The original younger clones of Jarod and Miss Parker that escaped together will be known as Teen Jarod and Teen Miss Parker, to eliminate the confusion. They will be referenced by their names only when someone is speaking to them. 

Georgia. Middle of Nowhereish.

"I didn't see or know the one with Clarice," Gemini said to Jarod after he asked him about any other potential clones. "She thought I was a relative. I think he was a Chimera. Jarod though. The other Jarod."

"Sorry you felt bullied." Jarod remembered what Miss Parker said. "We're all different, clones or not." He watched the survivors. After getting her family back to safety, Rene Grossberg was there. He had managed to get eight Miss Parkers safely there, but none of them had acted like . . . . Miss Parker.

They were all different. So different. There was also a younger clone named Clarice and one in high school. Named simply Miss Parker. 

Kathleen Davis still wasn’t there. Jarod needed to go after who he could, but if he read Cuyler wrong? It would be another painful regret in life.

Nobody had the same story or the same kind of life, and that went double for his clones. The one named Miss Parker and the clone called Jarod were actually trapped in The Centre until Miss Parker took the initiative to bust him out as children.

She lived on the run with him for a couple of months until they got a steady footing. Decent homes. They were unknowingly still tracked by The Centre. They never really got away.

Then there was Clarice who knew nothing of The Centre. Never had a starring role as Miss Parker. Clarice. Still getting over the death of her parents. She looked scared half to death. Her expression, it was like watching Miss Parker (the one he knew) when Faith had died. Since this 'Brandon' Chimera or clone that she knew never did anything for her either, it was likely he was a blank slate, to see how he'd grow up without any direction.

The other Miss Parkers lined up. They all looked like her, but had different clothes and . . . not her. None of them were close to her. Jard tried not to think about it. Of course not. Stop thinking about it, everyone has their own life to live. Just help, don’t think. Just be the one to help them.

Jarod looked at his watch. He had really hoped that Kathleen Davis would be there too by now. She would need help with her mind, just like the others. He had no way to get back in touch with Cuyler. Come on. 

“The person we are waiting for still isn’t here?” Gemini asked Jarod. “You didn’t leave him a number?”

“Which one, I barely knew him. He knew the woman, and she didn’t seem scared of him. It was the best I had at the time.”. It’s true, Cuyler wouldn’t be the same, but he should be brilliant. He should have got Kathleen Davis onto some kind of flight.

They all gave The Centre so many different ways to experiment off of them and there had been 235 different ones to play with. Jarod watched the survivors all glance toward each other.

Catherine wept as she approached. She said nothing. She went over and hugged Rene first. Then she went to each of the others.

"You just hugged me." Kathleen was still adapting to the feelings. Catherine hugged her anyway. She tightened the hug. "Momma?”

Her caring ran deeper, Jarod noticed it. No condolences or phony talk. She may look the same, but Jarod could tell. Just like the difference between when Kathleen sensed Rene's time with her children. One treasured it, while one hated it. They sensed, but they were each different. This one is a true mother. 

"I know," Catherine said softly in the hug. "I know." She let go and looked toward the second youngest version. "Miss Parker. Hello." Teen Miss Parker backed away into Teen Jarod's embrace. He didn't accept her into his embrace, but he didn't push her away. "It's okay. I know you've hugged me and you don't know me. But you know me. We'll speak later." She moved on toward Clarice. The youngest, no more than 11.

Jarod watched while Gemini went over by her. He'd been trying to give Clarice a little extra support. There was no one there for her, and she had no recollections of Parker. Gemini must have known that lonely feeling.

Then, thankfully, Jarod noticed a car that definitely wasn’t Centre driven. As it came closer, it spun on the hard dirt. The owner looked out with his shades on. “You made it.”

“You don’t have to spin the tires, I swear, anything with you.” Kathleen Davis was giving him an earful as she got out of the car. She moved over toward the line of other clones. “I guess just stand here?”

Catherine bent down lower for Clarice. She hadn't had a growth spurt yet. "I'm sorry about your parents. I'm sorry that you are confused and you don't know what's going on." Catherine glanced toward Gemini and then back at her. "You have someone willing to help you though. I hope you stay near him." She turned to look at Jarod, her eyes shining with tears. "Over 100 taken away from this world. The hurt inside them is so massive and confused."

