Numbered

Chapter 6: Maxi Dayne

The Orphanage was unusually quiet. Something that signalled that most it's inhabitants were still asleep. However this wasn't the case for 3 individuals. Those 3 individuals were two 1s and a 2.

The oldest of the three was a 16 year old 1 named Lenora Abott. She came along to make sure that the other two didn't get in any trouble. She had taken in the 2 as a younger sibling and later, the other 1 as well. She'd made a promise that once she was legally old enough to be considered an adult, something that was only four years away, she'd Adopt them and they'd leave this horrid Orphanage for good.

The middle child was a 12 year old 2 and the most respected out of the group from the adults (it still wasn't much but it was more than the 1s). Their name was Maxi Dayne. Maxi was fully prepared to take the blame, after all it was their plan in the first place, but they just had to know where they and their younger sister came from.

Lenora knew. Her mother had had Hemophilia, a genetic disease that made it so blood couldn't clot. Humans were immune to diseases that were spread by animals, air, other humans or dirt but they weren't immune to genetic diseases. Lenora's mother had died when Lenora was 5 due to a deep gash she had got on her leg. She could've been saved but no one wanted to help her. After all she was just a 1, there were billions more 1s like her, it was frustrating but that was the system.

So Lenora went to live with her Aunt who, like like Lenora, was a carrier. But when her Aunt died in an accident at work when when Lenora was 10, she had to go to the Orphanage. A few months later a 6 year old Maxi had shown up.

And that was the thing that frustrated Maxi. The furthest thing that they could remember was waking up in a forest as a 4 year old. They had managed to survive for 2 years before someone found them and brought them back to the Orphanage.

Maxi had learned how to read and write and they could understand what others were saying perfectly fine. That was just how they communicated. It was how they told the staff how they only remember the 2 years in the forest and nothing before that. They chose the name Maxi Dayne for themselves because they hadn't had a name before, or if they had they couldn't recall. They could talk, however they weren't that good at it and struggled to form certain words which often lead to long pauses which is why they preferred to use a pencil and a notebook.

But that wasn't why they were frustrated. They were frustrated because they knew nothing about were they or their parents had come from and why they had abandoned both them and their younger sister so early on in life. It just didn't make sense. From what Maxi knew both they and their younger sister had been abandoned when they were 4, (around the time that they gained their abilities) Maxi in a forest, and had no memory of the time before that. But why would a parent do that? Why would they raise two kids until the age of 4 and then just abandon them like that, one in the wilderness. And why didn't either of them remember their parents?

And that's why they were doing this. They needed answers. For both themselves and for their younger sister's sake. Speaking of their younger sister, the third person in the group was a little 7 year old girl named Raven Dayne.

Raven showed up as a 4 year old 1 who only knew her first name, Raven. She didn't remember much else. When she showed up Maxi was able to tell that Raven was their younger sister because she looked so similar to them. Maxi had requested a DNA test and when it was confirmed that they were indeed siblings. They grew closer after that and Raven adopted Dayne as her last name.

"We should be careful" Lenora said still quite nervous about this whole thing.

'We should be fine, we won't be too long' Maxi wrote on their notebook holding it up for Lenora to see.

Raven stared at the lock that held the information they needed carefully before getting to work. "Yes, well we should still be careful. Who knows what-" Lenora's worrying was interrupted by Raven.

"I have them right here" She said waving two documents in the air.

'Thank you Raven' Maxi wrote.

"Your welcome" Raven said handing the document for Maxi to them.

Maxi had looked at the document. Their jaw went to the floor. It read:

Maxi Dayne, Age: 12, Gender: Nonbinary Family: Raven Dayne (Younger sister), Unknown Father, Unknown Mother, Rank: 2, Polynesian: 50% Samoan, 50% Hawaiian.

Maxi felt a sort of surreal moment wash over them. This was actually happening. They had the document in their hands, they knew what they were... somewhat. It didn't tell them or Raven who their parents were or where they came from but it was a start.

They heard the door sizzle, a sign it was about to open. They looked at Lenora and Raven and one thought came to their head.

Hide.

902 words.