The Triple Threat |
How far can you twist your imagination? In this contest, writers will be given three unrelated themes to merge into a great short story! But the challenge doesn't end there - we want you to write three stories - one each week for the first three weeks of April. At the end of the month, an esteemed panel of judges will announce the winning author, as well as prizes awarded to all who managed to write a story each week that incorporated all three themes. Minimum of 300 words per story.
The trees rushed by, the windows streaked with the last of the rain. Beside him in the back of the car was his twin sister with the file they had been handed before their departure. He had already read it but that didn't mean that he wasn't thinking about what awaited them. The fact that they were given a file spoke far more than either of them cared to acknowledge.
The scene wasn't a pretty one if what the detective had said over the phone was accurate, not that he expected the detective to have embellished or diminished the scene in any way. And, if he was being honest, no scene was a pretty one.
Especially cases with children.
But this scene - this particular case - was rubbing him the wrong way. While there were the obvious signs as to why he was being called in, there was something else going on that he couldn't quite put his finger on and it was clear at how his sister was glaring at the file that she was on the same wavelength.
The car came to a stop as his twin closed the folder. He took it when she passed it to him and tucked it under his arm as the car door opened. He caught her gaze, the flick of her fingers, and he let out a breathy chuckle. He agreed with her fullheartedly. Something smelt fishy and it wasn't the location. He climbed out and nodded in thanks to the driver. He looked over the small crowd of onlookers as his sister climbed out.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the location?" the driver asked.
"I'm sure," he offered in turn. "Thank you for dropping us off."
The driver nodded but said no more at the twins started towards the small crowd.
The crowd shifted around them, ebbing and flowing as people mingled at the road blocks. He looked about as he made his way through, the different scents washing over his senses and counting heads as he went. By the time they had reached the barrier, he had a pretty decent catalog of those present just by scent alone. His sister would have gotten those he had missed as she joined him and knew she had their faces recognized. She was far better at that then he was.
They were not stopped when they passed the wooden barriers. In fact, the two cops that would normally have stopped them recognized him, meaning that he and his sister were left alone. He took the first steps down the long drive and as soon as it turned, there was silence.
The trees were so thick here, even the soft murmur of those waiting at the barrier were silenced, the faintest of sounds bounding down the drive towards them only to be muffled and stop completely once they stepped far enough. All that was left was the ambiance of the forest at night and the low rumble of thunder from the storm that had just passed.
She shifted first, one second a human, the next a wolf. He followed her not a second later and the pads of his feet pressed into the damp soil. His nose flared as his ears twitched, things far more heightened now that they were fully in their secondary form. What's more was that they could now see better and they started trotting down the drive, picking up scents and watching for clues.
Whether a disappointment or the cunning of any suspects, many were familiar in the sense that they smelt of emergency personnel. A few he recognized and could name.
None matched any from the crowd yet.
The location's seclusion seemed to be working in their favor as he and his sister returned to their primary forms as they touched the edge of the main property. There was an argument going on and he was not looking forward to interrupting any sort of argument. The main antagonizer was someone he recognized only by scent. With the antagonizer was the detective that had called him, an officer, a special cases agent, and someone who was probably the field medical examiner.
It wasn't till they were a few yards away that the antagonizer snapped his gaze to them and pointed at them with a sausage finger. "And who is this?" the man demanded.
"I was asked to come by Detective Hansen." He looked to the detective and the detective nodded in greeting. He returned it. "The detective thought our skills would come in handy."
"Who is THAT?"
He felt an eye twitch when the man pointed the sausage finger at his twin. He resisted the urge to break the finger between his teeth. Instead, he looked behind him, verifying that the man was indeed pointing at his sister. "That would be my twin sister."
"You have a twin?"
The question was a simple inquiry, one that broke through the man's anger and turned most of the attention towards the approaching personnel. The questioner was a petite woman with a kind face and a curious gaze. She had someone with her he did not recognize.
He nodded. "There's a reason why it says Markette Twins in your directory. Generally most cases don't require us both but for some reason Hansen thought we were both needed for this one." He looked to the detective with a narrowed gaze. "While the file was useful, it doesn't explain why you need us both. It seems like a simple missing persons case."
It was the petite woman who informed him, "I am glad to see that the file given to you was filled to my discretion. There had been some information I wanted kept out of it in case others wanted to read it." She turned, gesturing for them to follow. "Come on. I'll show you what we left out. Detective Hansen, if you would please join us."
The antagonizer from before stopped, grumbling about agencies meddling in his work. He arched an eyebrow at the man but did not attempt to question what he meant till they were out of ear shot and even then, the petite woman beat him to it.
"He's from the local police force," she offered in explanation. "He was not at all ok with ICARUS coming in."
He arched an eyebrow. "Did he even know about ICARUS before you showed up?"
She laughed. "No but a call from a very high personnel got him to shut up." She looked at him, her eyes briefly flashing in the low light as she grinned, teeth surprisingly sharp now. "It's been fun keeping him out of the loop."
"Madam, please be nice," Detective Hansen urged, quickening his pace to be beside her.
"Any others I should know about?" he asked, returning to the main reason why they were there. "Any quillas or agir present? Any manipulators? Or is this team mostly human and vicuran personnel?"
"We have one angen and two controllers, a water and an earth. Beyond me and now you two, there are only two other vicuran present and two other humans from ICARUS."
He frowned. "Small team."
She stopped at the front door, looking back at him. "Didn't need a big one for this."
She pushed it open into what had appeared upon approached to be a rather old but well kept home of two stories. The paint on the building was fresh, the roof was relatively new, and all the windows and the front door had been recently upgraded. The house had even been washed recently. But when the door was pushed open and he stepped inside, it appeared to be abandoned, barring the curtains on the windows that kept onlookers from peeking in and seeing empty rooms and a number of lamps, each on complicated looking timers.
His sister tapped his shoulder and he caught her fingers flickering out of the corner of his eye. He voiced her comment, though it had been running through his own head. "Someone's gone through a lot of effort to make this place look lived in."
"A gardener was hired so that there was always fresh tire tracks and footprints around the property," Hansen explained as the petite woman led them through the home. "He was the one that called us."
"A vicu with rodent forms. He smelt the trouble without knowing what was wrong," the petite woman explained. "Nice man, if a bit up in years."
"64," Hansen told them, not that he cared much about the vicu's age. "Nearly had a heart attack from what he found."
They stopped at the door that he was certain led to a basement of sorts. "And do I want to know what he found?"
She looked at them, her gaze hard. "No, but you're going to see it anyways. I'd advise keeping your senses dulled. Too many have gotten overwhelmed by this."
Down the stairs she led them, Hansen behind his sister, his sister behind him as he followed the woman. He had been right, it was a basement, but it was finished, well furnished, and a mess. Even without heightened senses, the scents were pungent and made his eyes water as he covered his nose with his shirt. His sister did the same but she moved further into the space, aiming for the hallway on the one side.
"He came across the smell?" he clarified, watching as his sister's ears shifted into wolf ears, one pointed at them, the other twitching this way and that, listening.
"It had gotten so bad that even the new windows and walls couldn't hold it anymore," Hansen explained muffled behind a cloth he had produced from who knew where. The only one not covering their nose was the petite woman. Her expression was hard as her gaze swept over the space. His sister disappeared down the hallway. "It seems that whoever had been living down here wasn't much for cleaning up after themselves."
"They've been down here for months if any of the food decomposing is anything to go by," the woman explained, "but that isn't why we called you in."
A sharp whistle - one he was very familiar with - came from the hallway. The woman smiled as he started for his sister. "It would seem your sister has found why we brought you in."
