Disclaimer: “The Pretender” and it’s characters don’t belong to me they belong to their creators and owners. Please don’t sue because I have no money.

Author’s Note: Kind of a crossover with the book The Returned, but not really. 

The news on the TV had been showing people that have returned from the dead, but for three people at the Centre never thought that they would see the one's they loved back again.

The Returned

Miss Parker glared at Broots who had given them another possible lead on Jarod’s capture, but it didn’t pan out. Not only wasn’t Jarod there, but he hadn’t even been there. What was Broots thinking after that? They went out to look for the genius they were trying to capture to find out that he wasn’t there.

“What were you thinking Broots?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Parker. When I got the lead on the computer it was credible.”

“Apparently it wasn’t. Now get to work on finding boy wonder.” She glared again at Broots and pointed her finger to the computer. “And it better be right.” She said as she turned around and walked out without a look back.

Going to her office she sat down at her desk and looked at her desk. On the desk was a picture of her and her mother when she was a child. She thought of her mother. She loved her mother and wished everyday that she was here with her. She had of course seen the news on TV about loved one’s being brought back from the dead.

Sydney had called and told her that there was a lead on Jarod once again.

“This better be good, Broots.” She said as she took off not seeing if Sydney and Broots were following her.

When they got to Jarod’s newest pretend which was a very good lead. They had missed him by an hour one of the people said. She picked up the famous red book that Jarod had always left behind and flipped through it. She then put it in the box that they had put in Jarod’s other things that he had left behind.

It was a Friday when they had gotten back home. At least Broots lead was a good one not like the other one that left them on a wild goose chase.

On Saturday she decided to make her breakfast and coffee and sit outside. She looked at her backyard and wondered why she never got the chance to do this. She never got the chance just to relax because she always had to look for boy wonder.

Getting up she went into the kitchen to clean up. It was close to lunch time when a knock at the door.

She stalked to the door and opened it expecting it to be Sydney to tell them that they needed her to go find Jarod.

“Mama?” She said with her hand on her mouth.

“My baby girl.” Mrs. Parker said as she gathered her daughter into her arms.

“Is it really you?”

“It’s me.”

Mrs. Parker looked at her little girl who had grown up to be a woman. She couldn’t believe that she looked a lot like her. It was almost like they were twins.

“You look a lot like me, Angel.”

“I know.”

She sat down with her Mom on the couch and they started talking.

“What are you doing now, Angel?”

Miss Parker looked away at that question. She wondered what her Mom would think about what she was doing?

“What’s wrong?”

“I work at the Centre, Mama. I have a job looking for Jarod and trying to get him back.”

“Jarod? The little boy who you used to play with? The little boy who I tried to get out of the Centre to bring him to his parents?”

“Yes. He escaped when he found out about his Sims and they put me on the hunt for him.”

“Have you caught him yet?”

“No, he’s still out there.”

Mrs. Parker smiled at that. “What is he doing out there?”

“He helps the little people.”

“And yet you’re trying to get him back to the Centre? I know this world would need somebody like him. I remember talking to him.”

“Yes, I remember you telling him about Ethan. After he left the house you were at they repressed his memories and didn’t remember them until he was much older. I found out that not only he was my brother, but he’s Jarod’s brother too.”

“I knew he wanted to be called Ethan and had the same gifts as I do, but I had no idea that they used Jarod’s Dad’s DNA.”

“They used Jarod’s DNA to make a clone of Jarod. His name was Gemini, which should have changed by now. He left with Jarod’s father and we haven’t heard from Gemini.”

“I heard something about them wanting to do that, but I didn’t know if they would actually do that.”

They talked some more about the Centre and other stuff until late that night. She decided to take a couple of sick days off to be with her Mom now that she was back.

Disclaimer: “The Pretender” and it’s characters don’t belong to me they belong to their creators and owners. Please don’t sue because I have no money.

The Returned

Sydney watched as Miss Parker pace back and forth in front of him as she was angry at not finding Jarod once again. He felt torn sometimes because on one hand he wanted Jarod out there helping the little people, but he also wanted him back at the Centre to keep him safe and to resume their work even if he knew that Jarod wouldn’t help The Centre again. He had often thought of a paternal figure to the young pretender when he was growing up. He had raised him and taught him how to use his gifts. He still remembered a young Jarod who had rain gear on trying to do a sim on a boat. The little boy ran out of the room because it was too hard for him. He picked him up and held him saying if a sim gets to hard for the young pretender to say his safe word Refuge.

