Lena Matthews

Dear Diary,

Ew. Just no. If I ever start a journal entry like that unironically, then go ahead and kill me. Anyway, I found this thing again. When you're packing stuff, you find old things like this. Most of the entries are from right after I found out the truth. I'd almost forgotten how hard it had been when everything felt like it was in freefall. Before I understood how I was supposed to feel about the Forbidden, I was miserably lost.

Things are more clear now. I know what's dangerous, and I know that I need to follow in my father's footsteps. The thing is, no one believes that I have what it takes, especially Dad. This mission is my chance. If I find a Forbidden before anyone else, maybe he'll realize that I'm serious about being like him. But what if he's right? What if I'm not meant to be an agent? I've never imagined becoming anything else.

"What are you doing?" Finn asked.

"None of your business," I answered, not even looking up from my journal. I was making myself comfortable on my bed, my thin strawberry blonde hair forming a curtain around my face. I looked a lot like Mom, with her greenish-blue eyes, petite nose, pale skin, and terrible eyesight. Finn looked more like Dad with his brown hair and eyes. Despite the fact that we were siblings, we looked nothing alike. Family was strange that way.

Dad doesn't like to talk about his parents. His father died when he was really young, and he has no idea who his mom is. Dad never took a DNA test to determine his background, but we've theorized that his mom wasn't white. I was curious about who she was, but I could also understand Dad's reluctance to learn anything about the person who left him.

"Isn't that from middle school?" Finn asked, looking at my journal.

"How did you know that?" I asked, glancing up.

"It was my idea to have Mom get you that. You know, after all of that happened with the..." Finn trailed off.

"With the Forbidden that tried to take me," I finished, closing the journal. Finn didn't answer, but I knew that was what he wanted to say. "It's okay."

"So, is everything packed?" Finn asked, switching the subject. He looked around the room, which hadn't been sorted into boxes yet.

"I was getting to that." I lied. "I may have gotten a little sidetracked. It's part of Ivy Scott's character."

As agents, everyone was moving to Atalka with fake names. We were now the Scotts, from Atherton, California. Our parents, whose new names were Rebecca and Elijah Scott, were now a real estate agent team. Dad encouraged all of us to act like ourselves, and not to fabricate stories. It could get difficult to keep our fake backgrounds straight. Still, to make sure that I played my part right, I googled information about the town of Atherton and the state of California. I've come to the conclusion that I hate both.

It's been hard to explain everything to Aurelie. She doesn't have a clue about the Agency, or why we've been calling her Annie for the past week. Mom told her that we were playing a super elaborate game of pretend, and that we couldn't tell anyone about it. So far she's been okay, but she remains the biggest liability. Despite that, the Agency wants her to come with us to Atalka. Apparently, Atalka's family rule is super important. If one person was missing from the family, we'd become suspicious. As secret agents, the last thing we wanted to be was suspicious.

"What about Asher Scott? What's his character?" I teased Finn.

"Asher has lived his entire life being bitter that he was assigned the stupid name," Finn answered sarcastically. "He's also shocked that his sister is being so lazy."

"Asher is not a stupid name." I contended. "It's the name of a really great person." I smiled angelically at my older brother, channeling Aurelie's irresistible charm.

"What do you want?" Finn asked, crossing his arms.

"For you to help me pack this room," I answered innocently.

"You're evil, Lena," said Finn, shaking his head.

"Ivy." I corrected.

Finn and I were able to get everything sorted out pretty quickly. It was good timing too, since the truck arrived only a few minutes later. When we were done loading everything into the truck, we piled into the minivan to voyage up to Oregon.

"Q!" I exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the sign displayed outside my window. We had already watched the first season of Spellbound on my phone before it died, and were now resorting to passing time the old-fashioned way. The alphabet game, designed to make boring road trips a little less painful.

"No way," Finn argued. "I didn't see a Q anywhere."

"We just passed a QuikTrip," I argued. "You just didn't see it. That's what happens when you're losing."

"Wow," said Finn.

"Are you guys done arguing?" Dad asked. "Because that looks a lot like a Zaxby's to me."

"No!" Aurelie protested.

"Z!" Dad declared. "It looks like we have a winner." Everyone groaned at Dad's third win. "Anyone want to play again?" Dad asked.

"We might not have enough time for another round," said Mom, looking up from her phone. Dad was getting off of the freeway. "We're about five minutes away."

"Really?" Aurelie asked. She started bouncing up and down in her seat in excitement.

"Alright, Aurelie," said Mom. "When we get to the gate, there's going to be a security person who's going to ask us questions about our names. Remember, we're playing pretend. Your name is Annie Scott, so make sure you say that."

The car turned right next to an old gas station with flickering lights and an adjacent liquor store with barred windows. A peeling sign announced our arrival into Atalka, but nothing looked the way I had pictured it. Dad veered left past a decaying motel and some old houses that looked close to falling over. I spotted a couple of people walking outside, bundled close together to fight the cold. When we passed them, they turned to us, almost fearful. Did they know that monsters lurked inside the walls of the nearby gated community?

