Lucas Ryan Versus: The Return (3 page)

LEVEL 04

MIDNIGHT CITY

Camelback Mountain - Phoenix, Arizona

With a dizzying puff of smoke, we found ourselves atop one of the highest peaks in the Valley of the Sun. Olivia, Sophia, and I clung to each other as Ripley spun around us like a tornado made of static electricity. With one final pop of energy, Ripley slid back into my arm leaving us in a quiet amazement.

“That was intense,” I said, carefully. I surveyed our surroundings as Olivia and Sophia tried to catch their breath. My magical dragon had teleported us to the summit of these famous hills. In the cool darkness of night the large city of Phoenix glowed and flickered with every possible color of the rainbow.

“Where are we?” Sophia asked in a nervous voice. Her hands were locked along her big sister’s arms.

Olivia grumbled, “It looks like Lucas’ pet whisked us away to the top of Camelback Mountain.”

“Why?” Sophia asked, quickly. She was letting her fear fall away and soaking up the blurring lights from below us.

“Ripley took us somewhere safe, and private, so we can talk,” I said, finding Olivia’s worried eyes with mine.

Looking over the edge of the mountain, she doubted me, “Safe, huh?”

I glanced around once more. “Well, sort of.” We both laughed and it echoed through the nighttime sky.

Sophia looked up at us and smiled. “Don’t worry, I still have my rings. I can protect us.” She held her hand out and tightly wrapped around both of her pinky fingers were two shiny bands. They twinkled to life, spinning with golden sparkles. The scratches along my forearm matched their colorful flashes. She had only two of the twelve rings on her. I wondered where the other ten rings were. In my head I could hear Ripley come to life.

~ She must be taught to control the power of the rings. ~

I agree.
I spoke in my head.

~ No one as young as her has ever wielded the power of the Jynshee. ~

I know.
I thought, quietly.

~ Thankfully she only wields twelve of the thirteen bands. She cannot unlock the full potential of the rings without the complete set. But, this is still extremely dangerous for her. ~

Why don’t we just take them from her?

~ Because once the power of the Jynshee has bonded with its host, there is no taking them away. Only the host can wish the power away, and I do not have faith that Sophia will give them up so easily. ~

I had felt that power myself. It was intoxicating and absolute. I frowned, and agreed.
I know.

Olivia stared at me curiously. She knew my history with Ripley and the powers it had. Quickly, her hand fell onto my markings and she closed her eyes. My two-way mind conversation became a three-way.

* Are you two talking about Sophia? *

~ Hello, Olivia. ~

Feeling excited to have her voice in my head, I smiled, and answered her back.
Yes, we are.

* About what? The rings? *

Ripley thinks it’s too dangerous for Soph to have the rings. It’s too much power to handle.

* I completely agree. *
Olivia leaned into me. It made a goofy smile appear along my face.

Olivia, I’ve missed doing this. I mean, sharing our thoughts like this.
Olivia and I had shared this closeness before. When Ripley was still a stone-like jewel, we shared a few important conversations telepathically.

* I’ve missed it too. *

So, you did miss me while I was gone.

* Everyday, Lucas. *

I stepped slowly to her and she leaned closer to me. The moonlight filled her big eyes and I wanted to kiss her. Suddenly, she pulled away from me again.

What’s wrong?

* We should talk about this later. *

Why?

* I just think we should take things slow. Things were moving so fast before you…left…disappeared… *

I guess saving the world can be a little stressful, huh.
I was making a joke, but her words had taken the wind out of my sails a little. She looked away from me for a moment.

* I guess so. *

I took a deep breath and continued.
Maybe we should take a step back. Just be friends, or study buddies or something.
I
so
didn’t want to take a step back. I had been infatuated with her even before middle school after all.

*
Friends. *
She repeated inside my brain.

“Friends,” I said, out loud. She looked down at her hand along my forearm and blushed. Her fingertips were gently tracing the lines of my flickering tattoo.

* With benefits. *

We both erupted into a fit of laughter and it echoed everywhere around the mountain. Sophia walked up to us and broke our connection with her hands.

“You’re talking about me, aren’t you?” she demanded.

“Calm down, Soph,” Olivia warned her.

Sophia snapped back, “Don’t tell me to calm down, O!” I stepped between both of them.

“We need to talk about your rings,” I said, to Sophia.

She stepped back from me. “What about
my
rings?”

“Soph, they’re too much responsibility for you. They’re too dangerous,” Olivia tried to say.