Jarod nodded. "Can you please help them?" he asked. "They feel each other, in different ways. In ways that shouldn’t be shared. It's hurting them."

"It's who they are," Catherine answered him back. "They no longer have enough of one side to rule over them. Their memories of Miss Parker fill in the gaps. That sense where they are each other, yet they aren't, it's making them feel . . . squirmy." She looked toward all of them. She held her hands out to them. "You are like sisters now. You aren't each other. You have different memories, but you have the same ones too. The Miss Parker that you shared knowledge of, has changed. There is a great chance it could be entirely lost.. If any Miss Parker that fell was the heart or the mind, then the template to share her has snapped. The memories left in your mind of her, are between your own experiences as her. Nothing more."

"We're all just Centre puppets they used for a fun show," Cuyler said from the back. He looked toward Kathleen. "No. Guess the Jarod's were the puppets. The Parkers are all just pretty Centre Dolls, lined up in a row."

"Don't call Miss Parker a doll!" Teen Jarod challenged him. He moved in front of her. "You take that back!"

"It's the truth. Even tossed out after being played with," Cuyler egged him on. "Straight to the trash heap, to make room for new Centre dolls."

"Are you kidding me?" Jarod looked between Cuyler and Teen Jarod. He was already annoyed at him for being late. "Now is not the time for this!" Not the time at all. "The only thing that matters is reducing the impact. and preventing this from happening, ever again." He couldn't let the PK's replace all the clones. To live just like them. As experiments to be watched until the next best thing came along.

"I don't know!" Kathleen suddenly bursted out toward Teen Miss Parker. "Maybe there is something to it, little girl, but I don't care."

Oh. They are communicating. Like Catherine used to do.

"You don't have to butcher the poor girl for asking," Rene seethed at Kathleen. "It's a simple question. A difficult time for her. We all think about it!"

"Think about what?" Jarod asked them.

" . . . him." Clarice was trying to speak up. She was still connected, even if she never experienced Miss Parker before. "Nightmare Man."

"Nightmares," Teen Miss Parker agreed.

"Always nightmares, always in dreams," Rene added to the girls.

"It's okay, we can focus on your common nightmares soon, Honeys," Catherine said delicately. "We have some things to do first though. There should be twins to each of the children inside."

It was Catherine, 100%. She hadn't said it yet. Maybe she didn't want to draw a distinction between her and the other clone that came. Maybe she thought there was no distinction, but there had been. Her eyes were lonely but kind. Regretful but brave. Her words were modest. There was no way she could tell the full story and keep herself together like the other had done.

"Are my children going to be safe?" Rene asked her.

"Yes," Catherine said. "Yes, Dear. They only want link-minded pretenders."

Rene nodded.

Catherine turned to look at Jarod. "I invited and brought him. I knew he'd be needed. I didn't know if you'd be mad I was involving him, but I need a surrogate mind from Maggie. A strong mind, stronger than just me to help them. I know him and them, but not you," Catherine said to Jarod. "I knew you as a child, but I can't feel you the same way."

"Invited who?" Jarod watched as someone started to approach into view.

Ethan.

For once, Jarod could almost absolutely understand what all the switching voices in his head had been. When it had left him conflicted, until he only heard one voice.

"They will always share Miss Parker," Ethan said as he approached Jarod, "but sharing their individual selves is too much." Ethan touched his head. "It's like? Like too many voices all at once. Miss Parker is like one voice. They can't handle all the feedback everywhere else. Hi, Jarod."

Just like Ethan couldn't handle it all. "Hi, Ethan. Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yes. I don't have a 'Miss Parker' uniting voice," Ethan said, "but I have my mother." He looked toward Catherine and smiled at her. "All the voices stay in the background, like the wind outside, and I only hear her voice." He gestured to the Parkers. "The wind is rowdy for them right now. I will help them hear just the wind, unless they want more."

Catherine smiled back gently at Ethan.

