2102

2038: Noah Dues, a candidate running for President of the United States of America is elected. He ran for a third party known as the Freedom party. He won the election by a landslide. He promised health, better education, wealth, and more to the people.

2040: President Dues passed the New Alien Act, College $ Act, Fair Education Act, and more. Now illegal immigrants gain citizenship, more students attend college despite money, and every child gets a fair education. Everyone is happy and pleased with these new acts.

2042: President Deus is elected again by a landslide. He continues to pass more acts and laws, which every citizen of the United States do not argue against. President Deus continues to bring fairness, health, and money to the people. Everyone is still happy, both young and old. Those who are old can retire and young people are getting jobs due to President Deus.

2045: President Deus is seen as a hero and no one can measure up to him. He brought happiness to the United States and made us the most powerful country on Earth. People want him to run a third term and so does Congress. President Deus agrees to run for a third term for the people.

2046: The Republican Party died out. The Freedom Party that was once a third party is now a first party. Now the parties are The Freedom and The Democrats. Noah Deus against Reuben Inverno. President Deus wins without difficulties.

2049: Congress and the House of Representatives became corrupt. President Deus and the United States military attacked Congress and House of Representatives. President Deus put people in Congress and House of Representatives whom he saw fit. The people of the United States knew that there was corruption but now realize that President Deus has full control of the government. Near the end of 2049, President Deus attacked the judicial branch and put his own people in their place. He now controls everything.

2050: The people rebelled but due to President Deus having military power, the people lost. The 2nd Civil War lasted for 6 months but was pointless. Without leadership, there was no way the people could win. By December of 2050, President Deus declared himself Emperor of the United States by the right of God.

2052: Emperor Deus changed the name “United States of America” to “Deus”. Military burned religious and history texts. Emperor Deus created a new currency, pledge of alligance, flag, religion, and history.

2055: At the age of 61, Emperor Noah Deus died on March 15th 2055. His son, Abraham “Abe” Deus takes over the country. The first thing that Emperor Abe Deus does is passed the Isolation Act. This Act said that no citizen was allow to leave the country without the permission of the Emperor and are only allowed to leave for a short time. However, due to our power many immigrants from poor countries want to move in. Deus allows them to come with open arms. Very few leave the country but many enter for wealth and health care.

2056: Canada, France, and Great Britain declare war on Deus and vow to bring back democracy. Deus received help from China, Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, and Brazil. Many young men sign up to fight for Deus and the Emperor and those who are too young sign up to attend military academies and wait until they are of age to fight. Even men as old as 50 want to help and fight. This was the start of World War III.

2060: Canada surrender. Deus destroyed all the villages, towns, and cities in Canada. The Canadians were sent to prisons as prisoners of war. Emperor Abe Deus annexed Canada to Deus and made it a wasteland. Canada became known as Carcerem, also known as the Prison Land. The country sent all their criminals to Carcerem. Carcerem held all different types of criminals from drug dealers to prisoners of war to muerders. The prisons held men, women, and children. The Children’s Ward held children as young as three months old and by the time they can walk, trained them to work.

2070: World War III ended. Deus and the other countries won by using nuclear weapons on Great Britain and France along with any other countries that aided them. Just like with Canada, Deus took the citizens and sent them to Carcerem. Deus made France and Great Britain colonies of Deus. Citizens from Deus were now allowed to leave the motherland and go to the colonies and start their businesses and work.

2071: By force, Emperor Abe Deus annexed Mexico. Children in Mexico were sent to boarding schools in the motherland to learn English and the culture. By doing this, Mexico lost their culture. People started to move into what was once known as Mexico. Mexican culture was discouraged and anyone seen practicing their religion or customs were sentence to public death.

2075: Deus controlled all of North and Central America. By this time, Brazil controlled all of South America. Deus and Brazil signed a peace treaty. Brazil had to adapt Deus culture and make their official language English, not Portuguese. Many children from rich families in Brazil were sent to Deus to learn the language and culture.

2085: Deus has colonies:
1st colony (once known as Great Britain). Capital: Noah
2nd colony (once known as France). Capital: Dios
3rd colony (once known as Japan). Capital: Abraham
4th colony (once known as Hong Kong). Capital: Isaac

2090: Deus gained colonies in parts of Africa and the Middle East. Europe signed a peace treaty that Deus will not attack or invade Europe, however, Europeans must speak and understand English and the European countries must pay money to Deus each year. Or else: War.

2100: Spain and Portugal refused to pay Deus. Both countries were attack by three atomic bombs. Both countries gave in to Deus and Deus created 5th and 6th colony. The citizens were sent to Carcerem. By this time, Carcerem is all of Canada, Alaska, and some northern states. However, many people have moved to one of the many colonies. Due to the prisons being over crowded, many criminals were sentence to death to make room. They were chosen at random and it did not matter why they were there or their age and gender. They were just prisoners.

2102: At the age of 78, Abe Deus died and his son, Isaac Deus took over on September 18th 2102: My 100th birthday.

The people who are in the prisons are so down, unhappy, and separated, that many of them feel like this is the end of civilization. Those who are citizens of Deus feel like this is the beginning of civilization, but they are wrong. Once Isaac takes over, it gets worse for everyone and all the people who were on Earth will vanish under his rule: Including myself.


- Random citizen of Deus; Died September 30th 2102.

The 504 Squad

     I did nothing wrong. None of us did. It was just our bad luck. We did nothing to deserve this imprisonment. It is cold in this cell and I’m hungry and thirsty. I don’t know what time it is, no one does. It could be night or it could be morning. I’m writing on the only piece of paper I have that I tore from a book. I want people to know what it is like in this place and that the other kids and I did nothing wrong. Please, whoever finds this, know that I did nothing wrong and share my story and the others to the future generation. I beg of you so you can justify us. So that the future will never again, do this to their children.

