They Are Not Human

Chapter 17

Everyone remained quiet for a long while after that. I think they were all in shock, and were afraid of what was going to come next. Darrel comes and sits next to me with a thud. He was silent for a long time before he had his thoughts enough together to speak. "Who are they?" he finally asks.

I could hear everyone shuffle around, and pivot their bodies so they could look at me and listen to what I had to say. All the attention made me feel anxious, and I was suddenly very self-conscious about my existence. "Well" I say hesitating, "I'm not entirely sure".

Darrel angrily looks at me, "Don't play games with us Zia. You obviously have some sort of connection with them. We have accepted you with open arms into this family, and we have a right to know".

His response made me feel somewhat guilty that I hadn't shared this information with them earlier, but the honest truth was is that I really had no idea who the black armored men were. All I knew is there was some sort of tie between Jakove and them. Everything else was speculation at this point.

"You're right" I say ashamed. After that I began to divulge all the information I had. Once again I found myself recounting the incidences I have had with them, just like I did with Arlo. This time though, I went into great detail about who Jakove was, and how he always seemed to know more about the situation than what he lead on. I even told them about the Mangata, and the power associated with that. Everyone listened intently absorbing all the information I was presenting to them. I take a deep breath once I was finished, feeling the relief wash over me.

"So are these people apart of the government then?" Darrel asks rubbing his brow, trying to think of a logical explanation behind all of this.

This was the same question I had been asking myself for months now. Every time I crossed paths with them, I was never fully convinced they were a part of the government, despite what Jakove tried to say. If they really had these inhuman abilities, why wasn't the government utilizing it to control the society we lived in? It didn't make sense. "No" I finally say, after thinking about that question for a minute. "I think they have an agenda of their own".

Darrel looks at me his eyes wide. "And what do you think that agenda of theirs is?"

"I have no idea" I say defeated. "I wish I had more answers about this, but I am just as baffled as you guys are."

"How do you think they developed these abilities?" Arlo asks, his child-like face scrunched with worry.

"Maybe, it was result of a government experiment gone wrong or something?" I say trying to put the pieces together. "We know that the government isn't above doing testing on people, so maybe it was a result of that".

Darrel nods his head agreeing with that statement. "That would give them a motive for whatever they are plotting".

"But how does this Jakove guy tie into all of this?" Arlo says in a condescending tone. It was obvious Arlo didn't trust Jakove now, despite what he had originally told me. To be honest I didn't blame the guy. I think he came to the same realization that I had about the extent of Jakove's power. I could feel everyone shift their attention to me, curious eyes eagerly awaiting my response. I put my hands up in the air in defeat. "Don't look at me" I say exasperated by this conversation.

"That settles it then" Darrel says. "We need to find this Jakove person, and demand some answers out of him. He seems like our only lead as of right now".

Instantly I felt protective over Jakove. I didn't want everyone thinking he was a bad person. Besides we had no idea where Jakove even was. If he really was associated with everything that was going on, we may be walking into a trap trying to find him if they were really after his power like I thought. The mission was dangerous, and I could feel an uneasiness creep over me thinking about it. "Darrel" I finally say trying to keep my voice calm. "I hate to be the barer of bad news, but we have no idea where Jakove even is. Hell we don't even know where to start looking."