4 Choose Your Path

Miles sat up. He was groggy, and visions swam before his eyes. He blinked a few times and started to see clearly. He didn't know where he was or how he got there. A blond haired boy sat in front of him, picking at the wood of the chair he was sitting. Miles recognized him. He was the boy he had seen before when… wait, what had happened?

"Who are you?" Miles asked, putting his fists up and readying himself for a fight. "Where am I?"

The boy looked up, "Oh you're awake. Doc, he's awake!" he called.

Miles could detect a hint of a British accent in his voice, which was strange. No one at his school was English, as least not that he knew of. So who was this guy?

"Where am I?" Miles repeated.

The boy looked down at Miles' fists and smirked, not looking the least bit threatened. He was tall and slim and would practically tower over Miles if he stood up. His bright blond hair was medium length and messy. His eyes were light blue and had a mischievous gleam. Miles immediately pinned him as a bully. He'd seen his type before, and as a general rule he usually tried to stay away from those people. They were all tall, a smirk engraved in their face, and seemed to think they were above everyone. They were, by definition, a "cool kid" and yet always seemed to have something to prove. At first glance, that pretty much described the guy in front of him.

"Relax, mate. We don't want to hurt you. We're in a cabin, just south of where we found you."

Miles blinked. A bully type… that didn't want to hurt him? Maybe the guy was bluffing. Before he could work up the courage to run, though, a man walked into the room. It was the man that he had seen walk in behind his mother. The one with the unkempt hair. Wait. Where was his mother?

"I told you not to call me Doc," the man said to the boy. Then he looked at Miles. "Thank goodness you're awake. We thought you'd sleep there forever."

"Sorry about that, by the way," another voice said. A girl had walked into the room. She had long brown hair with a reddish orange stripe in it.

"Who are you guys?" Miles asked. "And where's my mom?"

"I'm Caspar," the boy said, reaching his arm out. Miles shook it uncertainly. "The lady you see there is Dawn, she's the one that put you to sleep. Went a little heavy on it, I suppose. And that there is Dr. Lancaster, he's the head and brains of the operation."

"It's not really an operation, Caspar," Dr. Lancaster corrected. "It's just... surviving."

"So, what is this?" Miles asked, still just as confused as he had been. He was in a strange place, talking to a strange man, and his parents were all the sudden gone. Oh, and the bully had shaken his hand. "Why am I here?"

"This," Lancaster said, looking around at the cabin. "is somewhere we will be safe for the time being. See, you have a decision to make."

"What decision?"

"Well, you're, ah... special..." Dr. Lancaster began.

Caspar snorted, interrupting him. "Special? You can do better than that, Doc."

"You're different from other kids your age," Lancaster continued. "You can do things that they can't."

"Like my strength."

Lancaster nodded. "Exactly like your strength. That among other things. Your name is Miles, correct? That's your birth name?"

"Yeah..." said Miles, not knowing what that had to do with anything.

"So M," Dr. Lancaster mumbled to himself, like he wasn't really talking to Miles. "That's not good."

What was M? Miles could tell these people were hiding something from him, and everything was changing so fast. He had only gotten out of his coma a couple of days ago. Now… well, he still had no idea what was happening now.

"Miles, there are people out there," said Lancaster, "people that want to destroy you. And worse."

Worse? What could be worse than being destroyed? Miles stood up and started to pace, trying to get everything that was happening layed out in his head. It was just something he did sometimes when he was stressed or overwhelmed. Usually it included peer pressure or school assignments, but now the entries on his list of unfair things happening to him were completely out of the window.

"Okay, let me get this straight. I discovered that I have superhuman strength a couple of days ago, right? Something that I shouldn't have. Something that no one should have. Then my dad takes me to his work, where there are military men that start shooting at me. And my mom shows up with you guys, who have just kidnapped me and are telling me people want to kill me."

"Destroy you," Caspar corrected, winking.

Lancaster looked like he was about to reprimand Caspar, but then his eyes widened. He stood up, alarmed. "Wait, your dad works there?"

"Yeah, that's why I was there. Why?"

"Those weren't military men," Dawn said, while Lancaster paced the room. "They were Necron soldiers."

"Necron?" Miles was confused even more now.

"It was a science company. Soon it will be an army," explained Lancaster, which continued the trend of the answers to Miles' questions making him even more confused.

"So, those are the people that want to destroy me?"

"No," Lancaster said. "Those are the people who want to do worse to you. Control you."

"I don't want them to destroy or control me. Is there a third option?" Miles asked, now a little scared.

"It's 'destroy or control' us, mate," Caspar replied, and he and Dawn stood up. Miles mentally confirmed the fact that Caspar was much taller than him, despite probably being around the same age. He was lean like Miles, but in a muscular sort of way. He was the athletic type that you knew played sports, but you couldn't guess between basketball or football.

Miles cleared his throat. "You guys are... like me?"

"Sure are," Caspar disappeared with a light pop! and reappeared a split second later right beside Dawn. Then Dawn closed her eyes and put her hand on Caspar's shoulder. When she opened them, Caspar had fallen to the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet.

"What did I tell you about doing that?" Caspar warned, but Miles could tell he found it more amusing than annoying.

Huh, Miles thought. So these people have weird powers too. Maybe that guy isn't a bully.

"So, what's my decision?" Miles focused on Dr. Lancaster, who had sat back down.

"Option one, come with us and train to use your powers to defend against Necron. That will be very dangerous, but we could use all the help we can get." Lancaster looked worried. "Option two, join your mother in a safe house far away from here."

Miles had almost forgotten about his mother with all that was happening. He felt guilty about that, but everything was happening much too fast.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Somewhere safe," Lancaster replied simply. "If you choose option two, we will take you there."

"I want to know where she is," Miles repeated. Lancaster seemed pretty nice, and maybe the kids didn't want to hurt him after all, but he still didn't trust them completely.

Lancaster nodded with sympathy. "I know you do. But there are very few people that know her location. I will tell you if you want to know, but keep in mind that it is more dangerous the more people that know."

Miles resisted the urge to ask for the location and nodded his head reluctantly. He knew that she would be safer without him knowing where she was. Especially if the threats these people were talking about were true.

"What about my dad?"

"Your father is, by our understanding, in ranks with Necron. Whether he knows the organization is evil or not..." Lancaster trailed off. "I mean, I just now discovered that your dad worked there in the first place."

"So did I. He never told me or my mom what he did, but it kept us going financially. I guess that was enough for my mom."

Dr. Lancaster nodded with a slight grimace.

"Will we be safe? I mean, really safe?" Miles asked.

Dr. Lancaster hesitated. "No," he admitted, "as long as Necron is out there, they will do whatever it takes to get to you and everyone like you. Your mom would be a disposable asset to them."

"Then I'm going with you. My mom will be safer without me there. Besides, once we stop them I can go back, right?"

"Of course. But it won't be easy, and it will be very, very risky."

"Nothing that's worth it comes without risk," Miles replied.

"That's the spirit!" Caspar grinned.

Miles forced a smile in return. He had just made an impossible decision. One that could possibly get him killed. But if when it was all over he could live a safe and normal life, it would all be worth it. Or at least so he hoped. He couldn't be sure of anything other than one thing: this moment was a changing point. And after it, his life would never be the same.