Prisoner: 1319 J
Male
D.O. B: September 18th 2084 (11 years and 6 months)



     I got on the bus with the other children who were gathered to be taken away. My parents did not show up. They did not even say good-bye. They saw me as a disgrace, as every child on this bus was seen. We sat down in our seats quietly and no one said a word. I looked at the other kids faces and none of them gave any expression except for sadness, guilt, and some seemed lifeless.
We were on the highway for about two hours and there were no other vehicles on the road. There was nothing except trees, trees, and more trees. Were in the middle of nowhere, until we heard an explosion! The bus stopped and some kids fell out of there seats. We saw a fire started in the distance in the woods. Then in front of us, five black cars were rushing towards us. The bus driver grabbed his gun and aimed it at the cars.
     Everyone on the bus sat still, not knowing what to do. I looked from the kids to the bus driver, then from the bus driver to the cars, and then back at the kids. Before he could shoot, the cars surrounded the bus. I got low to the ground, thinking that whoever were in those cars were going to kill all of us. Before I knew it, I heard footsteps get out of the cars and bus driver shooting. But then the shots stopped and everything was silent. Some of the kids and I picked up our heads to look over the seats, to see who got on the bus.
     The people who got on the bus had army pants on along with black shirts. They had guns in their hands and knives on their belts. They cover their heads so the only thing you could see where their eyes. They wore dark brown vests that I could only guess held more weapons and bullets.
“Do not be afraid!” I heard one of them say. The person took of his mask; no SHE took off her mask! She had long black hair and dark skin. She stood straight with confidence and stared at all of us in the eyes.
“We are the 504 squad! You have a choice. You can come with us and be safe or stay here and hope for the best. If you stay, you might just continue on your way to the reform school. So, who wants to come with us?” I stood stiff with the other kids, not knowing what was going on. Then a girl, a bit older than me got up and slowly walked to the front and then another kid stood then another and before anyone knew it, we all got up.
“We’re going to need a lot more cars,” I heard one of them say to the girl.

     I sat in the back of the car with a boy about my age and a girl who seemed to be no older than ten. The girl who seemed to be in charge sat in the passenger seat. We were all quiet until the girl spoke.
“I’m hungry,” she said.
“We’re we are going. You will able to eat and drink whatever you want,” said the girl who never put her mask back on. The car made a sharp turn onto an unknown road that went into the woods. After sitting in the car that felt like for hours, we arrived at a gate. A guard who wore the same uniform saw the girl’s face and opened the gate. The car drove through the gate to the edge of a cliff.
“Get out,” the girl said and the three of us got out. The kids in the other cars also got out with their drivers. We walked to the edge of the cliff and at the bottom of what seemed to be a valley was a town!
We saw cabin after cabin and one huge cabin. We saw kids and some adults walking around and socializing. The kids looked happy and in the distance I saw a group of kids playing kick ball. I’ve heard about the game before the government banned it.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“Home,” said the girl.

“Liam! Can you do this math equation?” asked my teacher, Mr. Huber. I got up and walked to the black board and did the steps to the equation.
“Is the answer two?” I asked him. Mr. Huber gave a big smile and nodded, and then I returned to my desk. After reviewing a few math problems, Mr. Huber returned our last week exam. I was proud that I received an A on my exam and then the bell rang. We all got up and headed to our next class.
I was at the place called Pascack Valley for about three months. The teachers were the kindness adults I ever met. They were better then my teachers in the real world where all they did was beat me and said how terrible I was. Because of these teachers I became skilled in math and science, along with improving my reading comprehension skill. After school, some of the other boys and I went to the field to play kick ball. I fell in love with the game and I was a fast runner! No one could get me out when I tried to sill a base.
     As I was on my way to the field, a few of the soldiers walked by, heading to the saloon to get something to drink. The group that saved us belonged to an organization called the 504 Squad. The 504 Squad saved kids like me who were being sent to a Reform School. A place where kids were prisoners and they were treated wore there then they were in the outside world. Everyone who worked for the 504 Squad, including the teachers (who weren’t soldiers) went against the government, to show them that there is a better way to help students who were learning disabled. Shortly after I arrived at Pascack Valley, I knew that I wanted to help and I would sign up on my thirteenth birthday.
     My thirteenth birthday came quickly then I expected. After school ended I went to the HQ that was located on the top of the main building to sign up. I walked in and sent to the office of admissions. There, I saw her again. The girl who rescued us from the bus a year ago.
“You want to join our cause?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Are you sure? You’ll become an enemy of the country. You understand what you are fighting for?”
“The right for children who are learning disabled. To fight for the help they need in the school system weather that is extra time, a reader, or computers, and more. I am willing to fight for that cause.”
“You’ll have to attend a week long course before you can fully decide. The course will give you a better understanding of what we do. If you wish, you can wait a while or change your mind about joining our army. Some children here grow up to help our town or start their own families and become parents. Even the teachers here are not soldiers. After the week long program, return here if you still want to join,”
     After taking the weeklong program with eight other kids who were between the ages of thirteen and twenty-eight, I knew I wanted to help. I did not want to become a teacher, or a shop owner, or anything else. I wanted to fight for kids like me. I returned to the office and she was there. She handed me the forms and I signed them.
“You sign up now, but whenever you feel like it, you can withdraw from our army. Please state your name,”
“Liam,” She stared at me and stamped my papers.
“Liam, you are still not soldier. However, you are accepted into our army. First you must go through a yearlong training camp to be familiar with weapons, first aid, and so on. You will need this paper to be signed by your instructor,”
“And who’s that?”
“Me. Welcome, I’m your instructor. Aimee D,”

     Instructor Aimee D was tough but always told us we could do anything. She taught me how to shoot a gun, fight, and hide in the woods. During my training, I started to look up to Aimee D. She was a skilled fighter and strong, yet enthusiastic at the same time. During our break time, I often caught her jumping from tree to tree like a monkey. She said it was her favorite pass time, even when she was a little girl.
     After 6 months of training, we had a test to survive in the woods for a week. Our test of survival was supposed to build up our teamwork. We discovered our skills and each person participated for us to survive. My skill was in hunting; I caught squirrels, rabbits, deer, and more. We were all happy by the end of the week to see that we passed and that our time together in the woods helped us create a bond between each other. We became close and saw one another as a brother or a sister instead of a stranger.
     After training under Aimee D for a year, the time came for me to receive my uniform and certificate of being a member of the 504 Squad. At the ceremony, Aimee D, other instructors, and the man in charge of the District 2 branch shook my hand and congratulated me. At the ceremony, including me, seventy trainees passed and became members of the 504 Squad.
“Congratulations,” Aimee D told my group. Just before I was about to leave to celebrate with the others by drinking soda and eating ice cream and cookies, Aimee D stopped me.
“Master?” I asked her.
“I’m no longer your master. You can call me Aimee D now. But the reason why I stopped you was because you and sixteen other soldiers have to go out tomorrow. This is your first mission. Good luck, Liam,”