He followed the same path his sister had taken and wandered the long hallway. He frowned, looking behind him at the woman, Hansen behind her. "This leads out from under the house," he pointed out, wanting a confirmation as he dropped his hand. The scent of damp soil was just barely there underneath the remaining pungent smells.
The woman nodded. "Quite a ways, too."
They walked on and at first he thought it was just a hallway till he caught sight of an open door. He jogged to it and came to a room he found his sister in.
His eyes snapped all around but there was no sign of the child that had clearly been housed there. His sister was standing in the middle of the room, holding something, and as soon as he was done looking around, he was at her side and looking over her shoulder.
It was a child's drawing, one that made him frown and want to touch but he settled for holding onto his sister's arms, smelling the same thing she had.
Her fingers twitched, and he couldn't help but agree.
This was certainly one mystery they were not going to like. Not at all.
The scene wasn't a pretty one if what the detective had said over the phone was accurate, not that he expected the detective to have embellished or diminished the scene in any way. And, if he was being honest, no scene was a pretty one.
Especially cases with children.
But this scene - this particular case - was rubbing him the wrong way. While there were the obvious signs as to why he was being called in, there was something else going on that he couldn't quite put his finger on and it was clear at how his sister was glaring at the file that she was on the same wavelength.
The car came to a stop as his twin closed the folder. He took it when she passed it to him and tucked it under his arm as the car door opened. He caught her gaze, the flick of her fingers, and he let out a breathy chuckle. He agreed with her fullheartedly. Something smelt fishy and it wasn't the location. He climbed out and nodded in thanks to the driver. He looked over the small crowd of onlookers as his sister climbed out.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the location?" the driver asked.
"I'm sure," he offered in turn. "Thank you for dropping us off."
The driver nodded but said no more at the twins started towards the small crowd.
The crowd shifted around them, ebbing and flowing as people mingled at the road blocks. He looked about as he made his way through, the different scents washing over his senses and counting heads as he went. By the time they had reached the barrier, he had a pretty decent catalog of those present just by scent alone. His sister would have gotten those he had missed as she joined him and knew she had their faces recognized. She was far better at that then he was.
They were not stopped when they passed the wooden barriers. In fact, the two cops that would normally have stopped them recognized him, meaning that he and his sister were left alone. He took the first steps down the long drive and as soon as it turned, there was silence.
The trees were so thick here, even the soft murmur of those waiting at the barrier were silenced, the faintest of sounds bounding down the drive towards them only to be muffled and stop completely once they stepped far enough. All that was left was the ambiance of the forest at night and the low rumble of thunder from the storm that had just passed.
She shifted first, one second a human, the next a wolf. He followed her not a second later and the pads of his feet pressed into the damp soil. His nose flared as his ears twitched, things far more heightened now that they were fully in their secondary form. What's more was that they could now see better and they started trotting down the drive, picking up scents and watching for clues.
Whether a disappointment or the cunning of any suspects, many were familiar in the sense that they smelt of emergency personnel. A few he recognized and could name.
None matched any from the crowd yet.
The location's seclusion seemed to be working in their favor as he and his sister returned to their primary forms as they touched the edge of the main property. There was an argument going on and he was not looking forward to interrupting any sort of argument. The main antagonizer was someone he recognized only by scent. With the antagonizer was the detective that had called him, an officer, a special cases agent, and someone who was probably the field medical examiner.
It wasn't till they were a few yards away that the antagonizer snapped his gaze to them and pointed at them with a sausage finger. "And who is this?" the man demanded.
"I was asked to come by Detective Hansen." He looked to the detective and the detective nodded in greeting. He returned it. "The detective thought our skills would come in handy."
"Who is THAT?"
He felt an eye twitch when the man pointed the sausage finger at his twin. He resisted the urge to break the finger between his teeth. Instead, he looked behind him, verifying that the man was indeed pointing at his sister. "That would be my twin sister."
"You have a twin?"
The question was a simple inquiry, one that broke through the man's anger and turned most of the attention towards the approaching personnel. The questioner was a petite woman with a kind face and a curious gaze. She had someone with her he did not recognize.
He nodded. "There's a reason why it says Markette Twins in your directory. Generally most cases don't require us both but for some reason Hansen thought we were both needed for this one." He looked to the detective with a narrowed gaze. "While the file was useful, it doesn't explain why you need us both. It seems like a simple missing persons case."
It was the petite woman who informed him, "I am glad to see that the file given to you was filled to my discretion. There had been some information I wanted kept out of it in case others wanted to read it." She turned, gesturing for them to follow. "Come on. I'll show you what we left out. Detective Hansen, if you would please join us."
The antagonizer from before stopped, grumbling about agencies meddling in his work. He arched an eyebrow at the man but did not attempt to question what he meant till they were out of ear shot and even then, the petite woman beat him to it.
"He's from the local police force," she offered in explanation. "He was not at all ok with ICARUS coming in."
He arched an eyebrow. "Did he even know about ICARUS before you showed up?"
She laughed. "No but a call from a very high personnel got him to shut up." She looked at him, her eyes briefly flashing in the low light as she grinned, teeth surprisingly sharp now. "It's been fun keeping him out of the loop."
"Madam, please be nice," Detective Hansen urged, quickening his pace to be beside her.
"Any others I should know about?" he asked, returning to the main reason why they were there. "Any quillas or agir present? Any manipulators? Or is this team mostly human and vicuran personnel?"
"We have one angen and two controllers, a water and an earth. Beyond me and now you two, there are only two other vicuran present and two other humans from ICARUS."
He frowned. "Small team."
She stopped at the front door, looking back at him. "Didn't need a big one for this."
She pushed it open into what had appeared upon approached to be a rather old but well kept home of two stories. The paint on the building was fresh, the roof was relatively new, and all the windows and the front door had been recently upgraded. The house had even been washed recently. But when the door was pushed open and he stepped inside, it appeared to be abandoned, barring the curtains on the windows that kept onlookers from peeking in and seeing empty rooms and a number of lamps, each on complicated looking timers.
His sister tapped his shoulder and he caught her fingers flickering out of the corner of his eye. He voiced her comment, though it had been running through his own head. "Someone's gone through a lot of effort to make this place look lived in."
"A gardener was hired so that there was always fresh tire tracks and footprints around the property," Hansen explained as the petite woman led them through the home. "He was the one that called us."
"A vicu with rodent forms. He smelt the trouble without knowing what was wrong," the petite woman explained. "Nice man, if a bit up in years."
"64," Hansen told them, not that he cared much about the vicu's age. "Nearly had a heart attack from what he found."
They stopped at the door that he was certain led to a basement of sorts. "And do I want to know what he found?"
She looked at them, her gaze hard. "No, but you're going to see it anyways. I'd advise keeping your senses dulled. Too many have gotten overwhelmed by this."
Down the stairs she led them, Hansen behind his sister, his sister behind him as he followed the woman. He had been right, it was a basement, but it was finished, well furnished, and a mess. Even without heightened senses, the scents were pungent and made his eyes water as he covered his nose with his shirt. His sister did the same but she moved further into the space, aiming for the hallway on the one side.
"He came across the smell?" he clarified, watching as his sister's ears shifted into wolf ears, one pointed at them, the other twitching this way and that, listening.
"It had gotten so bad that even the new windows and walls couldn't hold it anymore," Hansen explained muffled behind a cloth he had produced from who knew where. The only one not covering their nose was the petite woman. Her expression was hard as her gaze swept over the space. His sister disappeared down the hallway. "It seems that whoever had been living down here wasn't much for cleaning up after themselves."
"They've been down here for months if any of the food decomposing is anything to go by," the woman explained, "but that isn't why we called you in."
