They were cleaner…

Fresh.

They were fresher…

Satiated.

They were satiated…

“Surprisingly good stuff,” Townes mentioned.

His mind was everywhere but where it needed to be at that very moment.

Townes had long since forgotten that his life could be in danger – autism had the disadvantage of shifting his focus at the mere shimmer of a leaf in the sun.

Jenna was not much better.

Still, there was an underlying panic present in their slowly beating hearts.

Their brain was saying one thing but their heart was saying another – somewhere between be calm and start panicking.

Yet, worry was worry.

Even if they were no longer in the fire that is Zaire’s attention, standing near the flames would leave both burns and warmth.

Jenna and Townes remained aware of such.

“What was that jam?” Jenna questioned, licking the red paste from her pinky finger.

It was truly a taste she could not ignore – something between a soft ice cream, floating clouds, and expensive to the glittering swirl.

“Duitte,” Townes muttered.

Jenna’s ear twitched and she almost jumped out of her seat, even when she knew Townes was the one talking to her.

Her nerves were tense.

It was not every day you could witness someone teleporting right in front of your eyes – especially when Jenna and Townes realized Zaire had been doing it all along.

Sometimes, he would disappear around a corridor.

Other times, it would be down a rarely taken stair.

In hindsight, Jenna realized that it was so obvious that she could not help but re-evaluate her entire life, wondering how many Jumpers she had watched disappear but dismissing it as ducking into a corridoror using the bathroom.

“Sorry, Townes…” Jenna met his eyes. “What did you say?” She questioned, trying to smooth her voice as much as possible.

“Duitte…” Townes muttered, not having noticed her change of tone since his voice tended to shift just as fast.

“What?”

“Duitte Jam,” Townes corrected. “Can only be found in Scotland.”

Jenna awkwardly smiled. “You sure know a lot, Townes.”

In response, The Autistic Teenager simply pointed at the label on the empty glass container. “It says Duitte from Scotland,” He mentioned. “I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

“Expensive stuff,” He added as an afterthought.

Jenna blushed.

In ordinary times, she too would have pondered the price of something found in the secret base of a teleporting teenager… but these were not ordinary times.

“The bread was surprisingly plain,” Townes commented.

“That’s because it is…” She took another bite of the bread on her plate, stirring the flavor in her mouth a couple of times before becoming certain. “I think this is freshly baked.”

“Or stored really well,”

“No…” Jenna took another bite, finding a familiar hint of cinnamon at the center of the bread. “Why does this taste like Cleo’s secret recipe?”

Townes took another bite, his eyes widening. “Well… I guess you are right.”

“You know Henry’s mom?”

“Henry was always dazed in class so her mom was called in a couple of times,” Townes clarified. “Henry once gave me her lunch since she didn’t like it.”

“Let me guess,” Jenna chuckled. “She took your lunch?”

“Yup!”

‘That’s called bullying…’ Her mind pondered but she said nothing about it.

As smart as Townes was, of course, he understood as much… luckily, it was not as much bullying as it was Henry being Henry – overly selfish.

In a moment where Henry and Jenna had found their greatest comforts, the air churned in a telling sign of something, someone, to come.

In any other instance, Jenna and Townes would have noticed nothing but Zaire had built his hidden bunker intending to telegraph the coming and going of all Jumpers.

Zaire was as paranoid as they came.

For a time, perhaps tangled in the comforts of Henry and the others in Reston, he had suppressed his true nature to the point that a resurgence was desperately unfamiliar.

‘But, now… it is time to be realistic once more,’ His mind settled as he appeared in the room.

Fingers linked with Henry’s.

There was no nausea upon suddenly appearing somewhere else but Henry felt there should have been some sort of reaction, so she stumbled a step due to her self-induced delusion.

Zaire chuckled.

It was an innocent chuckle that had nothing to do with Jenna nor Townes but somehow, they found comfort in it – almost as if saying ‘Someone who smiles can’t be that bad.’

Had Zaire been aware of their thoughts, he would have probably found a way to convince them that he could be worse than their greatest imagining.

The Jumper directed his attention to Townes and Jenna a couple of seconds later, after ensuring Henry was as settled as she could be.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

A look of appreciation flashed across his gaze. “You took a bath,” He smiled, appreciating their sense of calm.

‘Perhaps they didn’t think enough?’ He pondered. ‘Impossible… Jenna and Townes are thinkers.’

It was more likely they had thought too much – as they should.

