Teen Ink

Chapter One: Alone

They’ve found me. I am no longer safe. I have to run, or they will find and capture me. Like they did to Jasper, and Mum, and Dad.
My name is Jennifer Lacer. I am dangerous. I am a Forbidden. And I have no home. I guess I’m currently staying in Houston, Texas. I don’t really live anywhere for very long. It’s always been that way. For as long as I can remember, my family and I were on the run. I guess you could say we are fugitives. Well, Mum, Dad, and Jasper were. I am the only one left. Mum and Dad died four years ago. Jasper went missing two years ago.
I move every three months. Or sooner, if I think they found where I am at the moment. Now is one of those times. But this time, I will have to move farther. Much farther. I’m thinking about going to Europe, or maybe Australia. That way, it will take much longer for them to find me. It would be nice to stay somewhere for more than three months. Actually get to know my surroundings. But with me being me, I’ll be lucky to even get out of the country. And I don’t think the airport will let a sixteen year old girl on a flight without concern.
I should probably explain why I am a Forbidden. To start off, a Forbidden is a person who committed a crime, or is related to someone who committed a crime. I’m the latter. My parents were rebels, and so, by default, I am one too. They found out about Mum and Dad and came after us. We fled as fast as we could.
They are the Council. They control everything in the City, and, well, everywhere else. The reason Mum, Dad, Jasper, and I are/were rebels is because the Council is horribly twisted. They act like they are so good, so pure, but in truth, that’s a complete lie. They say they are against violence, and they try to promote peace. We saw through that. The Council are, really, cold-hearted murderers, without souls, and a certain fondness for torture. Great people, aren’t they?
I am one of the only people alive, if not the only one, who knows the Council’s secret. One of the only people who knows about their cruel nature. The Council’s secret is much worse than anybody would think. It’s worse than their liking of inflicting pain. Much worse.
The reason there are not more rebels than me, is that people aren’t as clever and crafty. They get caught sooner or later. Not me. I’ve never been caught. Ever. Why? Because when you get caught, you die. Horribly. I don’t exactly want to do that. The Council doesn’t tolerate people who don’t ‘go with the flow’. What they do to these people is their most well-hidden secret. But it wasn’t secret enough, because I found out four years ago. When Mum and Dad died.
Whenever the Council caught somebody, they would mutate them. They would conduct scientific experiments on the poor person until they were so mangled and unnatural, they were unrecognizable. Mum and Dad knew about this, and they actually killed themselves, before they could be experimented on. I don’t blame them. I would have done the same. It’s sad to think about what the Council is doing to the world. No wonder there was a World War 4…….and 5…….and 6………
Right now, I’m packing up my stuff in an old, abandoned mansion that I lived in. My three months are up. Now all I have to do is book a plane ticket. I’ve decided on Australia. I’ve heard that it’s nice, and sunny, and that there’s a variety of poisonous animals I can use for defense. But I’ve also heard that everybody is very social. That’s going to be hard. I haven’t spoken to anybody in…. four, no, five months. I haven’t used my vocal cords for quite a while now. I can’t exactly be called “miss talkative”.