A sharp whistle - one he was very familiar with - came from the hallway. The woman smiled as he started for his sister. "It would seem your sister has found why we brought you in."
He followed the same path his sister had taken and wandered the long hallway. He frowned, looking behind him at the woman, Hansen behind her. "This leads out from under the house," he pointed out, wanting a confirmation as he dropped his hand. The scent of damp soil was just barely there underneath the remaining pungent smells.
The woman nodded. "Quite a ways, too."
They walked on and at first he thought it was just a hallway till he caught sight of an open door. He jogged to it and came to a room he found his sister in.
His eyes snapped all around but there was no sign of the child that had clearly been housed there. His sister was standing in the middle of the room, holding something, and as soon as he was done looking around, he was at her side and looking over her shoulder.
It was a child's drawing, one that made him frown and want to touch but he settled for holding onto his sister's arms, smelling the same thing she had.
Her fingers twitched, and he couldn't help but agree.
This was certainly one mystery they were not going to like. Not at all.
The child's drawing in her hand was worn, the creases in the paper so fragile that it was on the verge of coming apart even with the gentlest of handling. In the center of the paper, there was a stick figure in a pink triangle dress with curls of yellow for hair. The stick figure was before a house drawn in a purple crayon that was nothing more than a square topped by a triangle with a few shapes to add the door, two windows on either side, and a circle window for the attic. Though rather normal, it was the thing with the stick figure in front of the house that had him concerned.
It was drawn with a black crayon in a heavy hand, no real form depicted beyond the mass of scribbles and two red scribbled dots for what was to be perceived as eyes. If they were meant to be something else, he wasn't sure. The stick figure looked happy, though, drawn with a large smile and two vertically elongated blue dots for eyes so beyond not knowing what the mass was or what it could represent, for all intents and purposes, it was a happy picture of a healthy, young girl with her friend, imaginary or not.
His twin's fingers flickered in the corner of his eye and he responded in kind as they both heard the movement in the doorway. There was no way they were sharing this with the ICARUS agents, not if the scents they were smelling were anything to go by. His sister carefully folded the picture as he turned towards those waiting for them. He felt her move with him, her movement making it seem as if she was just turning with him even as he felt her stick the picture in his back pocket discretely. He held the petite woman's gaze and knew Detective Hansen's human senses would not be able to pick up on his sister's deceit. The petite woman, though...
"Beyond evidence of a child living here, all we have to go off of is a scent," he spoke, his words covering what crinkling of paper and shifting of fabric there had been.
The petite woman nodded. "Any thoughts on the scent."
It wasn't a question and it caused him to narrow down what her other form was, barring she only had one. He didn't know this woman very well, only knew she was vicuran by scent alone, but he did know that she was of a breed he did not deal with regularly. He wondered if he would ever find out what it was, not that he was hoping to. Sometimes finding out about another's form did not mean pleasant conversations and hand holding.
"It's different," he spoke, his sister's fingers flickering the words. "Something we haven't come across before."
A lie, one that he knew they were not going to be able to keep for too terribly long.
He was certain the petite woman didn't believe him when she arched an eyebrow but she said nothing against his words. "Can you track the scent? I lost it shortly after finding it."
They both nodded, determination on their face. "We can," he guaranteed even as his sister's fingers flickered something else. He amended his statement with what his sister brought forth. "But there is more than just one scent in here. At least two of the scents are similar enough to cause us to think either siblings or a vicu. Then there is one that is dominating, that is fresher. Which are you wanting us to track?"
"The vicu."
He blinked, surprised by that. He glanced his sister's way and the look she was giving him told him more than any gesture she made.
Something was going on.
He looked back at the woman, offering, "You don't need us both to track the vicu. Let either me or my sister go after the other scent."
A look crossed the woman's face but Hansen was the one that made the decision. "If one of you is going after the second scent, it'd best be you, Adhara. Miko can guide us to the vicu and allow us to speak with it. This way if you do end up finding the second person, you'll be able to communicate." Hansen's gaze moved quickly to Miko. "I don't mean any offence by it."
His sister shook her head, a soft smile on her lips as her fingers flickered. He translated for her. "None taken, Detective. We would have done it that way, regardless."
Hansen relaxed and his appreciation of the detective increased. While the petite woman had some agenda, Hansen was still the same detective he had always worked with: thoughtful and considerate of others even while getting the job done. Hansen had been the only reason he had accepted in the first place. He and his sister didn't much care for ICARUS and how they worked half the time.
The petite woman shifted back a step, her exasperation showing on her face. "If we would get a move on, I would like to not lose the scent again."
He nodded and the two in the doorway started down the hallway towards the house. Miko caught his arm, though, and her fingers flickered.
-I don't trust her as far as I can throw her.-
He agreed and she knew it but that wasn't why she had voiced her opinion. -Try and stay ahead of them. If things go wrong, grab the vicu and run.-
-Do you think both were vicuran at some point?-
He flinched at that. The picture only had two 'people' on it but that didn't mean that neither had only one form. -I don't know. For all we know, the vicu could have been here long before the other scent. Which is why I'm concerned about what that woman is planning.- He gripped her arm in turn. -Stick close to Hansen if things go south. If nothing else, he'll understand.-
She made a face, not liking what he was implying, but it was a plan they both knew was needed. With a brisk nod, she left, leaving him alone in the room.
They were both concerned about the scent, the one that had been the strongest, the one that they weren't sure was the one the petite woman hadn't been talking about. Or maybe it was and whatever her other form was couldn't discern scents like theirs could. Still, he shifted to his default form, relishing in the natural in between state of his primary and secondary form as he shifted his clothing to accommodate the change. His high tech visor and headset appeared on his head, the visor coming to life after having been in some sort of subspace pocket dimension of sorts. He took a deep breath, letting the smells wash over him again before he started picking only one out, the one that had concerned him and his sister, as the visor picked out things in the room and cataloged them as a base function without any commands
He could hear the trio in the main body of the basement area talking as they started towards the upper floors. He stepped out into the hallway practically alone and followed the scent not towards the body of the house, but towards the other end of the hallway. He frowned as he smelt the other scent as well going this way, faint and far less potent. He wondered if it was because the petite woman was showing Miko where she had lost the scent or if something had changed or come up.
He trusted his twin would be ok no matter what. As dangerous as it was for them to be separated in mixed company, he trusted Hansen and he trusted his sister to hold her own when things got tough.
The pads of his feet touched soil and he flicked a gloved finger. The visor's screen changed, the edges disappearing and the tunnel suddenly became visible.
He just hoped he could hold his own as well as.
There was no gauging time as he followed the tunnel that had once been a hallway despite his visor's computer actually having an accurate clock. It would tell him how long the blasted trip was in travel time and distance at the end even without his prompting. There had been a good number of other rooms he had passed along the way, some even in the tunnel system like dungeon cells, and while he did a cursory check of all of them, the scents all led in the same direction.
On and on the tunnel stretched. On and on he walked. Branches appeared here and there, his visor cataloging each one and creating a minimap in the upper left of his vision, but he followed the scents, followed them down branches of the tunnel he would never have walked had he not been following a scent. This way and that they weaved and even times down passages he would have normally missed in the complete darkness that even his visor had glanced over.
There was a flicker from the minimap and several dots appeared on it as it zoomed out for a moment. It would seem the computer had recognized it may have missed things and retraced its steps. The minimap returned to the original zoom level as he slipped into the crevice. There would be time to correct the map later. Right now he needed to see where these scents were going.
He found himself stumbling out into the heart of the woods from a crevice in the rocky hillside that would have never drawn his attention, the visor automatically changing colors and light levels with the light of a partial moon. He flicked a gloved finger and the minimap filled his view. A few gestures had the map rotating about and zooming out. Orientated with north at the top, the map appeared to be projected between the trees and he watched as the house was overlaid and then a map of the lands before a measurement between him and the house was input.
