Somehow, Anna had avoided waking anybody up with the outburst of her sudden nightmare, and she was glad for that. She was in no mood to receive another lecture from Lynn, or put up with the constant nagging and jeering from Abigail. Nevertheless, she carried the stress of the dream with her all the way to school the next day. She hardly said a word as Lynn drove the three of them to school, preferring to stare quietly out the window as they drove through the already busy town center.
Lynn pulled into the circle in front of the high school where dozens of cars and buses were cycling through to drop off students. When the car came to a stop, Anna cast a quick sideways smile at Lynn before slipping out of the passenger seat.
“Bye, Mom!” Abigail said as she exited the car behind her.
“Abigail!” Lynn called after her. “Do you have your book report?”
“Yes!” Abigail answered in an annoyed voice.
“Ok, have a good day, sweetie!”
Abigail waved as Lynn drove off with Daisy before running to catch up with Anna.
“So!” Abigail said cheerily. “Where’s this boyfriend of yours? When do I get to meet him?”
“You don’t,” Anna responded, not willing to entertain her teasing. “Just go to class and leave me alone.”
“Why?” Abigail pressed. “Are you embarrassed by him? He’s a nerd, isn’t he?”
“No!” Anna said, offended. “Now go away!”
“Anna, hey!”
Both Anna and Abigail turned to see Jason catching up with them.
“Oh no,” Anna muttered to herself before quickly putting on a smile.
“How’s it going?” Jason said as they walked through the doors into the atrium.
Anna opened her mouth to answer but was immediately cut off by Abigail chiming in at her side. “Are you the boyfriend?”
Anna shot an angry and horrified look at Abigail. “Shut up!” she gasped before returning her attention to Jason, a cold wave sweeping across her body. “I’m sorry. She’s my sister, and she was just leaving!” She grabbed Abigail’s backpack and pushed her ahead.
“No wait!” Abigail purred. “I have questions! Is it true she beat you at Lacrosse?”
“Go!” Anna shouted at her. Abigail let out a giggle as she turned and skipped toward the nearest stairwell. “Sorry,” Anna repeated to Jason. “She likes to poke fun at me because she has nothing better to do.”
“It’s okay,” Jason laughed. “My little sister’s the same way. So, where are you heading first?”
“Biology,” Anna answered. “I have a lab to finish today.”
“Nice,” Jason said. “Mr. Todd’s labs are always fun. So, see you in homeroom, then?”
“Yeah, sounds good,” Anna replied awkwardly, waving to him as they parted ways in the atrium. Anna turned down the hallway leading to the B-Wing. Thanks to Jason, she had already forgotten about the horrific dream of the night before, but her thoughts were interrupted when she was suddenly shoved from behind. Anna gasped as she stumbled into the lockers along the wall. She spun around angrily to see what had happened, thinking somebody had slammed into her without paying attention to where they were going, but her heart sank when she found herself face to face with Tamara.
“Hey!” Anna exclaimed. “What’s your problem?”
“You are my problem!” Tamara hissed in rage. “I told you to stay away from Jason! Why am I hearing that you asked him out?”
“I didn’t, you idiot,” Anna shot back. “He asked me out.”
“Oh please,” Tamara scoffed. “Why would someone like him bother with a broken wretch like you?” Anna was already becoming overwhelmed by anger, but Tamara was only getting started. “I don’t know what you think you’re playing at, but you better call off your little date with him or else!”
Anna lowered her head and laughed obnoxiously at her demand. “Oh, I don’t think so,” she said, stepping up into Tamara’s face. “I intend to go out with him tomorrow, and if that pisses you off, then that’s just a bonus.”
Tamara’s face twisted into an unbridled hatred that Anna had yet to see. “I’m warning you right now!” she screeched. “My mother is on the school board and my father is on track to become a state representative. I can make your life a living hell if I want to!”
“Oh really,” Anna mocked her. “And this is?”
“Don’t play with me!” Tamara took a hostile step closer and shoved Anna on the shoulder.
Just then, a wave of anger swept through Anna’s veins that she had never felt before. For a moment, she thought it was strangely similar to the sensation that occurred in her arm just before experiencing a seizure.
