Note: I know, I know, another rewrite of Divergent Path. I realized the more I tried to move forward with the series, the less I was liking the second rewrite and how disjointed it felt. I was getting ready to start posting the first rewrite on AO3 as I've been wanting to move some of my work there for a time now and as I started to reread through chapter 1, I realized why I was so unhappy with it.

One: the chapters don't reflect my current writing level so reposting it felt wrong.

Two: This book really needs to be two books thus I will be splitting it up. I don't know where it will happen, but it will.

Three: why the heck am I writing another version of this from the point of view of my own characters?! I might as well just rewrite the story with them in it as well. Don't worry not all of them are point of view characters. Only Solomon and Arthur are point of view characters thus far in the outline.

Also, you know how artists have that one piece they redraw yearly, this is my "redraw" piece now. Though hopefully this will be the last time. (as a little joke)

"No."

Abel gritted his teeth. "It's just a party!" he snapped at the general.

"No means no, Lieutenant-Coronel." The general's eyes narrowed, making his dark brown eyes turn black. A scowl pulled at his strong features.

"But," Abel protested.

"No!" snapped the general. "Now, out!" he barked. His hand whipped through the air in direction of the door. The man didn't even flinch when Abel glowered down at him. He just glared back at Abel.

Abel turned on his heel. He stormed from the room. All he had asked for was to throw Seth her twentieth birthday party. Heck, his sister didn't even look twenty because one of their god be damned enhancements made them age a year of every year and half. But she had just turned to looking thirteen. What was the bloody harm in giving her party?

"There you are."

"Not now!" Abel snapped at his twin.

Cain blinked. A frown pulled his narrow features, blue eyes glittering. "What's wrong?" Cain fell into step with Abel.

"The bloody general turned down Seth's party idea," Abel snarled.

"Party?" Cain laughed.

"What?" Abel glared at him.

Cain's blue eyes, a shade darker than Abel's, shone. "Of course he turned you down. The general doesn't like you."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

"Slow down."

Abel jerked to a stop by his brother's hand on his shoulder. "What?" Abel demanded.

"Why is it so important to throw her a party? We gave her one years ago." Cain's eyes softened, though the frown remained intact.

"You realize normal people get birthday's yearly, right?" Idiot.

"Yes, but we're not normal," Cain reasoned. "We have a purpose, something most people never get."

Abel scowled. Here they went again.

"We're meant to lead humanity to Mars. To find their salvation. To—"

"Be treated like animals ripe for the slaughter," Abel finished. He folded his arms across his chest.

Cain sighed. He rubbed his eyes. "I doubt that. Why would they spend so much on creating the four of us just to kill us?" His lips twitched.

"Because they're insane."

"Abel, just think about this logically—"

"There's no bloody logic to it!"

"All right. All right," – Cain put his hands in the air – "I get your point. Let's just make a small deal."

"Over?" A double-edged sword came to mind. There was always something with Cain.

"You start to read up on what General Hall wants you to do at the launch," – his eyes narrowed – "and I mean, all of it, Abel. I will talk to him about the party for Seth."

Abel ground his teeth. It wasn't so much he didn't want to read the documents. Only he already had read them. Thus, Cain's deal wasn't really a good one. It did mean Cain didn't know Abel had already read it though.

"Fine," Abel grumbled.

"Good." Cain nodded. "It's important after all."

Yeah, right?

Then there was the fact Cain didn't and would never believe him over the fact UN only meant them ill will.

He just needed proof. Away to show his brother, Abel was right once and for all. It was easier thought of than done.

"I had best speak with General Hall then." Cain narrowed his eyes. "I had better return to our room to find you're reading those documents."

"Sure." Abel smiled.

"Abel!"

"I said 'sure,' so, I will read them!"

"Good." Cain moved down the hall towards the general's office.

Abel shook his head.

What did Cain take him for? Some lazy idiot who didn't know what was planned for the god be damned launch ceremony? Abel scowled. Most likely.

Whatever.

Abel turned away from his brother.

In the end, Abel had gotten more out the deal than Cain had. What mattered the most was the fact Cain might just be able to convince the general to let them have a party for Seth.

An image of Seth's beaming face flashing into Abel's mind.

His heart soared. A smile pulled away the scowl.

Yes, what mattered was his precious sister's happiness. Not that Cain was an idiot.

Now, for the poof over the UN's plans for them.