He was miles away over difficult terrain and had crossed from the home to where he stood in a third of the time. He cleared the map from his view with a swipe of his hand and input a few commands. His ears twitched this way and that as he took in the sounds of the night, his nose still on the scent he had been tracking as well as the other scents that had followed the same path. There was a chirp in his ear letting him know that he was set to proceed.
The scents started branching off and it was only a few couple yards before he was following the single scent. He shifted his wings into existence in their secondary form. Like this, he was able to shoot through the trees without worrying about clipping a wing, though it did limit his height while adding to his maneuverability. On and on he went, the minimap in the corner plotting out the landscape and tracking how far out he had gone. It wasn't till hours later that he came across stronger scent tracks. He slowed, his feet softly touching the ground where there was a sudden onslaught of the single scent, heavy as if it had stayed in the single place for quite some time. There were no scents to indicate it had been chased away or found so why wasn't it there?
He looked up and his visor picked it out the same time he did.
He leapt to the side, rolling to get his feet back under him so that he could launch himself upward, his wings taking him higher than any normal leap. He latched onto branches, his wings equalizing gravity and letting him hover there in the branches.
Beneath him was a mass of black, formless beyond the pair of red eyes staring up at him. He shifted the visor back into the subspace pocket dimension of sorts he shifted things to and from, the weight of it still on his person despite it physically not being there. He raised a hand as he slowly shifted the rest of his attire, leaving him in a pair of sports shorts and a loose tank top. "Easy," he offered, voice soft. The thing launched at him and he shot to the side, shouting, "Wait!"
He rolled in the air, coming out upright and facing the mass coiling in where he had been residing as his feet pressed against the truck of a tree. He hadn't lost altitude so he was level with the creature but he could not tell what the creature was, nor how it was just hanging there. From what he could see, it wasn't actually hanging onto anything. "Wait a moment," he spoke, voice soft and calm. "I'm not here to harm you. I just want to talk."
The red eyes didn't blink. They didn't so much as twitched and he took that as a good sign. He slowly reached back, fingers finding the picture, and he pulled it out just as slowly, making sure the thing was in clear view as soon as possible. The red eyes shifted, focused on the paper even as he was certain he had not lost its attention. A low rumble sound reached his ears and he watched as the mass seemed to become agitated as he carefully unfolded the picture with one hand. When the image became visible, the creature hissed, coiling to launch. He brought the picture before him and the creature froze, eyes on him again.
"This is yours, right?" he offered. "You kept this to remember your friend."
"SisTEr," a voice echoed about, scratchy and inconsistent.
He suppressed his wince. "Your sister was a vicu too, right?" he asked, watching the mass slowly settle. "I have a twin sister who is just like me. Were you and your sister just like each other?"
"sIstER," the voice spoke, sounding sad even as it echoed about.
"Did she have this form too or was it just you?" he asked.
"SistER Was NOrMal. freAk was MONSTeR. FReAk SufFER foR FREaK."
He closed his eyes against that, sorrow filling him as he let gravity take hold of him slowly. He eased his weight on a steady branch before vanishing his wings. "But were you always this way?"
The red eyes were on him as silence hung between them and, for a moment, he wondered if he would get an answer. But, then, "fREAK HarmEd sIsTer. seNt to bE FIXED. bEcAME thIS. sIStER cAme tO SAve freak. fREAK CauSeD SIstEr morE HaRM."
"Whoever changed you took your sister to do the same."
There was a low rumble, a sort of whine. "SIstER NEvER ComE bACK. HE sAId sIsteR NeveR COmE BaCK. fREak FauLT nOT CoMe bAck."
He tried not to growl as the itch to break someone's neck rushed over him. Whoever had been experimenting on children - let alone vicuran children - needed to be taken out before they harmed any more children. "Do you want to help me find your sister?"
"nO finD HeR. FReAk LoOkeD."
"Do you want to try one last time? I can help and so can my sister."
The creature shifted and the red eyes grew rounder. "wOLF heLP FReak?"
He offered a soft smile. "I will help. But in order for me to help, you have to do something for me." The creature curled and he quickly offered, "You have to tell me what your name is."
"FrEAK," the creature responded instantly.
He chuckled. "No, before you were called that. What did your sister call you?"
"bRoTheR," it spoke, though it sounded slightly confused.
"Anything else?" he encouraged.
There was a pause, one long enough that he didn't think he would get an answer, but then the creature spoke again. "jAmIE."
"Can I call you Jamie like your sister did?" The eyes bobbed like the creature had nodded and he smiled. "Nice to meet you, Jamie. You can call me Ady."
"adY?"
"Yeah, Ady," he replied. He offered the picture to Jamie again. "Would you like this back?"
There was a hum that rumbled through him as part of Jamie's mass reached out and took the picture with care. It vanished into the mass even as he watched it get carefully folded. He shifted his wings back in their secondary form again and asked, "Ready to go on an adventure in look for your sister, Jamie?"
He wasn't good with kids, not really, but that seemed to be enough for the child before him as he gained another hum, this one far chipper and the red eyes thinned, portraying a smile of sorts. It was all he could hope for as he stepped off the branch and let his wings bring him back to the ground gently.
It was drawn with a black crayon in a heavy hand, no real form depicted beyond the mass of scribbles and two red scribbled dots for what was to be perceived as eyes. If they were meant to be something else, he wasn't sure. The stick figure looked happy, though, drawn with a large smile and two vertically elongated blue dots for eyes so beyond not knowing what the mass was or what it could represent, for all intents and purposes, it was a happy picture of a healthy, young girl with her friend, imaginary or not.
His twin's fingers flickered in the corner of his eye and he responded in kind as they both heard the movement in the doorway. There was no way they were sharing this with the ICARUS agents, not if the scents they were smelling were anything to go by. His sister carefully folded the picture as he turned towards those waiting for them. He felt her move with him, her movement making it seem as if she was just turning with him even as he felt her stick the picture in his back pocket discretely. He held the petite woman's gaze and knew Detective Hansen's human senses would not be able to pick up on his sister's deceit. The petite woman, though...
"Beyond evidence of a child living here, all we have to go off of is a scent," he spoke, his words covering what crinkling of paper and shifting of fabric there had been.
The petite woman nodded. "Any thoughts on the scent."
It wasn't a question and it caused him to narrow down what her other form was, barring she only had one. He didn't know this woman very well, only knew she was vicuran by scent alone, but he did know that she was of a breed he did not deal with regularly. He wondered if he would ever find out what it was, not that he was hoping to. Sometimes finding out about another's form did not mean pleasant conversations and hand holding.
"It's different," he spoke, his sister's fingers flickering the words. "Something we haven't come across before."
A lie, one that he knew they were not going to be able to keep for too terribly long.
He was certain the petite woman didn't believe him when she arched an eyebrow but she said nothing against his words. "Can you track the scent? I lost it shortly after finding it."
They both nodded, determination on their face. "We can," he guaranteed even as his sister's fingers flickered something else. He amended his statement with what his sister brought forth. "But there is more than just one scent in here. At least two of the scents are similar enough to cause us to think either siblings or a vicu. Then there is one that is dominating, that is fresher. Which are you wanting us to track?"
"The vicu."
He blinked, surprised by that. He glanced his sister's way and the look she was giving him told him more than any gesture she made.
Something was going on.
He looked back at the woman, offering, "You don't need us both to track the vicu. Let either me or my sister go after the other scent."
