Disclaimer: The Pretender is not a creation of mine. But Will, Alley, The Black Files, Adam, Jason, Jack, Kat, Kay, Kale, Logan, Shane, Jeff, Jamie, and a bunch more characters that I can't keep track of are.

I also don't own the right's to James Taylor's Sweet Baby James. I just enjoy the song

Author's Note: I wanted to post the first chapter of Exodus to let everyone get a taste of my new story. Exodus takes place not quite seven years after The Black Files. And feel free to refer to the character list in the beginning. And I promise each time a new character is added that is not on the list I'll put them up there to help with confusion. Hope you all enjoy.
-Alex

CHAPTER 1

SO IT BEGINS

October 28, 2010

10:43pm

Unknown location

Holding Cell

"Pete, I'm scared," Jason whispered.

"It's okay Jasa. Everything's gonna be okay," Pete told his little brother.

"Pete, what if Momma and Daddy can't find us?" Jack asked. Jack and Jason were twins, and at six years old the youngest of Jarod and Morgan Russell's eight children. Peter was eleven and Jarod and Morgan's third youngest child.

"Look Mom, and Dad will find us," Pete told the twins. "They found Alex, Andy, and Air last time. They'll find us this time," He added softly.

"Wish Will, Alley, Air, Andy or Alex were here. Least then we'd have some light and it wouldn't be dark.," Jason said. Pete agreed with his brother. It was pitch black in the tiny room the three boy's were being held. Pete could barely make out the outline of his hand an inch from his face. Had one of his older brothers or sisters been there they would have been able to produce some form of light through their pyrokinesis.

Actually the room was not completely dark. In the far corner of the room was a source of light. A light that Pete was doing his best to ignore. About nine feet in the air hovered a tiny red light. Pete was very glad his baby brothers were unaware of what the red light symbolized he knew that it would just upset the twins further.

Pete glanced down at his wristwatch and hit the light button. A soft blue glow emitted from the face of his watch. The glow was enough for Pete to read the time and get a good look at the condition of his brothers. Jason was to his right and Jack to his left. Both boys sported an identical cut just above their right eye. The twins like all of their siblings had inherited their grandmother's blue eyes -Jamieblues as their uncle Sam called them-. The twins also had a head full of reddish brown hair which none of their older siblings had. Jason and Jack were often referred to the Wesley twins due to the fact they resembled the red haired twins from the Harry Potter series. Both had red hair, a penchant for pulling pranks, and were extremely outgoing.

Pete too had blue eyes, but his hair was brown. Unlike his younger brothers Pete was quite reserved. He was the quietest of his parents children. Pete was often found with his head in a book or at his desk jotting down stories or drawing. Every now and then Pete was known for pulling off a prank or two and he and his cousin Adam were well know for their extortion abilities.

"Guess what you two it's late," Pete said letting go of the button on his watch. The light went out five seconds later.

"How late?" Jason and Jack asked.

"The way past your bed time type of late," Pete replied.

"But we..." Jason began.

"Can't sleep," Jack finished.

"How about I sing you two your lullaby. Think you can go to sleep then?" Pete asked.

"Maybe," The twins replied. The two boys then rested their heads in Pete's lap, and closed their eyes. Pete began to sing in a low beautiful voice that he inherited from his biological mother.

"Are two young cowboys, who live on the range,"

Their horses and cattle, their only companions

They work in the saddle and they sleep in the canyons

Just waiting for pastures to change

Goodnight you moonlight babies

Rock-a-bye sweet baby Zane

Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose

Don't let me go down in my dreams

And rock-a-bye sweet baby Gabe."

The twins had fallen asleep out of pure exhaustion by then time Pete had reached the chorus of the lullaby. The lullaby was a take on James Taylor's song "Sweet Baby James". Shortly after the twins had been born Will and Alley -Jason, Jack, and Pete's eldest brother and sister- had changed the lyrics of the song so that it catered more towards the twins. Will and his twin had made the lullaby plural, and changed 'sweet baby James' to 'sweet baby Zane' and 'sweet baby Gabe' -Zane and Gabe being Jason and Jack's proper names-.

With the twins asleep Pete was able to reflect upon what had occurred earlier that day that placed he and his two brothers in the situation that they were in.

