about? Maria, you're her best friend—has she told you anything about her secret? Or is she just referring to our secret?"
"Hey, I'm just in the dark about this as you are. Don't you think I'd be the first one to speak up if I knew any---''
"Hey, guys, shut up! Eyes Only's on!" Alex's voice caught all of our attention. I guess all of us (the Czechs included) all see Eyes Only as some kind of personal hero—you know, like Luke Skywalker, fighting for the safety of all of the little people in the big and corrupt galaxy. So of course we all shut up and listened.
(Do not attempt to adjust your sets. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this country. This is addressed to the X-5s out there in the world. You are in danger. You can receive more information by contacting a traceless number. This message will be replayed on the hour until each of you has checked in. Peace. Out.)
We all started talking at once. "What's an X-5?" That was me. I totally don't know what the guy was talking about.
"What's he talking about?" That would be Isabel, looking just as confused as I am.
"It's official: He's totally lost it. I always knew that guy was off his rocker." That would be my own personal space-boy; he never really took Eyes Only too seriously.
"Man, Eyes Only is so cool!" Alex's remark. Seriously, I think he wants to be the world's next Eyes Only.
"Did any of you guys see those numbers on the screen?" We all stop short at Max's question.
"Numbers? What numbers?" That would be me, Alex, and Kyle.
"Yeah, Max…I definitely saw something…I also saw some lines that looked like barcodes, or something." We all turn to look at Isabel. Must be some alien thing. Sometimes I wonder why I even hang around with the pod squad. "I saw something too! I couldn't really make anything out, though. I wish we could see it again." That, of course, would be our 4th alien…the infamous Tess.
All of the sudden, little bells go off in my head. Bing, Bing, Bing! "Hey guys? I have that on tape."
"You what?"
"Yeah, well, I was taping Dawson's Creek—you know how I love those oldie pre-pulse shows—upstairs, and Eyes Only hacks into all the channels, so we've got it on tape." They all look at me with amazement and we all troop to my room upstairs. Max takes control of the remote immediately and rewinds the tape. He starts playing it, and all of the sudden, all the Czechs say "There!" Fast as lightning he pauses it, and sure enough, there are 13 barcodes on the screen—I totally hadn't noticed them the first time around. And then, all of the sudden, my brain does it again. Bing, Bing, Bing goes the little bell in my brain.
"Hey guys, Liz had a tattoo of a barcode just like that on the back of her neck."
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Seattle—Logan
It was presumptuous of me, I know. But I just had to figure this out. Max's family is like a big puzzle. I know we haven't been on the best of terms lately, especially after the 12 hour thingy backfired, but I know it would make her really happy to find another family member. I stared at the photo of this 'Liz Parker' for about half an hour before I noticed some markings on her neck. I put it under my magnifying glass, and, sure enough, they a row of narrow lines—which could have easily been a barcode. I reread the announcement, got online, and did a net search. I found state adoption papers, doctor's records, school files, everything I could on this girl. Still—there wasn't much to go on…17 years old, straight A student, adopted in 2009, etc…What finally tipped me off was the doctor's report. Diagnosed with mild epilepsy, which resulted in spontaneous seizures—trademark of the X-5s. I had to tell Max what I had found…I knew she wouldn't really be happy that I'd gone snooping around when she'd said to forget about it, but hey, it's my job to find out other peoples business.
I'm not sure she'll really want to talk to me. I think she's afraid that the virus will somehow pass through the phone lines and kill me dead on the spot.
"It's me hitting you back, what's up, Logan?"
"Umm, yeah, I found some info on a possible X-5. I thought you'd want to know about it."
"You WHAT?"
I'm wasn't really sure what kind of response I'd get, so this wasn't really so much of a shock for me. "Yeah, umm, just come over and I'll show it to you."
"I'm there."
5 Max—Foggle Towers—12 minutes later
So Logan's just told me everything he knows about this 'Liz Parker'. He's looking at me, waiting for me to say something, anything. I guess I'm in shock, or something, 'cause I can't seem to move my lips. Finally I whisper, "Nat."
"What? So you think you know her? I thought there where only 12 of you. Who is she?"
I don't know where to start. "She's…she was…I mean, I thought she was dead." I manage to get those few words, along with some uncharacteristic stuttering.
"So you do know her."
"Yeah, she's an X-5. The youngest of all of us. Her name was Nat. We were all so protective of her; especially me and Zack. For some reason, the guys at Manticore always seemed to push her harder than any of us, and punish her a lot worse…"
((Flashback: A little girl, who is obviously Nat/Liz sits on the floor, biting her lips to keep from crying. On her back are long, red lash marks made from a whip. Beside her sits Max, who is holding her hand with one hand and has a sharp piece of plastic in the other hand. "What did they tell you?" Max asks Nat.