     We waited for the signal. I was partner with a boy named Phil who was twenty and in the 504 Squad for five years.
“First mission?” He asked.
“Yeah,”
“Don’t worry. This isn’t a huge mission. Just saving a couple of kids on their way to a Reform School. This is one of those regular missions,” When he finished saying that last line, the explosion went off. The bus halted along with the two police cars next to it. The police officers got out with their weapons ready. The cars came out of the woods and drove straight towards the bus and the officers.
“Now!” yelled the commander over the radio. The cars stopped to a halt and we all quickly got out and started firing.
“Go!” yelled a voice and five kids and I snuck up to the bus. We got on and knocked out the bus driver. An officer ran at us and someone shot him in the chest. He fell dead.
“Don’t worry kids. We’re here to help you,” said one of the soldiers. I looked at each kid in the face and saw the looks of fear and worry on their faces. They did not understand what was going on. Just like what happened to me two years ago.
     The soldier made his speech that we were they to get them to safety and that they could stay if they wanted. Before he could finish his speech, all the kids got up to get out of the bus and join us for their freedom. The firing was still going on and two cars drove near the bus to get a few of the kids inside as quickly as possible. When the last group was about to get into the car I heard a scream.
     I turned around to see a boy running towards us and an officer was about to grabbed him. I ran towards him but the officer got to him first. The kid fought hard to get the officer to let go of him but he was too small and too weak. The officer was about to put him in the police car, when I took out my knife and started a fight with the officer. While fighting, I was able to unlock the door and get the kid out.
“Go! Get into one of those cars!” I told the kid, pointing at the black cars. They were waiting for him. The kid started to run but I continued fighting with the officer. He was too strong to defeat by myself. I knew that to get the group to safety, I would have to hold him off.
“Go without me!” I yelled towards the cars. Nothing happened. I yelled again. This time, they knew they could not help. If they were to help, the kids would be in danger. The cars turned around and headed towards Pascack Valley. When the last car was just turning around I heard someone yell my name. I only got a glimpse, but the boy I save, I recognized him.
     Ian! It was my younger brother Ian! I didn’t recognize him because he grew so much. The car drove away, but I was pleased to know that my brother was safe. When the car was out of site, I raised my hands and surrendered myself.
     When I surrender, the officers took me to a Reform School. I tried many attempts to escape but when I realized I was selfish by escaping alone, I changed my plan and tried to get as many students out as possible. The Reform Schools were harsh and cruel but I was proud to be able to get a few kids out each year. In the end, I remained in the Reform School until the country saw me as an adult. When I turned eighteen, they sent me to a lab where they experimented on my brain. The procedures were painful and there was no way to escape, I’ve tried many times, but failed.

     In the year of 3050, the government was under a new leader. The leader himself had a reading and math disability but because he was rich, his parents were able to hire special tutors and kept his disability a secret. This new leader got rid of the Reform Schools across the country. Even the children who were sent to labs on their eighteenth birthdays were free. When I got out, I was forty years old and when I smelled the fresh air I cried. The war, the pain, the suffering, was finally over and I could only pray that nothing like that would ever happen again to any child or anyone who has a disability because we are people too.


Everyone is special in their own unique way

3084

     The war started in the year 2050, when oil was found Mexico. Country after country wanted control Mexico and eventually the United States annex Mexico into their country. Canada found this unconstitutional and declared war on the United States, but due to a plague in Canada, they lost many soldiers. Due to this, the United States won and annexed Canada.
     The presidential election took place in the year 2048 and the winner was John Cortes who persuaded Congress to change the United States constitution. No one argued against him and anyone who tried to disobey him lost everything, including their families and life. John Cortes turned the democracy of America into a dictatorship. Once Cortes annexed Mexico and Canada, he changed the name from the United States of America to the United Tri Countries of America or UTC. Cortes turned UTC into a rich country but in exchange, 80% of the population went under the poverty line.
     In the year 2080, a plague broke out that was believed to have started in Alaska. The plague killed 2/3 of UTC population, but that did not include the rich families who were able to get vaccinations and closed themselves off from the world. Many people died and many families broke apart. Once John Cortes died, his son, David Cortes, took over and ruled just as strict as his father.
     John Cortes grandson ran into a few problems when he became President. His grandson, Samuel Cortes had a wife and a mistress. Samuel Cortes mistress gave birth to a baby boy and his wife gave birth to a baby girl a month later. The family’s wife and the mistress entered a dispute over who would rule once Samuel Cortes died. The two families were the Feng and the Reyes. Samuel Cortes became so stressed over the two families that he banished the Feng to the east coast and the Reyes to the west coast. Samuel Cortes divorced his wife and cut all ties with his mistress. He remarried a year later and his second wife gave birth to a strong and healthy baby boy. Although the two families lost power to the Presidency, their angry towards each other grew and that is where our story takes place. In the UTC during the year 3084.

“Peter! Peter!” Peter woke up and stared up at the sky. He was lying in a field of flowers when he heard his aunt calling him. The sky was so blue and the flowers were in full blossom that Peter forgot he was living in a cruel world.
“Peter stop day dreaming!” His aunt said as she tugged him by his color to get up. She wipe off all the dirt that was on his shirt and pants. Peter liked being dirty, but his aunt always hated dirty things. Her dress, hat, even her house had to be neat and tidy.
“Look at your hair! You messed it up! It took the barber two hours to fix your hair!” his aunt said as she tried to fix his hair with a comb. Peter just stood still, not having a care in the world. A honking noise came from the distance.
“Come, come!” His aunt said as she pulled him towards the van.
The van left the safety of the gates and into the village where people were in the middle of their work. Peter saw beggars, drunks, and hungry children everywhere. Peter hated his country. He hated that he was rich and these people were wondering if they were going to eat.
“How disgusting. Why doesn’t the government just kill them off or something?” he heard his aunt say. Peter ignored her and watched the people outside his window.
“Move faster!” his aunt told the driver and driver flinch.

“Mai, it’s time to go,” said her brother. Mai got up from her piano and walked over to her little brother.
“Will you miss me?” she asked him.
“Of course I will! I miss you every year when you go away!” he exclaimed. Mai watched as slaves picked up her luggage and put them in a truck. Mai looked at herself head to toes. Staring at her new light blue dress and black shoes.
“You look beautiful,” her brother said with his big grin.
“Mai, it’s time to go,” she heard her uncle say. Mai was about to give a kiss to her brother, when a slave tripped and dropped one of her suitcases. All her things fell everywhere on the ground and everyone stopped what they were doing.
“Jose! Take this white trash and put him in the chamber,” Mai’s uncle said. The slave begged his master to not put him in the chamber, but Mai’s uncle showed no remorse and paid no attention to the slave. Mai did not look at the old man, pretending that his punishment was nothing to worry about.
“He deserves it,” Mai’s younger brother said.
“Don’t say that. At least not in front of me,” Mai told him.
“Mai, are you ready?” her uncle ask and Mai gave him a nodded.
“I’ll miss you little brother,” and she kissed him. When Mai got in the truck, she looked back to wave at her brother, but her brother stood tall and proud. He did not smile or wave to her. She knew that her brother was going to grow up just like their uncle.

