HSH: Camp Hero - Chap 7-10
Continuing the Camp Hero Story!
Here we go with the next installment of Camp Hero. Check out all the fun action. And by next week (we hope) we’ll be sharing a link for our new comic featuring the characters found in these chapters!
Anyway, enjoy the next part of Camp Hero!
Read the previous chapters.
Chapter 7
Screaming
We went back to my house, but I should have guessed they’d all be at the hospital.
I pressed my foot hard on the gas and drove as fast as my car could safely go to the hospital, using my powers a couple of times to stop the car and avoid a serious accident.
“Slow down,” Ethan screamed – which is kind of funny when you think about it.
“We need to see my grandfather now!” I swerved into the oncoming lane to get around an old lady driving five miles an hour.
“Why is it so important?” Ethan asked, then screamed again as I nearly flipped the car over, going around a tight turn. “It is worth losing our lives?”
“She wanted to talk to you Ethan,” I said. “Do you know what that means?”
“That she thinks I’m as attractive as I think she is?”
The car lurched as I hit the brakes and gave a mental push on the front of the car. It stopped only inches from the school bus in front of us.
“So, you do think she’s hot!”
“Well, yeah, she’s pretty.”
“Do you like her?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
“Then stop acting like it.” I hit the gas and sped around the bus.
“Can you relax? It’s not like she’s chasing us.”
“You relax! I’m going to save our lives.”
“Doesn’t feel like it!” Ethan grabbed the dashboard as I almost crashed into an oncoming SUV. “And I’m not acting like I like her.”
I growled. “Ethan, you forget I can read your thoughts. You can’t get her out of your head.”
“Watch the road!” He pointed at another car I nearly rear-ended.
For a boy who could run at the speed of sound, my car’s mere eighty miles an hour should have been nothing. I really don’t know why he freaked out. We got to the hospital without a scratch.
He stepped out of the car on shaky legs. “You’re never allowed to drive again.” He sounded like he was going to be sick.
I slapped him on the back like one of his football buddies might have done after he took a really bad hit. “Oh, come on. It’s not that bad.”
I hurried through the lot and into the hospital lobby, with Ethan hobbling behind me. We went straight for the elevators to the fourth floor. We stepped out into the nearly empty hallway of the maternity ward. Nearly empty, that is, other than my mother, standing by the glass, staring at the tiny basinet in which Conner slept.
“Hey, Mom.” I gave her a hug.
She looked terrible. I don’t think she’d slept since she gave birth. She was wearing the same wrinkled and disheveled clothes as yesterday. The way she looked reminded me of how Quinn appeared when we walked into his classroom earlier – almost dead. Maybe a little coffee might make her feel better. At the very least a little caffeine couldn’t hurt.
“Where’s everyone?” I asked.
“He’s coming home Sunday,” my mother said. Her voice sounded hollow, yet with a hint of excitement.
I gazed through the glass separating Conner from us. He looked better today – less red and puffy. He was still so small and fragile, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I had ever been that delicate.
“That’s great,” I said, meaning it. I didn’t think my mother would survive more sleepless nights.
I was surprised she was still standing. I hated to see her like that. She wasn’t taking care of herself, focusing all her attention on her little boy. She was so worried about him, but I feared she wouldn’t be ready at all to care for Conner when he was released, because someone would need to care for her.
“Mom, why don’t you go lie down for a bit?” I said. “We’ll watch Conner for you.”
If my mother’s face weren’t such an ashen gray, I’m sure it would have turned scarlet. Her eyes practically glowed and her jaw clenched. “I’m…not…leaving,” she growled. “If you people don’t stop trying to force me to get some rest, then I’ll–” She groaned and turned back to stare at Conner.
Normally, I wasn’t one to use my powers on my own parents, but it was for her own good. I sent out a thought tendril to attach to my mother’s brain. All I wanted to do was plant the suggestion that she really needed some sleep, and essentially force her to find a bed.
At that moment, both sets of grandparents stepped out of the elevator. Seeing them broke my concentration.
“Grandpa,” I called.
“Hey, Christine,” Grandpa Walker said.
“Hi, hun,” Grandpa Carpenter spoke simultaneously.
As if this weren’t awkward enough. “Sorry, Grandpa Walker. I need to talk to Grandpa Carpenter for a minute.
“Okay,” he said, not at all put out.
I didn’t dwell on it – there wasn’t time.
“Come on.” I grabbed Ethan’s wrist and hauled him as I marched up the hall.
Grandpa Carpenter, not one to raise a fuss, simply followed as I stepped back into the elevator and rode back down to the lobby.
We went back to the café, the only place I could think of to have a private conversation. Yeah, it was public and in the open, but there was enough ambient noise that no one would hear us.
I sat at a booth by the window. My grandfather and Ethan slid in after me.
“Mr. Carpenter,” Ethan said, before I had the chance to speak, “your granddaughter has gone insane.”
“Have not!” I whined like a three-year-old.
“She dragged me out of the school, and drove like a maniac to get here.”
My grandfather just smiled the way he does when he thinks we’re acting like children. I’m not saying we weren’t acting that way but…
“Christine, why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you.”
I took a deep breath, then explained all about the woman from the other day and how she showed up in the school as a guidance counselor. I went on about my dream and told him that Abby’s mind was a complete blank. I made sure to keep my voice low enough so no one would hear me.
My grandfather betrayed no emotion as I went through my whole tale, nodding at intervals to prove he was listening.
“And now this woman wants to speak to Ethan,” I ended.
I waited for my grandfather’s response, but he just sat with his arms folded across his chest. Several seconds, seemingly infinite, ticked by before he moved. Finally, taking a deep breath, he leaned on the table, bringing his face in closer to mine. “Hun, I think you’re overreacting a little bit,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I told you,” Ethan gloated.