A look crossed the woman's face but Hansen was the one that made the decision. "If one of you is going after the second scent, it'd best be you, Adhara. Miko can guide us to the vicu and allow us to speak with it. This way if you do end up finding the second person, you'll be able to communicate." Hansen's gaze moved quickly to Miko. "I don't mean any offence by it."
His sister shook her head, a soft smile on her lips as her fingers flickered. He translated for her. "None taken, Detective. We would have done it that way, regardless."
Hansen relaxed and his appreciation of the detective increased. While the petite woman had some agenda, Hansen was still the same detective he had always worked with: thoughtful and considerate of others even while getting the job done. Hansen had been the only reason he had accepted in the first place. He and his sister didn't much care for ICARUS and how they worked half the time.
The petite woman shifted back a step, her exasperation showing on her face. "If we would get a move on, I would like to not lose the scent again."
He nodded and the two in the doorway started down the hallway towards the house. Miko caught his arm, though, and her fingers flickered.
-I don't trust her as far as I can throw her.-
He agreed and she knew it but that wasn't why she had voiced her opinion. -Try and stay ahead of them. If things go wrong, grab the vicu and run.-
-Do you think both were vicuran at some point?-
He flinched at that. The picture only had two 'people' on it but that didn't mean that neither had only one form. -I don't know. For all we know, the vicu could have been here long before the other scent. Which is why I'm concerned about what that woman is planning.- He gripped her arm in turn. -Stick close to Hansen if things go south. If nothing else, he'll understand.-
She made a face, not liking what he was implying, but it was a plan they both knew was needed. With a brisk nod, she left, leaving him alone in the room.
They were both concerned about the scent, the one that had been the strongest, the one that they weren't sure was the one the petite woman hadn't been talking about. Or maybe it was and whatever her other form was couldn't discern scents like theirs could. Still, he shifted to his default form, relishing in the natural in between state of his primary and secondary form as he shifted his clothing to accommodate the change. His high tech visor and headset appeared on his head, the visor coming to life after having been in some sort of subspace pocket dimension of sorts. He took a deep breath, letting the smells wash over him again before he started picking only one out, the one that had concerned him and his sister, as the visor picked out things in the room and cataloged them as a base function without any commands
He could hear the trio in the main body of the basement area talking as they started towards the upper floors. He stepped out into the hallway practically alone and followed the scent not towards the body of the house, but towards the other end of the hallway. He frowned as he smelt the other scent as well going this way, faint and far less potent. He wondered if it was because the petite woman was showing Miko where she had lost the scent or if something had changed or come up.
He trusted his twin would be ok no matter what. As dangerous as it was for them to be separated in mixed company, he trusted Hansen and he trusted his sister to hold her own when things got tough.
The pads of his feet touched soil and he flicked a gloved finger. The visor's screen changed, the edges disappearing and the tunnel suddenly became visible.
He just hoped he could hold his own as well as.
There was no gauging time as he followed the tunnel that had once been a hallway despite his visor's computer actually having an accurate clock. It would tell him how long the blasted trip was in travel time and distance at the end even without his prompting. There had been a good number of other rooms he had passed along the way, some even in the tunnel system like dungeon cells, and while he did a cursory check of all of them, the scents all led in the same direction.
On and on the tunnel stretched. On and on he walked. Branches appeared here and there, his visor cataloging each one and creating a minimap in the upper left of his vision, but he followed the scents, followed them down branches of the tunnel he would never have walked had he not been following a scent. This way and that they weaved and even times down passages he would have normally missed in the complete darkness that even his visor had glanced over.
There was a flicker from the minimap and several dots appeared on it as it zoomed out for a moment. It would seem the computer had recognized it may have missed things and retraced its steps. The minimap returned to the original zoom level as he slipped into the crevice. There would be time to correct the map later. Right now he needed to see where these scents were going.
He found himself stumbling out into the heart of the woods from a crevice in the rocky hillside that would have never drawn his attention, the visor automatically changing colors and light levels with the light of a partial moon. He flicked a gloved finger and the minimap filled his view. A few gestures had the map rotating about and zooming out. Orientated with north at the top, the map appeared to be projected between the trees and he watched as the house was overlaid and then a map of the lands before a measurement between him and the house was input.
He was miles away over difficult terrain and had crossed from the home to where he stood in a third of the time. He cleared the map from his view with a swipe of his hand and input a few commands. His ears twitched this way and that as he took in the sounds of the night, his nose still on the scent he had been tracking as well as the other scents that had followed the same path. There was a chirp in his ear letting him know that he was set to proceed.
The scents started branching off and it was only a few couple yards before he was following the single scent. He shifted his wings into existence in their secondary form. Like this, he was able to shoot through the trees without worrying about clipping a wing, though it did limit his height while adding to his maneuverability. On and on he went, the minimap in the corner plotting out the landscape and tracking how far out he had gone. It wasn't till hours later that he came across stronger scent tracks. He slowed, his feet softly touching the ground where there was a sudden onslaught of the single scent, heavy as if it had stayed in the single place for quite some time. There were no scents to indicate it had been chased away or found so why wasn't it there?
He looked up and his visor picked it out the same time he did.
He leapt to the side, rolling to get his feet back under him so that he could launch himself upward, his wings taking him higher than any normal leap. He latched onto branches, his wings equalizing gravity and letting him hover there in the branches.
Beneath him was a mass of black, formless beyond the pair of red eyes staring up at him. He shifted the visor back into the subspace pocket dimension of sorts he shifted things to and from, the weight of it still on his person despite it physically not being there. He raised a hand as he slowly shifted the rest of his attire, leaving him in a pair of sports shorts and a loose tank top. "Easy," he offered, voice soft. The thing launched at him and he shot to the side, shouting, "Wait!"
He rolled in the air, coming out upright and facing the mass coiling in where he had been residing as his feet pressed against the truck of a tree. He hadn't lost altitude so he was level with the creature but he could not tell what the creature was, nor how it was just hanging there. From what he could see, it wasn't actually hanging onto anything. "Wait a moment," he spoke, voice soft and calm. "I'm not here to harm you. I just want to talk."
The red eyes didn't blink. They didn't so much as twitched and he took that as a good sign. He slowly reached back, fingers finding the picture, and he pulled it out just as slowly, making sure the thing was in clear view as soon as possible. The red eyes shifted, focused on the paper even as he was certain he had not lost its attention. A low rumble sound reached his ears and he watched as the mass seemed to become agitated as he carefully unfolded the picture with one hand. When the image became visible, the creature hissed, coiling to launch. He brought the picture before him and the creature froze, eyes on him again.
"This is yours, right?" he offered. "You kept this to remember your friend."
"SisTEr," a voice echoed about, scratchy and inconsistent.
He suppressed his wince. "Your sister was a vicu too, right?" he asked, watching the mass slowly settle. "I have a twin sister who is just like me. Were you and your sister just like each other?"
"sIstER," the voice spoke, sounding sad even as it echoed about.
"Did she have this form too or was it just you?" he asked.
"SistER Was NOrMal. freAk was MONSTeR. FReAk SufFER foR FREaK."
He closed his eyes against that, sorrow filling him as he let gravity take hold of him slowly. He eased his weight on a steady branch before vanishing his wings. "But were you always this way?"
The red eyes were on him as silence hung between them and, for a moment, he wondered if he would get an answer. But, then, "fREAK HarmEd sIsTer. seNt to bE FIXED. bEcAME thIS. sIStER cAme tO SAve freak. fREAK CauSeD SIstEr morE HaRM."
"Whoever changed you took your sister to do the same."
There was a low rumble, a sort of whine. "SIstER NEvER ComE bACK. HE sAId sIsteR NeveR COmE BaCK. fREak FauLT nOT CoMe bAck."
