The Pendants and the Mystery of the Wozniak Five Part I

by Stephanie Steele

  “And what was your motivation? Why did you decide? Why did you do it?”

  He blinked, and slowly, his eyes met hers and he stepped closer, looking at her for a long moment--that's when she saw it. He did look different from his picture and not just from what age had brought on by the years. There was darkness behind his eyes, a sadness that looked like it had been brought on from years of unhappiness and torture.

  “When Stan created the team with the seven of us, he failed to inform us that he had an enemy, Magnus Pierce. That changed everything.”

  “Why is he trying to kill us? Why would he want to? We're not a threat to him, it's not like anyone even knows we exist.”

  Vincent turned his back to her and slowly started to walk around the lab, admiring the bare tables.

  “Why did you betray my mother? How could you betray the people that you worked with?”

  He chuckled. "You are very young, you have been sheltered. You have yet to see what this world can do to you, what other people can do to each other. You can't depend on anyone except for yourself and even your shadow disappears in dark times. I hope that you never know how it truly feels to be alone in this world."

  Valie swallowed hard, the life he talked about scared her.

  “Magnus will never stop until you are all dead. All of you.”

  That information didn't scare her as much as it should have, she already knew that. There was something else that was more important, something else she wanted to know.

  “Did you love my mother?”

  Vincent kept his back to her, “I don't love anyone anymore.” He sighed heavily, sounding defeated. “This place was supposed to be the start of something amazing for us. It was going to change our lives, the entire world and endless possibilities were at our fingertips.”

  Vincent was silent for a couple of minutes and Valie just waited.

  "Your pendant was destroyed, how do you feel?"

  She looked down, "I took someone else's...Trent's."

  "That was a stupid thing to do. We were never able to figure out what would happen if one of you took a pendant that didn't belong to you, it wasn't something that we worried about. Listen, I'll say this again and it's imperative that you understand. I'm helping you out of respect for Marnie, but if you're spotted by someone else, there's nothing I can do for you. I won't protect you, I won't protect the others. Today, this conversation, this is the only time ever.”

  It was some distorted logic, like a displaced sense of loyalty to Magnus and then to her mother. Valie didn't understand it.

  “None of this answers my question...why did you want to talk to me?”

  He took something from the pocket inside of his coat. It was a manila envelope.

  “Here,” he handed it to her.

  “What is this?”

  “Your mother’s death was my fault. When she died, everything good about our team died. Everything good about me died...it died with her.”

  A tear rolled down Valie's cheek, “Did you kill her?”

  “No. I didn't kill her.”

  “Then--”

  “All I said was I that I was responsible. I know you have questions about who your mother really was. In that envelope is everything you need to know...well, almost everything. She'd want you to have that, she would want you to know.”

  He stepped past Valie, walking towards the door, but turned once more and handed her a vile.

  “This was meant for someone else, she won't be needing it anymore. Give it to Trent.”

  Valie carefully took it, “What?”

  “The fifth, the fifth one of you. Her name was Sevenly. Magnus had her killed...this morning.”

  Valie felt a sharp pain in her stomach and lost her breath. “Wh—what, why?” She stammered.

  “Sevenly was my creation. She grew up in a town not far from here, the next town over, in fact. Eighteen years ago, Magnus took her, ripped her right out of Phileana Wozniak's.”

  Valie quickly thought back to what Decker said about the picnic, about Stan and Phileana's daughter being taken that day they were all attacked.

  “Magnus kept her alive all of these years, only because he assumed since Phileana was holding her, that she was her baby...but she wasn't. Magnus thought that Sevenly was the biological daughter of Stan and Phileana.”

  “But...you knew?”

  He nodded, “She was my creation. I wasn't about to let Magnus just kill her, but today...when they saw Maddy...they knew. She looks just like Phileana, but more notably, she has rare eyes...the same as Phileana's. That's how they figured it out and that's why they killed Sevenly. Once Trent takes what is in that vile, this whole thing will be over. For now, at the very least. I must go.”