“This is it,” said Mai’s uncle. Mai was happy to finally get out of truck and walked around. She was sitting in the truck for five hours straight without walking. She looked at her new boarding school. She watched as other students got out of their transportation and slaves carrying one luggage after another.
“Mai, you’re room is this way,” her uncle old her and she followed him to a nice brick building with pink flowers in the front. They took the elevator to the tenth floor and met the slaves there with her luggage.
“I made sure you get your own room, so that you would not be distracted. I am going to leave number 133 here to be your personal salve,”
“Thank you, uncle”

     Peter looked out his window to view the school from the jet. To get the school, he had to take a van to his family’s airport and then a three hour jet ride to the school’s location. There were other jets landing and they had to wait there turn.
“Nervous? I promised your parents that you would have the best education that anyone could get. This is the number one school in the country. Some of the professors here have even tutor the President’s children when they were your age,” Peter’s aunt kept bragging, but Peter was bored.
Peter had his own dreams. He wanted to travel the world and wanted to go to a place called Spain. He heard that Spain still had a democracy and out of nowhere became a world power, second only to China. Of course what he heard was just rumors, but he could still dream about thinking what a country like that was like. Where people could do whatever they wanted.
“Peter, the jet landed, stop daydreaming and get out here and socialize!” his aunt demanded. Peter got out and saw other boys and girls his age talking to one another. A boy from the jet next to his came over. The boy had a bit of a tan skin like Peter and was just a bit shorter then he was. The boy wore a button down white shirt and black pants.
“Hello fellow student. My name is Zhang and I’m a first year, and you?” he asked politely. Peter just stared at him and wonder how this kid could be so happy being surrounded by slaves and people living in poverty.
“Peter, say hi to your fellow classmate,” his aunt told him.
“Hey,” Peter said and Zhang saw a sign of shock on his face and slowly walked away.
“Did you say ‘hey’ to him? What have I taught you! We don’t say ‘hey’, we say ‘hello’, we’re not slaves! We’re people!” his aunt yelled at him. Peter showed no expression but he like the way it sounded. Hey. He heard the slaves say it when he was a child and his mother and father did not care, but once his aunt became his guardian, she threw a fit. “Hey” was a word spoken by slaves and those who had no status.
“Come Peter, let’s see your new room,”

     It was the first day of school and that boy Zhang, was in many of Peter’s classes. The other students gave Peter a strange stare and talked quietly among each other. Peter did not care. He sat there and stared at them for being stupid. The teacher taught them about the history of their country and how they should love their president. Peter fooled around by doodling on his paper, something that was seen as a low class past time. But he liked to draw. He was very good at drawing, but his aunt told him he should focus on something that is class such as science, politics, or math. Peter just could not understand these people.
“Peter Feng!” he heard his teacher say. Peter got up and his teacher walked towards him. He looked at his desk and saw his doodling.
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen,”
“Hold your hands out. Sixteen slaps for not paying attention,” Peter prepared for the beating and took it all in.

     In the class next store, Mai was feeling bored herself. Like the majority of the other students, she had her own personal slave. Whenever Mai needed books, her slave got them for her. Whenever she needed a pencil, her slave got it for her. Whenever she dropped something, her slave got on all fours and got it for her. Mai felt lazy about her slave doing everything for her. Mai wanted to be able to do things herself. She was afraid of what the girls without slaves were thinking about her. She also wonders if the boys found her stupid.
“Go away,” Mai told her slave one time, but the slave stood by her side. Mai’s uncle had totally authority over slaves, not Mai.
     One day Mai’s slave got ill and fell down from fever. The security came and told Mai that her slave was no good. They would send a message to her guardian about it and the salve would be ship back to her home. They informed her that it would take at least two days for a new slave to arrive. Mai found this to be wonderful since she could be on her own.
     While in class, Mai’s teacher caught her not paying attention. The students in her class giggled at her. The teacher sent Mai outside to stand there until the end of class. While standing outside, Mai noticed a boy standing outside his classroom door. He seemed bored and restless. Mai walked over to him and stood by his side.
“Hello, fellow student. My name is Mai,” she said.
“Hey,” he said. This caught Mai off guard. What kind of person says ‘hey’ except for a low life or a slave? Although this confused her, she liked it.
“Hey,” she said back shyly. The boy looked at her.
“This country sucks,” he said. This also caught her off guard, but Mai had to agree.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Why, so you can tell on me?”
“No, it’s just. I think this country sucks as well and I want to leave,” this caught the boy off guard.
“My name is Peter,” he said.
“Nice to meet you, Peter,”
“Your Mai Reyes aren’t you? How would you feel if I told you I was a Feng?” Again, this caught Mai off guard, but this time she froze. A Feng? Mai always heard her family talked about them and how they were nothing but savages. Ruining their chances of ruling the country. Mai heard that they used to kill and eat children. The older children in her family used to tell horror stories surrounding the Feng family.
“Scared?” he asked.
“No,” Mai said quickly.
“You are. I can read your facial expression,” Mai started to get angry with this Feng. She started to take notice that he had no manners at all and treated her with disrespect. She started to hate him, just as much as her family hates the Fengs. Then the bell rang and the hallways crowded. Mai lost Peter in the crowd.

     Months passed and Mai tried to stay away from Peter, but she kept staring at him. Peter kept staring at her too. Although she doesn’t know it, her remarks at their first conversation caught Peter off guard as well. Peter took an interest in her and Mai took an interest in him.
During an afternoon class, the two of them were once again outside their classrooms.
“What do you want to do? When you graduate?” Mai asked Peter.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said.
“I would want to travel. I would like to go to Spain and see what their country is like. After all, I can speak the language,” Peter could not help listening and staring at her. After all these years of attending numerous of rich, fancy schools, he finally meets someone who shares his same dream, despite her being a Reyes.
“I want to travel too,” he caught himself saying.
“If only we could take a jet and leave here today,” Mai said.
“We can,” and for the first time, the two looked at each other with smiles on their faces.


