Lana took her brother's hand. "I don't know what the future holds but if I can make this happen for you, I will. You can be a freelance Hunter, so you won't be owned by a company or a Family, and I can support you in your efforts."
She offered her brother a bright, giddy smile pretending things were not as serious as they were, just as she did when they were younger. Then she started giggling and skipping down the road trying to lighten the emotions her brother was experiencing, her blue and yellow ponytails bobbing as she skipped, slightly obscuring the blond hair on top of her head.
Before they knew it, they were racing to the dilapidated, wooden building they called home, laughing as they did.
As they reached the gate, Dobin tapped it lightly and it fell off the hinges. Again. As he yelled "Safe!"
They didn't even care they would get yelled at for the gate falling off. For like the 100th time. They would be leaving this place soon. The excitement from this inevitability filled them but they refused to show it on their faces. They walked solemnly though, up the path.
Joy was not permitted under the headmistress. The shutters were falling off, the roof leaked, the place would have been condemned in a society that actually cared about the less fortunate. They entered the building and went to the room they shared even though they were 17 years old.
No one wanted to have them in their room, they didn't care. They belonged together anyway. They were in the room the roof leaked into.
They changed out of their uniforms and got ready for dinner. As they stepped from their room, their olfactory sensors were assaulted by a horrid stench. Liver. Onion. The smell was so strong they could taste it. The twins looked at each other, sharing mutual expressions of disgust.
"One thing about what's coming, Dobin, tonight will be the last time we need to choke down liver and onions," Lana said with a giggle. She could always put a smile on Dobin's face.
When they entered the dining hall, Mrs. Fitts was waiting for them. She grabbed them both by the ear and, despite their size, dragged them passed a table filled with kids happily devouring liver with onions and, worse, there was a side of sauerkraut. The twins both felt an uncomfortable rejection in their stomachs as Mrs. Fitts deftly removed them from the room and into her office, which was adjacent.
"Explain the gate!" knowing it was the two of them that touched it.
Dobin was getting ready to respond when he heard "explain why it's broken and is not getting fixed! It's not like we broke it for real. It's not even attached to the fence! How are we supposed to enter if we are not allowed to touch it!"
Mrs. Fitts' face turned red. The twins could visualize steam coming from her ears and had to stifle their laughter. "No dinner for either of you! Go to your room," as she pointed in the direction of the stairs, they were afraid to climb, fearing their feet would fall through any one of the steps.
Mrs. Fitts didn't really think they broke the gate. She simply enjoyed punishing them. It gave the others more to eat. The children that abided by the twisted rules.
After nightfall, the twins snuck out once again. Not too far from the orphanage, Lana whispered "this is our last night, let's see how well I can do this."
She touched the branches of a willow tree that looked like any other willow. The branches curled around her arms. Next thing she knew, it threw her high into the air, and she had the biggest smile on her face.
Thirty minutes later, a frustrated Lana set her feet back on the ground. She turned, placing her forehead on the willow branches and thanked the tree for all its efforts to help her improve and keep her safe while doing so.
She turned to her brother. "Are you hungry?"
He laughed, "Of course! Watching you soar through the air like that always makes me hungry." He smiled at his sister.
With both of them kneeling under the tree, she began to grow plants. There were huge tomatoes, foot-long cucumbers, potatoes that could feed two and more. From her bag, she brought out cooking utensils as her brother made a small fire. She brought out her paring knife and prepared the vegetables for cooking. She put them in the pot and got them going then prepared two huge salads so they could both eat their fill once the food in the pot was done.
They sat there eating and pondered how their lives were getting ready to change, hoping it was for the better.
Upon returning to the orphanage, she returned all the kitchenware then went to her room and slept a fitful sleep. Dobin woke the minute her nightmare kicked in and wrapped his arm around her tightly and she settled down despite the tears falling from her eyes as she lost yet another friend in the depths of her mind.
The next morning, they both packed what little they owned, which amounted to a few outfits, a new uniform, and toiletries, and headed out to school earlier than usual. They wanted to scout out where they would be picked up. Their school files had been altered, and they had never been to the listed address.
A few years ago, Lana had made friends with a girl who had a brother at Military Base Omega. He told her things he had uncovered, dark secrets about what happens behind the scenes. This girl, Brandie, was a computer expert and altered their files stating they had been adopted by a local family. Some at the school celebrated thinking it meant Dobin would finally get an ability and the twins would get clothes that fit and didn't look 10 years old. Neither of these things happened. Last year, Brandie's body was found in a river.
Even though Lana had a strong ability, they still talked about her behind her back. Her clothing was crazy. Nothing matched or fit her. At first, it bothered her, but she got used to it. She even went so far as to dye her blond hair, so her ponytails were two colors. The top half was blue and the bottom half was yellow. The rest of her hair was still blond. To make her hair even more crazy, her ponytails were tied above her ears instead of closer to the back of her head.
She decided if they were going to come at her for being different, she would embrace the part. She was shorter than her brother, being only 5'3" while he was standing at 5'11" even but she was convinced he was not done growing. Low-quality orphanage food was holding him back in her mind.
They followed a map to the address they were provided. Their jaws dropped when they discovered it was a mansion. They verified the address was correct. They looked at each other, and both understood the teasing now. They wondered if anyone believed their lie and if they could pull this off.
Later that day, the twins went to the park that was across the street from the mansion. They relished returning those badges to the school as they left the school for the last time.
"Well, we'll have a few days of not having a glowing number, Dobin!" Lana smiled broadly.
"Thank the gods!" Dobin chuckled, "until the military straps us with another one…"
Lana's smile softened, "I know but we can enjoy the next few days."
They found a clearing in the park. Lana looked around and listened to see if the trees saw anyone else. After confirming they were alone, she placed her hand on the ground. Soon, several trees similar to the existing ones grew, twisting together.
The result was a crude sort of tree house. Branches were aligned so they could climb up to a platform that had vertical branches for walls with leaves providing shade and protection from rain. However, the branches were far enough apart they could get a nice breeze in the late May heat. They would sleep here and catch the bus Sunday morning.
Lana got busy growing vegetables, nuts and berries; things they could eat off the vine but still feel satisfied with their meal.
A feeling of peace washed over them in a way they had never felt. There were no piercing screams coming from the basement. There were no emergency messages coming from the trees of the "White Coats" approaching. No need to hastily grab Dobin's hand and rush off to safety or ask the trees to snatch them away from those wishing to do evil.
She knew the story of why the orphanage wanted them to not use abilities, but she believed the reason to be more nefarious. If they used abilities, it would increase their chances of getting away, to survive.
She didn't understand the reason for the torturous experiments they performed, just that they would sometimes end in death.
Sometimes the kids would come back so broken from that place they were never the same. A few broke to the point they could not even function properly. Unable to speak any longer. Unable to walk or feed themselves. One little girl screamed every time she looked at a bathroom.
Lana developed a lack of trust for adults early on. It was only through her meditations that she learned there were some good adults out there because she learned to read their energy.
She still found it difficult to function around the really strong adults even if they had no evil intensions. Dobin seemed to take it better than she did and she didn't understand it.
"Dobin, how do you not… have nightmares?"
Dobin shrugged, "I don't know. I guess because I have you. Somehow you always got us out of there. I refused to make friends with the others after a while. We would always lose them. I never understood why you kept trying to save them. They all refused to believe what kind of place they landed in. Until they experienced it themselves. Then it was too late."