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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Author's Note: There's a big twist in this chapter. I don't know if any of you have seen it coming. I didn't. Hope you don't hate me for it.
In a Heartbeat
By RaajmdTMP
Part 4
Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Monday, May 21, 2001
Seventh Block
Fiona walked into her new math classroom. She took the seat behind a boy named Danny, who she had met earlier in the day.
"Watch out Fi, you better not cross the 'Wolf,' she'll bite your head off."
"The wolf?"
"Mrs. Wolfman, you heard of her?"
"I- I think I know her."
Mrs. Wolfman walked in the room. The color drained from her face when she saw Fiona. She knew she was going to be here, but it wasn't real until that second.
"How do you know her? Fi, Fi are you okay?"
"My father, he told me I would know one of my teachers. I just never guessed it would be her. Never in a million years…"
"How long have you known her?"
"All my life. Well, most of it. Look, Dan, my parents told me not to tell people too much about my past."
"Why?"
"It's complicated. Maybe I could tell you later. But right now, I can't. I'm sorry."
"Fiona, come with me. I have to find you a book."
"I'll be right there, D… ah, Mrs. Wolfman."
Once they were down the hall in the supply closet, Fiona got up the courage to talk to her.
"I never thought I'd see you again, Dr. Wolfman."
"Fiona, I…"
"I know. It was for my own safety and yours. I still… I missed you."
"I missed you, too. When Jarod came to talk to me Friday…"
"My father," Fiona interrupted, suddenly realizing something. "Jarod is my father. You helped me escape after he did. Did you really not have any idea about who my parents were?"
"I had my theory but I couldn't tell you."
"Why?"
"I didn't want to get your hopes up."
"Get my hopes up! That was my family. After my life, I think I ought to have the chance to get my hopes up!"
"Fiona, please. I had no choice. They would have had me killed."
Fiona just stared at her contemplating what she was hearing. Mrs. Wolfman was right and she knew it. She felt like her father must have when he was first confronting Sydney after he escaped.
"I'm sorry. You gave up your entire life for me. You saved me from that place. I… I overreacted."
"You had every right to say what you said. I deserved it. I guess we better get back to class before the kids get too loud. Here's your book."
They walked back to the classroom. When they came in, everyone looked up. Fiona wasn't used to that kind of attention. She blushed slightly and took her seat.
"Fiona, what happened?" Danny whispered.
"I yelled at her because she helped keep me from my parents for the past thirteen years."
"Very funny, what really happened?"
"We had trouble finding a book."
"You know, for some reason, I find that easier to believe."
"Yeah, well, you've only known me for six hours. Wait a week and you'll probably take that back."
~*****~
"For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, and that of which I am afraid befalls me." Job 3:25
~*****~
Candy Castle
Melrose, MA
After School
"Look at all this candy! My father would love this place. By the way, what is a Swedish Fish?"
"You've never had a Swedish Fish before? Boy, where did you grow up?" Danny asked.
Fiona put her selections on the counter in the small store.
"That'll be $3.25," the storeowner said.
"Okay, hold on a second." Fiona searched through her backpack for her Certs container that she hid her money in. She glanced out the window towards the train station. There were two men in dark suits who seemed to be asking people questions. She dropped the container she had been searching for.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Do you have a back exit?"
"Yes, but your not allowed… Wait, come back!"
Fiona started to run for the back room when the men crossed the street. She pulled Danny with her.
"What's wrong, Fi?"
"I can't talk now, we have to go."
"Who were those guys?"
"My past. Now follow me!"
The two teens ran through the store and out the back. They were far enough away not to be seen but close enough to hear the bell ring when the men entered the building. They could hear three muffled voices coming from inside.
"Come on Dan, they'll come out soon."
She ran across the street in front of her with Dan close behind. She could sense the sweepers following her. They ran down a one-way street, following a shortcut Fiona had discovered over the past weekend. This street led to Day Street.
Fiona decided that it would not be safe to return home with the sweepers as close behind as they were. She had to put more space than a street between them. She turned into the driveway of the house next to hers. The backyard was located in the center of the block. The pair ran to the very back of the thickly wooded yard. There was no fence separating it from other yards, so they were able to cut about half the street out of their escape.
