Lena Matthews

The ground pulsed with a determined energy. All around me, the world was starting to blur, like I was teleporting again. I was everywhere at once, and feeling everything at once. Every forest in existence intertwined with my spirit effortlessly. My vision split into a million pieces, all of them swirling like a kaleidoscope.

The floor shook with my unyielding anger. Roots beneath the earth began to contort and twist, and trees outside the Academy thickened their armor of bark in preparation.

I stretched out my arms, drinking in this unfamiliar power. I was ready to fully accept the Forbidden part of me. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to. A rumble became audible, slowly overtaking the howl of snow.

Almost all of the party goers had left, and the only people that remained were Finn and I. We locked eyes for a second, and I almost faltered in fear. Finn just smiled at me. He lit Aaliyah's lighter, and fire coated his hands. The flame flickered in the domineering blizzard like a tiny hope. Like a way to say, Look, I'm a freak too.

"Stop!" A crackling megaphone interrupted. A battering ram took down the rest of the auditorium doors, and they crashed next to the one Carter had broken down. An endless stream of men riot gear marched into the auditorium. I stared at all of the agents, and spotted Dad, front and center. He was holding the megaphone. "Lena? What are you doing?"

"I'm protecting everyone!" I yelled back. The agents had their weapons locked in place, all of them aiming for the yuki onna. They were going to kill her without a second thought. They didn't see the person behind the storm. "I'm doing the right thing. For once." I added.

In a cataclysmic shock of energy, trees violently shot through the floor of the auditorium. Ice shattered, splintering into the air. The trees rapidly unfurled, some of them shooting straight through the ceiling. The roof crumbled away, welcoming the night sky inside. The force of the eruption knocked the agents to the floor, and I smiled in satisfaction. The adrenaline coursing through my veins was incredible. I was floating on a perfect high, unafraid.

My senses expanded again. Every new tree was an extension of myself. I summoned a vine to wrap around the yuki onna, and slammed her onto the stage. I shivered as a sharp chill traveled down my spine, but remained standing.

Finn leapt onto the stage. The yuki onna was restrained by the strength of an entire forest, but she was still fighting. Her onyx eyes lashed out at me in anger, but the snow was dissipating. She was weakening.

"Finn, I need you to move," said Dad. He climbed around one of my summoned trees, the megaphone still in his hand. He was approaching us slowly, trying not to trip on the ice or roots that littered the floor.

"I'm not going to do that, Dad," said Finn. He held his hands up. It almost looked like a surrender, but both of his hands were coated in flames. "What's going to happen when your agent buddies get up and see what I really am?" He asked. "Do you think they're going to figure out where I got this from?"

"Finn, please don't do this." Dad begged.

"Why not? It's about time the Agency figures out who you are." Finn announced.

"Finn, if you do this then-"

"Can you just shut up?" I yelled over the megaphone. I looked back at the stage. "Do it." I whispered to Finn.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize what happened to you, Lena." Finn apologized. "It doesn't change anything. I'm still your brother. No matter what."

"Just do it you idiot! She's going to break free!" I shot back. Despite everything, I had a stupid smile on my face.

The snow had all but vanished, but the yuki onna was still struggling against her entrapment. Finn approached her slowly, no hostility in his eyes. The orange flames in his hands created a small glow, like a spotlight. The yuki onna stared at Finn and the fire with an innocent wonder.

I cut my connection to the vine, and it withered away weakly. The yuki onna was free, her raven hair floating around her. She and Finn approached each other slowly, both trying not to scare the other away.

Long, thin fingers met Finn's hand and the delicate fire dancing across his palm. The gentle flames jumped from Finn to the yuki onna's snow white complexion. Fire coated her body until her hair shrank back into her head and turned to a soft brown. The kimono bled into a red dress as the flames kissed its fabric.

"What happened? I just had the worst nightmare, and..." Jane-Anne looked at Finn. "I didn't kill anyone, did I?" Finn didn't say anything. Jane-Anne looked at me. "Lena, what am I supposed to do now?"

"I don't know." I admitted. Finn helped her off the stage. Jane-Anne was staring straight ahead, lost in shock. I walked to her side, the slush from the ice crunching beneath my shoes. Finn wrapped me in a tight hug, and I nearly sobbed in relief. It was over.

"That's nice." said Dad, walking towards us. "But we can't forget the fact that you have killed too many innocents to stay alive." He pointed at Jane-Anne accusingly. "That is a menace to this world." He then turned to me. "And you aren't my daughter."

