88 New Beginnings

The next morning, I wake up to Valen standing before us. I stretch and quickly realize that Thane was already awake. He let me sleep in. Valen holds out a water bottle to me but doesn't say a word. I glance at him and then the water bottle before taking it.

He steps back and asks "Can we talk, please?" I push off the tree and stand up. I nod my head and follow him back to the very table we were at last night. He sits on one side and waits for me to sit on the other before awkwardly clearing his throat.

"I... I screwed up, Val. I found out about the shady shit the City was doing and knew we needed to get out before it was too late but when I took the money, I never thought I would be gone for so long. I needed the money to start up our life out here. I did this to help us but in the end, I ended up making a huge mistake." He nervously taps his leg as he rubs the back of his neck before continuing.

"I got into an accident and was hurt but I was lucky to find help. It took some time before I could make it back to the City to get everyone but you were already gone. When I found out you went in my place to keep Mom and Dad safe... I felt like the biggest failure."

He sighs and says "And then... and then I got a report about your death. I thought it was wrong at first but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find you or your... partner. When my men got a report on an attack on a military building, I didn't think too much of it but when I heard that a female was able to use multiple powers... I thought maybe, just maybe... it was you."

He looks up to me with pain in his eyes and says "I only know one person who can use more than two powers so I took a chance. Hoping that it was you." He stares at me and swallows hard when he says "You have no idea how grateful I was to see you in that building. Fighting to get out and I knew I would stop at nothing to get you out safely."

I look down at the water bottle and crack it open before taking a sip in silence. When I don't hear anything else, I look back up to see my brother struggling not to cry as he asks "What did they do to you?" My eyes burn as I quickly look away and chew my lip.

I take a deep calming breath before looking back to him and saying "They didn't do anything to me. I... " I struggle to find the right words but fail. I sigh before looking back to him and saying "I died more than once out here in the Void, Valen and... I went somewhere people should never go. It changes people and not in a good way."

I look down at my hands on the water bottle, struggling to remain seated and not run but it was extremely difficult. His hand suddenly appears and takes mine, instantly making me freeze. When I look back up to him, I see him looking down at my hands.

He swallows hard as he asks "Is that why you're different now? Because you went to this place?" When his eyes meet mine, I nod and give him a small, strained smile. He searches my eyes for something and normally I could tell you what he's thinking but not anymore.

Being twins, we've always been extremely close and connected but now... now that connection was somehow cut and was now hollow. He gives me a small, sad smile before nodding his head and saying "I'm sorry I pushed you. I have no idea what you've been through but it couldn't have been easy. No matter what, you'll always be my sister."

My eyes start burning again as I nod and twist my hand around to hold his. I lightly squeeze his hand and say "No matter what, you'll always be my brother." His smile grows a little but it's still sad. When we hear sniffing, we both turn to see both our parents watching us with tears.

I pull my hand away from Valen and go to apologize but my parents beat me to it when they say "No! You have nothing to apologize for child. We... we never really thought about everything you must've gone through. We've all seen the changes in you but we were... We were trying to act like we didn't. We were just so happy to have you back after everything. We've all been through a lot lately and we all need to learn to be a little more understanding."

I look at them in surprise before quickly lowering my head. I bite my lip before looking back up to them with a large smile. I nod my head and say "Thank you" Thane walks over and comes to a stop behind me. I turn and give him a grateful smile before turning back to the others and asking "Where is Uncle Ben and Cali?"

My Dad suddenly smiles and says "They're with the scouting group. They're trying to find our next location. Cali was becoming restless and to be honest, I think she likes to go on these trips in hopes of finding you out there."

I blink in surprise before turning to my brother in question. He smirks and says "We haven't found a permanent location yet but I'm sure we'll find one. We can't stay here for much longer though, I think some of the dangerous Ragers have started to take notice."

I frown at his words as my mind goes back to Oasis. I glance back up to them before turning to look at Thane. As if understanding, Thane nods his head with a small smile. I bite my lip with uncertainty as I turn back to look at Valen.

Valen frowns at me in confusion before I sigh and say "I think... I think I know the perfect place for everyone." Valen perks up and asks "Really? How far is it from here? We have a few elderly and a few sick so we can't go far."

I look up to the sky, looking for the sun and other things before feeling out the direction that I need before looking back to Valen and saying "It's about a days walk from here but if we can't move very quickly, it will take two days."

Valen and my parents all look at me in surprise. My Dad looks up and tries to understand what I just did as my brother frowns and says "Are you sure? I've had scouts out looking for days and we haven't found anything that could accommodate us."

I give him a knowing smirk as I say "Oh, I'm positive. You just have to know what to look for."