Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry about the delay, but I was unexpectedly sent out of town and then onceI returned home I had problems uploading this chapter. Again sorry for the wait andI hope that you all enjoy this chapter
Nans- I brought Sydney back early just for you. And guess what? He's in this chapter too. Though only briefly, sorry. And I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter as much as you did
CHAPTER 37
CLONE WOES
November 22, 2010
10:33pm
Bangor, Maine
Safe House
"Christopher, I need to talk to you," Sydney said entering Chris and Debbie's bedroom. Debbie was laying on her bed reading and Chris was laying next to her typing away on his laptop.
"Sure thing," Chris said closing his laptop. Everyday it amazed Sydney just how closely Chris resembled Jarod. Sydney was well aware that Chris was Jarod's clone but the older man still found the thought somewhat fantastical. To distinguish himself from his older brother, Chris had dyed his hair red and wore contact lenses to tint his eyes green. But even still the resemblance was there.
"So what's up?" Chris asked.
"You know about Alexander and Julia's son Keegan correct?" Sydney questioning taking a seat in the chair at Chris's desk.
"Yeah sure. According to Alley the kids a real charmer, not to mention powerful. Sent Will crashing into a wall when Will tried to prob Keegan's mind," Chris said.
"Yes, well there is more about Keegan that isn't common knowledge among the family that are here. Mostly due to the fact that there are children around," Sydney spoke.
"Well what haven't we been told?" Debbie asked placing her book in her lap.
"To put it bluntly, Keegan is a clone, of Alexander and Julia's son Markus," Sydney said. The former Centre doctor looked over at Chris, Chris's face was impassive not showing if Sydney's words had affected him. Seeing that Chris was not going to reveal his feelings on the subject Sydney continued.
"Keegan does not know that he is a clone, he believes that he is Markus's twin. Alexander, or to be more precise, Julia, Michael, and Michelle have decided that Keegan should be told the truth concerning his creation. And Morgan thought that it would be best if you were there when Keegan was told."
"When do we leave?" Chris asked his voice betraying no emotion.
"In a few days. Morgan will contact us," Sydney told the clone.
"Okay," Chris said and reopened his laptop to continue his work. Debbie glanced at Chris and then looked at Sydney, she saw the worry in his eyes and knew that it mirrored her own.
November 23, 2010
5:13am
Bangor, Maine
Safe House
Debbie woke up to find that the space in the bed where her fiancee should have been was empty. She looked up and saw that Chris was sitting on the window seat his knees drawn up under his chin, his arms wrapped around his legs. Chris's hair -which he had grown out over the years- was hiding his eyes.
"Christopher," Debbie called out softly. Chris didn't move but Debbie could tell that he wasn't asleep and that he had heard her. Debbie got up out of bed and walked over to Chris. She put his hand on his bare shoulder and Chris flinched away from her touch.
"Chris, please talk to me. Don't shut down," Debbie begged.
"Why would they do it again?" Chris asked softly and Debbie could tell that he had been crying. The night before when Sydney had sat Chris down and told him the truth concerning Keegan, Chris's face had been a mask, not revealing any emotion of how he felt about the Centre creating another clone. Now it was obvious how distraught Chris was.
"Benjamin," Debbie said using Chris's first name oppose to his middle name, but not even that made him look at her. Debbie directed Chris's chin upwards so that she could see his chocolate brown eyes, see so rarely got to see them for Chris normally wore green contact lenses. His eyes were red from the tears he had cried, and Debbie's heart broke from the sadness she saw etched upon his face.
"You didn't know me my first years out," Chris said in a whisper. "I was a mess. I didn't know who I was, if I was Jarod, if I was just a duplicate of another person. It took me a while before I began to think of myself as my own person."
"You never told me," Debbie said not being judgmental.
"I couldn't. No one knows save for Jarod, my Dad and Em. I-I don't want for that little boy to go through the hell I did. No one should ever have to go through what I did," Chris said as the tears began to fall again. Debbie wrapped her arms around Chris and he wept.
