A/N: A special thanks goes to Vampirezdarkgurl and martham73 for becoming followers. Another special thanks goes to BreakTheWalls for the wonderful review. I'm definitely enjoying writing this for all of you. Onto number four, let me know what you think.

Chapter 4:

Atonement

My eyes widened with horror as the two NS001 creatures lunged at Adam. He was a human and virtually powerless against their strength. I felt my body go numb with a sickening thought of him dying because of me. Closing my eyes, mentally calling out for him. There was silence.

Elijah let go of my arm as if I had burned him and that's when I realized that my body was much hotter than before. He looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and all I could do was rush inside the cabin; but before I could get there. Adam was tossed outside with such force, he fell into the lake with a splash.

The two NS001's blocked my path in attempts to reach him. They really were brainless creatures, only made to do my father's bidding. The one on the right attacked first. Crouching low, I avoided the claws and returned with a kick to the abdomen. At this point, I was feeling overheated. Out of instinct alone, I forced all the extra energy within me into two balls in my palms. They radiated an orangish yellow color, just like the sun.

Tossing both balls of energy at them. Connecting with their scaly skin, it dried them out almost immediately. It left nothing but dust behind. I took the opening to dive straight into the lake, not giving a damn about Elijah in the least.

"Adam!" I mentally called out.

Once again, there was silence. Panic took over and I frantically searched the dark waters for him. My mermaid tail had emerged the second my body hit the water, allowing me to swim much faster than a traditional human. The fish surrounded me, immediately taking notice of my presence and desperation.

They led me straight to him. He was unconscious and barely alive. Blood was pooling from an open gash on his shoulder. Holding him in my arms, my mouth connected with his. Breathing life back inside him. Using my tail strength, I forced myself to swim back to the surface with him in my arms.

Adam coughed and spat out the water that had been in his lungs the second his body made connect with the grassy bank. I stayed in the water, making sure it was safe for him to be in the open. Elijah's car was no longer there, which meant he was going back to my father for backup and it also meant that we could no longer stay here. We needed to keep moving further away.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position. Water rolled down his face and dripped from the ends of his long blonde hair. Once he realized that he was alive, he instantly looked to his shoulder and saw that the wound had stopped bleeding. The open wound was closed shut. "Alayna…" He stated, turning his head back towards me in the water.

"Glad to see that you didn't get killed because of me." I answered, avoiding eye contact with him.

"I'm pretty sure that I was dead there for a moment."

"Had you truly died, I wouldn't have been able to heal you."

I knew my limitations. I wasn't a god and no matter what kind of power dwelled inside my body, I couldn't bring back someone from the dead. It was impossible. If he thought that he had died, then it must have been extremely close. "Thank you." He murmured. His voice was rough and it probably hurt to speak.

"You're welcome. I'm grateful that I was able to save you in time."

"I get the feeling that someone else wasn't as lucky as I…"

His statement hit me straight in the chest like a ton of bricks. I didn't want to think about the past. My struggles were my own problem. Turning away, my back was to him. The sun was covered by the white clouds that were quickly turning grey. My emotions were creating a torrent in the weather patterns and if I didn't get a handle on them, it would spell disaster for this little town of Aaron's Creek.

I could feel the fish circle me once more. They were speaking to me as if they knew me. Words of concern were issued; but they didn't help. The feeling of ripples in the water against my sensitive skin, alerted me to Adam's presence in the water.

"Alayna…" He called softly.

Adam placed a hand on my arm, pulling me back towards him. He had just come so very close to death and here he was trying to comfort me. It didn't make any sense as to why I felt such a strong connection to him. It was familiar, yet unknown at the same time. "I was fifteen. I had befriended a boy in my class at school. My body was changing and was going through the transition to mermaid every couple of days. I begged my parents to allow me go out with him just once. Of course, they refused, so I snuck out."

Reliving those memories wretched at my heart, making the tears burn at the corners of my eyes. Curling my bottom lip under the top one, I looked up at the sky. The blue was gone, replaced by a stormy grey. A storm of my own creation was rumbling in the heavens. Adam needed to get out of the water or he'd risk getting struck by lightning. "Elijah was sent to bring me back and my friend was caught in the crossfire. I've never forgiven myself for that. I refuse to let anyone else die because of me."

"That truly is a touching story." Elijah's voice boomed over the first thunder clap.