There was an apartment building directly across from where they emerged from the yard. As they ran to the back of the parking lot, Fiona quickly thought about what their next move should be.
"Can you climb a chain link fence with that cast?" she asked, pointing at the bright green cast on his left arm covered with notes written by his friends.
"Well, I think so…"
"Good, you go first."
She helped Dan over the rather tall fence in the back of the parking lot that led to a large field before pulling herself over. She dropped down on the other side and stumbled when she started to walk. When she got her balance back, she led Dan out of view from Albion Street.
"What do they want with you?" Dan asked after he caught his breath.
What should she do? Should she tell him? He was a part of it now; he needed to know, for his own safety.
"You would have been so much safer if you hadn't met me."
"Why is that?"
"This is going to be very hard to believe," she paused, waiting for a reaction. "There's a reason I couldn't tell anyone about my past. As you can see, they're chasing me. They're chasing my entire family."
"Why would they do that?" he asked still confused.
"To control us. You see, my father is a genius. He can become anyone he wants to be and… so can I. The corporation those people work for kidnapped my father when he was four years old and sold his genius to the highest bidder. I… I was created from my parents' DNA for these abilities.
We were both held captive all our lives. My father escaped about five years ago. I escaped a year ago, with someone's help."
"You said you knew Mrs. Wolfman. If you lived there all your life, how could you?"
"I was getting to that. She raised me, kept me safe. She was actually the one who helped me escape."
Danny's mouth dropped open, obviously surprised to hear that. He tried to absorb all this information. It sounded like something you'd see on television. He could hardly believe something like this could ever happen in real life.
"So what you said earlier, that you yelled at her, that was true?"
"As true and real as I'm talking to you now."
"Wow," he said while trying to think of something better to say. "I'll never look at Mrs. Wolfman the same way again. I had no idea that kind of stuff actually happened."
"I'm sorry you had to be a part of this, Danny."
"No, that's okay. I could use a little excitement in my life," he said, still not understanding the full consequences of knowing or being a part of what he was now.
She smiled sadly.
"You can't tell anyone about this, Dan. You could be in grave danger if you did. With even the little you know of my story, they wouldn't think twice about killing you. You have to promise with all your heart you'll never tell."
He just stared at her. It took him a while to find his voice again.
"I… I promise, of course I do. We have to get further away than this. Do you know anywhere safe?"
"I should call my parents. They have to know about this. Maybe they could pick us up or something." Fiona took her cell phone out of her pocket and hit speed dial.
"Hello."
"Dad, I had a little trouble with a couple of sweepers down by the train station. Can you pick me up in the back of the apartments across the street from our house?"
"Sweepers?! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just try to come quick. I'm not sure where they are."
"Of course. We'll be there in a half hour. We're at the car dealership in Danvers. I can't get there any faster. Can you find somewhere to stay until then?"
"I think we can," she said and hung up before he could say anything else.
"Do you know anyone who lives around here, Danny? We have to hide for another half an hour till my parents get here."
"I know a kid that lives in the apartment building. We could wait there."
They walked over to the fence slowly and looked around. There was no sign of the sweepers. Again, Fiona helped Dan over the fence and climbed over herself, having a little more difficulty than before. They entered the building around the back. They made there way up the black cement painted stairs. Fiona skipped over one step that had a crack down the middle of it.
"He lives in apartment…"
"C4," Fiona interrupted.
"How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess?"
"Fiona, you're weird."
Dan knocked on the door to C4.
"Hang on a second!"
Tom unlocked the door and looked outside. He was about Fiona's height with green-blue eyes and dark brown hair.
"Danny, what are you doing here?"
"We needed someplace to stay for a half hour until Fi's parents pick us up."
"Fiona? You just moved in across the street, right?"
"Yeah. I don't have a key yet."
"Well, you're welcome to stay here. I'm Tom Pike."
"Nice to meet you. Ah, this may sound a little weird, but your father wouldn't happen to be a detective, would he?"
"Yes he is. He was just promoted about six months ago. Someone tried to steal his position, but a man helped him get the job he deserved. How'd you…?"
"Don't ask."
