Entry: 10 - Final Entry!

Entry: 10
   - Hope

It was chaos.
Ultimate chaos.

Finnley had been able to get a hold of her wand before the lights went out. She flicked her wrist and a glob of light floated above every one. Illuminating the blood bath before her.

There was about two dozen armed men with the Marine leading them. They made quick work of the six armed men. Though they did put up a fight. Bullets spewed out of the barrels of some odd number of guns. They bounced off the concrete walls.
Finnley was suddenly worried about Sage. She glanced behind her and saw that he was crouched behind a table.
   "Sage!" She screamed. Scooping his leather gauntlet off the table. He looked her way and she chucked it across the room. Making sure he caught it. She ran hunched over to avoid getting hit.
The first thing she went for was the computers.

Most of the scientist were running around like mad men, but some of them still remained in their seats.
But in order to get there, she had to get past the Englishman.
He loomed over her with almost glowing red eyes. And his face was full of anger.
She struck out with a roundhouse kick to his jaw. He blocked it and she quickly ducked to avoid a right cross.
She came up in his exposed side and landed a heavy punch, using her shoulders for muscle powers.
The man doubled over and she heard her name being yelled.
He was back up on his feet before she knew it and had hit her in the left eye. Her vision in that eye grew splotchy, causing her to be slow to miss the next blow to her mouth.
She groaned and reached above her head and grabbed a hold of the man's arms. She collected the blood in her mouth and spat it in the man's face.
He reeled back and she dropped the ground and swung out her leg. Causing him to fall to his knees.
She drew her arm back for a final blow.
   "Finnley! Get Jayson!!" Sage yelled.
She hesitated then flicked her wrist again with her wand in it.
   "You were wrong. About everything." She whispered then he went into a fitful, nightmare infested, sleep.

Finn ran over to the computer and looked at the monitors. She was at a loss when it came to computers.
   "What do you need?" She jumped in surprise when a voice back from the dead spoke next to her.
   "To turn that machine off!" She yelled.
   "Alright stand back."
She did and the Marine just shot all the monitors till they went black.
Spinning on her heel, she ran over to the table where Jayson was still strapped to. Electrical volts were still pulsing through the wiring.
   "It didn't work!" She screamed. Gripping her newly cut hair with fists.
She dropped to her knees and screamed.
The Marine knelt next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Sobs over took her body and she fell forward on her hands.
   "It's ok Finn." He whispered.
She looked up, and through the black eye, and the tears she noticed a thick cord running from the table, and through the mayhem that was going on. She started to crawl after it. Then, seeing where it was plugged into, she jumped up and ran for it.
Making quick jumps to the left and right, she dodged the fights going on and came to the wall in a roll after she had jumped over a fallen soldier.
The cord was plugged into the wall and it looked huge.
Immediately - and with out thinking - she pulled on it. It didn't budge. She braced her leg against the wall and gripped with two hands.
   "God give me the strength." She muttered, then she pulled. Using her leg and her arms she pulled as hard as she could. Slowly, ever so slowly, the plug weaseled it's way out of the socket.
   "Finn!! He's been in there to long!!" Sage yelled.
   "I know I know!!!" She screamed.
Her muscles were already exhausted before this all happened. And now it felt as if they were on fire.
She yelled as she gave one final tug and the plug broke free. And sent her reeling backwards. Various images of herself flashed before her eyes. Her in her fancy dress in the rain dancing, her sitting in the car with the wind whipping her hair all around, then the kiss she had just given Jayson.

Almera jumped up to her feet and dragged herself across the room. Though before, she had been able to make it across in a few strides, it know seemed to drag on for miles.

