G.U.A.R.D. Book #2: Aberrations

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Hey, guys! Welcome to the sequel of Clandestine of the G.U.A.R.D. series. Again, please don't comment any swear words or phrase with God in it--I'd really appreciate it. And if you find any grammar errors/misspellings, please tell me!

~RobynAster

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The moment I gave Ally the keys to our house, I had no idea what I was getting her into. That day turned out to be one of the worst of my life. My sister disappeared, and her best friend, Winter, nearly died. And then a man suddenly stopped by, telling me about some weird group of doctors... and then he pretty much threatened me to come with him—or else. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

My name's Dustin Light. Alexandra Light's my little sister. Billy and Shelby Light are my parents. People who, sometimes, I feel like I didn't know anymore. In a nutshell, for as long as either Al or I could remember, Mom and Dad have forever been going on "business trips." Every winter, around the start of December, they leave, sometimes even going through Christmas. Those were the worst.

I'm already seventeen, and neither of them will explain why they go on those stupid things. I'm not even sure they are business trips. Ally and I had discussed the possibility that the parents might actually be doing criminal things every December, but she was convinced she never wanted to find out. She was too scared to. I even once tried to get her to help me find the truth, but she didn't buy it. So I tried on my own.

The first attempt was when Mom and Dad were out on a date night. Ally was hanging out with Winter at the Hunter house, so I was alone. I crept up the stairs (though the quietness was really unnecessary, considering, as previously stated, I was alone) and went into the parents' bedroom. There, I found Mom's laptop. My hands were shaking, my heart wildly beating, and my conscience screaming at me. I had been dreaming about finding out the truth for so long, planning it—but actually trying was a whole other deal.

She didn't have a password on the startup, so I was immediately met with her desktop. There, I went to several different things: her files, her Internet searches, pictures, videos. Some files were password-protected, and I couldn't get in them, but there were only like two. Everything else was blank.

Fast forward to a week and a half later, the parents were at church with Ally. I wasn't feeling well (really; I wasn't), but well enough to log onto Dad's computer. Nothing. Nada. Honestly, it was mainly just info about his accounting job.

Did I feel guilty about doing these things? Sure. But at least I had the guts to do it, unlike Alex. No matter, though. It was useless. I tried a few other things, like searching their wardrobe, dresser, nightstands, bathroom, even pillowcases. Eventually, I just gave up and decided to accept my fate of never knowing.

Never had the parents ever broken the rule of only going on the trips in December... until now. They left for their "extra" trip on the twenty-third. It usually only lasted a week or two, so Ally and I were expecting them back soon, but that still didn't make up for the frustration that they wouldn't tell us why they went.

Everything was the same as always. We lived with the Hunters. School was about to end. Then Ally disappeared. I guess that's where it all started. When everything changed.

When Max and I learned about Winter.

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"Hey, Dustin, pass!"

I looked to Averill Anderson, the only African-American on the court. Then I glanced in front of me, still dribbling the basketball, to see my lifelong best friend Max Hunter. Sweat poured through his blond hair, streaking down his face.