The White Rose

5

My name is Ethan Mar. And this is my story.

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Kyle sat at his desk watching his phone. Ethan had texted him, but the last thing that Kyle had sent was asking about visiting during the week. It was typical that he wouldn't see Ethan during the week, something that the Garden wanted to do in order to keep Ethan from getting too suspicious. It was also a way to keep Zaun Pharmaceuticals from catching on. The Garden wasn't working with Zaun, that was for sure. The Garden had it's own plans. Kyle knew that Commander Hicks had worked with Zaun and knew quite a bit about the company. Of course he thought she knew more than she would ever let on.

He pulled up the camera inside the bus and watched as Ethan got off the bus. He looked alright. He switched over to the cameras in Ethan's house. Flicking through them each, there was nothing amiss. The Fourth Thorn was in his room doing some sort of work out. The Third Thorn was in the kitchen preparing food of some type, and the Second Thorn was not there. Still at work most likely.

The Second Thorn worked with Zaun Pharmaceuticals as a consultant. He had originally been hired to observe Ethan as he began receiving the Eden Pill. The Garden had brought him over to their side fairly easily. Hicks had explained something to him and it took relatively no effort.

Kyle had been brought in and was instructed to protect Ethan no matter what. From what? He had no idea. But he was paid well, and to be honest, he'd become friends with Ethan anyways. He watched as the front door opened and both Thorns stopped what they were doing momentarily. It was slight, but there. He was trained to catch those things on anyone who was around.

Ethan appeared on camera. He was safe for now. The Thorns would protect him. It was always dangerous when Ethan was moved from school to home. Ethan's home was nearly impenetrable if it was locked down. That rarely happened, but the possibility always existed.

Kyle powered down his computer and stood up. Stretching his arms above his head, his shirt slid up in the front just a little as he arched his back. It felt good to stretch. He picked up his iPhone and pressed the home button down. Typing in his code, it unlocked for him. Still no reply from Ethan. He scratched the back of his head. Oh well. He'd reply eventually.

Kyle placed his hand on the pad next to his door and it slid open with a hiss. Inside his apartment, which was fairly spacious, was a full kitchen and living area, a bed room, and two bathrooms. He tossed his phone onto the kitchen island and heard the familiar tone as it began to charge. The Garden was state of the art. The kitchen island was a charging platform that worked for computers, cell phones, tablets, and almost anything else that needed to be charged. Of course, the Garden had their own systems that they utilized, and everything in Ethan's house was compatible. This meant that Ethan's electronics were always fully charged, just like Kyle's.

He walked into his bed room and pulled off his shirt. His pants followed along with his boxer briefs and he started the shower in his bathroom. While the shower was warming up, he ran water and brushed his teeth. Getting into the shower, he rinsed off quickly and then stepped out. The air swelled around him as the dryer in the bathroom activated. He walked out and pulled on his work out clothes. He didn't like being dirty, even for the gym. When he was in the field, he showered as often as he could or as soon as he could.

He grabbed his phone and headed out to the gym. The gym was one level down in the Garden, when he got there, it was empty. He jumped on the treadmill and ran. Two and a half hours later, he had run seventeen miles. Hitting the stop button, he slid off the end and stretched. Next up were some weights followed by some more cardio. Push ups and leg lifts rounded out his almost five hour workout. It was typical for him. Just as he was finishing with some light yoga he heard the door open.