“Don’t you ever touch me again,” Anna growled. “I’m not threatened by you.”
“Yeah? What are you gonna do about it? If you even think about putting your hands on me, I can get my mother to have you suspended. Nobody would ever take those hick parents of yours seriously. So go on and make a move, hoe!” With that last verbal assault, Tamara threw her hand out to shove Anna again, but she was instantly caught off guard by what happened next.
Anna’s right arm shot up and caught Tamara by the wrist before she could make contact with her. Tamara’s expression flipped in the blink of an eye from her arrogant, top-of-the-world demeanor to a look of pure astonishment. Anna only stared her down with the eyes of a predator, unaware of how hard she was tightening her grip around Tamara’s wrist.
“Let go of me, you psycho!” Tamara cried unnecessarily loud as she tried in vain to pull Anna’s hand off her. The hallway was filled with dozens of students who had all stopped to watch what was going on. Anna’s grip was becoming stronger by the second. She stepped forward and forced Tamara down onto her knees. Tamara was almost crying in pain.
“Please,” she gasped, no longer able to put on her victim facade. “Let me go!”
Anna was not even listening to her. She was all but out of her mind as she stared down at Tamara locked in her inhumanly powerful grip.
“I,” Anna hissed in a voice that hardly felt like her own. “Am not. Threatened. By you!”
A sickening crack echoed off the walls of the hallway. Many students who were watching gasped in horror. Tamara fell to the floor, clutching her arm and screaming in a pain she had never known. Anna watched her writhe upon the floor, her predatory expression constant. It was not until several students rushed to Tamara’s aid that the reality of the situation set it.
Tamara’s face was ghostly white and tears were streaming from her tightly clenched eyes. The hand Anna had been gripping had gone limp, and there was no mistaking what happened as blood began seeping out onto Tamara’s good hand. Anna had crushed her wrist.
Tamara’s screaming continued to travel up and down the hallway as teachers began showing up to the scene, demanding to know what had happened. Most students did not know what to say, but all the fingers were quickly pointed at Anna.
Anna was too stunned to move. As she stared down at the now helpless form of Tamara, she brought her hands up to cover her mouth in horror. What had she done? She wasn’t even thinking about it. It did not make any sense. How could something like this be possible? No, her mind’s voice scrambled for some sort of reasoning, this had to be another nightmare.
Everything had gone hazy since the incident. Anna sat motionless just outside the principal’s office. It felt like she had been here for hours. She looked up at the window, where the flashing lights of a police cruiser were visible just outside. To her left, a single officer was standing in the path of the doors leading out of the office on either side, as though to keep Anna from attempting to run away. She could not blame him. The longer she sat here, the more she thought about the weeks she spent in county foster care before the Tuckers formally adopted her. Her heart raced at the thought of possibly being taken back, or to some place worse.
To her right, even through the closed door of the principal’s office, Anna could hear every word that was being exchanged.
“This is unacceptable!” a shrill voice was screaming in anger, which Anna knew to belong to Tamara’s mother. “I don’t want her suspended! I want her arrested for assaulting my baby!”
“You are not taking mine away from me!” Lynn’s voice fired back in an equally aggressive tone.
“Mrs. Tucker, please!” came Mrs. Hoffman’s authoritative voice. “Mr. Tucker, if you can’t control your wife, I’ll have to ask her to step out.”
“Spare me!” Lynn shouted. “I’m so sick of your double standard! You call yourself a principal?”
“Alright, that’s enough!” a male voice erupted over the others. Anna assumed it was the other police officer who had gone into the office with them to be informed of the incident. “Everyone needs to sit down and keep it calm. Nobody is going to be throwing out accusations. I just need a clear and concise explanation of what happened, coming first from the principal.”
A brief silence followed. Anna heard Mrs. Hoffman give a soft sigh before speaking. “I am just relaying what information was given to me by the students and faculty who witnessed the event. Apparently, Miss Tucker and Miss Summers were in an altercation that escalated into a physical confrontation-”
“And then she broke my daughter’s arm!” Tamara’s mother screeched.
“Quiet please,” the officer rebuked her.