My grandfather raised a finger in Ethan’s direction, to signal he wasn’t done. “That doesn’t mean she’s wrong. I felt that woman too. There is something not right about her.”
Knowing I was right didn’t solve my main problem. “The question is: What do we do now?”
“Stay as far away from her as possible,” Ethan said.
I rolled my eyes. It was what I’d been saying all along. Leave it to Ethan to think it was his idea.
My grandfather faced Ethan, his expression very serious. “For you, yes. You should stay away as long as possible. I wouldn’t even go to school.”
Ethan considered this for a moment. He was already imagining what he would do with all that time off, like running to California and back before anyone knew he was gone, seeing a bunch of movies, meeting some Eskimos, going on a few solo crime-fighting missions. I knew he wouldn’t do any of that. He’d probably just end up playing video games all day, waiting for me to come home from school.
“That would be awesome,” Ethan said, “but my parents would never go for it.”
My grandfather smiled – a plan already forming in his head. Now, most people wouldn’t think of their grandparents as being devious and dishonest, but mine was once a soldier. A soldier who’d kept secrets from everyone for over seventy years – until he told them to me a few months ago, anyway.
“They would,” he said, “if your grandfather was sick.”
“But my grandfather isn’t sick, he’s…” Then it dawned on him. It’s a shame he had to be so slow sometimes. “That’s so wrong. How would we do that?”
“We can make a quick phone call,” my grandfather said. “Besides, don’t you think it’s about time you told your grandfather you share a secret with him?”
Ethan shook his head. He’d told me once how he was afraid to tell his grandfather because he was afraid of how he would react. If there was anyone who could sympathize with how Ethan felt, it was my grandfather.
My grandfather scooted out of the booth, and slapped Ethan on the shoulder. “Why don’t we give him a call?”
Ethan’s eyes screamed out for help, but there was nothing I could do for him. My grandfather had already made up his mind. He was just trying to do what was best for us.
Besides, the only thing I could think while my grandfather led my boyfriend away was, What about me?
Chapter 8
Loneliness
“Why don’t you tell me about Thomas Fulton?”
I’d been dazing during my latest “counseling” session with Abby Davidson. She went on and on about how I should apply myself in school and maybe go out for a sport. It was about the time she started talking about how most depressed teens see themselves as being alone when I stopped paying attention.
Until the last question.
“Thomas Fulton. From the looks of things, your grades really began plummeting around the time Thomas Fulton was killed in the fire. You and another young lady…” She flipped through my file again. “Samantha Stevenson, saved a couple of boys from the fire, but weren’t able to save Mr. Fulton. Do you blame yourself for his death?”
Ummm… yeah! After all, I was responsible for killing the boy. However, the day of the fire, the day she was talking about, was four months before Tommy’s true death.
“No, Tommy was an idiot. He started the fire. He deserved what he got.”
An evil grin spread across her face, as if my response was just the answer she was looking for. “You have an evil side to you, don’t you?”
“Only when it comes to idiots like Tommy Fulton,” I said.
“But not, let’s say, someone who robs a bank?”
I did my best to leave my expression blank. I’m not sure how well I succeeded. The bank robbery had been one of the first crimes Ethan and I foiled. Even though we did stop the robbery, it was more luck than anything else.
And like a cancerous tumor, my loneliness returned. Ethan had only been gone two days – to New Jersey with his parents to visit his “sick” grandfather. My grandfather had made me stay behind, saying it would look too suspicious if we both left. I didn’t think I could handle the separation much longer.
“What do I care if some moron wants to rob a bank?” I asked, knowing she’d already caught me.
“I have to admit,” Davidson said, “you are a tough nut to crack, Christine.” She tapped a pen on the table sitting between us. If I could have felt anything from her, I’m sure it would have been frustration.
So that was it, then. She had already given up trying to force me into revealing my powers. She was just going to shoot me with some tranquilizer and cart me away to God knows where and…
“So, where’s your friend Ethan? I thought we were going to talk on Friday, and he just disappeared.”
“His grandfather’s sick.” It was a simple statement that pretty much covered our whole alibi without going into any detail. “Besides, I thought you weren’t supposed to talk to me about other students.”
“He’s important to you,” she answered. “So, we are going to talk about him.”
If she was going to press the matter, then I was too. I wanted to hear exactly what she wanted to talk to my boyfriend about. “Okay, let’s start with why you want to talk to him.”
“I can’t talk…”
“You said we can talk about him,” I interrupted. “That’s what I want to talk about.”
“What I have to say to Ethan has nothing to do with you, Christine,” she said.
“Let’s just call it concern for a friend then,” I retorted.
“You’re not going to give this up, are you?”
I shook my head.
When she closed my file and let out a sigh, I knew I’d won…this round at least.
“I’m concerned, because he was a star football player, with a very good chance of getting a full scholarship to any university he wanted, and he suddenly just gave it all up.”
“He did it because Coach Green wouldn’t leave him alone.”
“I don’t know. Quitting on something you’re good at is a sign of clinical depression.”
“How old are you?” I asked.
The question caught her off guard. Her eyes went wide and she paused for a second before responding. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just curious,” I said. “You seem young for a counselor. That’s all.”
She smiled. “I’m twenty-four.”
Another round for me. If she wasn’t lying, I now knew her age. “In your twenty-four years, haven’t you ever gotten frustrated with something and given up on it?”
“Never,” she insisted.
“Well, as a teenager, I can tell you, giving up on something is what we do.”
“I can accept that. But in the real world, you can’t just turn your back on something because you’re frustrated.”
Good luck with that. I’m keeping him as far away from you as possible. Even if she wasn’t some psycho trying to arrest both of us, I didn’t want him anywhere near this woman. The simple fact Ethan was attracted to her was enough of a deterrent for me.
