I didn't have the ability to communicate with teenagers. Some were open books; others would rather bottle their emotions instead of confronting their problems. 

Characteristics like these made me almost glad I don't have children-much to my mother's dismay. 

But if Nessa, Brooke, Johnny, and Caleb were real people, then I would make sure that these kids deserve a better childhood.

I would even spend what is left of my bank account to give them a life of their own. Yet, the four misfits have been aware that this type of privilege will not be handed to them on a silver platter. 

Shifting around in polluted areas, raiding snack machines, and cruising around in a spoiled boy's vehicle is how these kids were able to survive.

And even though their parents are doing their jobs overseas, the kids do not hate them for it. 

If society hadn't evicted the mutants out of their schools and homes, then things would have been different: families would not grow apart, the kids would sleep in actual beds, and eat warm home-cooked meals. 

Nonetheless, like a crack on porcelain china, the world is flawed-including an eccentric liar like me. 

Jason struggles to comprehend how these young misfits can hold off on their own. He believed that these four misfits have been living in the streets for quite some time.

Because during the road trip to Jason's job, Nessa, Johnny, Brooke, and Caleb never spoken a word about their past, interests, or even tell him their names.

Jason even thought about asking Johnny if he can hold his concealed sword, but to be honest, he was a bit terrified of the boy.

But just as soon as the motorist parked the limo in an empty lot, a delighted Jason announced, "We're here!" before rushing out of the car. 

Dampened sneakers rubbed against the light-gray concrete; pale blue raindrops slithered down slippery waterproof cloaks as everyone vacated the car. 

Its windows were shaped like the ones you would see in a cathedral, but the exterior of the building appears as an abandoned aquarium. 

Although palm trees and beautiful vegetation brought color to the jarring landscape, the children feel as though they had entered into a surreal horror movie. 

Putting on a vulnerable smile, Brooke tries to shroud her disgust but she couldn't. 

"Are you sure this is the place?" she implored. 

"Yeah, why?"

"It looks kind of creepy."

Martin chortles in reply. "You could say that my boss is quite . . . eccentric."

Grimacing, Nessa's rough hands gripped onto her purple backpack straps. 

"What do you mean by that?" she asks him. 

The old man trots beside her so he can feed her the details. "He'd rather do something different than becoming a stuck up SOB." 

Jason shivers like a fragile leaf; his trembling hands were balled into fists, but Jason's feet urged him to keep moving. 

"Yeah," he agreed, watching a Mustang drive past him. "When I was a kid, my dad always wanted me to become a wealthy, corporate businessman." 

"Really?" inquired Caleb, awakening his right eyebrow. "Did you ever become one?" 

Jason wrinkled his nose as if he had smelled something awful.

"Oh God, no," he grunted. "I once took a job organizing bank account, but I quit because I hate the long hours." 

"Being a financial accountant is awful, but becoming a corporate businessman isn't my scene."

"They say one thing, and the next, they are kissing their bosses' asses."

Nessa flinched, walking close to her collected older brother.

She and the other kids have never seen this side of Jason before; but for some reason, Martin walks straight ahead as if he was moving around in his sleep.

His heavy eyelids stretched over his eyes, but due to his unbreakable spirit, Martin stood near the black automobile - almost like an obedient soldier in combat. 

"Hey, Jason," Caleb spoke.

He moves past a parked BMW 850CSi, feeling tired of walking. 

"Thanks again for helping us out of the police station, but we still don't know why you're interested in us." 

Jason grimaced. "As I said before, I need your help with something." 

Nessa aroused her left eyebrow. "Like what?" 

The businessman didn't respond; he calmly approaches the enormous aquarium, greeting people sporting white lab coats and olive green uniforms. 

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Young." a female doctor welcomed. "Hello again, Martin." 

The old man beams at her. "Hello, Dr. Willow."

Dr. Willow smoothes her pixie-cut hair to prevent the red curls from covering her amber-brown eyes. 

Her white lab coat wavered in the cold wind, revealing a light blue uniform covering the woman's slightly pudgy body; delicate hands gripped onto a bright pink umbrella, but the rain absorbed into Dr. Willow's brand-new tennis shoes. 

A revolted Dr. Willow expressed an exhausted moan. "God, don't you ever hate the rain?" 

Jason sighs very sadly. 

"Indeed," he agreed. "I heard that it's going to snow next week." 

Dr. Willow stifled another moan when she caught sight of the children shivering in their jackets. 

Boisterous thunder nearly deafens their ears. 

Massive rainfall spilled harder than before, inundating the miserable children and adults in icy cold water. 