October 28, 2010

3:11pm

Charlottesville, Virginia

It was just after three o'clock when Pete, Jason, Jack, and their cousin Adam had been walking home from the park and a black Lincoln town car had pulled up and parked on the opposite side of the street from the boys. Instantly Pete's brain went in to red alert. He unlike the twins and Adam had been exposed to Centre life. And though the Centre had supposedly been gone for the past six -almost seven- years, Pete wanted to get the hell away from that black Lincoln town car.

"Run," Pete whispered fiercely and shoved his younger brothers to get them moving. The men in the car must have seen Pete spot them for the no sooner had the four boys begun to run did the doors to the car swing open. Four men in dark suites got out of the car and chased after the boys.

"Shit sweepers!" Pete yelled. "Jace, Jack run t' the woods," he called after his brothers. Pete knew that if he and the other three boys had any chance of losing the sweepers they would have to make it to the woods. All of the children knew the layout of the woods better than their own reflection. Pete just hoped that he, Adam and the twins would make it to the woods before the sweepers caught them.

Of the four children only Adam was capable of making it to the woods. Pete, Jason, Jack were hit with tasers, within five feet of the pine needle covered forest. Adam turned and stopped for a moment contemplating on if he should take the chance to go back for his cousins but was to frighted. So Adam hightailed it to one of the children's underground clubhouses.

The clubhouse was nothing more than an eight foot wide by eight foot deep square hole in the ground. Plywood kept the walls from collapsing and they were covered with a lid composed of a 3/4 inch sheet of plywood, a ½ inch sheet of homosote and a 1/4 inch sheet of lauan, camouflaged to resembled the forest floor. There were ten such structures dispersed throughout various locations of the fifty acres of forest that the Russell family owned. All of the clubhouses were originally built for one purpose. A place for the children to hide in case remnants of the Centre ever discovered the family's location.

Adam stayed hidden in one of the underground club houses for close to an hour before he felt it was safe for him to emerge. An hour and a half before the sun was beginning to set as a dirt stained Adam entered the kitchen through the back door.

"Holy shit Adam what happened to you?" Will asked when he caught sight of the boy. Not only was Adam streaked in dirt, he had leaves sticking out of his brunet hair, and his arms and face had tiny lacerations from where the branches of trees had hit him as Adam had ran for his life.

Will placed the spatula he was using on the counter and walked over to the boy. Alley who had also been in the kitchen helping Will prepare dinner approached Adam.

"Adam how did this happen?" Alley asked taking Adam's face into her hands as she inspected the many cuts that decorated it.

"Me, Pete, Jasa, and Jacky were walkin' home from the park when a car pulled up. Pete freaked and told us t' run. All of a sudden four men in suits got out of a car and came chasin' after us. I made it to the woods and to one of the club houses. I think the four men got Pete and the twins," Adam said rather quickly.

"Ad are you sure the men were wearing dark suites?" Will asked the twelve year old.

"Yes," Adam said he then whispered. "Will, Pete said they were sweepers."

Will and Alley exchanged looks of horror that didn't go unnoticed by Adam. "Will, Alley it can't be sweepers can it? The Centre's gone. 'S been gone for six years hasn't it?" Adam asked, only it was more of a plea. A plea for Will and Alley to disprove what Pete had said. Adam knew that if the Centre had indeed reemerged then no one in his family was safe.

"Listen to me Adam sweetie, we don't know for a fact if it really is the Centre. Right now all that matters is getting Pete, Jace, and Jack back. Okay?" Alley told Adam. Adam nodded his head. "Good boy. Now go upstairs and get cleaned up. Will and I will let everyone know what happened," Alley instructed. Adam dutifully did as told and went up stairs to wash up.

Once Adam left the kitchen Will pulled his twin into his embrace. "It'll be okay Al," Will muttered into his sister's hair. "We'll get them back I promise."

"What are we gonna tell Momma and Daddy?" Alley asked.

"Everything Adam told us," Will replied. "Come on we need to tell Mom and Dad," Will said and led his sister upstairs to the office their parents shared. Jarod ran a successful privet pediatrician practice office where he worked along side Ethan, Jen, Lex, and Julia. Morgan had gone into family law, and was one of the top lawyers along the eastern seaboard. And both Jarod and Morgan were co-chairmen of the Jamieson Foundation, the former Centre.