The both of us immediately turned in the direction of his voice. His car wasn't there; however, he was. Had he been lying in wait for the perfect moment to strike. His eyes were narrowed with the intention of taking care of the issue himself. Swimming forward, I pushed Adam back onto the bank. "You need to get out of here. I won't let you die. Take my car and go...please." I mentally begged him.

He scrambled to his feet and headed straight for my car. The keys were still inside and I could see him finally drive away from the scene that had unfolded. Elijah laughed. It was a laugh straight from his gut, which only seemed to fuel the fire burning deep inside me. "If you think you'll be able to save him, you are sadly mistaken. He's been marked by the NS001. He won't get far."

Another thunder clapped across the sky. It was a signal that I needed to act now. Outstretching my arms, the water seperated and flowed out around me. Elijah pulled out his weapon of choice, a small handgun. He fired the first shot. Moving my hand slightly, the bullet was caught in my web of water.

Forcing the water to move me to the bank, my legs returned and I stood on the grass. I didn't care that I was naked in front of him, it was the least of my worries. He fired another shot at me. The bullet missed, just flying passed my shoulder.

"You can make this easy on yourself. Just come back with me and all will be forgiven." Elijah stated, taking a step back on the gravel pathway.

"Nothing needs to be forgiven. I'm not going back. You can no longer control me."

Clenching my hands into fists at my side, I could feel the weather's turmoil in the sky. Opening my mouth, I unleashed the same destructive scream only this time a bolt of lightning touched down on the waves, electrifying them. The force connected with Elijah's body. His cries of agony were utterly satisfying to say the least.

I knew deep down it wouldn't kill him. The man was my father's right hand man and thus, genetically modified. My mind swirled with ideas of what I was going to do next; but out of the corner of my eye, I could see my car. Adam was behind the wheel and he pulled to a stop right in front of me.

"Alayna, get in!" He shouted.

Complying with his request, I got into the passenger seat and he continued to drive away. He reached into the backseat for the blanket that had been resting there. I immediately pulled it around myself. The storm dissipated the further we drove away from the cabin. The dred of knowing that Elijah would eventually find me again made it hard for me to feel excitement over seeing Adam's face again. "I'm pretty sure I told you to run." I stated, holding the ends of the blanket closed around me.

"Wasn't going to happen."

"Adam, being around me is dangerous. You need to go while you still have a chance to live your life fully."

"You owe me answers and besides...I happen to like being around you."

His words left me dumbfounded for a moment. No one has ever said they liked being around me, not since my one and only friend at fifteen. He kept his eyes on the road as he continued to drive, not really knowing where to go. All I knew was that I needed clothes, food and sleep.

Leaning my head against the window, my eyes fluttered closed. A familiar feeling of warmth rushed over me. "Alayna…" My name was called by that same femine voice from the night before.

"Who calls for me?" I asked, hoping to get an answer this time.

"Oh how I wish I could answer that, just know that we are watching and guiding you."

"Guiding me to what?"

"To the answers you seek."

The voice faded once more and I was left in the darkness of slumber. Opening my eyes, the sun had finally set and the mood arose in the sky to take its place. Adam was still driving as I turned my head to look at him. "How long was I out for?" I asked.

"Maybe an hour or two. I found us a place to stay tonight." He replied, glancing over at me with a smile.

I honestly didn't know what to say to him. This has been by far the most anyone has ever done for me. I had no idea if I was going to be able to give him the answers he wanted and that pained me to think about.

Another ten minutes flew by and he pulled into the parking lot of a motel. He left me alone in the car for a few moments as he went inside to check in. Coming back outside with a key in hand, he returned to the car. "Come on." He urged, opening the door for me to step out.

Still holding the blanket around me, I followed him to the room we would be staying in tonight. The keycard unlocked the door and he pushed it open. It wasn't anything fancy. Two full sized beds positioned in the center of the room, a small couch against the large window and a entertainment center that housed a flatscreen TV and mini fridge. "You go get a warm shower and I'll run to the store to get you some clothes and supplies."

He turned towards the door. "Adam." I called. He stopped at the handle of the door and turned back towards me. "Thank you." Smiling, he stepped out of the room allowing the door to close behind him. I was now alone in the room, so I decided to do exactly what he suggested I do in the first place. Get a warm shower.

Letting go of the blanket, it fell to the floor in a pile. I stepped into the small bathroom, turning the handles for the right temperature of water. Once I got it right, it felt heavenly on my sore body. Running my fingers through my tangled hair, I smiled to myself. Understanding that maybe Adam was meant to help me achieve my freedom and I was meant to help him uncover those lost memories inside his mind. At the time, uncover my own lost memories.