Chapter Four

            Jarod missed his parents. Whenever he tried asking Sydney about them, the man said that it wasn't the time. It was never the time, as far as Sydney was concerned. But still, the little boy didn't stop asking.

            Sydney was nice and he was taking good care of him. But this place frightened Jarod and he wished his parents would come to take him home soon. He just wanted to see his room again, and play with his toys; he didn't want to be here anymore. Sydney was playing with him, but it wasn't the same kind of games he used to play with his parents. He didn't like the games he was playing since he had arrived here.

            But what upset him the most was that he felt like he was being constantly watched. Sydney had tried to reassure him that he wasn't, but Jarod didn't trust him. He could feel eyes on him all the time, even when he was lying in bed, about to go to sleep.

            In spite of all of this, he still felt alone. While he had mostly kept to himself and barely played with other children his age, he had never been alone. Not until he came here. Outside of Sydney, and a couple of other men in dark suits who scared him, he hadn't seen anyone else in this place.

            Sometimes, at night, he dreamt of these long corridors. They just never ended, there was no door; he had no way to escape. He would wake up from his nightmares sweating and crying for his mother. But she never came, and he was alone, crying in the dark.

"I miss my Mom and Dad," he told Sydney after they finished one of their games. "Can I go home, now?"

            Sydney sighed. It had been a month since Jarod had arrived at the Centre, and not a day had gone by without him asking about his parents. He could understand him – he had been a child missing his own parents too years ago – but he couldn't give the boy the answers he wanted to hear. He couldn't bring himself to give him false hope, because he knew that hurt more than the truth in the end.

            He had dared asking Jacob about what happened to Jarod's parents once, but his twin brother hadn't answered him. It wasn't the first time since they started working at the Centre that his brother had stonewalled him, so he had expected this answer, but he was still disappointed.

"You know I can't tell you that, Sydney," Jacob had said at the time, before turning away from his brother and leaving the office.

            Even if he wanted, Sydney couldn't tell Jarod the truth, because he didn't know it. But when the little boy looked at him with sad eyes, he wished he could, even though it would be against the rules.

"Remember Jarod," he said, kneeling down before the boy. "I told you that I would be taking care of you now."

            Jarod nodded; he did remember, but he had hoped for a different answer this time. He just didn't understand why his parents would make him stay here, when he was unhappy. He didn't know why they didn't even come to see him. Had he done something for them not to want to see him again?

            Sydney saw confusion and hurt on Jarod's face. He wanted nothing more than to be able to hug the little boy, but the security cameras prevented him from doing so. He wasn't allowed to get too close to Jarod, and if they thought that he was, they would take Jarod away from him. And he didn't want that to happen.

"Come on, Jarod, it's late," Sydney said. "It's time you go back to your room. Your supper will be ready."

            Jarod nodded and took the hand Sydney was offering him. When the psychiatrist opened the door, he felt Jarod hiding behind his legs as the two sweepers moved in front of them. He wished he could tell them to leave them alone, but he just couldn't. It was easy to understand why the two men in black would be scary in the eyes of a little boy: they never smiled and they cast a hard look on Jarod whenever they saw him. Sydney wanted to tell them that there was no risk he would run away, that he was just four, but he knew it would be to no avail. They had their orders, and it meant to stay around Jarod at all times.

            When they entered Jarod's room, Sydney led him to the table. He could see that he wasn't hungry, but he needed to eat. He wouldn't usually stay once Jarod was safely back in his room, but he made an exception this time. He sat in the chair beside the little boy's and coaxed him to eat at least a little.

            Jarod eventually did eat everything that was on his tray. He turned hopeful eyes on Sydney, and the man knew that he would have to crush his hopes.

"Will you read me a story?" Jarod asked in a little voice that made Sydney's heart tighten.

"No, Jarod," Sydney answered, forcing his face to remain impassable and his voice cold. "Now, go to bed."

            He got up from his chair and walked towards the door; he couldn't stay a minute longer. He shot one last look at Jarod, still sitting at the table, his head hung low, before closing the door behind him. He didn't like making the little boy sadder than he already was, but he didn't have a choice if he wanted to continue working with him.

