The sharks were circling the bloody water as we stayed on our course to the center of the island. A niggling part of me hopes they survived, but it’s small and pesky, so I give it a mental slap as well. Death is going to happen, and sometimes sooner is better than later.
“You can go check on the corpses of your friends,” I tell the man as he drops me on the shore.
“You are not concerned with your own friends?”
“They aren’t my friends.”
He looks at me with wonder and compassion in his eyes, which makes me angry. I pull one of the knives from my messenger bag, and wave it at him. He gets the hint, and makes a hasty retreat from the island.
I make my way across the hard-packed sand to a low outcropping of rocks. This entire island is made out of rock, although trees and brush spring up here and there above me. The islands in the Archipelago are typically close together, but this one is a little more isolated than the rest and definitely not inhabited by any humans. I should be worried about the non-human inhabitants, but snakes don’t scare me, and neither do any other animals I may encounter. I understand survival of the fittest, and yes, I know that’s me right now.
I choose the easiest path to the top of the island, knowing I could climb if I had to, but why would I want to exert the extra energy now, when I might need it later?
As I walk through the trees, I start to sense that I’m not alone. I can feel eyes on me, and strangely, I somehow know that they’re not human.
“Show yourself!” I yell into the thick trees on my right.
A bullet zings past my face, close enough to make my loose hair move. I reach for my gun, but I’m too stunned to move as fast as I should. Either that, or they’re better than me. No…that’s not an option. Whatever just happened, I’m suddenly being held in a hold that I’m having a hard time breaking free of.
“Stop struggling. It’s no use.”
I look up and see a boy about my age in front of me. He’s got mocha colored skin, brown wavy hair, and eyes that are a color between blue and green; turquoise maybe, although I’ve never seen eyes that color before. He’s also got lean muscles, and I can tell he’s stronger than he looks. If I could feel scared, I might right now.
“Who are you?”
“You can call me Levi,” he says with an Australian accent.
“Why are you and your friends attacking my country, Levi?”
“We’re protecting ourselves, Abigail. You should appreciate that since you’re one of us.”
“I’m nothing like you.”
“We have different Muses, and different Creators, but otherwise, we were built exactly the same way.”
“You’re lying to save yourself.”
“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I don’t appear to need saving right now.”
“My friends will come for me!”
“Friends? You mean the sisters you left to die? Or the brothers you haven’t given a second thought to?”
“You know nothing of us.”
“I think I’ve made it pretty clear that we know everything about you. Enough about that for now, though. We have a cell waiting for you below?”
“Below?”
“You don’t think we’re going to stand here in the open, do you? Silly girl, the satellites are going to be watching soon, and all they’ll see is your ‘friends’ looking in places they’ll never find us. Not unless we decide to be found, that is.”
I’m pushed forward, but the hands on me don’t loosen any. I was wrong earlier about not feeling fear. I’m scared now. Scared and pissed off.
Coalton
My muscles burn as I finish the climb up the third and final waterfall. I could’ve just climbed the rocks ringing them, but the physical challenge of the falls appealed to me. I don’t remember anything before I woke up and walked to the facility, but I think I must have been active. I have some pretty ripped muscles, and I inherently know how to use them. Maybe one day I’ll figure it out, or ask, but it’s not a concern for me now.
I bat away a couple of snakes who hiss at me as I get to my feet, and shake the water from my short hair as I straighten up. What I see up ahead on the path causes me to jump back over the edge of the cliff. Abigail is being led off somewhere by a group of teens, and from what I could see in those few seconds, she can’t break free from the grip they have on her.
Since I’m pretty sure Abigail’s as strong as me, I made the decision to hide instead of try and fight. I’m not afraid of a fight, but it’s probably best if both of us aren’t captured. I know we’re supposed to stay apart, but I feel like I need to find the others and let them know what’s going on. Abigail’s not the easiest person to get along with, but she’s still our sister.
Once I’m sure they’ve gone wherever they’re going, I jump up and start to run across the flat top of the island. This place isn’t that big, and I know I’ll run into someone soon—if they haven’t been taken already. I stop in my tracks as I think that thought, wondering if maybe she wasn’t the first, but the last. No, I’m the last if that’s the case.
“Coalton, man, I’m glad I found you,” Hinton says, coming out of the trees on my left. “Something doesn’t seem right about this place.”
“Some kids our age took Abigail, so yeah, I’d say we’re in for the fight of our lives.”
“What do you mean they took her? Doesn’t she have our strength?”
“I saw them when I climbed up here. I’m pretty sure she does have the strength, but she couldn’t break free. I was going to look for everyone else before I try to find them.”
He shakes his head like he’s clearing it of something before he responds. “We need to find the other girls.”
“I know. I’m thinking they’re on the other side of the island, so I was heading that way.”
“Let’s go!”
