Page 3 of Stranger Gifts

The man smiled, shaking his head.

“A thank you might be nice,” he said, setting the girl on her feet. Tailor frowned at him, then looked at the others.

“Ghost? Master Chief Stanton? Is that you, sir?” said a man, walking toward them. There were almost two dozen people behind him looking tired, dirty, and afraid. Ghost stared at the man.

He was big, easily six-three or -four. His shoulders were wide, and his face showed signs of scars from something. Ghost tilted his head, looking at the man.

“Ghost? Do you know this man?” asked Gaspar.

“I do. I think. I saved you in the sandbox a lifetime ago,” said Ghost. The man smiled, nodding.

“Yes, sir. You did. I’m forever grateful for that. I never got to thank you properly, so I hope you’ll take all of this as my thank you to you. Our thank you.”

“Kane. Kane Jackson,” said Ghost.

“Yes, sir. That’s it.”

“Son, you need to explain this to us,” said Nine. “Men flying through the air into the water, metal melting in a man’s hands, and what the hell was that man flying in to save Marilisa.”

“You’re one of us,” whispered Marilisa. The group all turned, staring at the girl. “They’re like us. Different but like us.”

“I think we need to meet about this. With Mama and Pops,” said Gaspar. Gabriel walked toward the group and smiled, reaching out to shake their hands.

“They mean no harm, Gaspar. Marilisa is right. They are like our little geniuses only different in some ways. There are a lot of you.”

“There are,” nodded Kane. “This is my wife Aislinn. That’s Flip and his wife, Nat. Dr. Adam Thorn and his wife, Fiona.”

“Him,” said Marilisa, pointing to a man. The man smiled at her, nodding. “He was the one sending the message. How?”

“Why don’t I tell you everything later,” said Kane. “I’m just asking for a safe place to lay our heads and maybe some food, Ghost. We’ve been on the run for a while now, and there are men chasing us. If what the girl says is right, and she’s like us, they’ll be after her as well.”

“Let’s go,” nodded Ghost. “I’m sure we can round up some food for everyone, showers, and places to live.” Gaspar looked at Gabe, who was smiling ear to ear.

“The thirty extra cabins on the island. Know anything about that, Gabe?”

“Maybe,” he laughed. “It’s always fun getting the best of you, mon frére.”

“Asshole. Let’s go, people. We need some answers to what we just witnessed. On a property where the unusual happens all the time, you just blew my fucking mind.”

CHAPTER THREE

“Pink dust?” repeated Nine. “I don’t even know where to go with that.”

“Neither did we,” smirked Kane. “You have to understand that it wasn’t until about twenty years ago that we all found one another and discovered what was happening with us. We thought we killed the woman responsible but it turns out we didn’t get to all of them.”

“Who do you think is chasing you?” asked Gaspar.

“I wish I knew. CIA. Some lab that wants to experiment on us. I’m just not sure any longer.”

“You were always different, Kane. We knew that. We saw it,” said Ghost. “How did you and Aislinn meet?”

“It’s a story. A long one,” he grinned.

“We got nothing but time,” said Gaspar.

About twenty years earlier…

Aislinn heard the familiar beeping of the heart monitor attached to her body. Her head was heavy and thick with a drug-induced fog. Her limbs were weak, tingling from the awakening and something inexplicable in the room.

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