            As he walked down the corridor, Sydney knew that Jarod wouldn't be able to understand why he had acted that way with him, when all he had only asked for a bedtime story. But there was nothing to understand; the psychiatrist was only doing his job, he couldn't be a parent for the little boy.

            Jarod lied in bed, tears streaming down his face. The lights had been turned off; only a night light remained beside the door so that the room wasn't completely in the dark. He didn't want to close his eyes, he didn't want to go to sleep.

            He just wanted to go home to his mom and dad.

###

            The sky was lightening outside when Miss Parker finally closed her mother's diary. She had read it in one go; she wasn't sure she would have been able to stop even if she had wanted to.

            Focused on her reading as she was, she had been unaware of her surroundings during the night. It could have cost her a lot, if a Centre's operative had been around, but she had known that she would be safe sitting here all night.

            As she took a sip of hot coffee – and she realised that the waitress must have come to fill her cup all night long without her even noticing – she took a look around the diner. Despite the early hour, there were more people around than there had been the night before. People were sitting at tables or at the counter, eating their breakfast and reading the newspaper.

            At the sight of food, her stomach emitted a growl, and she knew that coffee wouldn't be enough. She gestured at the waitress who, instead of coming over to take her order, just smiled, nodded and turned away.

            She let her eyes fall on the diary once more. She had learnt so much about her mother during these past few hours. There were things that she already knew, but these were few. And there were still some things that remained a mystery for her, and maybe it was better that way; she wasn't supposed to know everything about her mother after all.

            She locked the diary and placed it back inside its box, closing the lid. It would remain there, safely hidden from everyone else. The only other person she would show it to was Ethan, because he deserved to read it just as much as she did.

            She heard footsteps coming towards her and she raised her eyes, expecting to face the waitress. But it wasn't the young woman; it was Jarod. The Pretender stopped a couple of feet away from her and waited to see what she would do.

            He had a sheepish look on his face. He just hoped that she would be able to forgive him, even though he knew she would be in his right not to. And he couldn't help but wonder what it meant for them.

            Not wanting to attract any more attention that she already had, Parker knew she only had two options: either she told him to leave her alone or she told him to sit down. She wasn't even considering leaving herself; she was hungry and wanted to eat some breakfast.

"Sit down," she ordered, and he did. "You know, Jarod," she continued before he could start talking, "you hurt me a lot in the past few years with the little games you played. But I don't think anything you did ever hurt me more than you hiding my mother's diary from me."

"I'm sorry..."

"I don't need or want your apologies. Save them for someone else. Just tell me one thing: when and where did you find it?"

"It was in one of your mother's safe deposit box. The same one where I found the copy of the security tape with the footage of your mother talking to Fenigor," he added, knowing that she would be able to put two and two together from there.

"You had it for four years?" she asked her voice slightly rising."Why did you keep it from me all this time? And what made you decide to finally give it to me?"

            He didn't talk straight away as the waitress was coming their way with Miss Parker's breakfast. He waited until they were alone once more before speaking.

"At first, I kept it because I just wanted answers to my own questions. Trust me, I know I should have given it to you sooner."

"But you didn't. If we weren't on the run together and you weren't facing the risk of me finding it on my own, would you ever have given it to me?"

"It wasn't mine to keep," he said, not really answering her question.

"And yet you did, for four years." She paused, taking a bite of her breakfast. "Did you read it?" she asked

            He didn't need to answer that one out loud; she saw the answer written on his face. She wasn't surprised; she had even been expecting it, and the opposite would have really surprised her. She knew that he had probably just been trying to find answers about his own past in her mother's diary, but it didn't mean that she could accept it easily.

            She felt betrayed on behalf of her mother. It was one thing that she, her daughter, had read it, but it was completely different when it was a total stranger. She knew she was exaggerating – Jarod was no stranger – but she couldn't stop herself from feeling this way.

            But she also knew that she needed to let go. They were on the run together, spending their days and nights together. And more than that, they had a son now, and for Joshua's sake, they had to keep working together.