Abel set off down the hall. There were personal there which wasn't shocking as it was very close to the lunch break. Abel kept to the edge of the hall, making it harder for any of them to bump into him without going out of their way.

Eyes burned him as he walked.

Abel returned the nasty looks with a glare of his own.

It wasn't like he had a choice in the fact he'd been created. A soft growl escaped him as a breath.

Damn UN.

Damn scientists.

Abel slipped into a side hall.

As expected, it was deserted.

A small breath escaped him. Tension released from his shoulders. The nasty stares had vanished the moment he'd moved into this hall.

The hall led straight to his distention.

Abel peered into the monitoring room. There was no one there. He nodded and slipped into the room. His gaze flickered over the countless screens. Each displayed parts of the base. He could see Seth's and Lilith's room, or the door which lead there more over. Then there was a camera on his and Cain's room. More lined the halls, but none showed the hall or room Abel now stood in.

A stupid design.

Even stupider than the fact the last personal hadn't closed the doors. Granted, Abel had never tried to get into this room before. It was the perfect room the hack into the UN. He would have a view of anyone entering the hall as well as know where most people were in the base. The two blind spots weren't an issue. He could hear anyone coming down the hall thanks to the metal flooring. Well, that and his enhanced hearing.

He took a seat at the computer. He started to type.

The screen flashed: Access granted.

So far so good.

Now, to find what he was after.

"What are you doing?"

Abel froze.

Shit!

There were only three people who could sneak up on him. Of course, the bossiest of them just had to be the one to do so.

"It's none of your business, Lilith," Abel stated. He continued to type, not even glancing at her.

"You're hacking into the system, again. That is my business."

"Be quiet," he hissed.

"Do you know what will happen if you're caught?"

He really didn't care.

There!

Abel clicked on one of the files. It opened without a hitch. He frowned. There wasn't a password or anything to help guard this file. That was even stupider than no cameras in the security room.

"Listen for once in your life, Abel," Lilith continued.

Abel's heart froze. His eyes widened.

This – this couldn't be.

No. No. NO! It was worse than just killing them outright.

What the hell?

"Abel!" Lilith snapped.

"You need to see this," the words fell from his lips as a breath.

Lilith let out a long breath. "I won't be involved in whatever you're planning, Abel."

"Just look," he pressed, not tearing his gaze from the screen.

Why? Why would they do this? Just killing them would have been so much better. He would rather be a sheep ripe for the slaughter than the return for only this hell to await them.

Warmth pressed his shoulder. Auburn hair felled down the side of his face.

Lilith gasped. Her hand flew from his shoulder to her mouth. Her golden eyes, reflected in the in monitor, widened.

"Experiments," she breathed. "But, why? We're meant to…"

A soft sound tickled Abel's ears.

He shut down the program and returned the system to how he'd found it. "We need to go." Abel leapt to his feet.

Lilith didn't move. Her gaze locked on the screen.

"Come on!" Abel grabbed her wrist. He pulled her to the wall beside the door.

One of the security personal entered the room. "Damn it," she muttered, "I told them to lock the doors when they went to lunch."

Now!

Abel pulled Lilith after him into the hall. He took off. His arm jerked with each racing step he took.

Lilith stumbled behind after him.

Abel veered into the main hall

"In here." He pulled Lilith into one of the storage rooms behind him.

His heart bounded. Abel released Lilith and moved to the closed door. He pressed his ear to the thin crack.

Nothing.

Only the sound of normal steps as the personal went about their normal routine. They hadn't been noticed. He took several deep breaths, drinking in the stale, recycled air.

"I don't think we were followed." Abel turned back to Lilith.

She had stunk to the ground, arms wrapped around her legs. She shook her head, eyes rimmed with white as she stared at her knees.

"It," – her breath trembled – "it can't be true." She kept moving her head, slowly from side to side. "I can't believe…"

"Lilith?" Abel's throat constricted as he watched her. This, it wasn't the Lilith he had grown up with. That woman would never had been on the floor, frozen in her horror. Yet – he closed his eyes – how could he blame her?

A shiver raced through. His skin crawled. All which kept Abel from screaming in rage and wanting to curl up in a corner was the sight of Lilith like this.

He had to do something. Anything to get back the bossy woman he knew so well. She might have been annoying, but it was better than this.

"Lilith," he repeated, voice softer. He knelt before her. "It is true." The words ripped at his heart.

It was true.

Everything they had just read. All of it was true. This was the reality they would face when they were no longer useful to the Red Mars Project.

