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A big thanx to everybody who's read, and an even bigger thanx to everybody who reviewed.

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Chapter 8

And So Began the Running...

We sat there, staring at each other, none of us moving, waiting for her reaction, the music still playing…

"No…" she whispered, "No…. This can't be happening."

"Mom," I said, getting up to comfort her, "It's okay, it's okay…"

"No!" she screamed suddenly, causing me to jump backwards, "I won't lose you the same way I lost your father!"

"What?" I asked, startled by this sudden outburst: Mom never talks about Dad if she can help it. "Wait, did…did Dad have abilities, like us?

A long pause, then she nodded. "That's why you have to leave."

"Huh?"

"I don't have time to explain now, you have to get out of here." She picked my book bag and the bag with Ben's laptop in it up off the floor, and started throwing clothes into them.

I looked at Ben. I was afraid for Mom's sanity, and I tried, without words, to ask Ben what we should do.

Just go with it, he mouthed when Mom had her back turned. I nodded to show I had understood.

I walked over to Mom. "Mom, why do we have to leave? And what does Dad have to do with it?"

She paused, and turned to face me. "There are people who…hunt people like you and your father. A Company."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know," she snapped, "Your father never fully explained it."

"So…we have to run from this…"Company"?"

She nodded, then went back to packing. "You'll need somewhere to go," she said, half to herself, it seemed, "There's relatives in Kansas, you might try going there….Or New York, there's a few people there you could stay with…"

I took this opportunity to slip out, beckoning Ben to follow me. Once out in the hall, I looked at him.

"What do you think?"

"I don't know," he said, "She seems sane, but this…"Company"….I just don't know what to think."

"Wait a minute," I said, "What about that guy in the horn-rimmed glasses?"

"What about him?" asked Ben.

"Maybe," I said, "he's a part of this "Company"."

"Maybe…" said Ben, not looking completely convinced.

We stood there for a long while, thinking, until Cassey came out into the hall, looking scared.

"What is it, Case?" I asked.

"Is it Mom?" asked Ben.

"No," she responded, "I think Mom might be right about us being in danger."

"What?"

"There's a car parked out back. Men, with guns. I think Mom's right: we have to get out of here, now."

No sooner had Cassey made this ominous statement, than we heard the door crash open.

Mom dashed out onto the landing, handed us the bags, and screamed, "Run!"

The next few minutes were a complete blur; I can't even remember the details, everything happened so quickly. The next thing I knew, Cassey and I were running across the front yard, following Ben, the men in the house shooting at us…

Then we were driving away, ignoring the speed limit, trying to put as much distance between us and the house as possible…

The first thing I remember saying was, "Ben, we have to go back, we have to go back for Mom," even though I couldn't remember when I noticed that she wasn't with us.

They looked at me sympathetically, and I was confused for a minute. Then it hit me…

"No," I somehow managed to say, "She's not…. She can't be…"

They continued to give me that sympathetic look; Cassey began to cry, and even Ben, who never cries, was tearing up. If I wasn't on the verge of tears before, I certainly was now.

"We have to go back," I repeated.

"Alex, we can't," said Ben, who, I could tell, was only holding back his tears so he could drive, "We have to get as far away as possible. Mom told us…" he stopped, and I stopped arguing, knowing it was no good: once Ben makes up his mind about something, there is not a force that I know of that can make him change his mind.

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A/N: Poor kids... Review, people, the story's just starting to get interesting, and you don't want me to stop writing, do you?