Chapter Text
Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and it's characters do not belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don't sue because I have no money.
The Centre
Jarod
By: 24
The Centre was the only life that I've known before I escaped. I awoke each morning eating the optional nutritional supplement that was given to me for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I went to the sim lab to begin my work. I honestly thought that I was helping people with the work that I did and was surprised that it wasn't happening that way. When I was a child I had met a girl named Miss Parker and she had been my best friend. She was gone one day never to return again. This saddened me because I looked forward to Miss Parker's visits. I had met another test subject as Sydney put it named Kyle and we did a couple of simulations together, little did I know that the person that I spilt acid on was my brother. I was so devastated when that happened. I never wanted anyone to get hurt because of me. After I found out what they were doing with my work I had to escape. There was going to be no more innocent blood on my hands.
My childhood friend was put on the hunt for me, now I have to run and she chases. I can never lead a normal life now that I had escaped. They still want me back, but why? I still kind of think of Miss Parker as my friend even though she doesn't think of me as her friend. I don't want her to be hurt anymore, but I can't go back to the corporation that kidnapped me and held me prisoner. They also have my mentor Sydney on the hunt for me. He's the only father that I've ever known. I know that he doesn't love me like a son even though I think of him as a father. He's the one that trained me to be a pretender. Then there's Broots the computer genius who went to work for the Centre. I've helped him get custody of his daughter and I helped him when he was put on the Schedule 7. I don't want any of them hurt and so that's why I didn't disappear completely. I want to keep tabs on them.
I so much want to find my family while running from the Centre, but so far I haven't gotten a lead on them. I last met my father again when we rescued Emily from Mr. Lyle again. I can't believe that Mr. Lyle would kill Emily. Why would he do that? I'll never know the answer to that question. Just like I'll never get the answer to the question why the Centre wants me back so much? Alex said it wasn't because I'm a pretender so it has to do with something with the Scrolls. I didn't get the chance to read them to see what they said before Mr. Parker jumped out of the plane. Miss Parker and I had almost kissed in front of the fireplace until Ocee walked in on us. While on the Island I thought that I was getting through to Miss Parker, but then when we were in the limo she pulled away from me. I guess I should understand why she pulled away because her "father" was there looking at us, but it still hurt.
There are so many things that I have to atone for because of the work that I did in the Centre. All those innocent lives that were destroyed just because I thought it up. I remember the one pretend when I met this woman named Rachel whose kids were kidnapped. She told me that she also did simulations and she was devastated too when she found out that they were using her work for the wrong reasons too.
I walk to the window and stare out of it to make sure that there is no one here to take me back to the Centre. I walk out the door; get into the car to go to another pretend.