The Tracks We Leave-Chapter One

Chapter 2: Jack

Early mornings were when I cleared my head, drank my coffee, and had some peace and quiet. Sometimes my life, and its responsibilities, felt crushing. Responsibilities like keeping my brother from becoming a permanent lab rat. Like raising Lilly, and making sure, absolutely sure, nobody ever found out what she could do. It was meditative, and what gave me the strength to get through the rest of the day.

All this damn zen, and then she’d come crashing in. She was beautiful, with big green eyes, flaxen hair and a small but athletic body. At first I had been excited because finally, another Stepuli family had come to Whidbey. One that lived independently, and not under the government's thumb. At least not directly under it. It helped that after one look she had set my blood on fire. Her dog, energetic and free with his love, had also charmed me. I’d looked up eager to welcome her. And then she’d stepped on my porch. Human. And she was living next door.

She was living next door to my sister. The sister who was entering puberty with unpredictable powers we were trying desperately to hide. Living next door to my brother who had a chip on his shoulder the size of Mount Vesuvius, and who’s mood swings often made him have similar eruptions. Brandon already slipped up and got himself on the SEP’s radar, which only worsened his anger. As it was, I was barely keeping him together. And the SEP promised if I couldn’t keep him together they would take him permanently. Lilly pulled me from my thoughts as I put the bacon in the oven. I stood up straight to listen.

“The new neighbor was pretty, and oh my god Jack, that dog,” Lilly was chattering away, as usual with too much energy. Another reason I had to wake up before dawn was so I could caffeinate enough to keep up with her.

“It’s weird, she didn’t feel like a Stepuli. And I kind of expected you to be more excited.”

Nervousness churned in my gut. We could tell another Stepuli by feeling an affinity. Even when their element was different from our own, there was an inherent energy that we all seemed to vibrate to. Though Lilly was born after most communities already disbanded, and had only ever lived with me and Brandon, she still could recognize the affinity from us. She should be able to tell immediately if someone was human, or one of her kind.

I said slowly, “Lilly she wasn’t Stepuli.”

Lilly puckered her small upturned nose. “You said this part of the island was reserved for Stepuli families. That’s why we’ve never had neighbors.”

I rubbed my forehead, relieved that she had only assumed, and combined the pancake mix in the bowl. Gently whisking, I leaned against the counter and faced her.

“I know. And I don’t know what happened, though I mean to find out. But Stasia was human Lills.”

She seemed to consider this. My heart broke a little as I saw her face begin to drop. “Oh,” she said, sounding unnaturally subdued.

Putting the mixing bowl down I reached across to squeeze her hand. Her eyes were glassy but she didn’t cry. Not my tough girl. She coughed a little, as though to clear her throat but she wasn’t fooling me.

“It would have been nice to have another girl around.” Her voice slowly got stronger. Until it wasn’t quite her normal energetic self, but closer. “Ugh, and I would have loved to play with that dog.”

I laughed, and for the first time considered letting her get a pet. She’d been asking for ages, but Lilly could be scattered, and Brandon was barely ever home unless he was sleeping. It would be one more thing on my shoulders. Still, reading between the lines, I took the idea of going to the animal shelter more seriously.

Trying to lighten the mood I teased, “I can’t believe you burst out asking her to watch her dog like that.”

Lilly shrugged, “He was adorable, and the goodest boy.”

I rolled my eyes at her reverting to baby talk, and turned back to the stove to finish breakfast.

As I was plating breakfast, Brandon came into the kitchen looking like hell. His face drawn and a little pale, he practically threw himself onto the barstool next to Lilly. My heart ached as she wordlessly pushed him her orange juice. I did the same with his plate of breakfast. He dug in, determinedly not looking at either of us.

I didn’t know what to do with him. He always had more of a temper than me, always was quick to passion. It’s like the water in him was an ocean, constantly beating him with the waves of his loss and fear. I came down on him hard sometimes, but I did it to keep him safe. I backed off when last fall it stopped mattering.

One idiotic moment in a bar and he’d given himself away to the SEP. The Stepuli Eugenics Project. Shortly after the second generation had mysteriously stopped producing powers, they had begun in force trying to breed us to create more powerful Stepuli, and to figure out how to unlock abilities in the human race.

It didn’t matter that we explained to them it was genetic. From the first child of a human and Stepuli retaining powers, the government was on a mission. They disguised it by saying it was for our welfare, the continuation of our race, and preserving our heritage. But none of it was up to us. So we started pretending our connection to the elements was gone.

