The Unlocked (Charlie Hartley Series Book 1) (24 page)

But within the chaos was the double-edged sword that
threatened to derail all of the headmaster’s plans. Charlie also proved that
she too was beyond any expectations, but not in a manner Amanda wanted. Her
link to Jeanne's mind was still being interrupted by Charlie's influence, and
it enraged the headmaster of the school. Amanda wanted both sisters to lead her
army, but it appeared Charlie would be a difficult addition to her near perfect
team. She would have to do without the second sister, so she gave the order to
her most effective weapon.

As if a switch was flipped, Jeanne’s body sprang up to her
feet. Charlie staggered back and lifted herself as she watched her sister body
radiate light. Without a moment's hesitation, Charlie wrapped Jeanne in a tight
embrace. Her twin sister tried to wriggle out of her grasp, but Charlie was
determined never to let her go.

"If this is the last time we ever see each other, I’d
like us to remember it this way," Charlie told her Jeanne. "I'm sorry
I can't save you," she continued, tears pooling in her eyelids.

Jeanne glowed brighter as she struggled, the lights from the
laboratory fading out one by one. Amanda and the other students watched from
afar, while Madison and Hilary hid behind the bushes.

"I never got to know you but I love you, Jeanne. You
were the piece of me that was missing."

With that, Jeanne exploded. There was a large burst of light
and the onlookers, from a safe distance, shielded their eyes from the blinding
sight. The impact caused both twins to lose consciousness. They fell on the
grass, Jeanne still flickering with the remainder of energy she’d absorbed. In
that brief moment, reality shifted into a dream for both sisters.

"She's the devil baby! The one who survived the car
explosion! She's probably the one who lit it up." A woman Charlie didn't
recognize blurted out. The man accompanying the woman narrowed his eyes and escorted
the woman away to look at the other children.

She felt someone take her hand. "Don't listen to them,
Jeanne. None of what they're saying is true." The girl turned to reveal
the face of a much younger Hilary.

The lobby morphed into a room with twin beds. Hilary stood
at the feet of her bed.

"Do you believe in magic?" Hilary asked.

"People like us don't have the luxury to believe in
fantasy. There is no magic, only illusion," she replied.

"But how about love? Don't you think love is
magical?"

"How should I know? I've never been loved before."

The scene faded and she was in a grassy field. Children,
ages of five to twelve, surrounded her, playing ball and chasing after each
other. To her right was a red brick building with large Victorian windows. The
air was filled with laughter and joy, the grass between her toes were still wet
from the just concluded rain shower. She soaked in the softness of the ground
and the scent of the air.

"Hey, you!" A boy's voice shouted behind. She
meant to turn, but a force pushed her to her knees, nearly plunging her face
into the small puddle she’d been about to step over. Charlie saw her face as a
child in the reflection. But she couldn't remember a time when she had her hair
cut so short like a boy's. It was something Sarah wouldn't have approved.

"That's not Snow White's mirror, you know! It won't
talk to you!" The boy who had pushed her laughed along with his friends.
She turned back and saw the gang of boys surrounding the rotund red-headed boy.

"It was the queen who had a mirror, not Snow
White," she spoke and the boy's face twisted in anger. "Oh, you're so
smart, aren't you? Demon kid!"

"Jimmy!" The horrified voice of the lady made them
all turn. It was a lean and tall woman in her forties who came rushing to Charlie
and pulled her up. She turned to the boy and scolded him. "Say sorry to
her or you will not be allowed in the playground for a week."

The woman's voice was authoritative. The boy gritted his
teeth and glared at Charlie like his eyes would emit laser beams at her. In
defeat, he finally said. "Sorry, Jeanne."

"Jeanne," a man's voice came this time. He sat
behind the desk. He had thick glasses and a receding hairline. He looked back
and forth from her to the paper in his hands. Finally, he placed the paper down
and leaned towards her. "You're nearing your thirteenth birthday, Jeanne.
And I regret to tell you that it is unlikely any of the families who come here
will choose you in favor of the younger ones."

"They might if you stop telling them I'm bad luck,"
she said bitterly.

"No one is saying you are," the man tried to
convince her, but she knew better.

"Yes, they do! Everyone thinks I'm demonic or
something. The other kids and even the adults around here."

"Jeanne, what happened when you were a baby," he
began but she cut him off. "I know the story, I’ve heard it thousands of
times already! My parents' car exploded and the rescue team found me beside the
road, unharmed. Now, why would people think I'm demonic if you keep telling
that story to everyone who walks inside this place!" She stood from her
seat and slammed the door behind her.

Her sobs came next. It was dark and warm tears drenched the
pillow against her face. She heard the door open and quickly she threw the
blanket over her head and bit her lip to stifle her cries.