"Never do this again," she said forcefully.

"I won't. Does that mean that you forgive me?" he asked, wanting to make sure they were on the same page.

"There's nothing to forgive, Jarod. This is just who you are."

            These words hurt him more than anything else, and she saw the effect they had on him. She was just telling the truth, and they both knew it. He had been that way since he ran away from the Centre, always torturing her with secrets about her past, and what happened the night before had just been him doing it again.

            But it would be the last time it happened. He didn't want to drive her away, and he knew that if he kept doing that, he would do just that. He didn't have any more of her mother's belongings, but there were still a couple of safety deposit boxes he had recently found out about and hadn't been able to hit yet.

"We can go look at them, if you want," he offered.

"We will, but not now. Our priority is Joshua. The past can wait for the time being."

            He agreed. He had come to this conclusion before. He knew that they might never find the answer to all their questions after the Centre fell. But it was something that needed to happen if they wanted to protect Joshua. He also knew that he might never find his mother. The little boy in him who cried for her when he was alone at the Centre thought it was unfair that he had to give up one to protect the other. But the man that he was now knew that it was time for him to let go of the past and look into the future.

            His mother would understand his choice, he was sure of that.

"What took you so long to find me?" she asked as she pushed her empty plate away.

"Actually, it only took me five minutes to find you."

"Unless one or both of us fell through a crack in time, I'm pretty sure I left more than a few minutes ago."

"Don't worry, you did. What I meant was that Ethan stopped me from running after you last night. He said that you needed time, and he was right. He only agreed to let me go this morning because you had yet to come back. The voices told him that you were safe, but he still worried."

"Then, we should probably go find him," she said.

"Let me take care of the check for you."

"I can pay for my own breakfast, Jarod," she replied, a bit offended that he thought he had to pay for her.

"I have no doubt that you can. But I think that you'll find out you don't have your wallet with you."

            She didn't need to check her pockets to know that he was right. In her haste to get away from him the night before, she had barely taken the time to grab her coat, and had forgotten about everything else. If Jarod hadn't showed up, she wouldn't have been able to pay for what she had eaten. That would have been a first.

            Jarod hadn't waited; he had already put enough money on the table to cover her breakfast and some more, and stood up. He was just waiting for her. She took the box holding her mother's diary and followed him.

###

            The voices might have told him that his sister wasn't in any danger, and he trusted them, but Ethan was still anxiously waiting for his siblings to come back. He didn't think that the Centre could find them here; he was just worried what they could do to each other.

            When they were waiting for Miss Parker to come back, Jarod had told him not only what had happened to make her run away, but everything that had ever happened between them. He hadn't thought that his brother and sister could act like that with one another. He had only seen them work side by side before, to save him or to find out the truth. To know that they had been deliberately cruel towards each other had unsettled him.

            He had made Jarod understand that he didn't approve of him taunting Miss Parker with secrets about her family. He had told him to stop, and the Pretender had agreed that, now that they were on the same side, he shouldn't keep things from her anymore.

            Ethan just hoped that it wasn't coming too late.

            He finally heard the door open on the ground floor. Miss Parker and Jarod were bickering as they walked up the stairs. Ethan was worried that they hadn't been able to make up, but as they entered the room, he saw a smile on their faces. It made him feel better to see them like that.

"I'm sorry to have run away," Miss Parker told Ethan, squeezing his hand.

"You had every right to," he told her with a small smile. "I'm glad you two are fine, now. Because you are, aren't you?" he asked her as much as Jarod.

"We are," Jarod reassured him. "I'm going to take the bags to the car, and then we can go."

            They weren't in any hurry, but he wanted to give the two some time alone together. It was the least he could do.

            Miss Parker nodded at Jarod's retreating back before turning back towards her brother. She could see that, despite what the voices had told him, he had still worried about her. Running away from Jarod was one thing, but she hadn't had any intention to run away from Ethan, too. She knew all too well how it felt.

"Did Jarod tell you what's in this box?"

"He did. It's our mother's diary."

"Yeah... You can read it if you want," she offered, holding the box out to him.

"Thank you. But I don't want to. It's not my place to read it."

