Page 1 of Hayes (Voodoo Guardians #37)

Hayes couldn’t remember his last name. Not his real last name, like other kids had when they were born and raised by biological parents. In fact, he wasn’t sure he ever knew his real last name or his parents.

He’d been adopted by Hoot and Scout O’Neal when he was older. But his childhood was a mystery. There didn’t seem to be any part of it that he could remember. No core memories. No birthday parties. No Christmas mornings.

He knew his parents didn’t understand him and didn’t tolerate his questions well. He knew that they thought he was strange, perhaps even born with some sort of abnormality.

In fact, Hayes grew up thinking there was something wrong with him. His parents definitely believed he was abnormal. They had him tested for autism, Down Syndrome, and all sorts of things because they didn’t understand how his mind worked.

Unable to handle his unique skills, they found a school willing to take him all year round. In fact, the educators seemed thrilled to enroll him in their school.

Hayes was too young to understand or even care that he was being taken away from his home. Usually left on his own to his own devices, leaving his parents seemed natural to him.

Not even three yet, he was given a small suitcase with his teddy bear, some clothing, and a brief hug from his parents. That was it. That was all Hayes remembered of his childhood.

The school seemed fun to Hayes. Children were allowed to use their skills working on complex math, engineering, and science problems. Any equipment they needed, they were given.

The hard part was that the children were constantly tested for their intelligence. New doctors, scientists, engineers, and others were always in the school asking to see what the children could do.

In Hayes’ school, it was only boys. He would learn later that there was a school for girls as well.

When he first came to the school, one of the teachers placed a milk crate full of gears and parts of an engine in front of him. He came back five hours later, and Hayes had constructed a working Ferris wheel.

Then one day, they told him he was leaving. They packed his small child-like suitcase for him and shuffled him out the door and into a van with several other children. Some he recognized, others he didn’t. In fact, there were several girls in the van.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Just be quiet,” said the driver.

The girl seated on the side of him leaned against the window, staring off into space. She wore an oversized sweatshirt and looked as though she were going to be sick.

On the other side was another girl with beautiful long hair and big blue eyes. She looked at him and tapped his leg. She was tapping Morse code.

“Do you know Morse?”

“Yes,” he tapped out on her leg.

They conversed the entire way using their system. He learned that the girls had been stolen from their school, or sold, and it was likely that he had been sold as well.

They had no idea where they were going or what they were going to be expected to do. That is, until they arrived at an underground school where they were forced to show how good they really were.

It didn’t take any of them very long to learn that they couldn’t show how smart they actually were. What these men and women were asking the children to do would destroy the world.

Locked in the underground lab somewhere in El Paso, Texas, the older children tried to keep the younger ones comfortable, but it wasn’t easy. They intentionally delayed the work asked of them, hoping, praying that someone would come for them.

Just as they were losing hope, Monroe said that a strange man spoke to him through an air vent.

“Are you sure?” whispered Hayes.

“Of course, I’m sure. It wasn’t a ghost. He said he’d come back for us and to just keep stalling. Geez, I’m a kid, but I’m a genius,” smirked the boy. Hayes laughed at him, ruffling his hair.

“We’re all geniuses, Monroe. What’s wrong with Chelsea?”

“I’m not sure. She won’t talk to anyone. I’m scared for her.”

They would learn after being rescued that Chelsea was pregnant. She delivered a baby boy and got married to the man who rescued her.

For Hayes, his entire world was turned upside down in the best possible way. He watched all the younger children first fostered to the families of their rescuers, then all of them were adopted.

He was happy to be fostered with the O’Neal family. Scout and Hoot were amazing and the coolest people ever.

“Hayes, do you remember your parents or other adults, besides the teachers?” asked Hoot.

“I don’t remember having parents or anyone around me, not really.

There are brief glimpses of something now and then, but I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or real.

I don’t really remember anyone, except the other kids and the teachers.

They were terrible, by the way. None of them were very good teachers, at least not for us.

Any one of us was smarter than they were. ”

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me. Did they give you a last name?” asked Hoot.

“No,” said the young man, swallowing hard.

Wilson was sitting across from him. They’d spent a lot of time together playing volleyball the last few days. Wilson thought that Hayes was a natural talent, and if he wanted to, he should foster that into competition.

“Would you like a last name?” asked Hoot. Wilson grinned at Hoot, then at Hayes.

“You mean, just make one up and give it to me?” he frowned.

“No, son. I mean, I, we, Scout and I, we’d love for you to be Hayes O’Neal.”

“But that’s your last name,” he said quietly. Hoot laughed, shaking his head.

“I think you’re screwing this up,” smirked Wilson. “Hayes, Hoot is asking if you’d like to be adopted by him and Scout. You would become Hayes O’Neal. Legally.”

“Why would you want to do that? I’m not a little kid. I’m not a baby. That’s usually what people want to adopt.”

“Hayes, we want to do this because we genuinely want to be your parents. We think you’re the most amazing young man in the world.

Now, I’m no genius. In fact, you’ll be able to teach me more than a few things.

But there are a lot of things that I can teach you.

If you’re interested in learning to use a gun or knife or how to defend yourself, I can teach you that.

I can teach you about life and love. Many things.

Many of the men and women here can teach you.

“The bottom line is, we’d love for you to be Hayes O’Neal. But listen carefully. If you don’t want that, then we’ll be just fine having you as our foster son.”

Hayes stared at the two men, his mouth opening and closing. Shaking his head, he folded his hands, looking down as tears trailed his cheeks.

“Son? Hayes, are you okay?” asked Hoot.

“No one, no one has ever wanted me. Never. You want me.”

“You’re damn right we do,” said Hoot. “And all those other people were stupid.” Hayes could only laugh at his new father’s way of speaking. Plain and to the point.

“Miss Scout wants to be my mom?”

“Miss Scout demands to be your mom,” said Scout, taking a seat beside him, wrapping her arms around the young man. “Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem, babe. I was just trying to convince Hayes that we think we’d be an amazing family.”

“We love you, Hayes. It’s only been a few weeks, and we already know that if you left our home, we’d be crushed. What do you say? Do you want to adopt us?” Hayes laughed, shaking his head as he wrapped his long, thin arms around Scout.

“I can’t think of anything that would make me happier.”

Not only had Hayes found a family, but it was also a family that fostered his interests, talents, and desires to do something to help the world. In fact, they included him in team meetings and made him feel valued.

“I’m not sure that will work,” said Cam in the morning meeting.

“I’m certain,” said the voice in the back of the room.

They all turned to see Hayes seated in the back row, in the corner.

“Sorry. I was curious and wanted to hear what you talked about. I’m certain it can’t be traced.

I’m able to use a technology that I created to divert all trackers, tracers, and recording devices.

They won’t be able to record what we send out.

In fact, I can pretty much divert any recording devices, in essence, scrambling them. ”

“Wait. You mean even if we send a recording of a conversation, they can’t record that and analyze it?” asked Luke.

“Yes, sir. It was really easy to do,” he smirked.

“Damn, that kid is brilliant,” nodded AJ to Hiro and Tanner.

For Hayes, it was the beginning of a life he never dreamed possible.