“Are you kidding me? No they’re not!” Sophia yelled.

“I know the power of the rings is appealing, tempting even, but it’s a power we don’t fully understand yet. You’ve seen what they did…we were lost for over a month,” I tried to reason with her.

“So!” she fought back.

“So, they’re dangerous! I can’t take the chance of losing you again,” Olivia snapped.

Without missing a beat, Sophia made a fist and stuck it in her big sister’s face. “You won’t lose me again. You won’t lose anyone again, because of these!” Sophia made one of the rings spin along her finger. White and blue light sparkled like a firecracker within the ring as it spun and Olivia rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Damn it, Lucas, tell her what Ripley said!” Olivia huffed.

Sophia’s eyes locked onto me. “What did Ripley say?”

“Just a warning,” I mumbled.

“What warning?”

“You’re too young to control the power completely.”

Sophia’s eyes welled over in tears. “What does that mean then?”

I inhaled a slow breath and placed my hand on her shoulder. “We take it slow, okay. All of this magical mumbo-jumbo is confusing, even for me. Just promise me you won’t use the rings for anything.”

“Seriously?” she whined.

“Just for now, Soph. I’m still new at this too.” She pulled away from me just like her older sister had done moments before. “How about we learn together. Deal?”

She thought about it for a long minute, and finally said, “Okay. Deal.”

“Good,” Olivia groaned. Sophia pulled the rings from her fingers and slid them into her pockets. She quickly wrapped her arms around herself as the wind picked up and brought with it a cooling breeze.

“Do you have somewhere safe you can put them? All of them?” I asked Sophia. Olivia removed her pullover and placed it over her little sister’s shoulders. Sophia smiled at her and nodded my way.

“Yes.”

“Good. I trust you with this secret,” I smiled.

“I trust you too, Lucas,” she whispered.

LATER THAT NIGHT…

Back in my bedroom I glanced at the time on the screen of my computer monitor. It flashed thirteen minutes before 1 a.m. With a long yawn I caressed the lines of my tattoo, tucking Ripley in for the night. From the corner of my eye came movement in the far off distance through my opened window. From their second floor balcony, my snooping neighbors, the Anderson’s, watched me with smug smiles. Wrapped in their plaid pajamas they didn’t even make an effort to hide that they were watching me from their house across the street. I placed my arms behind my back as if I was hiding a bad secret from them. They both smiled at me and turned around, slowly fading into the shadows of their balcony. It was like a scene from a horror movie.

“What the…”

Had they seen my secret? Had they seen Ripley?
The Anderson’s were always watching me, always keeping tabs on the neighborhood. I found them harmless but annoying. With a swift scratch of my fingers through my messed hair, I pulled my blinds closed and made my way to my bed and slept like I hadn’t done so in years.

LEVEL 05

COOL KIDS

My first day back. I expected it to be an unbearable morning full of curious stares and stupid questions. I figured my new infamy would at least change my reputation as the geeky kid who could fix your grades with a swipe of his hands across his computer keyboard, to the mysterious kid that disappeared for the last month. I at least thought that I had earned some cool points with the troublemakers of the school with my runaway story and reported shenanigans, but I was wrong. The cool kids were still bored and beautiful. The smart kids were still attentive and much too serious. The hooligans were still dangerous and half asleep. And the soap opera that I called high school hadn’t changed a bit.

Walking onto the campus and through the front doors I was greeted with two requests for wiping the memory chips of old cell phones, probably recently stolen. Also, one request for help with an overheating Playstation game system. Yup, nothing had changed in my little world. I was still the kid you came to for a quick fix when your favorite gadget was on the fritz. The nerdy nice guy that everyone loved to use but never wanted to let in their social network. No cool kid here. Just your everyday chump.

“Chump that saved the world, once…” I mumbled, to myself in a quiet fit of self loathing. Maybe next time the school is about to be eaten by a dimension hopping monster I’ll take my giant brain and magical toys and go home. Ungrateful bunch of people.

Thankfully, my crew of misfits were here to calm me down and settle my nerves.

“Lucas!” the Saint twins called out. My oldest friends on the planet, Roland and Morgan Saint. Born only moments apart, they were inseparable even though they argued half of the time. Roland and I had been best friends since kindergarden. We shared the same interests, computers, video games and comic books. Sadly, we even dressed too much alike. Roland stood in front of me with one of my favorite T-Shirts that he must have snagged from my closet. It was blue with the words
‘Doc Brown’s Custom Car Modifications’
painted across its chest. Roland grinned wildly and embraced me with a tight hug. His skinny arms barely holding onto me because he was so excited. His sister, Morgan, flipped her long hair behind her back and squeezed me as tight as possible. Her freckled nose scrunched as she doubled her grip. She was easily the sweetest person I had ever known. I was a better person because of her friendship.