"It wasn't my place or Jarod's to read it either. Are you sure you don't want to read it?"

"I am."

"Well, if you change your mind, just tell me."

            He wouldn't change his mind, he was certain of that. It wasn't that he didn't want to know his mother more, but he wanted to see her through his sister's eyes. He didn't need to read her diary, read about her thoughts and feelings for that.

            He understood why Jarod and Miss Parker had read it. One had hoped to find answers to his questions, while the other wanted to understand her mother better. They had something in common: they both knew her. And Ethan didn't, and he would feel like intruding in her life if he were to read her diary. It might be stupid, and Parker would probably say so if he was to tell her that, but that was how he felt, and nothing could change that.

"I'd rather you continue telling me about her, if you don't mind."

"I don't, and I will," she replied. "You can ask whatever you want about her, and I'll answer the best I can."

            Jarod came back into the room before either of the siblings could say anything else, not that there was much to add. He took a second to look at them; they were still holding hands, as if neither of them could even think of letting go. Miss Parker was still carrying the box tightly against her chest. He had no doubt that they had been talking about it; it was a piece of the mother they had lost too early.

            Knowing that things would start being awkward if he didn't speak soon, he cleared his throat.

"Well, the bags are loaded in the car. We can go whenever you are ready."

"Give me a minute," Parker said.

"Sure. Take your time."

            She put the box on the table, and retreated to the small bathroom. Jarod watched her go before turning towards Ethan. Last night, his brother had showed him a side of his personality he hadn't before; he hadn't been exactly angry at him, but it had been close enough. Jarod knew he had disappointed him, which was one of the last things he wanted to do. Now that he knew that he and Parker would be fine, he needed to know where he and Ethan were standing.

"Are we fine?" he asked.

"Yes, we are. Just stop hurting her, Jarod," he said, falling easily into the protective brother job.

"I promise."

            Miss Parker came back in the room at that time and she looked at the two brothers in turn, an eyebrow raised. She felt that something had shifted when she was in the bathroom, but she couldn't say what it was exactly. But from what she could pick up, everything seemed to be fine between Jarod and Ethan.

"Shall we go?" Parker asked them, and they nodded. "How much longer will it take until we arrive at your family's house? And there's no more stopping for the night," she added. "We can take turns behind the wheel."

"Well, in that case, we should be there by tomorrow late afternoon, I think," Jarod replied after making quick calculations in his head.

"Great. And I suppose you still haven't called them."

            He didn't answer, but she didn't need him to. They had already had that conversation before leaving Ben's the day before; the Pretender wasn't seeing the need of calling his family to tell them about their arrival. They had briefly argued – well, she had talked and he had listened mostly – but there was no changing his mind.

            If she could, she would have contacted them herself. They needed some warning if not about Ethan's arrival, at least about hers. She was sure she wouldn't be welcomed with open arms after her years spent chasing Jarod around the country.

            But despite all her reasoning, he still refused to listen to her; Jarod could be stubborn when he wanted to.

            She sighed, and walked out of the room and down the stairs.

###

            Margaret was about to admit defeat once more. She thought she had been following Jarod's trail, but she had showed his picture around and no one recognized him. She was nowhere closer to find her son than she had been when he first went missing.

            She had had so much hope the day Harriet Tashman had contacted her to tell her she had unexpectedly run into him. She and Emily didn't have to think twice before setting up a date to finally be reunited with him. But the Centre had ruined it, just like they always did. And since then, she hadn't as much as caught a glimpse of him.

            She had stopped wondering whether he had been on Carthis when she was. It hurt too much to think about that. The Centre, in Catherine's daughter, had been present, and her heart broke at the thought that she might have missed her son again. She didn't know what had happened on the island after she left, and she might never find out unless she went back there. And that was something she refused to consider; the Isle of Carthis was cursed, of that much she was certain.

            Getting her hands on the scrolls would have meant so much; she would have been able to protect her family against the Centre and the Triumvirat. Her family would have been reunited. But she hadn't been able to find them, even with the doll she had taken from the pub. She could only wish that Catherine's daughter hadn't been able to find them either. She didn't want to think about what could happen if the Centre managed to get them.