"Jeanne?" A woman's voice tried to soothe her. Her
hand stroked her back. "I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't think it
would go that far," she explained and the young girl couldn't stop the
sobs anymore. The pillow muffled her cries, and she held onto it like her life
depended on it. Somewhere in her mind, she was convinced that it did.

"Pray, my dear. God saved you for a reason."

Light slowly washed the tears away and suddenly she was
sitting alone in a cafeteria. Her plate was empty except for a few peas which
she moved around with her fork. All around her were younger children excused
for playing with their food. She was different though; she was turning into an
adult and should start acting like one. Her fork pierced a pea harder than she
intended. She checked and was thankful it hadn't crack the plate.

Shuffling feet and voices came from the hall outside. Jeanne
rose from her seat and exited the cafeteria to see what was happening.
Half-running, she followed the women who took care of all the children in the
place. A familiar face stood by the wall, wide eyed and mouth open.
"Hilary, what happened?" she asked the girl.

"Ms. Abigale. She was hit by a car."

She was running in the halls now, her eyes frantically
searching around. Around the corner, she saw a narrow door and reached for the
knob. She entered the broom closet and locked the door. Then, she slowly slid
against the door until she was on her knees. Arms wrapped around herself, she
wept and mourned the only woman who had been nice to her in that place. All the
others treated her badly or kept her at arm's length. Ms. Abigale was the only
one who joyfully opened her arms to the young girl, and she was gone now.

Alone in the closet’s darkness, she cried out her heart. Her
chest ached, her eyes burned from the unstoppable tears. A drunk driver took
away the only woman who cared for her, the only one who made her feel the joy
of receiving love and affection. Another car accident changed her life for the
worse. She muffled the sound of grief with her palm and shut her eyes tight. As
she cried, she noticed the light bulb above her head flickering. She stood
slowly and checked the switch. It was off. The bulb illumined brighter and
brighter until it exploded, forcing her to leave the closet.

"Physical assessment?" Her voice was deeper now,
more mature. She skimmed through the form he handed to her, but there were very
few details about what she was being recruited for. "Okay, not
interested." She handed the form back to the man in front of her.

"Jeanne, you're going to be an adult in a couple of
years. You can't stay in this orphanage forever," the man with the
receding hairline explained to her. "We're don’t receive the funds to send
you to college, Jeanne. So please reconsider. It's a chance for you to have a
good future."

"And give up my dream of being a diner waitress?"
she asked sarcastically.

The man shook his head in disappointment. "Not
everything in life is a joke, Jeanne. Please, just think about it. Hilary has already
signed her form; so should you."

The unknown spawned fear in her heart when the scene shifted
again. She rode in the car’s backseat with Hilary beside her.

"What do you think it will be like?" Hilary asked,
but all she focused on was not to get hurled out of the car. She wasn't used to
being in a vehicle, and her string of unfortunate accidents spurred her to
think of nothing but the worse.  The vehicle slowed and turned to the
right, entering the gate of GEN Laboratories.

The flashback ended for Charlie as Hilary and Madison
reached her side to help her. They grabbed their semi-conscious friend and
carried her by the arms.

"What about Jeanne?" Hilary asked.

Madison stared at the flickering bulb that was Jeanne.
"I don't think it's safe for us to touch her, much less bring her with us.
Besides, carrying another one would just slow us down. We'll never get out of
here alive. Plus, I'm creating two shields for the both of us, in case you go
berserk on me too. I'm already over capacity, Hil."

Hilary was unconvinced but deliberated what Madison said.
"I'm sorry, Jeanne. We'll come back for you." The two ran as fast as
they could while carrying the extra weight. They managed to get away before
Amanda and the students deemed it safe to approach Jeanne.

Charlie was jolted awake, seeing trees around. She spotted
Hilary and Madison, staring at her intently.

"Where's Jeanne?" she asked frantically.

"We left her at ANDREI," Hilary explained.

"What?!” Charlie stood up and fell back down due to
severe dizziness. "I-I'm going to go back. I'll get J-Jeanne."

"Charlie, think about that for a second," Madison
reasoned. "By now Amanda has already reinforced security. The students are
already standing guard around Jeanne."

Hilary spoke up. "Charlie, I'm sorry, but Madison's
right. It's going to be futile to go back there with just the three of us. I
know we can be strong together, but right now we're at a disadvantage."

"I don't care! I need to get my sister! Who knows what
Amanda will do to her?"

"Amanda won't hurt Jeanne," Madison responded.
"She wants to preserve her and you know it."

Charlie stood up again, this time maintaining balance,
although her stomach lurched. "I'm sorry but I need to go back."

Hilary and Madison both stood up. "If you're going,
we're going with you," said Hilary.

