I had no idea how we would ever escape.
Drake groaned, and I squeezed his hand. Tears choked my throat and left wet lines down my cheeks. "Are you okay? Drake, I'm so sorry. You have to believe me. I need you. Our baby needs you. Please wake up."
"Sam? Oh, my head. Feels like a Mack truck ran me over, then backed up and did it a few more times for fun."
I helped him sit up and move to the loveseat. "What did he do to you?"
"Blew up my head. At least that's what if felt like. I can't use my mind powers. Can you?"
"No. On and off, but no one around here is open. His power... Drake, it's unparalleled."
The Seeker's voice startled us both. "Why thank you. That is the highest compliment coming from one such as yourself."
I hadn't heard him come in. The man was like a phantom. Did he have powers that we didn't even know about?
"Drake, I am so glad you are awake. It is time the three of us got to know each other—a family reunion, if you will."
I clenched my teeth. "We are not a family."
The Seeker frowned and feigned injury. "Your words hurt. My dear Sam, we have more in common than you know."
He sat in his chair and adjusted his white robes. Did he wear them for dramatic flare? "I have been looking forward to this day since you each were born. Drake, you came first, obviously. I was only a young boy then, just starting kindergarten, but my powers had already manifested. Oh, the things I could already do at such a tender age. My father, he couldn't have been happier to have a son with such talents, but.... Well, let us just say there is always room for improvement. So, he began research to create Sam."
Fear settled in my stomach like a brick. "What do you mean, create me?"
"Why, Sam, you are the most remarkable of all genetic experiments. You have our father's DNA, but you were lab-made. They used all the best bits of science they could find, I must say. They gave you power, health, longevity, beauty and brains. You are Father's perfect creation."
I could feel all the blood in my body rush to my feet. My face tingled with shock. "Are you saying that I'm... a test tube baby? And you're my brother?"
"Oh, that is just the beginning. You see, the woman in whom I had been implanted, my mother...." He spit the words at her as if they were poison. "She was in love with someone else. After she had given birth to me, she went on to get pregnant, without permission, with one of the doctors who worked in the labs. Drake, you were that baby. She snuck you out when you were an infant, and you disappeared into foster care. Father killed her, of course, but he could never find you—not until a few months ago. Admittedly, that was a clever plan of hers, to lose you in the bureaucracy. Do you have any idea how impossible it is to track anyone there? A real headache, I'll tell you."
What? Had I somehow slipped into a Twilight Zone episode? "You're insane. Truly, one-hundred-percent crazy."
The Seeker smiled and shrugged. "Perhaps, but it does not change the fact that I am telling you the truth. And do not worry about your relationship and your baby. There is absolutely no blood relation between the two of you. We made sure of that before breeding you together. Was that not a brilliant pairing? It was my idea. Father was quite pleased... until you two escaped. Now, that was not very sporting, after all we had done for you. But all's well that ends well. Here we are now, right where we were meant to be. Sam, you carry the most powerful human being to ever walk this Earth, right there in your belly. Mary, mother of Jesus, should have been so lucky."
Nightmarish memories that weren't memories flashed through my mind. Bile rose in my throat, and I ran to a corner to vomit out the limited contents of my stomach. If I never threw up another day in my life, it would be too soon.
A cold hand rested on my arm. I looked up, expecting to see Drake, and looked into eyes so pale they might not have had any pigment at all. The Seeker stared into me, and I felt him probing at my mind.
"This is a family business, Sam, and you and Drake are family. Granted, your boyfriend is more like the redheaded stepchild, but still, he has his uses. Together, there is nothing we could not do. You know only a tiny portion of what you are capable of. I can teach you, guide you, give you everything you need to fully utilize your gifts. We can be gods among men, Sam. We will rule the world."
He grabbed me, and his eyes blazed with a holy fervor. But something felt off about him, besides the whole being crazy thing. Something was draining his energy and power. Through his touch I could sense a poison crawling through him, eating him.
Crimson drops fell onto his robe. Blood.
"Your nose, it's bleeding, and... what's wrong with your eyes?"