"Good." I spat back. "You're a monster."

"Do you want to see what a monster looks like?" Dad challenged. An orange light exploded from around him, and I covered my eyes with my arm.

When I uncovered my eyes, Dad was engulfed in angry flames. Through his fire, I could see a sadistic, twisted smile that sent chills down my spine despite the radiating heat. But I was smiling too. The trees I had summoned cackled with their newfound power as a branch shot out from the lip of the stage and knocked Dad backwards, extinguishing his flame.

I didn't have time to savor the moment. Dad had been knocked to the back of the auditorium, but he was on his feet in a matter of seconds. The other agents were starting to get up too. I couldn't hear what he said, but Dad pointed his finger at Finn.

"We need to get out of here now." I whispered as the agents began to approach, almost all of them armed. "Jane-Anne? Jane-Anne!" Not knowing what else to do, I slapped Jane-Anne across the face.

"Ow!" Jane-Anne clutched her cheek indignantly.

"Let's go! Now!" I grabbed onto Jane-Anne and Finn, and rushed towards the first tree I could find. I had never tried teleporting with people before, but there were no other options.

Bang.

A loud gunshot resounded across the auditorium as one of the agents launched a bullet that lodged into Finn's shoulder.

"No!" I could feel myself being lost in the network of leaves and vines, but I couldn't feel Finn anywhere.

"Finn!" Jane-Anne's scream was broken into a garbled shriek as the forest swallowed both of us whole.

The woods deposited us at my tree. Jane-Anne lost her balance and instantly hit the dirt, but I was still on my feet. "Finn!" I screamed. I ran back to my tree and punched it, but everything felt closed off. "Finn!"

"I don't think that's going to do anything." said Jane-Anne nervously. As much as I hated it, she was right.

"I know." I muttered. I took off my glasses so that I could wipe the dumb tears out of my eyes.

"I remember everything now." Jane-Anne murmured quietly. "I can see the fear in their eyes before I did it."

"Jane-Anne, I am so sorry." I apologized.

"I get that you are." said Jane-Anne. "But that's not going to change anything."

I took a shaky breath. Atalka Academy was close by, and the same went for the Agency. I needed to get out of here, but the only point of entry and exit in Atalka was the bridge where Makaya used to run security. Makaya. Pure, unfiltered rage coursed through me, making me dizzy. A loud alarm cut through my thoughts.

"Attention Atalka residents. A dangerous species has been detected within these walls. Please remain in your homes. We will be testing every resident as we evacuate in an orderly fashion. Attention Atalka residents..."

The loud announcement continued to play on a loop.

"What's going on?" Jane-Anne asked me.

"I'm not sure." I murmured.

"Bull. Your Dad's an agent. What would the Agency do in this situation?" Jane-Anne asked.

"I..." I mulled it over in my head. "Atalka's a gated community. There aren't a lot of ways out. They're going to make everyone leave, and test them as they go. I don't know if they have the registry of every Forbidden here or if they're going to check for a brand. But they're going to funnel all of the people out and keep the Forbidden in."

"What do they want with us?" Jane-Anne asked.

"They want test subjects." I answered.

"What are they supposed to test?" Jane-Anne questioned.

"Whatever they want." I replied darkly.

"So... is that it?" Jane-Anne asked. "After everything, it's just done?"

"I don't know." I confessed. "There's got to be a place where they aren't watching. Maybe we can scale one of the walls, or cross the river."

"The walls that go around Atalka are really, really tall." said Jane-Anne. "I don't know if we could scale that. Even if we could, we'd definitely be spotted."

"Okay, then the river." I suggested. "How good is your swimming?"

"Good enough," said Jane-Anne.

"Okay." I said. "I'm going to try to teleport one more time, but if it doesn't work, we need to get to the water."

I reached for my tree, but my connection felt damaged. I closed my eyes and tried to focus all of my energy into reaching the network again, but it was useless. A searing pain split my head as I fought for my abilities to work.

"Stop," said Jane-Anne. "I think you've done enough. You're going to hurt yourself."

"When did you get smarter than me?" I asked in a weak attempt at a joke.

"Nothing's changed," said Jane-Anne. "You just take me seriously now."

Jane-Anne and I had to stick to the woods as we made our way to the river. The plan was to swim back to Atalka Trail and hide out at Monty's until everything blew over. Then...

