Rise of Alpha (The Prodian Journey #1) (18 page)

“What are you thinking?”
 

When I gave her a sideways glance, I found her staring up at the sky.
 

I hesitated, but decided to tell her the truth. “I haven’t had this much fun ever,” I replied in a low voice, closing my eyes.

She remained quiet, and then I heard a little sigh. “I feel the same way. With you, I can be myself. You don’t seem to expect anything.”

“Expect anything from you? Heck, I’m still shocked that someone as popular as you would want to hang out with me.”
 

Shannon snorted and turned sideways, resting her head against her palm. “Do you want to know what I see?”

“Do I?” I turned to face her.

She ignored my question. “I see someone who is smart, funny, and cute. You speak your mind, and you’re loyal.”

She thinks I’m cute? What does that mean? Cute-handsome, or dog-cute?
“Wow, you make me sound like a school mascot.”

“Not like that, you dope.” She poked me in the ribs. “I used to think you were condescending because you were smarter than everyone else. And of course you have a smart mouth, too.”

“Gossip’s going to get you nowhere, young lady.” Feeling bold, I reached for her hand and held it. I gazed into her eyes. “Do you want to know why I act the way I do sometimes?”

She nodded and threaded her fingers with mine. Her hair fell in her face, so I lifted the strands and pulled them away.
 

“Since I was little, kids have made fun of my tics. Even some parents wouldn’t let their kids play with me because they thought I was contagious. So I figured it was better to just stay away.”

“I hate people like that. My parents always told me that I’m as good as the next person. Not better, but not less, either.”
 

I looked at her, and a fuzzy warmth washed over me. If Shannon could accept me, then the rest of the world could shove their snooty noses up their asses. After all the years of being mocked, it came as a surprise that someone found me interesting instead of pitiful.

We fell asleep there together in the shade. The next thing we knew, two hours had passed, and a security guard was nudging us awake.
 

“Kids, this is not a hotel. Pack up your things and move.” The man narrowed his eyes at us.
 

Shannon and I jumped at the same time and grabbed our stuff.
 

“Here.” I offered my hand, and she took it. The park was not packed anymore, thanks to the hot weather. We ran through it without stopping until we reached the deserted “jungle” garden.

Canopies of trees, climbing vines, tall shrubs, and large leaves surrounded us, and there was the sound of waterfall in the distance. It was a perfect spot to take more pictures.
 

Laughing, we rested against a tree until we could catch our breath. Shannon pulled a water bottle from her bag and handed it to me. “Drink, you look thirsty.”

I twisted the cap and gave her a questioning look. “How does someone look thirsty?”

“You’re sweating like crazy, and you smell different.”

Note to self—don’t use so much cologne in the morning. “Aw, c’mon. It’s a special aroma that compels people to hug me. You can’t resist it.”

She bought the joke and laughed, pulling me into a quick hug. I closed my eyes to savor the moment, but when I opened them, an Ergan was closing in on us, its mouth gaping open while its ear-splitting howl surrounded us. Another growl came from the behind me, too.

It had to be the adrenaline pumping through my veins that enabled me to move at lightning speed. I took the bottle of Mertest from my pocket and splashed some on the Ergan behind Shannon, then I spun her around and threw what was left at the other one. There was a loud thud when they both fell to the ground, but the one closest to me managed to stick out its paw and graze my arm with its claw-like nails on the way down.

“What’s going on?” Shannon asked, turning to look.
 

“Nothing. There was a hawk diving down. I thought it was going for us.”
 

When she noticed the blood on my arm, she screamed. I pulled her close to me and cupped my palm over her mouth. “Ssh, don’t worry. I’m fine.”

She pulled my hand away and pointed at my arm. “You’re bleeding.” There were three scratch marks that were oozing with blood.
 

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Good thing blood didn’t faze me at all.

Shannon yanked my arm toward her for closer inspection. “Let me take care of it.”
 

“Really, it’s okay. It doesn’t even sting.” On the contrary, the damn thing burned like crazy.
 

Shannon didn’t listen to me and started rummaging inside her tote bag. She took out a small bottle and popped the cap. “Here, it’s what my mother uses for me all the time.”

Sure enough, as soon as the clear liquid made contact with my skin, the stinging was gone. I looked up at her. “Thanks. That stuff is amazing.”
 

“I’m glad you’re okay. A hawk can do that? Are you sure that’s what it was? I thought I heard shrieking.” Now I had a new dilemma.
To lie or not to lie.
What should I tell her?
 

There was no time to concoct a convincing story, so I decided to redirect the conversation.
 

“Hawks are predators. The bird must have seen prey close to us.”
 

Shannon didn’t look convinced, judging by the way she shook her head at me. “You’re not making sense. I know I heard something. What just happened?”
 

Her lips thinned, prompting me to squeeze her hand to reassure her. “Look, just don’t ask, because I can’t explain. You have to trust that this will go away soon.” Christ, this was getting trickier by the minute, and I was on the verge of giving away the secret.
 

“That scratch didn’t look like nothing to me.”

We both looked at my arm. Lo and behold, the gash was fading like a distant memory.
 

“What the hell?” I whispered.