She finally reached Jayson and slammed her fist into the red button. The silver restraints snapped open with a clang, she hadn't thought to lower the table, and he slumped forward. She groaned as she was forced to catch his weight. The Marine rushed over and laid him down on the ground. She ripped off the wires from his head and waited anxiously.
After several seconds, she leaned to his chest and listened for a heartbeat.
There was none.
   "Wouldn't the machine have just erased his memory?" She asked in panic. Not sure who she was asking.
   "Yeah. Why?" The Marine asked.
   "His heartbeat is gone." More tears spilt down her cheeks and she slumped back on her bum. Wrapping her arms around her knees she started to rock back and forth.
Sage came out of the rubble. All the fighting had stopped. The bad guys were dead, and the rest of the good guys were watching with heavy hearts.
   "He's dead?" Sage whispered.
Almera crossed her legs and pulled Sage close.
   "Maybe not."
They froze and looked at the Marine.
   "He's a Hyven right?" He asked. Almera nodded. "What's his power?"
   "Electricity. He can control lightening." She answered.
The Marine's face scrunched up.
   "Well there's your problem. Because he's 'dead' he can't channel the electricity out of his body. It's all gathered right here." He tapped Jayson's heart.
   "And if we keep standing by and doing nothing he will die. But I can try something...however, it's going to hurt. And if he's just unconscious he'll feel it."
Another thought dawned on the young man. Sage started to get suspicious about it. How could he possibly know all this stuff?
   "You pulled the plug out right?" He asked again, turning to Almera. Again, she nodded.
   "Did you see images?"
   "Uh...Yeah. Now that you say that. I did. They were all of me, and it was kind of weird."
The man nodded.
   "You were conected to him. This...what's his name?"
   "Jayson." Sage snapped.
   "You were connected to Jayson. I'm not sure if it's still working, but try to reach out to him. If you get in his head. Then tell him I'm a friend, but he's going to be in pain."
Finnley was still really confused about what he was saying. But she decided she might as well give it a go.
She closed her eyes and tried to 'reach out' what ever that meant.
Again, she was greated by flashes of memories.
   "Jayson?" She asked in her head. Though she thought she sounded incredably stupid.
   "Finnley?"
She was just shocked that he answered back!
   "Yes! Yes! At least you haven't forgotten me."
   "I told you. How could I forget you?"
She decided not to answer that.
   "Uh...I'm here with...a...friend. We think we can get your heart beating again so-"
   "Wait! My heart's not beating?!"
Oops.
   "Uh...sort of. But try not to think about that. I'm not sure what he's got planned, he's known for being a little on the recless side."
   "Well that's comforting. Who is he again?"
   "Just a friend. I'll tell you when you wake up again. Just know it's going to hurt...a lot."
   "What if I don't wake up?"
   "Oh no you don't! I did not get a bloody mouth and a black eye for you to die on me now!"

That was how long the link lasted. Jayson tried to reply, but his voice faded and she snapped back to her painful body.
Finnley was able to see a knife and it cutting skin. She shook her head and finally figured out that the Marine was cutting an 'X' above Jayson's heart.
   "What are you doing?!" She yelled at him.
   "Saving his life!" he snapped back.
She growled at him and warned him he would get it latter.
   "Do you know this dude?" Sage asked.
   "Yeah." Was all she managed to say before lightning bolts shot out of the two large cuts the Marine had just made.
Everyone jerked back in shock.
It was only a few seconds till the bolts were gone and all that was left was a gapping wound.
Almera scrambled forward and hoped beyond hope that he was still alive.
But she reminded herself that it was only to God's plan. If Jayson wasn't in God's plan for her...then she'd have to accept that.

