Note: I have to thank trickhayden again, for coming up with the names 'Tyler' and 'Jamie'. Great call!

Legacy: chapter 5

The house was silent for the first time in the last two weeks. Charlie had just left for a meeting and Lisa sat at the kitchen table with Ka'len. Although she might-as-well have been alone. The… girl was so quiet; getting two words in a row out of her that were not 'yes' or 'no' was a challenge. A challenge that Lisa had accepted.

She was determined to make Ka'len open up to her because, well, because she was curious. It's not every day that a… person from another planet lives in your house. And Allie had withheld certain details of what living with the 'Xe' was like. Lisa felt that she deserved to know. After all, she was the one left behind to suffer day after day, not knowing what was happening to her daughter.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lisa saw that Ka'len was studying her intently. Instead of acknowledging the girl, Lisa took another sip of her coffee and turned toward the sliding door. The rain had returned early that morning and it was gently pattering on the brick patio.

Strange thing, the rain. It had been so depressing, but now it was relaxing. Life seemed to slow down with the weather. That same slow, dreary feeling had brought Lisa to the verge of a breakdown before. Now it only made her appreciate the busy buzz of every day life.

"It's beautiful. Isn't it?" Lisa asked, addressing the question to herself it seemed, Ka'len didn't answer.

After waiting several more seconds, Lisa turned toward her.

"Well?" she asked with a smile, "don't you at least find it 'intriguing'?"

"Yes." Ka'len said plainly, but the look on her face told Lisa she had more to say. Culturally ingrained inhibitions were the only thing stopping her.

This trait peeked Lisa's curiosity about the girl. How can a culture… a whole race, which places so much value on knowledge and learning, produce such a robot, with no sense of discovery or inquisitiveness?

Perhaps she was told not to interact with them… but she talked openly when Allie was around. Could she be shy? Lisa let a small laugh escape with that thought. This was them she was thinking about, the race that came and abducted people against their will. Charlie had told her that they even came in and dragged him out kicking ad screaming on several occasions. Not exactly something that a shy temperament would be good at.

The direct approach is the best, Lisa decided.

"You don't talk much do you?" she asked, hoping the reply she received would be something more then 'no'.

"I speak regularly." Ka'len informed her, "there is little to say at the moment."

"I see…"

It made sense; there really wasn't much to talk about. So, Lisa thought, I'll make something up.

"Allie told me that it never rained on… that place you were from."

"Xeln II," Ka'len said, "no, it never 'rained'."

"Must be nice." Lisa said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Ka'len looked at her oddly, "what do you mean?"

"Nothing, just that it's probably nice to be dry."

"It is cleaner…" Ka'len thought for a moment, "but, this world is much more aesthetically pleasing."

"Yeah…" Lisa trailed off, now seeing a very good point in not talking unless there is something to be said. They both sat quietly for several minutes before Lisa decided to try again.

"What happened at the zoo the other day?" she asked casually. So far, every time the subject had come up, Allie had become agitated and changed the subject. Lisa wondered what possibly could have happened. The past few days, Allie had been sleeping later and later. And when she was awake she acted very withdrawn and preoccupied.

"We saw various creatures then returned." Ka'len stated in a very matter-of-fact manner. Too bad Lisa could see right through her flimsy attempt at a cover-up.

"But you were going to go to the aquarium too. Why didn't you two do that? Allie loves the dolphins!"

"Allie said she did not feel well." Ka'len tried to remain calm but Lisa saw her becoming agitated just like Allie. There was one trick she thought she could try, something that could only work on Ka'len:

"Are you keeping a secret? Because, in our culture, secrets aren't good." She tried to take advantage of the girl's lack of detailed knowledge about earth ways and her 'mission' of learning about earth culture. A dirty trick, but it appeared to work.

Ka'len studied her long and hard, searching for any sign that she was not telling the truth. Finally, she took a deep breath, exhaled, said: "I am not supposed to tell, Allie said it was important…"

"What, what happened?"

"We saw two humans."

"Who?"

Ka'len glanced over her shoulder to make sure Allie wasn't listening, "one was called Mary Crawford."

Lisa froze from the first syllable of the name. She had talked with Charlie the night after Allie had returned about what to do if the government came back. But, so soon? And of all people, that Crawford bitch!