Fiona smiled as she remembered Jarod's alias from when he was interviewing Mrs. Patten in November. He called himself Detective Pike. He must have helped Tom's father uncover the truth about the person that was trying to steal his job. Many of her discoveries over the past few months had proved that it really was a small world.
Fiona and Dan waited in Tom's apartment for Jarod to show up for about twenty-five minutes. She decided that she should go outside to wait the remaining five minutes, for the sole reason that Jarod wouldn't have to bring attention to them by beeping. She wouldn't be waiting out in the open, anyway.
Fi explained her plan to Danny quietly and he followed her back outside. They scanned the area carefully before heading into view. She quickly jogged behind the dumpster in the back of the parking lot. There was a wooden fence that led to a yard overgrown with plants next door. She climbed through the fence and crouched down with Dan close behind.
A white minivan drove slowly down the street and parked around the other side of the building. Fiona asked Dan if he could go and check it out. He would be in less danger than her if sweepers saw him. As he climbed through the fence, she got a sudden sense of foreboding. She could feel something bad was going to happen all the way down to her toes, which I may add were getting wet by the puddle she was standing in. To be better hidden, and to get out of the puddle, she backed further in to the dark, ominous yard.
As Dan got closer to the van he heard a rustle behind him. He assumed that Fiona had deemed it safe and began to follow him. He reached the car to find the driver talking to someone in the backseat, whose identity was hidden by the tinted windows. Dan knocked on the front window and the driver jumped at the sound. He turned to face Danny and rolled down the window.
"Are you Mr. Mason?"
"Yes. Do you know where my daughter is?" Jarod questioned.
Dan turned around. Fiona wasn't there.
"Well, I thought she was right behind me. I guess she's still over there hiding," Dan explained while pointing to the yard. He ran back to the fence.
"Fiona, it's your father. Fiona?" He couldn't see her anywhere in the yard. "Mr. Mason, come here! I can't find her!" Danny yelled climbing through the fence again to try to look for her more closely.
Jarod got out of the car quickly and ran over to help find Fiona, turning on his car alarm as he ran. He, instead of climbing through, jumped over the fence.
"She was just here?" he asked, his worry apparent in his voice.
"Yes, I swear she was right here. She asked me to go out and check if it was your car. She was worried about the sweepers seeing her."
"You know about the sweepers? How much did she tell you?"
"She told me only what I needed to know to stay safe. They saw me. Now I know I can't tell anyone what I know or they'll kill me. Don't worry, she didn't tell me until after I had already seen them."
"They must have waited until she was alone." It sounded like Jarod was either going to go kill the sweepers with his bare hands or start to cry. He looked around apprehensively.
"Danny, they could still be here. We have to go."
"But what about Fiona?"
"We'll get her back. If it's the last thing I do we'll get her back."
Jarod and Dan ran back to the new minivan. Jarod opened the door and got in. He told Dan to do the same. Danny took a seat in the very back row. He was behind Miss Parker and Christian.
"Jarod, what happened? Where's Fiona? And who is that?" Parker asked, looking back at Dan after she noticed that Jarod was shaking so badly, he had trouble putting the key in the ignition.
"They… They got her. They took her and I wasn't around to stop it," he paused taking the parking brake off and starting to drive. "Danny was with her when the sweepers came. He's a part of all this now. He was thrown in the middle of it," Jarod said looking at the passengers in the rearview mirror.
"How did you know my name?" Dan asked, now realizing that neither Fiona nor himself had told Jarod.
"Lucky guess?" Jarod said in the exact same tone that Fiona had used not an hour before. Dan had seen many kids who resembled or acted like their parents, but this was ridiculous. Knowing something they couldn't know and then giving the same excuse? No one can guess that well.
He wanted to know the whole story but knew they couldn't tell him. So, instead he settled for sitting in the backseat with his head in his hands, trying to comprehend all that happened since morning while Jarod continued to drive.
After about ten minutes, they arrived at Dan's house.
"We're here, Danny," Miss Parker said quietly when they pulled up. Dan lifted his head. He didn't even bother to ask how they knew where he lived.
"Try to get some sleep. I know this is a lot for you to handle, but you have to get on with your life. You don't have to worry about Fiona much; we'll get her back. We have to ask you a favor, other than keeping this a secret. Please tell Mrs. Wolfman that we need to speak with her after school tomorrow."