"Holy CRAP!" Nessa cried out, shivering like a fragile tree. "This water is super cold!"

Caleb nods. The freezing liquid felt like knives stabbing his gaunt arms. 

Brooke manages to catch up to her allies when her left foot tripped on a large, broken twig. When she begins to fall, Johnny quickly grabs her by the arm and pulls Brooke towards him. 

"Thanks," she says nervously. 

"Anytime, Brooke," Johnny smiled. "Just be careful."

After releasing her arm, the young boy allows his ex-girlfriend to reunite with the group.

Meanwhile, Martin gapes at Johnny in an amusing way. 

His grunge clothes, serious personality, and the black katana sticking out of his large backpack made Martin question if Johnny is a teenager or an actor from a cheesy 80s action flick. 

Taking a closer look at the four young outsiders, Dr. Willow asks Jason: "Are they your children, Mr. Young?" 

Jason opens his mouth when Nessa cuts him off. "Do we look like we're related to him?" 

Both Jason and Martin were taken back by the girl's vicious remark except Dr. Willow, who seems embarrassed by her mistake. 

"Oh, I see." Willow laughs nervously. "I guess I have made an inaccurate assumption."

"Oh, you think? " Nessa mimicked her nasal voice. 

Brooke elbows Nessa's left shoulder.

"Hey, don't be rude," she whispers softly. 

Touching his slightly healed nose, the old man notices the firearm secured in the back of Johnny's jeans, then requests the boy to return it to him. 

Johnny gawks at him distastefully. "No."

"Come on, kid." the old man held out his trembling hand to Johnny. "I really need my gun back." 

"Well, maybe if you hadn't pointed it at my head in the first place-"

"GUYS!" Caleb yelled in frustration. 

Johnny and Martin dart their eyes at Caleb, who is marching towards them. Jason and the girls followed but stayed away from the heated argument.

Shooting a menacing gaze at the boy, Martin howled: "Look, I have already apologized to your friend. I just need to get my gun back."

Nessa gazes up at her older brother.

"Come on, just give the gun to Martin." she urged. 

Johnny looked at her as if she was telling him a stupid joke.

"Why the hell do you need it so badly?" he asks. "It's not like it's a teddy bear. 

Martin gives the boy a harsh stare until an irritated Johnny eventually relents. 

"Fine, here." Johnny takes the gun from the back of his pants and was about to give it to him when three initials grabbed his attention.

S. M. T. was scratched on the textured grip with a deadly blade. 

Curious, Johnny asks him about the initials when the old man rudely snatches the loaded firearm away from Johnny then shove it in the back of his pants. 

"Don't know what you're talking about." was Martin's vicious reply. 

Nerved by this conversation, Willow yearned to know what was going on between Johnny and Martin. But first, the doctor wished to get out of this hellish rain and into a warm facility. 

*  *  *  *
Before entering the lab, Dr. Willow, Jason, and Martin took the kids to the break room where they were served cookies and steamed hot chocolate milk. 

"Wow!" Brooke exclaimed, taking a huge bite of her cookie. "These cookies are amazing!" 

Dr. Willow smiles at her earnest praise.

"Thank you," she says. "I learned it from my grandma when I was your age." 

Nessa licked the melted chocolate on her finger. Wet drops oozed down her hair and form small puddles on her warm jeans. 

Her brother, on the other hand, breaks his cookies into large chunks, then dipped them in his hot chocolate. 

A nonchalant Caleb reclines against his iron-gray chair. His feet glide along the white marble tiles. 

Warm brown eyes caught beautiful images of water constellations (Aquarius, Pisces, Piscis Austrinus, Cetus, and Eridanus) painted on the dark blue walls. 

"Whoa," he breathed, abandoning his relaxed position. "Did you guys paint these?"

Jason shakes his head, studying the soft blue designs. "No, my wife did."

Both Johnny and Brooke stare at him funny. Since the children first met Jason, they had never seen a golden wedding ring wrapping around his finger.

Nor did they recall him mentioning his wife back at the Eridanus Hotel. 

"Does she work in the lab with you?" asked Nessa. 

"No, she was an artist until .  . ." Jason was about to continue when tears started obfuscating his vision. 

Martin offered Jason a napkin, but his boss kindly turned down the simple gesture, then wiped the growing tears with the back of his hand. 

The kids were taken back by his sad exterior. 

"Sorry kids," Jason chortled. "It's my lousy allergies." 

"Anyway, as soon as your kids are finished eating, there is a phone underneath the cupboards." 

The mysterious scientist points his finger at the white landline phone sitting on the kitchen granite countertop.

"If you guys have any questions, please let Willow, Martin, or myself know. Promise?" 