“This is freaking me out.” Shannon covered her mouth with both hands.
 

Desperate to give her some sort of answer, I blurted the first thing that came to mind. “I’m going to find a way to explain later, but for now, let’s just get out of here.”
 

She nodded and offered her hand to me even before I asked for it. Together, we ran toward the parking lot, and I was dead sure both of us would be seeking answers to our questions.
 

Version of the Truth

“Baby-boy, wake up!”
 

Mom’s voice jarred me out of my sleep, and I groaned. I hated it when she woke me up on weekends, especially when all I wanted to do was vegetate. After the day Shannon and I’d had yesterday, some peaceful downtime was what I needed, and maybe a chat with Matro later on.

“What?” I pulled a pillow over to cover my face.

“You’re not going to believe who’s moving next door!”
 

I had no idea what had gotten her so excited. “Um . . . ”

“Your
friend
, Shannon.”
 

I rolled my eyes at the emphasis she put on the word.
 

“I spoke with her mother. What a pleasant lady! A bit on the weird side, but she’s very gracious.”

I heard Mom move to the window, no doubt trying to check the activities next door, and light poured into my room when she drew the blinds.
 

“Mom, don’t you have better things to do than snoop on our new neighbors?” I peeked out from under my pillow.
 

“I’m just happy to have a neighbor to talk to. The Joneses were a bit eccentric.” Everyone was weird, in my mother’s opinion. “And you get to hang out with Shannon a bit more.” She was starting to sound like a matchmaker.

“Mom, we have classes together. We hang out on a regular basis.”
 

For Christ’s sake, it was only seven in the morning. Weren’t people allowed to sleep in these days? I threw the pillow on the foot of the bed, sat up, and rubbed my face, but then I smiled.

My mom turned around in time to see me grinning like an idiot. “What’s so funny?” She moved to my bed and started fluffing my pillow.
 

As if I was going to tell her how ecstatic I was to know this day had finally arrived. It was almost as exciting as the time I discovered I had some actual facial hair. “Um, nothing. What’s for breakfast?” I asked, changing the subject.
 

“I made ham and cheese omelets.” She pulled off the bedspread. I hated when she did that. “Hop in the shower, then have a quick breakfast. I think the McKessons would love for you to help.”

Eager to see Shannon, I got out of bed and marched to the bathroom. After I turned on the shower, I inspected my face in the mirror while waiting for the water to warm up. Not bad. A bit of stubble, but my skin was clear. I grinned at my reflection.

Once I’d washed, dressed, and had my fill of Mom’s omelets, I armed myself with my phone and ear buds and strode next door. I gave a cursory knock before letting myself in, and several movers glanced my way. Then I spotted Shannon in the backyard talking to Gilbert.

“You’re going to love it here, Miss Shannon.” I heard him say while I was crossing the kitchen to the patio.

“I know . . . I’m just going to miss our house, seeing Dad’s things . . . you know . . . ” She seemed so sad.
 

“Brian’s next door. He’d be great company for you.” Gilbert turned and waved when he spotted me. “Oh, here he is now.”

Shannon looked over and grinned. “Brian, I’m glad you’re here. Did our noise wake you up?”
 

“It was my mom, actually. She’s raving about your mother.”
 

Glancing around, a strange vibe hit me, but I kept my face even. Good thing Shannon didn’t notice. Gilbert did, though. He excused himself and pretended to make his rounds, while inspecting the surrounding for any sign of a threat.

“It’ll be scary if they start hanging out, huh?”
 

I shuddered at the picture. “Terrifying.”
 

Her laugh was electric. “I think it’ll be fun.” She patted my arm in mock sympathy.
 

“Can I help you with anything? Like lifting a piano or a bed, maybe?” I pulled up my shirtsleeve and flexed my puny muscles.
 

Shannon’s laughter was worth my pathetic attempt at being funny. The twinkle in her eyes was back.
 

“Let’s put those big muscles to work. Can you bring those to my room?” She pointed at a cactus plant and a violin case.

“Are you underestimating my supernatural powers?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She giggled.

“I didn’t know you played the violin.”

A wistful expression crossed her face for a fleeting moment. “Dad and I used to play together until he got too tied up with work. He was my teacher. We used to play for charities and family gatherings. It was something we enjoyed doing together. When his travels took up most of his time, he enrolled me in a class, just to keep me playing. I loved it. I was taking lessons up until a month ago. I figured with school starting, it would be hard to juggle my schedule. But I plan on starting up again sometime soon.”

Somehow, I understood her reluctance to pick up the instrument following her father’s death. “Would you play for me sometime?” I asked.
 

“Maybe . . . one of these days.”
 

I picked up the plant and the violin case and followed her up the stairs. Once we reached the landing, we heard a loud crash in one of the bedrooms. We ran, but Gilbert got there before we did. There was no one in the room, but a box was ripped open.

Gilbert and I looked at each other.

“What’s going on here?” Shannon asked, moving toward the broken glass near the box. She picked up one of the pieces and recoiled.
 

I was by her side in a second. I took her hand and inspected the cut on her index finger. It wasn’t too deep, but there was a lot of blood oozing out.