Dan nodded and walked up to his house in a daze.
In a Heartbeat
By RaajmdTMP
Part 4
Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Monday, May 21, 2001
Seventh Block
Fiona walked into her new math classroom. She took the seat behind a boy named Danny, who she had met earlier in the day.
"Watch out Fi, you better not cross the 'Wolf,' she'll bite your head off."
"The wolf?"
"Mrs. Wolfman, you heard of her?"
"I- I think I know her."
Mrs. Wolfman walked in the room. The color drained from her face when she saw Fiona. She knew she was going to be here, but it wasn't real until that second.
"How do you know her? Fi, Fi are you okay?"
"My father, he told me I would know one of my teachers. I just never guessed it would be her. Never in a million years…"
"How long have you known her?"
"All my life. Well, most of it. Look, Dan, my parents told me not to tell people too much about my past."
"Why?"
"It's complicated. Maybe I could tell you later. But right now, I can't. I'm sorry."
"Fiona, come with me. I have to find you a book."
"I'll be right there, D… ah, Mrs. Wolfman."
Once they were down the hall in the supply closet, Fiona got up the courage to talk to her.
"I never thought I'd see you again, Dr. Wolfman."
"Fiona, I…"
"I know. It was for my own safety and yours. I still… I missed you."
"I missed you, too. When Jarod came to talk to me Friday…"
"My father," Fiona interrupted, suddenly realizing something. "Jarod is my father. You helped me escape after he did. Did you really not have any idea about who my parents were?"
"I had my theory but I couldn't tell you."
"Why?"
"I didn't want to get your hopes up."
"Get my hopes up! That was my family. After my life, I think I ought to have the chance to get my hopes up!"
"Fiona, please. I had no choice. They would have had me killed."
Fiona just stared at her contemplating what she was hearing. Mrs. Wolfman was right and she knew it. She felt like her father must have when he was first confronting Sydney after he escaped.
"I'm sorry. You gave up your entire life for me. You saved me from that place. I… I overreacted."
"You had every right to say what you said. I deserved it. I guess we better get back to class before the kids get too loud. Here's your book."
They walked back to the classroom. When they came in, everyone looked up. Fiona wasn't used to that kind of attention. She blushed slightly and took her seat.
"Fiona, what happened?" Danny whispered.
"I yelled at her because she helped keep me from my parents for the past thirteen years."
"Very funny, what really happened?"
"We had trouble finding a book."
"You know, for some reason, I find that easier to believe."
"Yeah, well, you've only known me for six hours. Wait a week and you'll probably take that back."
~*****~
"For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, and that of which I am afraid befalls me." Job 3:25
~*****~
Candy Castle
Melrose, MA
After School
"Look at all this candy! My father would love this place. By the way, what is a Swedish Fish?"
"You've never had a Swedish Fish before? Boy, where did you grow up?" Danny asked.
Fiona put her selections on the counter in the small store.
"That'll be $3.25," the storeowner said.
"Okay, hold on a second." Fiona searched through her backpack for her Certs container that she hid her money in. She glanced out the window towards the train station. There were two men in dark suits who seemed to be asking people questions. She dropped the container she had been searching for.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Do you have a back exit?"
"Yes, but your not allowed… Wait, come back!"
Fiona started to run for the back room when the men crossed the street. She pulled Danny with her.
"What's wrong, Fi?"
"I can't talk now, we have to go."
"Who were those guys?"
"My past. Now follow me!"
The two teens ran through the store and out the back. They were far enough away not to be seen but close enough to hear the bell ring when the men entered the building. They could hear three muffled voices coming from inside.
"Come on Dan, they'll come out soon."
She ran across the street in front of her with Dan close behind. She could sense the sweepers following her. They ran down a one-way street, following a shortcut Fiona had discovered over the past weekend. This street led to Day Street.
Fiona decided that it would not be safe to return home with the sweepers as close behind as they were. She had to put more space than a street between them. She turned into the driveway of the house next to hers. The backyard was located in the center of the block. The pair ran to the very back of the thickly wooded yard. There was no fence separating it from other yards, so they were able to cut about half the street out of their escape.
There was an apartment building directly across from where they emerged from the yard. As they ran to the back of the parking lot, Fiona quickly thought about what their next move should be.
