Chapter 3

AUTHORS NOTE: I'm sure by now you guys have noticed that I have chosen to keep the protagonist's name a secret, but it will be revealed in this chapter so read and enjoy.

Two days. Two agonizingly, long and painful days, she waited. Two days later the flames that consumed her home had been extinguished. The authorities were not aware that she in fact was the daughter that lived in the house, she had not been taken to a hospital or a foster home; she just lived on the streets. She was able to return to her home, but it was no longer a home, it wasn't even a house; it was simply reduced to ash, although the main structure of the building remained. Years of memories, gone, and now she is searching through the pile of ash. Why? She didn't know herself, just hoping that something, anything, could be salvaged in the piles of rubble.

Every step she took make a crumbling noise on the burnt wooden boards and charred objects that used to be on shelves or a table. Hanging on the wall in the corner where the living room used to be,. There was a beautiful portrait of her and her family that had been taken a year ago by a professional photographer. She slowly strode over to the hanging frame to notice that the picture had been partially burnt, but not entirely. She took the precious photo out of the frame and that very object brought tears to her eyes that she was unable to contain. She dropped to her knees and clung to the photo as if her life depended on it. She didn't try to hold back any of the multitude of unaddressed feelings that she had been avoiding in these past few days with a complete feeling of numbness; a feeling far more powerful than a drug could ever give.

Through the sound of her uncontrollable sobs, she was able to make out a few words.

"Why? Why? WHY?! WHY?!"

She pulled the photograph away from her heaving chest and tried her best to calm down to help her vision become clear again. When she was finally able to see, she began to stroke the faces of her deceased family. Her mom, Lily; Her dad, Mason; and her little brother, Trevor. These people were her pride and joy, especially little Trevor who was only 10 years old. Most people didn't get along with their siblings at all, but that was not the case for this family. The brother and sister loved each other with all their hearts and they had a great relationship.

(First Person POV)

I continued to stare at the photo. My mind was empty, no thoughts, no 'what if scenarios', just me and the picture. Than out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something out of place. The air duct on the floor that sits by the bookshelf was popped off of where it should sit in place.

'Surely a fire wouldn't pull off the metal air duct'.

I crawled over to it and lifted it up to see that there was something inside that had been untouched by the fire. I pulled it out to see that it was a tape recorder.

'There's already a tape in there.' I pressed play and was shocked to hear the voice that came out of the device, it was Mason's voice, my father…

(shuffling noises) "Rowen. Rowen… This is your dad. I don't know where you are right now but I'm glad you're not here. It's very important that you listen to me. Your mother and I have never revealed much about our jobs because the work that we have done has been listed as classified….and more recently, illegal. I don't have much time.. I'm sure they're on their way right now. Your mother and I were employed by TCRI about four years ago because they thought our intelligence would be useful in their fields of research. These people aren't even real, they are groups of robots called the Kraang. All those doctor visits that you and Trevor have had, your mother and I thought that they were just a part of the benefits but in fact they were looking for a child with a specific set of genes that only a few in the population possess. They want those kids for a plan that will devastate the entire planet. We recently discovered that you and Trevor… you both have those genes. They have done terrible experiments on hundreds of young and innocent children. They will come for you and now that your mother and I found out, we will have to get out of here. Your mother is getting Trevor packed, you will be safe at…." Suddenly there was a sound of a door slamming open in the recording and more shuffling. My mother's' screams and my brother's sobs could be heard in the background. "It is the targets, Lily Carter, and Mason Carter that must be executed because they have discovered too much and must be executed in order to obtain the intended targets that will help the Krang complete world domination that is the intended mission of the Kraang." My father shouted back "No! I will not let you hurt my family!" He started to run towards the robotic men in an attempt to take down the ones that were threatening my family. In that short moment the sound of a gunshot rang out through the recording and seemed to climb out like it was real. My mother let out a high pitched scream and soon another shot rang out. "Grab the boy that is known as Trevor Carter that will assist the Krang in developing further research that will assist the Krang in the plan of world domination." Trevor's pleas and thrashing and protests could be heard loud and clear. "NOOOO! Mom! Dad! ROWEN HELP ME!" After his screams faded, a few robots still stayed behind "What about the other Carter child that is known as Rowen Carter that is also essential to the plan of the Kraang?" Another robot replied with "Kraang subprime has suggested a plan to replicate the subject's genes known as Trevor Carter and April O'neil's in order to further the process with the plan of the Kraang. Kraang must destroy any evidence that will be left here. This apartment that belonged to the Carter's must be incinerated."

After that the tape stopped playing, probably because the tape had reached it's recording limit. I sat there in silence with tears streaming down my face and a billion questions running through my head. Why didn't anybody ever come to help them? Why didn't they ever tell me?How could they have been murdered? Where is my brother?...Why? I looked over to the air duct to notice that there was something else in there. In it was a file. The file consisting of the names of employees of normal humans that help run TCRI. A man named Vincent Colewell seems to be the one who runs the building. They know what the Kraang are doing and they let them do it anyway. Anger seethed through my body. I stood up and wiped my face. I knew what I had to do. Trevor, I will find you, and Vincent Colewell, you will take me to him…

So what do you guys think? Am I doing good? Please comment, it will motivate me to keep writing. See you in the next chapter.