New Lives

Atlanta, Georgia, October, 2005

Cathy sat at the back of the class looking out to the window, at the front of the class, the teacher was babbling on about plants. Outside the grass was green and the sun was bright. She dreamt that she was outside in the sun having fun instead of in class listening to a lecture about plants, he then fazed out to a her paradise world then the bell rang indicating lunch time snapping her back to reality, the whole class  rushed out of the classroom.

She went out to sit at her usual place beside the tree, the place where she went for peace and comfort, along the way prying eyes looked at her, eyes that belonged to the popular kids, as she sat down at her usual place, she ignored the eyes and unpacked her lunch. A group of people who just got out, headed in her direction.

"What have you got there?" said a girl in the group

Cathy ignored the girl and tried to eat the sandwich she had with her. The group of people still stood there refusing to leave her alone.

"Why are you still here?" Cathy asked feeling uncomfortable with them watching her

"We are here because we want to know why you always wear those gloves all the time" the girl replied

It was obvious that they were pestering her, making sure that Cathy suffered for being herself.

"Why don't you take them off" said another girl in the group

"Yeah" cried various people in the group

"Take them off" said the girl who talked earlier on

"No, please go away" Cathy tried to get away but she was blocked

Just when they were about to advance in on her, she was saved by the sudden appearance of a teacher

"What's going on here?" asked the teacher concerned for Cathy as she was outnumbered

"Nothing, we were just playing that's' all" replied the girl "See you later" she gave Cathy the I'll get you later look

"Thanks" she sat back down again

"No problem, just be careful next time" then the teacher went

She sat beside the tree for the whole lunch period, reading a book. The bell then rang time for her geography lesson, the one subject she hated.

As she went back inside she noticed a black car parked at the front of the building, she walked to her locker and got the needed books for the lesson, when she went into the class, two men was talking to her teacher, she sat at the desk where she sat all the time, she could see that her teacher looked troubled as if something bad is going to happen.

The two men walked out of the classroom, the teacher then walked over to Cathy, she noticed this and already her mind was asking a million questions all at once

"Cathy, I need to talk to you" said the teacher motioning for Cathy to follow her outside

Cathy slowly rose from her seat and followed the teacher outside of the class, the two men stood in the hall waiting for Cathy to arrive, Patrick was one of the two the other guy was a new face

The operation was well under way, Linn and Dr. Page was in one of the black cars waiting outside, the doctor was restless while Linn remained calm, back at the hall, Cathy stood with her back to the classroom door she looked at Patrick then to the new guy and settling her gaze on the teacher

"Cathy, these men have something to tell you" said the teacher "I'll leave her in your hands"

Cathy looked over to Patrick still trying to figure out the reason why this was happening to her

Patrick looked at Cathy and remembered the plan in his head, what he has to do must be done perfectly or he would get his ass kicked all over the place by Linn

"I'm Patrick, this is my friend David" Patrick moved closer to Cathy

"We have some bad news" said David

Cathy then looked over to David confusion in her face

"Yes I'm afraid that something bad has happened to your mother…" said Patrick

"My m-mom what's happened to her?" she replied in a worried tone

"She got caught in a car accident…" said David

Cathy was in immediate shock the worst has happened to her, her emotions then started to kick in

"Is she going to be ok?" she asked trying to hold back the emotions

"Yes, she will be alright, she in the hospital resting" said David

"We worked with your mother, we thought that it would be a big help for you to be at her side right now" said Patrick "We've talked to your teacher and she said that it will be ok for you to miss the rest of your lessons for the day"

"Thank you" she replied relieved that her mother was ok

"We'll give you a ride to the hospital" Patrick responded with a smile on his face

Patrick then began to walk Cathy followed him with David last in the line, in one of the two cars outside Linn was calm as a cucumber he wasn't worried that his men had slipped up he wasn't worried at all, Dr. Page however was restless, he cam up with a hundred what if situations that had no effect on Linn at all

As the big double doors to the school entrance opened, Linn and the doctor watched in anticipation as they Patrick came out, the doctor then let out a big sigh of relief when Cathy came out a second later

Patrick went to the empty car and opened the back door, he motioned for Cathy to go in, David then went to the driver seat and started the car, the second car with Linn lead the way while David followed behind obediently.

Minutes later the two cars approached an abandoned playground. It seems that no kid has played on the swings, see-saws for quite some time, rust had started to eat away the support for the swings and it looked like it was about to crumble at any minute. The cars parked and the first to get out was Linn and Dr. Page who was then followed by Patrick and David, David opened the door for Cathy to get out while Linn, the doctor and Patrick walked towards the swings.

