Cassidy Jones and the Luminous (Cassidy Jones Adventures Book 4) (13 page)

“How hot are these aliens?” Bobby came back.

“Too hot for you,” Nate razzed.

My stomach contracted, and it felt like more than just the taste of turkey was about to come up.

“Oh my gosh,” I gasped, covering my mouth.

All eyes at the table swung to me. As though I hadn’t suffered enough humiliation for one day.

“Cass, are you sick?” Carli asked.

Blushing, I shook my head, but the movement made me gag.

Jared snatched my lunch bag and offered it to me. I waved it off. There was no way I was puking in the cafeteria. No way!

“But you can’t be sick,” Nate said and shot Emery a worried glance. Emery returned his look with one that warned Nate to think before he spoke. But it was too late.

“Obviously, she can be sick, Nate,” Miriam said. Turning to me, she asked, “Do you need to go to the restroom?”

“I’m okay now,” I lied. “The turkey must be bad. How do you feel, Nate?”

“Fine.”

“I must’ve gotten a spoiled piece,” I said, swallowing a belch. This was awful! But it had to be food poisoning. Like Nate had said, I couldn’t get sick.

But can I get food poisoning?

“Give me your water.” I reached my hand to Nate.

He slammed his water bottle into my palm, and I drained every drop.

~~~

I could barely sit in my chair during sixth period. It felt like a knife had been driven into my stomach.

“Cassidy, do you feel all right?” Ms. Lake inquired, pausing her lecture.

I swiped away the sweat beading on my forehead. “Yes,” I forced through my raw throat. Stomach acid had been shooting up it like balls of fire for half an hour. “Thank you,” I managed to add as I gulped down another fireball.

“Cass.”

I jolted upright and looked around, forgetting where I was for a second.

Leaning toward me, Lena Mistry explained, “You fell asleep.”

“Oh.” I wiped sweat from my forehead. “Is it hot in here?” It felt like a hundred degrees.

Lena shook her head.

“Just don’t give it to me,” said Ruben Schelper over his shoulder.

“You’re all heart.” I dropped my head on the desk.

“Cassidy.” A hand shook my arm.

Peeling my eyelids open, I lifted my head. It felt ready to split in half. I’d never had a headache that bad before.

“You have a fever,” Ms. Lake told me. Her palm felt cold against my forehead. I shivered.

“That’s impossible.” The mutant DNA invading my body wouldn’t allow me to get sick. “It’s food poisoning.”

“You need to go home. Go to the nurse’s office.”

The bell rang. I started at the sound. It seemed like class had just begun.

My classmates headed out the door while I tried to gather my stuff. Ms. Lake helped me.

“Feel better,” she said, giving my back a sympathetic pat. I pushed myself to my unsteady feet. Every muscle in my body screamed.

“Would you like help to the office?”

I shook my head, but Ms. Lake ignored my feeble protest. She snaked her arm around my waist, assisting me. Each sliding step sent waves of nausea rolling through my stomach.

My palm smacked the door jamb and I looked up, meeting Emery’s alarmed gaze. He ran across the hall from where he had been waiting to escort me to P.E. I broke free from Ms. Lake and stumbled into his arms.

“My god, you’re burning up,” he said, feeling my clammy face.

Then the turkey made good on its threat.

Vomit fired up my throat like a missile, shooting out my mouth and nostrils. The contents of my stomach splattered Emery, splashing the floor and the feet of unfortunate schoolmates. I collapsed to all fours. Screaming and running feet flashed past me, and the vomit kept coming and coming.

“Are you done?” Emery asked when I’d finally stopped heaving. He was holding my hair with his hand. His other arm, circling my waist, was the only thing that kept me from doing a face plant into the pool of barf.

I nodded weakly.

Emery lifted me into his arms. My head rolled against his chest like a loose bowling ball. His shirt was saturated. I’d gotten him good.

“Emery, take her to the nurse’s office,” Ms. Lake shouted after us.

“Hang onto my neck, Cassidy,” he said, stopping to shift me in his arms to get a better hold. I did as told, burying my sticky nose in his collar.

Walking again, one of his arms released me. I cracked an eyelid open and watched his thumb work the contacts on his cell. He never broke pace.

