(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

5. Moving In

That summer, the twins celebrated their fifteenth birthday and were moving into the cabin just the two of them. Heather was unhappy to let them go so soon, but the twins were perfectly efficient at looking after themselves. She made them promise to visit often and Greg would check up on them every few days.

Not to mention Raymond who will inevitably crash into their home like it was his own. The lunatic boy leaned against a trunk staring down at his phone, oblivious to the bustling activity around him. 

As many people gathered around the new residence and Luc unloaded furniture with Devin and Ben, Greg joined her on the gravel path, staring at the busy house.

"You did great," he told her.

Heather's eyes followed her youngest son running around trees, attempting to hide from Maia. "They really do grow fast..."

He nodded and folded his arms. Over the summer, the twins had made a lot of progress with their training and they were almost finished. They were able to hunt Wanderers in record time, even Lauren. Those kids were practically adults now for their standards. 

"They'd be really proud of those kids. They couldn't have raised them any better than you did."

Greg looked over at Heather. Ever since she took on the responsibility to raise their friends' children, she worried if she did right by them with every parenting decision she made. Even after five years, she still wondered.

"I did my best," she murmured, watching Lauren coming out of the cabin with a wide smile on her face. She yelled to claim the biggest room. "I just can't believe they're ready to leave this quickly."

She loved these children to bits just as much as she loved Ethan. The first year when they moved into town was difficult. They were new to everything and in full crisis: grieving, lost, angry, sure as hell not wanting their parents to be replaced. They wouldn't listen to her and sometimes she thought she'd go insane. Going through such a turmoil while their abilities started to show made most days feel like living in a hurricane.

Luc and Lauren were two out of many other children to suffer from losing their parents at the hands of hunters. Devin and Ben also came from that same situation.

She was glad they all made it so far.

"They're strong now," Greg said. "Stronger than we were at their age. And they have a future because of you."

Luc practically had a word in every adult decision made, and Lauren finally managed to participate more in the training sessions. She used a minimum amount of force, but enough to live up to the expectations. 

Some were disappointed because they hoped she'd be as impressive as her twin in that field, but what most didn't know was that she worked with Michael already. Raymond drove her almost every weekend to Columbus. She was a bright kid.

A black, shiny new Range Rover rolled on the dirt path and Jeremiah sauntered out, tossing the keys to Luc. He caught them, ecstatic.

"There you go, son."

They wanted to give his sister a car, too, but she refused. She said she would wait longer and keep using her bicycle. Lauren walked down the porch and joined Ethan and Maia, grabbing the little girl by the waist and twirling her around. Devin swooped in and included herself into the chasing game. 

Seeing all that, Heather inhaled and felt a sense of security. Soon, they would grow up and make tough choices. She trusted that they'll do the right thing and hopefully be better than those who raised them.  

Greg stomped in front of Raymond while he continued to type on his phone, ignoring everyone. 

"Are you even helping?" 

He threw one slow hand in the air like a wise old man. "I am blessing this virgin place with my non-virgin presence. It's a very important job."

Greg sighed. "What's her name, now?" 

His girlfriend changed names every two weeks or so. The boy freelanced the heck out of dating--if that could even be considered dating. He never took any of those girls seriously. 

"Sierra."

"Well, tell Sierra you've got to go and help your friends around before I grab your cellphone and destroy it." 

"Um, you're not helping them, either, Flake."

Greg's eyebrows raised, and he was two seconds away from ripping his phone from his grip. "Do I look like I owe you a justification as to why I'm not inside right now? I don't think I stuttered, boy. Get your ass in there and check it out while you're at it."

Raymond scoffed and stomped off, shoving his phone in his pocket. He dragged his feet on the porch, moving past the kids playing tag next to the driveway. 

Greg tsked and returned next to Heather, shaking his head. "That child is going to give me cancer someday. Can you believe he's the leading prodigy under Micheal's wing? He prances around school, cheerleaders fawn all over him and the whole student body calls him the King. By night, he gets wasted and makes a fool out of himself. It's ridiculous. Never seen a guy so smart and so stupid at the same time."

"He's seventeen. Give him a break," Heather laughed. "They'll all go through it..." 

They both frowned at the prospect of handling all the younger ones waiting to reach that age eventually. Not long after, they heard Luc and Raymond laughing from inside the cabin. Jeremiah turned away from the Rover and walked up to Heather and Greg with a grim expression. 

"There's a rumor among the hunters," he started in a low voice so that the kids up front wouldn't overhear it. "Catherine was ambushed last night and they tortured her so she would tell them about a set of twins with healing abilities."

Heather and Greg looked at each other, worry winning over them. 

"How could they know about that?" Heather paled, eyes flicking over to Lauren as she giggled, counting down before starting another round of tag. 

Jeremiah's lips thinned, his policeman stance transpiring as he leaned on a leg. "We don't know. There's no way they could have found out if they didn't approach the woods where we hide all the tots. Maybe the tykes could have been spotted at school, but that wouldn't explain how the hunters realized so quickly what they were." He paused, staring back at the cabin. "But if there's word that there are mutants--two of them--that can heal any injury... They'll become a priority target."

Hi, there XD. Haven't given an author's note in a while but I felt the need to clarify a few things here. So normally I wouldn't end a chapter quite like that but this is what I meant by having rougher edges and transitions and all. These are only tidbits and not actually chapters, therefore I'm not being as formal. 

Also, for those of you wondering how hunters could have learned about Luc and Lauren's gift, it's basically because NIO is behind it and they're already setting their sights on those two. It has something to do with their parents' death. As they died because of hunters, it slipped that they had children and since one of the parents had that healing ability, they deduced that their kids had it. 

Their parents were in that generation that escaped NIO, so you can imagine that people like Caldwell knew their parents and their abilities. They used the hunters to find the twins and they're beginning to close in on them. 

It seems weird that I'm telling things like this 😂 but it'll never be shown or talked abt in the main narrative so why not? (I am omitting A LOT of details. I could fucking make an entire book just about how the first generation escaped in the 90s and I'm not kidding, there's that much going on beneath the surface. It's legit a separate adventure in its own right). There's a backstory to this backstory but it'll be one big inception so I'd rather just tell you guys bluntly. 

I hope I didn't lose you with that explanation and that it's clear?? If not, definitely ask me questions if there's anything :D