Human Batteries

~~~~~Chapter 3~~~~~

~~~~~Chapter 3~~~~~
I wake up on the floor. Which doesn't really surprise me, I do that some times. I'm a very heavey, and restless sleeper. I look around the room and see Bailey come out of the bathroom in a fresh pair of high-waisted jean shorts with a tucked-in red and yellow tie-dyed shirt. She has a black and white bow in her afro of honey curls to match her converse sneakers. She's an early riser, where as I could sleep 'til lunch time.
I get up off the floor to change my clothes and wash my face.
I change into some cut-off jean shorts, a gray shirt that says 'Go Green' with a heart shaped leaf on the front, and last, but not least, my favorite red converse high-tops. Then I sit back on my bed and wait.

After we've had breakfast, I'm taken to a meeting room across the hall from where Bailey and her parents are.
I look around while I bounce my knees from nervous energy. I don't know what to expect for the next few weeks. Will I be cooped up here with nothing to do? But the bigger question itching in my mind is, what is the reason for all this? If I do have to stay here, why is that? What is happening?
I'm tempted to get up and leave, when a familiar face comes into the room.
"Mom!" I say. Her face is wet with tears and her eyes are red. I jump up and she hugs me tightly. I bury my face the crook of her neck, and my chest floods with relief. .
We don't let go until some people come in the room to talk to us. Before we sit I ask, "Where's Daltin? Why isn't he with you?" That's when I know something happened. She forces a sad smile, but her bottom lip trembles.
"Sweetie, we'll tell you everything, just-."
"What happened?" I say. My mother opens her mouth to say something, but she gets cut off by a small framed woman at the head of the meeting room. She's wearing a black blaizer and a black business skirt. Her slick dark hair is pulled back in a low ponytail.
"A large group of scientists from Antarctica have compromised American and Canadian borders. They have been testing on human life sources with extremely advanced technology for who knows how many years. They have finally come to North America to use human energy. Would you like to take a seat, please Miss Fletcher," she says matter of factly. She sounds like she's trying to hide how angry she is. I'm pretty sure I just heard it all wrong.
"Um, no," I reply. "I will not sit down. I want to know what the hell you're talking about!" I scowl, confused, and wait for her to explain more.
She gives me a death glare, and I send one right back. She glances down and clasps her hands in front of her, obviously annoyed.
"They have two large bases. One in Canada, and the first one, very large in Antarctica. There, they have been experimenting to find a way to use the average human to create everyday power sources. And I don't mean a bunch of people forced to run in giant hamster wheels, I mean, almost literally, sucking the very life out of people. Americans have become the 'perfect subjects'," she takes a breath and continues.
"They have mutated a chemical to make the human body create more, sustainable energy. Then they plug them up, and funnel out the power. That is our basic understanding at least. They are somehow, exremely more advanced than our scientists in many ways. Now, there are some individuals that can endure the chain reactions longer, therefore, that individual can give a much greater amount of energy. Your brother, is one of those individuals. He has been taken to one of our emergency bunkers to help contribute, and be protected. Like I said before, we know little to nothing about these people, and how on earth they have managed to stay hidden for so long. We do know that our protection is as low as it's ever been before. We are in the dark. They have manipulated our weapons too. How? No one has a clue. But we're working on all of this. We're working on finding the anwsers. You will stay here as long as possible, and we will keep it as quite as possible. If all of America knew this, there would be mass chaos. I know it seems like a lot, but it's really nothing compared to what we should know." She says it all slowly, so we can keep up. But it still feels like a blur.
"Back up a second," I say. "Let me get this right. Some freaks from Eskimo Town have come to come to the U.S.A. to suck the life out of us. That's just stupid!"
I look at her to confirm that I got that part right, and she just stares at me.
"And my brother is one of the people who have a lot of whatever, life or something, that they use," I add.
"Sort of," she says.
"You do realize that he is my twin, right?" I say slowly.
"Yes, we are aware of that, but that does not mean you have the same chemical make-up, it's totally random."
"Oh, okay. Got it. By the way, if this is like a prank TV show or something, it sucks."
Then she looks me dead in eye. "I wish this was a prank tv show, but this is serious. Please act like it," she says. Then she calmly walks out, leaving me and my mom in the meeting room.
"Honey," my mom says. "I know this is a lot to take in. They told me the same thing when they came to take Daltin. But we're safe here. We'll stay here and wait it out."
"What about my stupid brother?! He has to go and be all special and go who knows where! What if he's dead!! What if that idiot brain got himself killed!!!" I raise my voice.
"I'm his mother, I know what it's like to worry about him," she stands up, and smooths my hair back. "I have no idea what's he's even doing, or what is going on right now. I know I'm scared, and I know you're scared, but we have each other. He doesn't have any family or friends where ever he is. We can be brave for him, can't we?"
Her voice is smooth, and calm. She's never raises her voice, she has such elegance and confidence. She smiles at me, and I smile back. I close my eyes and hug her.
"And don't call your brother 'idiot brain'."

The rest of the night, I stay in the dormitory with my mom, and Bailey.
When it's time to go to sleep my mom kisses me, and then Bailey goodnight, and we fall asleep. Well, I try to fall asleep, but I try to let everything sink in. It's a lot and nothing at the same time, which gives me a headache. I sort of know what's happening, but I don't know how or why.
Just when I think my brain might explode, I forget about trying to wrap my brain around it, and drift off peacefully-well, maybe not so much....