A/N: I actually am getting good at this whole "updating" thing. If anybody complains about the frequency, you haven't been reading my stories very long.

Sorry the chapters aren't very long here lately; they all seem to be ending with people either a) getting knocked out, or b) sleeping. Yay!

~Rylee

CHAPTER 13

A HARD DECISION

MONTE awoke to dim, dingy light. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. It looked like she was in some abandoned house's room; the window was smashed, covered only by a gross, old curtain with holes and burn marks in it. She had been sleeping on an equally dirty mattress in the small bedroom, which also looked like it had gotten burned. Monte started panicking. She had been kidnapped by some creepy teenagers who took her out in the middle of nowhere by somehow making her car go to them.

Monte stood up shakily and listened. She didn't hear anybody in the house, but she still barely breathed. Creeping up to the window, she flicked back the dingy curtain to reveal the outdoors. It looked like the window looked out on the backyard, but she was dismayed to discover that she was on the third floor. How did this house hold up if it was three whole floors?

Knowing she couldn't jump, Monte went as silently as she could to the bedroom door (avoiding the burn spot on the floor, it didn't look very stable) and gripped the doorknob, listening again. Still, she didn't hear anything, and opened the door.

She looked out into the hallway and screamed. The blond boy from the field was standing out there with his arms crossed. Why hadn't she heard him? Now on the floor, Monte scooted away from the boy. "Why did you kidnap me? Let me go!"

The boy just shook his head. "We're not going to hurt you." He didn't step into the room. "We just want your friend and the object she possesses. No harm done."

Monte narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, that's why I'm in a creepy, burned-out house in the middle of nowhere. I'm going to call the police." She checked her pocket and found her phone was still there. Good thing she got kidnapped by stupid teenagers.

The boy frowned when she took the phone out, like he didn't know what it was. Monte scooted away from him more in case he attacked her. Great, her phone was off. She pressed the power button and waited.

"What is that?" The boy asked. He didn't know what a phone was? Weird. Monte's phone finally turned on and she started dialing. "Hey!" The blond said and held up his hand. The phone zipped out of Monte's hand and into his. He gripped it and turned it around in his hands, inspecting it.

"How did you do that?" Monte asked, completely freaking out now. "You just…made it come to you! How?!" She backed up more, now all the way to a burnt smelling wall.

He slipped the phone into his pocket. "We all have powers. You saw what I did with your car-"

"You're saying you possessed my car?"

The boy glared at her. "No, I just controlled it with my mind. I can also read minds." He sighed. "We came all the way from Cahaya just because Nejeri decided he needed help." He rolled his eyes. "Anyways, my name is Zaccur, and if you escape, I will know. You won't get very far between the four of us. Trust me."

Zaccur went out of the room, closing the door behind him. The girl seemed scared; he didn't blame her. It was weird enough seeing people without abilities, he couldn't imagine seeing people with abilities when all you knew was people without them. Walking down the old stairs, Zaccur arrived at the small room on the second floor they used as a conference room. He was supposed to update the other three about how the girl, who Nejeri called "the prisoner".

Zaccur thought it was bad enough they had kidnapped her. She shouldn't have to be called a prisoner. As he walked into the room, he took in the familiar sight. Nejeri and Isra were standing on opposite sides of the table, Isra with her hands on her hips, fists clenched, and Nejeri, arms crossed, scowling at Isra. ZaZa sat at the head of the table, looking at them with wide eyes and nervously braiding her bright red hair. When she saw Zaccur come in, she gestured helplessly to the two older teenagers, still locked in a fight.

"We need her!" Isra was arguing. "They will not come to us unless we give them a reason to!"

Nejeri shook his head. "No," He growled. "We need to just go for them and take the object our President desires. Be done with it. Keeping an annoying human prisoner will not help us in anyway. We don't know for sure if they will come for the prisoner or not."

"From the information the President has gathered, humans are loyal to their friends. It will work." Probably unintentionally, Isra had put some of her power into her voice, causing everyone in the room to yawn in harmony. She sighed. "Sorry." She turned to Zaccur. "What do you think we should do with the girl?"

Zaccur shut the door and sat down at the other head of the table, so he was across from ZaZa. "I think we should keep the human a little longer, seeing if the other human girl comes for her. If not, I can easily track them, and maybe ZaZa can bring them to us."

The younger girl's eyes widened. "I-I don't know if I could do that." She said quietly. "I could bring us to them, if I knew where they were."

Isra smiled triumphantly. "So, we have our plan." At Nejeri's scowl she said, "You are the one who called us here, Nejeri. Remember that." Isra sat down in the chair, but Nejeri kept standing.

"And as the one who called you here, and the eldest, I say we get rid of the human."