It took a while for David to convince Cathy that he wasn't going to hurt her, David walked alongside Cathy as they came closer to where Linn and the others were standing, Linn was watching Cathy the whole time

"What do you want with me?" Cathy asked breaking the silence within the group

"Glad you asked the question" replied Linn "My name is Mr. Crispen but I'm better known as Linn, you've already met Patrick and David, this is Dr. Page" pointing towards the doctor

"Why did you kidnap me?" she responded, unhappy that Linn didn't answer her first question fully

"Why I was merely saving you" replied Linn

"Saving me? From what?" she asked again confused

"From your so-called friends, your busy mother, your ignorant teachers" Linn replied

"What do you mean?" she asked again getting even more confused by the second

"I mean that your life is killing you, you deserve more than that" Linn replied while taking a step towards her "You know yourself that you're better then them"

Cathy felt her knees was going to turn to jelly but she knew exactly what he meant

"I know what you've gone through, every second you'd like to show them what you can do, but every time you would hold it back" Linn continued on

"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked, trying not to think about what he said

"I'm giving you a chance to show them what you're capable of, do you remember 15th of June 2004" said Linn

The date had got Cathy's mind into gear, the day she regretted the most, the accident. Dr. Page observed Cathy and occasionally looked at Linn how he was controlling the situation with such calmness that it frightened him.

"Let me refresh your memory, a boy died in Atlanta, his death was a mystery that boggled the coroner" Linn continued

Tears then rolled down Cathy's cheek, she didn't want to remember that incident

"But we know what happened don't we Catherine…" said Linn

She wiped her tears "Yes, I killed him" she replied trying to hold back the waterworks

"No, you didn't kill him, it was an accident, you didn't know about your 'powers' back then, but after that you learnt the truth" Linn replied

Cathy looked to Linn and she saw another man not the old man that she saw before but a different side to him, a caring side.

"I'm a freak of nature" she said

"You're not a freak you're one of a kind" replied Linn "You have potential, I can help you"

"How? How can you help me?" she responded

"I can help you control your power" said Linn "But it's your choice, go live your miserable life or start a fresh one…"

She fell silent for a while, Linn's words had got to her, it had changed her perspective and made her believe in him

"Ok, I'll go with you but what about my mom?" she asked

"Don't worry all is taken care of…" said Linn

Seattle, Washington, January, 2006

Lisa was alone in the small apartment, since she quite the band a few months ago she has quite a lot of time on her hands. The night sky was calm, the stars glittered in the black background giving the sky life. Inside the apartment Lisa was bored half to death, Charlie was out still trying to find a job.

The T.V. being on didn't help either, although the 10 o'clock news had some interesting stories.

"Today finally the body of the 18 year old girl has been found dead, more on that later…." Said the News Presenter

There's a lot of deaths these days

The door opened and Charlie came in with drooping shoulders, this has irritated her for the last couple of months Charlie was coming home late, sometimes she wonder if Charlie was even trying to find a job

"Any luck?" she asked although she already know the answer would be like all the other nights

"No, I think no one in this whole city has an opening for a guy like me" he replied

"Something will show up sooner or later, we just have to hang tight" she said trying to put in some confidence back in him though she knew there was no hope

"Yeah I guess you're right" he went into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of cold water "Don't you think this place is a bit cramped for us?"

"We had this discussion already, I'm not moving" she fiddled with the remote, feeling uneasy with the position Charlie had put her in

"But honey we need the space and with you quitting the band there's no use living in Seattle" he stared into her eyes trying to make a point

"Yes there is, what if Allie comes back and comes here"

"Lisa, I'm sure Allie will understand, besides we've waited for 2 years and she still not yet back"

"Just wait a little while longer ok, then we can move to a bigger home"

"Sorry but I just can't wait any longer, Lisa I don't think she's coming back"

"Don't say that, she is coming back"

"Lisa…"

"Charlie she will come back, she left the other earring…"

"And what does that mean?" he interrupted her in mid sentence

"It means that she'll come back to make it a whole set again"

"Lisa, she dropped the chain with the earring when she was taken"

"Is that what you think she was 'taken'"

"Yeah, they took her from us"

"No Allie went with them of her own free will, they didn't take her"

"They'll never let her go"

"They will, John will let her go"

"Lisa, I just don't think she'll come back, we have to move on with our lives"

"You can say that! You didn't raise her for nine years!"