     Mai’s younger brother, Fernando overheard his uncle yelling into the telephone. He was screaming and cursing and saying things he shouldn’t be saying in front of him. His uncle put the phone down and put on his jacket. He called security and gathered as many male family members he could find. Fernando knew that something bad had happened and he wanted in on the battle.
“Uncle, I want to join,” Fernando said holding his gun.
“You’re too young,” his uncle said and the men left without him. Fernando watched as the van left to its unknown destination. That was when Antonio appeared with his gun in hand.
“They left you behind too?” Fernando asked.
“No! I’m guarding our home with the other older boys. Uncle Tito is right, you’re too young to fight,”
“Am not!”
“Are too! You’re only up to my shoulder and my gun is bigger than yours!” Antonio said, pointing the gun straight at Fernando.
“You’re a traitor!” Antonio yelled at Fernando.
“What?” he asked.
“You don’t know? Your sister ran away with a Feng! Your sister is a traitor, so you’re a traitor too! You stupid, pathetic, orphan!” Fernando could not believe what he was hearing.
“My sister would never do that!” he yelled at Antonio.
“Really? That’s why the men went away. A war is going to break out and it’s your sister’s fault!” He shot his gun and Antonio stared at Fernando’s lifeless body.
“Traitor”

     Although the two never knew it, but their rebellion started a civil war in UTC. For over 40 years the Feng and Reyes fought each other until their fortunes and members were gone except for the two who escaped to a safe heaven in Spain. Spain was indeed what Peter and Mai hoped for: a place for freedom.



When there is war, there is no winner

Lit. Out Loud: Dyslexia

     I walked through the two doors and down the stairs that lead to the cafeteria. I stared at all the lights, shining around the room. The room was lit by Christmas lights and lava lambs that members of club donated for tonight. I looked around and noticed other students in the club and those that attended the school. I saw Mr. Gazzer, who I knew very little. He was one of the advisers for the club along with Mr. M, who was my English teacher and role model and just like years before, did not notice I was at the event.
     The lights went dim and I found a seat to sit at. None of my real friends were there, but I saw a few people I knew and waved to them with a smile on my face. I was there to listen to the pieces that people wrote. Some people wrote poems, other wrote short stories, and a few others played music. It was a wonderful performance, however, my heart started to ache for although I loved to write, there was one thing missing. Spelling and grammar, and my reading were below average. I knew that the people standing up there reading will get papers publish and maybe even a book, while my talent laid hidden to the world.
     Having dyslexia was never easy and I knew my dream of becoming a great writer was slim. I cannot remember the first short story I wrote, but I do remember that before going to bed, I would write. I would write about all my imaginary friends and how they went on magical adventures with me. How we saved the world, a world that existed in my imagination. Where laws and physics never set foot, but the good guys always won and bad guys always lose. I wrote down these stories when I was only about ten-years-old in elementary school, but when I looked back at these stories, I discovered my spelling mistakes and grammar. I could not spell “what”, “how”, “when”, “mine”, “the,” “next”, “this”, and much more. My letters were everyway on the page, never staying on the line. These were my first stories and I continued to write before bed until I finished high school.
     In middle school, and even in high school, very few had noticed my gift. Although my spelling and grammar have improved, many still overlook my creativity and only saw the errors.
     Besides my spelling and grammar, my reading is slow and I often mistake words for something else. I am embarrassed to read out loud and I am afraid of screwing up, like I used to do when I was younger. That is why I look up to these other students and I wish I could tell them how lucky they were. They have perfect grammar, spelling, and can read without a single flaw. They are in the spotlight, while I am in the dark. Their talents will be noticed and people will clap for them, while I am sitting down with the audience without anyone noticing my talents. Because the ones standing up and reading have a talent and gift, something that I have as well, but I will never be able to share it. Because I have dyslexia and it will be the cross that I carry for the rest of my life.

Leaves

     We knew they were coming, we always knew that they would come sooner or later. My parents grabbed my brothers and me and put us in a hidden room behind the bookcase. They were not able to finish it to fit all of us and before closing the hidden door, they kissed all three of us and told us that they loved us. Right when the door shut, we heard the door to our apartment open and guns were fired.
After many hours, we left the hidden room only to find our parents gone and the room torn to bits. I held my baby brother in my arms and looked down at my six-year-old brother and told him that we were going to leave and never return to the apartment.
     The war was terrible and it kept getting worse. Soldiers were everywhere and other countries kept bombing the country, mostly the capital city. People were suffering but were still loyal to the fatherland. And people like us (the Jews) were being taken away and killed.
My brothers and I found a shack to live in near the bay. We depended on the fish in the bay to eat and even sale. We thought we were safe, but eventually the soldiers found us and somehow they knew we were Jews. They burst into our new home and attacked by hitting and kicking us. One soldier grabbed my baby brother and I yelled at him to give him back. When a soldier was about to grab us, I held on to my other brother and then everything went blank.
     The next thing we knew, we were in the middle of a jungle and the sun was beaming down on us, but the trees cover sunlight. I woke up to see my brother next to me, but somehow I knew that my baby brother was not here. As my brother started to wake up, I started to cry and mourn for my baby brother. That was when they showed up. The other children with tan skin and yellow eyes.





     There was no time on the island. The sun rose and then it went down. The moon and stars came out at night, but there was no calendars, no days, no months, no years. No one kept track of time. No one on the island grew older then about thirteen years old and we all had tan skin and yellow eyes, despite that at the time when my brother and I arrived we had pale skin, we always had pale skin, until we arrived on the island. No one knew how he or she got here or why we were here. Either way, this island was a paradise. There were no adults, no wars, and fruit grew on every tree and bush. The water that surrounded the island was clean water instead of salt water. Our memories of our home, our families, and our other lives started to fade away. The only thing I could remember was my baby brother and how I could not protect him and I blamed myself every day.
     One day, while I was out gathering basil, I heard a baby crying. I thought that maybe my brother was alright and he finally arrived at the island. I followed the cry to the beach and out in the ocean I saw a boat. Except the boat was on fire and sinking. Coming towards the island was a basket and I heard the cry come from the basket. The basket wash up on the shore and I looked inside to see a small baby, looking up at me and when he saw me he stopped crying and had a big smile on. I picked up the baby and held him in my arms. I knew he was not my baby brother but I fell in love with him right away. I stared once more time at the boat sinking, most of it was under water and I knew that this baby was now an orphan. I cradle him in my arms and told him, “don’t worry, I will always protect you,”

“Gather everyone!” yelled Demon and everyone went out into the jungle to gather the kids who were out doing their chores, both pre-teen and toddler. Demon went to the tallest tree in the jungle and looked out into the ocean. In the distance appeared a ship and from that ship he saw a small boat coming towards the shore.
“What do you see brother?” asked Angel with a concern face.
“Adults, they found this island.”



