[ 5 ] 2008

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"Its almost midnight and I'm graduating in three days. I don't think we should do anything that could make the boss mad at us."

-

One week before his graduation from the garden, Paul and the other children heard that Arthur had gone to the United States. There would be another child joining them soon at the facility. He was said to be returning just in time for the graduation, and the new recruit would be joining exactly the day after Paul was to leave. He would not be meeting them, but he thought it was just as well. It was one less person to get attached to. He had enough with Dieter and Elaine. Dieter especially, had spent the last month whining that he was going to miss having Paul and John at the garden. The German hunter had even boldly confessed to his comrades that he was bisexual and that he was indeed in love with both Elaine and Paul. Paul, on the other hand, had politely declined his advances by informing him that he was sure he was into girls. 

Dieter accepted Paul's decision, but informed that he would still probably harbor feelings for him either way. With his departure right around the corner, Dieter was a mess of emotions, practically begging Paul to stay in the garden. But alas, that was not a decision Paul could make on his own. Each hunter was to spend two years closed off from the outside world, training. Paul was ready to see the world again, and he wondered just how much had changed since he lost his parents two years earlier.

The days continued slowly, and with three days before his big graduation, he heard a knock on his door. His younger brother John was already sleeping soundly as it was almost midnight. When Paul opened the door, he found both Dieter and Elaine standing outside in the hallway. Both had excited expressions on their faces. But Paul eyed both of them with confusion. "Its almost midnight and I'm graduating in three days. I don't think we should do anything that could make the boss mad at us."

Elaine gave a shake of her head and then began to reassure him. "We're not gonna get you in trouble." She said, and reached out to grab a hold of his hand. She pulled him out of his bedroom and Paul let the door close behind him with a light thud.

She continued to hold his hand as she led him down the hallway, and eventually Dieter walked in the middle of them, pulling them apart. The German hunter then linked arms with the two of them, humming a light tune in a nonchalant manner. Paul let them drag him in an unknown direction, but he knew the layout of the garden well and when they turned into the hallway with all the training rooms, he was once again confused.

"Are you two trying to fight me...?" He asked in his thick accent, cocking an eyebrow at them.

Once again, Elaine shook her head. "Just wait and see." She instructed him and they finally stopped at the end of the hall where the arena for final exams was located. She got her arm out of Dieter's hold and skipped forward, stopping at the number pad next to the doors. 

Only the employees could open the training rooms with either their key cards, facial recognition, finger print sensors, or a number password. Elaine expertly typed in a number password and a light above the doors flashed green before they opened to let them in. The training room was white walls, white floors, and nothing else inside. Objects were made to materialize using their powers once inside. And at the top was a booth for the trainers to observe them. Paul could still not figure out what they were doing there. It was night time and they were in their pajamas. He wasn't ready to fight them if that was what they wanted. But both of them were in their pajamas as well. 

When Elaine saw the confusion on his face, she began to explain to him with a warm smile. "My trainer Chelsie showed me this today after training in one of the smaller rooms. But I thought you would most enjoy it in the arena because its bigger." She closed her eyes and concentrated deeply on what she wanted to visualize, and suddenly, the walls around them gained a sense of color. They were surrounded by people at a dinner table. The air smelled of bread and food. 

Paul was taken aback when he saw that they were now standing in a dining room. And sitting at the table was a family. Elaine's family.

She smiled sadly as she opened her eyes. At the head of the table was a man, who they assumed was Elaine's father. Next to him was a woman, her mother. And around the table was Elaine, two older brothers and one younger sister. "This room is meant for training. But I thought you could use it tonight to see your family one last time. Once out of the garden, we'll never have the chance to use something like this again." She went around the table, touching each of their faces longingly. Paul knew a bit about her backstory, but he knew enough to know that she was the only survivor, much like the other hunters there. "You can touch them, but they can't see you because its just a memory in your mind. A memory that will never return."

"You try it." Dieter encouraged Paul, and Elaine agreed with a nod of her head.

Paul gulped nervously. How he would have liked for his brother John to share that moment with him. But he wanted to protect him from their world, and for that reason, John Medina had to think that he was just a normal boy who did not have supernatural powers. 

He closed his eyes and let a memory come to him. One of the last memories that he had about his parents being alive. One of the last memories where he saw their smiling faces. It was a memory from the year that they passed away, two years prior. He had just turned twelve years old. It was his birthday.

His parents had arranged a birthday party for him with a cake balloons, decorations, and the rest of their mariachi band. Paul remembered his parents singing for him to have a happy birthday and he could almost feel the embrace as they hugged him in the memory. As he watched from a small distance, he felt the tears pool up in his eyes. It had been two years since they had passed away, and the pain was still fresh in his heart. They had been his parents after all and the loss of a parent was one of the toughest to deal with.

As the tears rolled down his cheeks, Elaine and Dieter pulled him in for a hug.