His tears stopped a few minutes later and Chris was ashamed at how emotional he had been. He moved out of Debbie's arms and went to their bathroom to wash away traces of his tears. Debbie got up from her stoop on the window seat and followed Chris. She watched silently as Chris washed his face. Once he was done Chris folded up his washcloth and laid it on the side of the basin. He then stared at his reflection in the window for a long time.
Suddenly and without any warning Chris's fist connect with the glass of the mirror. Debbie jumped in shock but remained quiet as she drew closer to Chris. Chris stared dumbly at his bleeding hand, not until Debbie took his hand into her own did Chris come out of his stupor.
"I'm sorry," He mumbled as Debbie ran cool water over his hand, dried it, dabbed peroxided into the tiny cuts and then wrapped his hand in linen gauze.
"It's okay. Just don't scare me like that again," Debbie said he voice not showing any sign of anger or fear at Chris.
"I didn't mean to scare you," Chris said still looking at his hand.
"Hey look at me," Debbie said and Chris finally met her eyes. "I love you, for everything that you are."
"I love you too," Chris said and Debbie kissed him. The tension Chris felt left his body as he kissed Debbie back. Pulling back for air Chris tucked a strand of hair behind Debbie's ear.
"You okay?" Debbie asked him.
"Hand hurts a bit. But other than that I'm fine. I don't know where all that came from," Chris admitted.
"It came from you burring a decade of emotions and not dealing with them until you were forced to," Debbie said chastising him gently. Chris smiled wryly and the two of the returned to their bedroom. They laid back down on the bed, Chris wrapping his arm's around his fiancee's waist, burying his face in her hair.
"Do you regret knowing the truth concerning where you came from?" Debbie asked Chris.
"Some days I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't known. If I had never been discovered by my family. And I realize that my life would have been nothing more that and elaborate lie that in the end would have driven me insane. Everyday Raines showed me pictures of Jarod telling me that Jarod was the person responsible for my parents' death."
"Had I stayed at the Centre, had I never been found, I would have woken up one day to find that I looked exactly like my parents' murderer. So no, I have no regrets," Chris answered honestly.
"Do you think Keegan will?"
"I only know about Keegan from second hand information. They say that he is a brilliant well adjusted boy, wise beyond his years. But how he will react to knowing where he came from I can't predict. He is, in all honesty, a wildcard," Chris replied.
November 23, 2010
6:30am
Bangor, Maine
Safe House
"Unca Chris wake up," whispered the voice of a little boy. Chris opened on eye to find his nephew Logan peering over the edge of the bed.
"What's wrong Logan?" Chris asked the boy.
"Can you watch cartoons wiv me?" Logan asked his eyes pleading. Chris buried his head in Debbie's shoulder to hide his smile.
"Go watch cartoons with you nephew," Debbie commanded Chris without opening her eyes. Chris resisted the urge to groan and got out of bed. He scooped the little boy up in his arm and carried Logan downstairs to the den.
"What do you want to watch?" Chris asked the boy.
"Star Wars: Clone Wars," Logan replied without hesitation, and Chris winced.
"Why don't we watch X-Men instead," Chris suggested.
"Okay," Logan sighed burring himself into Chris's side.
"Unca Chris?" Logan spoke after a while
"Hum?"
"Are clones real?" Chris froze. All of the children younger than Pete and Adam did not know of the true story behind Chris. The adults decided that they children would not be told -if ever- until they were much older. Jarod feared the knowledge of who Chris was being leaked to the public.
"O-of course clones are real Wolvie. But only clones of animals, like sheep and pigs. Humans haven't been cloned because it violates the ethics of many people," Chris said his voice not betraying the nervousness he felt.
"Oh," Logan said simply. And Chris thanked God that the little boy had dropped the subject. He also prayed that the reason Logan dropped the subject was because he knew the truth about Chris.
November 23, 2010
8:37am
Galway, Ireland
"Benny can I ask you something?" Adam questioned over breakfast. Steve had gone into town on business leaving the two boys alone.
"I believe you just did," Benny said, a grin crossing his face. Adam scowled. "Ask away."
