Pursuit of the Whole

L. Anger

Dad called his friends.

Now, either Dennis is lying about the other kid, or the government is really good at hiding him.

There isn't much time to think about it since the court date came around. Let's say the kid does exist. I do feel bad for the child, but what can we do? Steal a child from a top-secret facility when we could barely take care of the one we have now?

I blow a bubble with the gum in my mouth, and Kai attempts to imitate it. He blew out saliva instead.

"Good try," I said.

There's no use in worrying about what's about to happen later. If Kai sees our real emotions, then he'll worry too.

"Come on, kids," mom says. "It's time."

"Alright."

"Julia, Brenda, and Kai will ride with your dad. The other two will ride with me," mom says. She grabs the keys from the table.

I hold Kai's hands, "Ready?"

Kai's head falls, "No."

I squish Kai's cheek lightly, "Me either." I searched inside my bag for the earphones. "When we get into the car, I want you to plug this on and put some music on. Okay?"

He nods.

"And wear these too." I gave him my sunglasses. "There's going to be flashes outside."

"Julia! Kai!" Dad screams.

"Coming!" I responded. "Let's go." I hold Kai's hand to the garage. Before the news outbreak, we cleaned the garage so it could fit two cars to avoid vandalism. The third car is at Eric's parent's house.

The authorities proposed that we use their cars, but dad somehow bypassed that, allowing us to use our own. They would follow us.

I put Kai in the small car seat and pulled on his seatbelt. When I move away, he grabs me. His hands shake.

"Brenda," mom says. "Why don't you sit up here with me, and Julia will sit in the back."

Mom always has the solution to everything.

I sat in the back with Kai.

I plug the earphones in, "Put on some nice music."

Kai did as I told him.

We hold each other's hands.

"Really?" Mom asks.

We inhale a deep breath to calm our nerves. When I open my eyes, I nod, "Ready."

Mom pressed the garage door open, and the lights went on. I grab the sunglasses from Kai's hands and put them on.

"They're like animals out there," Brenda says.

Dad was the first to go out. Then, it was our turn. The media surrounded our cars, and we could hear them pass the music inside the vehicle. They were screaming questions or statements.

Mom didn't care much for it. She continues to back up.

Kai's head went from left to right. His hand starts to shake again. I unlock the seatbelt, move to the middle, lock the seatbelt, and hug him.

It only took us a few seconds to be on the streets since no one wants to get run over.

"So, this is what special people feel like," Brenda grumbles. There are police escorts everywhere.

When I noticed a helicopter, I leaned forward to see a man with a camera. "Special people? You mean prisoners?"

It didn't take us too long to arrive at the court. If the people at the house act like zoo animals, these are jungle animals.