Disclaimer: I do not own I Am Number Four.


Chapter One


Leverage - power or ability to act or to influence people, events, decisions, etc.


Sam thinks it is hysterical that I have never seen Pocahontas.

"So you're telling me you came up with John Smith all by yourself?..." There is a grin on his face that makes me scowl slightly. "…That there was no influence from the ruggedly handsome, blond haired, blue eyed explorer of the world himself?" He pauses for a second, tapping his chin, "Actually, now that I think about it, you two are scary alike."

"I told you I've never seen Pocahontas." I sit straighter in the truck seat and cross my arms. "And I was going to go with John Doe but—"

Sam bursts out into a fit of laughter and I snap my mouth shut.

"Are you serious?" He says between deep breathes. He wipes at his eyes, smiling like a Christmas tree. "John Doe?"

"I'd never been a J name before Paradise," I say in defense.

Sam is still smiling but tilts his head in acceptance. "O-okay. Just thank God you let me chose your name this time."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, like Reid Murdock is so much better than John Smith or John Doe."

Sam's eyes flash with mock hurt. "What? You don't like it?"

"A Reed is a plant, Sam. It lives in wetlands." I raise an eyebrow. "Are you telling me you think I'm a plant?"

"It's spelled differently," he mumbles, "it's semantics."

"Well maybe next time you can give me an actual girl's name," Six says from the driver's seat. Her hair is pulled back loosely and her arm is hanging out the window of the truck. "Now I know I wasn't born here, but from my travels I'm pretty sure Rhyan is a guy's name."

"Good God. I'm getting grief from two aliens named after numbers," Sam pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, "Again, it's spelled differently. There is an H in your name," he paints to Six, "and an I in your name," he wags a finger at me. "Plus, they rhyme. Rhyan and Reid Murdock. How perfect for a brother and sister."

"But we aren't related," I say, giving him a hard time.

"Well no one else besides me needs to know that."

"And no one else will," Six says, turning right to pull into the internet café across the street from the movie theater. She rolls into a parking spot and shuts of the engine.

We are in St. Louis, Missouri and it has been eight month since we left Paradise, Ohio. Leaving and staying away is every bit as hard as I thought it was going to be. Sarah invades my dreams constantly, and I'm starting to forget her smile, which terrifies me. I write her when I know it's safe. And every once in a while she'll send a picture with a letter, scribbling the amount of time we've been separated on the back. As of five days ago, it was 348,480 minutes.

The last I heard, she won the photography contest that she had entered when I was still in Paradise, which included a 5,000 dollar college scholarship and two cruise tickets around the Mediterranean. She was planning on taking me with her. Now, given the circumstances, she gave the tickets to her parents and they are sending postcards from Sicily.

Considering the length of time we've gone without any news of perusing Mogadorians, Six has lightened up on the usual 'lay low' tactic. Tonight is our second outing as the mysterious Murdock siblings. A few acquaintances from Roosevelt High School, the current one Sam, Six and I are attending, invited us to the movies.

Sam is ditching to do some research about the other Loric and their locations.

"Are you sure you don't want to join?"

Sam hops out of the truck, "I'm sure. I don't like those slapstick comedies."

I shrug as Six shuts the driver's side door and joins me. "We'll tell you how it is," I say.

"Happy hunting," Six says.

Sam makes his way towards the small shops front door and waves over his shoulder.

We both watch him disappear into the store and turn to face the theater. There is a line eight deep in front of the glass enclosed ticket booth. Movie posters for upcoming movies hand in the large windows and there is a group of teenagers huddled together to the left.

A girl in the group lifts her head up, locks with my eyes and waves at us with a smile. I nod back and Six and I head over.

"Remind me why I had to come?" Six asks from beside me. She switches off her Australian accent effortlessly and I flash her an impressed smile. She gives me a 'don't start' look and says, "How are they supposed to believe we're related if I talk differently? And again, why did I have to come?"

I crack a small grin. "Well, that's a funny story, actually. See the guy next to Tiffany, the girl who just waved at me?"

Six follows my gaze and nods, "Yeah."

"Apparently he thinks you're hot," I shrug simply. "And Tiffany thinks he's hot. And he wasn't going to come unless you did."

"So I'm being used?"

"Yes," I nod.

She rolls her eyes and shoves me away playfully with a smile. I dodge and swat at her hand when she tries again. We approach the group and I smile at how relaxed Six has been recently. It's good seeing her calm.

"Hey Reid," Tiffany smiles.

"Hey," I respond, lightly hugging her and then shaking hands with Carter Owens, the boy who thinks Six is hot. I shake Matt Thomas' hand, a soccer player, and head nod to another soccer player whose name I can't recall.