"Do you think that Keegan should be told what he is?" Adam asked. Benny pondered the question for a moment.
"Yes," He said finally. "I don't believe that anyone, especially a child should be lied to. As it is the people in your family..."
"Our family," Adam corrected.
"Our family," Benny amended. "They have been lied to far too much. I don't believe that Keegan should be lied to by his own family."
"How did it affect you, leaning that you are a-a...clone?" Adam asked.
"You don't have to be so careful around the subject with me Adam. I have known since as far back as I can remember that I was a clone of Peter. I came to terms with my origins a long time ago," Benny said.
"It's not that I'm uncomfortable with the subject, it's just that back at home we always tiptoe around the fact that Chris is a clone," Adam stated.
"Why? Benny asked.
"Mostly because of the younger kids. Can't have them announcing to the world that their Uncle Chris is a clone. And then there's the fact we don't talk about it out of respect for Chris," Adam answered.
"Oh," Benny said absentmindedly as he pondered Adam's words. "Adam there is something I need to ask of you," Benny said after a moment.
"Sure," Adam replied.
"Don't tell your -our- family about me yet. If things are the way you say they are then our family does not need me to complicate matters," Benny said. Adam looked at Benny doubtfully.
"I guess you have a point. But I don't like keeping secrets from the people I love," Adam spoke.
"I understand but still do they need the added stress of me," Benny said.
"You aren't stress Ben, you're family," Adam argued. "Is it the fact that you don't want added stress upon our family, or the fact that you are frightened by their reaction to you?"
"Please Adam, can we just not tell them yet?" Benny begged not answering Adam's question.
"Okay," Adam sighed.
There was a reason Benny did not answer Adam's question. In truth Benny did not fear his family's reaction to his arrival. Nor did the fact that his arrival would bring stress have anything to do with Benny's silence on the matter.
The true reason Benny did not want to announce his presence to the family was because of the dreams he had been having. Disturbing dreams involving either he or one of his other "brothers" aiming a gun at blurry figures.
The night before Benny had another one of his dreams. It was different from all the rest and was what prompted Benny to ask Adam not to tell the family about him. In the dream he saw himself, Kaine, and Pete, each holding a gun trained at one another. Around them stood a circle of blurry figures. The three boys pulled the trigger of their guns, the bullets exited the chambers in slow motion and a girl screamed. Benny looked up and saw that one of the figures was no longer blurry. She was about the age of fourteen, with blue eyes, pale skin and long dark curly hair.
She and Benny met each others eyes, and the message in her eyes was clear.
Don't let this happen.
November 23, 2010
12:45pm
Blue Cove, Delaware
Jamieson Manor
Keegan proudly placed the last piece in the centre of his puzzle. Biting his bottom lip in concentration Keegan stared at his puzzle. Slowly it lifted in the air. Knowing that the next step would be the hardest part of his task focused even harder. Beads of sweat dotted the little boy's head as the puzzle rotated until it was face side up, then slowly the puzzle floated back down onto the floor.
Keegan grinned widely. It was the first time he had been able to flip his puzzle without it falling apart.
Suddenly a foot kicked Keegan's puzzle across the room. Frightened Keegan crawled backwards pressing himself against the wall. Shock crossed his face when he saw that the person who had kicked his puzzle was Pete.
"W-why?" Keegan stuttered.
"You were in my way," Pete said coldly. For the first time since he had been liberated from the bowels of SL-27 Keegan was afraid.
"I-I'm..."
"What telling? It's not like they'll believe you. Let's face it they'll never believe that I would do anything to hurt you," Pete sneered. Pete neared the young clone and Keegan bolted from the room. He ran to the third floor into the room the Black Files shared, Keegan flung open the closet door and closed it behind him. He then curled himself into a trembling ball.
In his six years of his life Keegan had learned on thing. You were safe in the shadows. They couldn't find you in the shadows.
Up Next: The family searches for Keegan. A rare look at two neglected Black Files -Tobias and Tera-. And Keegan gives his mother peace of mind.
Please Review. I rather like this chapter and would like to know what other people thought about it.