"Can you climb a chain link fence with that cast?" she asked, pointing at the bright green cast on his left arm covered with notes written by his friends.
"Well, I think so…"
"Good, you go first."
She helped Dan over the rather tall fence in the back of the parking lot that led to a large field before pulling herself over. She dropped down on the other side and stumbled when she started to walk. When she got her balance back, she led Dan out of view from Albion Street.
"What do they want with you?" Dan asked after he caught his breath.
What should she do? Should she tell him? He was a part of it now; he needed to know, for his own safety.
"You would have been so much safer if you hadn't met me."
"Why is that?"
"This is going to be very hard to believe," she paused, waiting for a reaction. "There's a reason I couldn't tell anyone about my past. As you can see, they're chasing me. They're chasing my entire family."
"Why would they do that?" he asked still confused.
"To control us. You see, my father is a genius. He can become anyone he wants to be and… so can I. The corporation those people work for kidnapped my father when he was four years old and sold his genius to the highest bidder. I… I was created from my parents' DNA for these abilities.
We were both held captive all our lives. My father escaped about five years ago. I escaped a year ago, with someone's help."
"You said you knew Mrs. Wolfman. If you lived there all your life, how could you?"
"I was getting to that. She raised me, kept me safe. She was actually the one who helped me escape."
Danny's mouth dropped open, obviously surprised to hear that. He tried to absorb all this information. It sounded like something you'd see on television. He could hardly believe something like this could ever happen in real life.
"So what you said earlier, that you yelled at her, that was true?"
"As true and real as I'm talking to you now."
"Wow," he said while trying to think of something better to say. "I'll never look at Mrs. Wolfman the same way again. I had no idea that kind of stuff actually happened."
"I'm sorry you had to be a part of this, Danny."
"No, that's okay. I could use a little excitement in my life," he said, still not understanding the full consequences of knowing or being a part of what he was now.
She smiled sadly.
"You can't tell anyone about this, Dan. You could be in grave danger if you did. With even the little you know of my story, they wouldn't think twice about killing you. You have to promise with all your heart you'll never tell."
He just stared at her. It took him a while to find his voice again.
"I… I promise, of course I do. We have to get further away than this. Do you know anywhere safe?"
"I should call my parents. They have to know about this. Maybe they could pick us up or something." Fiona took her cell phone out of her pocket and hit speed dial.
"Hello."
"Dad, I had a little trouble with a couple of sweepers down by the train station. Can you pick me up in the back of the apartments across the street from our house?"
"Sweepers?! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just try to come quick. I'm not sure where they are."
"Of course. We'll be there in a half hour. We're at the car dealership in Danvers. I can't get there any faster. Can you find somewhere to stay until then?"
"I think we can," she said and hung up before he could say anything else.
"Do you know anyone who lives around here, Danny? We have to hide for another half an hour till my parents get here."
"I know a kid that lives in the apartment building. We could wait there."
They walked over to the fence slowly and looked around. There was no sign of the sweepers. Again, Fiona helped Dan over the fence and climbed over herself, having a little more difficulty than before. They entered the building around the back. They made there way up the black cement painted stairs. Fiona skipped over one step that had a crack down the middle of it.
"He lives in apartment…"
"C4," Fiona interrupted.
"How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess?"
"Fiona, you're weird."
Dan knocked on the door to C4.
"Hang on a second!"
Tom unlocked the door and looked outside. He was about Fiona's height with green-blue eyes and dark brown hair.
"Danny, what are you doing here?"
"We needed someplace to stay for a half hour until Fi's parents pick us up."
"Fiona? You just moved in across the street, right?"
"Yeah. I don't have a key yet."
"Well, you're welcome to stay here. I'm Tom Pike."
"Nice to meet you. Ah, this may sound a little weird, but your father wouldn't happen to be a detective, would he?"
"Yes he is. He was just promoted about six months ago. Someone tried to steal his position, but a man helped him get the job he deserved. How'd you…?"
"Don't ask."
Fiona smiled as she remembered Jarod's alias from when he was interviewing Mrs. Patten in November. He called himself Detective Pike. He must have helped Tom's father uncover the truth about the person that was trying to steal his job. Many of her discoveries over the past few months had proved that it really was a small world.