"Lisa…"

"If you didn't come that day none of this would have happen" she shouted hoping for the argument to end right there and then

"Don't blame this on me" although he knew he did play some part in Allie going away

"Yes I'm blaming this on you, this is entirely your fault" making her have the last say in the argument

Charlie fell silent, he then stood up and walked to the door, Lisa just sat there refusing to apologize for her outburst, he turned round

"I'm sorry that you feel that way" Charlie than went out the door slamming it behind him

After he left tears occupied Lisa's cheeks, she may have lost Charlie forever now.

Somewhere in New Zealand, January, 2006

The morning wind fluttered Spyke's jacket about, he ignored the jacket and absorbed the sunlight. In front of him the sea was calm, the waves were calm everything was calm. He closed his eyes wishing for this to never end, a low rumbling sound of an airplane then passed by him making him look up to the sky and admire the view.

He glanced over to civilization behind him

Time to go to work

Spyke then began to walk away from the seaside and to the rural area

It's almost time…

In front of him shops were opening, stalls were being set-up, everything was getting ready for the busy day ahead, he has changed over the past two years, countless souls has been freed by him, his quest has changed him in a way. No longer was he the afraid little boy, who would run to his mother for comfort every time he was hurt, he's grown up now, his experience has hardened him and every task is taken seriously.

He passed by a restaurant, the waiter and waitresses were wiping the tables clean, but in the kitchen activity has already started, the aroma sneaked out and Spyke smelt the exotic food and was suddenly reminded he haven't eaten breakfast yet

Hmmm I might go in and eat there later

He walked on further and minutes of walking he found his guy, a young man at around his twenty's.  The man was moving boxes around, Spyke approached him

"Kia Ora" Spyke said speaking it like he was born to speak Maori

The man looked up "Hello..?" he replied sounding confused

"Hi, I'm Spyke and we need to talk" replied Spyke

"Can we talk some other time I have work to do" the man replied pointing to the boxes that have to be stacked neatly by 12 in the afternoon

"I think that work can wait, I have something 'important' that needs to be told" said Spyke "I'll help you stack them later"

"Why don't you just tell me now?" said the man continuing to stack the boxes

"Why don't we talk after breakfast, I'm sure you're very hungry, I know a place which serves great food" replied Spyke

The man stopped his work and looked at Spyke unsure whether to trust him or not "Ok, but you're paying"

"Yes I'll pay" Spyke smiled at his triumph in persuading him to stop his work

They dined at the restaurant Spyke had passed earlier, there were a few people in the restaurant though none of them stayed to eat just takeaway. They sat right at the corner, Spyke ordered a sandwich and coffee whilst the young man ordered a burger, after they finished eating Spyke began to do his normal routine.

"So how's life?" said Spyke

"It's goin ok I guess"

"Relieved?"

"Not exactly but I'm happy"

"That's good to hear"

"Why do you want to know anyway?"

"I know that you had a horrible experience…" Spyke began to talk the usual talk "…and they had stopped for 2 years now"

The man looked at Spyke and then he lowered his head "I don't know what you're talking about"

"Yes you do, the abductions were horrible, I know what you went through I went through the same thing"

The man looked up to Spyke and his face showed pain

"They stopped 2 years ago because the experiment was done"

"An experiment, it was an experiment" said the man

"Yes, it was an experiment they got what they wanted"

"Will they come back?"

"I'm not sure, but if they do they'll take you and a lot of other people again"

The man leaned back on his chair

"I don't want that to happen, they left a souvenir so that they know your whereabouts"

The man searched his pockets for this souvenir but found nothing

"It's safely hidden in your head" Spyke tapped his forehead to show the location

"My head?"

"I can take it out for you"

"I see, so how much is it gonna cost me?"

"Nothing"

"There must be a catch"

"No catch, I take it out and that's the end, they won't find you ever again"

"When can you take it out?"

"Right now, close your eyes"

He obeyed and closed his eyes slowly "Is it going to be painful?"

"You'll feel a little bit of pain that's all"

Spyke concentrated on the signal and then he commanded it to shut down, seconds later the man was holding a tissue paper to stop the blood flow as the man looked at the tissue paper he saw a tiny lump of metal

Spyke then rose from his seat and whispered into the young mans ear "You're free now" then he left money on the table, and left the restaurant, as he walked outside his face was greeted by the hot sun warming his body temperature as he walked down the busy street, one thought echoed through his head, a name

Allie…