Now Lisa could understand what was troubling Allie. She was scared that her returning would cause them to have to run again.

Without another word, Lisa arose from her chair and started off toward the hall, Ka'len called after her:

"Please, do not tell her."

Lisa turned to reassure the girl: "I'm not, I just want to talk to her."

Allie sat on the edge of her bed staring absently out the window, hands dropped limply in her lap, and her frizzy, uncombed hair hung in tangles all around her head. On the outside, she appeared totally calm and serene. But inside, Lisa knew, she was anything but.

Gently edging the door open, she watched her from behind. Allie didn't flinch at all, like she was totally oblivious to her mother's presence, and she very well could have been. Lisa had not talked much with her daughter about the details of what had happened with the aliens, but it was clear that this was not the same girl she had once known.

"Allie…" Lisa called, her voice gentle and caring. She waited for a sign that Allie had heard her but nothing came, not even a twitch.

"Honey… are you okay?" she moved around the bed. Seeing the redness and moisture around her daughter's eyes she already knew the answer, but still, not even a twitch to show that Allie was even aware of her presence. She sat down on the bed and thought about the best way to approach the issue.

"You know," she said, "no matter what happens, we will always find a way to be a family." Still nothing from Allie.

"If you're afraid of something here… we can leave." Lisa glanced over at the stone wall that her daughter had become, but she had no idea if this was by choice or one of those new abilities Allie had told her about. Was she 'doing' something now, As Lisa was talking to her?

"If you would just talk to me…" a tear rolled down Lisa's face as she placed her hand on Allies shoulder. It was like flipping on a light switch, Allie turned her head and looked into her mothers eyes, asked:

"You've never shown any powers at all?"

Lisa was taken aback by the oddness of the question in the context of the conversation she was trying to have. It was like Allie had just woke up and had not heard a word of what she said before.

"No—no, why?"

"I just thought it was strange." Allie turned her attention back to the world outside her window, where the rain had just slacked off.

"Did you… hear me, when I came in?" Lisa asked

"No." Allie glanced back apologetically, "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

"I was just worried, that you were hiding from something…" Lisa turned away, not sure how to phrase her next statement.

"Why," Allie asked, "what is there to hide from?" she sounded sincere enough, but Lisa could hear the undertones that told her she was hiding something. Already knowing what that something was, it hurt Lisa that her daughter thought low enough of her to have to keep secrets. Like Allie was trying to protect her from some horrible truth, the way a parent shelters her child.

"Ka'len told me." Lisa said outright, "she told me about the zoo."

"Oh…" Allie looked disappointed, then smiled "I guess that means she's becoming more independent."

"If you're scared of that woman, we can leave…"

Allie interrupted: "that's what I've been thinking about." She took Lisa's hand, "mom, there are… things, that I have to do here, I didn't come back just to visit."

Visit… Lisa turned the word over in her head, "what 'things'?"

"I can't tell you just yet, not until the time is right. Ka'len doesn't even know."

"Okay…"

"The thing is, I was worried about how I was going to do these things, but I thought about it. Now I know what I have to do, and it does not involve running away!"

The forcefulness and certainty in Allies voice effected Lisa deeply, touching some part of her primitive nature. Triggering the fight part of the fight or flight response. But fight?

Against what?

Lisa had some ideas, but none of them made any sense.

"Me and Charlie will be right behind you, no matter what. You know that?"

Allie smiled, "I know. But I think it would be best if dad didn't find out about Mary yet."

Lisa nodded, Charlie might overreact hearing that news.

"One other thing," Allie said.

"What?"

"I need to start school, soon."

Lisa looked confused, "but I thought you said…"

"I know, I don't need it for learning. I just wanted to… make some friends, or something."

Be like a normal kid, Lisa added in her head, "I understand, we'll talk to Charlie later."

"Thanks," Allie stood and stretched, "I've been in this room for too long. I think I'll go out for a while."

It took some convincing, but Allie finally managed to coax Ka'len out of the house. The ground was still soaked and the air was heavy with the moisture from the rain, which was sure to return at any moment. She didn't care; it just felt great to be outside.

Although the reason for being outside was double sided.