  Vincent walked past her towards the door.

  “Wait. Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me? I mean, aside from my mother, why?”

  “Because one of us should.” He started to leave once more, again, Valie stopped him. He was growing increasingly impatient.

  "Wait...where, where are our parents? Where's my Uncle Leon?"

  He shook his head. “I'm sorry,” he said and then left.

  That's when Valie knew, they were gone. Her uncle was gone.

  Chapter 22

  Once Vincent left, Valie stood there. She knew what she had to do, but for a second she looked around her, trying to absorb everything that had just happened. She stood in the very lab that she had been created. It had an eerie, yet somehow familiar and comforting feel to it.

  She thought of Maddy. Why did Magnus want her so badly? They had killed Sevenly, the one who was actually the fifth Wozniak...and her uncle.

  Her uncle.

  Valie stepped out of the lab, she couldn't be in there anymore. It was too overwhelming now. Stepping out, she sat down on the cement step.

  Valie tried to grasp the fact that her uncle was gone. She felt very hollow on the inside, but as she thought back, as much as she tried to deny it, she knew in her gut, from the very beginning, that she would never see him again.

  She thought about what her life meant now, what it would be like to go on without her uncle, she couldn't picture it.

  Valie carefully opened the envelope Vincent had given her. A set of pictures fell into her lap along with some papers and what looked like a diamond ring. She picked it up, inspecting it carefully. It was a silver band with a single diamond. She put it on her ring finger, it fit perfectly. She held her hand closely to her chest.

  In the papers there was her birth certificate, diplomas from both high school and college, various newspaper articles featuring her mother and the work she'd done. One was from when she was in high school at a science fair. Everything was there, everything to document her life. She rifled through them quickly, not paying attention to most, she was more interested in the pictures.

  The pictures were from all different points in her life. A smile formed on Valie's face as she slowly flipped through them. Her mother had such a wide smile on her face in each one. Her and her friends from high school, from college, on her graduation day, and a few others of her and Stan Wozniak's team. The last one, the last photo, surprised her. It was her mother and Vincent, arm-in-arm, both smiling widely. They both looked so happy. Valie wanted to know what happened between them, why did Vincent say he was responsible for her death? As she looked at the picture more closely, her stomach started to churn. She got the feeling that something happened to both of them. She felt as if she could sit there and look at the pictures forever. It was the closest to her mother she had ever felt, but she had to get to Trent.

  She quickly put everything back into the envelope, with the exception of the ring, she kept that on her finger. She put the gun in her waistband and put the vile in her pocket and started to run. She was fast, she was able to run faster than she ever had in her entire life. She went in the direction that Vincent brought her. She could recall every turn. Flashes came to her mind and she was able to remember her way back.

  It
was dark outside when she reached Magnus Pierce's mansion. She was losing steam, but kept pushing forward. She saw her breath in the cold night air and could feel it biting at her exposed skin, but kept running, running up the gravel driveway, then sprinting across the overgrown lawn towards the front of the mansion and back to the driveway that she, Carson, and Phaedra initially drove up on.

  She had been running so fast that she skidded right into the gate when she got there.

  Phaedra, Carson, Trent, and Maddy were all on the other side waiting for her.

  “Valie!” Phaedra shouted. “Where have you been?!”

  She ignored her question. Valie could see Trent, his skin was white, almost gray-like. Any color he had had drained from his face. Valie went to start her climb over the fence, but just as she started to ready herself, Maddy marched over to her, stuck her little hand through the fence and reached for Valie's pocket, snatching the vile.

  Valie pulled herself away, “Maddy, what are you doing!?”

  Maddy twisted the top off the vile, already had a syringe in her hand and pulled the elixir out with the needle.

  Valie jumped up the fence and started to claw her way over, “Maddy, stop it!” Valie didn't know what she was about to do. For a moment, she feared that Maddy was going to inject the elixir into her own arm.