It was a painfully long minute. But it passed and Jayson's chest rose and fell to everyone's delight.
Sage jumped up and down and immediately praised God with arms open wide to the sky and a face full of happiness, but mainly gratefulness.
He gasped and his eyes flickered open. He looked around wildly till he found Finnley.
She couldn't stop the tears from falling, but they weren't from sorrow. (That's for sure.)
His hand reached up and he stroked her face.
But confusion was on his face.
   "What?" She asked.
   "What happened to your hair?" He asked, pulling on a strand to make sure it really was that short.
She chuckled.
   "Lets just say it was a matter of life or death. The hair had to go."
   "Oh...Well I'm glad you chose the hair instead of your life."
She nodded and he dropped his hand. Then lifted it again to see blood on the tips.
   "Why am I bleeding?"
   "Blame him." She stated immediately. Pointing to the Marine. Who suck out his tongue.
   "Nothing like sisters who know how to pass the blame on." He muttered.
Sage stopped his dance cold and looked at him with a wild look.
   "Did you say...'sister'?!"
The Marine nodded and shoved an elbow into Finnley's rib cage.
   "So glad your so proud of me." He muttered.
   "I am proud of you...I just...don't mention you much." She objected quickly.
He cocked an eyebrow. And she sighed.
   "Boys, this is Grady. My brother. And yes, he really is my biological brother. He's a Marine and has had two tours in Iraq. He hates spaghetti, loves my mom's meatballs. And making him clean his room is like pulling teeth. There. Happy?" She asked, turning to Grady with an innocent smile that she knew would make all the hard feelings evaporate like a mirage.
   "You're cheating. But yeah. And who are these dudes. Don't tell me, mom adopted, and you now have a boyfriend."
Almera's cheeks flushed and she glared at him.
   "That's Sage. And yes, in a way I guess mom did adopt him. And this is Jayson. And no he is not my boyfriend."
Grady offered a hand to Sage, who shook it. And then to Jay.
   "Nice meeting ya'll. Hate to cut the formalities short but we need to get out of here. I'll go call the pickup."
He walked out of the room and Sage said something about wanting to know what he meant and left the room.
The other Marines shuffled out of the room a little nervously. Each one patting her on the back, and praising her for her bravery.
She thanked each one of them by name - using her futuristic abilities - and each one was confused about how she knew them, but didn't ask questions.
The last one gave her a first aid kit and gestured to Jay.
   "Give him some Advil. He'll need it."
She nodded and smiled.
   "Thanks John."
The man nodded and stepped out of the room.

Finnley didn't waist any time as she ripped Jayson's shirt to get to the wound.
She flinched as she saw how deep it went. It would need stitches. Obviously however, she would not be doing that.
She turned on her heel and flipped open the first aid kit and looked around for an antibiotic. All she found was a needle. She picked up and her growing hatred for needles grew a little more.
Shivering she flicked her finger against it and saw where it was. Turning back around she slipped the cap off it and gently pulled the remains of Jayson's shirt off so she could get to his arm.
When she did she forced herself not to get sick. She knew she would be scared from all that the sick people had done to her, but she didn't know she looked that bad!
   "This won't hurt." She muttered with her chin on her raised knee. She placed the needle into his arm slowly and as gently as possible.
Jayson grimaced when she pushed the plunger.
   "Sorry." she whispered as she quickly pulled out the needle and set it down on the floor.
   "Honestly, I have no idea how addicts do this to themselves. Over and over again." She was just rambling, but she didn't like the silence.
   "Their needles aren't as big as ours." Jayson answered. "And they do it every day."
   "Well that's just wrong. This is going to sting a little." She warned as wiped up the blood from his chest.
   "What happened?" He asked finally.
   "Um...I got a haircut, then put that maniac into a nightmarish sleep. Which, by the way, I am quiet proud of. And then my brother blew up some computers, and I pulled a plug. That's about it."
She dabbed numbing gel onto his wound gently. Using quick dabs so she didn't touch his bare skin too long.
   "How much have you forgotten?" And there was the big question.
   "I'm actually surprised it's not as much as I expected. The Lord's hand was really on me. Things are just really, really fuzzy."
   "So...that memory worked?" She was a little embarrassed so she went to digging in for a bandage.
   "I'll say."
Finding the bandage she ripped the covering off with her teeth and placed it over the wound.
   "There. You're going to have to have stitches when we get to the Marine base. But you'll be fine. Praise the Lord." She didn't meet his eyes. She wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't sure how to act. She wasn't sure of much anymore.
   "Finn...I haven't changed."
And that's when she broke.
   "But you could have. You could have Jay. I honestly am not sure what I would have done if you...if you became this-this drone who did a lunatic's bidding. I think I might end up hating everything...maybe. Except Sage. But that's not the point. The point is...I-"
She cut herself off and shook her head.
   "I think I would have been lost." She finished quietly.
Jay reached over and gripped her left hand.
She let him intertwine their fingers, but still didn't look at him. Her choppy, uneven hair came just below her jaw line and he found it a very attractive look for her. Probably better then her long curls.
Glancing down at her hand, he noticed her Silver Ring Thing ring. And...then...on her middle finger...was his.
   "You kept it?" He asked. Half shocked.
She glanced over at him, then down at her hand.
   "Of course I kept it." She said in a 'duh' tone. "If you haven't noticed by now, my anger is pretty quick to leave. Even if I was...tempted to chuck it out the window I would never be able to do it."
She pulled her hand away and yanked the ring off.
   "Here. It's yours anyway."
He took it off her open palm, but gripped her left hand again.
Finnley was confused by what he was doing. Instead of putting it back on his own hand, he slipped it back on to her middle finger.
She wasn't sure what that meant.
Then she remembered a ring her mother wore on her middle finger.
It was a promise ring. Her father had given it to her when they were just sixteen. It symbolized that she was already taken, and he would propose to her when she turned of age.

