I yawned, staring at the roof of the RV. "I'm bored."
"Aren't we all?" Talon remarked.
I sat up, almost hitting Rosa in the process, and stared at him. "Keep it up and I'm going to, to, um,"
"To what?" Talon smirked at me, raising an eyebrow.
"Do something." I muttered, going back to playing with Rosa's hair.
"Oh I'm so scared."
"Hey, at least driving was kind of okay. Besides, I thought you knew a shortcut!"
"Apparently, I was wrong. It was cut off by a tree, okay? Not my fault." he snapped, pouting. "Besides, we'll be there in a few hours anyways."
I was about to retort something about losing time, but I held back, remembering Killian's speech about me racing around. I'd have to change that, slowly, at least.
I rolled my eyes and removed my hand from Rosa's hair, since she was now drifting off to sleep. "I'm going to prank you I swear." I whispered to myself, glaring at Talon.
"Hey, Lucy, where'd you get that bracelet from?"
"This one?" I asked, though it was a pretty stupid question. Obviously that one. I lifted up my arm for him to see better. "I've had it since I left my mom's house." I explained.
He stared at it, standing up and walked over to me, grabbing my wrist. "Has anything happened with it?" he asked me quietly, examining it.
I yanked my wrist away, hiding the bracelet behind my other hand protectively. "Listen, Tal, I don't understand why you're so interested in this bracelet all the sudden, but don't get any ideas." I warned.
He stared at me, tilting his head. "Did you say Tal?"
"Yeah, so what?" I asked, heat burning in my cheeks. I'd said it before. Had he not heard me earlier?
"Nevermind, can I see it again? I promise I won't do anything to it." he told me, and I hesitantly revealed my wrist again for him to see it.
"I'm not taking it off. If I find it gone, I swear you'll be getting a box of spiders dumped on you." I bluffed, puffing out my cheeks in annoyance as he ignored my threats.
"I won't take it." he stated and released my wrist from his grip.
I gave an awkward nod and stepped back, looking around.
"I'm going to go take a nap. Tell someone to wake me up when we get there." he said calmly, leaving the room.
My eyes found themselves back to Rosa and I gave a small sigh, staring at her. I'll certainly miss her, that's for sure.
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I let out another yawn as I knocked loudly on Talon's door. Me and Killian had switched places a while ago, and she took care of Rosa while I drove. "Let's go," I called out, leaving the hallway as I heard the door open.
"Lucy! Are we here? Is this Orrienshire? It's so loud." Rosa told me, covering her ears for emphasis on the fact.
It was, in fact, really loud. Music played from buildings, I could hear it through the RV. "Sadly, yes. It's commonly known as Party City Jr." I explained, taking hold on Rosa's hand as I led her outside, where Killian and Dustin were waiting.
"Why is it known as that?" Rosa asked, her eyes drifting over the masses of people pushing past us to get to destinations. I wish we had gotten here in the daytime.
"At night, it goes from calm to wild, in a short explanation. Almost every day there's a party hosted in this bucking city."
Killian popped in, shooting me a grin. "I should know, I used to live here with my sister and her soul mate."
I rolled my eyes as Talon came trudging out of the RV, wincing at the attack on his ears from the music blasting into the streets. "We ready to find Rosa's house?" I asked them, thanking Killian for telling me dress in neon. At least I look like I belong here slightly. "Rosa? Where is your dad's house?"
She stared at me, giving me a shy smile. "I—I don't really know. I know that he lives on the outskirts, though." she replied confidently.
Killian grabbed my shoulder and took charge, giving me a thumbs up. "Alright, kiddies, under no circumstances do you let go of one another's hand! Do not talk to anyone, do not go off with anyone, and follow me. I know where the outskirts are." she said, grabbing on Rosa's hand and my hand. "As I like to say, make a train and follow me." she said, lurching forwards with the masses.
My hand quickly found Dustin's, as his hand found Talon's. I held onto Rosa's hand with an iron grip, keeping Dustin and Rosa close to me. People stared at us, though they said nothing.
Killian nodded her head to a large building with spotlights surrounding the area. "That, my friends, is Club Lotus. My dad used to bar tend there, so I got in free." she explained, her voice near shouting level as we passed by the club.
I let out a sigh as the bass of the club ebbed away, not being able to feel the vibration on my feet anymore. "Is this how people usually dress?" I asked her nervously, hoping my shirt was staying in one place and not falling down.
"Yeah, They wear crop tops, shorts, and no shoes or sandals and such. It's a pretty wild place at night. Rose Central is worse though, if you've ever been there. It's like this, except three times more clubs." she explained as we exited the main plaza and into the outskirts. "You guys can ease up on the grip, if you want." she told us as we soon passed by fewer and fewer people. The air got significantly colder, probably because there wasn't bodies near us at all time.