"What's up, Rhyan," Carter greets with a wide smile.

"Hey," Six replies, forcing a small smile of her own.

We stand in an awkward silence for a moment, Six and I on the outside of the tight nit group. After a moment's pause I say, "So, how 'bout we go inside? It's getting a bit chilly out here."

The two girls behind Matt and the soccer player I can't remember, Ivy and Violet, smiling enthusiastically even though it's seventy-two outside.

Once inside I slip off my jacket and throw it over my arm. The lobby is crowded and is quite larger than many of the movie theaters I've been in before. There is an unmanned piano in the center emitting a light, melancholy melody. A small table with two chairs is behind the piano, and the surface flashes between checkers and chess.

"Oh cool!" Matt slides past me and sits down in the chair. The other soccer player joins him and they engage in a digital game of checkers.

"I'm gonna get some popcorn," Six says in a desperate attempt to get away from Carter Owens and his fawning eyes.

I smile slightly as she pushes past me and stands in line. Suddenly I am alone in a group of girls who can't stop looking at me. "Umm," my cheeks flush as I try to find the start to an appropriate conversation. "I have to go to the bathroom," I announce.

Tiffany's smile drops slightly, but she nods. "You want me to hold your jacket?"

"Sure," I hand her the coat and head towards the bathroom.

I wash my hands three times and dry them twice. Returning to the girls is not at the top of my to-do list, but Six would kill me if I ditched. Throwing some water on my face, I take a deep breath and push through the bathroom door into the lobby.

It takes me only a second to realize something is wrong. There is a crowd gathering at the front of the theater and Six is sprinting towards me.

"The café," she says urgently and grabs my arm.

She doesn't have to pull me. I am suddenly sprinting beside her towards the exit. We shove past the group of people gathered at the theater doors and I faintly hear Tiffany yelling at me and Carter yelling at Six. We ignore them and dash out the doors, across the street and stop in front of the building.

People are rushing out of the café's small entrance, fear and terror etched across their faces. Six grabs my arm once again and I turn to look at her. She asks me a silent question, and I nod my head ever so slightly. She sighs and enters the café first.

There is a man at the cash register. He's waving a gun at the cashier.

Six pulls me down and we crouch behind a small table. The man with the gun doesn't seem all that concerned about the people leaving. He's just focused on getting his money.

I scan the remaining people in the café looking for Sam. The computers are towards the back, lined against the wall. But he is not there.

"John," Six's hand is on my shoulder. I look towards the front again and figure out why I could not find Sam. He is on the ground at the feet of the shooter, holding a hand against the side of his face. There is blood slipping from between his fingers.

I clench my fist and turn back to Six. "Did you bring one?"

She nods slightly, "I always do."

I have suddenly found a new respect in Six's paranoia. "I'll get Sam. Do you think—?"

"It won't be a problem." She straightens slightly, looks around to make sure nobody looks at her, then she is gone.

I move forward around a table and wait for Six to make her move.

The man with the gun is slurring slightly, waving the death machine at the scared teenage girl behind the counter. And then it happens. One moment he is standing, and then next he is on the ground, the gun knocked from his hand.

I rush forward, grab Sam and haul him up. We dash towards the back and push through the emergency exit door. A shrill screech sounds from the small café's emergency exit, but I am already out the door with Sam. We are in the overflow parking lot in the back of the store, and rush towards the back row where no one can see us.

Sam is panting and he props himself against a parked car. "Sorry," he wheezes. "It seems that my Legacy is Danger Magnet."

I chuckle slightly and look at the head wound. It is small, but deep.

"We might have to work on that," Six appears beside us in the blink of an eye, holding a healing stone in her hand.

Sam eyes the small rock. "I guess it's time to test if it works on humans?"

Six nods and says, "Take a deep breath." Sam obeys and she places the stone against the side of his head. His jaw clenches immediately, veins popping out in his neck. His face turns red and his chest does not move for seconds. I know all too well that the rock seems to freeze your breathing.

Six pulls the rock away after a minute and the cut on the side of Sam's face is gone. She grins as Sam catches his breath, "This is good news."

Sam clutches at his chest, "Jesus. That hurt more than the initial pistol whip."

Something inside me sighs with relief. Finally we get a break. Finally, there is some good news in this war. Our human friends are able to be healed by our Loric technology.

"I'm curious if we still have to heal humans right away," Six turns to me. "Maybe the time limit doesn't exist with them?"

I nod. It would be interesting to find out.

Sam looks from Six to me and then shakes his head. "Aww hell no. I am not going back in there to get shot, or shanked, or whatever just so you two can play mad scientist. Uh-uh. No way."

I smile. "Relax."

Six tilts her head, "What's shanked?"