"Hiya Will. Hiya Al," Logan said as Will and Alley crossed the living room to reach the stairs. Logan was Ethan and his wife Sara's son. The little boy was four years old. He had one blue eye and one green and light blonde hair that he had inherited from his mother. Logan had also inherited quite a few abilities from his mother, Logan was retrocognitive telepath, and also possessed an inner sense. Luckily he had yet to completely develop his abilities giving his parents enough time to help Logan control his abilities.

Around to four year old precog sat his younger brother and sister Kaleb and Katrina who were none surprisingly twins. Kale and Kay were the splitting image of their older brother Logan except Kale's eyes were blue and Kay's were green. Also sitting in the room with Logan was Kat -Nick and Emily's daughter-, and Amy -Sam and Jen's daughter- both girls were six years old. It hurt Will and Alley to look at the younger children it made them remember that their younger brothers were missing presumably kidnaped, and their lives were more than likely in danger.

"Wha rong 'ill," Kale asked his eldest cousin.

"Nothing squirt," Will said ruffling the little boy's hair. Will and Alley then continued upstairs.

'They don't believe us,' Alley told her brother telepathically.

"I know," Will replied out loud. The two then reached their parents' office together they knocked on the door.

"Come in," Came Jarod's muffled voice. Simultaneously Will and Alley took a deep breath and entered their parents' office. Jarod and Morgan took one look at their children's stony, ashen, faces and knew that something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" Morgan asked.

"The Pete, Jasa, and Jacky are missing," Will said. Will and Alley then reiterated Adam's story. Jarod and Morgan's faces grew paler and paler with every word.

"Where are the others," Morgan managed to ask the nine year old twins.

"Everyone -all the kids I mean- are here. Deb and Chris are still out. All the Files are in their room, and Ad's probably asleep. The babes are in the livingroom downstairs." Will answered.

"Momma, Daddy what do we do?" Alley asked. Jarod immediately went into pretend mode and Morgan fell back onto her cleaner training. They knew that for the sake of their other children and the rest of their family they could not let their emotions get the best of them. There would be time enough to play the panicking parent later. But first they had to get the children to safety.

Will and Alley already knew the protocol but it was all too much for them. Seven years prior Aaron, Andros, and Alex- Will and Alley's younger brothers and sister- had been abducted by Douglass Willard, one of Jarod's many enemies. The triplets had almost been killed. Will and Alley were trying their hardest not to think that the same might happen to Pete, Jason, and Jack.

"Start packing. We need to get everyone to safety. Your mother and I will alert everyone," Jaord told his children.

"Files won't go," Will commented it went unsaid that Will and Alley would be staying behind as well to assist their parents with the search for the boys.

"That's fine we may need their abilities to find the boys," Morgan said. "Once everyone get's here you two will go with Sam, Adam and a few of the Files to where the boys were taken and see what you can find."

"Yes Momma," The twins replied.

"We will find them," Morgan said walking over to the twins and enveloping them in a hug.

"I feel like there is nothing we can do," Will confessed. "And if..."

"No," Morgan said placing a finger over Will's lips. "Thinking like that will not find your brothers. Now let the Files know what's going on and start packing."

"Yes ma'am," They replied. Morgan kissed each of then on the forehead and let them go about their task. Once the twins had left Jarod wrapped his arms around his wife's waist. Morgan leaned into his embrace.

"If it is the Centre they won't hurt them,"Jarod told her. "They took the boys for a reason. The boys are young and whoever took them believes that because the boys are young they're easier to control. Obviously they don't know our boys.'

"Not to mention the fact that no one outside of our family -save a few select friends- knows that the boys are pretenders and that Pete has an inner sense." Jaord said.

"You're forgetting that the twins are telepathic granted they don't really know how to use their telepathy. And Peter... well no one is quite sure what Peter is capable of. Lex and some of the other's think that when Pete reaches puberty his abilities will grow..." Morgan trailed off.

"You're thinking that all it's going to take for Pete's abilities to come out is for someone to anger him a great deal" Jarod said.

"It happened with all our other children," Morgan commented. "And knowing Peter at this moment he's quite angry he and his baby brothers -the two people Pete is most protective of- have been abducted. Peter could care less about his own safety all that matters to him is the safety of Zane and Gabe. He'd kill for them.

"Then let's find our sons before Peter does something he may regret." Jarod replied.

So that was the first chapter let me know what you all thought. I'm not sure when I'll update this one since I'm still posting Genesis. I guess it mostly depends on the response I get.