"What? Why?" I questioned, leaping from my seat. My fists clenched tightly, I was ready for a fight. Physical or verbal; it really didn't matter this time.

"Theo didn't think you were strong enough yet. Don't forget, it's only been two months since your return. Luther and Troy are too dangerous and we know they both definitely want you."

"You and Theo are idiots." I seethed as I turned to hide my face from his. Anger ignited my body and I didn't want Samuel to see just how mad I was at this moment. The electricity coursing through my veins was strong right now. Very strong. "I thought I had proved myself when we were at NorthStar."

"Esa, you were strong on that mission, but you also directly disobeyed my orders and changed the plan. It's too risky to have you out in the field."

Before Samuel could say anything else, I pulled out my medallion and opened the Jump Line. Beautiful swirls of various shades of blue vapors danced in the small lab as I ran onto the line that helped us travel through time, to search for the rest of the team.

"Esa, wait!" I heard Samuel yell, but I had no plans to turn back. He could have just provided me with the information instead of playing another stupid game. Frankly, I didn't need him. I could do this on my own.

I looked down at my watch to see the year 1925 flash on the screen. Honestly, I wasn't sure why that was the year in which I'd landed first, but I needed to start somewhere and it was the first date that popped into my head. Nevertheless, it was empty; I couldn't feel energy from anyone on the team.

Over the past few weeks, I had gotten good at jumping in and out of various places in time without disrupting anything. I hit several key years before my primary year of 2105, trying to feel my teammates' energy, but I wasn't picking up anything.

I raised my palm in front of me. A thin line of electricity danced in the middle of it before disappearing back beneath my skin. I was definitely ready if someone tried to attack me while I was on this personal mission.

Finally, I decided to go to the one year that I had tried so desperately to forget: 1910. That was the year in which Luther had killed the team's good friend, Mary, but there was nothing there. It was quiet.

It was in the year 1950 that I finally felt the faint presence of someone else on the line. Quickly, I jumped forward to 1960 and the energy got stronger. I'm getting closer. I'll find you guys.

In 1965, the energy was very strong. My entire body tingled from the new source on the Line. There was no denying that at least two members of the team were somewhere in this year. Gottcha.

The strength of the energy definitely meant it was more than just one of the jumpers, but who and why? I hadn't heard of any missions scheduled for this year. We didn't need any bodies. We had enough in storage right now to get us through the next few weeks, unless there was some sort of major incident.

A sense of pride washed through me. They could deny it all they wanted, but I was getting good at jumping. Unfortunately, my physical body couldn't seem to keep up with the demand; I was already growing tired from so much traveling. I needed to head back to my primary year, but I would be visiting 1965 again...and very soon.

"Did you find anyone?" Samuel asked as I landed back in his lab.

"What's going on in 1965?" I responded with my own question, crossing my arms over my chest. I had no plans of letting him off easy.

"Hmm. Maybe you are a little better at tracking then I've given you credit for."

"You didn't answer my question."

"We think Luther is hiding out somewhere in that time. He's jumping forward and then heading back to 1965. That's all we know. So far, he's been very effective at covering his tracks, but we agree with you, there is something significant about that year."

The glass sliding door to the lab suddenly slid up and Paul entered the room. His pale skin glowed even whiter today, almost as if he were an ivory statue.

There was part of me that still struggled to believe Paul was a good guy. There was something in the way his steely eyes looked at me and Samuel. We were more than just his children—we were his soldiers, and his most valuable experiments. I wondered if the latter was more important to him.

Just as Paul was about to speak, Theo appeared next to him.

Before either could say anything, I marched over to Theo and landed my fist squarely against his chest. The force of the impact made a loud thud. I pulled back my arm, ready to swing again, but Theo was too quick. His muscular hand completely covered my smaller one, and he looked me in the eyes as he began to squeeze. Then he sent a volt of electricity from his hand into mine. The sensation caused me to jump back.

I was more than a little upset. Theo was once again treating me like a fragile porcelain doll that could break at any moment. "You jerk. You've been out tracking Luther and Troy without me," I said through heavy breaths. I wanted him to say something that would give me more of a reason to dislike him.

