Inspiration Point Read online

  “Everything,” I said massaging my forehead as if I had a headache – but of course I never would.

  “Start from the beginning Hayln, tell me everything and then we can work it out together,” he reasoned.

  So I told him everything, Dad turning up covered in blood, his best friend being killed in front of him and of course his explanation of what happened in the past and what they wanted from him now – everything except my story.

  I was worried about how he would react to what I had told him, but he was taking everything surprisingly well. It was if believed everything I had told him without question, which is what I genuinely needed now. I had truly tested his faith in me, but of course, as always, he proved without doubt why he is my best friend. Because I knew I could depend on him, I decided to go ahead and tell him the rest.

  “That’s not all of it Tyler, there's more,” I said cautiously.

  “I’m listening,” he replied taking my hand in his and looking faithfully into my eyes.

  “My father was able to create a human embryo with just a sample of his sperm and a reworked version of the chemical DNA strain. My mother was pregnant at the time and things got pretty stressful, then she started to miscarry. Dad sedated her to try and stop it, but he couldn’t, and without her knowledge he implanted his experimental embryo, and it worked, I was born nine months later. My mother didn’t find out until I was five, which is when they got divorced.” I stopped now to read his face, but again he seemed to be taking this in his stride.

  “Well, that explains your mother’s behavior I suppose,” he said.

  “Is that all you have to say?” I asked disbelievingly.

  “What did you want me to say?” He asked a little confused.

  “Maybe something about the fact that I’m one of my father’s science experiments! I mean I thought you would be a little worried that you’re friends with a genetic mutant.” I blurted out.

  “Hayln, I know who are, and this doesn’t change that,” he said softly squeezing my hand.

  “How can you know who I am when I have no idea,” I questioned shaking my head.

  “You’re exactly the same girl as you were yesterday and the week before that. The only difference is you have more information now,” he said simply.

  I thought about that for a moment, and he continued.

  “This isn’t your fault Hayln, none of it,” he said. “And it doesn’t change who you are unless you let it.”

  “Maybe,” I said not really sure if it could all be that simple.

  “What I am worried about, is what you are going to do now? I mean with that Spencer guy hanging around?” He asked.

  “Well, Dad wants Mum, Emin and I to leave and hide somewhere while he goes with Spencer to try and sort this out. But I don’t like it, if Spencer killed Able so easily what’s stopping him from killing Dad even if he does finds a way to do what they want him to do?” I said.

  “Running away doesn’t sound like a good idea either Hayln, I mean he said they were watching you right? If you did something like that they might hurt all of you,” he insisted.

  “What do you suggest then?” I questioned.

  “That your Dad does exactly what they have asked him to, he goes with them. It sounds like these guys shouldn’t be messed with,” he said firmly.

  “No that’s just it Tyler, they can’t be trusted, not with my father and not with his work,” I said. I knew now what I had to do, I had to go home and sort this out with my family, and make sure my father wasn’t going to do anything stupid. I saw my school bus pulling up across the road. “I have to go back home Tyler to sort this out,” I said as I stood up.

  “I’ll come too Hayln,” he said.

  “No, we need to figure this out on our own Tyler, I have probably already put you in danger by telling you what I have. You need to go home, and I'll call you tonight okay,” I said as I crossed the road to the bus.

  He waved goodbye, but he looked more worried now than when I was telling him my story.

  I jumped on the bus ignoring the strange looks from some of the kids in my classes. I was eager to get home and worried about what might have happened since I left.

  I jumped off at my stop, surprised at how far I had run this afternoon. As I walked towards my house, I noticed Zeke heading to the van. I was worried he might be upset with me for running away from him earlier so I was keen to catch up with him, even though I had no idea if he knew the truth yet.

  “Hey Zeke, wait up,” I yelled as I started jogging towards him. He looked up at me, but then looked away as soon as our eyes met and I knew he knew. He opened the door, got in and started the engine so I yelled again needing a chance to talk to him. “Zeke wait,” I pleaded.

  But he pulled away without looking at me. My shoulders fell, and my heart broke, he knew, and he couldn’t face me. I watched the van turn the corner and wondered if he would ever look at me with those beautiful emerald eyes again. I walked into the house and Emin was at the door waiting.

  “You told Zeke,” I said knowing the answer.

  “Yeah I did, I didn’t think you’d mind,” he said quietly.

  “I don’t, it’s just… he wouldn’t even look at me,” I said as I tried to hide my feelings of how much his leaving hurt.

  “Give him time Hayl’s, this has been a pretty big shock to all of us,” he said. “How are you going anyway?” I could tell he was truly worried.

  “I’ll be fine, I just needed some time to think,” I reassured him. “How’s Dad, did I miss anything?”

  “Well, he is still insisting on us running off into the mountains somewhere while we leave him here with those government pigs. Oh, and he told us what they want him to do. They want the DNA strain developed to be put into adults, to enhance specific abilities, to develop a sort of super soldier. But I have another plan,” he said eagerly.

  “As long as we are all together I’m up for it,” I confirmed.

  “Exactly Hayl’s, we have to stick together now – no more running away if things get tough,” he said sympathetically, but I knew he was right. “We all love you and nothing that was said today has changed that, but we need you now okay,” he said almost pleading.