            She wouldn't allow herself to lose hope, though. She had to keep searching for Jarod, and for ways to make the Centre fall. But she was always a step behind, or this time a few hundred miles off course, it seemed. She had been so certain that Jarod had been there just a few days before, but she had been mistaken.

            The cold November wind picked up, and she buried her face in her scarf and her free hand in her pocket, her other gloved hand tightening its hold on her bag. It was almost lunchtime and she was cold and hungry. Her bus wouldn't come in a couple more hours, plenty of time for her to sit in a warm place and have something to eat.

            She entered the diner and sat in an empty booth. A young waitress, that she hadn't seen when she came here earlier this morning, came to fill her coffee cup and placed a menu in front of her. She moved on to other customers before Margaret could react and took the picture of Jarod out of her pocket. She didn't have much hope that the waitress' answer would be different than the ones she had been getting all morning, but she still had to try.

            She raised the cup of hot coffee to her lips as she looked at the menu. She already felt warmer after just one sip. The waitress came back soon after, a genuine smile firmly in place on her lips.

"Have you decided on what you want to eat?"

"I'll take the club sandwich with French fries. And more hot coffee, please," she added.

"With this weather, I hear you," the waitress said as she looked outside at the clouds darkening the sky. "I'll bring it to you right away."

"May I ask you a question?" Margaret stopped her before she could walk away.

"Sure."

"Have you seen this man? His name is Jarod, and he's my son."

            When the waitress took the picture in her hands to look closer at it, Margaret felt her hopes rise in spite of her common sense. But all her hopes crushed when the young woman handed it back to her with a shake of her head.

"I'm sorry, I haven't."

"Thank you anyway."

            The waitress had represented her last chance to find a lead on Jarod. She knew it had been a long shot as no one else in the town had recognized Jarod, but she was a mother and she couldn't stop hoping. She would have had more regrets not asking her.

            Now, she would leave town knowing that she did everything she could to find her son. It wouldn't make her feel any better in the end, it never did.

            Ever since she had left Emily behind, wanting her to have a life, she had done everything she could to find Jarod. Harriet had told her that he had the habit of helping people around the country. Since then, she had started reading the newspapers, looking for clues about Jarod's presence. She knew that if she kept doing that, she would always be behind him, but she hoped that one day, he would still be around when she arrived.

            But this day wouldn't be today.

            She wasn't as hungry as she had been before coming in, but she still forced some food down her throat, knowing that she had to eat. She had thought about staying there until it was almost time for her bus, but now, she'd rather be out in the bitter cold than in the same room as people who had no idea who her son was.

            Drinking the last of her coffee, she put a couple of bills down on the table and smiled at the waitress. She put her coat and scarf back on and left the diner before she could change her mind.

            One day, things would be different, she knew that. One day, she would be face to face with her son and she would hug him for the first time in over three decades. She didn't know when it would happen – in a week, a month, a year, ten years – but she would be reunited with Jarod. And together, they would find the rest of their family. She would never allow herself to lose hope about this, because if she did, she might as well sit down and wait for the Centre to find her.

            And that was just something that she refused to consider.

###

            After the tension-filled episode of the T-Board, the rest of the day had been surprisingly calm for Sydney and Broots. It rarely happened at the Centre, and they had both been able to concentrate on their respective works. They had barely seen each other that day, and when they did, they carefully avoided talking about the T-Board or Miss Parker's disappearance. Everything had been said before on both subjects and they felt no need to revisit them.

            The next day, Broots was making his way to the psychiatrist's office when he came face to face with Angelo in one of the corridors. The man appeared seemingly out of nowhere, making the computer technician jump back in surprise.

"Angelo," Broots said, slightly out of breath. "What are you doing here?"

"Answers."

            Angelo placed a small vial in Broots' hand and left before the man could react to it.

            Broots knew better than to try and call back the strange man; he wouldn't come back anyway, and that would attract unnecessary attention. He let his eyes drop on his hand, curious to know what Angelo had given him.