Allie glanced down the street and confirmed her suspicions. There they were, Mary and that other guy. Sitting in a white van down the street thinking they were hiding. No doubt they had been following her ever since she returned, she just didn't know to look for them until now.

The convenience of the situation was hard to miss. It would be so easy to just follow them to where ever they were staying. All she had to do was… Ka'len.

How do I tell her? Allie looked over at her friend. Her only friend, the realization hit her like a truck. Sure, there was John and her mom and dad, but that was different. Ka'len was the only one she felt she could really talk to. And here she was lying and making up excuses for the things she did.

What kind of friend am I? She thought. But no matter how hard she tried, the will to reveal everything just would not come forth. Allie knew the reason why Ka'len couldn't know… didn't she? The logic was still fuzzy.

Why can't she know? Allie mulled over the question once again. It's not that Ka'len was stupid, like she would go around telling people or something. In fact, she would trust Ka'len more with the knowledge then she trusts herself.

There was still something missing. Something that Allie didn't know, some piece of information that John had forgotten to tell her.

Maybe… Allie froze for a moment. What if her mission were the cover and Ka'len had other orders? What if they hadn't trusted her enough to carry out an important task? Or, what if…

An uncontrollable shudder went through Allie's entire body. There were some disgustingly evil things in Xean history. Things that would make Hitler look like Jesus himself. What if this were all a trick… everything she had been told… were they using her as a tool?

No… they wouldn't, not now… she tried to convince herself but it was too late, the seed of distrust had been planted by her own mind. She now eyed Ka'len apprehensively. Could she still be trusted?

"What should we do?" Ka'len asked, breaking the silence.

"You tell me…" Allie stopped herself, noting the hostility in her own voice. Ka'len had heard it too.

"You wanted to leave the house, I believed that you would have somewhere to go."

"I do," Allie turned and looked at the van once more, then grabbed Ka'len's hand. "This way," she said as they left the porch, cutting across the grass to reach the sidewalk, walking in the opposite direction from the poorly disguised stakeout.

They walked for a while in silence. Ka'len glanced over every so often, but Allie was in deep thought about something.

Ka'len felt bad, she had told Lisa about the zoo and that woman. This was, no doubt, why her friend was mad at her, why she had spoke so angrily at the house. This whole concept was still a challenge to her, "friendship"; it had no real definition. Only a huge set of vague rules that she was only starting to understand. But one of those rules she did understand was trust, and she had violated Allie's, by telling her secret.

"I am sorry…" Ka'len forced the words out awkwardly, not entirely sure she had done it right. Humans could react so drastically to syntax errors.

Allie looked up from her careful study of the dirt on the ground in front of her feet, "what?" she snapped back to reality, "sorry, what did you say?"

"I apologized for telling your mother."

Allie concentrated for a moment, not sure what she was talking about, then remembered the conversation with Lisa earlier, "why do you need to apologize?"

"You are angry at me for revealing your secret."

"What? No, no… I'm just…"

"If it is not the zoo, then what is it? Have I done something incorrectly?"

"No—" Allie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "—I just need some time… that's all"

Ka'len did not know to what she referred, but did not ask any further questions. Instead she looked up, just in time to see a white and black spotted ball bouncing straight at them from a source up the street. A little black hared boy ran after it.

Allie raised her right foot instinctively and stomped down on the ball as it reached her. A flood of memories came upon her as she reached down and picked it up.

The little boy stopped about ten feet from them, panting. "Can we have our ball back—please?" he said with a slight uppity rudeness in his voice.

"Sure," Allie tossed the ball back over to him. The boy stood, eyeing her suspiciously for a moment, then tore off back up the road toward an older boy, probably his older brother.

The other boy waived at them, "thanks for stopp—" he and Allie made direct eye contact. Even from this distance she could make out the deep, dark green eyes and curly black hair, and… a huge bruise on his forehead.

Ka'len leaned over, "is that not the boy from the zoo?"

"Yeah… it is… but?" Allie started slowly walking toward him. Ka'len followed, eyes wide with excitement over the chance to observe this interaction once more.

The boy seemed to be just as surprised to see her here as she was. He stood motionless, staring, trying to think of something to say. The younger brother stood some distance behind him.

"How—how's your head?" he finally asked with a big, awkward grin as the girls drew closer.

The little boy behind him was growing restless, "Tyler, lets play!"