"We have to make a small pit stop," Dad announced.

Eventually, the houses thinned until all that was left was a dirt road. Dad pulled into the side of the street and we waited in silence. Eventually, a large black van pulled over next to us. The window rolled down, revealing two agents dressed in suits. One of them glanced at Aurelie and motioned to Finn and I.

"Hey Aurelie," said Finn, realizing that now was a good time to distract her.

"It's Annie," said Aurelie immediately.

"Nice job," I told Aurelie. "You caught us. We were trying to trick you." Aurelie smiled, proud of herself.

"Do you want to play rock paper scissors?" Finn asked. Aurelie nodded. She spared one glance at the agents and frowned, but decided to ignore them.

As Finn and Aurelie concentrated on their game, I watched Dad interact with the agents. They were talking in business voices as they helped Dad load the secret compartment of the minivan with weapons. We weren't supposed to kill anything on the mission since it would alert other potential Forbidden, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. Finn kept Aurelie occupied as Dad closed the trunk, thanked the agents, and watched them drive off into the woods. He got back into the car with a sigh.

"Why did we stop?" Aurelie asked.

"We had a flat tire." Mom explained. "But it's fixed now."

With that, we drove back into the heart of the crumbling town. There weren't any more pedestrians outside since the sun was beginning to set. It was cold enough during the day, and I didn't blame anyone for staying inside. As we continued driving on the cracked streets of Atalka, everything faded into woods again.

"I hear water!" Aurelie exclaimed. She was right. We could all hear the sound of water rushing. A huge river came into view, bordering the scenic forest. A large bridge crossed the river, and the car launched upwards as we drove onto it. "Wow," said Aurelie, pushing her face against the window to get a better look.

I couldn't help staring at the river too. I had to clean my glasses on my shirt to get a better look. It wasn't hard to understand Aurelie's awe. We were suspended above the water like birds in flight. At the end of the bridge, there was a huge gilded gate. To the left of the gate was a small booth labeled, "Security". I stared at the small, unassuming booth, unsure of what to expect.

As the woman stepped out of the security booth, I wasn't sure what to look at first. My eyes settled on the eyeshadow. The woman had a teal and navy eye look, with a couple of jewels carefully placed at the inner corners of her eyes. Voluminous lashes, lip gloss, and large silver hoop earrings completed the dramatic look. The last thing I noticed was the name tag pinned to her navy uniform that read: Makaya Gladwell, Security. Makaya didn't look like a security guard to me. She looked like a model.

Makaya glided towards the car, and Dad rolled down his window.

"Hey, y'all." Makaya's Southern drawl was very out of place in the Pacific Northwest, but I found it relaxing. In just a few moments, my guard was completely let down. "I'm Makaya Gladwell, and I'm in charge of security here in Atalka." She smiled, revealing perfect teeth. "I'm assuming that y'all are the Scotts."

"What if we aren't?" Dad asked.

"You are," said Makaya, shrugging. "If you're not, I would know. I'm good like that."

"Seems a little unprofessional," Finn whispered to me.

"Yeah, but it's also kinda cool," I whispered back, transfixed by the atmosphere Makaya emanated. I couldn't quite describe it, but she carried herself in a way that told everyone in a five-mile radius that she feared nothing and no one. I couldn't imagine having her confidence.

"Let's see," said Makaya, pursing her lips. "Elijah Scott," she said, pointing to Dad. "Rebecca, Annie, Asher," She stopped and looked me dead in the eyes. It felt exhilarating for some reason. Makaya's lips twitched, like she knew something I clearly didn't. "Ivy." She finished. "I like that name."

"How did you know?" I asked. "What if I'm Annie?"

"You can't lie to me, honey," Makaya explained. "Nothing gets past me. Remember that."

"Do you need to see an ID or anything?" Dad asked.

"No," said Makaya. "You have an appointment in the main office tomorrow at noon for your checkups. I might see you then." She winked.

"That's it?" Dad asked, surprised.

"Yep," said Makaya.

"Some security," Finn mumbled.

"I heard that," said Makaya. "For the record, I've been doing this for four years and no one I've let in has caused any harm to anyone."

"Really?" I asked. "No mysterious deaths or sightings of anything weird?" Finn slapped my arm at my brashness.

Makaya laughed. "Atalka is one of the safest places in the nation. Nothing bad ever happens within the gate, I guarantee it."

After her final words, Makaya stepped back into her booth and pressed a button. The intricate iron gate swung open, revealing the road into Atalka.

A/N: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of The Gate! We just got our first glimpse of one of my personal favorite characters, Makaya! For any of my Blackout readers that are reading The Gate too, I really hope you like her because you just might see her make a little cameo... Anyway, don't forget to vote on this chapter if you liked it!

QOTD: If you went undercover, what would your fake name be?