  “I promise,” I said to him.

  “All right then, let’s go run this idea past Mum and Dad,” he said positively.

  They were still sitting in the lounge where I left them. Both their faces looked relieved as I walked into the room with Emin.

  “Are you okay Hayln?” my Mum asked.

  “Yes, I guess I was shocked that’s all,” I replied.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you from the start, with all of you,” my father started to say, but I butted in.

  “Dad, no apologies okay, we need to figure out what we do next,” I said confidently. The truth is I just wasn’t ready to talk about this right now so I decided to ignore the part of my life where I was a mutant family disaster and concentrate on saving my Dad.

  “We need to get you three out of here quickly,” he said without thinking.

  “Well that’s the bit we aren’t happy with Dad we won’t leave you here, it’s not an option,” Emin said firmly. “Plus we have another idea.”

  “It’s too dangerous Emin – I can’t risk it,” he replied.

  “Too dangerous?” I argued “No, what is dangerous Dad is you putting your life in the hands of these killers and giving them what they want, that’s dangerous.”

  “Let’s just hear the idea Ethan, Hayln is right, keeping us safe so they can create some super army for god only knows what, that is too dangerous,” my mother urged.

  He thought about this more a minute more and nodded ready to hear Emin’s idea.

  “Okay, well all four of us need to be able to get away together and go to this place Dad has, at least until we can think of something else,” Emin started.

  “But they will be watching us Emin,” Dad reminded him.

  “I know, so we need a diversion or som
ething right?” Emin confirmed.

  “What did you have in mind,” I encouraged him.

  “Well, I was thinking we need a crowd and just enough time for us to escape without them seeing us and then I thought about Dad’s benefit dinner. They said you had to cut all ties here so we can tell the Dean it will be your farewell too and we will all attend. Spencer will assume you're doing exactly what he told you to, and hopefully they will back off a little with everybody there. They won’t want to raise suspicion. With over two hundred people there I figure we just need to have another vehicle waiting, slip out and then go wherever Dad has planned.” He stopped to hear our reactions.

  “Sounds good to me,” I said “although I hate formal wear,” I grumbled attempting to lighten the mood a little.

  “It could work Ethan, don’t you think?” My mother encouraged.

  “I guess it’s worth a try,” he agreed. “But we need to make the whole thing very convincing and time leaving the benefit just right,” he said almost confidently with a hint of hope.

  “We can do it Dad, I know we can. We won’t leave you here with them okay, it’s just not an option,” Emin said, and we all nodded in agreement.

  “I guess I better ring the Dean and let him know I’m resigning then,” my father said started to put the plan into place already.

  And then it dawned on me that I only have just over 24 hours of this life left and then I will be in hiding for who knows how long.

  “Anyone hungry?” I said as I started my way to the kitchen wanting a distraction.

  “Starving,” Emin responded.

  “Zeke brought back some food, I have put it in the fridge,” Mum called out. “Let me know if you need a hand.”

  I was happy to cook on my own, it found it relaxing. I looked at the supplies he brought. Apart from the basic’s I found a piece of lamb and I was suddenly inspired.

  I went all out, glad for the distraction. I made a stuffing for the lamb with some herbs, pine nuts, fresh breadcrumbs and soft cheese, prepared as many vegetables as I could find in the fridge and roasted some potatoes. By the time I was onto a sauce, they had joined me in the kitchen. All desperate to know what I was cooking that smelt so good. Mum set the table and helped Dad take a seat while Emin and I dished up. Then we all sat down together to eat the meal I had prepared. It was a strange realization that this was the first meal we had eaten together in twelve years, and it would also be the last meal we would eat in this house.

  My mum chuckled to herself as she was eating which worried me so I had to ask. “Is something wrong?”

  “Hardly,” she said smiling at me. “It’s just that this is truly delicious Hayln, have you been taking classes at school?” she questioned.

  “No, I replied,” quite pleased with myself. “I just pulled a few things together, I have never cooked this before,” I said.

  By now, Dad and Emin were both making sounds demonstrating that they too were enjoying the meal.

  “I wonder,” Dad said in between mouthfuls.

  “Wonder what?” Mum responded to him.

  They had been more at ease with each other today than I remember seeing them since they were married.

  “Well if this is another of Hayln’s talents,” he concluded.

  “Cooking? Really?” I queried.

  “I think he is right Hayln,” Mum added. “Your father was quite a good cook when he got a chance, but this is really exceptional,” she smiled at me.

  “It is really good Hayl’s,” Emin added. He hadn’t spoken as he was too busy eating but had finished his meal now. “Are there any seconds?”

  “In the oven,” I replied, thinking to myself how enjoyable this felt, to all be together.

  Once we had all finished, and Emin had practically licked his plate clean, I started to pack up.

  “We can do that Hayln,” Mum offered, taking Dad’s plate to the sink.

  “Really, I don’t mind, it helps to keep busy.”

  She nodded and her, and Emin helped Dad up. “We will take him upstairs then and get him ready for bed, he needs his rest for tomorrow,” she said.

