"Good morning, beautiful sister-o-mine!" Ashton burst into my bedroom, singing on too high of a note for this early in the morning.

Sitting up in my bed, I rubbed my eyes. "What?"

Captain barked off-beat to my brother's song. The bed shifted as Ashton sat down. He set his hand on my bare knee. I watched my face, contorted at the tiredness of just waking up and the chaos that had just let himself into my room. "No time for sleeping, girly! It's October 7th, and you know what that means!"

"No, what does that mean? What time is it? Why are you in my room?" My face rested against my palm, tangled hair loosely falling over me.

His expression fell; I could tell in the way his eyes dropped and his gaze turned. "Oh. Well, let me remind you. 16 years ago, on this day, a certain little girl whose name starts with an 'A' was born."

He stopped talking, and I realized he was waiting for an answer.

"Was it me?"

"It was you! Happy Birthday, Ally-gator!" He shoved something in my hand, a considerably wide chocolate chip cookie, complete with a single, unlit candle stabbed messily into the middle.

"My birthday?" I eyed the desert. "Thanks." I had lost a lot, but I hadn't stopped to consider each and every little thing missing in my past. That stood too tall of a task. But now, the mention of having something as common as a birthday made my eyes sting. Just a little.

"Dessert for breakfast. I like my birthday."

Ashton's cheeks peaked in a smile. "I've got work today, but after that, what would you like to do? Anything today, as it's your day."

"I don't know... Maybe we could just hang out or something. I don't really know much about anything to do." I took a bite of the cookie to keep myself from thinking about all the years I had lost. It melted against the roof of my mouth, disappearing just like every aspect of my life before now. I hardly knew anything about Ashton, any parents I had, or even myself. I was just a girl trying to copy the person Alison Caddel had once been.

Stretching his arms behind his head and cutting off my sight, Ashton let out a wistful sigh. "Just a few days ago, you were just nine, a short little thing. And then I blink and you're sixteen, all big like an actual person." His tongue clicked. Following in a smaller voice, he said, "We sure have missed a lot." Those nervous and painful thoughts had reached Ashton too. In an attempt to shake them off, he poked me in the knee. "If you don't stop growing, you'll be in trouble. Quit it."

A small laugh escaped me.

"I'm serious, Ally. You're my baby sister forever, right?" He yanked me into a suffocating hug, tickling me as we lay on the bed.

He took my uncontrollable laughter at his teasing as a yes.

"Good."

We took a moment, enjoying the calm as I ate the cookie I had somehow managed to save from Ashton's roughhousing.

I cleaned out the last of the cookie from my teeth when Ashton grabbed me by the legs and yanked me up over his shoulders - all in one swift movement. I let out a squeal, Captain barking at the cacophony.

"Ashton! What are you doing! Put me down!" Feeling my shirt falling up, I pulled it back over my stomach. My long hair only landed at his ankles, which is when I noted how tall he stood.

"Where do you want to go for actual birthday breakfast?" He passed the doorway of my room and walked around the house, hauling me upside down. His sweaty palms on my ankles allowed me a view different from the lightheaded one my body felt.

"Put me down!" He trotted down the stairs now, my head repeatedly knocking against his back.

"Fine."Ashton decided to drop my skull on the couch. I lay there upside down, my facebright with giggles. The cushions bounced as he took a spot next to me. "You'retoo much fun, ya dork."

...

I often wondered where Ashton worked, or if it was somehow related to those weird emails. Today, I shut the door on those thoughts, though. I wouldn't spend my birthday worrying about the suspicious things Ashton did. No, I had something else in mind for the afternoon.

Using Captain for sight, I dug around the kitchen junk drawer for a sticky note and pencil. Sitting on the floor so Captain could see, I made a list of everything I knew about my sight.

1.     I can see through others' eyes.

2.     My eyes change color, depending on whether I can see.

Tapping the pencil to my chin, I scanned the small list. Glancing at Captain's paws, a thought came to me. Could I control him, or had I only gained his vision? I focused, trying to move Captain rather than my own body. Captain's head acted as I wanted, his paws at my command as well. After a few more tests, I let the dog have control again. I added it to the list.

3.     I can control the viewer's movements.

I still needed to test the limits of my abilities. Taking my hand off the dog, the world returned to black. What next?  Did my powers work through clothes? Pulling Captain up next to me, his body leaned against my shirt. After double checking that my skin had no contact with him whatsoever, I found my view still blacked out.

4.     Skin contact only.

I set down the pencil and gave Captain a scratch behind the ears for being a cooperative test subject. "You're such a good boy, huh?" I said, taking on the childish voice I had heard Ashton use before.

            Ding dong!

The doorbell made my skin jump. I turned Captain's head to the door. Would Ashton use the doorbell? I got to my feet, and Captain moved to press against the leg. He'd gotten used to being my eyes.