No. It wasn't the time for him to drawn in this knowledge. Lilith needed to be pulled back from her horror before he could dwell on what they'd just read.

Abel swallowed.

He lifted his hand. It trembled close to Lilith's face.

He took a deep breath. He touched her cheek. "Lilith," he repeated, "we," – the word shuddered through him – "we need to figure out what to do."

Lilith looked at him. Eyes still more white than gold.

"We need to figure out a plan, to stop this from every happening." To protect their family, especially Seth. "And if anyone can figure out a plan, it's you."

Her gaze flickered away from Abel.

A tear trickled down her cheek, stopping at Abel's thumb. He wiped it away, his touch as soft as he could make it.

"You're stronger than this, Lilith. I know you can figure something out."

She just stared at the ground.

"You have to," he whispered.

She turned. Their noses touched.

He shivered. They were so close.

Her hand was so warm as it fell over her cheek. "How can you be so strong after what we just read?" the words were soft, less than a whispered breath.

"I think, a part of me knew we were human to them."

Her forehead rested against his. "Thank you, Abel. We can figure something out, together."

Abel's heart flickered. He'd never been this close to her.

"Together," he confirmed.

x – Cain – x

"It's away to celebrate all of us leaving," Cain persuaded. "You could look at it as a way to celebrate getting rid of us, Sir."

General Hall frowned. He rubbed his chin.

General Kaden Hall.

Cain's lip twitched. He held back the urge to curl his lip in disgust. The man was nothing more than a pig. His stocky, short build, and harsh features making anything but attractive. He reveled in the power his position gave him.

Disgusting man. One day, Cain would be able to deprive him of everything this imp held for granted. To get back at everything he had done to make all their lives a living hell.

"Hmm." The general's gaze locked on Cain's.

Cain had him.

"Fine," the general grumbled. "You have permission to use the pool for two hours. No more." He huffed. "And don't expect any more favors, Major."

"Of course, sir." Cain straightened and saluted the man. A chill crawled over his skin. "Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed."

Pig.

Cain left the office.

What he wouldn't give to destroy everything that man held? To take what he held for granted out from under and show him what it really felt like to live a life tormented by scientists. To just give him the hellish life he and his siblings had been born into.

All Cain was grateful for, was soon they would be rid of the pompous pig. They would be heading for Mars at long last.

A small, pent up breath fled his lips.

Cain strode down the hall.

People parted to let him through. Lunch had just ended which meant most were heading back to their positions to continue their shifts.

Once their role in the Red Mars Project was over, he would take his siblings far from this life. Away from the hell of their childhood, away from everything but one another.

Cain stepped into a small room off the hall. He turned and scowled.

Of course, Abel was nowhere to be seen. His desk stood empty, save for the laptop. The screen saver danced across the screen. A stack of data cubs was piled to one side.

Typical. Just typical.

Air hissed between Cain's teeth. Where the hell had Abel gotten off to this time? And why wasn't he honoring his end of their deal?

The door opened.

"You're blocking the door, Cain." Abel's voice came from behind him.

Cain turned. "Where have you been?" He bit back the urge to snarl.

Abel shrugged. "About." He slipped passed Cain into their small quarters.

Cain's eye twitched. "I kept up my end of the deal, what about you?"

"Honestly, do you really think there was that much for me to read?"

"Yes," Cain stated.

"All mine said is 'Avoid the representatives and media. If pursued by the media, destroy their camera.'" Abel waved his hand in the air. He sat down on his bed. "Now what about Seth's party?"

Cain's jaw tightened. It was almost like Abel had played him, but his precious twin would never do something like that. "I got permission to use the pool for two hours on her birthday." Cain took his chair at his desk. The space was so small it was crammed in next to Abel's desk and Cain's bed. The dresser took up the wall across from Abel's bed.

"You got the pool?" Abel blinked. "I am a little impressed."

Cain smiled.

"Only a little," Abel grunted.

"What are you going to do for her this time?" Cain asked as he pulled out a sheet of paper and pencil.

"I was going to talk to the chef," Abel stated.

"He wouldn't cook you anything."

"Not about him cooking something! I wanted to ask permission to bake a cake."

Cain laughed. "What? You? Cook?" He smirked. "I would love to see this. Just don't poison our sister."

"Shut up!" Abel snapped. "I know how to cook, unlike you."

Cain shrugged. "It's not a requirement for running the colony. I don't get why you even bothered to learn it."

Abel's wintery eyes narrowed.

