Pharos [fair-os]

noun

any lighthouse or beacon to direct sailors: the sailors used the Pharos to guide them to shore.

"Do you see anything?" Bree asked and brother groaned at the question as it had been asked at least five times in the last two minutes.

"I told you Bree, I'll let you know the second I see anything. So can you please just stop asking?" Chase asked as he fought hard to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he knew his sister was just having a hard time remembering what she had asked and what she hadn't.

Bree grumbled but complied as she slid further down the side of the small rowboat she was currently sitting in with her two brothers. She tried not to be bothered by the constant rocking of the tiny wooden boat, but it was proving to be harder than it sounded. She wasn't quite sure how it happened, but somehow she, Adam, and Chase had found themselves in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with nothing but dark murky salt water as far as the eye could see and no sun to help them navigate towards land. They were forced to rely on Chase's night vision to get them home, and it wasn't that Bree didn't trust her younger brother, it was more along the line of hating the helpless feeling that she got from being unable to do anything. That and the fact that she just couldn't keep her thoughts straight enough to remember why they were currently in the situation they were in. The rocking of the boat wasn't helping as it caused her stomach to feel as if it was doing flips.

The trio of siblings had long ago given up trying to paddle in any sort of direction as Chase had pointed out that they didn't know where they were going, or even trying to go for that matter, and therefore they were just wasting energy by paddling aimlessly. Bree knew Chase was right, as per usual, but she also knew that she was going to go crazy if she was forced to sit on the wet floor of the cramped boat for one more second.

"What if I just run across the water really fast and figure out where land is then come back and direct us?" Bree suggested and Chase actually bit down on his tongue in order to not reply sarcastically as the girl had already suggested that three times now.

"You can't see where you're going. You'd just get lost and then stop running and then drown." Adam patiently explained to Bree and Chase felt surprised that the older boy was even paying attention to what was going on enough to correctly inform Bree of why that plan wouldn't work.

Bree had taken a hard hit to the head trying to ensure that her siblings made it into the boat safely and Chase had no doubt that his sister had a fairly moderate concussion. And while Chase was sure that she would be fine as long as she stayed awake, he also felt nervous at Bree's obvious forgetfulness and the way her eyes looked heavy

Bree was tired, which was an understatement to say the least. She really wished she had Chase's mind so she knew the exact word she was looking for to describe how exhausted she was currently feeling. Her eyelids felt heavier than they ever had before and everything in her body was just screaming sleep at her. She fought hard against her desire to just shut her eyes and take a quick nap, trying to keep her brain awake enough to know why it was so important for her to remain awake. She knew that Chase had explained it to her multiple times but the idea of sleep just seemed so appealing that Bree was having a hard time remembering it.

"I think she's falling asleep again." Adam's voice rang out next to him and it strangely sounded close and far at the same time.

Chase made a disapproving noise before moving closer to Bree causing the boat to shift with the weight shift.

"Bree," Chase called while snapping his fingers in front of the girl's face. "Bree, I need you to focus on me." Chase told her and Bree glared half-heartedly at her brother.

"What do you want?" She snapped out and Chase grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up into more of a sitting position.

"Bree you know you need to stay awake." Chase scolded and Bree swiped his hands away from her shoulders.

"I'm just going to take a quick nap." She informed her brother.

"No you're not." Chase told her firmly before looking back at Adam clearly looking for some help on the topic.

"You're not the boss of me." Bree told Chase as she narrowed her eyes. "I'm older than you." She told her brother as if he had forgotten.

"And I'm older than you Bree, and I say stay awake." Adam told Bree from his side of the boat trying to make sure the boat remained balanced.

"You're both mean." Bree pouted.

"Yeah well you can give us a hard time for that later." Chase told Bree before finally moving away from her to stand up and look for any sign of land.

"This is stupid." Bree said and she wasn't really sure if she was just thinking words or if the words were coming out of her mouth, but at this point she doesn't really care. "I hate always being in these situations. I just want to be a teenager. I don't want to save the world anymore. It's all Mr. Davenport's brother's fault anyway. Who puts chips into babies? That's like child abuse. We didn't ask for these stupid bionic so why are we being punished for it? That's just stupid." She mumbled on and Chase exchanged a look with Adam.

"Just let her talk. At least that way we know she's awake." Adam told Chase as he sighed, his own fatigue creeping up on him.

"She's not wrong." Chase finally admitted as Bree continued to rant nonsense in the background.

"About?" Adam prompted and Chase shrugged noncommittedly.

"All of it? And none of it." He answered after a moment and Adam looked at his brother with eyebrows raised. "I know; I'm not making any sense." Chase sighed and closed his eyes frustrated.

"Actually, you're making more sense right now then you usually make." Adam told Chase and Chase laughed a little.

"That's how I know I'm definitely not making sense. When you think I'm making sense." Chase joked and Adam smiled even though it never quite reached his eyes.

"I'm tired of always being in these situations too." Adam told Chase even though Chase was fairly positive he never said those words but they certainly were close to how he was feeling.

"It's just exhausting you know?" Chase responded shaking his head. "Don't get me wrong I love having the abilities we do but I just hate how we always end up in these stupid situations and we never get the chance to worry about normal things like grades or girls or something."

Adam nodded, not really sure how to respond. A blinding light swept across the water and the small boat suddenly, forcing the fatigue out of Adam's body as he suddenly felt wide awake.

"What was that?" He asked as he rose to his feet, causing the boat to rock rapidly and Chase also rose, trying to balance out the boat.

Chase scanned for the source of the light, his eyes squinting slightly and his body filling with relief as soon as he spotted the tall black and white tower that was the source of the light.

"It's a pharos!" Chase called out and Adam's face contorted in confusion.

"A what?" He asked and Chase grinned widely as he turned to face his brother.

"It's a lighthouse!" Chase simplified and Bree snorted from the floor, reminding the two brothers that she was there.

"Why didn't you just say lighthouse then? Why do you have to go make everything all complicated and stuff? Just use words everyone knows." Bree complained and Chase couldn't help himself but to give out a short laugh.

"Come on Bree." Adam said as he reached down to grab both of Bree's hands to pull her into a standing position. Bree stumbled just a bit before straightening herself out but she allowed Adam's hand to grip her shoulder, helping her maintain her balance.

"See, everything always works out in the end." Adam told his siblings cheerfully and Chase smiled softly, not really seeing the need to say anything in response.

AN: Endings are my kryptonite. Like for real though. Anyway, we got to 200 reviews! Yay! I'm so excited! This is by far my most reviewed story (I mean I only have three but still). Thank you for being such great readers! We're on to Q, so if you have any specific things you want to see next chapter, let me know in a review!

Till next time,

~ Grace