The clock chimed three. The sweetest sound I think I could ever hear. My time was up. I wouldn’t have to see the evil woman until tomorrow.
“I’ll see you later,” I said. “Have a good time analyzing our conversation.”
Before she could stop me, I walked out of the conference room. I was only obligated to sit with her until three, and I wasn’t wasting another second at that table with her. Besides, I had to call Ethan.
I raced to my car, trying to avoid contact with everyone. Unfortunately, Tiffany spotted me and followed.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
“Coming home with you.”
The way she said it was even bubblier than her usual self. It was almost scary how happy and excited she was. I did my best not to roll my eyes, but my best wasn’t nearly good enough.
“Why?” I prodded.
“Your mother brought the baby home.” She giggled. “I’m coming to see him.”
Oh man! I’d completely forgotten about Conner. My parents brought him home last night, but my grandparents (both sets) were making such a fuss over him, I didn’t get a chance to get close. My mother wouldn’t start her job again for a couple of weeks, so I didn’t have to worry about babysitting just yet, but still, he was my little brother and I shouldn’t just forget about him.
“Okay,” I said reluctantly. “Hop in.”
She squealed like a little girl who’d just gotten her first Barbie Dreamhouse and jumped into the car. I drove away from the school as fast as I could, just in case Abby decided she had a few more questions to ask me. Besides, I figured if I didn’t get Tiffany to my house soon, she would explode. I could see the seconds ticking away in Tiff’s eyes as we pulled out of the parking lot.
He’s not even your baby brother, I sent into her head.
“I know, but it’s still so exciting,” she said as if I hadn’t just invaded her mind. “I haven’t had a baby around since my sister was born. I was only ten then.”
“He’s nothing great,” I mentioned. “He just lays there and cries.”
“He’s a baby, Chris.” She acted like I should know these things, but I’d never had a baby brother before. “That’s all he’s supposed to do.”
I rolled my eyes and raced my back to my house.
“So, how’s Ethan doing?”
I looked at the clock on the dashboard. I was supposed to call him in about twenty minutes. “He’s okay,” I responded.
“His grandfather doing any better?”
We hadn’t bothered telling everyone why Ethan was really gone. We figured the fewer people Abby Davidson could interrogate, the better. I’d kept secrets from my friends for months. It bothered me that I was forced to do it again. “I’m sure he’ll make a full recovery.”
Several cars were parked in the driveway at my house – even my dad’s. He must have taken the day off to help my mother. I hadn’t even noticed when I’d left that morning.
Tiffany couldn’t get out of the car fast enough. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she had super-speed like Ethan.
I prayed Tiffany’s visit wouldn’t be too long. I didn’t think I had the strength.
Fat chance, Christine.
The door creaked open, and for a moment, the only sound that greeted my ears was silence. For just a moment, I thought I’d have peace. Then the silence was broken with the sound of roaring laughter.
My whole family was gathered in the living room, surrounding my mother, who had Conner cradled in her arms. They were all laughing at the baby. I imagine the little bugger had done something super-cute.
That better not be his super-power.
Tiffany bounded into the living room before I had the chance to say hello. I might as well have been at school for the acknowledgement I received.
Wow! Being ignored already, I thought. Let the sibling rivalry begin.
As Tiffany plopped on the couch, I groaned and ascended the stairs to my room. I dropped on my bed and covered my eyes. I couldn’t wait to talk to Ethan. It would definitely put a happy ending on this miserable afternoon.
I laid there for about ten minutes, hearing the peals of laughter from the company downstairs. Every time they laughed, the muscles tightened around my spine. I couldn’t understand why I was getting so agitated with them. Sure, they were all paying attention to the rug-rat, but I knew this was coming. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t mentally prepared myself for the last seven months for this very moment.
Uncovering my face, I glanced at my alarm clock and decided it was close enough to 3:30 to call Ethan. So, I picked up my cell and dialed. It rang four times before he answered. Some noise in the background sounded like someone screaming and I had to pull the phone away from my ear to prevent myself from going deaf.
“Not a good time, Chris,” Ethan said. “Can I call you back?”
The scream turned into incredibly loud sobs. Something horrible must have happened.
“What’s going on?” I asked, not attempting to hide my confusion.
“Oh, nothing really,” Ethan said, but his tone showed he was lying.
Not in the mood for any games, I yelled. “Ethan, tell me what happened!”
Someone called for Ethan. It sounded like his mother, but with the sobbing I couldn’t be sure. A thousand images ran through my head. Most of them included Agents busting into his grandparents house and harassing his entire family.
“I’ll be right there!” he shouted. “Chris, please…”
“Just tell me. I’m worried.” Which I was. If I was right, I would be jumping out my bedroom window and flying to Jersey in the next couple seconds. No one was going to take Ethan away from me.
His frustrated sigh escaped my earpiece. “I finally got around to telling my grandfather about… you know. I think I gave him a heart attack.”
“What? No! You better be joking.”
“No. I showed him how fast I could move and he clutched his chest and collapsed.”
“Oh my God!” I gasped. “What… No… Didn’t you and my grandfather tell him about that the other day when you called?”
“I convinced him not to say anything about that. I wanted to tell him myself. But—”
I’d never met Ethan’s grandfather and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. It had to have been a real shock to the system. If he died, it would have been my fault. If I hadn’t said anything to my grandfather…
His mother’s voice spoke in the background again. I couldn’t understand the exact words, but they sounded much calmer than a minute ago.
Another sigh came through the earpiece. “Okay Mom, I’ll be right there.”