Fiona and Dan waited in Tom's apartment for Jarod to show up for about twenty-five minutes. She decided that she should go outside to wait the remaining five minutes, for the sole reason that Jarod wouldn't have to bring attention to them by beeping. She wouldn't be waiting out in the open, anyway.
Fi explained her plan to Danny quietly and he followed her back outside. They scanned the area carefully before heading into view. She quickly jogged behind the dumpster in the back of the parking lot. There was a wooden fence that led to a yard overgrown with plants next door. She climbed through the fence and crouched down with Dan close behind.
A white minivan drove slowly down the street and parked around the other side of the building. Fiona asked Dan if he could go and check it out. He would be in less danger than her if sweepers saw him. As he climbed through the fence, she got a sudden sense of foreboding. She could feel something bad was going to happen all the way down to her toes, which I may add were getting wet by the puddle she was standing in. To be better hidden, and to get out of the puddle, she backed further in to the dark, ominous yard.
As Dan got closer to the van he heard a rustle behind him. He assumed that Fiona had deemed it safe and began to follow him. He reached the car to find the driver talking to someone in the backseat, whose identity was hidden by the tinted windows. Dan knocked on the front window and the driver jumped at the sound. He turned to face Danny and rolled down the window.
"Are you Mr. Mason?"
"Yes. Do you know where my daughter is?" Jarod questioned.
Dan turned around. Fiona wasn't there.
"Well, I thought she was right behind me. I guess she's still over there hiding," Dan explained while pointing to the yard. He ran back to the fence.
"Fiona, it's your father. Fiona?" He couldn't see her anywhere in the yard. "Mr. Mason, come here! I can't find her!" Danny yelled climbing through the fence again to try to look for her more closely.
Jarod got out of the car quickly and ran over to help find Fiona, turning on his car alarm as he ran. He, instead of climbing through, jumped over the fence.
"She was just here?" he asked, his worry apparent in his voice.
"Yes, I swear she was right here. She asked me to go out and check if it was your car. She was worried about the sweepers seeing her."
"You know about the sweepers? How much did she tell you?"
"She told me only what I needed to know to stay safe. They saw me. Now I know I can't tell anyone what I know or they'll kill me. Don't worry, she didn't tell me until after I had already seen them."
"They must have waited until she was alone." It sounded like Jarod was either going to go kill the sweepers with his bare hands or start to cry. He looked around apprehensively.
"Danny, they could still be here. We have to go."
"But what about Fiona?"
"We'll get her back. If it's the last thing I do we'll get her back."
Jarod and Dan ran back to the new minivan. Jarod opened the door and got in. He told Dan to do the same. Danny took a seat in the very back row. He was behind Miss Parker and Christian.
"Jarod, what happened? Where's Fiona? And who is that?" Parker asked, looking back at Dan after she noticed that Jarod was shaking so badly, he had trouble putting the key in the ignition.
"They… They got her. They took her and I wasn't around to stop it," he paused taking the parking brake off and starting to drive. "Danny was with her when the sweepers came. He's a part of all this now. He was thrown in the middle of it," Jarod said looking at the passengers in the rearview mirror.
"How did you know my name?" Dan asked, now realizing that neither Fiona nor himself had told Jarod.
"Lucky guess?" Jarod said in the exact same tone that Fiona had used not an hour before. Dan had seen many kids who resembled or acted like their parents, but this was ridiculous. Knowing something they couldn't know and then giving the same excuse? No one can guess that well.
He wanted to know the whole story but knew they couldn't tell him. So, instead he settled for sitting in the backseat with his head in his hands, trying to comprehend all that happened since morning while Jarod continued to drive.
After about ten minutes, they arrived at Dan's house.
"We're here, Danny," Miss Parker said quietly when they pulled up. Dan lifted his head. He didn't even bother to ask how they knew where he lived.
"Try to get some sleep. I know this is a lot for you to handle, but you have to get on with your life. You don't have to worry about Fiona much; we'll get her back. We have to ask you a favor, other than keeping this a secret. Please tell Mrs. Wolfman that we need to speak with her after school tomorrow."
Dan nodded and walked up to his house in a daze.
