Hayes blinked lazily, coming out of her sleep state. There was a moment of bliss before yesterday's events came crashing back. The dead body; the police at their house; their grandfather. Groaning, she tossed her arm over her eyes to try to fall back asleep. What a silly attempt. After a few seconds, she gave up and rubbed her eyes, getting rid of the sandman. Speaking of yesterday, where was their grandfather? She wondered if they had found him yet. That man had a bunch of explaining to do.
Stretching her limbs, Hayes tossed the comforter to the side and sat up. In the bed next to her, Glen lay still fast asleep. She figured he'd be up soon though. As much as they cursed their internal clocks, it was reliable with 6am wakeup calls every day. She got out of bed and grabbed a sweatshirt off the floor that she carelessly tossed the previous night. She quietly slipped out of the bedroom and headed to the bathroom. The girl had to pee!
To her unfortunate surprise, the bathroom was already occupied. "Patrick," Hayes groaned, knocking several times on the door. "Hurry up." In the midst of her knocking, the door opened and Patrick stood there with a grin.
"What's up homie?" They fist bumped ending with an explosion before he moved out of the way for her. "Bathroom is all yours."
Hayes shut the door behind her. As she moved, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She was wearing a silly smile on her face. Glen and Hayes hadn't seen Patrick last night due to a basketball tournament so this was the first time she had seen him since Friday morning. His normal cheery attitude, similar to Glen's, made Hayes feel at ease. Hayes wondered if they'd get to go watch Patrick play today. That sounded way more fun than having to go back to the police station. She shivered. That place was just creepy. Hayes hurriedly used the toilet and brushed her teeth before hunting down the Rayon family for some answers and possibly some breakfast.
Swinging her arms back and forth carefree, Hayes entered the kitchen where 2/3 of the Rayon family was gathered. Stephen was nowhere to be seen.
"Good morning Hayes," Deja greeted the young girl, "What would you like for breakfast?"
"May I have some cereal?" Hayes noticed that Patrick was eating Fruity Pebbles, a delicacy she rarely got to have. The Bear only ever bought two cereals, Apple Jacks and Cheerios. Hayes once questioned his choice of cereal and he claimed they were good for his heart. Cheerios, sure, but Hayes had a hard time believing Apple Jacks were healthy for you. Either way, she was just happy to have food to eat.
"Of course! Sit down, I'll get it for you. Did you sleep well?"
Hayes shrugged as an answer and took the open seat next to Patrick at the table. She fiddled with her sweatshirt sleeves as she waited for the bowl of cereal.
"Yo," Patrick pointed his spoon at her, "You and Glen going to watch me play today?" He had been informed last night that the kids were staying at their home, but wasn't told why.
"Duh." Hayes replied.
"Oh, I don't think so," Deja objected, setting the bowl down in front of Hayes. Hayes swiveled her head around to look at Deja.
"Please?" Hayes frowned. She'd much rather watch a basketball game than be stuck at the house all day. Deja shook her head no. "What? Why not?" she whined.
"Because, young lady, you and Glen have to go back to the station today."
"Huh? The station? What trouble could you have possibly gotten into?" Patrick was confused but at the stern look from his mother, did not question it further. "That's alright Hayes, maybe we can shoot hoops later. Or, come to the championship game tomorrow. Watch us win it all." He tried to appease the girl but it was too late. Hayes' mood dropped to negative feelings that could not be saved. Not feeling so hungry anymore, Hayes swirled the cereal around in the bowl counting down the seconds to when this nightmare was over.
"Hayes, eat your cereal." Deja lightly scolded. She wanted to make sure the girl had energy for the day.
Listening, Hayes ate a spoonful of cereal, munching quietly. At least the Fruity Pebbles didn't make her sad.
-----
Deja's heart broke as she left Glen and Hayes with her husband down at the police station. She had seen with her own eyes how Hayes retreated into her quiet self at breakfast and Glen was melancholy, not at all like his normal self. She had to keep reminding herself that kids were resilient, that they'd get them through this and they'd be okay on the other end.