"They said I wasn't like you all; that you weren't my family." A tear rolls down Nat's face, and she closes her eyes in physical and emotional pain. A young Zack comes in an d wipes the tears off of Nat's face. "You can't let them tell you that…they're crazy psychos who don't know what a real family is." Max takes the plastic, cuts the palm of her hand, and passes the plastic to Zack, who in turn cuts his hand. The other X-5's file into the small room and pass around the plastic; each cutting their hands with it. Finally, the plastic gets to Nat, who hesitates, and then makes a long vertical cut on the palm of her hand. They all move together and give each other high-fives, making sure that the blood mixes between each one of them. "Now we're really family. We're blood. No one can take that away from us." Nat smiles at her brothers and sisters, who smile back at her))
"I thought she was dead," I continue, staring at a long scar on the palm of my hand. "She was shot in the escape from Manticore."
I push other memories that threaten to take over my mind away, and look at Logan, who has concern written all over his blue eyes.
"Well, she's in danger now, and we're going to have to do something to warn her." We both look at each other, and instantly know. Logan goes and gets his computer ready for an Eyes Only broadcast, and I draw out her barcode so that he can broadcast it. I have a chance to help my little sister here, and I'm going to take it.
To be continued.
A/N: Please review!! I will love you forever, plus I'll get the next chapter out sooner!
Authors Note: Thanks so much to all those people who reviewed. Keep it coming, guys!
I decided to write this chapter in first person. I'll probably go back to 3rd with the thought-subtitles later, it's just that I was in the mood to write in someone's POV. Feedback, please!
1 Arizona-Liz
I stare out the bus window at the baking hot desert outside. I don't really know where I'm going, but I think I'll start off with somewhere with a cooler climate. That means West. I can take this bus as far as LA, and from there I'll see if I can hitch up to San Francisco. After that, I'm thinking Canada, but there's nothing definite in my calendar, you know? It's not really like I'm in danger by going alone; I can take care of myself—genetically enhanced powers—you know the drill.
We stop in some poe-dunk town just west of Phoenix, at some crummy old gas station, and I get off, fishing around for the money I had in my pockets. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning—which is okay—X-5s can last for a while without food and water. Still, I need to go to the bathroom, and while I'm at it I figure I might as well get something to eat for later. As I'm looking at different candy bars the monitor to one of the TV's goes from a pre-pulse football game to a pair of eyes.
(Do not attempt to adjust your sets. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this country. This is addressed to the X-5s out there in the world.)
Barcodes fly across the screen in 1 hundredth of a second, too fast for any human eyes to see. The last barcode is flashing red, and matches the one my neck. I don't know if this is a trap, I don't know if I can trust Eyes Only, or why he would have any interest in me.
(You are in danger. You can receive more information by contacting a traceless number.)
Fourteen numbers flash on the screen for a millisecond, almost too fast for my transgenic eyes to catch. 3-6-8-4-2-8-6-5-3-7-7-9-8-1. I commit them to my memory almost as fast as they appeared on the screen.
(This message will be replayed on the hour until each of you has checked in. Peace. Out.)
My barcode number flashes on the screen, right before the broadcast is returned to football. I don't know who's looking for me. I was under the impression that my brothers and sisters thought I was dead. Hell, I wasn't even sure if they were alive. I'm alone, I'm confused, and right now, I'm feeling like I'm back on square one, right were I started, right after I escaped from Manticore.
2
3 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4 Roswell- Maria
"Lemme see the letter." I try and pry the letter out of Max's hands. He's been staring at it for about an hour after he told us what the what was, which is not really getting us anywhere. I figure that if I want to get my best friend back, it'll be up to me.
"I can't. I mean, um, it's sort of private, you know, and I'm not really sure how she'd feel about you guys seeing it."
I think he's sort of in shock. We all are, really. The eight of us made up a happy little family—okay, a sort of dysfunctional family—but hey, nobody's perfect. Now the only one who's happy is Tess. I don't know why she would just leave like this, out of the blue. I mean, she has straight A's, two wonderful loving parents, an adoring, if not unusual, boyfriend, and the other 5 of us (excluding Tess) who love her like a sister. I'm about to reach for her letter again, but Isabel beats me to it.
"Max, it says here she has a secret. Something that could endanger us…What's she talking about? Maria, you're her best friend—has she told you anything about her secret? Or is she just referring to our secret?"
"Hey, I'm just in the dark about this as you are. Don't you think I'd be the first one to speak up if I knew any---''
"Hey, guys, shut up! Eyes Only's on!" Alex's voice caught all of our attention. I guess all of us (the Czechs included) all see Eyes Only as some kind of personal hero—you know, like Luke Skywalker, fighting for the safety of all of the little people in the big and corrupt galaxy. So of course we all shut up and listened.
(Do not attempt to adjust your sets. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this country. This is addressed to the X-5s out there in the world. You are in danger. You can receive more information by contacting a traceless number. This message will be replayed on the hour until each of you has checked in. Peace. Out.)
We all started talking at once. "What's an X-5?" That was me. I totally don't know what the guy was talking about.
"What's he talking about?" That would be Isabel, looking just as confused as I am.
"It's official: He's totally lost it. I always knew that guy was off his rocker." That would be my own personal space-boy; he never really took Eyes Only too seriously.