  Before Valie could get to the top of the fence, Maddy stabbed the unsuspecting Trent in the arm and pushed down on the syringe. Trent cried out in pain and dropped to the ground.

  Valie fell to the other side of the fence. Carson pulled her up, but she pushed him away.

  “What just happened?!” Phaedra cried out, clearly confused.

  “Maddy, why did you do that?!” Valie shrieked.

  Maddy was breathing heavily, and then the gates in front them of slowly crept open.

  For just a second, no one moved, Valie could feel her heart pounding in her ears.

  “Everyone...get in the car,” Phaedra said cautiously.

  None of them made any sudden movements. Valie got Trent to his feet.

  They turned towards the car, but Phaedra gasped.

  There were two figures standing next to the car. When Valie whirled back around, thinking of an escape route, there were two more now on the other side.

  There was nowhere to go.

  "Looks like you're out of options." It was the man from the grocery store, the one from the station, the one that had been on them from the beginning, Hunter. He turned, reaching behind him and revealed Jackson, he was holding him by the back of the neck.

  "Let him go!" Valie screamed lunging forward, but was then yanked back by both Phaedra and Carson.

  The man laughed, "This is how things are going to go, it's a life for a life. Return the girl and we let Jackson here go. It all boils down to who you want to save more."

  It couldn't be happening, Valie thought.

  "Let him go," Carson said stepping forward and grabbing the gun from Valie's waistband in a swift motion. “Let him go, or I'll shoot you between the eyes," his voice was low, but powerful.

  No one moved.

  "My name is Hunter," the man suddenly said. "Next to me is Morbis, behind you is Millisyn, and Dation."

  The two behind them walked around to stand next to the others.

  Morbis was extremely tall and looked almost disfigured. His eyes were uneven, his nose was very large, as was his forehead, and his lips were merely a thin line across his face. Millisyn looked almost skeletal, she was ghostly white and thin enough to see the bones protruding from her collarbone. Her dark hair and dark eyes only made her look more diminished. Dation looked like Hunter, except "lighter." His hair and eyes were lighter than Hunter's, and somehow, he looked even meaner.

  "We all have something in common," Hunter continued. Carson kept the gun pointed with his finger on the trigger.

  "Why are you doing this?" It was the most simple, obvious, typical question to ask, but the question that Valie needed the answer to. She wanted to know why. "Magnus can't fight his own fight?"

  Valie wanted to see the man for herself, the man that had caused so much pain and sadness.

  Hunter looked at her and tilted his head, "Here's something for you Wozniak's to know. We're like you. Myself, Morbis, Millisyn, and Dation. We were created just like you, but no one cared about us. We didn't astonish the world, because we weren't created perfectly. Magnus didn't know that our bodies would quit on us at 18 and that's been my only motivation for serving him all of these years. We wanted your pendants. It's not the most pleasant explanation, but there it is.”

  Valie looked at the Carson, Trent, Phaedra, and Maddy. They each looked just as surprised as Valie felt. She couldn't believe it...they were like them. The whole time they weren't the only genetically engineered people. Ironically, it made Valie feel close to them, even though they'd been trying to kill them.

  “We already took our pendants,” Carson said confidently. “Jackson did too, so there's nothing left you can do to us. Ya hear me? Try and kill us but, killing us isn't going to keep you alive anymore. Sorry.”

  Hunter started ahead towards them. Valie wondered what he was going to do. Scream? Hurt someone? Cry? He'd just been told that hope was lost for them, but he stood there, holding onto Jackson, his expression unreadable.

  Finally, he let Jackson go with a hard shove. Jackson fell to his knees, but quickly stood and rushed to Valie's side, she grabbed his arm.

  "You took the pendants already,” Hunter said, with a low laugh. “Where's the spare?” There was desperation in his voice. Valie assumed he was talking about Sevenly's.

  “It's gone too,” Maddy said curtly, then smashing the empty vile on the ground. “You're too late.”

  It was a tense moment. Carson kept the gun aimed at Hunter.