I shivered, and let my hand go out of Dustin's grip, though I kept it in Rosa's for the fear of losing her. I stared as we came across a bright blue house with a white door and shutters. "Is this it? It seems to be the only one here," I remarked, following Killian and Rosa up to the lone house.
"So this is that house I always saw when I came out here. Cool!" Killian bounded past me and knocked on the door excitedly. "Hey! Dr. Earl, we have your daughter, Rosa Earl."
The door opened as a man who looked about fifty came into view. He didn't look at all like a scientist, really. He was wearing a red shirt with jeans and his hair, whatever was left, combed back hurriedly. "Rosa! Where's mommy?" he asked her as Rosa ran past us and into the arms of her father.
Rosa told him quietly and he nodded stiffly, standing up.
I cracked a smile, staring at the embracing father and daughter, and a pang of envy shot through me. I shook it off and gave the man a wave. "Hi! I'm Lucy, this is Killian," I paused to motion to the black haired girl next to me, and then motioned to Dustin and Talon. "These two are Dustin and Talon, in that order."
"Ah, I see. These are the teens who you just mentioned to me?" he asked, and Rosa nodded in reply cheerfully, running up the stairs. "Come in, come in, please!" he exclaimed, motioning us in and shut the door behind us. "Follow me."
We all followed him, surprised at how clean the house was. Light brown carpeting, sky blue walls and some pictures of the family. We entered into a living room and he motioned to us to sit down on the large brown couch.
The room smelled faintly of cinnamon, and even more pictures of Rosa and him cluttered the walls.
"So, what brings you here?" he asked us, before slapping his forehead. "Oh, what am I saying? You've brought my daughter back to me!" he said, scurrying off somewhere into the house.
I shifted uncomfortably in the house, casting a nervous glance over at Killian. Something felt wrong, but I just ignored it and looked around the room more.
"Here, here!" he burst back into the room, holding mugs of tea. He gave us each a mug, and sat down in the chair across from the couch.
"Listen, sir, thank you for the tea, but," I paused, gripping the mug tightly as Killian took over for me. I shot her a graceful look.
"Dr. Earl,"
"Call me Vince, please."
"Vince," Killian started again. "We'd like to know about these hearts." she said, touching her scar hesitantly.
He went silent for a moment, dropping his eyes to the carpet below. "What would you children like to know?"
"Everything." Dustin cut in, and he stared at him, raising an eyebrow.
"I'd need to topic to start on."
"How about the history of these things? All we're told is that it was for a better cause." Killian explained, taking a sip of her tea.
"Well, before these hearts were even thought of, there was a lot of people. Unhappy people, people who didn't love one another. Some did, others didn't. It was getting harder to find a loyal person as the years progressed for your generations." he said, clasping his hands together. "They were just taking up space so the government did the only sensible thing at the time."
"Population control." Talon spoke out, lowering his eyes as the words exited his mouth.
Vince looked at him in surprise but nodded grimly. "Precisely. They killed all who weren't married and who were past the age 19. It happened," he paused, thinking. "Every five to six years, the mass control. As you could probably predict, many people didn't approve of this method, so the government hired some scientists to try to find an alternate solution. One of them was my father."
I took a sip of my tea, raising an eyebrow at his pause. "What happened then?"
"Well, my father eventually, with the help of another man named Dr. Damon Herid, found out that humans are obviously attracted to one another, but they mostly looked at why some stay together, why others don't. They found proof of soul mates." he told us, a smile breaking onto his face.
We all nodded, and I leaned back on the couch, watching him closely.
"So soon I was involved in the workforce and me and my father, along with Dr. Herid and his son James, worked days and nights on figuring out how, and why, we have certain soul mates. Eventually, me and James figured it out and told our findings to the government. They applauded us and gave us a team to start working out a prototype. Though they took our research and heart, even when it wasn't done." he admitted.
I gagged on the tea, almost dropping the mug on the nice carpet. "W-what?"
He smiled at us sadly, averting his eyes from our shocked gazes. "Yes, you heard me correctly. The hearts are pretty much prototypes. The government was so greedy to get a solution they took the heart in the middle of it's research process."
"What can go wrong with them?' Dustin piped up, clutching his arms nervously.
I glanced at Talon, though his face showed no emotion. He looked back over at me and frowned, and I could see he was just as scared as we were.
"Well, some may not even work, others just malfunction. As in, Person A has Person B as a soul mate, but Person B has Person C as a soul mate, and Person C is Person B's soul mate." he explained quietly. "As you know, there's resistance groups forming to live in secret, away from the police. You've seen the billboards and warnings on the news telling us to be wary of them, no? They escape the police and run off to join others with the same problem."
We nodded, and I touched the scar over my heart, swallowing. What if I don't have a soul mate? Or Killian and Dustin and Talon? What about Rosa?
My eyes landed on Dustin, who was twisting his fingers in a thin silver necklace. When did he get that? Was I really that oblivious I don't notice anything? "Killian? When did Dustin get that necklace?"