“Mom,” he said into the phone, walking down the wide path our schoolmates made for us, plastering their backs to the lockers. I shut my eyes, not wanting to see the disgust on their faces. I couldn’t block out their whispers and snickers, though.

“Come to the school
now
,” Emery told Serena, then disconnected the call.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, humiliated beyond measure. I’d never be able to show my face at school again—if I survived.

“You’ll be all right, Cassidy.” Emery hoofed it down the stairs. “I promise.”

Mom, Dad, Nate, Gavin, and Jared were gathered around the exam table, worry etched on their faces as they watched Serena poke and prod at me. Seated at the lab table, Emery studied my blood under a microscope.

“Honestly, I feel better now,” I reassured everyone for the hundredth time.

And I truly did.

Gavin had returned from his secret mission to find utter chaos at home. Mom and I were arguing in his foyer about my taking a shower before Serena examined me, not to mention Emery’s and my revolting appearances. Gavin didn’t ask questions, or even act surprised. I figured Serena had given him a heads-up.

I won the argument, and just in the nick of time. Dad arrived with Jared and Nate while I stripped off my disgusting clothing in the Phillips’s bathroom. I thanked my lucky stars to be in the shower at that moment, pouring half a bottle of shampoo over my head, getting rid of the evidence of a scene that I had no clue how I’d ever live down.

By the time I got out of the shower and dressed in the fresh set of clothes Mom had brought over, I felt significantly better. My immune system was obviously prevailing over whatever was wrong with me. Now it just felt like I was at the tail end of a flu bug.

“That may be,” Serena told me as she pressed her fingers under my jawbone. “But we still need to figure out what happened. Lymph nodes are swollen,” she reported to Emery.

“Her TCL is elevated,” he informed her, peering into the microscope.

“So she has a virus,” Gavin deduced.

“No. This is bacterial.” Serena motioned to the males to turn around.

As they followed her instruction, Mom placed her hand on my clammy forehead.

“She isn’t as warm,” Mom observed with relief. “If it’s bacterial, she can take antibiotics.”

“She shouldn’t have to take antibiotics,” Serena began lifting my T-shirt. “That’s the concern—” she paused, noticing the angry red rash on my torso, which itched like crazy. I had discovered it in the shower, but felt too embarrassed to mention it in front of the boys.

“Curious,” Serena remarked.

Mom looked at my stomach and gasped.

“Don’t turn around!” I shouted at the guys. “It’s only a rash. No big deal.”

“Fever-induced,” Serena concluded, feeling under my armpits.

I smiled to myself. That’s what I’d thought, too.

“As I was saying,” Serena continued to Mom, “the concern is that her immune system didn’t overcome the pathogen instantly. Then there’s her severe reaction. Yes, her symptoms have improved. Her immune system is fighting admirably. But we are dealing with an aggressive disease—”

“A disease?” Dad interrupted. “Do you think it’s contagious?”

“Drake, keep in mind that Cassidy has a unique genetic makeup. What affects her may not affect us. If the general population were susceptible and at risk, we would know by now, considering how quickly Cassidy succumbed.” Serena placed the business end of her stethoscope against my chest. “Take a deep breath.”

I drew in air, then released it slowly.

“Her heart rate is slightly accelerated, unsurprisingly. But her lungs are clear. You are on the mend, my dear.”

“Can I take a nap?” I was suddenly exhausted.

“Sleep is exactly what you need.” Serena tugged my shirt down. “Gentlemen, you may turn around. Emery, please straighten your room for Cassidy.”

Straighten his room?
I thought. Emery was a neat freak. He even made his bed military style. “Why can’t I sleep at home?”

“I’d prefer it if you slept here.” Serena jammed a thermometer in my mouth. “Elizabeth, please bring over all the food items Cassidy had for lunch, including condiments.”

Picturing turkey, I felt my face turn a shade of green.

Serena extracted the thermometer and read my temperature. “You’re doing quite well. You’ll feel as good as new when you wake up from your nap.”

~~~

Fog as thick as blood enveloped me, obscuring my visibility.

“Where am I?”
I asked, narrowing my eyes, trying to penetrate the dense gray
.

