Free Escape to Eden by Rachel McClellan

believe it.”
    I look from him to Anthony, still confused, and wonder what my father has to do with all this and why his picture is on the wall. And then there’s Colt, who acts like he knows him, but that’s impossible.
    “You know Howard?” Colt says.
    “What about him?”
    “He’s her father.”
    Anthony’s mouth opens. He blinks once then walks by me and goes into the office.
    “Come on,” Colt says, and we follow after him.
    I wonder again about my father and how they can know him. Growing up I rarely saw other humans. It was always just my dad and Max and me. But then I remember my mother and my legs go weak. My mom . I touch the wall to help steady myself. I can’tthink about it right now. I can’t think about her . Too much pain. I force my legs to move. To go forward.
    Anthony is staring at the painting. “Your father is Howard Edmonds?”
    “His real name is William Radkey,” I say. “Please tell me what this is all about.”
    Anthony lowers his voice and speaks to Colt. “No wonder she was at the Institute and not at Enfield.”
    My head feels like it’s going to explode. “Enfield? Would someone please explain to me what is going on?”
    Anthony is the one to answer. Colt still looks sick and pale. “Enfield is a place where the Institute holds Originals, but you were being held at the Institute’s research department because of this man.” He points to the picture. “Your father has saved countless lives, or prolonged them I should say. And not just Originals, Primes too. The Institute’s been looking for him for a very long time.” His eyes flash to Colt’s and Colt looks down.
    I’m curious about the exchange, but before I can say anything, Anthony asks, “Did you know this about your father?”
    I think back. “He had a lab next to our home that he’d work in a lot. And a few times a month, he would travel to the city to, according to him, help others. I always assumed it was for illnesses, but nothing of this magnitude.”
    “Tell her, Anthony,” Colt says.
    I look at Anthony, waiting for him to speak.
    It takes him a few seconds before he says, “Your father isn’t just a scientist. He’s HOPE’s founder.”
    “Hope?” I ask, thinking of the initials of the name on the painting.
    “It stands for Helping Originals Protect Eden. Remember how I told you about the growing number of Primes who believe Originals are the only way our world can survive the future?”
    I nod.
    “It was your father who organized us, making us the first group to challenge the Institute. They’d love nothing more than to destroy Howard, I mean William, and they’d do anything toaccomplish this goal. Anything.” He’s looking at me like he’s waiting for me to connect invisible dots.
    The dots connect into something ugly and cruel. “Max and I. They know we’re his children.”
    Anthony sits on the corner of the desk. “You’re probably the most valuable Originals they’ve ever captured. Not only could they sell your DNA for top dollar, but they can use you as leverage to get your father to turn himself over.”
    I think of my father. “He will never do that.”
    Anthony’s eyes flash back to the painting. “What happened that day you were taken?”
    The day we were taken . I swallow, but there’s no saliva in my mouth and the air gets caught in my throat until I cough. “It was morning. We were in our home, a small log cabin in the woods near the coast of Maine. I was cooking breakfast while my brother, Max, stared out the window. He was watching my father walk into his lab.” I take a deep breath. “Then there was this horrible sound. It was the same sound we heard at the charging station.”
    Colt and Anthony look back and forth, communicating silently.
    I continue. “My father had taught me what to do if someone ever found us. I was supposed to run to the coast where we kept a boat. From there I’d sail to a nearby island. But I didn’t do that. I had to make sure my father