"We need to help quiet their minds, and then we need to find and locate all the pretender children, so this tragedy never happens again," Ethan said to Jarod. "I know what I'm doing, Jarod."

Catherine went over toward the child and teen of Parker, while Ethan went over toward the adult Parkers. Clarice was backing up. "It's okay." She still wasn't reciprocating. "I won't hurt you."

"She's going to be nice," Gemini tried to encourage her. "I know it's a lot-"

"Too much!" Clarice yelled. She tried holding herself. "I don't want anyone else in my head, get out of my head!"

Catherine tried to reach for her again, but she backed away. She didn't force anything on Clarice, just moved to the teen Miss Parker.

Closing his eyes, Ethan was holding Rene's hands on the other side. Jarod glanced away but then looked back. They are all her. Traces of her. She probably has a nice husband like Thomas Gates. Good kids. Amazing kids.

She had a future. The future he tried to give Miss Parker all those years ago. She had found her own happiness. After a few minutes, Rene looked much more relaxed.

"Thank you," Rene said to Ethan.

Meanwhile, Jarod had something he had to do. He approached her. "Hello."

"Jarod," Rene greeted him. "Sorry. I wasn't very good last time we met." She smirked. "Am I ever?"

He smiled back. "How do you feel?"

"Like. I have a little of her in me?" she said. "Parts. Memories of when I was there." She rubbed the tears of her eyes. She gulped. "Over 90% is just me now. Just Rene. I'm not like her. I cook, I do cook. I loved kids, I had a bunch of them. I’m actually happy and I love and miss my life. I’m sorry."

"Don't be. I think Rene's a great person," Jarod said to her. Taking initiative, he hugged her. "You enjoy your family. I'm glad you found happiness."

"Only a tiny part of Miss Parker found that happiness, Jarod," she answered. "I'm more Rene than I will ever be her again."

"Yeah." He guessed that. More than that, he could see it. Her eyes, her emotions, her words. 

"That feeling I had, it wasn't mine. That closeness between us." She let go of him in the hug and gestured to the Teen Jarod and Teen Miss Parker again. "I fed off her. To escape the other feelings."

"You're ready to go back to them." Her family.

"My family is safe. I got them safe. I had to come back though, my head was killing me," she said. "We shared Miss Parker, not ourselves. The other way, it hurt."

"That extension is full now, on both sides. Both sides of you know Miss Parker?" He asked.

"Yes. I can hear the others as her. It's like . . . a phone extension. There's a part of me that I can feel connected to now, but I don't have to pick up the phone anymore."

Jarod understood that. From a full fledged personality, a full person he used to believe was the daughter of Catherine Parker. Now. Reduced to a phone extension. Like Ethan said. Just wind. Nothing but- what the heck?

"What the hell you jerk?!"

Jarod left Rene to go toward Cuyler. Copping a feel? I should not have trusted him at all.

"You are being rude." Ethan scolded Cuyler about as much as his delicate nature allowed. He saw Jarod coming. "I am trying to quiet voices but-"

Jarod had already grabbed Cuyler before Ethan explained anything more. Cuyler tried to fight him back, but he was no match. Some training, not a lot. He pushed Cuyler's head away as they got far enough. "What are you thinking? They are stressed out enough!" 

“Grabbing attention before you run off because I could have seconds, no one knows you.” Cuyler said it in a manner Jarod recognized. An S.O.S without anyone else knowing. He even kept his voice low. “And they, just they huh?” Cuyler egged him on. He poked at him. “You know you didn’t just start getting lucky with how many your reached. Orders were paused, not stopped.” Then his expression changed and he spoke out real loud. "Not many opportunities come my way to cop a feel of Kitty Katty, she highly guards herself." He walked away.

Jarod stared at him. He only did it to make sure I didn’t take off. He also talked about the orders, Jarod had noticed something had happened to the kill order.. He probably wouldn’t have stuck around long, he never did. Doing what he could for the Miss Parkers, and then off to investigate what happened to the order..

Fine. He’d stick around for a little while longer. Still, there were other ways to handle that. 

"Oh come on, Kitty Katty, gimme a break," Cuyler yelled. “That was two knuckle sandwiches.”