"I'm not. But if Hilary's going with you, her blood is
on your hands if anything happens," Madison said. Hilary elbowed her in
the side to make her stop talking, but Charlie had heard that same exact thing
before.

"Please, let me do this on my own. I don't want anybody
to get hurt," Charlie begged.

"You didn't abandon me back there, Charlie. I am not
about to abandon you now," Hilary said firmly.

Hilary won't make it out again. Amanda is just going to
control her.

"It's too dangerous for you, Hilary. You don't have to
do this."

"Yes, I do."

I can't endanger Hilary's life. I don't have a plan
either. I will probably die in the process if I don't think this through and
then I will never have a chance to save my sister and be with her.

Charlie had a rude awakening, and was suddenly thankful
Madison and Hilary were there to stop her from marching right back inside
ANDREI. "No, you don't. You guys were right, I don't have a plan and I
shouldn't just march into war unprepared."

"So we gather reinforcements first?" Hilary asked.

With a heavy heart, Charlie nodded. Madison pulled out a
paper where directions where scribbled. "Ms. Worthington gave this to me.
We should follow her directions since we don't have any other choice."

They followed the directions until they found the road where
a truck awaited them. Madison and Hilary stayed behind as Charlie went to check
the driver inside. Like Natalia said, there was a cartoon frog on the
passenger’s door of the truck. Charlie peeked inside the window and, indeed,
she recognized the driver to be the one who had given her a ride when she’d
followed the students in their field mission.

“You’re Brian?” she asked, and the driver nodded. Charlie motioned
for Madison and Hilary that it was safe and they took off.

It took them an hour and a half to reach their destination.
Charlie felt antsy as the countryside proved to be deserted. Hilary squeezed
her hand, signaling that she was just as nervous. The man got out and opened
the tailgate for them. Charlie, Hilary and Madison hopped out of the truck. The
old man knocked twice on the wrought-iron gate, then knocked again, thrice in
rhythm. The gate unlocked of its own accord, the metal clanking loudly in the
quiet. They were welcomed by a familiar face.

"Joshua?" Charlie sighed his name, exhaustion
making her doubt her eyes.

The man smiled and welcomed the girls, "You all look
like you’ve been to war! Glad to see you in one piece.” He introduced himself to
Madison and Hilary

“I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Come in, I'll answer
them all," he said.

They were ushered into a big house that was modestly
furnished. To her surprise, the old man who drove them also came in.

"I forgot to tell you about Brian the day we first
met," Joshua said, referring to the old man. "Meet our operative and
all-around chauffeur."

Charlie turned to him and shook his hand. "Thank you,
for everything."

Brian gave her a small nod and headed upstairs.

"Brian has been maintaining a close eye on the premises
since our team's inception. That's the reason why he was always around to give
you a ride," Joshua said. "Please, take a seat. Make yourselves
comfortable."

Joshua led them past the living room to the kitchen where a
mouthwatering aroma hung heavily in the air. The girls took seats but sat
upright and stiff, unable to relax in the unfamiliar atmosphere. After the
events of earlier, they were still strung up. Being in the house of a stranger
didn't help calm their nerves, but the hearty meal of roast beef and mashed
potatoes solved that for the famished girls. Over hot tea and scones, they
listened intently to their host.

"I'm Joshua Thomson, a former Laboratory Head at GEN
Laboratories. I'm also partially responsible for the serum that unleashed your
superhuman abilities. There were four of us. You know Amanda, and the other two
were Charlie and Jeanne's parents. The serum was discovered through illegal
means; we used materials and equipment meant for an official pharmaceutical project.
We decided not to tell anyone else about our discovery for two reasons: first,
we had violated the law, and second, we feared possible harmful side
effects."

"How did you know the serum was effective?" asked
Hilary.

"We used it ourselves. We had different ways of coping
and, I guess, consciously trying to forget. I went back to GEN and drowned
myself in work. Amanda went on a research sabbatical in Haiti." Joshua
turned to Charlie. "Your parents moved away and we never heard from them again."

"How did Amanda build the school?"

"After she came back from Haiti, I noticed something
different about her. She was never the bubbly type but she's not a glum one
either. She didn't talk to me at all, or to anyone. Then one day, she burst out
of her office with a smile on her face. Not the kind I was used to, but I was
glad to see her fine so I shrugged it off. She was gone again for two days and
when she came back, she had a proposition for me. Turned out she’d offered and
sold the serum to the government on three concessions: One, no copies of the
serum could be made without Amanda’s approval. Two, Amanda would be solely
responsible for the first four years post injection or until subjects were
ready to serve their purpose deemed necessary by government. Three, Amanda was
to be declared Headmaster of the school to implement the program scientifically
designed to develop and hone the students' powers."