  Tomorrow, I thought to myself. It made me nervous to think what tomorrow would bring. After I cleaned up and packed everything away I decided I better call Tyler before it got much later, I knew he would be worried so I grabbed the phone.

  “Hello,” he said sounding anxious.

  “It’s me Tyler, everything’s fine,” I said wondering if the phones could be tapped. It’s probably unlikely, and I am just being paranoid, but I wasn’t going to take a chance.

  “What going on?” He asked

  “I was wondering if you could come and see me tomorrow because I won’t be in class,” I asked, hoping that he wouldn’t give anything away.

  “Of course,” he sounded a little confused. “I will come over right after school, is that okay?”

  “Perfect,” I said. “See you then, and thanks for being so great this afternoon.”

  “No problem,” he said, I could almost hear him smiling.

  “Bye Tyler,” I said as I hung up the phone.

  “I bet he didn’t act like arse when you told him,” Zeke said.

  I turned on my heel, to see Zeke standing just inside the back door, my heart was racing, but I wasn’t sure whether it was from being startled or from seeing him standing there with his emerald eye’s trapping me again. He looked tired, and he hadn’t shaved but this somehow only made him more appealing.

  “If by acting like an arse, you mean that he ran when he saw me because he couldn’t look me in the eye – no he didn’t. He was surprisingly understanding actually.”

  “Of course he was,” Zeke muttered said as he walked into the kitchen. “Wow, something smells good, what did you cook for tea?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “The lamb you bought,” I answered.

  “Damn, I hoped I would have been here for that,” he sounded disappointed.

  “Me too,” I replied, and then immediately felt guilty. I could see that he was upset with himself. “There’s some leftover’s if you’d like some,” I added.

  “Maybe later, I owe you an apology first,” he said as he walked around the table and stood in front of me. “I’m sorry Hayl’s, I can’t believe I acted like that, I was a jerk.”

  “It’s actually pretty understandable, it was a lot to take in, believe me, I know,” I said.

  “That’s the whole point though, you were the one who needed support and I just left,” he said shaking his head in disbelief.

  “I understand Zeke, really I do, it freaked you out,” I said as he reached out to hold my hand. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I don’t have a real mother.” He moved closer to me now and grabbed my other hand and brought them together sandwiched between his larger, warm ones.

  “I guess I was a bit freaked out, but I am so sorry Hayln you have to believe me. As soon as I drove away I regretted it, and it didn’t take me long to realize that what we found out today makes no difference to how I feel about you,” he said as he softy reached to trace a finger across my lips and then placed his hand against my neck.

  “Did Emin convince you about his plan to get you all out of here?” He whispered.

  “Yes tomorrow, during the benefit,” I confirmed as I followed the line of his jaw feeling the stubble on his chin under my fingers.

  “So, tonight is the last night we have together before you leave,” he stated because he knew it was true.

  “Yes,” I said as I withdrew my hand from his face and returned it to my side.

  I was nervous now, not quite having thought through what I was about to say to him.

  “I need to tell you something before I go, it will probably make things harder, but I need you to know anyway.”

  “Okay,” he murmured a little apprehensively. “Say whatever you need to Hayln.”

  “I told you that I needed time to sort things out, but I'm not sure I truly did. I think I alw
ays knew, even from the beginning,” I said still sounding a little nervous. “And then when we kissed last night, it was clear – I want to be with you Zeke. And I'm sorry I didn’t say it earlier, especially now I’m leaving tomorrow.” I didn’t get a chance to continue, his arms brought me into his chest, and his lips found mine.

  I didn’t think we could find more passion between us, but we did. His lips felt urgent, as if he truly believed that this might be our last kiss. My hands found their way under his shirt and traced the curves of his back while holding him as close to me as possible. He quickly did the same and a wave of heat rushed through me as he touched my skin. I could feel a smile on his lips as he was kissing me – he was enjoying this, and so was I. I pulled back to see his face to know what he was thinking, but he wasn’t going let me get too far.

  He leant his forehead on mine. “Do you think your parent’s would let me stay in your room tonight, since this will be out last night together?” He said joking with me, but I could tell he had been thinking about it, and I had to admit, so had I.

  “Not a chance,” I said kissing him softly down his neck. “But I would like you to stay the night, so I can see you in the morning.”

  “Anything you like,” he said enjoying my kisses. “But you better stop that or I won’t be able to let you go at all.”

  “Okay then,” I sighed not wanting this to end just yet. “Maybe you could walk me to my room then,” hoping that would prolong things.

  “I’d love to Miss Knox,” he said taking my hand in his, and we walked towards the stairs when we were interrupted by Emin. He stood at the bottom of the stairs arms crossed in front of his chest and a look of shock spread across his face. He had obviously seen us in the kitchen.

  “Ezekiel Banner, what the hell do you think you’re doing with my sister?” He demanded.

  We both stood there stunned, neither of us had heard his approach, he continued to glare at us – well Zeke actually, and then he spoke again.

  “Do you have any idea what Hayln has been through today, and then you pull that stuff on her,” he said accusingly.

  “No Emin you don’t understand,” I tried to explain, but he held his hand up to stop me.