She was able to sneak a quiet moment alone with Stephen this morning as she dropped them off. Stephen slept for only 3 hours before reporting back to the station in the early morning. The man was extremely stressed out, but could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Overnight, the detectives on the case had a possible breakthrough but were still missing several pieces to the puzzle. When he arrived at work in the early hours, Steven was informed of the connection between the dead woman and Vincent Merling, thanks to DNA analysis. Father and daughter. Now all he had to do was confirm her identity and then cross reference it to the children.
Steven tensed up just thinking about it. How was he going to tell Glen and Hayes that it was their mother who was killed by their own grandfather. Overwhelmed and needing more information to prove their theories, Steven enlisted help from one of the lab technicians to entertain the kids for a little bit. Immediately, the kids were swept off on a "tour" of the building to distract them with the purpose of getting their finger prints. The detectives kept their fingers crossed that Glen and Hayes were in the system. It would make their jobs a whole lot easier.
----
"What's this button do?" Glen asked, examining some technology that Hayes thought probably cost more than their lives.
"Don't touch that," Tony, the lab technician whom was giving them a tour, stuck his hand out blocking Glen's view.
"My bad," Glen backed up a couple steps with a grin. Hayes looked down to hide her own small smile. Glen had been annoying Tony since they met and she could tell it was starting to get on his nerves. If Glen did it again, she figured that Ms. Lory would probably say something. That's right, their glorified babysitter as Glen muttered, was with them as well.
Tony rolled his eyes at Glen's antics and walked over to a different counter set up. "Come here, kid." He called Glen over, "touch this pad with your finger."
"Why?" Glen walked over and eyed the equipment.
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Glen, honey, we need your finger print for our system." Ms. Lory pitied the technician who was taking the brunt of Glen's behavior.
"Why didn't you just say so?" He was being cheeky. Ever since Hayes snooped on the Rayon's conversation the previous night, Glen had a high suspicion for what was going to happen today. He'd seen enough old time crime shows to understand that himself and Hayes were needed to help solve the case. What he couldn't figure out though was why. They were just kids. They didn't control their grandfather's actions. Glen spent all night running the name Tara fuller in his head but couldn't come up with anything besides recognizing his grandmother's name. His memory before they moved into their grandfather's house was full of holes, just like Hayes' was.
Glen casually pressed his finger onto the little machine pad and then took a step back, watching the monitor as it ran his prints. Hayes stepped close to his side and grabbed onto his hand for reassurance. She was a combo of nerves and anxiousness. She did not like the unknown of what they had to face.
After a lifetime passed, the monitor beeped indicating a match had been found. Staring back at them was an image of a young blonde haired boy that looked eerily similar to Glen. Blinking above the image were the words Child Abduction. Below stated: Glen Powers, age 7, 45 lbs 50 inches, Last seen 9/12/2007.
Glen squeezed Hayes' hand hard, pulling her closer so he could tuck her into his side. His face turned impassive at the results as he tried to understand what his meant.
"Sarge, it's Tony. I think you need to get down here." At the sound of a voice, Hayes almost got whiplash as she turned her head to watch Tony as he spoke into his phone. "We got a match."
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Glen and Hayes sat in silence, once again in the conference room they had occupied yesterday. Glen had yet to speak since finding out they were abducted as children. When Sergeant Rayon arrived in the lab, he gently persuaded Hayes to scan her fingerprint, leading to the same result - Child Abduction.
Their babysitter, Ms. Lory, also sat with them. In the beginning she tried conversation but the attempts were futile when neither kid engaged with her.
Hayes laid her head down on the table using her arms as a pillow. She was emotionally drained for the day, heck for the year. Finding out they were considered missing children was a major shock to her system and Glen's. For one, she didn't understand how they were missing when they were with their mother. Two, how could no one have found them? It wasn't like they were living in the woods. Thinking back to their pictures on the monitor, Hayes thought they looked almost identical to what they look like now, just longer hair and no missing front teeth on Glen's behalf.