The silence stretched until it was uncomfortable. And in typical Lilly fashion she brought Brandon around with little effort. If I believed they were real, I’d swear her real element was Spirit.

“Bet you couldn’t channel a stream with that hang over.”

Brandon’s head snapped up, which by his face he immediately regretted. I looked nervously at the sliding doors, but I had already drawn the blinds. There were no windows facing the new neighbors yard. I’d have to have a talk with Brandon but for now I could let him do the one thing that made him happy. Commune with water.

Smirking at him I said, “I’ll double that,” and moved to the sink. Turning it on to a steady, slow stream Lilly and I both watched as his dull eyes came to life. His slack face, though still pale, lit with anticipation. He breathed in slowly, taking one drop from the sink.

He used his hands to focus himself, a bad habit I was trying to rid him of. But now wasn’t the time. With his first three fingers pinched he beckoned the drop closer, and then to his right, as if to lay a soft kiss to Lilly’s cheek, making her giggle.

Then with a return smirk, he moved the drop towards me. As I watched the small drop wearily, what felt like a bucket worth of water dumped over my head. Lilly dissolved into laughter, and even Brandon joined in.

I tried to look stern, but I was smiling too. Soaked and cold, but happy. “You’re cleaning that up asshole,” I called over my shoulder, heading upstairs to dry off and change. I walked away to the musical sound of Brandon and Lilly laughing.

A little later, Lilly was cozied away somewhere upstairs reading or whatever it was she did during the day, Brandon came back downstairs. Hair still wet from his shower, he looked better.

“Hey B.” I said, once again leaning against the counter sipping on coffee. He looked up and his face turned weary.

I hated that look, but since our parents died I had taken on the parental role. We lost Dad early, Brandon could barely remember him. He died in a misguided attempt to earn Stepuli independence. We were so few, and a peaceful people in nature despite our abilities. The US government had squashed us like bugs. We lost mom not too long after, giving birth to Lilly.

“Yeah?” He came and sat down on the bar stool in front of me. Stalling, I grabbed him a cup of coffee, poured in some sugar and passed it over to him. He gave me a grim smile in thanks.

“You’ve got to stop.” I said without a preamble.

He hung his head, and when he spoke his voice was hoarse, making my chest squeeze. “I know. I do. I just…”

Brandon had started drinking heavily when the government brought him in for their modified version of Ganzfeld testing. He’d always had a quick temper, getting into fights too often, bringing too much attention to himself. I’d tried to get him to stop, but I’d gone about it all wrong. Becoming a father at 19 didn’t really give me the perspective I needed to raise well adjusted kids. Especially when one of them was only a few years younger. Instead I’d driven a wedge between us that had never really healed.

“I get it B. But you aren’t even living anymore. You’re even starting to scare Lill.”

Brandon dragged a hand down his face, looking ashamed. Lilly was the one thing that always united us. “Maybe I should take a break from the bar.”

I felt relief wash through me. I had been scared to suggest it, but that was exactly what I thought he needed.

I was just walking around the island to put my hand on his shoulder, letting him know he was taking a step in the right direction, when there was a knock at the door. Frowning, I met Brandon’s eyes, and held a hand up indicating for him to wait in the kitchen.

I looked up the stairs as I got to the front door, making sure Lilly wasn’t in sight before I answered. I knew who it most likely would be. Opening the door I saw Ian Shaw, one of the so-called case workers, or liaisons for SEP. Feeling hostility burn up my gut to my throat I said, “Brandon isn’t scheduled for testing today.”

Shaw looked nervous, which raised my hackles even more. “I know, I just came to deliver some paperwork. Dr. Galton has instituted a new policy. There’s been an uptick in the number of third generation Septuli expressing elemental capabilities. Due to this we’re bringing in all children, for initial testing of latent or weak expression of ability.”

“Like hell,” I ground out, taking a threatening step forward, panic suffusing me. It was our worst nightmare. The ground began to shake beneath us, and I saw sweat break out on Shaw’s forehead.

“D..D…Dr….” He stuttered, his hands beginning to shake.

I let my power flow through me a little more, causing a crack on the front step to begin to split towards the foundation. I didn’t say anything else. I didn’t have to. Shaw just shook his head jerkily and backed away, like I was a wild animal he didn’t want to incite into giving chase. Once he backed into his black sedan in the front drive, he quickly turned and folded himself into the driver's seat, wasting no time in backing out and peeling up the street.

Letting the connection with Earth slowly go, I turned to go back inside, but the sight of my siblings brought me up short. Brandon in the hallway, face grim, and Lilly at the top of the stairs, face as white as a sheet.