But she tossed the thought aside. That couldn't be what Jayson was doing.
Stop getting your hopes up! Makes you look like a complete dork! She yelled at herself.
But then Jay placed her hand over his heart an looked up at her with his screaming silver-blue eyes. And they were screaming one thing.
His right hand reached up and pulled her closer.
   "I love you." He whispered before he kissed her.
Of the two kisses they've ever shared. That was the special one.
It was one, where they both realized where they stood. Where they were going, and they knew now that they were going to get there together or not at all.
It also told Finnley something else.
Her mom was going to flip.

                      The End of Book Two: Shadows.
                       

Entry: 9

Entry: 9
   - Gone


   "Captain, we're ready."
The man nodded and slapped the soldier's shoulder.
   "Good. Await my signal."
The man then walked over to the building and crouched down to look through the window.
He praised God to see her alright, but the entire scene unnerved him. Even more so then the two tours in Iraq.

++++

   "Well, well. We have a very strong batch this time."
The three turned towards the British accent.
The man was in his late forties, his dark hair was starting to grey, and his beard already was.
His dark sharp eyes captured all three of their gazes.
   "Unlike our last batch."
He snapped his fingers, and two doors opened on either side of him.
Two specimens were rolled out. They were strapped on tables that were standing up. One, the woman, was jerking subtly, her mind was still strong, but her body was broken.
The other, the man, was gone in both mind and body.
   "These two were quiet a disappointment. Their powers weren't even that impressive."
The girl's eyes grew wide.
   "Oh yes. They're aliens. Like your brothers."
He studied their faces as he strolled over to a table full of everything they had been wearing when they were captured.
   "You, my dear," He addressed the girl. "have shown no sign of being one of those vermin. But we still had to make a few tests. Sorry."

Almera was confused. She did have powers. Granted, her physical powers could only be sued through the wand - which was now laying on the table - but she still had her mental power.
But apparently, this man was either bluffing, or hadn't bothered to look to deeply into her brain.
She wasn't sure.

   "But...we did find very interesting items on all of you." The man continued.
He picked up her wand and twirled it between his fingers.
   "Didn't know you were such a Harry Potter fan." He remarked.
That caught her off guard. She had never really thought about it, but now that he had pointed that out, it did look a lot like something from the Harry Potter movies.

His gaze fell on her guns and Jayson's swords.
   "Such dangerous toys for such little kids. Now tell me...Liam, was it?"
The man took a step closer to him.
   "You show amazing talents. Truly. Though I don't like the fact that you used them on my men, still...it is very intriguing."
All three of the specimens' faces grew stone cold.
He gave them a smile and walked over to the machine that sent chills down any sane person's back.
It was a table with steals clasps on the bottom and at the arms which were out stretched so it resembled - some what - of a cross.
The test subjects that had gone through this procedure could easily rip up the leather straps.