His voice had lost all the tension in it too. I really didn’t know if that was good or bad. “Look Chris, I really have to go. But everything’s fine. My grandfather’s awake and…well he’s fine.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love ya too. I’ll call you tonight once everything’s settled down.”
He hung up.
The knot that had grown in my spine began to untangle. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. The fear that had been inside me was so intense, I couldn’t even describe it. Thankfully, it was washing away now. I couldn’t fathom what Ethan must have been feeling at that moment, but I was sure it was ten times worse than what I felt.
I lay on my bed for a couple more minutes, then suddenly felt the need for human contact. I decided I was being stupid – a first for me – about being jealous of all the attention the baby was getting. After all, it wasn’t Conner’s fault everyone was so dazzled by his infant cuteness.
I rose from the bed and plodded downstairs to join my family – and Tiffany.
Grandma Carpenter held Conner now, and was making silly faces, trying to make him laugh. I don’t think he even understood what a silly face was yet.
“Who’s a good baby?” Grandma Walker asked, sounding like Mickey Mouse.
I know this is the way people act around newborn babies, but they both looked certifiably insane. If I went around school, making faces and speaking like a cartoon character, I’d have to kick my own ass.
Tiffany hovered around the baby as if protecting her own young. My empathic sense felt something strange coming off her – desire. The girl longed to be a mother. Being around a baby, even one she wasn’t related to, was the next best thing.
I needed to have a serious talk with that girl. She was way too young to have such desires.
She must have felt my shock, because she looked up and blushed, knowing I knew her “little secret.” I just smiled and shook my head in response.
You’re crazy.
“I need to use the bathroom.” My mother rose from the couch. The tired, haggard woman standing sentry over Conner at the hospital was gone. She still looked tired – not having gotten more than a few hours’ sleep since returning home with my brother. Still, she looked content, like she’d downed half a bottle of Prozac or something.
Almost as soon as she walked away, Conner began to cry.
“Oh, does somebody miss his mommy already?” Grandma Walker asked the wailing infant.
“Maybe he needs a new diaper,” Tiffany suggested.
I know a baby only has a few basic needs. I would be able to figure out what Conner needed a lot faster than anyone else would be able to. It couldn’t be too difficult reading the mind of a baby.
I reached into little Conner’s head to pluck out the reason he was crying.
Now, I’d seen those movies with the babies in it that seem to have rational, human thoughts – the ones where they have some famous actor do the voice of the infant, and manage to let the babies communicate telepathically. Let me be the first to say that this is absolutely not the way a baby’s mind works.
When I reached into Conner’s mind, I discovered exactly what he wanted. A single image formed in my mind: A picture of my mother’s breasts.
“Ewwww!” I shouted, getting confused looks from everyone in the room. I really didn’t need to see that!
“What’s the matter, dear?” Grandma Carpenter asked.
“I think he wants lunch,” I said, then ran back upstairs to get as far away from the tiny fiend as I possibly could.
I lay back on my bed and fell asleep.
**********
The boy from New York filled my mind again. For the second time, I watched the chase through Central Park, ending in the final showdown in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I stood by, idle and helpless, as Agent Davidson stabbed the boy in the neck with a tranquilizer and carried him away.
She looked at me again with that devilish grin.
I woke in an instant, nearly banging my head on my nightstand. My alarm-clock showed it was a little after 6 p.m. My family was downstairs, watching television and cooing at the baby.
It was the second time I’d had the dream about the Agent. It was a warning. I knew it. And whenever it was going to happen, the time was drawing near. It wouldn’t be long before Abby would be in Manhattan, tracking down this boy.
Maybe there was something I could do to stall her here in Jefferson Hills. Maybe that was why I was having the dream. I shook my head. There didn’t seem to be much I could do without exposing myself, and if I did that, I would put all my friends in danger.
My cell rang. I snatched it off my nightstand. As I suspected, it was Ethan finally returning my call.
“Hey, Ethan,” I said.
“You sound tired, Chris,” he responded. “What’s going on over there?”
“My new brother is terrorizing me. And he doesn’t even know he’s doing it. How’s your grandfather?”
“He’s okay. He refused to go to the hospital. But he’s got my parents so worried they’ve already decided to stay here another week.”
Ugh. Another week without Ethan. Someone needed to come and shoot me in the head.
“So, he knows then, huh?”
“Yeah. And he’s taking it pretty well now that the initial shock has passed.”
“That’s good.”
Ethan’s grandparents lived in New Jersey. They couldn’t have been too far from Manhattan. I asked Ethan about this.
“Yeah, we’re only about forty minutes away by car.” What he really meant was it was only about forty seconds on foot for him. “Why? What’s up?”
“How would you feel about going to New York this weekend?”
Chapter 9
The Deal
The real trick was going to be convincing my parents, particularly my mom, to let me go to New York by myself. There was no way they would let their sixteen-year-old daughter traipse around Manhattan by herself. Fortunately, I had the perfect reason to get permission.
“Mom,” I said the next morning, while she tried to prevent the baby from waking the rest of the house. “Can I go to New York this weekend?”
Of course, her pre-programmed response kicked in immediately. “Absolutely not.” She rocked the baby in her arms even as she grabbed a glass to pour some juice in. “Why would you want to go to New York anyway?”
She fumbled for the juice container and I grabbed it for her, pouring it into the glass. “Grandma and Grandpa invited me to visit. I figured with Conner and all I’m not going to have the time to do it soon.” All of this was true, but it didn’t change the fact that I was just using it as an excuse. “And since Grandma and Grandpa are leaving tomorrow. I figured I could go this weekend. I haven’t seen the city in a while.”
“But I’ll need you to help me with Conner,” she said.
I shook my head. “You said you’re not going back to work until next month. So, I have at least three weeks before you really need my help. I just want a little break before I’m forced into babysitting slavery.”