Three men stood at the door, dressed in matching black and white suits. The only thing difference between their uniforms was the tie colors, which I only made out by shade using Captain's color-blind vision, and name tags.

            "Can I help you?" My hand remained on the door, which opened only halfway.

            "Good day, young lady." The man at the front looked somewhat surprised to see someone home. "We're here with CAIN for a monthly house check. May we come in?"

            I hesitated, my heart quickening from a mix of suspicion and surprise. "CAIN?" According to the book I had read, they only showed up for remmutants or Dragons. "Can I ask why?"

            "All employee homes are inspected randomly once a month, to ensure everything is in order."

            Employee? Does Ashton work for CAIN? "Okay..." Still unsure, I stepped out of the way.

I eyed them as they entered one by one. The last one to enter was an Asian man with thick, dark hair, who gave me a welcoming smile as he came. His tag read K. Kiyano. I gave him a short wave, unsure if the smile made me feel better or worse.

            Captain seemed strangely calm. I sat my hand on his head, more comforting myself than anything else. The CAIN men checked every feasible space, and even some less feasible spots, taking care not to mess anything up. Under the fridge, the paper-thin crack of the door jam, on the coffee table. They came up with nothing so far, making me wonder if they were looking for anything specific in the first place.

            "I'll do a quick sweep upstairs, and then we'll be done," I heard Kiyano say to the lead man.

My gaze darted upstairs at the mention of it. If Ashton kept something private, he would probably keep it in his room. An idea crossed my mind. These people would be the perfect excuse to go into my brother's room, and if I did find out anything that explained that video, it'd be a great birthday present. I know I said no investigating Ashton today, but...

            Kiyano strode up the dark wood steps. After a moment, I followed. The other men seemed to ignore me, either too focused on their search or not caring. The man dug through my room first. He just shuffled through my clothes, searching for any secret compartments in the drawers. There weren't many hiding places as I had only moved in recently. Once he was sure he'd found nothing of suspicion, he walked out, nodding to me as he did so.

            Next, the man moved onto Ashton's room. The air conditioning blasted cold air into the space, not to mention that cedar-sweat scent that followed Ashton everywhere returned. Clothes struggled in strewn, crumpled piles across the floor. A bowl and a cup stacked on the nightstand told me Ashton ate in here often. A desk leaned against the wall, neat in comparison to the rest of the room. Except for a journal and scattered sticky notes with random scrawlings and phone numbers, the tabletop proved tidy.

            Looking over the sticky notes, Kiyano found nothing worth lingering on. He moved to the bed. He slid it away from its prior spot easily. I noticed a faint indented streak in the carpet, almost as if the bed moved over often. Under the bed, I spotted the outline of a small hatch, probably a good hiding spot for secrets. I could tell by the man's eyes he had seen it.

            He slid the bed back into place and left the room.

            Startled, I made to follow Mr. Kiyano. I knew he saw it, yet he just moved on, uncharacteristic to the rest of the search party. I decided to keep mum, though. Investigate later.

            "Sir, there's nothing here. Everything's in order."

            The lead man nodded. He spun his finger as if to say wrap it up. The third man joined the other two, and together they stood in the front room. I came to meet them once I made my way down the steps.

            "Thank you for your cooperation. We are done here." The lead man pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket, flicked his wrist to open them, and set them on the bridge of his nose. His hand came out to mine. I pulled my leg from Captain and shook his hand.

            I smirked, wondering if I could make him do anything in this small moment we were touching. I decided to have some fun and tried moving his hand. Didn't budge. I frowned. Our hands split.

            The men turned and exited the house. Waving, I closed the door behind them. Once the quiet washed over the house, I let out a sigh of relief, having gotten rid of those intruders.

Ithought over the possible reasons I couldn't control the man. Species becamethe only difference I could think of between man and dog. With another limit tomy powers found, I added it to my list.

...

            "What's up, Ally-gator?" Ashton poured a bowl of soup, watching me from the kitchen. I leaned back at the table, Captain at my bare toes.

I was wondering if it would be appropriate to tell him about the CAIN men. He could probably read it on my face. But every time I opened my mouth, my lips ran dry.

Probably bored of the quiet, Ashton said, "Did you know sunscreen works by absorbing ultraviolet rays before they get to your skin?"

            I should tell him. Ashton went on talking, going more in-depth about sunscreen and its history. Just go for it. "Earlier some people came by. They said they were with a group called CAIN, for some mandatory search thing." The ladle clattered against the pot of soup as he dropped it. I straightened, curious.  "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

            "Oh, dang, was that today?" His voice hitched. Thankfully, he didn't sound too upset about the interruption to his sunscreen story. "I mean, I guess that's why it's random, so I don't expect it, but- What happened?" His voice lingered with a tinge of uncertainty, but he did a pretty good job of camouflaging it

            "Uh, I don't think they found anything, just walked around and then left. But it's not like you're hiding anything." I punctuated the sentence with a hard laugh. Oh, the irony. You most definitely are hiding something. "Are you?" I flashed him a smirk. He would think it was a joke, but it wasn't.

