Chapter Twenty-Two

Samuel's eyes suddenly widened. He looked over at Gave, who slowly nodded.

"He's back, isn't he?" I said, knowing the Hunter was here. I couldn't feel its energy, but I knew he was here and close. Too close.

"Where is he?" I stammered, hoping Samuel would point to somewhere far away.

Samuel didn't budge for several seconds. He looked at me and slowly shook his head. After several seconds, he puffed out his chest. "Who are you and what do you want?" he asked the empty space...behind me.

Suddenly, I could sense movement. Whatever, or whoever, it was, they were close to me. I could feel warm breath on the back of my neck. It sent chills down my spine as I braced for its next move.

My breath quickened. I had to get control of this situation; although, I wasn't sure any more about my body's special enhancements or capabilities. So much had changed recently. I honestly didn't know what I could do right now. I hadn't trained since someone had altered my internal components to no longer allow electricity to flow through my veins. I was almost normal.

I wished there had been more time to assess the situation, but time was not my friend right now. Instead, I swung my right arm backward, without hesitation and with all of my might. I wanted it to connect with something. Anything. I also wanted to cause pain.

I felt the Hunter's muscles as my fist came into contact with its skin. It didn't flinch from the blow. I pulled back my hand and tried to ignore the pain that shot through my entire arm. It felt like my fist had come into contact with a brick wall.

Instead of pondering what had happened, I spun to face the empty space behind me. It was hard fighting something you couldn't see, but I knew it was there, and I would let it know my fury.

I lifted my right leg, with the intent of kicking at the space in front of me multiple times, but Samuel grabbed my shoulder. "Esa, it's gone. I don't feel its energy anymore."

"What?" I spun back around to face my brother, trying not to lose my balance. "Why did it leave so quickly?"

Samuel shook his head. "I don't know. I wish I had a better answer, but it's the truth...I don't know. What I do know is that it's gone."

"I wonder why he didn't do anything to any of us this time. What is Luther trying to prove?" Gave said.

"That's a good question. This is all starting to give me a massive headache." Audrina squatted, and rubbed her temples.

We were alone again, but obviously someone knew we were here. I couldn't help but look skyward. I scanned the buildings, seeking any sign that someone was watching us. We were easy targets right now. We were standing in an empty alley without any cover.

"We need to get out of here," I whispered, suddenly scared of what the future might hold. "I don't like it. I don't like it at all."

Gave nodded. "I agree. This place is giving me a bad feeling."

Without hesitation, we all jumped on the line and landed inside our old house. Its plain white walls were a welcome sight after all we had been through. I had visited the house several times, but every time I had come back, I realized I didn't want to leave, and that had put our existence into question. After all, we couldn't change history; not without it affecting the future.

"Yes! I'm so happy to see this place!" Audrina squealed with delight next to me. Her excitement slowly faded, however, as reality set in, and I saw a random tear escape from one of her eyes and slide down her cheek. "I'm sorry. This craziness is starting to get to me. This is the one place that feels safe."

I pulled Audrina into a hug. "I know, and I agree," I whispered into her ear.

We had been through so much recently that any sign of normalcy was welcome. I thought back to what Paul had said about me being a soldier, but I was also human. So was the rest of the team, and he hadn't made it to where we couldn't feel emotions. Maybe it would have been easier if Dr. James had done that to us, made it so we didn't care.

Samuel's voice cut through my thoughts. "We jumped back to a year before we had to destroy the house. I really just need time to think."

"Is there anywhere in this house we could hide and not be spotted?" I asked, hoping the answer would be yes. At least we felt safe in this space. "The basement," Samuel responded, pausing to think about what he had said. Finally, he cleared his throat. "We should be safe down there for a little bit. Let's go."

Samuel walked us down several narrow hallways and then down a back set of stairs. The basement proved as clean as the rest of the house, with stark white walls and several large metal tables.

"What did we use this space for?" I asked, unsure what I was looking at.

"For a very brief period, it was my lab, but then I was able to build a better one upstairs. This space has stayed empty ever since," Samuel responded as he walked around the room. "The only problem we might have is—"

"Good evening, Captain James," said a familiar robotic voice.

"I was about to say, the only problem we might have is LUX," Samuel whispered, before hesitantly turning to the screen mounted on the wall.

"Good evening, LUX. How are you today?"

"I am good. Thank you for asking." The human-like image stared, emotionless.

"We are good as well," Samuel said.

"Captain James, from what year did you travel?" LUX asked as she looked at each one of us questioningly.

"Twenty-one-zero-five, but we've been traveling a lot lately and need some rest. We will have to stay here for a bit. Is there any way you can make sure the primaries for this year don't venture down here? I don't want them to wonder why we would be back visiting and needing a place to sleep," Samuel said.

"I understand and will oblige," LUX responded, before disappearing from the screen.

"Good. That will give us a little time. We can't let the others see us. They will wonder what's going on," Samuel said sternly to the rest of us.

We all nodded in agreement, but I secretly wondered how LUX would make sure no one spotted us.

"Are you sure it's safe?" I asked Samuel in a whisper.

"No, but it's the only place for us to stay while we get things figured out," he responded, draping his arm over my shoulder.

It felt good to have my brother standing so close to me. "Okay. I get it."

Samuel chuckled. "No, you don't. We've got quite the battle ahead of us, but right now, I need you to get some rest so we can be ready to fight...when needed."

"Okay," I said as my eyes grew heavy. I wanted to stay awake, but it was no use. We had jumped too many times over the past few hours and my body was exhausted. I needed rest. I needed food. I needed my family.

"Samuel, what happened to make our family so dysfunctional?" I muttered.

"Shh," he responded. "Our family is not dysfunctional. It's only our parents. We are normal, and willing to fight for the lives of many others. Unfortunately, our parents think differently."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. "What will happen to them?"

He paused for several seconds and then softly rubbed his finger against my cheek. "Esa, we will need to stand up to them. It's the only way for us to survive."

I thought about what he had said. "Okay. I will fight."