   "Some of you many know what this is. Some of you will not. But...I know...Liam does."
The other two heads turned to the eldest.
   "Why don't you explain it to them?"
It wasn't a suggestion.
Liam glared at the man and his Cheshire Cat grin.
   "Finnley, do you remember when Martha gave you two options?" He asked.
At first, she was very much confused on what Martha had to do with all this!
But she tried to think back.
Her jaw dropped.
   "You mean, when I had...uh..." She was suddenly reminded that they were in a room full of evil people.
   "When she said I could forget what had happened? some kind of controlled memory loss?"
Liam nodded.
   "Yeah. That's what that thing is." He jerked his thumb to the machine.
   "Wait, so he's going to erase our memories?" Sage asked in shock.
   "Oh no dear boy." The man spoke up again.
   "No, see, I tweaked this machine to take over your cerebrum."
Silence.
   "Do I like an X-men fan to you?" Finn asked. The boys struggled to keep their smiles from showing.
The man glared at her.
   "Not Cerebro, cerebrum! Your cerebrum is a part in your brain that contains voluntary muscle movement, thoughts, memory. Take control of that, take control of the person."
That got the smiles off their faces. But one on his.
   "So...now that I know what kind of spirit you two," He pointed to the boys. "you have. You'll be going in here."
Shock varies from person to person. And the Englishman knew this. But the form of shock - if, it was indeed shock - the girl had was not what he had expected.
She, a small girl with just skin a bones, probably hasn't hit 100 pounds yet, took a step forward and pushed the younger boy behind her.
The man raised an eyebrow at her boldness and waited for her to object.
But all she did was stare him down.

With her defiance slapping him in the face, he had an idea.
Glancing over at one of the six armed men in the room, her jerked his head to the machine.
   "Strap her in." He ordered.
The room broke out in immediate protest.
   "No! Don't! I'll do it!"
The Englishman turned slowly and looked at the scene before him.
He signaled for the man with the girl to stop.
It had been the older boy who had offered.
So...maybe he's not her brother. A passing though suggested.

Finnley's heart was pounding, but not from the fact that she had been so close to having her brain controlled by some maniac. It was from the fact that it might be Jayson instead.
She half hoped the man would say no. But there was no reason fo rhim to. For all he knew, she was just an average teenage girl.
He nodded and held up two fingers.
   "You have two minutes to say good-bye."
Finnley wrenched herself out of the large man's grip.
   "Because, when you wake, you wont recognize either of these two." The man finished and walked over to the other side of the room.

Almera dashed up to Jayson with wide and fearful eyes.
   "Sage." He said, turning to the little guy.
   "You take care of her. You hear? You're the only thing that stands in the way of her, and guys like him." He jerked his head towards the loony.
Sage nodded.
   "I promise. Nothing bad will happen to her."
A slight grin crossed Jay's face.
   "Maybe I underestimated you."
Sage grinned. Glad to get his approval.
Then he turned to Finnley with pain in his eyes.
   "I use to do this every time I needed to change my name and life...But this was one life I never wanted to forget."
Almera's brow crinkled as she frowned.
It was almost time to warn the man in the window. Maybe if she was fast enough...
   "You won't be in there for long. I'll get you out." She breathed.
Jay shook his head.
   "You don't have to be in there for long."
By the look on her face, he knew she was getting annoyed with him.
   "Well then I suggest you put up a good fight." She stated. Shifting her weight to one foot and placing a hand on her hip.
Again he shook his head.
   "You have to have a really, really strong memory to put up a fight."
   "God doesn't work?"
   "They can't wipe out your religion not mater how much other stuff you forget."
She pursed her lips in thought.
   "30 seconds." The Englishman warned. She felt like punching him.
   "And there's no memory at all?" She tried.
The strongest memories he had were of her.
   "The small kiss in the rain might not be powerful enou-"
He didn't get the rest of the sentence out, because in a flash she had stood up on her tiptoes and slipped her hand around his neck. Then her lips were pressed tightly on his.
Now, he would never think of Finnley as one who took the first step. But...Desperate times call for desperate measures.