"Man, Eyes Only is so cool!" Alex's remark. Seriously, I think he wants to be the world's next Eyes Only.
"Did any of you guys see those numbers on the screen?" We all stop short at Max's question.
"Numbers? What numbers?" That would be me, Alex, and Kyle.
"Yeah, Max…I definitely saw something…I also saw some lines that looked like barcodes, or something." We all turn to look at Isabel. Must be some alien thing. Sometimes I wonder why I even hang around with the pod squad. "I saw something too! I couldn't really make anything out, though. I wish we could see it again." That, of course, would be our 4th alien…the infamous Tess.
All of the sudden, little bells go off in my head. Bing, Bing, Bing! "Hey guys? I have that on tape."
"You what?"
"Yeah, well, I was taping Dawson's Creek—you know how I love those oldie pre-pulse shows—upstairs, and Eyes Only hacks into all the channels, so we've got it on tape." They all look at me with amazement and we all troop to my room upstairs. Max takes control of the remote immediately and rewinds the tape. He starts playing it, and all of the sudden, all the Czechs say "There!" Fast as lightning he pauses it, and sure enough, there are 13 barcodes on the screen—I totally hadn't noticed them the first time around. And then, all of the sudden, my brain does it again. Bing, Bing, Bing goes the little bell in my brain.
"Hey guys, Liz had a tattoo of a barcode just like that on the back of her neck."
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Seattle—Logan
It was presumptuous of me, I know. But I just had to figure this out. Max's family is like a big puzzle. I know we haven't been on the best of terms lately, especially after the 12 hour thingy backfired, but I know it would make her really happy to find another family member. I stared at the photo of this 'Liz Parker' for about half an hour before I noticed some markings on her neck. I put it under my magnifying glass, and, sure enough, they a row of narrow lines—which could have easily been a barcode. I reread the announcement, got online, and did a net search. I found state adoption papers, doctor's records, school files, everything I could on this girl. Still—there wasn't much to go on…17 years old, straight A student, adopted in 2009, etc…What finally tipped me off was the doctor's report. Diagnosed with mild epilepsy, which resulted in spontaneous seizures—trademark of the X-5s. I had to tell Max what I had found…I knew she wouldn't really be happy that I'd gone snooping around when she'd said to forget about it, but hey, it's my job to find out other peoples business.
I'm not sure she'll really want to talk to me. I think she's afraid that the virus will somehow pass through the phone lines and kill me dead on the spot.
"It's me hitting you back, what's up, Logan?"
"Umm, yeah, I found some info on a possible X-5. I thought you'd want to know about it."
"You WHAT?"
I'm wasn't really sure what kind of response I'd get, so this wasn't really so much of a shock for me. "Yeah, umm, just come over and I'll show it to you."
"I'm there."
5 Max—Foggle Towers—12 minutes later
So Logan's just told me everything he knows about this 'Liz Parker'. He's looking at me, waiting for me to say something, anything. I guess I'm in shock, or something, 'cause I can't seem to move my lips. Finally I whisper, "Nat."
"What? So you think you know her? I thought there where only 12 of you. Who is she?"
I don't know where to start. "She's…she was…I mean, I thought she was dead." I manage to get those few words, along with some uncharacteristic stuttering.
"So you do know her."
"Yeah, she's an X-5. The youngest of all of us. Her name was Nat. We were all so protective of her; especially me and Zack. For some reason, the guys at Manticore always seemed to push her harder than any of us, and punish her a lot worse…"
((Flashback: A little girl, who is obviously Nat/Liz sits on the floor, biting her lips to keep from crying. On her back are long, red lash marks made from a whip. Beside her sits Max, who is holding her hand with one hand and has a sharp piece of plastic in the other hand. "What did they tell you?" Max asks Nat.
"They said I wasn't like you all; that you weren't my family." A tear rolls down Nat's face, and she closes her eyes in physical and emotional pain. A young Zack comes in an d wipes the tears off of Nat's face. "You can't let them tell you that…they're crazy psychos who don't know what a real family is." Max takes the plastic, cuts the palm of her hand, and passes the plastic to Zack, who in turn cuts his hand. The other X-5's file into the small room and pass around the plastic; each cutting their hands with it. Finally, the plastic gets to Nat, who hesitates, and then makes a long vertical cut on the palm of her hand. They all move together and give each other high-fives, making sure that the blood mixes between each one of them. "Now we're really family. We're blood. No one can take that away from us." Nat smiles at her brothers and sisters, who smile back at her))
"I thought she was dead," I continue, staring at a long scar on the palm of my hand. "She was shot in the escape from Manticore."
I push other memories that threaten to take over my mind away, and look at Logan, who has concern written all over his blue eyes.
"Well, she's in danger now, and we're going to have to do something to warn her." We both look at each other, and instantly know. Logan goes and gets his computer ready for an Eyes Only broadcast, and I draw out her barcode so that he can broadcast it. I have a chance to help my little sister here, and I'm going to take it.
To be continued.
A/N: Please review!! I will love you forever, plus I'll get the next chapter out sooner!