His silvery hair was cut short and spiked in the back. He looked gruff, unrefined compared the neatness which Cain kept his appearance. Yet, the silver of his hair suited Abel completely with his winter blue eyes. The only thing which didn't was the scowl marring his features. If only Abel would smile.

The silver hair did help tell them apart if only a little. Cain's hair was a few shades darker, making it white blond instead of a pure silvery white like Abel's.

Either way, with a smile on, then Abel was perfect. Unlike that disgusting beast named Kaden Hall.

"What about you?" Abel demanded. "What are you giving her?"

"A picture."

Abel huffed.

"I managed to get some paper and everything." Cain smiled as he held up the rare material. Trees were considered precious so to even hold a sheet of recycled paper was rare, forget wooden pencils he'd seen in history texts.

Abel rolled his eyes. "Oh, brilliant, you got real paper, good for you," his voice dripped with sarcasm.

"You could at least act like it's a big deal." Cain's lip twitched. "If you must be condescending, then make yourself useful and tell the girls the plans for tomorrow."

"Whatever." Abel stood and stalked to the door.

He was gone in the blink of an eye.

Okay.

That was weird.

Cain frowned at the door. Did he and Lilith suddenly get on speaking terms rather than shouting ones?

He laughed.

As if.

x – Solomon – x

Gravel crunched as the car rolled up the drive. Solomon could feel the vibration of the gravel through car.

"Sir."

Solomon opened his eyes a slit. The window separating Solomon from the driver lowered an inch.

"We've arrived."

The door slammed shut.

Solomon breathed. Arrived? His hand shook as it balled into a fist on his knee. He opened his eyes. Beyond the window, a massive mansion dominated the landscape. Trees and brushes lined the path to the grand double doors. What had once been normal in history books, was now seen as a sign of wealth. Yards covered in such lush greenery and flowers, proved one could afford the plants as well as the extra water needed to keep them alive.

The door opened.

"Sir." The driver bowed low to Solomon while he held open the door.

Solomon moved out of the car. "Thank you." He bowed his head to the driver.

One of Solomon's father's many butlers stood not far from the drive. He stepped forward and bowed to Solomon. "Ah, young master, I'd been informed you were visiting. I'll place your bags in your room."

"I got it," Solomon stated.

The butler froze. "I insist." Weariness settled into his gaze. A familiar look most got when dealing with Solomon.

Solomon nodded. He might as well play his father's game for now.

The butler smiled and went to retrieve the "bags." The soft sound of the trunk opening trickled to Solomon. He kept his gaze locked the mansion. His gut twisted. Home. It had been years since he'd last laid eyes on the mansion. Not since the day he had enlisted in the UNASF.

The only reason he'd returned at all was because his mother and sister had requested it.

In two years, nothing had changed here. It was still the same well kempt bushes and trees. The grand doors. Everything, the same.

"Sir, is this everything you brought?" the butler's question cut through the gentle rustle of the fake wind.

Solomon looked at the older man. "It's all I own," he stated. He was in the military and lived most of the time on the base he was serving at after all.

"Very well, sir." The butler took his bag. "This way." He set a slow pace towards the mansion then turned off the path.

Of course.

Solomon followed him onto the garden path. Someone important must have visiting. It wouldn't do for a "disgrace" like Solomon to come in through the front. Perhaps even if someone important wasn't there his father no longer saw him as worthy of such an honor.

Solomon's gaze flickered back to the drive. There was another car parked before the one he had arrived in. The first option then.

"Who is visiting?" Solomon asked.

"Isaac Butler," the butler replied.

The head of the UN.

Interesting.

It wasn't abnormal for him to visit. After all the head of the UN and Solomon's father were close.

The butler led the way through the servants' entrance into the home.

"This way, sir." He moved off towards stairs.

Solomon didn't follow. His eyes narrowed. He could just make out voices drifting towards the kitchen from the family room.

Solomon moved towards the sound.

"Sir," the butler hissed a warning.

"—military now," a smooth voice came into range.

"He is," the familiar sound of his father's came.

"A brilliant, young man, the two of you must be proud. It's a shame his health keeps him from becoming the next head of the family."

"You'll find our daughter is more than suited to the task," his father's voice was sharp. "She will serve the UN well when the time comes."

"Yes," his mother agreed. "Whatever achievements her brother has made pale in comparison to her own."

Solomon's hand balled into a weak fist. He took a deep, shaky breath, letting nothing of the emotions raging through him appear on his face.