I brought my hand to my face to see dozens of scarlet ribbons tied to my fingers, floating upward. My gaze followed the plush bands ascending to the heavens. The fog melted away to reveal a starlit blue night sky, illuminated by a great glowing moon. Attached to each scarlet ribbon was a human heart, pulsating vibrant colors, each pattern beautiful and intricate. Like snowflakes, no two patterns were alike.

They’re souls,
I realized, smiling up at the hearts
that
drifted high above me like tethered helium balloons. Precious souls.

The moon grew brighter, and its white light began to swirl. The hearts began to bounce around, as though caught in a strong breeze. The ribbons tugged at my fingers. Panic grew in my chest.

“Stop!” I yelled at the moon, which had suddenly become a cyclone of light, spinning faster and faster. The hearts, seized by the powerful wind, strained at the ribbons. Strangely, I couldn’t feel the wind on my upturned face. The air was still.

Why can’t I feel it?

A ribbon snapped, and the attached heart was swept into the vortex, disappearing into the bright light. Another ribbon broke, and then another.

“You can’t take them!” I screamed, helplessly watching the ribbons break one after the other. “They’re mine! They can’t leave me!”

The last ribbon snapped. Tears flowed down my face.

“Take me, too!” I pleaded with the moon, willing it to touch down and suck me into its light. All at once, it became a normal moon again, hanging among stars.

I’m alone.

I fell to the ground in despair, cradling my face in my hands.

The beating of my heart filled my ears as I grieved—strong, slow, and steady, like a person pounding on a drum. The rhythms began to echo, as though other drums had joined in the song. After listening to rhythms multiply, as if hundreds played, I realized the beating wasn’t coming from within.

I lifted my head. All around me, hearts pulsated on the dark ground. Some were kaleidoscopes of vibrant colors while others were deformed, ashen monstrosities. These sent a shiver up my spine. They were dead-looking, yet beat as strongly as the beautiful hearts.

There was a tug at my left hand. I looked down and my spirit leapt for joy. A lone ribbon was bound to my ring finger.

My eyes began to rise to the sky. Cold rain slapped my face—

~~~

I yelped and sprang straight up. A sopping wet washcloth plopped onto my lap, saturating Emery’s comforter.

“What the—?” I pinched the washcloth by the corner and flung it to the wood floor.

The guilty party stared at me with big, green, unapologetic eyes.

“Mommy said you were sick,” Chazz explained.

“So you tried to drown me?” I ran my hand over my wet face. The kid had drenched me. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re all here. Serena and Emery are looking for bad stuff in our food.”

Dad rushed into Emery’s room. He looked at the washcloth and chuckled.

“Thank you for taking care of your sister.” Dad mussed Chazz’s hair and winked at me. He pressed his palm to my forehead. “Your fever has broken. How do you feel?”

“Wet.” I grinned at Chazz. “Good as new, just like Serena said I would be.”

Dad kissed the top of my head. “Chazz, will you please tell everyone Cassidy is awake?”

“And not barfing,” Chazz added.

I groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

“Chazz—” Dad picked up the washcloth from the floor. “Please put this in the bathroom sink.”

My brother grabbed it and darted off to complete his task, leaving a trail of water droplets behind him.

Dad smiled. “It’s just water. It’ll dry.” He sat on the edge of the bed and pushed back the wet locks plastered to my face. “Chazz really got you good.”

“He is
extremely
thorough,” I said with a laugh. “Actually, he did me a favor. I was having a weird dream.” I drummed up the image of hearts getting ripped away, then shook my head to dislodge the depressing scene. I knew they represented everyone I loved, and ever would love. “Did Serena or Emery find anything in the food?”

“Nothing unusual.”

Mom and Serena walked into the room.

“Did you sleep well?” Mom asked, touching my forehead. Her smile widened. “No more fever. You’re all better.”

Serena felt under my jawbone. “Your lymph nodes are normal, too. You beat the infection.”

“Here,” Mom said, handing me a bottle of Luminous. “Drink this. You’ve lost a lot of fluids.”

I moaned. “I can’t believe I puked at school.
And
all over Emery.”

“He’s no worse for the wear,” Serena said, then ordered: “Do as your mother says. Drink.”

Nate poked his head into the room.