*Luna*

"What are you talking about? She's only seven." I couldn't believe this. It couldn't real. Sarah couldn't be defective.

"How do you guys know she's made contact?" Amir asked for me. 

 "We watched her this morning. We couldn't see who it was, but she was clearly playing with someone on an empty playground at the campground," Ahmed said, glancing between all three of us. "She just had a birthday. Think about how it was with the both of you."

"I don't get it. She could've just been playing," I said, shaking my head about the notion that she will become a reckless soul. He had to be wrong.

"Luna, I sensed them. I could sense her playing with someone. Only Sarah can see them for now. It was the same as you and Amir," Ahmed explained, his eyebrows raised. I sat back down and realized he wasn't wrong. No one could see Amir, and I couldn't see anyone else if they were near him for months.

Amir loosened his grip. Then he turned to Decker and stood close to him. "You followed Sarah and Luna undetected for Chase. Why are you helping us, and how do you two know each other?" 

"Yeah, how?" I piped in. 

Decker smiled back at Ahmed. "That's another story for another time."

"We don't have a lot of time for questions and answers, but I can give you a short version of what is important," Ahmed said. "Colin was in the facility for personal reasons. Being in that place was exhausting for him. They controlled everything, and he had to watch people constantly get hurt. It shouldn't matter why he is putting himself on the line." Ahmed touched my shoulder and nodded for me to look up at him. "What matters, always matters, is keeping our kind safe." 

"Okay, but what about you two?" Amir asked, urging for the answer to that one. 

"That's the question of the day?" Decker chimed in, laughing like he heard a funny joke. Did he ingest some happy pills or something? "How do Ahmed and I know each other is what you two want to know?" 

Ahmed sent Decker a dark look. "Thanks, Colin, for your input. We've known each other for many years. I saved him in a car accident when he was in India one year. I was driving by and saw the wreckage. And we'd stayed in touch ever since. When I was at St. Matthew's to visit Luna with Liberty and Sarah, I didn't realize he worked there. I didn't know Colin was your guard, okay? But when I found out, he kept tabs on you for me." 

It hit me then. "Decker set the camera up in my room, and one in Cami's." 

Colin nodded back. "I did, under Dr. Kim's orders. However, I switched the tapes in your rooms frequently. I tried to cover you girls up. He and Chase are going to be more concerned about finding Cami and you, Luna." 

A slight bit of tension eked out of Amir's body. "They watched Luna and Cami in their private moments. That was wrong." 

"Yes, but I also made sure the sound system wouldn't catch anything either of them said," Decker stated. "The employees haven't realized that Luna is a Tethered Soul. It's because of her past with Sam. She imagined him before her abilities became active. They tried hard to get her to talk. Luna was strong." Decker stepped back and leaned against the wall, folding his arms together. "They know about Camille though. They knew about her long before she came in. But Luna was the hardest to get through to. That is why they were forceful with their procedures." 

There was something I still couldn't understand about all this. "Where does Chase come in? Why would he order these asinine tests for me?" 

Decker chuckled softly. "Ahmed, you should do the honors this time, bud." 

I glanced at Ahmed, waiting for his answer. 

"Chase doesn't know about Tethered Souls, or our any of us. He is being brainwashed by Dr. Kim. The hospital can't stay opened and portray as a fully functional facility with no funding. The State of Louisiana shut them down. They cut the funding when it was failing to uphold certain protocols. Chase rolled up in his Porsche in the beginning of 2013 shortly before the building was shut down. Then he began funding the place for his son. Chase only knows Matthew suffers from delusions. Dr. Kim handles what Chase sees, and what he knows. He kept informing him that you were seeing Sam. So Chase ordered the treatments for two reasons..." Ahmed's eyes started becoming watery.

"Chase wanted to get you back for wanting to leave him weeks before Memorial Day. He placed you inside the hospital for that reason. He heard your plans to move away from a friend of yours who told him. He pushed the wedding planning because he wanted to keep you. Control you. And he also wanted "Sam" out of your head. Dr. Kim kept telling him that you were seeing him." That bastard. He wanted me to get shocked all those times so I wouldn't see Sam. I wasn't seeing him. Oh my God, Chase put me through hell. 

Hell!

"I can't wait to get my hands on him and Dr. Kim," Amir said, balling his fist and slamming it against a pillow. "I could shock their genitals right now." 

Everything was making more sense now. Dr. Kim had more control over Chase. But still, Chase didn't have to put me through this crap. He is going down for this. 

"Actually, it's much deeper than either of them," Decker added, standing straighter and shoving his hands into his pockets. "There is someone else that none of us knows who is in charge of it all. They have Kim as the dealer, Chase as the supplier, and this other one is what we call—Tethered Soul Hunter. This person is a Tethered Soul. They find others of your kind to experiment on them. There are five other buildings in the world, all portraying as psychiatric hospitals. And people are inside, being harmed, cut off from the world aside from their "visitors" and some facilities are worse than St. Matthew's. China. Russia. Brazil. Sweden. Each has a dealer, and a supplier. The staff sign papers ensuring them they'll stay silent about what's happening to people for a large check. The supplier doesn't have a clue what's going on, in most cases, but that doesn't phase the hunter. From what I understand is that this person is rarely shown, and they hate their genetic abilities. They are looking for a way to eliminate them."