"You are not ready, Esa," Theo barked, looking directly into my eyes.

"Like hell I'm not! I'm tired of you all leaving me in the dark." I jerked my hand away from his. "You know that I am ready. This is just your sick way of keeping me locked up here."

"Esa, it was my call," Paul chimed in as he stepped between us. "Theo was just following orders."

I looked over at Theo. His eyes had softened. He silently mouthed, "Sorry."

"Esa, you are not ready. You just jumped to several time zones and came back weak. That's not normal. You should be building up more resistance, with the ability to jump longer and farther," Paul said, his eyes meeting mine. "That is one of the reasons I keep forcing you to get checked. We need to understand what is going on inside your body. It seems like you being gone for three years, may have done something to your internal make-up. You simply are not as strong as the rest of the team."

"You're wrong. All of you are wrong. I am good and you've got to stop treating me like a broken child." I spun and abruptly left Samuel's lab.

The hallway was quiet as I stormed toward my room. It was among a cluster of others in the living quarters. Each person had a small room with a bed and a bathroom. Nothing too luxurious, but at least we had privacy; although, I had a feeling each of the rooms was heavily monitored.

I walked down two more hallways without passing anyone. That was odd. Usually there were at least two or three people in the corridors. OnyxFive was big, but sometimes it felt too cramped with so many people living and working inside.

The energy in the hallway suddenly changed. Someone from the team was near. I turned to look back down the narrow space, but there was nothing. I must have been imagining it.

Just then something ran by me, causing my hair to blow upward. At the sensation, I stopped abruptly and look around again. Still nothing. Seconds later, there was a soft tap on my shoulder. I froze. I definitely hadn't imagined that! Then was another tap.

"Hello?" I asked. "Who's here?"

Silence.

Then something grabbed a chunk of my hair and pulled my body backwards. I wasn't in the mood for games and swung my fist into the empty space, hoping to hit something.

Pain suddenly exploded at the base of my neck. Something had forcefully grabbed me and was squeezing. I still couldn't see anything, but I could feel it. The energy inside me was intense now. Someone or something stood behind me.

Before I had time to react, I was lifted off the ground. Then I was flying through the air like a rag doll. My head hit the wall with a loud thud and I crumpled. I tried to force myself to roll over and get up off the ground before I was attacked again.

Too late.

Whatever it was grabbed my right arm and leg and swung me around, throwing me hard against the opposite wall. My head crashed into the hard surface again. Slowly opening my eyes, I tried to see what was in the hallway with me. I kicked at the empty space in front of me, but came up with nothing. I tried to calm my breathing so I could focus and figure out where my attacker was hiding, but nothing seemed to work. Then my assailant lifted me into the air again.

Mustering what strength I could, I let out a piercing scream.

The thing threw me down the hallway and I landed at an unusual angle on my arm. A stinging sensation rushed through me as a large red spot blossomed on my white jumpsuit.

"Esa!" Theo charged down the hallway and kneeled beside me. "What happened?" He looked panicked.

"I don't know," I managed to mumble as the pain set in. My entire body ached. "Something was in the hallway with me, but I couldn't see anything."

Paul and Samuel ran up behind Theo. Both were breathing heavily as they crouched near me.

"We need to scan the building and see if there has been any change in the energy levels over the past few minutes." Paul looked over at Samuel.

Samuel nodded and ran back into his lab.

"Esa, I'm not sure if this is going to hurt, but I need to get you back to Samuel's lab." Theo wrapped his arms around me and gingerly picked me up. My head rested comfortably against his large shoulder, but pain rushed through my broken body as the adrenalin began to fade.

Theo carried me to the lab and laid me down on one of the metal tables, before grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting back my jumpsuit. He glanced at Samuel. "It looks bad."

Samuel approached. "Esa, I'm sorry." Before I could respond, he grabbed my arm and pushed the bone back into place, while sending a bolt of electricity through me. My entire upper body felt like it was on fire.

"Aaaaahhhhh!!!" A guttural yell escaped my mouth secondsbefore I passed out.