Then I had no idea.

Jane-Anne didn't have her phone on her. It had probably gotten lost somewhere at the auditorium. Thanks to Carter, I didn't have a phone either, but it was probably for the best. No one could track either of us. Jane-Anne had lost her shoes at some point, so I had to slow down to match her pace. We inched our way to the river slowly, with barely any stars to guide us out.

"Lena?" Jane-Anne asked, a genuine terror in her voice. She stared at a ribbon of color that had been caught in some branches. It looked like a flower crown.

"Kiara can take care of herself." I assured her. Jane-Anne nodded slowly and kept walking. The sound of rushing water was getting closer. We were almost out.

"Oh no..." Jane-Anne murmured. A white dress, nearly glowing in the darkness, littered the forest floor.

"I'm sure Kiara's fine." I said aloud, even though I didn't quite believe it. The river was only a few yards away, and the thick cover of trees was fading. By the riverbank, I could make out a silhouette in the darkness. I could recognize that curly hair anywhere.

"Kiara!" Jane-Anne whispered excitedly. She rushed forward, but I pulled her back and shook my head.

Kiara had her hands raised in a streamline position. Gracefully, she arched her body into the river, and I caught a pink dorsal fin cut through the water.

"She's a dolphin?" Jane-Anne asked, shocked.

I nodded, smiling. Kiara had a real chance. I slowly made my way to the riverbank, ready to dive after her. I started to rip stray bits of fabric from my dress. I was going to need as little drag as possible when I swam away.

Bang.

A chill gripped my heart as the gunshot reverberated across the bank. I backed up as more shots echoed, all of them aimed for Kiara. Jane-Anne covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

"Retrieve the subject!" someone with a British accent yelled. I could hear the stomps of several mobilized agents making their way to Kiara. It sounded like there were dozens of them.

Jane-Anne and I sprinted deeper into the woods and searched for another part of the river. This time, we watched for black figures in the distance. We found them. Every single time. There was no other explanation. Every last agent had been directed to Atalka, Oregon.

There truly was no escape.

I never said the words out loud, and Jane-Anne didn't either. But we both knew. I had no idea where anyone was, or if Finn and Kiara were even alive. All I could do was hope. I made sure that we were in the heart of the woods before Jane-Anne and I settled for the night. We couldn't make a fire, partly because we would be spotted, and partly because neither of us knew how.

"It's freezing." I commented in a hushed tone.

"I can't feel it." Jane-Anne remarked.

I brushed some dead leaves aside before settling on the dirt. I didn't care how dirty my hair got, and my dress was beyond saving anyway. I rolled onto my back, but I couldn't see any stars from the forest floor. Just a black void of nothing.

"So," said Jane-Anne, laying beside me. She was looking at the empty sky too, a pensive expression on her face. "How long do you think we have before they catch us?"

"We might make it through tomorrow, if we're lucky." I mused.

"The Agency sucks." said Jane-Anne.

"Thank you for stating the obvious." I responded sarcastically.

"Can't be that obvious if you believed in the Agency for so long," said Jane-Anne.

"It's really hard to let go of the things you've been told your whole life." I explained. "Maybe if I'd figured the truth out sooner, this wouldn't have happened."

"Maybe if I hadn't killed them, this wouldn't have happened." Jane-Anne pointed out.

"That wasn't your fault." I said.

"We really are the worst, aren't we?" Jane-Anne asked, ignoring my comment. "It's like we deserve what's going to happen."

"How do you think we're going to be remembered?" I asked, changing the subject. "I mean, this could be it. We get a few more hours and then we vanish, just like that. Like the werewolves."

"I'd like to think we'd be remembered somehow." said Jane-Anne. "Somewhere, there will always be some rock or something that remembers a girl named Jane-Anne Pearce who walked this earth for 17 years, and that's going to be enough for me."

It was a good way to think about it. I stared at the ink black sky above me, and squinted my eyes. I finally spotted a couple of tiny stars shining through the trees. At least the stars knew I was here, even if no one else did. That would have to be enough.

A/N: For everyone who made it to my last formal chapter, I want to say thank you. Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I know that things are looking really bleak right now, but please don't give up hope. The last chapter is going to give us a bird's eye glimpse of the characters as we see their fates, so I hope you stick around. This book may be nearing its close, but these stories are nowhere near over.

QOTD: Who do you think is most likely to make it out?