“No! This should be an open and shut case! That girl put her hands on my baby and now she’s in the hospital! Somebody needs to be punished for this!”
Anna’s ears perked up when she heard James speak next. “You would really have us believe that a 16-year-old girl would somehow be strong enough to break a wrist with her bare hands?”
“Tell that to my daughter’s x-rays, you son of a bitch!”
“MA’AM! SIT DOWN NOW!” the officer roared. There was another penetrating silence that followed. Anna could hear the squeaking of the chair as Tamara’s mother sat down uncomfortably.
“I’m afraid she has a point,” Mrs. Hoffman put in. “As implausible as it may be, numerous students reported witnessing precisely that: Miss Tucker snatching Tamara by the wrist and proceeding to crush it in her grasp.”
“THAT’S NOT-” Lynn began before her voice suddenly dropped away, and Anna guessed that James was holding her back.
“I believe those same witnesses said that that Tamara girl started it and put her hands on Anna first,” she heard James argue, clearly the most composed of everyone in the room.
“That’s true,” Mrs. Hoffman agreed. “However, it doesn’t change the fact that a student of mine is now in the hospital. I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, but I will have no choice but to suspend your daughter until further notice. Now I am willing to discuss the terms of said suspension once we are resolved here. As for criminal charges, Mrs. Summers, that is not within my authority.”
“I know. It’s within yours!” Tamara’s mother responded to the officer, Anna assumed. “I want charges pressed! And I want her charged as an adult!”
“Mrs. Summers,” the officer replied, “she is a minor.”
“So what! Minors can be charged as adults! I’m perfectly familiar with the law!”
“Ma’am, minors can only be charged as adults for particularly heinous offenses; murder, rape, that sort of thing. This does not fall under that category. If you want to press charges, take it up with the township. For now, there’s nothing more I can do here but file the report.”
Anna returned her attention to the floor in front of her as the door opened and the police officer walked out, not looking back as Tamara’s mother continued to shriek in protest. He joined his partner and the two of them exited the school. The arguing within the principal’s office escalated the minute the police left. Anna was no longer trying to hear what was being said. She could not believe how quickly her life had turned upside down. It seemed that every day that came was bent on showing her how much worse things could get for her. First the seizure she endured yesterday, then the unprecedented night terror, now this. She replayed the sight and sound of Tamara’s wrist breaking over and over again, wondering what sort of strength could possibly have come over her to be capable of such a thing. She wanted more than anything to make everyone understand this, but it didn’t make any sense.
Anna was overwhelmed. Everything was ruined from here on out and she knew it. Amidst the incessant screaming coming from the office and the anguish that filled her heart at this moment, she buried her face in her hands and cried.
“Here we go again,” Park muttered to himself.Several weeks had gone by since Park had been summoned to the Pentagon by the government heads behind Project Machina. The only upside to being held here against his will by both the military and the CIA was the living quarters. General Melsom had provided Park with a private lab space to continue his work with the M-Gene and assist with the efforts to track down the missing assets. Since he lived, slept, and worked in the same lab, he had yet to leave for any reason, and no amount of relative luxury he was given made it seem any less like a prison sentence.If it was not for the massive digital clock suspended on the wall above the door leading out of the lab, he would never have known what time of day it was since he had not seen the sun in weeks. Right now, it read, “19:26:45,” with the seconds counting up one after another. Sometimes he would just sit in his wheelchair or lie on his cot and watch the numbers for hours, as if to convinc
“Agent! What do you mean you’ve found her?” Park said as he followed Nichols out of the lab with Amelia right on his tail.“Melsom will provide the details for you,” Nichols replied. He led them through the halls in the lower levels of the Pentagon. It was just as this when Park was first brought in, and he followed the familiar path until they reached the elevator that took them down into the war room where Melsom briefed him on his present imprisonment. The elevator descended and opened as Nichols ushered Park into the war room, but this time it was much different. The room was filled with military officers and other high ranking government officials, all conversing amongst themselves. The large monitors on the far wall of the room were active and displaying various satellite images, and Park realized they all appeared to be focused on one particular location.“Nebraska?” Amelia said out loud, clearly thinking the same thing. “What’s in Nebraska?”“With any luck, our target.” Melsom
