My Sister, Skylar

Twenty

The world froze for a moment. What were they going to do?

"Give up what?" Mocked Twelve. A guard stepped out into the light, a young woman with a sleek brown ponytail. She was holding a strange looking gun to Six's head. 

"This is a gun called a Line. It sucks the powers out of Twist individuals. It can kill them. You wouldn't want that happening to your friend, would you?" The guard asked, her mouth curling into a smirk. Twelve snorted. 

"A Line Gun? You guys really are creative aren't you? Is that supposed to be the opposite of Twist?" Twelve asked. The guard glared at him, then turned on Leigh. 

"Give up on your chase, you'll find only suffering there. Number Nine has been dead for years now, ever since she was taken. She has ceased to exist." 

The world slowed to heartbeats. Skylar was dead? That couldn't be right. The message she sent, and Six said she sent him - the guard was bluffing. If Leigh could just go along with it... nudging Twelve, she made a confused face. 

"Who is Number Nine? And what chase do you speak of?" 

If this didn't work... 

"Skylar Harper. Your sister."

"I have no sister. What the hell are you going on about? What's your problem?" Leigh demanded, feigning anger. Twelve caught on quickly, nodding abrasively. 

"Then what are you doing in the company of her soon-to-be Superior?" She smirked. 

"What the hell is a Superior? What do you want from us?" 

The guard started to look confused. "You mean you don't know?" she asked incredulously. Leigh shook her head. 

"What are we supposed to know?" She asked. The guard dropped her weapon. 

"Just what exactly are you kids doing anyway?" She asked. "We know you're after your sister."

"Are you deaf? I just said I don't have a sister. What do you want from us?" Leigh crossed her arms, feeling defiant. There was no way they could prove Skylar was real, since Leigh had erased every trace of her. 

"What's your name?" The woman demanded.

"None of your business," she retorted, enjoying this a little more than she should have. The guard pointed her gun at Leigh. 

"What. Is. Your. Name." 

"Leia," she responded, hoping the woman wouldn't shoot them, or worse, Six. 

"Leia," the woman parroted, like she couldn't quite believe it. "And what are you doing?"

"My friends and I are running from home," Leigh said, trying to keep level. 

"And who are your friends?" The guard purred. 

"I'm her boyfriend. She's in love with me. Her friends are the ones your trying to kill, genius," Twelve mocked. Leigh turned pink.  

"Look kid, if you could just cooperate, that would make everything much easier. For your friends included." She was gritting her teeth. Leigh pretended to sigh exasperatedly. 

"We've already had enough trouble with the cops, so let it be known we won't go with you. My friends and I are running and along the way we met Six. He's helping us."

Please believe me...

"Yeah, who are you psychos anyway?" Twelve interjected, glaring. 

The woman observed the two kids before her. She didn't look all too convinced, but maybe, just maybe, she didn't want to capture them. She shook her head, making her ponytail rustle. 

"Just go," she sighed. The gun was dropped loosely at her side. Her voice was low and broken. 

Carefully, Twelve and Leigh crept forward and threw Six's arms around their shoulders. Leigh observed the guard carefully. She looked so tired. Not just tired but... old. Beyond her years. A lifetime of trauma taking its toll. 

"Thank you," Leigh whispered beneath her breath. The guard met her eyes and gave a small smile. 

Before the trio could make it out the door, another guard blocked their path. 

"Where do you think your going?" He asked. 

"Literally out the door dude," Twelve replied. 

"They're not the kids we're looking for, Harry," the woman chimed in before anyone could say anything else. Harry rolled his eyes. 

"Don't be stupid, Hailee. Yes they are. We know that. Are you really getting soft over a few kids?" He addressed Hailee behind them. "Come on, let's make this quick and easy."

Six opened his eyes, lifting his head a little to stare Harry into the eyes. 

"Hi, Six. Miss me?" He mocked. "Number Nine will be happy to see you... and you," he said, looking at Leigh. 

Six spit at the man's feet.

"Nasty!" Twelve exclaimed.  

"So that's how it's going to be, eh?" Harry growled, making a grab for the young boy. Leigh managed to twist him away from his grip. Harry laughed, some sort of white liquid dripping from his pores. 

Twelve struck out his hand, making Harry walk backwards, towards a pointy piece of metal. Leigh laid Six down on the floor. There was blood crusted on his skull. A shriek from behind turned Leigh's attention away from the person who had become her older brother. Behind her, Hailee was being struck by Harry. The white liquid from Harry's pores appeared to have some sort of acid effect. Leigh stood up so quickly it made her dizzy. Hailee had helped them; now it was time to return the favour. Twelve was trying his best to use his Twist on Harry, but it seemed like he had been struck by the man as well, as there was an angry red mark on his arm. 

"Twelve!" She cried. The boy turned around, clutching his arm. "Cover Six!" 

Twelve nodded, making his way towards Six. Leigh stepped forwards, feeling all sorts of confident. Oddly, she didn't feel an ounce scared. With so many people around her with different Twists, she could feel their energy writing around inside her. All she had to do was pick one to counter his...

Words and random letters started to spill forth. Hailee watched her in wonder. Even Harry stopped for a minute. The words were too fast to read, bumping into each other. They were bold black in different formats. It was like someone had ripped open a book! Harry's face twisted into a smirk. 

"So, a mimic, eh? All right. Let's see what you can do, little girl," he mocked. 

The white liquid intensified, bubbling forth from his pores. 

Leigh snarled at him, twisting a word that read; pow! in the air. It hurtled toward him at record speed.