"Oh god...," he whispered.

            He put the vial into his pocket and looked around, hoping that no one had seen what had just taken place. He resumed his walk towards Sydney's office, knowing that the older man would be interested in what had happened.

            It hadn't taken Broots long to recognize the vial; he had seen it once in the Bodily Fluid Storage on Sublevel 15, and he had hoped never to see it again. But there it was in his pocket. He wondered what Angelo wanted him to do with it, but Sydney might have an answer to that. And whatever he had to do with it, Broots was already certain he wouldn't like it. Nothing good ever came from something that was found at the Centre.

            Through the glass walls, Broots could see that Sydney was in his office, and he quickened his pace. The older man was surprised when the computer technician burst into his office, but he said nothing. Something had obviously happened, that much he could tell, and he dreaded to know what.

"Broots, what is it?" Sydney asked when it was obvious that the younger man was struggling to find his words.

"I ran into Angelo. Almost literally. He gave me this," he said as he took the small vial out of his pocket.

            Sydney took it from his hands and read what was written on it. His mouth opened in surprise, and he returned his eyes on Broots.

"Did he say anything when he gave you this?"

"He just said 'answers'. Sydney, why would he give me this? This is Baby Parker's cord blood sample. Which answers can it give us?"

"Answers on who his father is, Broots. Mr Parker was sterile. He couldn't have been the baby's father."

"Then, it has to be Mr. Lyle," Broots said, shuddering as he remembered what he had witnessed.

"I think if the answer was that simple, Angelo wouldn't have given you this. I'm afraid that neither of us will like the answer we will find here. We have to have it analysed, Broots."

            The computer technician was about to reply when Sydney held a hand up to stop him. They heard footsteps approaching, and the older man put the vial in his pocket. It had been just in time as they saw Lyle coming into the office.

"Just the two men I was looking for," he said. "We have a lead on Jarod, wheels up in half an hour."

            He left without before they had time to say something in reply. He had just given them an order, and one that he expected them to follow with no discussion.

"Why is he keeping us in the loop?" Broots asked, surprised. "I thought he would have gone without even telling us. He doesn't trust us."

"It's true that he doesn't trust us, but I believe that these days, he trusts Mr. Cox even less. And he'd rather we come than be alone with him. Didn't you notice that he hadn't even looked at him when we were waiting to face the T-Board?"

"Mr. Lyle thinks Mr. Cox has warned Miss Parker about the trap?" Broots asked, not quite believing it.

"Yes, and even though the T-Board hasn't proved him guilty, he doesn't seem to be able to shake this feeling off. We'd better hurry, my dear friend if we want to make the flight."

"What about...?" he didn't finish his question, but Sydney didn't need him to.

"I'll put it in a safe place for the time being."

"Does such a place even exist at the Centre?" Broots replied. "Do you think it's really Jarod?"

"I don't know, Broots. But if it's him, I think the trail will be long gone cold. He won't leave us any more breadcrumbs to find him."

            The computer technician nodded before leaving to go get what he would need to track the Pretender once there. Sydney eyed the security camera above his head before leaving his office too. Despite what Broots might think, there were still some safe places at the Centre, and he knew the perfect one for the vial. He knew that if Raines watched the security footage, he would want to get the vial back, but he doubted that the bald man would be able to find it. Not where he planned to hide it.

            Once that was done, he went to find the other three men. It still wouldn't be this time they would bring his protégée back, Sydney was certain of that.

###

            Jarod woke up with a start. The nightmare he had been having was slowly fading away, allowing him to come back to the real world. A look at the clock on the dashboard told him that it was past midday; he had been sleeping for the past three hours, a feat where he was concerned. A look towards the backseat told him that Miss Parker was still out cold. It didn't surprise him; neither of them had slept the night before they left due to her running away. She had insisted on taking the first turn at the wheel, but Jarod hadn't slept anyway, and she hadn't either when he was the one driving. Only Ethan had managed to catch up on sleep during this time.

"Good afternoon, Jarod," the man in question said, his voice barely above a whisper not to wake Parker up.

"Good afternoon. You should have woken me up," Jarod said.