1,200 miles away, in the capital city of Lincoln, Nebraska, a black Ford Mustang sat parked on the side of the road just across the street from the Lincoln Police Department. Many cars whipped by along the busy, multi-laned road, but the man sitting in the driver’s seat remained undisturbed by traffic. He appeared to be in his thirties, wearing a black leather jacket and a pair of aviators over the cold and hardened expression of his face. In his hands, he was fiddling with a small Ridge wallet that contained only a handful of cards. He picked up a driver’s license sitting on the center console next to him, glancing briefly at the photo of himself and the name which read, “Shane Wilder,” before sticking it among the other cards in the wallet and slipping it into a zipped pocket in the right sleeve of his jacket. The last thing he reached for was a small manila envelope sitting on the passenger seat.Shane took a deep breath as he opened the door and exited the vehicle. He waited for a
The entire day was as much a haze as it was a nightmare. Anna sat in the passenger seat of James’ truck and stared quietly out the window the entire ride home. The sun was beginning to make its final descent upon the horizon as she watched with eyes that burned with the residue of tears. The wind that whipped by bothered her eyes but she barely blinked, almost as though it was the only thing she could still feel.James and Lynn had taken her out of school immediately after their meeting with the police and the principal was over, per her suspension that was issued by Mrs. Hoffman. Tamara’s mother had gone on a loud tirade all the way out of the office, never so much as looking at Anna but spewing the worst names and accusations she had ever heard. Lynn had some less than godly things of her own to shout back. James was the most composed of anyone and had convinced the police not to cart Anna out of the building in cuffs. The rest of the day was long, quiet, and stressful to everyone a
Anna hardly slept a wink that night. For one brief moment her life seemed to be going her way, and in the span of a few hours it had all been torn apart. She sat on the edge of her bed and watched the dark canvas of the predawn sky outside her room, which felt more like a prison now than a home.Abigail had not said a word to her the previous evening. It was quite unusual for her to not try teasing her in any way she could, and Anna guessed that she already knew what had happened and was told by Lynn not to speak about it. Despite her compliance, Anna still felt a twinge of anger as she wondered how Abigail would feel if she was taken away from them by the court. It made her want to punch a hole through the wall. Abigail had treated her like an intruder in her home for over a year, and the more Anna dwelled on it, the more she wanted to take her frustrations out on someone.The hours ticked by ever so slowly. Anna did not go down for breakfast, so Lynn brought her a dish which she lef
Anna tried to ease her tension as she drove James’ truck into town, keeping no less than five miles under the speed limit so as not to become reckless and draw attention to herself. So far this venture was going smoothly, but she knew she was not out of the woods yet. The biggest hurdle she had to cross was the fact that the only way to get to the school was to go down Adams Street, directly through the town center where she knew her parents to be.The town center was always bustling with people swarming around the markets on Saturdays, as this was one of the last chances to acquire goods before the onset of autumn and winter to follow. She navigated the traffic slowly, holding her breath every time she stopped at a red light. Much of her refused to look around at the crowds of people coming and going, half afraid that she might inadvertently draw the attention of her parents. Her mind was racing as she sat at another red light that seemed to last for an eternity. There was so much ri
Nearly three miles outside of Meadowvale, Cerberus stood firm as a sentinel on the hilltop overlooking the small, rural village in the distance. The last few hours had been deathly silent since his team had begun infiltrating the town in search of their target, and all the while he knew that the Pentagon was eagerly awaiting his report more than a thousand miles away. It was only a matter of time.“Cerberus! Cerberus, come in! This is Nexus!”Cerberus raised a hand to the earpiece he was wearing as Nexus’ voice broke the intense silence like thunder. “Go ahead,” he said steadily.“I have positive locations on Andromeda and Ajax! Both are here right now!”“Ajax,” Cerberus muttered to himself as his eyes twitched in surprise. “He must be trying to reach her first.”“He is,” Nexus responded. “What’s the plan? Should we split up to take them both?”“No,” Cerberus answered. “Andromeda is the target. Once we take her, we’ll deal with Ajax. All units, switch to the uplink and converge on the