Time ticked by slowly. Glen eventually got impatient and started pacing back and forth, Hayes following his path with her eyes. The door opened, momentarily disrupting Glen from his pacing. But at the sight of Stephen, Glen remained impassive and continued walking. He trusted the man and thought of him as a father-figure, but heck if he would ever update them on what was happening.
"Do you have any cookies?" Hayes tilted her head to look at Stephen. Cookies were her comfort food.
"What?" Stephen stopped walking and looked at the girl. Sometimes she said the most random things.
"Guess not," Hayes sighed, and laid her head back down.
Stephen could only shake his head as he took a seat. He laid a folder on the table and clasped his hands together. What he had in his folder were documents that were about to change their lives, hopefully for the better.
Taking several deep breaths to psyche himself up, Stephen glanced around the room. He caught Ms. Lory's eye and she sent him a small smile of support. She had been briefly informed about what was to come so she could begin the appropriate measures once the news was shared with the kids.
He sat up straight. Clearing his throat, he addressed the room, "Glen, come sit for me buddy."
Glen simply stared at him, not making a move to sit. The physical space made him feel a little bit more in control of this incontrollable situation.
"Hey," Stephen said gently. He stood up and approached Glen. "Hey, I know how tough this is."
Glen crossed his arms and looked away from him.
"Glen, look at me." Stephen cupped the back of Glen's neck. "You're so strong, going through this. But you're not alone, okay? I'm right by your side every step of the way." He lightly squeezed Glen's neck trying to get him to look up. "Lean on me. Don't push me away."
"I didn't even know my last name." Glen finally lifted his head, letting Stephen see the fear in his face. "I don't know who I am."
"That's not true. You are Glen. Hayes' big brother. Always smiling; schooling grown men on the basketball court. Smart as can be."
Small arms wrapped themselves around Glen's waist. Hayes snuggled close. "You can lean on me too, G," Hayes mumbled into his chest. "But not too much, because you're heavy."
Glen barked out a weak laugh and punched her arm causing her to hiss as she released him to rub the pain away. She couldn't get far though because he quickly wrapped her into a bearhug. Hayes, his little sister. The reason for why he lived was to protect her from the world of trouble.
Stephen watched in awe of these two siblings who obviously loved each other. He watched them grow up quickly before his eyes, way to quick for any child to have to mature.
"Sergeant Rayon," Ms. Lory called from where she remained seated, "Do you have anything to share with Glen and Hayes?" She could tell from Glen's change in body language from the past couple minutes that he would be receptive to the new information and she didn't want to miss the opportunity.
"What is it?" Glen asked, resting his chin on top of Hayes' head.
"Come on, let's sit." Stephen directed them to their chairs before taking his own seat in front of the folder. "So, this morning was interesting, huh?"
"Something like that. Are we really missing children?" Glen asked.
"Yes."
"But we go to school. Don't you need, like, documents, to sign us up?"
"Yes. You have to have specific documents to attend school." Stephen pulled out two pieces of paper and handed one to Glen and the other to Hayes. Briefly glancing at it, Hayes saw it was their birth certificates.
"But, this says Glen Merling?" Glen looked up, his mind whirling. "Is this fake?"
"Bingo. Pretty good one, too. I'm curious as to who made it." Stephen confirmed.
Wide-eyed, Hayes looked down at the piece of paper again. Her name, Hayes Merling, was written right there on the line. Below that, T.J Lewis was listed as her mother. But last night, Glen had said their mom's name was Jane Powers. Hayes scrunched her nose, not sure how to make sense of this.
"Do you have our real birth certificates?" Glen put the fake document down.
"Actually, yes. The officers found a folder in your grandfather's room with some documents." Stephen took out two more pieces of paper and held them in his hand. "Now, listen up real quick because this is important." He waited for Glen and Hayes to nod. "Not everything has been figured out yet, but we are working on it okay? In my hand are your real birth certificates with your true names and your parents' names."
"Can we see?" Glen held out his hand expectantly.
Stephen passed the papers over and anxiously watched as they looked at them. Glen and Hayes read over the paper before quickly swapping and reading over the second one.