“Ro! Mo! I’m happy to see you, too,” I barely said, before they cut me off.

“We tried to call you last night but your cell phone went to voicemail and your dad said you weren’t allowed any incoming calls on the home phone,” Roland said.

Morgan added, “Yeah, Luc, he sounded pretty upset.”

“You have no idea,” I smiled.

“So, spill it,” Roland demanded. He was the conspiracy theorist of the group and wouldn’t let me go until he had heard every gory detail of what had happened to Sophia, Felicity and I.

“We were so worried about you,” Morgan frowned.

“No need to be, Mo.” I quickly held up my forearm and wiggled my fingers into a soft fist. “I had everything under control.” A fresh smile found my face and her cheeks flushed with pink surprise. It was a sweet moment between us but it didn’t last for long.

From down the hallway an unwanted voice chimed in as she walked up. “Yeah, right.”

“Felicity,” I grumbled. My academic archrival and all around pain in my butt had joined our small group, and she had brought her miserable pout.

“You’re lucky I was there to bail you out, Lucas.”

“Are you serious?” I snapped back.

“Do I look like I’m joking?” she smirked. Her arms locked across her chest like an
I-told-you-so
shield. I was in no mood for her this morning.

“For your information, Evilicity, we made it home
despite
you!”

“Don’t call me that!”

“It was your fault we were there in the first place, Evil!” I scooped up her hand that still wore the ring. It was dull and looked like it had no more power within it anymore. “You wished us there, remember!”

“Yes,” she seethed, and snapped her hand back.

“Soph and I saved
you!
Soph and I wished
you
back! Remember that, Evil?” I announced to all the other students roaming the halls. Felicity began to tremble with anger. Her hands balled into fists at her sides.

“My name’s Felicity!” she roared. With a shove and a huff of toothpaste flavored air, she pushed past me. She stomped all the way down the hall and disappeared around a corner.

Erupting in a chorus of laughter, Roland, Morgan, and I clutched each other for balance.

“Only Felicity Campbell would take the time out of her first morning back to try and get a rise out of you,” Roland said, shaking his head. I stared past him toward the direction she had fled and for a split second I felt bad. I shouldn’t have pushed her buttons like that. Felicity experienced the same terrible nightmare I had. She just didn’t have the proper tools to handle it. Tracing the lines of the markings on my forearm with my eyes, Morgan sensed my mood had changed.

“You all right?”

“Yeah, she just rattled me a little,” I sulked.

“Why’s that, Lucas?”

“I don’t know.” I turned away from Morgan and Roland just as Olivia walked through the front doors of the school. Her eyes locked onto mine instantly and we both smiled at each other. I stepped forward in her direction but was halted in my tracks as the other members of her band ran up to her, shifting her attention away from me. Gwen, Linda and Sarah pulled her back outside in a hurry. One of the girls insisted Olivia check out the new sound system in her car, or something. It happened so fast that I barely heard all the details.

Roland tried to ease my worries. “You know, Luc, Olivia had the worst time while you were…umm…away.”

“She was just worried about her little sister,” I pouted.

“Yeah, but she never gave up on you.”

“Really?” I asked, softly.

Nodding my way, a goofy smile ripped across Roland’s face. “And neither did he.”

“Huh…” It was all I managed to get out before I was engulfed in a wall of muscle and blonde hair. Taylor had run up behind me and scooped my average frame up in the air in a massive bear hug.

“Lucas!” he shouted. Three powerful shakes later he set me back down and spun me his way.

“Big Country!” I teased. He cocked his head sideways at his hated nickname. “I’m just messing around, T.”

“I know.” Quickly, he diverted his attention to a wide-eyed Morgan and scooped her up. “Morning, Morgan.”

“Good morning, Tay,” she cooed back, before she lifted herself up on the tip of her toes and kissed him slowly and sweetly. Roland turned from the public display of affection. He was proud that his sister and good friend had been dating, but he still refused to watch it.

“Well, things may be a bit off with Olivia and I, but it’s good to see you two are still going strong,” I smiled toward Morgan. She blushed and slid her hand inside Taylor’s. “What have I missed in my absence?”