The doors of Fort Pershing military installation's command center flew open as a battle-hardened officer stormed into the room, a black-leaf insignia on his chest.“What’s going on?” he demanded sternly.“Colonel Conrad!” a young E-5 greeted him, a look of apprehension and uncertainty scrawled upon his face. “Sir, we’ve just been given clearance to mobilize by General Floring from Division. The Pentagon is reporting an assault taking place in Meadowvale and is requesting ground and air support immediately.”“An assault?” Conrad responded in disbelief. “From what? Do we have any eyes on?”“We have a Reaper inbound, sir.”The MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle was already in the air, traveling at over 200 knots across the barren rural landscape toward Meadowvale. In no more than seven minutes, the drone was already circling the small town and aiming its Multi-Spectral Targeting System down upon the small town that had been turned into a battlefield.The camera zoomed in on Adams Street,
“Anna, stop!” Jason shouted. He grabbed Anna by the shoulders to try to pull her away from Abigail, but she only shook him off and tightened her grip around her neck. Abigail’s eyes were clenched shut and she could no longer breathe. “Please, Anna! Let her go!” Daisy squealed, tears falling down her face. Anna ignored their pleas. It was as though she could not even hear them. The only thing she could feel was the burning rage inside her. There were no thoughts, only anger. Jason wrapped his arm around Anna’s neck in a last ditch effort to pull her away. Anna suddenly whipped around to face Jason and Abigail collapsed like a rag doll, struggling to catch her breath. Jason was caught off guard as Anna tackled him to the ground. He was completely unprepared as she pinned her arm against his throat. He tried in vain to push her off of him. She was far stronger than he ever imagined. All Jason could do was stare up into her eyes of fury. “Anna,” he uttered feebly, the weight of her arm
The doors of Fort Pershing military installation's command center flew open as a battle-hardened officer stormed into the room, a black-leaf insignia on his chest.“What’s going on?” he demanded sternly.“Colonel Conrad!” a young E-5 greeted him, a look of apprehension and uncertainty scrawled upon his face. “Sir, we’ve just been given clearance to mobilize by General Floring from Division. The Pentagon is reporting an assault taking place in Meadowvale and is requesting ground and air support immediately.”“An assault?” Conrad responded in disbelief. “From what? Do we have any eyes on?”“We have a Reaper inbound, sir.”The MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle was already in the air, traveling at over 200 knots across the barren rural landscape toward Meadowvale. In no more than seven minutes, the drone was already circling the small town and aiming its Multi-Spectral Targeting System down upon the small town that had been turned into a battlefield.The camera zoomed in on Adams Street,
Nearly three miles outside of Meadowvale, Cerberus stood firm as a sentinel on the hilltop overlooking the small, rural village in the distance. The last few hours had been deathly silent since his team had begun infiltrating the town in search of their target, and all the while he knew that the Pentagon was eagerly awaiting his report more than a thousand miles away. It was only a matter of time.“Cerberus! Cerberus, come in! This is Nexus!”Cerberus raised a hand to the earpiece he was wearing as Nexus’ voice broke the intense silence like thunder. “Go ahead,” he said steadily.“I have positive locations on Andromeda and Ajax! Both are here right now!”“Ajax,” Cerberus muttered to himself as his eyes twitched in surprise. “He must be trying to reach her first.”“He is,” Nexus responded. “What’s the plan? Should we split up to take them both?”“No,” Cerberus answered. “Andromeda is the target. Once we take her, we’ll deal with Ajax. All units, switch to the uplink and converge on the
Anna tried to ease her tension as she drove James’ truck into town, keeping no less than five miles under the speed limit so as not to become reckless and draw attention to herself. So far this venture was going smoothly, but she knew she was not out of the woods yet. The biggest hurdle she had to cross was the fact that the only way to get to the school was to go down Adams Street, directly through the town center where she knew her parents to be.The town center was always bustling with people swarming around the markets on Saturdays, as this was one of the last chances to acquire goods before the onset of autumn and winter to follow. She navigated the traffic slowly, holding her breath every time she stopped at a red light. Much of her refused to look around at the crowds of people coming and going, half afraid that she might inadvertently draw the attention of her parents. Her mind was racing as she sat at another red light that seemed to last for an eternity. There was so much ri