She sat so she could hold Conner and drink her juice. Almost as soon as her butt touched the seat, Conner began to cry. My mother sighed and stood up again.
“Wait.” I grabbed Conner from her, cradling him in my arms. It was the first time I’d actually held him. He was so light and small. He gazed up at me with mild curiosity. “I’ve got him. Enjoy your breakfast.”
“This is exactly why I need you here, Christine,” she said, taking a sip of juice. “Who else will help me out when I’m having trouble with the baby?”
“Dad’ll be here, and Grandma and Grandpa Carpenter said they’d stay as long as you need. I’m just asking for two days of freedom.”
“You’ve had an awful lot of freedom lately, young lady,” she said. “A little too much, I think. Your grades are slipping and you have to see a counselor now at school.”
Dammit! The one argument I didn’t think of. I should have known my mother would use my horrible grades against me.
I thought quickly. “What if I could bring my grades up?”
“In three days?”
Think, Christine. Think.
Nothing came to mind immediately. I stood there, dumbfounded, rocking Conner and hoping for some stroke of genius. Then, it hit me. “I have a math test on Friday. What if I get an A on it?”
My mother considered this for a moment. I heard the warring thoughts rolling through her head. I knew what her decision was a few seconds before she spoke.
“If you get an A on the test, and your grandparents agree, then you can go.”
I almost threw my arms up in the air, but remembered I was holding the baby. So instead I grinned at my mother gleefully. I’d done it! Well, almost anyway.
Now all I have to do is ace my math test.
**********
Math class was even more tedious than usual. This time I actually tried figuring out the coordinate planes Mrs. Blank was teaching. I guess it really does help to pay attention.
Having not done so all year made figuring out this new lesson incredibly difficult. Even trying to siphon answers off other student’s heads was no help. I couldn’t understand the answers without knowing how to do the problem.
My frustration level rose and I ended up breaking my pencil in half. I reached into my schoolbag for another one, then continued scribbling what Mrs. Blank was explaining.
Tiffany glanced at me several times, wondering why I was actually taking notes. It was probably the first time all year.
I explained after class the deal my mother and I had made.
“I want to go too,” Tiff whined.
“No. I’m not really going to visit my grandparents. It’s gonna be dangerous.”
“I don’t care. I’m tired of getting left behind while you guys go off on all your adventures.”
“It’s not everyone this time, Tiff. I’m going alone.”
She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the right. I’d said something she didn’t believe. How could she think I would lie to her about something like this?
“I’m telling the truth,” I said.
“Like they’re letting you go alone.”
“I’m not even telling them.”
“Whatever. I’ll see you at lunch.” Then she turned and ran off into the crowded hallway.
She’d see I was telling the truth. She’d understand. I didn’t understand why she was getting so upset. She’d never expressed any interest on going on an adventure with us before.
I turned toward science, and bumped right into Abby.
“I’m sorry,” I said, before realizing who I bumped into.
“So, alienating your friends now, I see,” she said a little too happily for my taste. “We are going to have a long talk about this later.”
I thought about collapsing the ceiling on her and making it look like an accident. How dare she spy on me in the halls of my own school?
Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to act, she was gone. I put a force bubble around my fist and I punched the locker I was standing next to. The locker door caved slightly—not nearly as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.
I marched down to the science hall, bypassed my classroom door and gave a wave to a bemused Mr. Jenkins. It wasn’t unusual for me to be late to his class, or miss it altogether because I was talking with Quinn. He didn’t approve, but at least he wouldn’t write me up for cutting.
As usual, Quinn had no class. However, there was another student in the room: the tiny freshman boy Tommy had tormented at the beginning of the year. He sat behind one of the lab tables, talking to Quinn.
“We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Quinn spoke to the boy, but glanced over his shoulder at me.
The boy looked at me as well, at first shocked, then sort of amused. He nodded at Quinn, stood, and walked out of the room.
I pulled a single thought from him as he exited.
Is she the one?
Am I the one… what? What was he thinking about?
My eyes followed him down the hall until he disappeared around the corner. Once he was gone, I entered Quinn’s room, just as the bell for second period rang.
“Is he the fifth?” I asked.
“Why does it matter?”
Maybe because of the psychotic witch, trying to hunt us all down. Or maybe because he’s another one of us.
Quinn chuckled, clearly having read my thoughts. “What brings you here, Christine?”
“Why do you make me answer questions you already know the answer to?”
He motioned for me to sit. “Call it a formality.”
For some reason, when Quinn gave an order, I felt compelled to obey. He swore he couldn’t use his mind-control power on me, but sometimes I got the feeling he was lying.
“So, what’s with the freshman? What’s his name? His power?” I don’t know why the boy interested me so much. It could have been because Ethan and I had tried to discover the identity of the misfit for months.
“If you really must know, his name is Jayson Johnson,” Quinn said. “His power isn’t all that important right now.”
At least now I had a name—halfway there.
“Fine, so what are we going to do about the psycho in the counselor’s office?”
“Is she getting to you?”
“More than you know.”
He stood, and walked over to the window. He always did that when he was deep in thought. Something about our school’s football field must have inspired him.
“She’s driving me insane. I can’t read her mind. She knows what I am, but keeps trying to manipulate me to reveal it. It’s really frustrating. It’s like she’s trying to–”
He held up a finger to silence me. Again, I obeyed.
“You talk too much. Your mind is too loud.” His voice was so soft and calm that if I blinked, I the noise my eyelids made would make me miss what he said. “You need to learn to calm yourself, clear your mind. You are able to find your own answers. You don’t use your gifts to their full potential.”
I was going to argue, but he was probably right.
“Do you remember when I told you that more than eighty percent of your brain was active?”
