AUTHOR'S NOTE: THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS. I'M TRYING TO POST EVERY THREE TO FOUR DAYS. IT JUST DEPENDS HOW FAST I CAN TYPE. I HAVE WRITTEN I LOT OF CHAPTERS LATELY AND AM THINKING OF POSTING A NEW ONE EVERY DAY NEXT WEEK SINCE I'M ON SPRING BREAK.
CHAPTER 16
PINT SIZED PARKER
February 28, 2003
9:00am
Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
It was dusty in the vents. And dark. Jarod truly hated the dark. For the past two hours the pretender had been crawling around the Centre's vents trying to find the best escape route. So far the quickest route from the children's room to outside would take thirty minutes. Jarod stopped and pulled out a map and flashlight. He was so focused on his work he didn't notice the Empath until he tapped him on the shoulder.
"Jesus, Angelo." He hissed. "You scared me half to death."
"Angelo sorry." He apologized. "Come must show you. Quick, come quick" The empath said as he scurried down the vents with Jarod in pursuit.
The two crawled for a good ten minuets until they came to the sleeping form of a child.
"Quite, Mouse sleeping!" Angelo said putting a finger to his lips. "You go now. Take Little Mouse. Protect her. Go now. Quickly. Before they know." He said.
"Angelo how do I get her out?"
"Angelo show Jarod. Come" Angelo picked up Alex and ducked walked her until the vents were tall enough for him to stand up properly. "Here Harness. Put on to carry Mouse." Angelo said as he gave Jarod the harness. Angelo then handed the child to Jarod, and he strapped her in. "Take this." Angelo said giving Jarod a backpack. "Go now. Look after Little Mouse. Protect her."
"Come with us Angelo." The pretender pleaded
"No. Must look after others." Angelo said and then disappeared.
"Let's get you safe little one." Jarod said to the child as her brought her out into the sunlight.
February 28, 2003
11:30am
Dover, Delaware
Armada Inn
It was almost two hours before she woke up.
"Wh-Where am I." She began to panic.
"Sush Alex your safe. I'm Jarod and this is my brother Ethan." He said pointing to the man beside him. "Were in a town outside of Blue Cove." He explained to the child.
"Where are my brothers?" She said, calming down. "Where's Will, Where's Arron and Andy?
"Hush now Alex don't panic. Your brothers are still at the Centre."
"What!" Alex said leaping to her feet. "What do you mean my brother are still at the Centre. Why didn't you get them out too? Lyle's gonna kill them. You idiot. You, you stupid,"
"Now just wait one minute." Jarod said interrupting her. "It wasn't my idea to break you out today. Angelo led me to you. He told me to get you out." Jarod defended himself.
"Um." Ethan spoke. "There's a letter here for you." He said, passing it to Alex.
"It's from Jake." She informed them. She sat back down on the bed and carefully opened the letter. After reading the letter she sat in silence for a while. She then burst in to a whole new fit of rage in which she began to shred the letter. "That stupid little shit! He thinks he can just control my life!" Jarod and Ethan stared at the child in shock as her continued to rant.
"My God, she's like a pint sized Parker." Jarod said in a horrified voice.
"Does that mean she can run in six inch stilettos?" Ethan said with a grin.
"Good God what have we gotten ourselves into." Jarod said as he continued to watch the child pace back and fourth yelling at no one in particular. Her ranged continued for another five minutes. She turned around and finally acknowledged the other people in the room.
"Your Miss. Parker's half brother." She stated.
"Yes, I am." Ethan said, caught of guard by the child's sudden change in attitude.
"I'm Alex."
"It's nice to meet you. So, who's Jake?" Ethan asked.
"Jake is a no good, scheming, pain in the but. Who deiced that I needed to get out of the Centre immediately." She said angrily. "He also happens to be my best friend after my brothers and cousins."
"Oh." Ethan said unsure of how to respond.
"So what's good to eat around here." She said with a grin
February 28, 2003
1:00pm
Dover, Delaware
Armada Inn
"Hungry were you?" Jarod asked
"You've eaten that crap the Centre call food. This is the best thing I've had to eat since me and the others cracked open the vending machine." Alex said as she as she scarfed down her Hunan Beef.
"You know for a kid you use pretty bad language." Ethan said.
"As Sam put it I've been "raised by incompetent sweepers who don't know how to watch their mouths around children." She replied. "Sam's been trying to get us to clean up our language for years."
"Sam? As in Miss. Parker's personal sweeper."
"Yeah he's been raising our whole lives. He tries his best t' keep us safe from Lyle and Raines. He hates um you know."
"No I didn't. Why does he hate the Centre?" Jarod implored.
"Cause they killed his parents when he was my age. The Centre thought that Sam was a pretender like you. Turned out he wasn't but he does have the gene."
"Sam was a former Centre project?" Jarod asked in disbelief
"Yup. He's that one that warned us not t' show the Centre our abilities."
"What are your abilities?" Ethan asked
"Obviously all of us are pretenders. Jake and Rach have shown a bit of precognitive ability. Cassie and Marc are telepathic. Toby and Terra have yet to have shown any other abilities. Greg, Jeremiah, and Melissa can channel other people's abilities. Have you ever read the Dead Zone by Stephen King?"
"Yes but what dose that have to do with any thing." Ethan asked.
"Well Michael and Maddie get visions from touching things like Johnny Smith does."
"And what about you and your brothers? What are you all capable of?" Jarod asked.
"Will is a pretender too, he also possesses an inner sense, and he is a pyrokinetic. Arron, Andros and I also possess an inner sense. We don't know if were pyrokinetic or not." Alex looked down I at her plate sadly. "I wish they were here to try this. They would love it. When do you plan on getting them out by the way?"
"Soon." Jarod responded. "Hopefully within the week."
"A week!" I've never been apart form my brothers for more than forty- eight hours!"
"I'm sorry Alex but that's how long it's going to take."