We take off at a run, and he keeps perfect pace with me. Something about that feels odd, but again, I’m not going to try and analyze anything right now, except how to get our sister back. It doesn’t take long to get to the other side, and as we peer over the side, I see Michaela and Sabrina climbing up the rock wall.
A brief thought flitters through my mind, telling me I should kick some pebbles over the side to see if they’ll lose focus and fall, but I mentally slap it away. What’s wrong with me?
I know they don’t need my help, but I shouldn’t be thinking about them getting hurt—and enjoying the thought of it. I’m the one shaking my head now.
“You okay, man?”
“Huh? Oh yeah. Just trying to process what’s going on here.”
He gives me a curious look. “That’s all it is?”
“What else would it be?”
“Just checking.”
“I’m good.” I look over the edge again. “They’re almost here. We should step back a little so we don’t startle them.”
“Good idea.”
We both walk back a few feet, and wait. A minute or so later, slender hands grip the rocks on top, and then they’re pulling themselves over the top. They both hop to their feet, but then Michaela lets out a scream as she throws a snake off of her.
“Did it hurt you?” I ask, running forward.
“No,” she says, shaking her head, and looking down at her hand in wonder. “It bit me, but it didn’t hurt. I guess that’s a good thing?”
“Unless it numbed you with its venom.”
“I didn’t see that in the information about them I found online.”
“Me either,” she says, looking around to make sure the large snake hasn’t come back. She’s shaken up, so I’m not going to tell her that I’ve seen many more throughout the island.
“He didn’t numb you,” Sabrina says.
“What, did you ask him?” Hinton asks her with a laugh.
“Yes. As a matter of fact, I did.”
I stare at her with my mouth open before I speak. “You can talk to animals?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know I could, until I did
, but I can. Maybe all of us can if we focus.”
“I think we should just focus on whatever skill we seem to be best at, and help each other out,” Michaela tells her. She looks calmer now, maybe because the bite marks on her hand have disappeared.
“Yes. We need to find Abigail, and take out the people who have her.”
“Someone has her?” Sabrina asks.
I explain it all to them, and we agree that we need to get her back. In that brief glimpse I got, I saw them heading down the rocks on the Northern side of the island. There really isn’t any place to go down there, so we devise a plan to use the rock walls to our advantage, catching them on the beach. We all run to a different point on the side, and start our descent down. Down to a beach that is most definitely empty. Where did they go?
Abigail
I’m in a metal cell in the middle of some kind of command center. No, that’s not right. My jail isn’t made of metal, because if it was, I could get out of my jail more easily. Of course, if I get out, I’ll still have to deal with them. The five guys people holding me here.
Five who are somehow stronger than me and know who I am. Can it be a coincidence that there are five of them like there are five of us? Possible, but highly unlikely. I don’t like this.
I pushed my emergency trigger, but Levi and his friends just started laughing, and told me no signal can get out from here unless they want it to. I am uber smart, and super-human, so I have to be able to come up with a way out of here. I have to.
“Have you thought of a way out yet, Abigail?” Levi asks me with a smirk.
“I’m going to kill you first when I get out of here.”
“If you’d just be willing to listen to what I have to tell you, you’d know there’s no reason to fight me. The ten of us should be working together.”
“I know nothing of you, so why would I want to join forces with you?”
“You knew nothing of you Creator until around two days ago, and yet you followed him blindly.”
“He created me.”
“With help, yes, but that shouldn’t be enough for you to trust him blindly, should it?”
No, it shouldn’t. Yes! It should. I shake my head. “You’re trying to confuse me.”
“No. I’m trying to get you to see the truth.”
“Your version of the truth.”
“It is not just mine, it’s ours.”
“Stop trying to attach me to you and your terrorist friends.”
“We are not terrorists, Abigail. We have attacked computer systems, and governments, yes, but no innocent person has been hurt by us.”
“Who are you to decide which people are innocent.”
“The ones who aren’t trying to kill me are innocent. Is that clear enough for you?”
Before I can answer him, one of the other boys rushes over. “They’re on the beach. All four of them.”
“We’ll finish this conversation later, Abigail. It’s time for me to go out and greet your friends.”
He nods to one of the other boys, and then leaves with the three girls. Once they’re gone, my babysitter flips a few switches on the consoles and walks over to my cell. While Levi merely angers me, this guy scares me a little.
“I’ve shut off the cameras and audio in here.”
“Okay.” Not okay. At all.
“I’m Clayton.”
“Hi.”
“We’re going to help each other.”
“Are we?” I ask, trying to make is sound flippant instead of frightened.
“Yes.”
“Why would I trust you?”
He smiles as he pushes a few buttons on his phone and then turns it to me. “Because he’s going to tell you to.”
My eyes widen as I see my Creator sitting in a room with another woman. They are both smiling at me. “Hello, Abigail. This is my friend, and fellow Creator. By now, you’ve met her creations. They’ve gone rogue, but I know you won’t join them, just like Clayton hasn’t really joined them, either. You’ll both help us destroy them—and you—once and for all.”