Zaire was much too aware of his capabilities – a cut above other Jumpers without doubt but far from the peak of what his and Henry’s kind were capable of.

A nuclear bomb at the most heavily guarded locations.

Snatching a child from Africa and selling them in the States.

Human trafficking…

Stealing…

Rape…

Corporate Espionage…

Jumpers had had a hand in everything before the culling in the early 2000s – a sort of hidden history of the world that few leaders would come to know.

And since then, Jumpers had been on a tight leash… meaning extermination as soon as they were discovered.

Zaire, himself, had experienced the cruelty of being tracked by several governments and even fellow Jumpers all too eager to trade him for benefits.

Thus, Townes and Jenna, while looking at him with a hint of fear, were far preferred to the calculating horrors that would dawn on the faces of government officials as soon as they heard the term Jumper.

‘And all of this I have to teach Henrietta…’ Zaire mused, glancing back at the girl who had yet to release his hand.

She was poking and prodding as if pressing the right button would get him to Jump on command.

Zaire shivered at the thought since… such a thing was possible.

He could not help but think about his friends’ funeral – one uncontrolled orgasm and thought of wetness had landed them deep in the ocean.

It was an instant death… made worse by the fact that Zaire was not present to recover their bodies.

Perhaps, a Jumper and an ordinary person would have Jumped to the ocean’s surface but a Jumper and a Jumper combined to varying degrees of chaos.

Controlled chaos was good but uncontrolled…

“That’s how you end up at the bottom of the ocean,” Zaire muttered.

“Wha—”

“What?”

Jenna and Townes were frightened to paleness.

Henry finally had the presence of mind to pay attention to something other than herself.

“Sorry… I was thinking about something just now,” Zaire explained.

Jenna was nervous. “Thinking about what?” Leaving us at the bottom of the ocean?

Townes was similarly nervous.

As if reading their thoughts, Zaire raised both hands, uncaring if Henry was dissatisfied with her period of study, and stepped to a corner of the room where a chair rose to accommodate him.

Jenna and Townes were embarrassed.

Although, it wasn’t so much as they were broadcasting their thoughts than the fact that Zaire was accustomed to dealing with ordinary people who found his mere presence anathema

After all, a single touch could take you anywhere in the world.

The Pyramids… cool, right?

The Mariana Trench… too cool… cold?

“Jenna…” Henry broke the tense mood, walking to stand just in front of Jenna with a dazed expression on her face. “Can you explain to me what is happening?”

Townes: “You have superpowers.”

Henry shot him a sharp glare but he remained oblivious, trapped in a world of its own… possibly imagining Henry doing a cool superhero landing.

Admittedly, such physics would shatter every bone in her body… sure, she was a Jumper but she was still human – if just a little outside the relative inertial frame of reference.

Jenna: “You’re just a bit different, Henry…”

“Different, how? Fucking how?” Henry roared.

A shimmer ran through the air with such a power that it could have blinded Zaire had he not been prepared.

‘This is too intense…’ He realized belatedly.

Everything had been following its course up until that moment in the bathroom – seizures were normal for manifesting Jumpers but when the Jump passed, it should be like taking a breather for the first time after being submerged their entire life.

‘Henry should be feeling relief, not panic.’

Zaire felt a heaviness pressing against his chest and without conscious thought; the air shimmered as he reached Henry’s side in what seemed to be a blur of movement.

“What’s wrong…?”

Henry was hyperventilating.

Jenna: “Give her some space, Zaire…” She tried to pull The South African away but he could not be moved.

No… he literally could not be moved.

Jenna felt as if she was pulling against a rock – something locked so firmly in place that…

An unnatural shimmer in the air clued her in about what was happening.

‘He can’t move…’ Jenna realized.

“If I give her space,” Zaire confirmed her worst thoughts. “—then, all of us… including me, are going to end up scattered halfway across the world.”

Townes: “Are we talking in wholes or bits and pieces?”

Zaire shot a strange glance at Townes, noting the seriousness of the question and thus he proceeded to answer seriously. “Larger chunks… maybe an arm in Haiti and a head in The Alps!”

Townes noted the information rather seriously.

“Zaire… Zaire…” Henry heaved.

She also wanted to calm down but the capacity somehow evaded her and admittedly, having Zaire around was adding to her discomfort.

Zaire had hit her when she felt the second most vulnerable… only eclipsed by the fact that Clay had…

Henry’s heaving grew worse. “I – I can’t… I can’t breathe…” She managed.