“Be polite, there’s over twenty people and only two sandwiches.” Kathleen punched him in the arm, hard. In the way that Miss Parker would.

Quit it. No one was Miss Parker. 

“I’ll help the picnic,” the teen Miss Parker said as she hit him on the other side.

“Oh come on, that’s not fair,” Cuyler complained. “I didn’t even do anything to you, Mini Version.”

“Don’t call her mini version.” Teen Jarod also knuckled him, but in the back.

“Ouch! Ow.” Cuyler grabbed his back and turned around. “Not even fair you aren’t even a Centre Doll. Ow! Damn, wha-?”

“Much better place, thanks Kid,” Kathleen said to teen Jarod. “Think twice before trying that stunt again. You haven’t done that stupid thing since I was eighteen.”

“Hey, it made the birthday memorable. Hey!” Cuyler fell down.

Gemini looked down at him after sweeping his leg. “You need to be nicer to everyone. You’re being a nuisance and it’s important we help these girls and women.”

“Whatever.”

Still, Jarod smirked. Gemini’s leg sweep was useful. For one, even though Cuyler was trying to brush it off, it did hurt his head worse than twenty knuckle sandwiches. For two? Cuyler isn’t trained by The Centre. 

He could tell Cuyler could fight, but if Gemini could take him down, he wasn’t as strong as a fighter. He never gained mastery over it. He feels like an odd jumble of a man. The way he spoke, walk, and acted. He would be a hard one to pin down on what actions he would take.

Ethan and Catherine had calmed each of their minds. Even the small traces of Parker disappeared, left with only the memory of this or that. They were all working out on how they would get back home, and normally Jarod would sneak away. Especially since he hated goodbyes.

Getting into a thick good pretend while he investigated and dealt with the emotional issues that had risen was a good idea, but Cuyler didn’t do that just because. He took several licks for that action, just to make sure Jarod stuck around.

So, he wandered away a bit. Checked on the PK’s who weren’t real far off, but nowhere near the meeting spot. Talked to Sydney. Talked to Ethan, and tried to talk to Catherine. She slipped away pretty quickly, with a few of the women.

Others continued to hang around slightly, but they each seemed to find their own ways. Most of them had followed Jarod in their own cars, so they wandered off back to their own lives, or not their own lives. Depending on how each of them felt about the shooting.

In fact, most of them didn’t seem to remember a whole at all, not understanding why they were even there after awhile. The connection did more than quiet down, it was removed from them all.

Once everyone was gone, Jarod made his move. The only ones out there now was Kathleen and Cuyler. “Okay,” Jarod said to him. “Let’s go talk.”

“You chipped my tooth,” Kathleen said to Jarod. “You also gave me the flu? While I was . . .” She shook her head. “Whatever.”

Aw. Early times. It made sense, being around Cuyler, Kathleen would have had an inner instinct to go after someone that looks like him. Just filled the rage even more. 

“She was a favorite,” Cuyler said as he walked away from her with Jarod. “I made Raines give a pause on the order. He wants an answer to something. I’m not . . . trained in the same ways as you,” he told Jarod. Seriously, I was never allowed to leave Seattle. I only did to retrieve Kathleen when they . . . they just went too far with her.”

Jarod was getting a better beat on Cuyler now. Not bad. Not very experienced, but experienced enough to deal with The Centre. 

“I think this is a good opportunity to save everyone, but I don’t have the experience to make the call,” Cuyler said honestly. “Raines gave the pause order, and it will start again, depending on my answer. See, I’ve kind of been a . . . pain every once in awhile to The Centre. I didn’t actually get ordered to bring back Kath each time I did.”

Yeah, Jarod nailed it. Good guy beneath a crummy facade. “How many times did you get ordered to bring her back?”

“Never,” he said truthfully, “but I couldn’t just leave her there when she got hurt, and my first duty always had been to make sure she stays in Seattle.” He shrugged. “Centre thinks I’m just bugged in the head. Well, they did.”

Raines. “This last time, I think he noticed I kind of . . . I don’t exactly show off my skill too much,” Cuyler confessed. “I don’t act like someone who has any because then The Centre would want me.”

“Smart,” Jarod agreed. “What deal?”