He tried not to growl as the itch to break someone's neck rushed over him. Whoever had been experimenting on children - let alone vicuran children - needed to be taken out before they harmed any more children. "Do you want to help me find your sister?"
"nO finD HeR. FReAk LoOkeD."
"Do you want to try one last time? I can help and so can my sister."
The creature shifted and the red eyes grew rounder. "wOLF heLP FReak?"
He offered a soft smile. "I will help. But in order for me to help, you have to do something for me." The creature curled and he quickly offered, "You have to tell me what your name is."
"FrEAK," the creature responded instantly.
He chuckled. "No, before you were called that. What did your sister call you?"
"bRoTheR," it spoke, though it sounded slightly confused.
"Anything else?" he encouraged.
There was a pause, one long enough that he didn't think he would get an answer, but then the creature spoke again. "jAmIE."
"Can I call you Jamie like your sister did?" The eyes bobbed like the creature had nodded and he smiled. "Nice to meet you, Jamie. You can call me Ady."
"adY?"
"Yeah, Ady," he replied. He offered the picture to Jamie again. "Would you like this back?"
There was a hum that rumbled through him as part of Jamie's mass reached out and took the picture with care. It vanished into the mass even as he watched it get carefully folded. He shifted his wings back in their secondary form again and asked, "Ready to go on an adventure in look for your sister, Jamie?"
He wasn't good with kids, not really, but that seemed to be enough for the child before him as he gained another hum, this one far chipper and the red eyes thinned, portraying a smile of sorts. It was all he could hope for as he stepped off the branch and let his wings bring him back to the ground gently.
Jamie's mass came down from the trees acting at once like goop and smoke. It was bewildering and infuriating all at one. Who would dare do this to a child?! Not to mention that vicuran children were oh so precious. How the two children had ended up in a home that would send one, if not both away and not go looking for them when they vanished astounded him.
But, then, if they had been kidnapped, then maybe they had been looked for and it simply had been too long.
He started back towards the direction of the house.
"Jamie," he spoke minutes into their trek. "How old are you and your sister?"
"sAME agE. sAME tEN."
His hand twitched to press against his chest. "And how long have you been here?"
"here hOME. hERe BeEN Since forevER."
That was strong evidence towards one theory, except...
"Did you guys live in the upper floors?"
"yEaH. BuT THeN haRm SisteR anD SeNt To rOom BeLoW. fReAK no LiKE roOM BeLoW."
"That's where you were changed, right?"
There was a rumble of confirmation but nothing verbal and he didn't press. He felt sick knowing they were dealing with possible vicuran twins that had been experimented on. Until they were able to help Jamie return to a solid form, there was no way of telling what had happened to the child.
The silence was broken only by his footfall. Whatever Jamie had become allowed the child to move about almost silently, the crunching of leaves not like the way the leaves crunched under his feet.
He tried to not let it bother him.
The minimap was back but he hadn't gestured for it. Instead, there was a brief pulse of one location before the map zoomed out and showed two locations connected with a distance count and estimated time. Miko was giving him a heads up. He sent her a ping in return, watching as his dot turned green before hers did. As much as it was a heads up, he knew that he needed to close the distance between them now that he had Jamie or he ran the risk of having something happen and not be there for her when it does. He gestured the map away, looking to Jamie. "Can you fly in that form?"
"fLy?"
"Yes, like a bird." He shifted his wings in their primary form, massive white wings stretching between the tree trunks and branches before curling against his back. "Like I can."
"fReaK fLy. freAK FolLoW Wolf-aDY."
He opened his wings again, shifting his stance wide to launch himself skyward. Jamie was there, his mass slipping beneath him only to coil and shove him towards the canopy.
Had he not been used to such endeavors or had not been expecting it, he was certain he would have broken a wing. Thankfully the path was clear and he shot straight through the trees without injuring anything. He threw his wings out at the faintest hint of slowing down and he pumped his wings as gravity cradled him once more.
Jamie was suddenly there around him, weightless but with enough form to add pressure to Adhara's body. He shuddered, asking, "Can you fly without clinging to me, Jamie?"
"hEigHT."
"Height?" he echoed, confused till he looked down. "Oh. Fear of heights." The form around him quaked at that. "Jamie, can you move to my front so that I may look you in the eye and speak?" The mass shifted around him till the red eyes were before him, watching him. He reached out, hands pressing gently against the mass as if to cup the child's face. There was a rumble of pleasure from Jamie. "I was taught a trick of getting rid of pesky fears like that. Do you want to know what it is?"
The mass against his hands went up and down, the eyes going with it, and he realized that Jamie had nodded. He offered a soft smile and leaned in a bit closer. "When fear is upon you, you have to close your eyes," out of habit, he closed his eyes as he spoke the word, "take a deep breath," automatically, his lungs filled with air before he whispered, "and say the magic words: Abra-kadabra, no fear can control me."
Tears automatically welled up within him but he swallowed them as best he could. He was certain his eyes were still watery when he opened them to look at Jamie. He could deal with his fear for his sister, his twin, later. Right now, he needed to help Jamie.
The child's voice echoed strangely even as a whisper as Jamie parroted his words back to him. "ABra-KADABRa, nO FeAr caN cONtrOl Me." Those red eyes snapped open as a shrill, broken squeal caused Adhara to flinch. "MagIC! MAgIc! wolF-Ady kNoW MaGiC!"
He chuckled softly as the mass let go of him, flying around with no fear of the ground being so far away anymore. "We need to be quick, now. Your sister is waiting for us."
"SisTeR." The mass turned to look at him again. "LEaD. WilL foLLow.
He nodded before aligning himself with the overlaid map and shot off towards the neon marker muted in the distance. So far it was still blue, a simple marker. As long as it didn't change colors, the little trick would work just fine in keeping him calm.
He gestured for Jamie to remain quiet before starting to land. He found a good solid tree and shifted his wings midflight into their secondary form, using them to negate gravity enough for his touch to be light on the branches. Jamie was there with him, up against him so as to keep close and see what he saw. Or so he presumed. He wasn't completely sure beyond the child needing physical comfort now that there was someone there to give it willingly.
It was a few minutes before the marker flickered out and Miko was outlined through the trees. There was a trail that ran right under the branch he had settled in and he could just make out his sister through the trees when her form on his visor became an outline rather than a solid shape. Two other forms were outlined and brief glimpses confirmed it was Hansen and the woman. They passed directly beneath him and Jamie and while none of them noticed them - he was certain his sister knew he was there but gave no outward appearance she had seen him or even knew there was something in the trees above - Jamie's mass was quaking against him.
He had to wait till they were well out of sight and out of hearing before he was able to even talk to Jamie. He reached over, his hand sliding through half the mass before touching something a bit more solid. "Hey, Jamie. Calm down. It's alright."
"sisTeR," Jamie choked, the word sounding weird.
His gaze snapped around where those red eyes were pointed. His visor automatically outlined Miko. "What?" he uselessly asked.
"SIStEr," Jamie repeated with a far stronger voice, shooting through the trees and a breakneck speed.
Adhara followed, secondary form wings shoving him forward as quickly as he dared to go weaving in and out of trees while Jamie seemed to simply faze through trees. He made it in time to land between Jamie and the others, primary form wings spread wide.
"SistEr," Jamie spoke, his voice causing the woman and Miko to flinch.
Adhara frowned, eyes on Hansen who was staring at Jamie's hulking mass.
"Aujamy?" the petite woman spoke, her voice quaking as Adhara felt Jamie shift behind him, curling close to his back as if to hide. "Aujamy, is that really you?"
"no sIStEr?" Jamie's voice quaked as the petite woman's had.