They both relaxed after a moment, and he pulled her in tighter at her hips.
Half of his mind was conscious of Sage 'ewwing' behind him, but he ignored him.
   If you had asked Finnley to describe the kiss she would have said 'sad'. Both of them knew there was less then 50 percent chance that Jay would win the fight against the machine.
and she was very aware of the fact that he might wake up and kill her as soon as he'd kiss her.
Jay felt a tear roll down her cheek. And it was that small tear that made up his mind for him.

Finnley suddenly broke away with a gasp. Not even daring to move.
Jays eyes flashed open and he immediately saw the physical pain flash across her face.
   "Sorry." He muttered.
She shook her head.
   "It's not you. It's the knife in my back." She said through unmoving lips.
Jay glanced behind him and saw that Sage was in the same predicament.

Finnley took a small step back and the knife went to her throat.
   "Don't. Loose." She said. Determination shown all over her face and all through her sore body.
Jay gave her his famous lopsided grin.
   "With a kiss like that? How could I?"
She rolled her eyes, sarcastically, only to hide her fear from Sage. Seeing as she couldn't hide anything from Jayson.

He was then led - at knife point - to the evil and painful looking machine.
Finnley watched hopelessly as a scientist pressed a big red button on the underside of the chair.
The silver restraints snapped shut around Jay's wrists and ankles.
Finnley looked to the window, searching for a vague silhouette of the Marine.
She nodded.
   "Hey Finn." She turned her attention to Jayson. They were strapping a band around his head along with suction cups on his temples.
   "Maybe you should listen to 'Enchanted' by Owl City."
   "Shut up." The Englishman snapped. Jayson ignored him.
   "To get the answers to your questions."
The fact that Jay had simply ignored the man like he had never spoken, provoked him.
By a head nod, the soldier holding Almera shifted the knife. A trickle of blood ran down her neck.
Jay pursed his lips, but Finn's eyes told him not to worry about it. (Yeah right)

++++

The Marine gave a hand signal and his men moved out.
   "Hang on Finnley. Hang on girl." He muttered as he kicked in the front door and shot the first two armed men he saw.

++++

Finnley whimpered as Jay's screams filled the room.
   "Stop."
The zapping from the electric volts ceased and Jay's body sagged against his cross.
Sweat covered his forehead and shirt.
   "How is he doing?" The Englishman called out in a calm tone. Like he saw this everyday.
Finnley hated him. With every fiber in her body, she hated him.
This with in it's self shocked her.
But she put that aside.
For the past five minutes - which felt like hours - all she did was pray. And pray like there was no tomorrow!
The Marine should be here any minute,, but at the moment, that wasn't what she was worried about.
   "He's...he's putting up a fight sir." One of the scientists reported.
   "Then crank up the voltage!" The leader hissed.
Immediately Jay screamed out as higher, and more volts of electricity rushed through  his brain.
Finnley knew that no matter how strong that memory was, he wasn't going to last much longer.
She had to move.
And she had to do it now!

Using the distraction of Jay's screams, she rammed her head into the man's nose, and at the same time, hit him in the stomach with her elbow.
The man grunted and she ducked under the hand with the knife.
When she thought she had made it, she was yanked back by her long hair.
Finn smashed her hand into the man's wrist that held the knife. When it dropped she caught it.
She already knew what she had to do to get away and to reach Jayson in time.
Reaching back, she sliced the knife through her long locks and rolled forward.
The man was so shocked at the fist full of dark brown hair, that he didn't see the knife till it pierced his abdomen.

Finnley didn't have time to morn the loss of her hair because two things happened at once.
1)- she got a hold of her wand.
2)- the Marine busted through the door.

Entry: 8

Entry: 8
   - Humans, or lab rats?


Things happened in a blur. It was hard for any of them to comprehend exactly what was going on.
When bags were shoved over their heads, and hard cold cuffs were slapped roughly on their wrists, they prayed.

When they were shoved out into the dying sunlight, everything drowned out by the ear drumming hum of helicopter blades, they prayed.

They were finally shoved into seats, and strapped down by rough hands.
Sage, still unconscious, slumped against Finnley's left shoulder.
At first she freaked out thinking he was dead, but forcing all other noises to go silent, she picked up his faint breathing.