            "Nope, nothing." He rubbed his nose. Taking two steamy bowls in his hands, he headed to the couch. "Come on, we'll have a movie night."

            I rose from my seat, only momentarily blind as Captain caught up. Just as quickly, the dog ran off to go beg his master for food, only to get reprimanded. "Uh, aren't you going to tell me why those people came here?" My hand found the back of the couch, and I sat down.

            "Oh. Right." Ashton landed next to me, setting the hot bowl on my lap without warning. I made quick to pick it up. "You know what a Dragon is, right?"

            I nodded.

            "Good, so you remember some stuff. I work for this place called CAIN. They keep an eye on Dragons and stuff. But they've got this whole loyalty thing, so they need to make sure that their employees aren't holding out information or something."

            "You work for CAIN?" I hesitated in asking my next question. "Have you ever encountered a Dragon? Someone with real-life superpowers?"

            He ran his hands through my hair, his eyes watching me. I stared at my own face. "No." His hand slid across the bridge of his nose. "If I did, I wouldn't know. Most powers aren't visual unless it's in the eyes or something."

            "The eyes?"

            "Yeah, depending on the power, some peoples' eyes are really cool. They'll be a weird color or something. Kind of like yours."

            "Huh." Little do you know?

            "But no, I don't really deal with Dragons so much as remmutants." So that must be why he showed up at the hospital during the attack. Ashton readjusted himself on the couch. I settled in under his arm, taking a spoonful of cheesy bean soup. His hand pressed against my arm, letting me see. "Anyhow, back to a movie. You've got two genres to choose from. Contemporary romance or western."

            "Why only two?"

            "Well, back in the day, they had fairytales and superhero comics, but then Dragons started showing up, and stuff that encouraged the use of special powers was unofficially banned." In a shrug, Ashton hunched up to slurp his spoon. "Some stories still stuck around, but most of them faded away over the years. I've got of a friend who's got a book of fairytales she managed to find."

            "You have friends?"

            Ashton burst into a snort. "Yes, for your information, I do have friends. Two best friends, Kade and May. I should invite them over." He smiled at the thought of them. "You'd like May. She's real sweet. And Kade might seem intimidating at first, but he's loyal until the very end once you get past that." His expression turned bittersweet, his gaze fixed on the soup. "They just haven't been over in a while, since I've got to take care of you, and I thought it would take a minute to adjust."

            That reminded me of another question I had. I had no clue who my parents were. Whatever accident I had been in stole that from me. I doubted I would like the reason as to why I hadn't heard mention of them, but I wanted confirmation. "About that... It's not that I don't enjoy living with you, but you're an adult. Wouldn't it be better if I stayed with our parents?"

"Oh, well..." Ashton's hesitant breathing interrupted the answer. "They're gone... They died in the accident."

Even though I had already guessed that to be the case, it didn't make it easier. Instead of feeling sad about their demise, I felt worse I couldn't even remember them. My whole world had been stolen from me. At least I had Ashton. "What - What were they like?" My words came out cracked, a break in the silence.

Rubbing his hands together, Ashton began to string the words in his mind. "Your dad... Hank Caddel. He was a brilliant man. He was a scientist at CAIN, and he loved you more than anything. Some nights, he'd come home late and tired. He kept multiple journals of different observations but rarely allowed anyone to read them. I mean, he let me read a few lines out of one, but that was it. When he was writing, that was his serious time." A bitter-sweetness hung in the air. "He was a good man."

"And mom?"

"Her name was Lauren, and she was a quiet and reserved woman. She wanted you to be the best you could and loved it when you guys would find something new to be interested in. And her eyes..." As Ashton turned, his body faced me more. He seemed to perk up as he reminisced about our parents. "They always seemed ... sad? Or maybe that's not the right word. Mixed with myriad emotions, like pride and contentment, but also worry. Something else behind that?" He shook himself from the topic of her eyes. "And, she really liked Shakespeare, particularly the insults. Whenever she had the chance, she'd use them. She might've been a nurturing mother, but she was also subtly snarky. She would tell you plainly if you did something she thought was idiotic. She truly was a great woman. Actually, you look just like her." Ashton sighed, holding me closer.

My eyes watered and warm butterflies filled my stomach. I shook the feeling off. "They sound amazing."

"Oh, they were. I still miss them, but I've had seven years to deal with it, so it doesn't hurt as much to think about them. But you-"

"Don't remember them." I shut my eyes, focusing on sweet nothing.

"Ally..." Ashton pulled me into a hug. His warm body sent a comforting sensation through me, and I wasn't keen to resist it either. He stroked my hair as he held me.

I don't remember if I started crying or not.