Infinity

Chapter 1

16 Years Later

3rd Person POV

In the mind of Marleena Rose Edwards, yesterday could be considered the worst day of her life. Like most days, the worst days start like any other day and then BAM. They hit you in the face.

From breakfast to dinner the day was perfect. Her father was gone before breakfast again, which meant she would not see him until the evening. It was the one nice this that has come from this awful war. Her father was extra busy consulting on different government projects. Her father was proud of the fact that the government was more interested in recruiting his mind than his ability to fight. Marleena was perfectly happy with this because it meant she would see less of her father. After breakfast she wished her twin, Jasper good luck at school, before grabbing her book on advanced chemistry. To Marleena, Jasper was lucky he got to go to the same advanced school for genus students as her older brother Tommy. Marleena wanted nothing more than to go to school instead of being stuck at home, but her father insisted on her being homeschool after her first-grade teacher called both of her parents in to discuss how smart she was. To her father, a woman should be smart but not smarter than the man. From the way her teacher described it, Marleena would eventually be smarter than everyone of her family members and her father would have none of it. Instead, her mother tried to take time out of her day to teach Marleena. She soaked up everything her mother taught her, but as expected Marleena's intelligence exceeded her mothers, and she ran out of things to teach her.

Marleena's intelligence, although a gift, usually ended up causing her more trouble than good. Marleena was able to identify at a young age her mother's squandered intelligence. It angered her to watch her mother let her father enforce his will upon the entire household. Marleena saw nothing but pain come from it. Her father had a specific view of family and if any of them were to fall short, there would be trouble. For Marleena, her mere existence broke this view of family, which meant she never received her father's love or attention. Though sad, it also gave her a unique view of her family. She saw how her mother slowly began to wither away because of her father's constant degrading of her performance, and she also saw her brothers work their asses off to try and gain favor from their father but never measuring up.

When Marleena was six years she found a way to further her education and help her brothers. Tommy was eight years old at the time and had been enrolled in the gifted school for genus kids. The only problem was that Tommy was not a genus. Marleena could see that he was smarter than average student but not smart enough for the school. About a month into the school year, Tommy caught Marleena hiding in his room reading his textbooks. It was here that Tommy told his sister that he did not understand any of what he was learning. This surprised her six-year-old brain because she understood it and told him so. After that day, they agreed that Marleena would help her brother pass his classes by tutoring him and helping with the assignments. It was a win-win situation. Marleena could continue to learn, and Tommy would pass his classes and receive their father's approval. Once Jasper was enrolled into the school, she offered him the same treatment.

Tommy graduated last spring and was now enrolled at Stanford University pursuing a degree in technical engineering and Marleena was once again helping. Tommy even let her pick the courses he took as a thank you for all her help. But nothing good ever last, which brings things full circle to the worst day of Marleena's life.

February 1942

Marleena's POV

The entire family was gathered around the kitchen table eating, while the harsh February winds howled outside. It was quiet for a family dinner, normally father would be bragging about his students or some project. I was perfectly okay with the quiet, it was a pleasant change of pace. The blissful silence was rudely interrupted though by her older brother Tommy.

"I enlisted today."

My heart sank at those three words. I loved my brother, and I definitely did not want him to go off to war.

There was a moment of silence as his words sank in. "You did what?" It was an innocent question, but father said it in such a quiet and restrained way that it sent a shiver of fear down my spine. He is never quiet about anything. At that very moment all I wanted to do was go to my room and read. Reading always seemed to calm me.

Mother sent a pointed look in the direction of me and my twin. "Are the two of you finished? I think your father and I need to have a conversation with your brother." Neither of us were close to being finished, but we both took the blessed escape that our mother offered.

Jasper and I parted ways at the top of the stairs. Normally we would go into one of our rooms and work on his school, but there seemed to be some unspoken agreement between us that just said later. I sat at my desk next to my small lamp and continued to read the advanced chemistry book from earlier. It was actually one of Tommy's old college chemistry books from the previous semester that I had already read, but still found interesting. I tried to block out the shouting match downstairs, but I would not be surprised if the neighbors heard it, with how loud they were being. Everything was fine until I heard Tommy mention my name.

My heart sank at my brother's words. "It's not even my brain, if you want to use my brain to serve this country go and get Marleena! She is the genus not me!" Why oh why did Tommy have to bring me into this mess.

I closed my eyes, trying to enjoy my last few blissful seconds. "MARLEENA ROSE EDWARDS YOU GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

I practically bolted down the stairs and stopped right before I reached the kitchen. I slowly walked and saw Tommy who would not meet my eyes. Good he already feels guilty, and he should, he knows better than to bring me into an argument with father. I always get the worst of it. My mother on the other hand looked terribly upset, but I could not figure out if it were because of Tommy, me, or both. Finally, I turned to my father, who I had never seen look this angry. His anger was coming off of him in waves. I could almost see it. I was terrified, which is when the tiled flooring of the kitchen was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

"Look at me girl!" I internally cringed at the word girl. He only calls me that when I have disappointed him, which is often. I am slowing look up. "Explain to me what Thomas Jr. means by saying that you, my uneducated daughter is the genus and not my privately educated son."

This was the biggest 'Oh Shit' moments of my life because I knew then and there that he was about to learn the best kept secret of the family. His daughter had somehow become the highly intelligent young woman that he so desperately did not want her to be.

I could not think of any way out of this situation, so I explained everything to him. The more I talked, the angrier he got. By the time I was finished, he was practically sweating from anger. I briefly contemplated the possibility of his overheating and dying from anger, but I knew I would never get that lucky. While I was contemplating this, I almost missed his reply because it was barely audible. "Go to your room."

I was very confused but did not argue. I ran upstairs to my empty room and quickly hid all my books. The rest of the night was spent trying to sleep but my brain was too busy trying to figure out what tomorrow would bring.