Doppelganger

Pharis immediately took the flash drive in her skirt pocket to make sure that she didn't lose it. She remembered how much her aunt struggled just to give her this, making her think that whatever was inside this is very important. 

Despite having a weak body, she tried her best to stand up from the bed. Demian looked at her with a frown plastered on his face. 

"Where are you going?" he queried and stood up as well. 

Well, he's quite worried about him although she seems like a tough woman. And he also promised the children that he will take care of her even though he still doesn't know what happened to them. He doesn't want to be nosy. They will tell him everything if they want to, he thought. 

"Let me use your laptop," Pharis said, ignoring his question. 

Confused, Demian replied, "I don't have a laptop." 

Pharis frowned and answered in disbelief, "You don't have a laptop?" 

"Well yeah." 

"Unbelievable." Pharis shook her head and walked out of the room. 

"We are not rich," Demian said. 

Pharis looked at him and said, "But laptops are cheap though." 

"Not for the poor," Demian told her as he realized that she came from a wealthy family. He can see that though even if she looks like a mess now. "Brat," he mouthed. 

"Whatever. Help me find a computer or laptop, I don't care. I just need to see what is inside this," she said and went to the next room. 

She opened it and saw that the kids were lying on the bed. It seems like they got tired of playing. 

Pharis looked at Demian and said, "Why don't you put the girl here so she won't wake up alone?" She bet the kid will cry if she wakes up alone in an unfamiliar room. 

Demian just stared at her for seconds and then went back to the room to do as she says. "Maybe, she really ain't a brat," he pondered. 

"Do it fast! I need a device!" Pharis yelled from outside making him frown.

"She is a brat!" he blurted out and then carried the young girl carefully. 

After laying down the young girl with the others in the next room, Demian followed Pharis who's heading downstairs. 

Pharis could help but analyze the whole place because, for some reason, she finds it familiar. She doesn't know why because she doesn't remember going here before. Well, she doesn't have much memory from her childhood or perhaps, she chose to forget it. 

She then noticed the portraits on the wall. She stopped in front of the wall and frowned as she analyzed the photographs. The couple in the portrait are strangely familiar to her, and what's more shocking is that the young girl in the portrait is beside it. 

"Wait… what?" she uttered abruptly then moved closer to the wall while Demian is just watching her curiously from the back. 

"I know a computer shop nearby. I can bring you there," he said and sat down on the huge sofa. He accidentally sniffed and inhaled the dust making him sneeze and cough. "Eww!" 

Out of annoyance, he cleared the dirt using his power and then grinned. "Yep, yep. Get away from me," he said but then he stopped when he noticed that Pharis's eyes are still fixated in the portraits. 

"What's up with her?" he thought. 

Meanwhile, Pharis is having mixed thoughts. Why is her photo in this house and who is this couple? 

She can't be mistaken though. Pharis has seen tons of her childhood pics in her photo albums at home and this child definitely looks exactly like her. She looked at her hair and then the child's hair then realized that they have different hair colors. 

Pharis ginger hair is her natural hair and she got it from her dad. While the girl in the photo has jet black hair but still, she won't deny their similarities. 

She suddenly remembered what Luna told her that the flash drive is her father's. 

"What is it that I don't know?" she thought to herself and turned around to speak to Demian who's just watching her. 

"Bring me to that computer shop," she said with a serious look on her face.

"Ohh..kay," he answered and scratched his head. "What about the kids though? We'll leave them here?" 

Pharis paused and looked upstairs and then returned her gaze to him. "Just tell me where it is. I'll just go there by myself," she replied. 

"Are you sure?" he asked. 

Demian is worried because she is still weak and might not be able to make it there alone. 

Meanwhile, what she thinks is that her mom might still be alive. She can't risk leaving the kids alone inside the house. She knows that Demian is not a weak kid, he can protect them. 

"Don't worry about me. They need someone who will look out for them, besides we never know when an enemy will come," she stated, making Demian's face serious. 

This time, he couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "Were you being followed by a group of men too? Is that the reason why you are injured?" 

Pharis got confused by what he said and replied, "What?" 

"My mother was killed and the person who did that escaped. I wanted to find them all and stop this once and for all," he said and stood up with a serious look on his face. 

"Group of men?" 

"Yes."

She pondered, could her mom be sending men to capture kids? 

"Can you describe this group of men you were talking about?" Pharis questioned. 

"They are usually wearing casual clothing but it is easy to recognize them. They have this black handkerchief that has a gold pin in it that can't be seen by normal humans," Demian stated as he tries to remember everything. 

"It can't be seen by normal humans?" Pharis said, confused by what he said. 

"Well yeah. Didn't you know that those men are not normal humans too?" he asked. 

Astounded, Pharis looked at him and said, "I wasn't talking about a group of men. I wasn't aware such men exist and I was talking about my mother who had been conducting illegal human experiments." 

Demian's eyes widened and exclaimed, "Your mom is what?" 

"My mom is a scientist that has been capturing kids to achieve power," she explained. "And I think we are talking about different people here," she added and heaved a deep sigh. 

Her mom's men do not have such ability as he said. They are just mere humans who have weapons. But then, knowing that there are people who capture people like them then, it just doesn't end there. They have more than one enemy at the same time. 

"Tell me more about it," she said and sat on the filthy couch. 

Whenever she tries to unfold something, another story opens up. It seems endless but she will definitely find the truth about all of this. Even the child in the portrait. 

***