Chapter 3

Leya just smiled, chuckling, and turned to look out the cab window. The window had a slight glare on it, creating a reflection. She studied her appearance mildly. She had amber hair down to her waist, tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes were a vivid green with lots of speckles of a light crystal blue, giving her a fascinating gaze. She had fair, tanned skin and arching eyebrows. Overall, she looked rather foreign around most people.

She glanced down at the necklace she never took off. It was her one link to her past. She had no recollection of her past before her life on the streets. The main thing she knew though was that the pendant on the necklace was important. It was a triangle with a spiral in the center. Etched into the spiral was an open eye.

Jack cleared his throat awkwardly. "So. Do you have a name? Or a house I can drop you off at? Anywhere I can drop you off at?" Leya turned to face him.

"My name is Leya. I don't really have a house, but I sometimes stay with my sister. She has a lot of work on her plate, between a full time job and taking care of herself and five kids." Jack's eyes bulged slightly, and Leya thought that the look on his face was priceless.

"Five kids?! How old is your sister again?" Leya simply laughed, and decided to clarify her statement.

"Twenty-one." Jack looked like he wanted to pass out. "But they aren't really hers. They're orphans we found starving and homeless on the streets. We took them in and gave them a place to stay, as well as some hot meals. They get to be a handful, so I help out when I can, and donate as much money as I can spare from the various odd jobs I do."

Various facial expressions crossed Jack's face. He first looked rather relieved that her sister didn't have five kids by twenty-one, then he looked rather impressed at the fact that they willingly took in so many kids. At her last statement however, he frowned slightly.

"Wait a second. Don't you guys have parents that can help you out? And what about saving money for college?" Leya snorted slightly before responding.

"They're dead. At least, Emma's are. We're not really sisters. We just have that sort of relationship, so we call ourselves that. I was one of the strays she picked up. She found me wandering the streets without any memory of my past. I was around twelve then, and I'm seventeen now. And about college, I don't have the time, ambition, or money to go. I'm doing just fine where I am now, and Emma needs all the help she can get. If I go off to college, she'll struggle and either have to give up some of the kids, or the kids will have to make do with less. I can't make her sacrifice that just to go to something as ordinary as college."

Jack looked like he was warring between trying to convince her to go to college and being impressed. In the end he shook off both, and decided to introduce himself.

"My name is Jack. The two kids in the back are Seth and Sara. They are headed in 'that direction'." Leya looked to where he was pointing and saw only desert plains. Confused, she glanced back at the other kids sharing the cab with her. Her jaw dropped, and her eyes glazed slightly.

"Alethians," she breathed, "I haven't seen your kind in-" She broke off as her eyes unglazed. She shook her head to try to clear an oncoming headache. She glanced back at the siblings and saw that they looked shocked.

She gave them a weak smile and stuck out her hand. "I'm Leya. Sorry about that. I have no idea why I said that, it was weird. It was like I couldn't control what I was saying."

Sara grabbed her hand and shook it. "No worries. We were simply surprised at your statement." Her brother Seth looked up and nodded at her before turning back to his strange device. Suddenly he growled and whacked the thing on his knee.

"Why is it not working? It was fine a minute ago!" he said exasperated. Leya glanced at it and pulled a tiny screwdriver out of her pocket before taking it from him despite his protests. She carefully removed the back of it and examined the insides of it.

"Wow, this is some pretty great tech you got. However, the problem is a simple one. You've got two wires loose." Leya removed some pliers from her bag and carefully reattached the wires to their spots. She then reattached the back to the device.

"Here you go. Should be fixed now." she said, handing it back as Seth grudgingly mumbled his thanks. As she leaned over into the back seat, her pendant swung into view. The siblings' eyes widened. Sara reached her hand out and brushed the silver metal with her fingers.

A splitting headache shot through Leya's mind instantly. She swung to face the front, and gripped her head in her hands. She let out a small whimper as she put her head between her knees. Jack looked over, no longer lost in thought as he drove, and was concerned at what he saw.

"Hey," he said looking between the road and the girl next to him "are you okay?" Leya shook her head as another wave of pain went through her mind. Disconnected images flitted across her mind's eye. A towering city of white and silver, a market place, floating machines, a huge turquoise and black wave towering into the sky, water leaking up through the ground.

Suddenly a sensation that someone else was in her head came over her. Leya narrowed her eyes, and promptly shoved them out. She turned and glared at the people in the backseat.

"Stay out of my head." she said slightly growling. Jack looked like he was about to ask what she meant, and Sara looked shocked alongside her brother. Then Leya noticed a black SUV behind them.

"Jack, you might want to speed up. There are vehicles following us." she stated as two more joined the first. The three other passengers either looked into the mirror, or out the back window. The windows were tinted, and Leya felt a strong current of unease go through her, like the cars were really three dark predators hunting. She also had a feeling that their prey was them.