Serene

23

Odeo and I crouch patiently. Our hands quivering, our breaths shaky.

I shuffle to the other end of this wall and listen to whatever Doctor Herce may be doing in the other room. I knock softly, twice, and he knocks back. He's okay.

Odeo looks at me with concerned eyes and I do my best to give him an encouraging smile.

I look away and the constant thoughts on my mind come back.

He was in love with Sofia Renee. The Sofia I was. But I'm no longer that girl. I'm a new Serene, Sofia, Wolf. And so, I don't know how to act or behave towards him or any of the others.

Isn't it hard for them to see me as the same girl but know I'm somewhat different? I can tell my attitude is sort of the same but as a whole, I'm definitely not.

How can they treat me so kindly? What have I done to deserve their acceptance? From what I can infer, Serene, the Wolf, was a very good agent on field and did whatever she needed to do to accomplish her task. She was smart and calculating and aggressive.

I'm not her. At least not anymore... right?

The door slams open and my mind jolts back to the present situation.

"Where is she?"

Greg's rough and deep voice penetrates through the walls, reaching our ears. Odeo and I share a look.

My eyes widen and I realize my sister was down there.

Madeline. I mouth.

Odeo's eyes widen as well and we look at the other hidden door behind us.

"Will we risk it?" I whisper as softly as I can.

He thinks for a moment. "She might get mad at you if you get caught again. She did want to keep you safe away from your parents. Just wait it out."

I sigh and wait, straining to listen to the conversation on the other side of the door.

"Go away, Greg." Valerie says menacingly.

Greg chuckles. "I know you know where she is. Madeline's always wanted to be near her sister."

His chuckle dies away. "And I just her to be happy."

Valerie laughs a wicked laugh. Something new from her. "And? What do you want?"

"I want to find her. Bring her back to Madeline. She deserves to be happy. With her sister." He replies, the room going silent.

What?! Does he genuinely like Madeline?

"Are you serious? You want to find Sofia to bring her back to sister?" Valerie asks, disbelief in her voice.

"Yes. I-I've always, well, sort of..." His voice dies out and I want to know so badly what he wanted to say.

"But you work for their parents. Who do not want Sofia. Nor do they want her to be with her sister." Gabby chimes in, a cautious tone in her voice.

"I know." Greg says, with a sigh. "But I do like Madeline. And I know she'll never really trust me unless I do something sacrificial for her. It's hard to know who's genuinely there for you when they don't do hard, challenging things for you, you know?"

"Right." Cal says. I can imagine him inspecting his gun casually.

"So can you just tell me where she is so I can get this over with?" He asks exasperatedly.