“What the fuck is happening?” Zaire bit his lips with intensity to draw blood. “What the heck… this reaction.”

He tried to place a hand on Henry’s shoulder to further secure the space around them but… she winced and it struck Zaire all at once.

‘This is… my fault?’

“Did I…” He hesitated. “Did I hurt you that much? Hitting you? Should I get out of here…?”

As if a strong negative, the walls creaked as the shifting concrete above started to groan.

Zaire turned pale all at once – the others may not be aware but they were below one of the most dangerous prisons in the world… exactly thirty-five feet of concrete below to be exact.

Taking Henry from the school had been a clever use of Zaire’s Jumping Techniques when he was overpowered but as if to show her comprehension, Henry was subconsciously covering those weaknesses.

Techniques, as sophisticated as they may be, could not measure up to overwhelming might… and Zaire was reminded once again that Henry was Jumping-Strength Incarnate.

Zaire’s mind: ‘FUCK TELEVISION!

Hearing the groan and finally recognizing that, unlike before, Zaire may not have control of the situation, Jenna’s and Townes’ panic rose by another degree.

“I… I don’t… understand,” Zaire mumbled.

“Zaire! Zaire!” Jenna managed to get through to The South African by the second soldier tap. “What is happening? Henry is… is she going to kill us?”

“Perhaps she is viewing us like a threat…” Townes suggested.

Zaire: “But why?”

Jenna’s eyes widened, occupied by an obvious thought that could explain everything. “Clay Boone…” the name slipped from between her lips.

“What happened?” Zaire’s gaze was sharp.

Feeling the mounting pressure, Jenna only had time to say one thing. “Assault!”

“Trauma!” Townes echoed.

“Then, it’s a memory problem,” Zaire’s mind spun through several locations, twice as many professionals, and five times to confirm that his selected professional would not only have the skill to help Henry but also the cautiousness not to create a fallout.

Zaire: “JENNA, TOWNES!”

Jenna and Townes hopped forward, placing their hand on Zaire’s shoulder on instinct – they had no idea what he was trying to say but they instinctively felt he would leave them behind had they been a second slower in reacting.

“Listen to me…” Zaire panted; sweat flowing down his face as it took considerable skill to keep Henry from erupting. “You’re both smart people… and what happens next will prove to me that I need you both…”

The ground shuddered and cracked.

“Zaire…” Jenna was anxious.

The room was coming apart – whatever had to be said, could be said halfway across the world.

“Listen to me!” Zaire insisted. “Remember the name. Nina Theroux. Dr. Lee Rosen. I am going to Jump us somewhere – your job is to find them. Do not stop! Henry has to go to Nina Theroux. Tell her that she needs to suppress the traumatic memory! Do not allow Dr. Lee Rosen anywhere near Henry under any circumstances. Okay? You have to follow my instructions to a T… can I trust you?”

There was no answer.

“Can I trust you?”

The statement came with an almost beast-like growl.

“YES!” Jenna replied, determination in her eyes. “I understand… I know what to do! And… I won’t cause a scene.”

There was a flash of appreciation in Zaire’s eyes as he looked at Jenna – she understood that causing a scene would be the same as sending Zaire and Henry to an early death.

After all, Henry was a manifesting Jumper with power capable of wiping out entire buildings and Zaire was perhaps the most wanted Jumper in the world.

WHOOOOOOOOSH

This time, unlike all the previous times of suddenly appearing somewhere, Jenna and Townes felt the push and pull of a Jump.

Like a slingshot that had snapped just before an attack… such was the battle between Zaire and Henry.

Then, they both snapped!

Townes and Jenna drifted two feet backward even though they had not moved at all.

Around them was the familiar sight of spray-painted dicks on back alley walls that represented New York City.

They glanced around, confused for a couple of seconds.

Then came a rather blatant issue.

“Where are Henry and Zaire?”

BUDUP

Townes and Jenna only saw a flash out of the corner of their eyes, followed by the sound of two bodies meeting the concrete.

They winced.

“Are they dead?” Townes questioned, seeing that Henry and Zaire were unmoving after falling nearly ten feet from the fire escape above.

Jenna shook her head. “Not dead but…” Her nose scrunched with empathy. “They are definitely going to be sore when they wake up.”

The duo immediately got to work – only two things were on their minds: Nina Theroux and Dr. Lee Rosen.