I shivered at his last words. Eliminating their abilities? I loved mine. How could they not?

"And finding out their identity is hard," Ahmed murmured ominously. 

"So what about the TS—the one who I witnessed that wanted to wreak havoc? Would he know who this TSH is?" I asked Decker still rattled with all this new information he was providing us. 

He slid a look to Amir. "You never got to see that patient. He was put to sleep before you went to visit Luna." 

"Oh, well, I didn't access his file. I was more concerned with Cami's, Luna's, and Matthew's." 

I turned to Amir. "Why Matthew?"

"After he revealed to everyone in the hallway he sees people from other countries, I knew he was one of us. I had to check his information out." Amir walked over to the window and looked out for a moment. Then he glanced back at me. "When I came here, I was given different patient files. I didn't get to see you, or Cami, until three days later. Those were very long days. I saw Matthew on the first day. I could sense something about him. I didn't know what it was. Then his meltdown happened, and it gave me all the answers I needed. Not only was he a TS, Chase ordered for a way to stop Matthew from being the way he is. I felt bad about that." I stood up and walked to his side. 

I reached for his hand and held his face in my palm with my other one. "I feel bad for all the Tethered Souls who are stuck in that building. We'll do something about it soon."

"You can't release everyone," Decker said, staring my way.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"I'm talking about the manic patient you saw. Robert. He is a defective. He grew up in the hospital in Sweden, then he was transferred here." My jaw opened, and I shivered next to Amir.

A moment later, the door flew open. Amir's eyes darted to the opening as I clutched down after he reached for his gun. All eyes turned to the bright light shinning through; my insides squirming. 

Faisal strolled in, holding a bag and a white box. His hair was short and even, and his clothes were neatly pressed. A big grin was plastered across his cute, tiny face. Amir shot me a glance, peeking inside my head. I was happy to see him. "Hey, guys!" he said cheerfully. "I have a box of donuts. I'm sure everyone's hungry."

I blinked slowly, settling down on the floor in a corner. "You guys know how to give someone a heart attack." 

"We weren't expecting you," Amir said in a hollow mood. 

Faisal set the box down on the dresser that held the TV, and I stared at them like they were a science project. "It's nice to see you too, cousin. Hello, Luna!" 

I looked up as I heard my name. "Faisal. It's nice to meet you." I swear, I was losing it. I only had on a T-shirt and my legs were bare. If I didn't shave last night, they'd be looking worse than Bigfoot. How could I not focus on putting some damn sweat pants on? 

And three of the men in here were used to seeing women covered up. Thinking of that, I need to find me a shawl, maybe a hijab. I guess I could talk to Mera on how to be a proper Muslim woman. I was too afraid and a little embarrassed to ask my prince to show me how, but at least I knew her. I wanted to be on the same page as Amir and learn everything about his culture, his faith, him. 

Ahmed slightly glanced my way and chuckled. He read my mind. Ugh!

"Look what I grabbed from the gift shop." Faisal reached into his bag and pulled out a shirt like mine. "It's like we were on the same page," he said, eyeing me. Everyone who is a TS read my thoughts. 

Telepathy.

"Yep... telepathy," Amir snickered,  helping me up. 

"That's the thing about telepathy," Ahmed said, glancing between Amir and me. "We can read each other's thoughts more than access anything else. Like... I wouldn't be able to see your past, Luna, but Amir can. I'm sure he has." 

"Yes, I have." Amir held my waist and cuddled me. "A person's past doesn't define them." 

"But how are you all able to read my thoughts? My telepathy is off," I pondered.

"In the same space, it works well, but if you got hurt," Ahmed explained, "you wouldn't be reached except through Amir. He is the one who is attached to your Soul." I nodded, finally understanding everything better. "I tried to take away the pain you felt from that procedure. That was the least I could do."

I gulped and looked down, wishing the memory of that moment could go away.

Decker curled his lips at Faisal's shirt. "Are you going to wear that?" 

"Yeah, why not? This is a souvenir, and I will wear it around the office when I get back to Pakistan. Our co-workers will love it." Faisal walked over to his bed and started packing his belongings. Then Amir did the same for his side. "Listen, guys. We need to go soon. We have to be at the safe house before it gets too late." He stopped in mid-packing and gazed back at Amir and me. Ahmed and Decker stood against the wall in the small hallway while the guys continued gathering their things. "Have you two injected the serum yet?" 

"Not yet. Ahmed just handed it to me, and we started talking," Amir said. 

"Okay. You should do it later. It worked like a charm for Cami and Darren." 

"You mean..." I said, but Faisal grinned wide enough where I saw his back teeth. "So they can talk in person, touch, and be around one another?" 

"They sure can," he said, almost done with his packing. Amir had a lot more to do. 