I nodded. He’d done that the first time he pulled me and Ethan into his office.
“Then why don’t you use it?”
Not having a good answer for that, I shrugged.
“Do me one favor,” he said, then turned away from the window. “Clear your mind.”
We’d done this time and time again. I’d never been able to totally clear my head. It was like an emptiness I couldn’t achieve. Every time the void formed in my brain, it quickly filled with thoughts – either my own or someone else’s.
Like Abby Davidson. Is that all she was doing—keeping her mind in a constant state of emptiness?
“You’re not even trying, Ms. Carpenter.” Quinn’s voice cut through my thoughts like a samurai sword.
“Okay. But–”
“No, she’s not simply clearing her head. Now clear yours.”
There was no use arguing.
I emptied my head to the best of my ability, tossing out my agitation with Conner and my frustration with Abby Davidson. I erased my longing for Ethan, and my fears for the boy in New York. I dumped a hundred other thoughts that had bogged down my head. I was always so concerned about keeping others’ thoughts out of my head, I didn’t realize how many of my own were swimming through it every second of the day.
Once I was pretty sure my head was empty enough, I nodded.
“Tell me why you can’t read Agent Davidson’s mind.”
“She’s wearing a device behind her right ear that inhibits thought transfer.” I don’t know where the words came from, but as they escaped my mouth, I knew they were true.
“Do you see what I mean?”
Too astonished to answer, I could do nothing more than stare wide-eyed at him.
“When you keep your mind free of cluttering thoughts, you find the answers you need.” He gave me one of those conspiratorial, mischievous smiles, where his lips curl up, changing the shape of his goatee. “Even the answers for your math test.”
Oh, I hate you.
He didn’t respond, but turned back toward the window.
“So, it’s just a little device on her ear?” I asked.
“Why do you always ask questions you already know the answer to?”
“Fine, but we still haven’t figured out what to do about her.”
“Play her game. She will soon lose interest. I promise you.”
I didn’t believe that for a second. But I could also tell Quinn wasn’t going to be more forthcoming with information, so I decided to drop the subject.
“I’m going to New York this weekend,” I told him. “There’s…something I need to check out.”
“I know,” he said. He probably did.
“Any advice?”
“Be careful.”
I stood and gathered my things. I was only going to be five minutes late to science, which might have been a record. The low grunt of Quinn clearing his throat, stopped me as I reached the door. “See me before you go. I may have something else for you.”
Chapter 10
The Test
Grandma and Grandpa Walker acted thrilled that I was coming to visit them for the weekend – but they weren’t. I don’t think they actually expected me to accept their offer. Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn’t. But I needed to see this through to the end.
Only two things stood in my way: Abby Davidson and my math test.
I’d been practicing clearing my head to find the answers, with only moderate success. It was hard emptying my skull when I was also trying to concentrate on what Mrs. Blank was saying. I finally understood that a locus was all points on a graph equi-distant from a central point or line. But that was only one part of a very, very long test.
It looked like I’d be snatching answers from other student’s heads. I’d done it before, so it should work now, even if it did make me sick to my stomach to do it.
I also had no confidence in myself in Abby Davidson’s case. Apparently, knowing why her mind was a void didn’t help in dealing with her. She kept pressing me, relentlessly, trying to get me to reveal my powers – asking questions, trying to anger me. Fortunately, I didn’t take her bait.
Yet.
The test loomed over me like a vulture waiting for its prey to die. I was determined to disappoint it.
First period’s bell rang. My palms glistened with sweat so bad I couldn’t grip my pencil. How can I take a test if I can’t even hold my pencil?
Get a hold of yourself, Chris.
Tiffany glanced at me as Mrs. Blank placed the copy of the test on my desk.
“Good luck,” Tiff said.
“You too.”
Clear your mind. Empty your thoughts. I repeated this phrase, over and over again, until I had sufficiently silenced my brain.
I looked at the first question on the test. Instantly the answer filled my head. Moving seemingly on its own, my hand filled in the answer. A round of applause sounded in my head, which meant I had to clear it again. I groaned, which came out a little louder than intended, getting a nasty stare from Mrs. Blank.
Emptying my skull again, I was able to answer two more questions before my concentration broke. It wasn’t working. At the rate I was going, I wouldn’t finish the test until the end of the day, forget the end of class. So I focused my mind on Rachel McDonnel. She always seemed to know what she was doing.
Her thoughts flooded my head. She was already on the tenth question, computing the answer without much effort. When she wrote down her answer, my hand mimicked her movement. My mind became a slave to hers. What she did, I did. I might as well have been sitting behind Rachel, looking over her shoulder.
I hated doing this. It was cheating. But I had to do this. This was my ticket to Manhattan. This stupid test was the key to saving that boy.
I was beginning to hate the kid. He’d already taken up a week of my life, and I knew, just knew, he was going to take up a whole lot more.
I went through the whole test following Rachel’s lead, and with ten minutes left in class, went back to the six questions I skipped. Unfortunately, I was on my own. Everyone had either finished, or were about to finish. No one was thinking about the answers I had missed.
My palms were coated in sweat. I couldn’t concentrate.
This was stupid. All that effort would be for nothing if I didn’t finish.
I was already coming up for a plan to sneak out of my house and make my way to New York when I saw what the six questions were asking me to do. I breathed a sigh of relief. Three were locus questions. I quickly filled the answers in on those, then stared blankly at the other three.
The bell rang. Dammit! I guessed on the last three. Something’s better than nothing, I guess.
I waited as the rest of the class filed out – another first for me. I needed to know my score.
“Yes, Christine?” Ms. Blank asked. “Do you need more time?”
“No, I’m done,” I responded. “I was wondering if you could grade it for me.”