Sam groans and stands. "Can we please get out of here?"

Six stands and I get to my feet as well. "Oh man," I lean back and tilt my head towards the night sky. "Tiffany has my jacket. My phone's in the pocket."

Six rolls her eyes. "Just great. I barely got away from that Carter Owens the first time. He kept trying to hold my hand." She shivers.

Sam snickers and Six punches his arm lightly. I shake my head with a smile and start towards the entrance of the movie theater. I can hear sirens in the distance and hurry towards the door; Six and Sam close on my heels. We certainly don't want to be out there when the cops show up.

The moment we enter the theater, Tiffany and the group are rushing towards us, eyes frantic.

"What the hell was that, Reid!" She throws her arms around me. "God. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

I spy Carter Owens out of the corner of my eye, trying horribly to consol Six. She's getting better about the whole mindset that 'human-men-are-supposed-to-be-the-stronger-gender' thing. Still, it really seems to bother her when men feel like she's this small, fragile woman.

I pull Tiffany back gently, "Sorry. I had to see if my friend was alright," I motion behind me to Sam, who smiles sheepishly. "Thank goodness he got out with the majority of the people."

She sighs with relief and I shake Carter's hand and hug the other girls lightly. We start to talk and I realize that what had seemed like thirty minutes in the café was only ten minutes. Our movie is about to start.

I reach in my back pocket for my wallet to give Sam some money for a ticket, but realize it's also in my jacket pocket. "My jacket," I nod towards the clothing draped over Tiffany's arm. "I can take it back. Thanks for holding it."

She goes to give it back to me, but pulls it away when I reach for it, her eyes curious. "Who's Sarah Hart?"

I freeze, my chest tight. Six stops her cheerfully fake conversation and turns to the two of us. I lick my lips, clearing my throat. "She was a girl I knew," Tiffany cocks a hip and I can feel sweat slid down my neck. "Why do you ask?"

Tiffany shrugs. "Your phone rang when you were out playing hero. It said Sarah Hart on the caller ID." I honestly do not know what to do. When I destroyed my old phone, I secretly kept her number, texted her my new one without a signature. I figured she'd be smart enough to know who it was.

"What did she say?" I manage to ask through my uncooperative throat. I am aware of Six burning a hole in the back of my neck with a glare.

"That's why I asked," Tiffany says, eyebrows furrowed. "It wasn't a girl who called. It was some guy. He said that Paradise had fallen and there was a message waiting for Number Four." She smiles, "Whatever the hell that means, right?" she laughs nonchalantly.

I am hit with a wave of dizziness so strong that I almost stagger. If it weren't for Six's sudden hand on my shoulder, I would have fallen over. My stomach is somersaulting with helplessness and there is a sudden need to leave. To get out of here and go to Sarah. And I suddenly regret ever leaving her. Something inside of me dies out.

"We have to go," I whisper.

"What?" Tiffany asks, and everyone is suddenly looking at me.

"We have to leave," I repeat and lock eyes briefly with Sam and Six. Sam nods instantly, and I can see the need behind his orbs to get home. To make sure his friend is alright. Six is more hesitant, but seems to understand in a split second that I am not asking her to leave. I am telling her.

I grab my jacket; shoot forward to kiss Tiffany on the cheek and say, "Have a good life."

Then the three of us are out the door and sprinting towards the truck. Bernie Kosar sticks his head out of the bed and looks at me with questioning eyes. I haven't completely figured out my animal legacy, but I know he realizes something is wrong.

I jump into the driver's seat and Six piles into the middle. Sam slams the door shut and whips out his laptop while I pull out of the parking lot.

"According to MapQuest it will take us eight and a half hours to get there if we go the speed limit."

I reeve the engine, gripping the steering wheels with white knuckles.

Sam swallows, "That's what I thought." He flicks his wrist and looks at his watch. "It's nine forty now. That means we'll get there around four forty – maybe five. But it's the end of the month, John. Cops will be out, especially if we take the major roads."

"That's the fastest way," I say.

"I can make us invisible," Six says. "But I don't know how long I can hold it or how much it will take out of me. I've never tried to hide something this big before."

Sam nods again and rummages through his backpack. Seconds later he pulls out a rectangular box that closely resembles a DVR. He yanks out the cigarette lighter from the center counsel and plugs in the machine. "I thought this might come in handy considering both your current life choices."

I lift an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Sam smiles. "It's a police scanner. See this little needle," he points to the small digital screen, "it starts to tick in the direction of a cop car. This'll give us enough warning for Six to make us invisible."

I nod, focus on Paradise, Ohio and Sarah, and floor it. The truck jumps forward, and we are on I-55 North before any one of us realize it.