"Don't pretend to be something you're not. You've never been my sister." Luke spoke with a stern frown as he looked at her with a challenging glare in his eyes. "No? You sure about that then boy?" She asked with a sly grin as she placed her hand over her heart. "You're going to hurt my feelings if you say something so awful." Ella added with an exaggerated pouty face, which caused Luke to scoff in disgust as he crossed. Noticing the concerned glances from Ella and Lee, Luke stands up from his chair. "If you have something to say to me, say it quickly. If you haven't noticed, I'm currently on vacation." Luke started with an intimidating glare. "No need to be so hostile, How about we talk privately. Just the two of us?" She asked with a calming tone in her voice, her eyes staring at him with an innocent curiosity. "I wouldn't want to make things awkward for your two companions." "Ugh. Fine, but only because I have a few questions of my own." Luke retorted with an annoyed sigh. "Go
"What the hell is wrong with her? Why is she acting so weird?" Lee complained with a frustrated expression as he looked up at the ceiling in disbelief at how bizarre his conversation with Marilyn was. "I don't even want to stay here anymore. I'd much rather just head back to the city than spend another day with that nutcase hanging around. And what did Jonathan do to her to make her act like some obsessed fangirl. It's almost like I'm talking to someone who has some form of Stockholm syndrome." Luke thought allowed with his hand to his chin. "But her mental state is a matter for another time. What did she mean about this ship being created for me? Is she saying that Jonathan had her build it specifically for me? What could he hope to gain from doing something like this, and how did he know that I would even be going on a cruise so far in advance? Things are just getting weirder and weirder around here." Luke spoke with an annoyed glare in his eyes. "I don't even want to know what t
"ugh, damn my back hurts! When did Ella turn into such a ferocious beast?" Luke complained as sat up on the side of his bed. "Looks like she's doing just fine though.” He added while watching Ella sleeping peacefully beside him. "Rubbing his fingers through her hair, Luke takes a look at the time to see that it was only 6 in the morning. Early enough for him to get his pre-speech jitters out of the way before the big announcement. Looking over towards where Ella laid, he found her eyes open and staring directly at him. "Morning." She greeted with a small yawn. I can't believe you're up so early. I was hoping that I would still be able to catch some sleep before I had to get ready for today's festivities." "Well you should be excited. You finally get to see the impact of all your efforts." Ella rolled her eyes while speaking with a sarcastic expression. "It's just going to be a collection of brown-nosing old guys anyways. I couldn't care less about those people. I'm only interested
Grooming himself and getting dressed in the finest clothes in his wardrobe closet, Luke looked like a new man. His hair was freshly combed, and the shirt he had chosen to wear was immaculately pressed and starched. The tie that rested comfortably at his neck was neatly tied without any wrinkles or loose threads anywhere to be seen. Luke had spent the last hour making sure every single detail of his appearance was impeccable. With all of his preparations complete, he stepped into the bedroom to show off his new image for Ella. As soon as he opened the door, Ella greeted him with a round of applause and a huge grin on her face. "You look amazing!" Ella exclaimed with excitement. "You remind me of some fancy assassin from one of those movies." "You've been spending too much time with Aria again," Luke replied with a playful smirk. "She's probably rubbing off on you." "Oh whatever! I bet you're happy to be compared to a movie star. You're welcome for the compliment by the way." Ella te
Arriving outside a massive open space filled with tables and chairs. All of the guests were already seated and waiting in anticipation for the presentation to begin. Standing in front of the audience is a single large white podium with two empty seats located on either side of it. Luke walks around the outside of the room, remaining out of sight until he arrives at the backside of a curtain neighboring the podium. With a quick peek through the curtains, Luke can feel his heartbeat speed up as he realizes just how big the crowd waiting on him is. Hundreds of faces with their focus solely on him, as well as the countless amount of cameras that would be recording the event. While Luke tries to remain calm while looking at the crowd, Ella had already taken center stage as she walked towards the podium with ease. After climbing up onto the stand, Ella gave Luke a quick wink before addressing the audience with a warm smile. "Good morning everyone. Thank you for being here today to see the
"What they hell!" Luke's mind raced while still holding onto the microphone in wonder of what was happening. "What are you just sitting around for? Shut down the projector!" Ella Stood from her seat and ordered the team in charge of handling the screen. Although she had ordered them to shut down the projector, The team was unmoving. They continued to stare at the screen as if they were in a trance. All except Lee, who was just as confused by the circumstances as Luke and Ella. As the team remained frozen in place, Ella made her way towards Lee while trying her hardest to not scream out loud in frustration. "What is wrong with you all?" Ella asked while glaring at them with an angry frown on her face. "Lee, go and shut off the projector. Apparently you're the only one with any semblance of common sense left in this place." Ella shouted out as Jonathan began laughing from the room's speakers. "Isn't this just the best. So much better than that awfully boring presentation. Things sh
With the room now emptied aside from the three people left behind, Ella and Luke stared at each other for a moment in a cold silence. "What the hell does she mean, 'we have to kill her'!? What kind of game is that?" Ella shouted while looking to Luke for an answer. "And why is everyone just following her orders like some mindless sheep?" She questioned while shaking her head in disbelief at what she had witnessed. Luke stared silently while still trying to piece together what had happened. He knew something terrible was taking place and the only thing he could think about was the 'New Genesis' Program that his father had supposedly built. That was the only thing he could think of that would explain how any of this was possible. Just like how he was controlled by his father, Jonathan and Marilyn must have taken control of everyone on board. The question now was how long ago did they plan this. They would have had to inject everyone with the same virus that he had. and even with all
With his body still weak and exhausted after his tussle, Luke found himself stumbling around while Ella helped him to the one and only exit to the room. "Once I get out of here. I'm doubling my gym routine. *Cough* Scratch that, I'm tripping it. No pain no gain, right Ella? *Cough* That's what they all say." Despite being in pain from the damage the man had inflicted on him, Luke continued to try and brighten the mood. They may have been in a tricky situation, but Luke wasn't going to let it bring them down, or make them look for pity. He felt that if they kept pushing forward, things would work themselves out in time. That's how it had worked in the past and there was no reason that it couldn't work now. Standing in front of the imposing metal door, Ella reached over to the panel beside it with her free hand and watched as the door slowly slid open to the darkened hallway beyond. "Well that doesn't look very inviting. Let's hope we aren't met with any surprises." She said while