“I’m faster than you!”
“No you’re not!”
“Then let’s have a race!”
“A race!” near the voice there was a shrieked and out came two children, a boy and a girl, barely eight years old.
“We want to see!” the young girl said.
“No way,” said a boy with blonde hair.
“Tiger, we are going to need witnesses,” said a boy with black hair and pale skin.
“I guess,” replied Tiger.
The two boys were ready to race and when the children yelled, “go!” they were off. They ran as fast as they could through the jungle. They jumped over roots, swung through branches, and ran through leaves and bushes that got in the way. The two boys had big smiles on their faces and laughed along the way.
“Hey Leaves! Is this the fastest you can run at?” asked Tiger and then it hit Leaves. He knew a short cut and went off the course.
“Giving up?” asked Tiger, but Leaves continued to run. While he ran, a cliff that he had to jump across caught Leaves. With a running start he jumped and crossed it. By then he knew he could win. When he saw the finish line, he saw Tiger next to him and the two younger children were cheering. Leaves saw that he was ahead by a little bit, but then he tripped and Tiger crossed as the winner.
“That doesn’t count!” exclaimed Leaves.
“You tripped, it’s fair,” replied Tiger. The two started arguing, when Feet and Hands appeared. The two were on the council and they were twin brother and sister.
“There is an emergency! Did you hear the alarm? Get back to the village, how could you ignore the alarm and getting two young ones in danger! Get back, you’ll be happy we won’t be telling Demon about this,” they both said.
Back at the village Leaves found his sister Angel and gave her a hug. He saw the worried look on her face.
“Where have you’ve been?” she asked.
“Tiger and I were having a friendly race. I lost,”
“Now is not the time to race, there is an emergency. Can’t you listen just once to the council and not worry me?” Leaves saw tears in her eyes and felt guilty for making his sister worried. His sister was the one who found him, raised him, feed him, clothe him, and did everything for him. Including getting him out of trouble when he broke a rule as a young kid. He did not see Angel as his sister, but as a mother. Then Demon came out.
     Demon was the leader of the village and also Angel’s brother. Angel found Leaves on the beach and adopted him, while Demon was her younger brother by blood. For some reason, Demon never accepted Leaves as his brother and Leaves believes it is because they are not blood related or that Leaves was different.
     On the island, all the other children appeared like magic to the jungle, while Leaves was washed up on the shore from a shipwreck. Because of this, the island never accepted Leaves. All the other children had tan skin and yellow eyes, but Leaves still had his dark black eyes and pale white skin. Also, unlike the other kids, Leaves kept getting older and everyone was aware that Leaves would probably grow up to be an adult, the only adult on the island while everyone else remains young. The part of growing up or even thinking about growing up disturbed Leaves, but for now he was about thirteen years old.
“What’s going on?” asked one of the children.
“We believe that adults are coming to the island,” announced Demon and then there was an up roar among them. Some children thought they should fight and protect their home while others believed they should hide and hope that the adults would go away. The five council members and Demon talked among themselves and seemed to agree to a solution.
“We decided to go into hiding and avoid conflict. We also forbid any contact with the adults. If someone should come into contact, they will be punish or exile.” Then Demon turned around and left with the council. Everyone went to their huts and started to pack up.
“Angel, what are we doing?” asked Leaves.
“Pack everything. Pack the clothes, the food, and put down the hut. We will burry the stuff we cannot take with us and eat as much as we can for now. We’ll be living in the trees for a while or maybe even a cave. This island is big enough to hide in,”




     Leaves started to get bored living in the trees, he lost count for how long they have been hiding from the adults. Leaves was also curious about the adults. Leaves (and everyone on the island) do not know what he or she look like or forgotten what he or she looked like before arriving to the island.
“Hey Leaves,” Leaves looked up to notice Tiger, his best friend and also a rival at running. Tiger had two other boys with him, Quiet and Apple.
“What’s up guys? Up to no good?”
“Listen, we gather rocks and we have our sling shots. Guess what we are going to do.”
“Hit yourself?” Quiet and Apple giggled while Tiger seemed a bit angry.
“I was going to ask if you wanted to join us in fooling around with the adult.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know! Throw rocks at them. Like hide-and-seek. We throw the rocks, it hits them, and we hide. Maybe they’ll think it is a ghost. It’ll be funny to watch!”
“Demon said not to make contact with them,”
“He said not to make ‘contact’ with them. He said nothing about going near them, did he?” Leaves could not remember what Demon said except that no one could make contact with them because they can be put in excel.
“Come on, it’s boring here. Let’s have some action!” said Tiger and Leaves started to think.
“Alright, I’m in.”
     The boys found the adult camp in the jungle and they started to shoot rocks at them with their slingshots. There were two men. One was fat and the other one was extremely skinny and tall.
“Aim for the skinny one,” Tiger told Quiet. When the rock hit the man, he jumped up and ran in a circle screaming.
“What! What is it?” asked the fat one who started to look worry.
“Something hit me! Something hit me! Something hit me!” yelled the skinny man.
“It’s just your imagination,” said the fat one trying to calm him down. The boys in the trees started to giggle and covered their mouths so they would not get caught.
“Hey, Apple. Get the fat one,” said Quiet.
“Let’s both get him. I’ll get him in the butt!”
“Then I’ll get the back of his head.” The two aimed and got a direct hit of their targets. The fat man turned around and went pale, while rubbing his head.
“What is it?” asked the skinny man getting scared.
“Nothing, it’s nothing,” said the fat one in a scared tone.
“How many rocks do we have?” asked Leaves.
“I have none,” said Apple. Quiet and Tiger also said they had none and Leaves was able to find an extra one in his pocket. Leaves took aimed and then hit the skinny one in the head and he started to go crazy. The boys kept laughing under their breathes.
“Let’s go back before Demon discovers what we did,” said Leaves and the rest of the boys agreed.                                 When the three took off, Leaves turned around because he caught something in the corner of his eyes.
     Something was coming out of the jungle and towards the two adult men. He was ready to protect the men from whatever beast was about to come out and attack them but instead it was not a beast. It was a girl! A girl with clothes that Leaves never saw and she had dark brown hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. He never saw anyone like her, someone like himself. The girl helped the two men and was laughing at whatever they were saying. Then a couple appeared behind the girl and the girl hugged them. Leaves did not understand how this girl could have affection for the adults, especially the two she was hugging. The five of them started to take off, but the girl turned around to pick flowers. That was when the branch under Leave’s legs broke and he fell out of the tree and on the ground. The girl turned around shock and dumfounded. Leaves quickly got up and the two stared at each other, silently, not knowing what to do. The girl said something but Leaves could not understand what she said. Then someone grabbed Leaves. The girl kept screaming something and Leaves kept fighting but then he was tied up. He looked up to find his capture: the two adult men whom him and his friends were teasing earlier.

