A/N: A special thanks goes to BreakTheWalls for the wonderful review. I know that it has been about two or three weeks since I last updated this; but here is the next chapter and I hope you all enjoy it. My birthday is Monday and I wanted to get it out as soon as I was able to. Let me know what you think.
Chapter 9:
Locked Secret of Birth
Unlocking the front door to the safe house, I swallowed hard and stepped over the threshold. My body was alert and highly sensitive to my surroundings. Adam had just kissed me and everything was so chaotic inside my head. I wanted to smile about the gesture; but I couldn't seem to find happiness in it when I felt the hole inside myself grow even larger than it once was.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Adam's company. He had his own questions about his own life. I saw the brilliant golden light surround him with my own eyes. It was just as Gregory described. It wasn't a human aura, that much I knew for sure. "Alayna…" Adam called as he stepped inside the house.
I placed the journal Gregory gave me down on the kitchen table, that was made of a light colored oak wood, and turned to look directly at him. There was turmoil swirling in his eyes and I could see the fear behind it all. He was afraid and I couldn't blame him for that feeling. I knew dragging him deeper into my world was a bad idea and now I could see it for myself. "You need to let me erase these memories. I'm only going to make things worse for you." I answered, clenching my hands together tightly in front of my stomach.
"Absolutely not. You are not going to take away my memories of you. I know what happened to me during those absent days in my mind."
"You aren't thinking rationally here."
"I think I'm thinking plenty rationally."
He took several more steps in my direction. I took two steps back until my back was up against the corner of the table. Unclasping my hands, I rested them behind me on the glossy table-top. Adam reached to touch the side of my face with two fingers, curving my hair behind my ear. "I'm not going anywhere. We met before all of this...it can't just be a coincidence that I'm here with you again...I'm meant to be here...right now…"
"Adam...I'm not a good person to get involved with. You could easily end up dead."
"Shouldn't that be my choice?"
"I can't...I'm sorry…."
I snaked out around him to focus on the journal resting on the table. He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his tangled locks of hair. Pulling out the chair in front of me, I sat down and opened the journal. My adoptive father's handwriting was evident on the pages. Inside, he had dated every entry starting with the day of my birth...July 18th, 1992.
Adam sat down in the chair across from me, keeping some distance between us. I must have been so deep in thought that I hadn't seen him get into the refrigerator, because there was a bottle of beer in his hand.
"Anything of interest in there?" He asked, taking a swig from the bottle.
"Yeah...the journal starts on the day of my birth."
His eyes perked open a little more. My hand rubbed against the rough texture of the paper, knowing that this journal was twenty-seven years old. I opened my mouth to speak, to read the entry in its entirety so I understood what happened and why I had been taken away from my birth parents.
"July 18th, 1992
Today, Claire and I went out on the yacht for some much needed R&R. Our experiments were going very well in the labs. The only thing that was missing was subjects to prove that mythical creatures existed in our world.
What we didn't expect was to witness a birth on the shore of our vacation, Myrtle Beach, home. Claire, curious as ever, peered over the edge of the yacht. The woman giving birth was surrounded in a beautiful white light. Her lover hovered next to her, encouraging her. He had long jet black hair, jet black facial hair that was at least two inches long from his face.
"They are royalty of some kind." Claire said, pointing out that both of them were wearing crowns made of gold and extremely rare gemstones that were known to be hidden at the depths of the ocean.
Once the baby was born, we could see the tail. We had witnessed a mermaid birth. This was our chance to prove that mythological creatures existed. I quickly sprung into action, opening the hidden case of equipment under the seats along the railing.
Claire helped with the preparations, guiding me to the perfect shot. Pulling the trigger, the electrical net sprung free and encased the small family in the webbing. We steered the yacht to shore and jumped down onto the sand.
"Please don't" The woman pleaded, holding the baby close to her chest.
We said nothing, except worked diligently to put the two defensive parents to sleep and took the baby out of the woman's arms. My most trusted partner, Elijah, arrived with a shark cage built to hold the strongest of creatures within its bars. He tossed the sleeping pair into the cage and loaded it on the yacht so we could dispose of them deep into the ocean.
After returning home, Claire noticed a small seashell on a chain around the infant's neck. Her name was Alayna, so we decided to keep the name. Our journey as parents had begun with a creature that was thought to be only myth."