What? I don’t want to die. This was supposed to be about saving people, and not dying. I look around for a way to get out.
“Don’t be scared, Abigail. You’re about to fulfill your true destiny.” No. No! I don’t want this. He pauses, looks straight into the camera and says the word that changes everything for me. “Moriarty.”
Both my mind and my body shudder, and then it all becomes clear. We’re a threat to humans, and we need to be eradicated, along with the Muses.
We must hunt them down, and kill them. There is no other way. I’m going to be the one to do it. Me. There is no other choice.
Hinton
“There’s no one on the beach.”
“Did you think there would be?” the man in my head asks.
“Yes. I did.”
“They will be coming, and while you’re not ready, there’s no turning back now.
“Who? Who’s coming.”
“The other creations.”
“Others? There are others like us?”
“Yes. There were five sets of five created.”
“20 are here?”
“No. Fifteen were already lost. Those from Moscow, Shanghai, and London are already gone. Only ten of you remain.”
“What do you mean ‘gone’? What happened to them?”
“He will tell you all. Listen to him. Listen to Levi.”
“You said you’re my Muse. What does that mean?”
“Again, Levi will explain it all. Trust him.”
“Are you leaving me?”
“No. As long as I am still living, I will also be with you. Sometimes you may not be able to hear me, but I am with all five of you. Always.”
I want to ask more, but all of a sudden I see three girls and a boy come out from the rocks. They seem to have appeared out of nowhere, but I know there must be a secret door.
“We’re not going to hurt you. Come down and talk to us,” the boy, who I think must be Levi, yells to us.
Coalton is the first to jump down, followed by Michaela. I land at the same time as Sabrina, and then the four of us gather into a line, facing off with the others. The voice—my Muse—told me I can find the answers to all my questions from the boy, so I’ll listen for now.
“Where is she?” Michaela asks.
“Abigail is inside,” he tells her.
“Bring us to her,” Coalton says.
“Of course. You must realize that we are like you, and we want to help.”
“You’ll have to prove that to us,” Sabrina tells him, and he locks eyes with her.
“I will.”
“We need to get inside, Levi,” one of the girls says.
“My sister is right. Let’s get inside.”
“I don’t think we really have a choice,” Michaela tells us.
“There’s always a choice,” Sabrina responds.
“Is there?” Coalton asks her.
“I’d like to think so. I say we go with them,” I respond.
I know I shouldn’t be listening to voices in my head, but right now, nothing else is making sense either. As we follow the four into the hidden doorway, I’m hoping we didn’t make the wrong choice. If we did, I don’t know that we’ll make it out alive. Actually, even if we chose right, there’s no guarantee of that, either.
Michaela
This is right. That’s the thought running through my mind as we follow these four people inside. That feeling alone is making me want to stop fighting this sense that there’s more to me than what I’ve been discovering these last two days.
Who am I really? I think this group may have the answers to that question, and even if they don’t, we need to get Abigail back. She’d do the same for us; at least I think she would.
Once we’re inside, we see her sitting inside a cell, glaring at the other person in the room with her. He’s introduced to us as Clayton, the three girls are Lauren, Jennifer, and Alejandra, and the r
ingleader is Levi. I look around at them, and I have to ask.
“Were all the sets made up of three girls and two boys?”
“No,” Levi tells me. “There were two sets with three boys.”
“Shanghai and Moscow?” Sabrina guesses.
He turns to smile at her. “Yes.”
The way they’re looking at each other makes me want to ask if they need to get a room. I’m not going to deny he’s hot, especially with that accent, and Sabrina has the most gorgeous green eyes I’ve ever seen. I know I’m pretty, but my almost black eyes aren’t as startling, and even Abigail’s raw sensuality can’t compare to Sabrina and her natural beauty.
Speaking of Abigail, she chooses this moment to finally speak up. “Are you going to let me out now?”
“No. I don’t think I’m ready to do that just yet.”
“How come they get to stay out there?”
“Because I say so.”
“You’ll pay for this.”
“And that’s why you’re in there.
I look a little more closely at Abigail, because I’m wondering why she’d provoke Levi. I can’t sense things like Sabrina, but I still notice the change. She’s somehow colder. She’s been mean and angry the last couple of days, but this, this seems different.
Cold-blooded killer is what comes to mind, and I know I’m right the moment I think it. I know she’d kill one of us and not bat an eye. If nothing scared me before, this realization chills me to the bones. She was a nice girl just a couple of days ago, and now she’s completely different. We’re all different, but not like this. This is hate, and I have to hold back a shudder as the word courses through me.
“My group won’t listen to you while I’m locked up!” she insists.
“You’re wrong.”
“Why would they choose you over me? I’m their sister.”
“Yes. We all saw that sisterly love while you made your boat captain ignore them while they were in distress.”
“You did that? You left us to fend for ourselves?” Sabrina asks, a look of horror on her face.
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