Aug. 17, 2013, 8:16 a.m.
Leap of Fate: Prologue
E - Words: 1,668 - Last Updated: Aug 17, 2013 Story: Closed - Chapters: 10/? - Created: Jun 29, 2013 - Updated: Aug 17, 2013 194 0 0 0 0
His world stopped when the newscaster said the first four words.
"It is now law. Any human who has been found with the active gene for teleportation will be moved to several holding facilities across the country. The Roslyn Association for Human Teleportation Studies or RAHTS designed these facilities specifically to house those with the mutation, to keep them from being a danger to themselves and a danger to society.
"BULLSHIT!" He shouted.
"Blaine, let's hear the rest." His mom soothed. He tried to calm himself; it wasn't the time for accidental jumping. He needed to reign in his emotions. Blaine took deep breaths and tried to listen to the voice on the TV. He regretted it immediately; Seymour Smythe was speaking.
"-plan to pick up any and all known jumpers and bring them to these facilities. This ability is dangerous and allows some unsavory persons to get away with heinous acts. This way, the government may train and monitor each person with the gene to become productive citizens who obey the rules of our society. It's in their best interest and in the best interest of the country-"
His dad clicked the TV off. He was grateful for that, he couldn't listen to it anymore.
"What are we gonna do Brighton?" Catherine asked softly. His parents. His parents who loved him through all the trials of having a jumper kid. Blane was a handful. More than a handful. More than his brother was and that was saying something. But no matter what they stood by him. And coached him. They explained that not everyone is accepting of jumpers and to be careful who he jumped in front of. They've been planning this route since he was ten, since these negotiations were happening in congress. The last couple of years, Senator Hummel has been trying to get them to stop pushing the bill, battling against this savagery. But he is just one good guy out of many prejudice assholes. And he doesn't have Smythe money backing his cause. Now they have to push for a repeal, which is far much more work than getting it not to pass all together. His dad looked up from the floor and looked straight into his eyes.
Right then, Brighton Anderson made a decision. One he knew he would have had to make sooner or later. He was familiar with this political game. His mom became active and powerful after they took his father. She was one of the major reasons this bill had not been through congress years and years ago. His own company was working on technology to counter the equipment being made by Smythe Enterprises and the RAHTS. He had refrained from having anything to do with the political side this time around because he didn't want to expose his son, didn't want anyone probing around and finding out that Blaine has the gene. But now that's gone out the window. He has to help. And Blaine? Well Blaine has to-
"You have to run son. You have to run and don't look back."
"Dad-"
"You have to take the provisions we stashed and you have to go. You cannot stay in California."
"Dad I can't leave you and mom, people know I'm a jumper."
"Yes the family knows, and I don't think they'd betray us. But I don't want to underestimate Smythe. He was our friend Blaine. I don't know what made him up and leave the state in such a hurry, but he might have seen or heard something he shouldn't have. I won't let them take you. Over my dead body son."
"Don't say that!" Blaine whispered. He felt the tears forming in his eyes. He couldn't let them do this. He was a little apprehensive as well. Sebastian Smythe and Hunter Clarington were his best friends before one day 2 years ago, H up and disappeared and Seb's dad dragged him off to Timbuktu, which he's finding out now translated to Washington DC. Seb knew he was a jumper for sure. "You can't do this."
"I have to. I watched them take my father; I watched them put electronic shackles on his hands so he couldn't jump. I laid awake at night and heard my mom cry endlessly.
I know what they do in those facilities Blaine.
My dad didn't have a choice or a chance in hell once they came for him. They tear you apart and study you piece by piece. I never saw my father again. I knew he was long gone, and I knew that when mom died it was from a broken heart. Even though she fought, and fought bravely too, so future generations could have a few years of peace, she broke, because she wasn't able to do anything for my father. Now it's mandatory to go to those hellholes? No. You will get the provisions, and You. Will. Go."
His mother was quietly sobbing into his father's shoulder.
"Do you remember the plan? Go to Cooper's. Tell him what you are doing, and then you run. You know if we contact him it would look suspicious. We have to create the illusion that you just ran away and we have no idea where you went. Which will be the truth anyway... You know what to do after that. We especially let your grandmother coach you in this area so we would be ignorant of any move you make."
"Dad... I..." Blaine was unable to speak. Tears were clogging his throat; he had to leave the home he knew for the last ten years. Yes he knew what to do. He had to go back to Lima and disappear. Name change and all. He would enter the public school system there. Stay low as long he can. He had to be very careful. Especially since the RAHTS developed the frequency meter; a device that detected if any jumper continually goes back to a specific spot. If they managed to tag him, he'd have no choice but to leave the country, and never return, never see his parents, his brother, again. By his father's next words, Blaine knew he was thinking the same thing.
"Don't stay in one place too long, keep moving, that way a meter won't pick you up, and we can be completely honest when we say we don't know where you are. Or if you do stay in one place, you can't jump every which way..." Brighton paused.
Telling Blaine not to jump was always like telling the wind not to blow or fire not to burn.
"Not that you can even help it. Just, not in one place too long. I have no doubt they will interrogate us, thoroughly. Meanwhile, I will enter this grapple for political power and back the senator. I'll try to make it so that you can come home again."
Blaine was a little bewildered. He always had a fearless confidence about him. Leaving his parents to the mercy of these bastards was too much. But he had to. He knew he had to. His mom got up and went for the duffle bag that was always kept in the hall closet, and another always kept under the kitchen cupboard. One was packed with clothes (and was constantly repacked as Blaine grew older) and one was packed with a shit load of money. Using plastic will be a definite no-no for him. He'll have more where he is going, though his parents didn't know this. He would live in his grandma's house in Ohio, one that none of his family knew about; they left there ten years ago thinking they sold all the property. His mom dropped both bags at his feet and hugged him tightly; she began to sob on his shoulder.
"Shh, it's okay mom, it's gonna be okay." He didn't know that at all, but he couldn't leave his mother like this. She came out of the embrace and tried to straighten his jacket unnecessarily.
"Be good, take care of yourself. I love you." Her voice broke on the last word. His father came over and hugged him soundly.
"No matter what happens, I'm proud of you. I will make it safe for you to come home son. I promise." His dad assured. "Now go."
Tears rolled down Blaine's face. In a very real way, he has been planning for this day his entire life. It was still hard as hell. "I love you guys." He whispered.
"We love you too son. Go." His dad said.
Blaine grabbed the handles of both duffle bags and disappeared. Nothing remained of his presence except a little tuft of smoke.
His father chuckled wetly. "He got really good at that. I remember when disappearing and appearing used to set off our fire alarms." Brighton took out his cell phone and place a call that he hoped would change the game.
"Maria, contact Senator Burt Hummel for me please. Yes I know he's not in office at the moment, I mean at his home. It's urgent, he will want to take this call, trust me."
Cooper Anderson clicked his TV off. The news depressed the hell out of him. He had his duffle bags ready, expecting his little bro any minute. He doesn't know where they were going; he just knows they had to go. It just was. A principle instated before he even knew what it all meant. His nana told him that there would come a day when he had to take his baby brother and he had to run. Blaine was just 6mths at the time. Blaine will know where to go, she said. Just trust him, she said. Of course, Cooper being just six the first time he was told this, adored his baby brother, and would do anything for him. All these years later and that didn't change a bit. He followed his grams' instructions to the letter. He sat in the silence of his apartment; watching, listening. He heard the faint pop he was waiting for.
"You're getting better at that Squirt."
Blaine chuckled. "Ready to go?" He asked.
"Of course. Where are we going?"
"I'll tell you when we get there."