"Ma'am?" Adhara spoke, his voice calm and soft to draw the woman's attention to him even if her eyes remained on Jamie. Hansen had yet to even twitch.
"Always sister," the woman spoke, taking a calculated step forward as she pressed a hand to her chest. "Nelila, remember? Nerry a Lily?"
She shifted, human form giving way to a brilliant dragon one. He felt Jamie move behind him and he turned, watching as Jamie's mass mimicked Nelila's form, trying and failing to become a dragon as well. "lily SISTeR, Lily SistEr, cOme foR FReAk siStEr DID."
The tears that welled up in those dragon eyes made Adhara choke on his own and he looked away, his gaze landing on his twin. She was watching Hansen like a hawk. The only thing the man had done was tip his head back.
Nelila nuzzled the mass that was Jamie. "Of course I came for you. I'm so sorry it took me so long."
"No CaRe, No cArE. SistEr HeRE, sIster here," Jamie happily sang, his mimicked shape losing form in order to press against her chest and long neck.
"I care."
Adhara caught Miko bristling as he had when Hansen finally spoke. The man tipped his head to the side. "How did you ever manage to escape, my precious Lily? I had so hoped to correct my mistakes on your brother on you."
The growl Nelila released sent a thrill of terror down Adhara's spine but he was more concerned with Jamie's withdrawal at Hansen's words. He skitted backwards, a wing reaching out to wrap around the huddled mass not much larger than Adhara's human form. Miko moved to place herself between Hansen and Jamie as Nelila turned to face him.
"With surprising ease," she snarled. "You, however, have slipped too far. I will make sure you pay for what you did to me, to Jamie, and all the other kids you tormented."
Hansen laughed. "Please. Like you have proof. Only you and Jamie survived. It would be no trouble taking you two out along with the Markette twins."
"I would be careful saying things like that," Adhara warned, his voice steady. "You may end up eating those words."
Hansen gave him a grin that was anything but humorous. In fact, it made the man look crazed. "You think so? After all I've done, you think you and your mute of a sister will be able to take me on? Do you even know why I did what I did?"
"Why?" he drawled, automatically translating his sister's sarcastic gesture.
"Immortality."
If there had been crickets, even they would have been silent at the sheer stupidity of that statement.
"Really?" Adhara asked, his voice contemptuous.
"You're vicuran!" Hansen suddenly barked, gesturing wide. "You were born with the ability to change forms, heal faster, be stronger, and then there are others born into stronger races, leaving us lowly humans racing to catch up with something we'll never catch up on." He stabbed at his own chest with his finger. "I wanted to be beyond that. I wanted to see if I could give a normal human the abilities of the vicuran or agirian races only to discover that I had found the answer to immortality. The only downside was that it was imperfect and I needed children to gather the purest forms of the materials I needed to create the perfect version of immortality. When I had enough to test a sample from, I would use the kids I no longer needed and the results were fascinating."
Adhara shuddered but he wasn't sure if it was out of fear or disgust.
"Jamie here was one such subject. I had intended to do the same to precious Lily here but she slipped between my fingers before I could do anything."
"I'm glad I got away," Nelila snarled, barring her teeth. "It meant being able to save Aujamy."
The grin that broke across Hansen's face made every fiber of Adhara's being stand on end. "You think so?"
"Miko!" he shouted, leaping at his sister as she turned to reach for him just as Hansen uttered, "Oscuramento."
His visor translated the Italian word automatically, the word 'blackout' quickly on its tail. For a split second he thought that it was just a bluff, but then Jamie's form went rigid and spines shot from him like arrows still connected to the body of the launcher. The spines were pointed at the tips and nothing was safe from the sudden hundreds of spines flying through the air. As soon as they landed, the spines jerked and became tendrils that whipped around, flinging dirt and debris everywhere.
A spine caught Adhara in the side, going straight through to catch his sister just below her ribs on the left side. Another caught him in the back of his left thigh and grazed his shoulder before embedding itself into Miko's. They got off lucky. Nelila took far too many and was dead before the spines could even change. Adhara took some satisfaction out of all this when one impaled Hansen right between the eyes. It was better that the man was dead rather than risk him harming another child.
They were thrown into the air and he wrapped himself bodily around his sister, protecting her as he shifted forms, wings in primary in an attempt to control their decent.
He hit the ground, hard, and felt a good number of bones break, a few in his wings. The cry of pain echoed on the trees as the sound of him tumbling with his sister filled the space. They came to a stop and he could see the barricade,
He didn't dare fathom just how strong Jamie was in such a state as he cried out, "Hey! Can you hear me?! Can I get some help here!? Anyone!" His voice cracked and he fought a cough as black edged his vision. He thought he saw eyes on them. "Please! Someone help!"
His shouting rang in his ears as it seemed as those that could see them just stared.
But, then, if they had been kidnapped, then maybe they had been looked for and it simply had been too long.
He started back towards the direction of the house.
"Jamie," he spoke minutes into their trek. "How old are you and your sister?"
"sAME agE. sAME tEN."
His hand twitched to press against his chest. "And how long have you been here?"
"here hOME. hERe BeEN Since forevER."
That was strong evidence towards one theory, except...
"Did you guys live in the upper floors?"
"yEaH. BuT THeN haRm SisteR anD SeNt To rOom BeLoW. fReAK no LiKE roOM BeLoW."
"That's where you were changed, right?"
There was a rumble of confirmation but nothing verbal and he didn't press. He felt sick knowing they were dealing with possible vicuran twins that had been experimented on. Until they were able to help Jamie return to a solid form, there was no way of telling what had happened to the child.
The silence was broken only by his footfall. Whatever Jamie had become allowed the child to move about almost silently, the crunching of leaves not like the way the leaves crunched under his feet.
He tried to not let it bother him.
The minimap was back but he hadn't gestured for it. Instead, there was a brief pulse of one location before the map zoomed out and showed two locations connected with a distance count and estimated time. Miko was giving him a heads up. He sent her a ping in return, watching as his dot turned green before hers did. As much as it was a heads up, he knew that he needed to close the distance between them now that he had Jamie or he ran the risk of having something happen and not be there for her when it does. He gestured the map away, looking to Jamie. "Can you fly in that form?"
"fLy?"
"Yes, like a bird." He shifted his wings in their primary form, massive white wings stretching between the tree trunks and branches before curling against his back. "Like I can."
"fReaK fLy. freAK FolLoW Wolf-aDY."
He opened his wings again, shifting his stance wide to launch himself skyward. Jamie was there, his mass slipping beneath him only to coil and shove him towards the canopy.
Had he not been used to such endeavors or had not been expecting it, he was certain he would have broken a wing. Thankfully the path was clear and he shot straight through the trees without injuring anything. He threw his wings out at the faintest hint of slowing down and he pumped his wings as gravity cradled him once more.
Jamie was suddenly there around him, weightless but with enough form to add pressure to Adhara's body. He shuddered, asking, "Can you fly without clinging to me, Jamie?"
"hEigHT."
"Height?" he echoed, confused till he looked down. "Oh. Fear of heights." The form around him quaked at that. "Jamie, can you move to my front so that I may look you in the eye and speak?" The mass shifted around him till the red eyes were before him, watching him. He reached out, hands pressing gently against the mass as if to cup the child's face. There was a rumble of pleasure from Jamie. "I was taught a trick of getting rid of pesky fears like that. Do you want to know what it is?"
The mass against his hands went up and down, the eyes going with it, and he realized that Jamie had nodded. He offered a soft smile and leaned in a bit closer. "When fear is upon you, you have to close your eyes," out of habit, he closed his eyes as he spoke the word, "take a deep breath," automatically, his lungs filled with air before he whispered, "and say the magic words: Abra-kadabra, no fear can control me."