"Oh, yes, I forgot." Isra said dryly. "Maybe we should ask ZaZa." She looked pointedly at the girl, whose face went red at the eyes on her.

"I-I li-like Isra's pla-plan." She stuttered. Zaccur sent her a sympathetic look and turned to Nejeri.

"I think we've made our decision." He said, ignoring Nejeri's burning glare. "We're going to wait and see."

"And what happens when the old man teleports them?" Nejeri replied sourly. "What about then? We don't have much time."

"Then we have to act quickly." Isra addressed Zaccur. "Can you send the girl a dream vision tonight?"

He nodded. Dream visions were one of his specialties.

Kailen flopped down on the hard hotel bed and kicked off of her shoes. They had gone shopping two days before, then they drove to a new hotel yesterday, and Kailen was exhausted. After they had gotten to the current hotel, they went out and explored the town a bit. They were all tired of being cooped in tiny, dingy hotels.

Yesterday, Kailen's grandfather had tried teleporting them, but he had collapsed in exhaustion. Io assured her he was going to be fine, he just needed more rest. For the first time, Kailen took in just how old her grandfather was. She didn't think he should teleport them at all. The only problem was there might not be another way to get them to Cahaya.

After all the days they had been running, she had almost forgotten why they needed to get to Cahaya. They had to find somebody to destroy the object in the bag she kept with her at all times.

Kailen heard her grandfather and Io come in after her, her father gathering up his pajamas and going into the bathroom. She heard the shower turn on and let out a breath of relief. He seemed to be doing better. Kailen felt the bed sag slightly as Io sat down next to her. She sat up and looked at him, grumpily.

"I'm getting strange vibes from you." She said, testing out her empathy power. "Not really sure what it is though."

He thought for a second. "I don't think it's the best idea to have him teleport us."

Kailen nodded in agreement. "I don't think so either. But what other choice to we have?" She looked towards the bathroom door sadly. "Do you have any other ideas?"

"No," He said. "Not in the least." Io looked at the bag next to her with the SIT. "That object has caused much trouble."

"Do we even need to go to Cahaya?" Kailen said, looking at the bag too, and then looked at Io. "I mean, would that explosion dude be able to destroy it?"

"I believe it would have to be destroyed by a more powerful person than even him. I doubt if we could even convince him to help us he wouldn't make a dent on it. No, it may have to be destroyed by an Immortal."

Kailen had never heard that term before. "What's an Immortal?"

Io looked like he was thinking hard. "I'm not really sure. I heard some rumors at school, and we learned a little about them. I think they were some of the first Cahayans to receive powers from the radiation. Eventually the genes accepted the radiation and used it to give people powers. Rumor is that they were granted immortality by another alien race, and in return, they would keep peace on Cahaya." Io gave a dry laugh. "Obviously, they haven't been doing their jobs. I suppose many went into seclusion. The only ones we really hear about are Fate and Judgment."

"Interesting," Kailen commented. "Who are Fate and Judgment?"

Io shook his head. "It's a very long story. And boring. Anyways, if anybody has the power to destroy the SIT, it would be an immortal." He stood up. "Goodnight, Kailen."

She didn't know if his emotions were affecting her, or if it was real, but on an impulse, she stood up and kissed him on the cheek. Kailen pulled back, her face flaming red, and mumbled, "Sorry."

Io grinned. "It's okay." Kailen's grandfather came out of the bathroom, his hair wet. He narrowed his eyes at them, but didn't say anything. Kailen quickly brushed past Io without looking at him or her grandfather and gathered her pajamas, and rushed into the bathroom.

What the heck did she just do? Did she really just kiss him? Even though it was just on the cheek, she was still extremely embarrassed. Kailen was unsure how she felt about him, and this was even more confusing. Was that her, or was that her channeling his emotions?

She got into the shower and tried to wash away her worries. Kailen got out, got dressed and brushed her teeth, then went out into the bedroom. The two were already asleep, and she quietly climbed into bed, sure she wasn't going to be able to sleep. She was wrong.

In her dream, she saw Monte, who was lying on a mattress in the middle of a room that looked like some pyromaniac had set fire to it. Monte didn't look harmed, but she slept like she was having a bad dream. A voice that seemed to come from the walls filled Kailen's dream.

"If you want your friend, bring the Object you possess and we will let her go. You do not, she will die. Make your decision within the next day. Come to the Hamilton Plantation if you will comply. Choose wisely."

Kailen's dream faded, and she awoke to screaming.

A/N: Man, I feel cruel now. I mean, really? How evil am I with this freaking cliffhanger?

Uber evil. Sue meh.

Can you review? Please?

~Rylee