"Sir," the butler whispered. "You don't need to hear this."

Solomon just looked at the man.

The butler's eyes glittered but he bowed, brow furled as he backed off.

"Is that so?" A glass chinked against wood. "You're how old now?"

"Twelve, sir!" it was his sister though she sounded older than the last time he had heard her.

"Hmm."

Silence.

"I've already made it to my junior year in high school," she informed the man. His father had no doubt gestured for her to tell him everything she'd accomplished.

"I see," the smooth voice clipped. "I've called for a few doctors. The latest best in their fields."

A chill ran through Solomon. More doctors.

"Thank you, Mister Butler," his father's voice shook, "but I must decline. Our daughter is more than capable—"

"Your son was in college by the age of eight."

Eight?

Solomon closed his eyes. The accursed age when he'd learned the truth about his family's so called love.

"Whatever topic caught his interest he has risen to be a forerunner in said field and is now the leading expert in genetic science. As you may recall the last leading expert turned out to be an illegal enhanced human. Do you have any idea how rare of an asset your son is?"

Silence.

Rare? Solomon could have laughed. What had his mind gotten him thus far? His mind was nothing not when he had been given only twenty-one years to live. Such a short life. All he has once wanted was to see his parents look at him with the warmth they had before the illness. This would never happen. Thus, he left to join the military as no matter what he tried, the accomplishments in science he had made, nothing had changed.

He was forever the disgrace. The child who should never have been.

"I would be remised if I let such an asset die because of an incurable decease, now, wouldn't I?"

"But, sir, our daughter is—"

"Not on the same level as the four enhanced humans I had designed for the Red Mars Project."

"There is no way Solomon is on their level!"

"Perhaps not, but a naturally born genius of his level is rare, especially one with no enhancements."

"He has a year. And only a year left," Solomon's mother joined voices with his father. "He'll be useless to you physically in less than eight months."

"I see."

A few relieved sighs sounded. "Thank you, Mister—"

"I assume this is why you called him back?" the voice of Isaac almost purred.

"It is, sir."

Solomon stiffened. No. They were going to put him in a metaphorical cage.

His jaw tightened. He wouldn't let them.

"Leave my bag here," he told the butler.

"Young master, you shouldn't interrupt them."

"Don't worry." Solomon gave the man a small smile.

"Oh, how I miss your old smile. It would light your face with such joy. Now…" The butler closed his eyes. "Forgive me, young master."

Solomon nodded.

"I'll see to your room." He placed the bag against the wall before heading up the stairs.

Solomon watched him go. He followed at a slower pace. He didn't head all the way up to the room he'd been given. Solomon slipped out of the servant stairs on the second level.

None of the servants were around. They would be waiting on his parents, sister, and Isaac, not concerned with the upper levels of the mansion.

He moved down the hall at an even pace.

His father's office rested at the end of the hall. The door was locked, as was to be expected. He tapped in the code. It was his sister's birthday. A little obvious, but still, easy enough.

The computer was the same, just as easy to get into. He skimmed through the files.

There.

The reassignments for military personal for the Red Mars Project. Solomon smiled. If this worked, he could at long last leave Earth and his family behind. There was nothing left for him but pain.

Nothing left but to spend his last year as a bird caught in a gilded cage. He wanted to fly, once, before the end. To see the splendor Mars offered. To die away from this cursed world.

He finished typing up the reassignment for himself and sent it. None would be the wiser it hadn't come from his father. He erased the reassignment from his father's system.

Solomon replaced everything as he had seen it on entering the room.

He slipped from the room, relocking the door.

It had been a mistake to come here. Still, there was a chance now he could go to a place he would never have been allowed. It was worth it in the end.

Solomon retraced his footsteps down the hall.

"He's just this way."

Shit.

Solomon moved faster. Sweat beaded his face from the quickened stride. He slid into the servant stairwell and closed the door.

Footsteps sounded beyond.

There was no more time to waste.

Solomon made it to the kitchen. He grabbed his bag and left the mansion. The car he'd taken was still there. His heart raced. There was a chance his father had told the driver not to let him return.

"Did you get everything already, sir?" the driver asked.

"I did," Solomon confirmed.

"Where to?"

"Back to the base."

"Of course, sir."

Solomon relaxed as the car started off.

He closed his eyes.

This would be the last time he ever saw that accursed place. The assignment he'd given himself would last just over a year. He'd be dead before he returned to Earth.