“He wants Kathleen as Miss Parker, and he wants me to still be watching over her. He even wants me to train her on what Miss Parker was like, so everybody will be fooled by her.” 

Ooooh. “You have direct access to The Centre?”

“Sort of.”

No, not with that move. That was a fidget.

“Yeah, I know you saw that,” Cuyler said quickly. “I watch Kathleen extremely well, and most times, she doesn’t see me unless I want her to,” he admitted. “I keep her bugged real well too, so I knew about Maggie.”

Oh no. “The pretender kids’ mother.” Damn. “You told Raines. You work for The Centre.”

“You either work on the outside, or work on the inside,” Cuyler told Jarod. “You were on the inside, innocent people got hurt that way. On the outside? I just watch Kathleen and keep her in Seattle. That’s all. Which would you choose?”

“You ratted out Maggie to Raines.” Jarod eyed him carefully. So far, no Centre cars had come.

“I will rat out someone who just tried to kill over 200 people,” Cuyler said strictly. “Something was happening, so I reached out to find out what it had been. Yeah, I have access, but not deep.”

Okay, Jarod understood that. Morality aside, he was trying to save her. The Centre hadn’t come after him, and never really put Kathleen in danger except to play the part of Parker. “Do you want to help?”

“I don’t want Kathleen in danger and I don’t want . . .” He shuffled his feet. “I don’t more of us, the same thing, The Centre controlling everything behind the scenes.” He seemed to almost fade out. “I’ve done everything I could to stay on The Centre’s side, and they still went after her. They knew for a fact she couldn’t be involved, my reports are thorough. That is what I do.” He motioned toward Kathleen standing around. “I watch, but I don’t pretend?”

Jarod was getting a sinking feeling in his stomach. 

“When we go in, The Centre is going to tag us with something so that when the shooting begins again? They’ll know she isn’t worth anything. They are also going to tag me, because they don’t want us to get confused. You know? You trying to sneak in looking like me.”

This . . . “This has potential.” Jarod started to look at the exact way he slumped, the two different eye colors, the-

“They want me to train her to be Miss Parker.”

Jarod stopped his examination of him. 

“I need to share all the likes, dislikes, the fashion stuff, her allies, her enemies, and any secrets Miss Parker knew. It’s all gone,” Cuyler reminded him. “Thing is? I pulled her out of The Centre, but I don’t really know Miss Parker that well.”

As if Jarod hadn’t suffered enough already. “I don’t think I’m up to that.”

“Do this, and you have the access. You are me. I don’t have any,” Cuyler reminded him. “Plus, Kathleen will be safe. She’s the heart.”

“The mind is gone, I guess.” That was why everyone had such problems with the connections.

“Raines said she went fast, one of the first,” Cuyler agreed. “Kathleen is the heart.”

“What happens if something happens to her?” Jarod asked. “Miss Parker is already gone, the connections are gone.”

Cuyler just gave him a look like he was an idiot. “You don’t get it yet, do you? The connections are gone. Even you said it. Miss Parker, as a connection, is gone.”

“Yeah.”

“How has Kathleen been acting?” Cuyler pointed out. “Her attitude? Isn’t it a little reminiscent of-”

“Cuyler, what the hell are you doing?” Kathleen said as she came over. “Thanks, for getting me here,” she said a little roughly. “You helped. A lot, don’t smile.” She held her finger at him. “Get us back home now. I want out of this weird place. Now that the voices stopped, it’s time to pull out of wherever we are.” She turned to leave, then looked back at him. “This does not make us even for the 9,000 though, you still owe me.”

“Your life isn’t worth 9,000?” Cuyler teased her as she walked off. He glanced back at Jarod. “Get it?”

Parker. Parker. That’s Parker. That was it! She was too scatterbrained, and with the start of the connections, he didn’t understand. None of the Parkers had acted like her anymore. Jarod thought it was just rubbing around her still, but that connection was gone. “Is that always how she is?”

“Yeah,” Cuyler insisted. “Kathleen is the heart, as in the basic most primitive form. The fancy languages she knew, gone. The smarts, pretty much gone. Average. She can fight, a little. I made sure she got some basic training. She almost made cop, but I had to put a stop to that.” He smirked. “Not gonna say ‘thank god, I thought she was a figment’ out of offense, are you?”