Brooke, Nessa, Caleb, and Johnny all bob their heads to the rhythm of the animated ceiling fan.

Caleb wipes the cookie crumbs from the corners of his lips with his agile fingers.

He scoots next to Brooke, who is busy wetting her chocolate-scented lips with her tongue. 

Sensing their connection, Dr. Willow asks them if they were a couple. 

"Yes," Brooke responds, holding Caleb's warm hand. "Caleb and I have been together for a year now." 

Her boyfriend rubs her shoulder, then went back to his cookies and hot chocolate milk. 

Dr. Willow smiled at Brooke and Caleb's chemistry.

Between drinks, Brooke manages to sneak a cute glance at Caleb. 

His short dreadlocks hung over his forehead, but she can still see an innocent spark in the boy's eyes. 

Glass-like water droplets shimmied down his hair and spilled onto his plate, motivating Caleb to push the dreadlocks away from his eyes. 

"Are you okay?" Jason asked him.

"Yeah, I just hate getting my hair wet," he chuckled. 

"I see." 

As Jason swivels his head towards his half-drunken coffee mug, Caleb attempts to read his mind again. 

For some reason, his thoughts seem jumbled — almost like static coming from a radio. It made no sense that Caleb cannot read Jason's mind.

He sneaks a lazy glimpse at Dr. Willow is scrubbing the dishes and flip through her thoughts about her regrets of wearing tennis shoes. 

Martin, on the other hand, was suspicious of the kids and vowed to steer away from them.

But Jason wasn't an open book. "When everyone is finished eating, I will take you to see the lab." 

Martin grasped Jason's gray suit sleeve, then pulls him close. 

"Are you sure, sir?" he asks in a hushed tone.

Jason casts the four children apologetic smiles before taking an appalled Martin to the kitchen.

Out of earshot, Dr. Willow expressed her apologies to the teenagers. 

"I am sorry about their behaviors," she said quietly. "They tend to be a bit—"

"Weird?" Nessa blurts out. 

Johnny kicks her underneath the table. 

"What?" she cried. "Honesty is a bitch, but it's better than lying." 

Rolling his eyes, Caleb begs Dr. Willow to continue.

"But the reason they are doing this project so that we can save everyone in Lovecraft Creek."

Johnny tilts his head in confusion. "Basically, you're saving them from monsters?" 

Dr. Willow bobs her head. "Technically, yes."

"We have captured mermaids, sea dragons, Kraken, Leviathans, and other infamous sea creatures so we can study them." 

Intellectual words slithered inside the children's heads, but none of them stick. 

"So, by study you mean. . . experiment?"

Dr. Willow chuckled a little. "No, we do research and ask the sea creatures questions about their cultural lifestyle and habitat." 

"What happens after the experiment?" asked Brooke. 

"Well, we give them their sleeping pills, and begin the process tomorrow."

Caleb stares at her in surprise. 

The tone in Dr. Willow's voice was pleasant and cheerful, but the way she's describing sounds like these creatures are in a concentration camp.

"Okay, so since you and your friends watch them 24/7, why did the sea dragon escape?" asked Johnny.

Dr. Willow's smile fades like smoke. 

"I know we're not perfect," she admits. "But we are doing the best we can to prevent this from happening again." 

Brooke looks at her in disbelief. 

"With all due respect, ma'am." she began. "This isn't the first time the sea dragon took someone's life."

"Yeah." Caleb scrunched his eyebrows at the nervous doctor. "Our friend Triton had seen his colleagues getting killed right in front of him."

Dr. Willow contorts her face. "As I said before, we have a lot of problems with our company. I am sure your friend will understand."

Speaking of Triton, he and Brooke's parents entered the elegant break room with stunned looks on their faces. 

"Kids!" Adelaide breathed in relief. "Are you okay?" 

"Mom!" Brooke gets up from her chair, ushers towards the distraught woman, and hugged her mother until she couldn't breathe.

"Oh my God!" Brooke smiled. "I can't believe you guys found us!" 

"Of course," Adelaide replied. "After all, we came from a line of very talented Seers." 

Meanwhile, an awestricken Triton beams at Dr. Willow. 

"Pamela!" he beamed. "Thank your boss for telling us where our kids are."

Dr. Willow grinned. "I will do that, thank you."

"Anyway, let's go to the lab," said Thomas in an urgent tone. "There is something we want to share with you, your friends, and Jason." 

Brooke stares at her dad. "How do you guys know about Jason?"

"He and I used to be very close when we were kids," beamed Thomas. "By the way, where is Jason?"

"He's in the kitchen with Martin," answered Willow. "I'll go talk to them."