Merge Chapter 1 They'd found us. I had always known it wouldn't last. I had just hoped that it wouldn't have been so soon. I don't know why I even bothered to cling to such a foolish hope. Of course they found us. They always do. "Jasper, hurry, They'll be here in a matter if seconds. We're going out the back door." My brother nodded, too frightened to speak. I grabbed my satchel and threw in what food we had left. It wasn't much. Half a loaf of bread, a canteen of water, and a small parcel of dried berries. I thought of how little we had lived off on our entire lives. Running, dodging, hiding. And now, they'd found us. If we ever made it out of this mess unscathed, we would be more than lucky. It would be a miracle. A knock interrupted our frantic packing, and both of us froze, hardly daring to breathe. "We know you're in there," a voice called. "If you won't come out, then we'll come in. It'd spare Us the hassle." Jasper suppressed a whimper. I realized how young he was. Seven was far too young to be sent to the Watcher's prison. Come to think of it, thirteen was too. "I'm not known for my patience!" The voice snapped. "Show yourselves!" I grabbed Jasper's arm, pulling him towards the back door. It was then that the front door burst open in splinters. "Grab her! Now!" The man called. Jasper and I stared in horror at him. Me in fear, him in disgust. I inched away to the back door, the tips if my fingers brushing the handle. I turned it. Suddenly the man lunged forward, grabbing Jasper. He held his arms back, yellow eyes gleaming with malice. "By now you should know who I am. And how unwise it would be if you took another step." He gestured to my brother, tightening his hold." I said nothing, glaring at him in pure hatred. "Say something!" He demanded. "Tell me who you think I am!" "The Watcher," I hissed. "Let her go. It's me you want anyway. And I bet they didn't tell you how much I'm actually worth." "I'll be the judge of that," He snarled. "Come on Mystic! Show us what you can do!" I stood still, hands balled, my teeth clenched. It took all I had to keep from yelling at him. I wasn't a Mystic. I was glad that at the very least he didn't know who or what I really was. A Mystic is a person born with the gift of Magic. I was born with Magic. But something more. Jasper was an ordinary boy. He was my younger brother, and possessed no Magic, whatsoever! It drove me nuts! How could we look so alike, yet be so different? We could be mistaken for twins! I wasn't a Mystic. I was a Merger. And Mergers are considered to be much worse. We Shift, take on another form. It could be person or animals. Most could only do illusions of these though. The thing was, I could do it for real. And that was why they were chasing me. I was a threat to their supposed Utopian government. An error, needed to be erased. Mother and Father were long gone. It was up to me now. I had a chance to run. But I'd have to leave... No. I couldn't do it! But I had to. It was the only way to save us both. I could go get help. I could flee to the Twilight Woods. Though forest was more like it. I had to do it. I just had to. "I'm not a Mystic." I told him, barely able to control the anger in my voice. I opened the back door. "I'm a Merger." I watched his cruel eyes widen in surprise and disbelief. I opened the door. Then I ran. I ran and ran and ran. My heart pounding, and my chest heaving, I dashed for the woods. I glanced behind me. They were close. Too close. I knew I had to do it. I had just wanted to stall. No matter, I had little choice in it now. Taking a deep breath I kept running, but as I continued, I Merged. I felt the process of the Merge taking place. I felt my outer form ripple, a free sensation that I never stopped loving. The feeling of change. The ground came rushing up to greet me, as I continued to run. I felt my hands and feet turning into paws. I glimpsed red fur, sprouting all over me. As I bounded for the trees, I once again felt the giddy excitement if being something else. Someone else. I had completed the transformation as soon as I was hidden in the brush. With my newly heightened senses, I heard the soft snapping of a branch underfoot. The sound of someone walking nearby. I darted out of the bushes, heading deeper into the forest. A man further behind called out, his companion stopped him. "It's just a fox Calvin. We're looking for a girl, remember?" The man nodded, and walked away. I didn't stop running, even as night began to fall, and an inky blackness slipped between the dense trees. I didn't stop, not even after I grew sore and tired, the pads of my feet raw from the thorny underbrush. When I finally gave in, and fell, I Merged back into human form. My eyes watered, and my throat was dry and raspy. Numbly, I realized that I had left my satchel back at the house. Closing my eyes, I ignored the hunger. As I drifted off to sleep, I remembered what the man had said. ' "It's just a fox Calvin. We're looking for a girl, remember?" ' I smiled grimly. He was wrong. They were all wrong. They were looking for a Merger. They were looking for Scarlett Yews. They were looking for me. ~copyright by #pmcastillo