"Thanks guys." He said to him, sniffling through his tears. "I really appreciate this."

With that, the two left him there alone to enjoy some more memories. And that, he did. Paul ended up spending the night there until dawn. He only stopped when he saw the time at the corner of the room in bright white font. It was almost time to get up and get his day started. He had been sitting on the ground cross legged and picked himself up off the ground.

He raced out of the arena after making the images of his memories disappear off the walls. As he left the room, he bumped into none other than Elaine who was dressed in her training uniform. She had recently just beaten Paul in combat to start with her weapons training. 

She smiled at him when she saw him. "I was just coming down here to get you."

"Yeah, thanks Elaine." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'll go back to my room, since I don't have my daily training anymore."

Taking her by surprise, he leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. He hadn't thought anything of it, but as he turned and ran down the hall the opposite way from her, she brought her hand up to touch her cheek where he had kissed her. It was a small gesture as friends, but it seemed like it had meant more than that to her.

-

The night before the graduation Paul and John packed up their belongings in suitcases that Arthur had gotten for them. Over the course of two years, he had provided them with clothes, toys, and any other things they needed. They had left Mexico with nothing, and were now leaving the garden with more than they could ever ask for. 

Paul then explained to John that they would be moving again. They would be staying with their cousin James for one year and then they would finally return to Mexico, where their supposed uncle would keep tabs on them from Australia. Arthur had promised Paul that once they returned to Mexico, no one would find them and turn them into the foster care system. He had falsified death certificates for them, and was going to give them a residence and money to live well in a secluded part of their home town. No one would ever know that they were only two young boys living alone in a house. He had also wiped the memories of all the people who had ever known them. It was a difficult task, but he knew it was something that had to be done if he wanted his new hunter to succeed.

John was confused at first about their new situation. He didn't remember having a cousin named James in Australia, and when James was introduced to them, Paul didn't seem to act like he knew him from before either. But he was twelve years old and he didn't really question it. As far as he knew, that was the whole reason they were even in Australia. Otherwise, it wouldn't have made sense to him.

On the day of the graduation, Dieter cried during the farewell dinner for Paul, since he knew he would be leaving to Perth with James right after. 

He clung to Paul's side the entire time, and when it was time for the two brothers to go, Dieter tried so hard to get them to stay. He begged Paul to stay in the garden, and promised that he would talk to Arthur about it. But Paul reassured him that he appreciated his friendship and that they would surely keep in touch. Once getting out of the garden, Dieter swore, he would find a way to contact him. Paul was very much happy with that idea. 

As he and his brother John left the facility that afternoon, he saw the familiar figure of Arthur in the distance. He was walking side by side with a little girl who had her face completely concealed by the hood of her sweater and had her shoulders slumped in defeat. He knew that posture well, it was one that he remembered himself having not too long ago. She was someone who had just lost her family and was being taken into the organization by Arthur. He had been exactly the same two years prior when Arthur brought him and his his brother to the country from Mexico. Now that girl was coming in to take his place.

As he and his brother passed the security gates to the garden, Paul's mind suddenly went blank, as did John's. It was a special effect that Arthur had put on the facility in order to conceal it from the rest of the world. Everyone who left it would forget they were there or that it ever existed. All he was meant to remember was that he had trained for two years and that he was going to finish up his training in the field, training under James Brady Park. 

James was already there waiting for them when they emerged and he greeted them with a smile. Parked at the curb was a luxurious black car. From it came a driver who took their belongings and placed them in the trunk. James was only about the same age was John and Paul, merely a little boy still, and for that reason, Arthur had hired someone of utmost confidentiality to drive the teenager around. James led the two boys into the car and they were on their way. The boys were taken to the airport where they caught a plane to Perth. 

Paul was especially in awe with the new country, since he hadn't seen any of it since arriving in Australia. John, on the other hand, was used to all of it. He had been living there and allowed to leave the garden for school for two years. He didn't know that his brother had been inside the entire time, training all day for a better life for the two of them. 

By night time they had finally arrived at James' house, which was just a warehouse in the outskirts of Perth. It was in an area that seemed to be abandoned, which James explained was ideal because there was no one to both him. There was also no one to question why a little boy was living by himself in an old warehouse. Living by himself for the past few years had taught him nay things, and he had even told Paul that he could teach him how to kill a man ten different ways with a shoelace. 

Paul thanked him for the offer, but thought he would pass. All he wanted was to do what he had to do so that he could return to Mexico with a job. 

-

im actually pretty inspired with this story.

so i thought i would write as much as i can for it before i suddenly hit a writer's block. so i hope you all dont mind. 

now we see our two characters finally in the same place at the same time. but at that point in time they were not destined to meet. paul was on his way out of the facility, while dempsey was on her way in, about to spend the next two years training in the garden.

thank you all so much for reading.

please tell me what you think!

-clary