“Now?” she said. “Christine, I still have to give this test to my other classes, and I don’t want you sharing answers…”
“Oh no, it’s not that.” I tried my best not to sound offended by the fact that she thought I would cheat – even though I was. “It’s just that I’m supposed to go away for the weekend. But I can only go if I got an A on the test. I really wanna go. I have to go. So, I kinda need to know.”
Why was I babbling? I sounded like an idiot. Worse – I sounded like I was lying.
“I don’t know, Christine.” She looked unsure, but was already shaking her head.
Please, don’t make me use my powers on you.
“You really should wait, just like everyone else.”
Please, don’t make me use my powers on you.
“But I guess, if you really need to know.” She took my paper and sat down at her desk. “You wouldn’t have to worry if you paid attention in class.”
Oh, how I try, I thought – mostly a true statement.
She went through my test, question by question, mumbling incoherent phrases to herself – phrases I couldn’t even understand when I delved into her mind. She made several marks on my paper, but I couldn’t tell if they meant something good or bad.
My apprehension grew again. It continued to rise each second that passed. It spiked sharply every time she made a mark on the paper. I thought I was going to burst.
Then she looked up. She had a grimace on her face – like she didn’t want to smile, but wanted to soften the blow her words would bring.
“What did I get?” I asked, trying to sound hopeful.
“I’m sorry, Christine. It’s an eighty-nine percent.”
All that work for nothing. I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to slink into a corner and die. “You can’t give me one point?”
“No, Christine,” she said. “Again, I’m sorry. That wouldn’t be fair to the other students.”
“But it’s only one measly point? Can I do extra-credit or something?”
Extra-credit, the desperate way of getting a better grade. Where someone like me would do pretty much anything for a few little points.
Mrs. Blank wasn’t having any of it. “You know I don’t give extra-credit.”
She was making me do this. I would have been perfectly satisfied doing some extra work to get that one point. But her stubbornness wouldn’t let her help me out just a little bit. She was being unreasonable.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Blank.” I sent a mental tendril out to touch her mind, “I really need that A.”
She was about to ask if I was threatening her, but I pushed into her mind and put a stop to it. Resequencing her thoughts, I made her believe I deserved an A. She tried to fight telling me that there was no way I was going to get one. . Her will was surprisingly strong. Fortunately, in the end, my mind was stronger.
“I think we can make an arrangement.” Her hand was already changing the grade from an eighty-nine to a ninety. “I’ll add a point to this, but take a point off your next test to make it even.”
Where did that come from? I hadn’t made a deal like that at all. Mrs. Blank’s mind really couldn’t be easily changed. There were apparently some issues that not even she would budge.
But who was I to argue? I got my A. “Okay,” I said. “Thanks.” Then grabbed the test and ran out of the room before she could change her mind.
My euphoria lasted all morning. I might have cheated and manipulated my way to getting the grade, but I didn’t care. I was going to New York, and despite the task I had set myself when I got there, it still felt like I was going on vacation.
In English class, I felt a jab at the side of my arm. While I would normally attack anyone who dared lay a hand on me, I knew who’d thrown the punch. Sam looked at me, smiling a goofy smile. His tongue hung out of his mouth, and he’d crossed his eyes. He looked like a fool.
“What has you so happy?” I laughed at the stupid face he was wearing.
“Nothing. Just feeling good today.”
“Oh, come on, something must have happened.”
He looked at me now with a conspiratorial smile. “You won’t like it.”
“Oh, just tell me, Sam.” Then I lowered my voice to a whisper so no one else would hear. “I’ll just read your mind if you don’t.”
“Okay, but I warned you.” His face showed the mock seriousness I’m sure he felt. “Samantha’s parents are away for the weekend. So, I’m borrowing my parents’ old car, and I’m going to take her away.”
He was right. I didn’t like it.
“I warned you,” he repeated, reacting to the look of sheer revulsion on my face.
“You could have warned me better. Why would I want to know that?” I asked. “You’re not planning to…you know.”
“Oh, no. No way!” He seemed genuinely offended that I would ask. “We just want to get away. This is the perfect weekend since her parents don’t trust her. Believe it or not, her dad doesn’t like me.”
Probably because you aren’t a loser, I thought. Knowing what I knew about Samantha’s father, I was probably right on the money. I’d never met the man, but from the one time my mind connected to hers, I could tell her father wasn’t exactly an…upstanding citizen.
Our conversation was cut off by the bell, and Mrs. Murray was already going over the answers to the homework I didn’t do. I would have, but I was too busy studying for the math test—and packing.
After class, Sam walked with me to lunch. He’d been acting as my “unofficial” bodyguard all week because Ethan wasn’t around. It really pissed off Samantha, which did nothing but delight me. It was fun making the evil cheerleader angry. Since I was banned from knocking all her teeth out, I took any little victory I could.
While Sam reserved our usual table, I ran off to the lunch line, starving and wanting to beat the crowd. It really came in handy that his mom made his lunch every day. I would hate to come to our table to find strangers sitting there.
The chicken sandwiches didn’t look too repulsive today, so I grabbed one and some fries. I sat with Sam, who was already halfway through his sandwich – peanut butter and jelly today. His mood had changed. While before he was cheerful, he looked mostly sullen now. I wondered what had happened to foul up his emotions.
“Just to warn you,” he said, before I could ask, “Tiff’s not too happy.”
I sighed. “Why not?” I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.
“Something about you abandoning us again.”
This again. I thought this was over. She hadn’t mentioned it since the other day in the hall. I bit off a large chunk of my sandwich. It tasted like chicken flavored rubber, but it was food.
I wished she would drop the whole thing. Tiffany didn’t understand the danger involved. She could get hurt.
“What’s going on, Loser?” Savanah sat on Sam’s other side.