“You and Olivia? Are you two okay?” Morgan asked, politely ignoring my question.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter…” I trailed off.

“Not so fast, Luc, we all need an official update. What happened to you? How’d you get back? Details, we need details!” Taylor joked. During my eventful homecoming yesterday, my parents grounded me and that meant no visitors and no calls in or out. I knew my friends would have a thousand questions.

“Yeah, spill it,” Morgan added, eagerly. I looked around us to make sure there wasn’t any prying eyes. I leaned into my small circle of friends and felt safe. My right forearm began to tingle and I carefully brought it up and into the middle of the circle for them to witness my newest trick. The dark lines started to glow below all our eyes when the school’s bell rang with the tone of a incoming announcement.

“What gives? We still have like five minutes before the first bell,” Roland grumbled.

“Shhh! It must be important!” Morgan cut him off. We all turned our eyes to the closest speaker bolted to the wall.

“ATTENTION ALL FACULTY AND STUDENTS. A MANDATORY ASSEMBLY WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE SCHOOL’S AUDITORIUM IN FIVE MINUTES. NO EXCEPTIONS. THANK YOU.”

“Assembly?” I asked, out loud.

Roland and Morgan spoke in unison, “Weird.”

“Agreed,” I whispered. My arm returned to normal but a faint itching sensation creeped below my skin. It felt as if Ripley was uneasy. I tried to ignore it.

“I wonder what’s going on?” Taylor inquired.

“I guess my story will have to wait until lunchtime.” I smacked Taylor on his large back and hurried to my locker to put my backpack away.

Two minutes later I found myself tucked into my seat at the back of the auditorium. Roland sat next to me surfing the web on his touchscreen tablet, furiously looking for any hint at what this impromptu assembly might have in store for us. His conspiracy theory paranoia loved this kind of stuff. Taylor and Morgan sat snugly together a few rows in front of us. As Roland wildly scavenged his favorite pages for answers I searched the sea of students for Olivia. Halfway across the auditorium she sat already looking my way. Her face looked annoyed that it took me so long to find her. I waved her way and she smiled. One of the girls in her band shot me a dirty look and spoiled our moment.

Suddenly, Principal Garner took the stage and the restless mass of teenagers quieted slowly. Apparently, I wasn’t the only Desert Vista student worried about this morning meeting. With a tap of his finger to the top of the microphone and a clearing of his throat, Principal Garner started the assembly.

“Good morning, students and faculty. I’d like to take a moment to thank you all for the timely manner in which you found your seats. I know this is a little out of the ordinary but today is a special day. A great day for our school, actually. The National Board of Education has sent us one of their most decorated, and distinguished representatives. We hope to advance our grades this semester and take the reins in the upper echelon of American education. Please, give a warm and heartfelt welcome to Ms. Scarlet Strickland.”

With the stride and confidence of royalty she glided across the auditorium’s stage. Tall, lean and ridiculously attractive, Ms. Strickland commanded the full attention of the young audience. Wrapped in the most expensive attire, her curves were accentuated by a perfectly fitted skirt and blouse. A section of boys gasped as she surveyed the crowd with her intense silver eyes behind thin rimmed glasses. Intelligence swirled inside of them filling her physical features with unbelievable radiance. Her hair was long and platinum blonde. It was tightly pulled back in a bun on the top of her head without a single hair out of place. No one applauded her arrival, they all just stared up at her. Slowly her head turned toward me at the back of the large room and a small smile curved up from the left side of her lips. Roland swallowed hard and whispered in my ear.

“Dude, she’s looking directly at you.”

“No she’s not,” I said, without moving my lips.

“Yes, she is.”

Just then, from the row in front of us, Taylor and Morgan twisted around with wide stares.

“Do you know her, Lucas?” Morgan asked, in a confused but soft tone. Taylor raised a curious eyebrow but said nothing. I shook my head no and slid down in my seat a little. From across the auditorium Olivia looked my way. Her face filled with worry. Her mouth in a hurtful frown. I pulled my eyes from hers and hoped that wasn’t jealousy she was wrestling with.

Finally, Ms. Strickland nodded to Principal Garner and walked off the stage without one word. Everyone in the audience was either still staring at me or watching her strut away and out the doors of the auditorium.

“This school just keeps getting weirder and weirder, my friend,” Roland laughed, nervously. I ran a sweaty hand through my hair and sighed…

“Agreed.”