  Then, Hunter motioned with his head and they started back towards the mansion. Hunter took one last look at them. “It was nothing personal. We just wanted to live.”

  And they were gone. Just like that, it was over.

  Chapter 23

  Phaedra drove Valie and Trent home. Once she pulled into the driveway, Valie felt relief and sadness. She got out of the car, stretching her body after being crammed in the backseat with Carson, Trent, and Jackson, while Maddy had still insisted that she had to be in the front.

  “It's good to be home,” Trent said, nudging Valie. She nodded.

  As they walked to the front steps, Valie glanced at her uncle's mini-van that still sat in the driveway. She hung her head.

  Valie and Trent made everyone tea and they all settled into the living room. No one was saying much. So much had happened in such a short amount of time that it was overwhelming for each of them.

  Valie told them what had happened with Vincent. She told them about Sevenly, about the envelope and pictures and what Vincent said about Maddy. When her story ended, there was a lingering question, one that only Maddy could answer.

  Maddy innocently sipped her tea, like she was blissfully oblivious to everything Valie had said.

  Carson spoke before Maddy could, "Here's my question...what would Magnus Pierce want with her?" He waved a hand towards Maddy and then, "No offense, Madison."

  She shrugged.

  "Maddy?" Valie asked, "Could you possibly shed some light on that?"

  She pursed her lips and shifted in her seat, "Umm..."

  "Maddy!" Valie snapped her fingers in her face. "If you know, you have to tell us."

  "Okay, okay," she cleared her throat, "there's something about me that you should know."

  "Something else we should know? Are you kidding me? There's something else that we should know that you haven't told us?" Carson complained.

  Valie noticed Maddy exchange a glance with Trent, like they were sharing some kind of secret. Valie looked back and forth between them suspiciously.

  “She can see the future,” Trent said suddenly.

  “Excuse me?” Phaedra asked.

  “She can see the future,” Trent repeated.
/>   “Are you kidding me?” Carson grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

  “I can see the future,” Maddy confirmed.

  The room went silent.

  There was a coffee table in front of Valie and she had to fight the urge to start banging her head into it. Valie didn't know if she was lying, or delusional, or if it was true.

  “I think that might be why Magnus Pierce wanted to capture me. He knew I had the gift, my mother had the gift.”

  “Wait--” Valie interrupted, “you knew that Stan and Phileana were your biological parents?”

  She bit her lip.

  “Damnit, Maddy!” Valie shouted. “I asked you specifically, SPECIFICALLY!

  “Valie, it's okay,” Trent assured, “just let her finish.”

  Valie was fuming. She didn't really feel like letting her finish, she had lied to them...again.

  “I told Trent when we were on our drive to New Jersey. I wanted to tell the rest of you, but I didn't want you to think that I was some sort of freak.”

  Carson chuckled to himself.

  “I get visions. I don't control when they come, they just do...it's why I get headaches. When I feel a headache coming, I know a vision is coming. My eyes turn black, because, well I think because I'm seeing things I'm not supposed to. The visions can be of the past, present, or future. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason behind them. Most often, they have nothing to do with my life.”

  Valie stared at her, waiting for her to say more. She was struggling with that information.

  Jackson sat stoically, he seemed to be receiving the news well. Carson looked like he stopped listening.

  Phaedra, with a perplexed look on her face, said, “If your visions have nothing to do with your life, why would Magnus want your...gift?” She seemed to question the use of that last word.

  “I can force visions if I want. I can choose to see certain things, but it comes at a terrible price...I lose some of my own memory. I used to do it all the time when I was younger. My mum noticed that I started missing big chunks of time, that I was forgetting things I learned in school and forgetting people, so I don't do it anymore. That's why...I think. I forced a vision back at the mansion. I knew they were coming for us, I knew what they wanted. In the future that I saw, Hunter stole the vile from Valie's pocket and used it for himself...that's why I did what I did, I had to save Trent.”