Anna hardly slept a wink that night. For one brief moment her life seemed to be going her way, and in the span of a few hours it had all been torn apart. She sat on the edge of her bed and watched the dark canvas of the predawn sky outside her room, which felt more like a prison now than a home.Abigail had not said a word to her the previous evening. It was quite unusual for her to not try teasing her in any way she could, and Anna guessed that she already knew what had happened and was told by Lynn not to speak about it. Despite her compliance, Anna still felt a twinge of anger as she wondered how Abigail would feel if she was taken away from them by the court. It made her want to punch a hole through the wall. Abigail had treated her like an intruder in her home for over a year, and the more Anna dwelled on it, the more she wanted to take her frustrations out on someone.The hours ticked by ever so slowly. Anna did not go down for breakfast, so Lynn brought her a dish which she lef
The entire day was as much a haze as it was a nightmare. Anna sat in the passenger seat of James’ truck and stared quietly out the window the entire ride home. The sun was beginning to make its final descent upon the horizon as she watched with eyes that burned with the residue of tears. The wind that whipped by bothered her eyes but she barely blinked, almost as though it was the only thing she could still feel.James and Lynn had taken her out of school immediately after their meeting with the police and the principal was over, per her suspension that was issued by Mrs. Hoffman. Tamara’s mother had gone on a loud tirade all the way out of the office, never so much as looking at Anna but spewing the worst names and accusations she had ever heard. Lynn had some less than godly things of her own to shout back. James was the most composed of anyone and had convinced the police not to cart Anna out of the building in cuffs. The rest of the day was long, quiet, and stressful to everyone a
1,200 miles away, in the capital city of Lincoln, Nebraska, a black Ford Mustang sat parked on the side of the road just across the street from the Lincoln Police Department. Many cars whipped by along the busy, multi-laned road, but the man sitting in the driver’s seat remained undisturbed by traffic. He appeared to be in his thirties, wearing a black leather jacket and a pair of aviators over the cold and hardened expression of his face. In his hands, he was fiddling with a small Ridge wallet that contained only a handful of cards. He picked up a driver’s license sitting on the center console next to him, glancing briefly at the photo of himself and the name which read, “Shane Wilder,” before sticking it among the other cards in the wallet and slipping it into a zipped pocket in the right sleeve of his jacket. The last thing he reached for was a small manila envelope sitting on the passenger seat.Shane took a deep breath as he opened the door and exited the vehicle. He waited for a
“Agent! What do you mean you’ve found her?” Park said as he followed Nichols out of the lab with Amelia right on his tail.“Melsom will provide the details for you,” Nichols replied. He led them through the halls in the lower levels of the Pentagon. It was just as this when Park was first brought in, and he followed the familiar path until they reached the elevator that took them down into the war room where Melsom briefed him on his present imprisonment. The elevator descended and opened as Nichols ushered Park into the war room, but this time it was much different. The room was filled with military officers and other high ranking government officials, all conversing amongst themselves. The large monitors on the far wall of the room were active and displaying various satellite images, and Park realized they all appeared to be focused on one particular location.“Nebraska?” Amelia said out loud, clearly thinking the same thing. “What’s in Nebraska?”“With any luck, our target.” Melsom
“Here we go again,” Park muttered to himself.Several weeks had gone by since Park had been summoned to the Pentagon by the government heads behind Project Machina. The only upside to being held here against his will by both the military and the CIA was the living quarters. General Melsom had provided Park with a private lab space to continue his work with the M-Gene and assist with the efforts to track down the missing assets. Since he lived, slept, and worked in the same lab, he had yet to leave for any reason, and no amount of relative luxury he was given made it seem any less like a prison sentence.If it was not for the massive digital clock suspended on the wall above the door leading out of the lab, he would never have known what time of day it was since he had not seen the sun in weeks. Right now, it read, “19:26:45,” with the seconds counting up one after another. Sometimes he would just sit in his wheelchair or lie on his cot and watch the numbers for hours, as if to convinc