“Not much.” I threw a fry in my mouth.
“Before you ask, there’s been no word. And I don’t want to talk about it.”
Her grandparents were still missing. I’d been just about to ask, but from her wrinkled brow that said leave me alone, I knew not to press the matter.
Peter sat next, muttering a meek, “Hello,” to everyone. Then came Tiffany, marching to our table like a woman with a mission. I tried my best to ignore her, but she slammed her tray on the table which inadvertently sent a spray of ketchup flying across the table at me.
“What the hell?” I jumped away from the table as if I’d just gotten an electric jolt.
The shock at what she’d accidentally done seemed to lower her anger level a few notches. “I’m sorry, Chris. It was–”
“An accident,” I finished. Sam handed me a napkin to wipe my face. “I know. You have to be more careful.”
“Okay.” She still sounded apologetic, but there was an edge to her voice now. She sat and helped clean the ketchup that had splattered on the table. “So, you passed your test?” It wasn’t a question.
“Ninety percent,” I simply said. I figured the less I spoke, the better. Tiffany was a talker – and agitated on top of that. If I didn’t let her vent, it would only make matters worse.
“So, you’re leaving us all and going on some mission in New York?” Again, she sounded more accusing than questioning. “Did you ever think that your friends care about you? That we want to help you? That if you got hurt – or worse – we’d never be able to forgive ourselves for letting you go off alone? Have you ever considered that?” Her voice rose with every word she spoke, until, at the end, she was yelling.
“Okay.” I kept my voice low and calm – even though I wanted to silence the girl with a punch in the throat. If I remained calm, maybe she would see how stupid she sounded and simmer down herself.
Wrong.
“Ever think we might like to go to New York too? Maybe Savanah would like to search for her grandparents.”
“Leave me out of this.”
“Maybe we could use a weekend away from our parents too.”
Sam gave me a look that said not to say a word.
“I’m not the only one who feels abandoned, either,” Tiffany said continuing her tirade. “Savanah thinks so too.” She turned on the girl, as if to make her confirm the statement.
Savanah shrugged and looked at me. “I just wanted to go shopping on Fifth Avenue.”
Tiffany grunted in disgust. “That’s not what you said the other day.”
“Yes, it is.”
Her voice got shrill and challenging again. “No, you said your grandparents’ vacation was to–”
Before Tiffany pissed Savanah off, I mentally forced her lips closed. I could take her verbal abuse, but Savanah couldn’t – especially not on that subject. I doubted Miss Prissy had ever gotten yelled at in that manner in her life. And if Tiffany challenged her, the girl would probably belt her one.
“Enough,” I said forcefully.
Tiffany still looked angry, but she wasn’t going to continue yelling – for the moment at least. So I let go of her lips.
Each word that came out of her mouth was slow and deliberate. “Don’t – ever – do – that – again.” Her tone was angry, but she didn’t raise her voice.
I ignored the statement. Even if I did promise, I wouldn’t mean it. If she got out of hand again, I would have to shut her up for her own good. “Tiffany, what do you think you would accomplish by coming?” I said instead.
“I don’t know.” She slumped in her chair.
“This is the same as the baby thing. You want things and you don’t understand the consequences.”
She didn’t respond, but her bottom lip trembled, and her eyes began to water.
“Look, Tiff, it’s for your own good. You don’t understand the danger we put ourselves in every time we go out.”
Again, no response.
“Can you just drop it now?”
She rose, grabbing her tray, and looking like she was going to chuck it at me. She didn’t, thankfully. Instead, she backed away from the table, trying desperately not to let out any tears.
She opened her mouth several times. Her voice caught in her throat before she could make a sound. When she did, her pain leaked into me. “I can’t believe you told about the baby.” Then she turned and walked away. Her shoulders heaved as she stepped out the door, letting out a heavy sob.
I felt like crap. I hadn’t said it to be hurtful. I’d just wanted to make a point. I was torn between following her to apologize and letting her cool off.
The decision was made for me. A hand clamped down on my wrist and, not realizing I’d actually stood up, I lowered myself back into the chair.
I followed the arm up to its owner – Sam. When my gaze met his, he spoke. “Leave her alone. She needs some space for a bit.”
“What baby thing?” Savanah asked. Her insensitivity was astounding.
I pushed my chicken sandwich away – not hungry anymore.
Why did it always happen that when things were finally looking up, my world crashed down all over again?
When the bell rang I tossed my tray, and my unfinished meal, into the trash.
On my way out the door, a boy crashed into me. I spun on the spot, ready to slam my fist into the offender’s nose. The idiot should look where he was going.
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t see you there,” he said.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen him before. He must have been new to the school. He was well dressed – polo shirt and khakis, all clean and pressed. His hair was well combed and perfect, even better than Ethan’s. What stopped me from crushing his perfect face behind the weight of my arm though was one thing. The boy was amazingly cute!
I was about to tell him it was fine, when another similarly dressed and equally cute boy came up behind him. My heart actually skipped a beat. There are two of them!
“Hey, Sean,” he said. “Come on, we have to clean up.”
“Be right there, Walter. Sorry again, Chris. See you later.”
It took a second for my brain to process exactly what had just happened. These strangers were, in fact, not strangers at all. I’d known them for years. Walter and Sean – Tommy’s former goons.
My jaw went slack as I tried to form words, and my knees went weak, even as I tried to hold myself upright. They’d been suspended a few months because of what happened the night of the Winter Dance. I hadn’t seen them since they came back (whenever that was). But it was definitely them. I saw it in their faces now. Quinn must have done a number on their brains.
Then I felt sick. Ugh! And I thought they were cute! Kill me now!
Sadly, that gave me another infinitely disturbing image I’d never be able to clear from my head.
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