      Leaves was put on a boat on the sand and the two men started to push it out into the ocean. The couple and the girl were on bored and the girl could not help staring at Leaves with a sad face. Leaves looked back to the jungle and saw someone. He took a closer look and saw Angel. She was crying. Leaves wanted to cry, but instead he sat up straight and tall, just like Demon did at every meeting.
“Don’t worry Angel, my dear sister, I’ll be alright.” The men got in the boat and it started to go towards the big boat out at sea. Leaves watched as the island, his home, was getting smaller and smaller. Leaves knew he never belong on the island and the island was now showing her true nature.

Pathways

The clock strike nine thirty and I got out of my seat and ran for it. There were not too many students in the hallways and I was able to get to the other side of the school fast. I walked through the door and was greeted by the secretary and on my way to the back room the mentors greeted me. In the back of the room was the test coordinator and the other kids like me.
We were all special in our unique way. We had powers that no one could imagine. John was gifted with teleportation, Roland with super speed, Francesca could walk through any solid object, Amy could shoot laser beams with her hands, Phil could control the element of water, and as for me, I was had the power of telepathy. The names and list of what each student could do could go on. There were over seventy college students in the program. The program was called Pathways.
The program was directed by a man we called Doc, although his full name was Doctor Joseph F. Cupertino who had a doctorate in psychology. He was one of us too, although is ability was too advance for any of us to comprehend. Besides directing the program, Doc was also a teacher, often teaching in the field of psychology. He always greeted us in the backroom when he was not busy. Often joking with us and helping us out with school work if we had trouble or questions. Being in school for only about three months, I did not know the man very well, however, seeing how the older students interact with him I could tell he was a good man and did his job well.


“Hello Sly, come in. What do you have to work on today?”
“English. I have an essay due next week,” I told my mentor, Kathleen. I walked into her office that was filled with books and folders on the shelves. She did not decorate her office with much, but the cactus on top of her desk caught my eye along with a silhouette of Alaska.
“Hey Sly, how is your grandmother doing?” asked Roger.
“She doing well, thank you. She moved back into her apartment last Thursday. She is happy to be home after being in rehab for a week,” Roger was the mentor who shared an office with Kathleen. Roger was there in the mornings while Kathleen took the afternoon shift. Each student in the program is given a mentor, someone to help him or her with his or her work. When there was no work to be done, we worked on controlling our powers.


“Who are you?” I asked.
“You know the answer, I should not answer for you,” he said.
“I know the connection, but do you have a name?”
“I do not bare a name,”
“How long have you’ve been around?”
“You know that,”
“Why are you here,”
“I can not answer that,”
“He sent you, did he not?”
“Who?”
“Father,”



“Sly, don’t start your sentence with ‘in’,” said Kathleen and I smirked. Getting Kathleen angry was like watching America’s Home Video on television. I could not help smiling at her anger because I knew putting ‘in’ at the front of my sentences made her go crazy. She got up and I sat down at the computer to do my work.
“It’s three fifteen,” said Catherine, the next student to be mentored. I said hello to my friend and left the office so she could get Kathleen’s attention. Kathleen told me she had kids; one of her kids is just like us. Special.
Pathways was supposed to be a program at college to help selected students with learning disabilities and ADHD. But that’s a lie, Pathways was a program to help college students who were “gifted” to control their powers. We each had a story and each one is just as dark and sad as the others.


I was seven when I first noticed my gift. My “imaginary” friend was not so imaginary. He was a real boy, but from a different part of the earth. That was when we first met. We first met at a building in New York City, he was in a coma. A friend of the family took me there with my mother’s permission. She told me that the boy was in a coma for seven years and that he was dying. With the technology and his brain scans, they were able to discover that he spoke to me telepathically. I sat down next to his bed and we spoke to each other. I cannot remember what we spoke about because it was so long ago, but I remember certain parts. I knew our connection and why we could only speak to each other. The scientist and doctors never found out, but we did. We were twins, he was the oldest and I was the youngest. We were born thirteen minutes apart on September 18th 2092. Our mother gave us up for research, since he was in a coma, the doctors kept him and I was adopted, although my mother did not learn about my identity until years later. My brother died nine days after I visited him, his tombstone does not bare a name.


I was not able to control my powers in high school. I could hear every thought and move objects with my mind at random. Of course the school informed my mother and I had to get special training to learn to control the power. It was difficult and hard, but eventually I learned how to take some control over it. That was when a recruiter found me. He told me about Pathways program at the college, he told me that they could help me and I would be surrounded by people who understood and who were just like me. I could not declined and I accepted to register to the program.


It’s was almost Thanksgiving vacation when Doc. made the pumpkin pie. It was so good and everyone loved it! Pumpkin pie was always my favorite and I could not help but take a second piece. Some students were misusing their power to take bigger pieces or cutting in line or like that one kid, Kyle, who accidentally froze a student in front of him. Although we come from different places and have a different history I am able to thank Pathways for all their help. For helping me succeed in school and for helping me acclimate into the world.

Experiment XXX

“Hey there. Are you in pain? I’m sorry they did this to you. I’ve been here a long time. Can you speak? Can you understand me?” but the creature did not reply. It only moaned and rolled up into a corner in its cage. I watched as it fell asleep and within minutes it died.
I saw the white coats come in and look at the creature. They did not seem disappointed in his death, although I knew they were. I read their minds and could make out that they were hoping the creature wouldn’t die, but somehow knew it would, like all the other creatures before it. Then someone hit my cage.
“Stop reading our minds!”
“How do you know it’s reading our minds?”
“I just know. This one should be dispose of.”
“No,” said an older man in a white coat, “we still need it,” Then he turned to face me.
“How are we today? Are we ready for some more tests?” he asked with a grin. I gave him a glare and would not answer him.
“Stubborn as ever. Take it to the stadium, we have work to do,”
     The stadium was like any normal stadium except most likely it was underground or in a secret location. The floor was part dirt and part mud. It was hard to stand in some spots and a few trees grew in the arena. I knew that from the look of the environment, they were going to test my fighting ability. From the other side of the arena, a large animal emerges. One of the chimeras the white coats created.
The chimera was part lion, wolf, and bear. It stood on two feet and was about 7ft tall.
“Food, food, food,” it kept saying. I was surprised that it talked, very few chimeras could talk. That also meant that it was 2% human.
     The chimera rushed towards me and I jumped into the air at about 8ft and landed on the other side of the stadium. The chimera ran towards me again and I ran towards it as fast as I could and jumped up to punch it in the face. It was a success and the chimera got even more annoyed and angry. When it was wide open I did a roundhouse kick to its stomach and caught one of its arms and broke it. But the chimera would not stop and kept saying, “food, food, food”. That’s the thing about any chimera, they don’t know when to quit. They are trained to fight to the death.
After what seemed like forever, the chimera died down and started to crawl toward me, thinking it could still kill and eat me. I ran towards the chimera and jumped in the air, ready to smash its skull into the floor. Before I hit the creature I said, “I’m sorry,” and killed it. After the chimera was presumed dead, I heard clapping coming from the room where the white coats were watching. I listen in on what they were thinking.
“Amazing, a new record,”
“It took 20 minutes to defeat a chimera, impressive,”
“A new discovery! Better write this down in the file”
“We should send in another chimera, a much more difficult chimera,”
“It’s talents keep impressing me. We should do more test on it today,”
The thoughts were mixing into my head and it was hard keeping track of which words belong to which sentences. My brain started to hurt from concentrating so hard. I stared at the dead chimera and seeing a creature defeated for results of an experiment made me angry. I sat down on the ground.
“Get up experiment 213,” I didn’t move. Then I felt a surge of pain through my whole body. It felt as if I was hit by lightening. Somehow, the white coats were able to electrocute me. I was still on the ground and I felt the same pain again. And again and again until I finally got up.
Two white coats came out and took me to a room where there was only a chair and straps to keep me still. There needles everywhere and I knew they wanted to insert new drugs into me. Before putting the needle in, a white coat said to me, “now one of the side effects of this drug is that after being injected with it, you will be in a lot of pain, so don’t be surprise. Don’t worry, after this, we got 30 other drugs to test on you,” He had a grin on his face and after the injection went in, I started to feel the pain.