"So... What are we going to do now?" Amir asked the room. He looked at me and I blew him a kiss. His smile made me feel a lot better in this moment.

"Things are about to hit the fan..." Decker said, letting out a deep breath. "Pardon my choice of words, but shit's about to get real. Dr. Kim will spear no expense to find where Luna is. He will tear the entire town and state apart, searching, and in some areas they've started. They are looking for Cami to find out who her partner is, then they'll get him. She never revealed Darren, only their times at the beach. Dr. Kim will use Chase to help in his endeavor. Chase will pay thousands, if not millions, for information of everyone's whereabouts." 

Amir stiffened. "I'm afraid they'll go after Luna's family."

"They will," Decker replied. "Actually, I'm sure they already have. Mostly Liberty and Ahmed's place in Texas, but the both of them have been here for a while. But they will go after Luna's parents. Then Cami's. And we know that they are TSE-" 

"I'm sorry. What does that mean?" I asked him, confused. "TSE?"

"It stands for Tethered Soul Exception. It's what you and Amir are." Ahmed looked at Faisal and asked, "Did you lock the car?" 

"You were out in the car this whole time?" Amir questioned, settling his things against the door. I pulled up my sweat pants and devoured these delicious donuts. I grabbed one with a light-brown cream on top.

Amir smiled my way and shook his head. Allah, thank you for him. 

"I went to sleep on the way over here. I woke up, and no one was in the car. I saw that we were at our motel, so I walked over to the lobby.  Cami and I stayed up. I don't need to go into details." 

"Please... don't," I chuckled, sorting through some things. 

"I'm sure you two will talk later, anyway," he said, winking at me. I couldn't wait to see my best friend. And Liberty. And Sarah. I missed all three of them so much. 

"I've got everything of mine in my bags." Faisal turned back to Amir with an impish grin on his lips. "I'm going to pray first before we hit the road, and then I'll change into my shirt while Y'all are outside getting comfy. Don't pack my mat." He reached over and pulled his prayer mat from the door, then finished with getting his items sorted from the bathroom. "I can't wait to look adorkable in this shirt." He pulled his New Orleans, Louisiana T-shirt up to his chest. "Luna and I will be twins!" 

It's funny how Faisal grabbed the same shirt as us. Hmm. Telepathic stalker. 

He looked my way and started laughing. Gesh... I need to turn my brain off. 

"Please eat more donuts, guys. Any order will do. I stood in line for nearly three minutes for them." Faisal—the wise-crack of the group. He was in a super jolly mood.

Amir scowled at his cousin at the sarcasm, but he smiled when he saw me snacking down on a chocolate one. I peeked inside the box and spotted a glazed donut. Faisal got my favorite. I peered my eyes back to Amir as he dressed in one of his outfits from home. He was so my Arabian Prince. 

"Where are we going?" Amir asked to whoever was listening. They were the ones who knew where the group was. 

"A small community outside of Baton Rouge," Decker said, speaking up. "It's a clean safe house."

"Yeah, but we need to get on the road soon," Ahmed mentioned, glancing at all four of us. He picked up a donut with sprinkles on the top and ate it in a funny manner. "Forgive me," he said, noticing I was making a face at him. "I haven't eaten one in years. Liberty and I do not eat donuts." 

Amir exhaled through his nose and looked my way. I could tell he wanted answers and didn't take too kindly on people not answering him back. He wanted details. Maybe we shouldn't know anything because our little operation could go south. I didn't care. As long as I saw my three girls, I was fine. I was too busy munching on the last donut to say anything. 

Finally, Amir moved and laid one of his final bags near the door. These guys packed like they were going away for a month. Maybe they prepared themselves for that? 

"All right. I've got all my stuff," Amir said. "Can we load up the car now?"

"Not yet," Ahmed said, stepping near the window. "We should all go out together quickly, and then the four of us will stay in the car until Faisal is finished with his prayer."

"Okay," Amir said, standing near my side. "I should pray, too."

"Don't worry about me. I'll do it when we get there," Faisal said, staring down at his watch. "We're on limited time here. Besides, Cami wanted to see how I pray, and I will show her how we kneel and everything."

Gee—now I really feel silly. I was frightened to inquire about that personal detail, but Cami was already intrigued. I really missed her. 

As we all stood at the door, each with several bags in our hands, Amir stood in the back while I held our stuff from last night in my arms. I looked back and mouthed to him that I loved him. He returned those three words, and my stomach felt fuzzy again. 

"Everybody ready?" Ahmed asked, standing in the front. 

"I am," I said. 

"We can't leave yet," Decker said, smiling devilishly at Amir, and then at me. "Amir will forget a certain item lying on the floor."

We all glanced around the room, and near the bottom part of the dresser was a small package of condoms. My face burned like I stayed out in the sun too long, unsure why he picked that up from the gift shop.

Did he believe we would...

I stopped what I was thinking and wanted to crawl under the bed. My telepathic stalkers were all staring at me with the sound of their laughter near my ears. Oh Lord, could this be anymore embarrassing?

Reunion is underway! 😁