I could do nothing to hold the tears back. They poured from my eyes. Pushing the journal away from me for the time being, there was nothing else I wanted to read at that moment. Rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance and I knew that if I didn't get my emotions in check there would be a terrible storm that would rain down on the town.
I could feel Adam's warmth embrace me. He held on tight and refused to let go as I cried hard against him. I wasn't so sure I wanted to read anymore entries. There were probably things in there that I didn't know about, things they did to me. All I was to them was a test subject. I was never a daughter, they never loved me.
"Alayna…"
Pushing at his chest, he gave me enough space to move out around him again. I just couldn't be around him. Turning back outside, the rain had begun to fall heavy upon the earth. Closing my eyes, I allowed the water to hit my skin like bee stings.
Adam
I knew that she needed to be left alone. What she had learned about the day of her birth couldn't have been easy for her to swallow. Hell, it was even hard for me to think about. How could two people do something so disgusting to a happy couple creating life?
Sitting back down at the table, I moved the journal towards me and looked down upon the words written. I scanned the next entry briefly until a loud thunder clap startled me. Sliding the chair back out, I stood up and opened the door.
Alayna stood firm with her arms outstretched, head tilted back. Waves from the ocean, pounded against the rocks below the treeline that covered the safehouse from view. The storm was only intensifying the longer I stood on the small porch. Calling her name did nothing and the wind that was blowing was starting to snap thinner tree branches.
Slowly weaving through the current of air, I finally reached her and touched the side of her face. Her eyes slowly opened to reveal nothing but white. Her beautiful emerald green eyes were no longer visible.
"Alayna, I know all of this is awful. They never should have taken you; but what is happening now will only hurt more people. You are not a monster."
"Aren't I?"
"No...you are a woman who has emotions just like every other person on this planet. Sure, you have enhanced abilities that most only dream of; but you are selfless and your soul is pure. I am honored to have you in my life."
Looking down at my hands that were starting to heat up, I could see the same golden glow that had surrounded me earlier on. Without thinking much, I moved her arms down and took her hands into my own. Her head shifted to look directly at me. Slowly the white started to fade away and the emerald green returned to her eyes.
The wind dissipated, pushing the storm away. I felt like I was draining away the turmoil that had been swirling inside her. Absolutely drained herself, she collapsed into my arms. All I could do was lift her up and carry her inside the house. Laying her down on the sofa in the small living room, I placed my lips on her forehead before walking back into the kitchen only to see Gregory in the doorway.
"Is she alright?" He asked, sounding concerned.
"She passed out. What kind of fucking people would do such a thing to her birth parents?"
"Emotionless monsters. I didn't understand that until it was far too late. After seeing you with her, I've changed my view of you. Perhaps you are the one person who can help her truly defeat the real enemy here."
"What enemy would that be exactly?"
"If you think Philip and Claire are the masterminds of everything you are sadly mistaken, there is a greater power pulling their strings."
Clenching my hands into fists at my side, what he was saying was only angering me. I didn't even have the time to question my own abilities, because I was so focused on her. Gregory closed the door behind him and took several steps further into the kitchen. "I can tell that you are confused about the light that keeps emerging around yourself."
"My answers can wait...what about her?"
"Have you ever heard the name Odysseus before?"
"Can't say that I have…"
Gregory rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. The name spoken really didn't ring a bell inside my head. Of course, there was so much out there that I never bothered to read about because I didn't see a point to it. Boy was I kicking my own ass for that now. "He was a Greek Hero in Homer's 'Iliad', he was the one who helped the Greeks win the Trojan War. He was public enemy number one in the Greek god Poseidon's eyes."
"What exactly are you trying to say here?"
"The hostility has been passed down from generation to generation. Odysseus's heir has finally come full circle. He's the one pulling the strings behind Philip and Claire's experiments."
"You're telling me that all of that Greek Mythology stuff is true."
"A good chunk of it, yes. Alayna is proof enough, being the daughter of a Greek God was never going to be easy for her."
Wait! What! She was the daughter of a Greek God. His explanation of Odysseus being an enemy of Poseidon was all the knowledge I needed to know who her parents were. It also explained why it had been Philip and Claire to be the ones to stumble across Alayna's birth that day.
Looking back into the living room, a weight suddenly pressed down on my chest. I didn't know if she was going to be able to handle anymore things after learning what had happened the day she was born. All I knew was that I was going to continue to support her through it all, and maybe I would find answers to my own questions along the way.