She forced herself to calm down, but jerked badly when Jayson's shoulder brushed up against hers.
   "Calm down." He breathed quietly. She took several deep breaths, but her anxiety had started up, and her hands started to shake, which in turn, caused the cuffs to jingle.
Someone yelled her to stop, but she couldn't, and that earned her a punch in the gut.
The wind left her lungs as she doubled over.
Jayson yelled something at their captors but that too, only got him a blow to the stomach.
Almera shoved her hands between her legs and squeezed hard.
The jingling stopped.
And she prayed harder.

The flight took forty-five minutes, but they - obviously - had no idea where they were going, or even if they were still Virginia any more.
More to the point, they weren't sure who they'd meet at their destination.

Half the way there, her legs grew tired and the shaking continued.
Jay reached over and grasped her ands in his to keep the cuffs from making noise and annoying people.
   "I'm sorry." She apologized quietly.
   "YOu have nothing to be sorry for." He answered equally quiet.
   "The cuffs are too tight. That's why they're so loud."
   "Hey! Shut up! Before I knock you both senseless!" Someone in front of them yelled, causing her to jerk again.
Jay felt horrible. He kept beating himself up for letting her get caught and for poor Sage to get knocked out.
As he scolded himself, he - absent mindedly - started to rub Almera's wrists which were raw and rough.
Beside him, Almera took deep breaths and focused on something other then their current situation.
She found comfort in praying for others.
She started off with Sage, knowing he would have a horrible head ache when he woke up.
Then she prayed for Jayson.
If she knew him at all, she knew he would be beating himself up.
Which of rouse, would get him ultimately no where, but emotionally and spiritually drained.

++++

   "Sir, they've arrived."
The Englishman smiled a smile that could send milk churning.
   "Good, make sure they are injected with anesthetics. Once that's done, they'll be immobile. You know what to do next."
   "Yes sir."

++++

The next thing any of them knew, they were shoved out of the helicopter. The bags were taken off and they found themselves in a white washed room.
The cuffs were removed by people in white. They were then stripped of their jackets, or tried to anyways.
Almera's spell was still active.
   "What is going on here?" A man asked after he tried to get Jay's leather jacket.
Almera smirked.
   "Would you like for me to show you how it works?"
She maybe nervous, but she hadn't lost her wits. Jay thought with a grin.
The man eyed her suspiciously.
   "Here, come here. I wont bite. I promise."
The man took a cautious step away from Jayson and toward her.
He was just close enough.
She moved her hand to the gun on her right thigh and slammed it into his face.
The man yelled out in pain and she was immediately injected with something that made her body grow limp and she collapsed on the floor.
   "No!" Both boys yelled as armed men dragged her away.
Her eyes grew wide and tears spilt as she watched both boys struggle to get to her. But in the end they both were injected, then the door slammed.

++++

   "I want two dozen men. Fully armed, and I want them now!" The young man yelled into the cell phone.
The man on the other end sighed heavily.
   "Grady, you know I cant just hand you two dozen men fully armed to go on some - some wild goose chase!"
   "It's not a wild goose chase!" Grady forced himself to calm down.
   "I gave you the facts -"
   "Yeah, I know, I know."
   "You owe me Bill."
Bill groaned again.
   "Boy, I tell ya. Don't ever let someone else save you from a bullet."
Grady grinned.
   "Thanks Bill."
   "Yeah, yeah. Just keep it quiet."
   "Will do."
   "Oh hey, Grady."
   "Yeah?"
   "Tell her I said 'hi' for me will ya?"
Grady laughed and hung up.

++++

Finnley had been stripped of her clothes and now wore a white outfit with white runners.
She was now strapped to a dentist chair with thick leather straps.
After they did the first injection into her calf that made her body scream out with pain, she found that the straps were more for keeping her racking body from jerking off the seat, then for her to willingly get up and leave.
   What they did to her. It would have been less painful if they had just cut her open like a frog dissection in a high school biology lab.

They took tissue samples, blood samples, they put a massive needle into her back bone and subtracted some kind of yellow-ish liquid.
And she thought her booster shots hurt!