"He's always had it on. How have you never noticed it before?" she whispered back, nudging my attention back to the man.
"No need to worry! Only about three out of ten hearts malfunction, and about two out of ten hearts don't work!" he explained, running a hand through his thinning hair.
"Can we move onto happier topics?" Killian grumbled, setting down the mug of tea on the side table.
He glanced to the door and fixed his shirt before nodding. "Of course. As you start to form a bond with the person, an emotional bond for friendship, you'll be drawn to them eventually. You'll try to talk to them more and be more interested in them, shooting glances at them whenever you can. It's slowly a first, unnoticeable by most,"
I look out the window before returning my attention to the man once again. How long has it been?
"Soon enough, you'll start brushing up against them, flicking them, or whatever you do to get their attention. Usually it's easier for people to find their soul mate if they have friends already, so you four are fortunate. So you and whoever grow closer, every time you touch that person you'll feel a slight electricity or a slight burning sensations. It's not uncomfortable, mind you, I swear. It's just a jolt or so." he paused to take a sip of his tea and cleared his throat. "You'll be feeling in a heightened sense, that's why they're so strong. Eventually you'll be drawn to each other, and sometimes the most oblivious people can't see what's happening until the hearts start to glow."
I sit up taller, feeling a swell of relief flood through me when I process his words. "How long does the process take usually?" I asked, feeling Killian's stare on me, though I did my best to ignore it.
He thought for a moment, pacing back and forth across the floor. "It can range from a few weeks to a year or so. Possibly more. We don't know for sure. It seems the closer you are with that person the faster it goes. If you've fought with that person, it can take significantly longer until the fighting blows over. Though, I could be wrong. Maybe it's the opposite." he shrugged, sending me an apologetic smile.
"My sister and her soul mate took about a year! They kept fighting but they made up, and it happened in about a few days after they stopped fighting." she said happily, waving her arms in excitement.
I nodded, my hands going back to my shirt. I can't spend more than a year or so. My birthday's coming up soon, isn't it?
He stared at us, glancing back at the door and he gave a small sigh, checking his watch.
A sharp pounding on his door send all of us to jump in surprise. I swallowed, my palms became sweaty and I heard something I'd never want to hear in my lifetime.
"They're here. Lucy Howell and Kati Scheff, I'm sorry to say but I've turned you in." he shot us another apologetic glance and opened the door, letting the swarms of police surround us. "I can't let criminals on the run enter my house and expect to leave safely, you know." He sent a look to Dustin and Talon, giving them a nod. "I didn't know you'd be able to befriend them so quickly."
I shot a fearful and confused look to Killian, but she looked even worse than me. My eyes scanned the force, noticing that they had different uniforms.
The uniforms were a silver color, with blue cuffs.Many of them wore hats the same color as the uniform.
"Soul Reapers." I whispered in astonishment. I'd heard about them, and I'd only ever seen one. I never knew this many were on the force.
"Hands up, you two."
I stood up and raised my hands up, Killian doing the same. Talon and Dustin stared in astonishment at the group, before looking down, almost ashamed.
Had they taken part in this? No they couldn't have, could they? I replayed what Vince had said and felt betrayed. I shook my head at the thought and feeling, refusing to believe they would do such a thing. My eyes widened at the lady marching through the crowd of men and women.
A lady with the exact same uniform and brown hair put into a tight bun, her shoes clicking on the hardwood floor until she hit the carpet.
"Good word boys!' she squealed, clapping her hands, dismissing half of them out of the living room. She turned her back towards us, fixing her hat. "Chayes, Grimes, nice work tracking the two for me. The bracelet lost connection sometimes, but good to know you had our backs." she pushed past me and retrieved something from Dustin, holding it proudly. "How'd you manage to put it on and keep it on without anyone noticing it? Good work, Chayes." she chirped, putting the chain into her pocket.
"Halton gave it to me, though—Killian, why didn't you say something about it? You noticed it, I knew you did—" Dustin protested to both Killian and the woman, standing up.
"Chayes, sit down!" she barked, losing her cool at Dustin.
Dustin bowed his head and sat next to Talon, his head in his hands.
"So, Lucy," the woman clapped her hands, facing me full on and staring at me.
"M-mom?" I whispered, my stomach dropping.
"Hello, sweetie. How's it feel to be reunited with your mom?"
A/N: How's that for a cliff hanger? Thank you guys so much for all these reads oh my god. Seriously, I love you all. It may not seem like a lot to you, but it's a lot to me. Have a grand rest of Sunday, and Monday. I'll see you on Tuesday! <3 It's kind of funny because I have like two chapters ahead of this chapter done, and I'll soon be starting to write Reality Check'd, and another book called Stars of Fate. Don't worry, this is my main book still! Always will be!
A/N 2: Finished! Wow that was hella long. I hope you guys like it! c: How do you feel of Lucy's mother now? Do you think Dustin knew about the chain? What about Talon?