“The others, they channeled to her.” The heart. 

“Yeah, everything they knew rubbed off to her when she played the part. Even when she didn’t, her personality was always the strongest.” Cuyler stared at Jaord. “Best chance at getting those kids. You know The Centre way better than I do. I  guarantee, first visit, they’ll chip us. We won’t be able to take a second shot later.”

Jarod didn’t know if he was doing it more for Kathleen or the kids. Getting to Maggie. Getting these kids figured out, it was important. “I already have a twin set of each pretender kid,” Jarod told him. “Rene was watching them, but she won’t be able to do that anymore.” He was going to send them off with Gemini and his dad, but they were already watching all of the teens for now. 

“Go and the button will stay paused. Women will be safe to go home,” Cuyler said. “But yeah, I don’t know what you’ll do about the little rugrats.”

“Yeah, I do.” Jarod was going to get into the Centre archives first and dig up more on Cuyler before he did it. Once he saw everything Cuyler had done, all the interactions, and was sure of them? If I’m at The Centre, then he’ll be right here. For now? “I’ve got an idea. Stay here.”

Jarod approached Sydney. “I need someone to stay with the kids for a short time. Either you or Mister Broots. I’ll have a better answer as to how long in a little while.”

“Jarod.” Sydney knew something was wrong. “What are you scheming?”

“Am I just talking to myself over here?!” Kathleen yelled at Cuyler from his beat up old car. “I will take you down for those keys, don’t think I won’t.”

“Hm? That one seems to have Miss Parker’s spunk? I thought they all lost that connection.” Sydney looked at Jarod. “Is she the root of Miss Parker?”

“Yeah.” Jarod smiled in her direction as she went toward Cuyler. “I’m going back to The Centre with her as Cuyler. The Centre called them in. She is going to be replacing Miss Parker permanently.”

“Jarod?” Sydney sounded worried. “Are you sure about this?”

“If they are putting a chip in them, so they stay safe and sound, then yeah. I’ll be tagged as Cuyler.” It would let him move around and investigate more freely. Afterwards, he could get it out or hack the system so no one could track him. “Don’t tell Broots I’m Cuyler.” He wasn’t nearly as good at keeping a steady face when keeping secrets.

“We do not even know this clone of yours,” Sydney warned him. “He is not you.”

“No, I know,” Jarod agreed. “He wants to protect Kathleen Davis, the part of Miss Parker he watched over. He could have brought out Centre cars and surrounded us and stayed safely away.” He came. “I want you to stay with the kids until I give the word.”

“I can’t be here for long,” Sydney warned Jarod. 

“Time to use that vacation time,” Jarod told him. “I’ll figure out something soon, I promise.”

Sydney crossed his arms and held his mouth. Thinking. “You’ll be in ground zero, Jarod. Unless they suddenly assign her to a different section-”

“Nah, they still want her catching me,” Jarod said without enthusiasm. “They didn’t want to lose Miss Parker. They wouldn’t care about teaching her to act like Miss Parker, if they wanted to use her someplace else.”

“Then . . . yes,” Sydney agreed. “I won’t tell Broots that you are Cuyler.” Sydney looked back toward Kathleen again. “The attitude is passive. I don’t know about anything else. Miss Parker would never be caught, even dead, in that outfit.”

“She wasn’t raised with money.” Jarod didn’t know how he’d teach her everything. A lifetime in a short time? No, just the surface. He could teach her what she needed on the surface. 

All she needed was the surface. The rest is already there.

“Look, will you stop dragging me?” Cuyler complained as Kathleen went over and started to tug him. He fell off balance and she dragged him easier. “I told you, we have to talk about some things first already!”

“Talk about what?” The fire in Kathleen. “Mabel is dead. People were shooting at me. I was a clone. You are making up for everything you caused, and you are telling me how you knew about all of this in the first place!”

“Good luck with her, Jarod,” Sydney said. “I better go watch over the children. I believe it will be safer.” 

—-------------------------------------------