"You needed to sleep, and I slept enough when you two were driving."

"Alright, fair enough. Now, where are we?"

            He had asked the question more to himself as to Ethan. He saw a sign coming up, but when he read it, it wasn't what he had expected.

"Tennessee?" he exclaimed. "Ethan, we're way off course!"

            In the backseat, Miss Parker woke up with a start at Jarod's exclamation. She was a bit confused about her surroundings at first, until the events of the past few days came back to the front of her mind.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded to know, but the two brothers ignored her.

"Why did you take us off course?" Jarod asked.

"I... I don't know."

            And he really didn't. He hadn't been really paying attention to the road, something he wasn't willing to admit to Miss Parker and Jarod. He just drove in the direction he was supposed to, or at least, he thought. But now, that he was looking at his surroundings and recognizing them, he wondered what had happened. That was when he noticed that the voices, who had been nothing but a buzz at the back of his mind up until now, were speaking to him.

"We have to stop here," he said, parking the car in front of the diner he knew well.

"Why do we have to?" Jarod asked, but before Ethan could answer, Miss Parker did it for him.

"The voices want us to be here, am I right?" she said, and her brother nodded.

"Do you hear them too?"

"No, but that's not surprising. Ethan's had always been stronger than mine."

            Jarod nodded, before looking at the front window of the diner.

"Do you know what we're doing here, Ethan?"

"I'm not sure, Jarod. But I've been here before, right before the voices told me that you were in danger."

"Then, let's go inside," Jarod said. "We should have something to eat anyway. And maybe we'll be able to figure out what we're doing here."

            The Pretender was the first one out of the car, quickly followed by Parker. Ethan hesitated just a second before exiting the car too.

"Is something wrong?" Parker asked, worried that the voices were warning him about some danger.

"No, nothing's wrong. Let's go," Ethan said.

            They entered the diner and were spotted right away by the waitress.  With a bright smile on her lips, she quickly closed the distance between them.

"Ethan," she said. "I didn't think you were coming back."

"I didn't think I was either," he replied. "Our coming here was rather... unexpected."

"Well, I'm glad to see you, again."

"So am I. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, as you can see, they all came back. My uncle and I can't thank you enough for what you did."

            Jarod and Parker watched the exchange and shared a look, wondering what was happening. This young woman certainly seemed to know their brother, and they were curious to know the whole story.

            Miss Parker was amused by the fact that they had both seemed to forget about Jarod and herself. But she was growing impatient, and she cleared her throat to remind them of their presence.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ethan said, as he turned to look towards his sister. "This is Mia. Mia, this is Miss Parker, my sister, and Jarod, my brother."

"It's nice to meet you," she said, looking at each of them in turn. She stopped when her eyes fell on Jarod. "Well, this is weird."

"What is?" Jarod asked.

"Well, a woman showed me a picture of you, earlier. You certainly looked younger on the picture, but it's you."

"A woman?" Jarod asked, his heart already beating faster. "What did she look like? When was it?"

            He had grabbed her hands when he was talking, so that she would focus all her attention on him. He knew he was causing quite a scene in the diner, but he didn't care. This was more important than anything else.

"It was a bit more than an hour ago," she replied. "She's a redhead. She said that you were her son."

"Jarod...," Parker gasped.

"Where... Where is she now?" he asked, ignoring Parker.

"I don't know. She just left."

"Did she have a car?"

"No, I don't think so. She went in that direction," Mia said, indicating the direction with her finger. "There's a bus stop there."

"Take me there, please," Jarod urged her.

            She didn't need to be asked twice. She could read on his face that it was important for him. And she remembered the look on his mother's face when she told her that she hadn't seen him. She knew what she had to do.

            Her hand still in Jarod's, she let herself be led towards the door, before taking the lead and running with him towards the bus stop. Ethan and Parker followed them without thinking twice. Their lungs burnt with the cold air, but neither of them stopped.

            Jarod's heart missed a beat when he saw a bus stopped just a few yards ahead of them.

"Mom!" he shouted, hoping that she would hear him and not get on the bus.

 To be continued...