But all the time, other then screams, she prayed non-stop. She repeated Psalms 23 over and over again. Then she quoted all of her favorite Bible verses.

God was the only thing that kept her will to live from depleting to nothing.
And He did a lot more then just that.

++++

   "Sir...none of them are breaking." One of the scientists muttered in awe and shock.
   "It's been five hours, and none of them are showing any signs of breaking. Not one! In fact all of their vital organs seem to be working as if they were under no stress at all!"
The Englishman marched up to the monitor and looked at the meaningless numbers flying across the screen.
   "They're in perfect condition. It's like they can't feel the pain at all!"
   "Bring up the live feed." The man ordered.
There was a rapid tapping of fingers on a keyboard, and three squares popped up. The man's eyes flashed from one to the next. The scenes before him, confused him. - And he was never confused. - The girl's face did show pain. But she wasn't pleading for it to stop.
   "What is she saying?" He asked.
   "Praying. And quoting the Scriptures. More specifically Psalms 23."
The Englishman's face became wrinkled with disgust.
His eyes flashed to the small boy.
He too, was praying.
The oldest one wasn't moving. His eyes were closed, his lips, closed but relaxed.
In fact his whole body was as relaxed as if he were floating atop water in a swimming pool!

The scenes before him made him shift uneasily.
This should not be happening. He kept thinking.
Finally, he came to a decision.
   "Take them to the main chamber." He snapped as he marched up the steps and out of the control room.
The scientist grew an evil grin as he picked up the com.

++++

Liam had been expecting another needle, but he was taken by surprised when, instead of pain, his bonds were released.
His eyes snapped open, which wasn't a good idea. The bright light blinded him, causing a massive migraine to developed.

One of the scientists helped him off the table, and it took him a minute to regain his balance.
All of his muscles screamed in protest as his legs were forced to hold him up again.
The spot where they had pulled out a muscle sample hurt the worse.
They hadn't bothered to cuff him again, and once he saw where he was, he realized that - ultimately - he had no where to go.

The scientists led him down a cement hall that finally opened up into a large room with a piece of equipment that sent a chill of fear into his spine.
That was one thing he had never wanted to see again.

Both Sage and Jayson saw Finnley at the same time, and they both ran over to her.
None of the scientists stopped them, and they were grateful for that.

Almera stumbled backwards when the two boys hugged her at the same time.
But she couldn't help but smile. Sending up a prayer of thankfulness.
   "You ok?"
She looked down at Sage's innocent face, and pain washed through her heart. His face was sagged, his eyes were red and tired looking. He flinched when she tussled his fair hair.
   "Yeah. As ok as I can be. Are you?"
Sage gave a small shrug.
Finnley turned to Jayson. She didn't need to ask a question. He could read her like an open book. And vice versa.
   "You two freak me out when you do that." Sage muttered.
Finn looked at him in surprise.
   "Do what?"
   "That! you have this entire conversation with just a few glances. It's freaky."
She chuckled and pulled the little boy close.
   "Yeah. I missed you too." She muttered into his hair.
Sage was only eleven. And sometimes he still needed that sister-like attention.
(Even though he'd never admit it.)

A pain wave caught a hold of her and her knees buckled.
The boys, caught by surprise, almost let her hit the concrete floor.

Her vision flashed and flickered till she was in the future.
She was outside a building that was made of cement.
She saw a young man with a Marine hair cut, and a tattoo on his deeply tanned bicep. He held a machine gun close to his chest, which was covered in a bullet proof vest.
She bent down and looked into the almost hidden window. She saw herself looking up at the man and giving a slight nod.
But what shocked her was that Jayson was getting strapped into the machine with a look of pure fear and determination in his eyes.

Her vision flared again and she was back in the cement room with boy boys looking at her with stressed and worried looks.
   "You alright?" Jayson asked as she got her feet back under herself.
   "You know, those pain waves can be quiet helpful." She muttered, rubbing her temples. Now they were both confused.
   "What?" Sage asked. Completely lost.
She made a signal to keep it down, and glanced around nervously.
   "The Calvary's coming." She whispered.