He turned, "just a second Jamie…" and he made a face as if to say: shut up kid!

Jamie groaned, "girls! Always girls!"

Tyler laughed sheepishly as he turned back toward Allie and Ka'len, who had stopped several feet in front of him.

"Hi," Allie said, still a little embarrassed over her clumsiness. That huge purple lump on his head was totally her fault.

"Yeah, hi…" Tyler said in reply, "what are you doing here?" …it was stupid, but it was all he could come up with.

"We live down there," she pointed back down the street in the direction of her house. It was out of sight around a corner though.

"Really?" Tyler's eyes widened, "wow, I thought I knew everyone from around here. Did you just move in?"

Allie hesitated, "yeah, I was living with some relatives in…" her eyes rolled up, then the obvious answer came: "Canada."

"Cool." A moment passed as their eyes once again found each other, then he shook it off, "my name's Tyler."

"Allie…" she blurted out quickly, then blushed, "my name is Allie."

"I like it--I mean, cool name,"

"Yeah…" again, Allie found herself drifting off.

This can't be normal, she thought. There had to be some logical explanation for the feelings that she was struggling to suppress. A part of her knew very well what was happening, but the rest of her fought against that truth. I don't have time for… this

What worried her even more was that Tyler obviously felt the same things. Was she sending 'signals'?

What exactly does 'signals' mean?

There were many questions that only a good, long talk with her mother would answer. For now, she would just be careful what she said and did. Act normal!

"Boring…" Jamie bounced the ball up and down rhythmically.

Tyler took advantage of the distraction; at least it was something to talk about. "This is my little, baby, Brother Jamie." He emphasized the 'baby' part, that always got Jamie riled up.

"Hey!" Jamie whined, "mom said not to say that!" he kicked the ball at Tyler. It bounced off his shoe and rolled across the street. "You're no fun anymore…" Jamie walked over to the curb and sat, pouting.

"He's cute," Allie said after watching the display. Then she glanced over at the ball; "you play soccer?"

"Yeah, goalie. Jamie plays in the junior league."

Goalie… interesting. A crazy thought started forming, but she noticed Tyler staring past her at… Ka'len! She had completely forgot Ka'len was with her.

"God, I totally forgot. This is my cousin… Kaytlen, from Canada." She introduced Ka'len, but immediately cursed herself. Canada? We know nothing about Canada!

"Cool, what part?" Tyler asked 'Kaytlen'.

I knew it! Allie's mind raced for an answer, but Ka'len had a surprise in store for her.

"Richmond, British Columbia. It is just south of Vancouver." Ka'len said, even taking on a very slight accent.

This only served to feed Allie's suspicions. How did she know that? The fact that Ka'len had studied Earth's history, geography, and languages failed to even register in her mind.

"Neat, not too far from here…" Tyler said.

The front door of Tyler's house opened and a woman stepped out, his mother.

"Jamie, Tyler, lunch is ready. It's going to get cold." She said, then reentered the house, slamming the door behind her.

Jamie jumped up and ran in.

Tyler looked disappointed, turned back toward Allie and said: "I should go. I'll see you around?"

"Okay, sure," Allie smiled.

"Bye." Tyler turned and ran toward the house, stopping halfway, "the ball…"

"I'll get it," Allie had already walked over to it. She lined up and kicked it perfectly, giving it just the right amount of rise and backspin to fall right into Tyler's hands.

"You play too?" he asked.

Allie shrugged, "a long time ago."

Tyler smiled, turned, and disappeared into the house.

Several minutes later, Allie and Ka'len were on their way back home. The sky had grown darker and it was sure to start pouring any minute.

The weather was far from Allie's thoughts though. She didn't know how to feel toward Ka'len anymore. If she was mean, or acted like Ka'len was hiding something, and she really wasn't, Allie knew she would feel horrible. But if she was being used for something…

Again her thoughts were interrupted. Not by a soccer ball this time, but by the white van Mary and that guy were so unskillfully following them in. Mary had obviously been taken by surprise by them showing up so close to their position, the van swerved and headed off down a side street.

It took a minute for the idea to click in Allie's head, but a huge mischievous grin spread across her face when it did.

She grabbed Ka'len's arm, "I've got an idea! Follow me…"