     Someone was at my cage, screaming. It gave me a headache. I was lying down after all those drug tests and my vision was a bit blurry before I could really focus and become conscious.
“She’s just a kid!” I heard someone yell, “she doesn’t belong here!” and then I heard a scream and a whip in the air. I heard it again, the whip and the scream. Someone was getting a beating.
“Be obedient experiment 314 or you’ll be dispose of,” Then I fell back asleep.

“Mary, Mary. Mary wake up. Don’t be dead, please don’t be dead,” and I slowly open my eyes to the cage next to me.
“Matt?”
“Yeah, it’s good to see that you’re alright. What did they do to you?”
“Drug tests and they made me fight a chimera,”
“If we ever get out of here, I’ll kill them,”
“Same for me,” said another voice.
“Count me in,” said a different voice. I sat up straight and saw Matt’s face with a few tears but he tried to hide them. I looked across the room and saw Richard and Jason.
“What happen to you?” I asked Jason. His left eye and right cheek were swollen and purple. He probably had other bruises that were hidden away under his clothes.
“They made me fight Joseph. They did something to him. He was high and out of character. Like a fighting zombie,”
“Probably a side effect of one of the drugs they gave him,” replied Richard.
“You think he’ll be dispose of?” I asked.
“He’s already dead,” said Jason looking down in his cage.
“I’m going to get us out of here, somehow I will,” said Matt. Then the white coats came in.
“Take experiments 332” and the guard unlock Richard’s cage and they took him away. Matt and Jason both looked at me but I nodded, saying that they didn’t plan on killing or drugging Richard. Not yet anyway.






“Wake up! Hey, kid, wake up!” I heard someone say. I opened my eyes slowly to the dark room and I squinted to see who was waking me up. I was wondering if it was one of the guys in white coats that wanted to do more tests. More of those agony and painful tests.
“Get a way,” I hissed tossing the hand aside. I slid to the corner of my cage and waited for someone to drag me out.
“Mary, it’s okay. It’s me. We’re getting out,” and I stopped fighting and stared harder at the face that was looking at me.
“Matt? How did you get out?”
“No time to explain. Come on, the others are out of their cages and we are going to get out of here,” and Matt grabbed my arm and I was pulled out of my cage.
“Hurry before they notice,” and I followed Matt down some hallways and making many turns. Right and left and left and right. It was so confusing but somehow Matt knew his way.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“Waiting for us,” Matt replied.
“Hey!” we heard someone yell and the two of us started running faster. The man who was chasing us turned into three or four guards chasing us.
“This is the last door,” Matt said and he grabbed my hand. He opened the door and he shot into the air. We flew high into the sky and below us, the guards got smaller and smaller and smaller.

     Matt and I landed in the mountains deep in the woods. We didn’t know where we were or where to go. I didn’t care, as long as we were free. Then a figure came out from the shadows.
“Richard!” I exclaimed as I saw him waiting for us and as I got closer to him I noticed something different.
“What’s with the glasses?” I asked.
“Sun glasses. I don’t think normal people would like my eyes,” he replied.
“But I like your scarlet eyes. They’re really pretty. Don’t they give you night vision, doesn’t the sun glasses block that?”
“I still have my night and X-ray vision, but I don’t think the ‘outside’ world would appreciate a man with red eyes,”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not normal,” said Matt. That was when I noticed that there were only three of us.
“Where’s Jason?”
“Right here,” said Richard pointing down to a rabbit. The rabbit started to shift into something bigger and bigger and bigger until it turned into Jason.
“That power comes in handy,” said Richard.
“I like it, but it’s hard to do small animals like rabbits. I prefer big animals like deer, lions, wolves, cats, you know, animals on four legs,” Then it was quite. None of us knew what to do now that we escaped.
“I want to go home,” said Richard. I forgot. Richard, Jason, and Matt were kidnapped from colleges before becoming lab rats.
Matt wasn’t in college for a week when he was taken to the lab and was locked up for four years. Richard and Jason arrived to the lab one month apart about two years ago shortly after their first year of college. The white coats found out that many of the experiments were successful if tested on young adults. Matt, Richard, and Jason all had families who were probably looking for them and waiting for them to return home.
     But not me. I was a rare experiment. The lab was my whole life. Raised by white coats since I could remember. I was one of the few experiments who made it from infancy, to childhood, to adulthood. So as far as I knew, I had no family and no one in the world was looking for me.
“Hey Mary,” said Matt, bending down to look at me in the eyes. Despite being 18, I looked like a 13 year old because of my short height, probably a side effect of a drug they gave me.
“I know you don’t have anyone out there, but maybe, you can stay with me. I’m 24, almost 25, I can get an apartment and you can stay with me. If that’s what you want. I promise that I will never leave you,” I then looked at Richard and Jason who both nodded at me.
“How about if the four of us live together? I mean, we’re all adults, even though Mary just turned 18, but it’s likely the white coats are after us and we don’t want any of our families getting hurt, so maybe it’s best if we don’t see them and lie low for awhile,” said Richard.
“I agree. My parents are very religious and I think they will think that I was taken over by Satan. You know, the whole I can change into whatever animal I like thing. Might freak them out. Maybe they might shun me,” said Jason.
“Thank you guys. You’re the best brothers I ever had!” I said and the four of us had a group hug.