"Hey, why don't I have a middle name?" Hayes pouted. Her official name was Hayes Powers, how boring in her opinion, whereas Glen's official name was Glen James Powers. Maybe she could come up with her own.
Stephen couldn't hold back his laughter at the annoyance in her voice. "Sorry Hayes, some people just don't have one."
Glen ignored his sister, too focused on the names before him. Tara Jane Powers and James Austin Powers. Their supposed mother and father. His father's name didn't ring a bell, but his mother's name had a sense of familiarity to him.
"Where are they now?"
"Where are your mother and father?" Stephen wanted to confirm.
"Yeah. I mean, do they know where we are? Are they coming to get us?"
Stephen clasped his hands together and bowed his head. Immediately Glen and Hayes picked up on his remorseful behavior.
"They aren't alive, anymore. Are they?" Glen asked slowly, grabbing Hayes' hand as if to brace himself for the answer. She squeezed it in support.
"We haven't been able to locate your mother quite yet, but we are still looking." Stephen answered one part of the question. What he didn't say was that he thinks she's laying on a slab in the coroner's office.
"And our dad?"
"Your father was an American hero. He was killed in action 6 years ago. I'm so sorry, guys."
Hayes blinked, her eyes getting misty from this news. Not only had they been missing for the past 7 years, but now they had no one to go back to. Did this mean they were orphans? And if they were orphans, then who was even looking for them?
She was about to open her mouth to ask these questions when Glen beat her to it. "What a shitty deck of cards we've been given, huh Hayes?" He laughed in disbelief. Hayes looked at him wearily, unsure of his reaction. "Come on, we were taken by our own mother, left to live with our grandfather who could not care any less about us, and now that this whole thing is blowing up about our grandfather killing someone, no one is even around to be looking for us?" He scoffed, shaking his head, "Great. Just freaking great."
"Glen, you're hurting me." Hayes muttered, tugging her hand out of his grip. He had been unintentionally squeezing her hand harder and harder the more frustrated he got.
"Sorry," Glen immediately released her hand, curling his hands into fists instead.
"Who said anything about killing?" Stephen faltered at Glen's rant.
"Isn't it obvious? I don't think we'd be stuck here if it wasn't a bit more serious than you just wanting to talk to him." Glen rolled his eyes. "We're not stupid."
"No one is call you stupid, Glen. Just don't jump to conclusions until we have the whole story, alright?"
"Yes, sir," Glen muttered, put back in his place. "So is there anything more?"
"One more thing. Do you recognize anyone in this photo?" Stephen took out one last paper form his folder and laid it on the table in front of them. It was a photo of several boys. Hayes squinted to see it a little clearer. Seven boys and a little girl, actually.
Glen slid the photo closer to him, his heart starting to race. He gently traced the outline of the youngest boy before pulling his hand away as if it stung him. "Where did you get this?"
"Do you know who they are?"
Hayes watched Glen's face for any indication of what he was thinking. But his face remained blank as he wrapped his mind around what he was seeing. His heart ached as memory after memory hit him from his lost childhood. The childhood he gave up to protect his sister.
"Is that me?" Hayes soft voice pulled him back into the present. Glen saw Hayes holding the paper, examining each of the faces but not able to recognize them. Glen wasn't surprised, she had been through a lot and learned to survive by pushing her past childhood away. She blocked out those memories, the traumatic ones and the happy ones, in order to make sense of the life they were now living. "Glen?" She looked up at him so now he could see the emotions in her eyes - hurt, confused, and a little bit of hope. "Are we in this photo?"
Glen blinked a couple times, and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Where did you get this photo?" He asked again.
"It was attached to the missing child reports." Stephen answered.
Glen looked back at the photo. "Have you contacted them?"
"Glen, can you tell me who they are?" Stephen was aware of who they were. The detectives had researched the family as soon as their fingerprints found a match. But it was important to Stephen that Glen also knew them if they were to file custody for the pair of siblings.
Glen took the photo out of Hayes' hand and stared at it a little longer before answering. "Yeah, that's you, Hayes. And these," He gently ran a finger over the familiar smiling faces staring back at him, "these are our brothers."