Tears automatically welled up within him but he swallowed them as best he could. He was certain his eyes were still watery when he opened them to look at Jamie. He could deal with his fear for his sister, his twin, later. Right now, he needed to help Jamie.
The child's voice echoed strangely even as a whisper as Jamie parroted his words back to him. "ABra-KADABRa, nO FeAr caN cONtrOl Me." Those red eyes snapped open as a shrill, broken squeal caused Adhara to flinch. "MagIC! MAgIc! wolF-Ady kNoW MaGiC!"
He chuckled softly as the mass let go of him, flying around with no fear of the ground being so far away anymore. "We need to be quick, now. Your sister is waiting for us."
"SisTeR." The mass turned to look at him again. "LEaD. WilL foLLow.
He nodded before aligning himself with the overlaid map and shot off towards the neon marker muted in the distance. So far it was still blue, a simple marker. As long as it didn't change colors, the little trick would work just fine in keeping him calm.
He gestured for Jamie to remain quiet before starting to land. He found a good solid tree and shifted his wings midflight into their secondary form, using them to negate gravity enough for his touch to be light on the branches. Jamie was there with him, up against him so as to keep close and see what he saw. Or so he presumed. He wasn't completely sure beyond the child needing physical comfort now that there was someone there to give it willingly.
It was a few minutes before the marker flickered out and Miko was outlined through the trees. There was a trail that ran right under the branch he had settled in and he could just make out his sister through the trees when her form on his visor became an outline rather than a solid shape. Two other forms were outlined and brief glimpses confirmed it was Hansen and the woman. They passed directly beneath him and Jamie and while none of them noticed them - he was certain his sister knew he was there but gave no outward appearance she had seen him or even knew there was something in the trees above - Jamie's mass was quaking against him.
He had to wait till they were well out of sight and out of hearing before he was able to even talk to Jamie. He reached over, his hand sliding through half the mass before touching something a bit more solid. "Hey, Jamie. Calm down. It's alright."
"sisTeR," Jamie choked, the word sounding weird.
His gaze snapped around where those red eyes were pointed. His visor automatically outlined Miko. "What?" he uselessly asked.
"SIStEr," Jamie repeated with a far stronger voice, shooting through the trees and a breakneck speed.
Adhara followed, secondary form wings shoving him forward as quickly as he dared to go weaving in and out of trees while Jamie seemed to simply faze through trees. He made it in time to land between Jamie and the others, primary form wings spread wide.
"SistEr," Jamie spoke, his voice causing the woman and Miko to flinch.
Adhara frowned, eyes on Hansen who was staring at Jamie's hulking mass.
"Aujamy?" the petite woman spoke, her voice quaking as Adhara felt Jamie shift behind him, curling close to his back as if to hide. "Aujamy, is that really you?"
"no sIStEr?" Jamie's voice quaked as the petite woman's had.
"Ma'am?" Adhara spoke, his voice calm and soft to draw the woman's attention to him even if her eyes remained on Jamie. Hansen had yet to even twitch.
"Always sister," the woman spoke, taking a calculated step forward as she pressed a hand to her chest. "Nelila, remember? Nerry a Lily?"
She shifted, human form giving way to a brilliant dragon one. He felt Jamie move behind him and he turned, watching as Jamie's mass mimicked Nelila's form, trying and failing to become a dragon as well. "lily SISTeR, Lily SistEr, cOme foR FReAk siStEr DID."
The tears that welled up in those dragon eyes made Adhara choke on his own and he looked away, his gaze landing on his twin. She was watching Hansen like a hawk. The only thing the man had done was tip his head back.
Nelila nuzzled the mass that was Jamie. "Of course I came for you. I'm so sorry it took me so long."
"No CaRe, No cArE. SistEr HeRE, sIster here," Jamie happily sang, his mimicked shape losing form in order to press against her chest and long neck.
"I care."
Adhara caught Miko bristling as he had when Hansen finally spoke. The man tipped his head to the side. "How did you ever manage to escape, my precious Lily? I had so hoped to correct my mistakes on your brother on you."
The growl Nelila released sent a thrill of terror down Adhara's spine but he was more concerned with Jamie's withdrawal at Hansen's words. He skitted backwards, a wing reaching out to wrap around the huddled mass not much larger than Adhara's human form. Miko moved to place herself between Hansen and Jamie as Nelila turned to face him.
"With surprising ease," she snarled. "You, however, have slipped too far. I will make sure you pay for what you did to me, to Jamie, and all the other kids you tormented."
Hansen laughed. "Please. Like you have proof. Only you and Jamie survived. It would be no trouble taking you two out along with the Markette twins."
"I would be careful saying things like that," Adhara warned, his voice steady. "You may end up eating those words."
Hansen gave him a grin that was anything but humorous. In fact, it made the man look crazed. "You think so? After all I've done, you think you and your mute of a sister will be able to take me on? Do you even know why I did what I did?"
"Why?" he drawled, automatically translating his sister's sarcastic gesture.
"Immortality."
If there had been crickets, even they would have been silent at the sheer stupidity of that statement.
"Really?" Adhara asked, his voice contemptuous.
"You're vicuran!" Hansen suddenly barked, gesturing wide. "You were born with the ability to change forms, heal faster, be stronger, and then there are others born into stronger races, leaving us lowly humans racing to catch up with something we'll never catch up on." He stabbed at his own chest with his finger. "I wanted to be beyond that. I wanted to see if I could give a normal human the abilities of the vicuran or agirian races only to discover that I had found the answer to immortality. The only downside was that it was imperfect and I needed children to gather the purest forms of the materials I needed to create the perfect version of immortality. When I had enough to test a sample from, I would use the kids I no longer needed and the results were fascinating."
Adhara shuddered but he wasn't sure if it was out of fear or disgust.
"Jamie here was one such subject. I had intended to do the same to precious Lily here but she slipped between my fingers before I could do anything."
"I'm glad I got away," Nelila snarled, barring her teeth. "It meant being able to save Aujamy."
The grin that broke across Hansen's face made every fiber of Adhara's being stand on end. "You think so?"
"Miko!" he shouted, leaping at his sister as she turned to reach for him just as Hansen uttered, "Oscuramento."
His visor translated the Italian word automatically, the word 'blackout' quickly on its tail. For a split second he thought that it was just a bluff, but then Jamie's form went rigid and spines shot from him like arrows still connected to the body of the launcher. The spines were pointed at the tips and nothing was safe from the sudden hundreds of spines flying through the air. As soon as they landed, the spines jerked and became tendrils that whipped around, flinging dirt and debris everywhere.
A spine caught Adhara in the side, going straight through to catch his sister just below her ribs on the left side. Another caught him in the back of his left thigh and grazed his shoulder before embedding itself into Miko's. They got off lucky. Nelila took far too many and was dead before the spines could even change. Adhara took some satisfaction out of all this when one impaled Hansen right between the eyes. It was better that the man was dead rather than risk him harming another child.
They were thrown into the air and he wrapped himself bodily around his sister, protecting her as he shifted forms, wings in primary in an attempt to control their decent.
He hit the ground, hard, and felt a good number of bones break, a few in his wings. The cry of pain echoed on the trees as the sound of him tumbling with his sister filled the space. They came to a stop and he could see the barricade,
He didn't dare fathom just how strong Jamie was in such a state as he cried out, "Hey! Can you hear me?! Can I get some help here!? Anyone!" His voice cracked and he fought a cough as black edged his vision. He thought he saw eyes on them. "Please! Someone help!"
His shouting rang in his ears as it seemed as those that could see them just stared.