OTHERS (Formerly The Scarlet Effect)

53 - Resolution

"As Stella was saying," Brink begins the instant Travis and I step into the house, our hands intertwined.

I shoot him a glare as I tug Travis down to a seat beside me.

"Damon is a very dangerous man. For years, he's tried to capture us all. He craves nothing more than omnipotent power and carries the belief that we are the key. Kai, the leader of Nazareth, has been after us as well, for quite the opposite reason," Stella explains.

I hear a grunt come from the corner of the room and look to see Jada's mouth open. "Yeah, he wants you all dead. So did we."

Diane clears her throat, as though to settle the minor dispute. "But you chose against it," she reminds Jada. "Because you believed in their innocence."

"We believed killing you wouldn't make much of a difference," Jada corrects her. "Yes, you all posed as a threat. But many of us didn't even think you existed. Kai hired special forces to headhunt you Five and no one was able to find a trace of you. So I had my doubts. A lot of us had doubts, which is how this group came about in the first place."

Stella retakes the stage. "Damon travelled the universe to collect us one by one. We were constantly on the move. He was aware of Kai's plans to find us. Unlike Kai though, he didn't see us as a threat, but rather a weapon. Both men are determined to seek universal power, but in very different ways."

Jada nods. "I see. However, I believe in the power of the people. One tyrant should not be allowed to annex any existing world by force."

I nod as she speaks, agreeing with her.

"But Kai has a huge following in Nazareth. There, you are either for or against him, and those who are against him are put to death or banished."

"So how did you manage to escape?" I ask. All eyes in the room flick to me.

Jada steals a glance at her brother, Tyson, before continuing. "We stayed in hiding for a long time and slowly formed a group for those who opposed Kai's doings. We were only forty people strong, but we managed to hijack a ship and escape to Frost."

Frost. I've heard the name before.

"It's where Damon is from," Brink says aloud.

I turn my head to him. "I didn't ask you," I retort.

There goes the rolling of his eyes again. "Then I suggest you guard your thoughts a little better."

I slam my elbow onto the table and use my hand to block my view from him. Travis glides his hand along my back to soothe me.

"Frost is more or less a frozen wasteland where some of those who disagreed with Kai were exiled. We figured we'd be safe there," Jada continues. "Of course, after the hijacking, we lost a few supporters, so we only had thirty two to worry about." She bows her head, as though to pay tribute to the fallen. "That's when your mother came in, Aurora. Therese sent out a signal to your parents--"

"Therese was one of us, who contacted me through a satellite at our house for months," Diane buts in, staring directly at me. If she really is my mom, I feel horrible for not remembering her. She's probably done so much for me. "She was the one who informed us of the outbreak and advised for us to build a shelter. Her plan was to get your father and I out first because we wouldn't be immune to it. Then we were going to return to you with correct gear and take you with us." She starts to choke up, and her obvious pain nearly propels me to join in with her, but Jada fills in the gaps, turning my focus back to the larger issue.

"But some of Kai's men discovered our camp there, so we had no choice but to flee. We were forced to leave almost all of our equipment, but found a place here. We figured it would be decimated from the previous war, but we got lucky and found this place. Really lucky," Jada adds.