They had just gotten back from another of Jarod’s lairs today and of course found one of his red notebooks that he had always left behind. He was still giving them breadcrumbs after all these years they have been chasing him.

He glanced as Miss Parker turned around and stalked out of his office. He shook his head and wondered where the little girl who used to spend time with Jarod was. Watching her until she left the sim lab then he too got up and walked out of the room.

He sighed as he sat down on the chair of his living room. He wondered if they were ever going to find and capture Jarod and what would happen if they do? The Centre knew that he wouldn’t help them again.

He heard a knock at the door and got up to answer it. He stared in shock as he saw the other person. It was his twin brother Jacob. The same brother that had died and here he was on his doorstep.

“Sydney.”

“Jacob, I don’t understand.”

“I don’t either. I woke up in a hotel room and suddenly I was alive.”

Sydney thought back to what Broots had shown him. On the news was people coming back from the dead. He stared at his brother and embraced him. He had felt guilty that it was Jacob who had died and not him because they had been fighting about the children that the Centre had acquired.

“Broots, our computer tech showed Miss Parker and I a news station about people returning from the dead. It looks like you were one of them.” He said to his brother and wondered if Miss Parker’s Mother had returned too.

Jacob nodded at that and looked around.

“Are you hungry, or thirsty?”

“I’m a little bit of both.” Jacob replied

Sydney got up and heated up dinner and poured some water for Jacob. Sydney was hungry too and hadn’t eaten when he had gotten home.

After dinner they went back to the living room.

“Do you still work for the Centre?”

“Yes.”

“And what do you do?”

“I’m on the team to capture and bring back Jarod.”

Jacob closed his eyes at Jarod’s name. “I remember Jarod. I remember going through the window with another expeditor. Jarod had woken up and made a little noise and also made his lunchbox fall to the ground. We thought that it would wake up his parents, but it didn’t. We brought Jarod to the Centre that night. I feel so guilty for doing that to that little boy. He should have lived with his parents and not being kidnapped because he has a gift.”

Sydney had called The Centre the next day and took time off to be with his brother and they talked about the Centre and other stuff.

Disclaimer: “The Pretender” and it’s characters don’t belong to me they belong to their creators and owners. Please don’t sue because I have no money.

The Returned

Jarod glanced around the room to make sure that there was nothing to be left behind to make his hunters find him. He threw the red notebook on the bed and then grabbed his bag and left the hotel room. He went to his car and drove away. He didn’t know where he was going until he stopped to eat. He was going to Texas because somebody needed help there.

He walked up to his hotel room in another town. He hoped that he never got tired of helping people. It was the least that he could do since he was responsible for killing millions of people. He still felt guilty for his Sims that caused so much death and destruction. He picked up the remote and turned the TV on.

This just in another person has returned form the dead. The woman who was reporting the news told the audience about the person who had returned and was interviewing one of the people who knew the recently returned person.

He wondered if Miss Parker’s Mom had returned. He hoped so because she needed some happiness. He still remembered the little girl who had given him his first kiss. The same little girl who would keep him company. The same little girl who he saw peeking out when she wanted to help Gemini, or Jeremy who he was now called. He wondered too if Sydney’s brother returned too. He felt a connection to Sydney. He was like a father to him. He was the one who helped him with his gifts and he was the one who was responsible for his Sims.

It was the second day when there was a knock on the door. He froze when he heard it and thought that it couldn’t be the Centre because they would just barge in. He walked to the door and opened it. He stared at his little brother Kyle. The same Kyle who had been killed by Miss Parker’s brother Mr. Lyle.

“You returned.” Jarod said quickly putting the pieces together.

“I did. I woke up in a grassy meadow and knew that I was alive.”

“I’ve seen news that there are a lot of people returning from the dead.” Jarod said and then he thought. “How did you find me? If you found me easily then the Centre wouldn’t be far behind.”

“Don’t worry big brother. I knew where you were, but didn’t get it from The Centre.”

Jarod and Kyle went outside to eat since they were both hungry. They didn’t really talk with other people around and waited until they were back in the hotel room.

“I’m so glad that you came back, little brother.”

“Me too.”

“Have you found our family?”

“No, not yet.” Jarod told Kyle about their half brother Ethan and him also being Miss Parker’s half brother. He told him about Gemini and their father taking him and disappearing. He told him about Emily nearly dying because of Mr. Lyle.

Kyle had stayed with Jarod while he was on his pretend. He knew that after this last pretend it would be his last for a while. He wanted to spend time with his little brother and not have The Centre breathing down his back and to do that he would have to quit his pretends and have no contact with Miss Parker, or Sydney.

The End