It has been a season of rest and recuperation for mom, but for me and my brothers, it’s been a time of reflection and redirection. Once the novelty of Hawaii wore off, my brothers and I decided it was time to devise a plan of attack. We created goals together and divided the tasks. That was about four months ago.
Evan was to work with Dr. Andrews and Paulie on the study of our blood to try to determine what was going on with our metahuman abilities. If Williams wanted our blood so badly, we needed to figure out why.
Alik studied plans of attack both defensive and offensive. He studied information about Dr. Williams’ himself, including all his holdings, associates and projects. He worked on digging up anything he could about the doctor’s past. Who was this guy? Where did he come from? Who was his family? What made him tick?
My task was a very internal one. I worked on trying to control my ability to channel into someone’s emotions. I was getting better at it, but there was no way I could seek someone I only knew one-dimensionally from thousands of miles away and tune into to their feelings. That just wasn’t happening. Yet.
We were all beginning to feel very anxious that something big was going to happen soon. Williams would not just sit back forever while we tinkered with our meta abilities on the white sandy beaches of Hawaii. He had plans for us and revenge in his wicked heart.
19 The Family Meeting
“We need to have a family meeting. Dr. Andrews, Paulie and I need to discuss our laboratory findings,” Evan’s eyes reflected the gravity of his request. He had come into the living room and knelt beside our much recovered mother. She and Alik were reading thick books as they sat side by side on the sofa, just as they had done for as long as Evan could remember. Margo was such a devoted mother. It was obvious to everyone she was happiest when surrounded by her children.
Margo put down her book and looked deeply into her youngest son’s eyes. Seeing the profound seriousness and concern there, she whispered, “All right, Evan. Gather everyone here, and we’ll talk.”
Alik’s previously relaxed posture immediately responded to the tone of the room and he sat ridged, as if poised to leap into protective battle. Evan caught his eye before he stood to leave. Their exchange was solemn.
Fifteen minutes later, the entire household was present and accounted for. The usually cozy living room filled with local Hawaiian décor including small palms and wicker furniture felt decidedly tense.
Theo, Paulie and Evan stood fidgeting by the bay window and mom, Alik and I sat uncomfortably on the sofa. Maze whined softly beside me sensing there was something wrong. Without thinking, I reached to scratch my friend behind his alert ears. Cole paced nervously behind the couch.
Evan cleared his throat to begin. “We’ve checked and triple checked. We even tried changing the variables and looked for environmental factors that would contribute to or alter the results. Nothing. It’s fact. The mutations created in our bodies with the serum given to us as children did give us ultra abilities—more than any of the other metas Williams created—but at a price,” Evan’s voice cracked just enough to give his emotions away. Evan, the smartest of all of them, the baby, who was all logic and no emotion—Evan was trying not to cry.
“What Evan’s trying to say is that the data has indicated your life spans have been severely shortened because of the ‘metahuman’ demands placed on your bodies,” Paulie said with empathy in his voice.
Mom looked like she had just been punched in the stomach. She was sitting on the couch, surrounded by her children. Alik and I sat on either side of her protectively. “What do you mean ‘severely shortened!’” Mom’s usual calm was gone. Instead, her voice sounded frantic.
“Margo, imagine it’s very similar to the cliché ‘burning the candle at both ends.’ The children’s bodies were human. Dr. Williams’ super cocktail forced their human bodies to go into hyper mode. Their performance levels doubled and tripled in some areas. Our data points to a sort of countdown. The children are at or near their peak level of performance right now,” Theo leaned in and held Margo’s hand as he spoke.
“How much time do we have?” I asked, my voice sounding very far away to my own ears.
“We’re just able to give an approximation, of course,” Evan took a deep breath, steadying himself. “And keep in mind, timelines will vary somewhat between each of us.” He breathed again.
“Evan, spit it out! How long?” I couldn’t stop the room from spinning, I was so scared.
“Inside eighteen months. Maybe even two years, if we’re lucky,” Evan looked from Alik to me with exhausted eyes.
“Who’s going to go first?” my voice had no affect as I spoke to the room.