Scorched Treachery (34 page)

By
Lila Felix
and
Rachel Higginson

Release date September 1, 2013

Chapter Two

Stockton

Just add water—my ass. 

I still sucked at pancakes.
  Two damned years of mixing this crap up and it still looked like a substance I’d use to soothe a burn rather than slop on the griddle and attempt to feed to Will.  She knew how to cook them and I was sure that any minute she’d come and save me from this lumpy glue mixture I’d stared at for the last ten minutes.  I left it there in the bowl our mother had always used for pancakes, a scratched up, metal monstrosity, better suited for Will to use for slopping the pigs, and moved on to making sausage—now that I could handle. 

“Did you mess up the pancakes again,” She half barked, half yawned.

“No, I left them for you to mess up.”

She ‘Pssshh’ed in my direction and then started adjusting the temperature on the griddle.
  As I finished up cooking the sausage she’d already stacked up six pancakes and was slathering them with butter.

I heard the screen door slam and knew it was West.
  My youngest brother never missed breakfast—never.  He was commuting back and forth from school but always tried to catch at least one meal a day with us.  We all valued family like never before.  Will divvied up the portions and dug in without a second thought.  I reached under the lip of the old table our father built out of bartered lumber and shook it once to get her attention.

“What the he—sorry Stock.”
  She put down her fork and she bulged out her eyes in what I knew was an attempt at not rolling her eyes at me.

“Willa,” I used her whole name for affect, something I’d learned long ago from our parents that she hated, “why don’t you say grace since you’re so fast to eat.”

She bowed her head and began, “God is great…”

After we finished breakfast, I did the dishes and took a moment to remember the dishwasher I’d had in the university apartment just over two years ago—it seemed like I’d aged twenty years since then.
  I wish I had it now, sure would be a hell of a lot easier than handwashing everything.

I dried the last dish and wiped down the cracking, burnt red, laminate counters.
  I had a new appreciation of all the years my mother did this three, four and five times a day while all we did was moan and groan at her.  I missed them more than I could ever let on. 

“I’m off to school.
  I fed the pigs and the chickens, only eight eggs today.  I’ve got a test Friday in Trig and…that’s all.”

We chuckled together as she spouted off the outline of her morning as she once did to our dad, who demanded we all complete the same task every morning.
 

“Ok, take the Jeep today.
  I have to go to town to pick up some supplies and meet with Mr. Daniels.”

“Be careful, Stock.” She said as she took one glance back at me.

“You too, Will.”

We didn’t say we loved each other anymore—it was a given.
  We now told each other to be careful, or stay safe.  Because I love you hadn’t helped my parents the night of the fire.  My telling them I loved them over the phone didn’t stop the flames from engulfing the hundred year old barn and taking my parents with it.  They knew I loved them.  I should’ve told them to be careful.

The Pinhold Prophecy

By Amy Evans

Part One

Chapter 1

When I walked out, Blake whistled.

“Lookin’ good,” he said with a wink of his turquoise eye. The other one, his right one, was half that same startling blue and half grayish silver, the same color as my own. Ours was a small island with a shallow gene pool. Endless summers gave everyone the same sunkissed, tanned glow, even before you factored in the many sets of identical twins that comprised an unusually high portion of our population.

Blake was literally the poster child for life here on Pinhold: a blond, tan, sixteen-year-old swimming god who was part of the ad campaign for this year’s Surf Carnival, the competitive swimming and surfing event that drew international pros from both sports to our tiny island home. His twin Kaleb had left Pinhold when were thirteen. He’d been my best friend, just as Blake was Mica’s.

On the surface Blake and Kaleb looked identical but they were mirror twins—Blake’s right eye matched Kaleb’s left, Kaleb’s nose hooked the tiniest bit right, while Blake’s went left. They had identical birthmarks in exactly the same place on their left and right knees respectively.

Like all magnetic objects that go in the same direction, they repelled each other. So while Blake dove in head first to island life, Kaleb rejected almost everything about Pinhold, especially The Guard. He hated how into it Blake and Mica had gotten and it was something that we’d fought about before he gotten in trouble and shipped off to military school.

Kaleb had snuck over to the tiny island to check Pinhold’s most revered symbol: an ancient pin that supposedly stood straight up on a rock in the middle of our archipelago. It was visible only at certain times of the year, and only members of The Guard, the island elite, were permitted to see it. Blake, Mica and I weren’t in The Guard yet, but we were hoping to be, so we were on our way to First Night.

Always on the summer solstice, First Night kicked off the new season of the Surf Carnival, a series of extreme lifeguarding competitions that took place on weekends all summer long. There were three distinctive parts to the evening: a religious ceremony, a party and a competitive ocean swim that took place in the dark. Even though I usually ignored them, his flattering comments pleased me because dressing had been challenging.

“Quit it,” I said, looking down so he wouldn’t see the traitorous blush on my cheeks. From behind me, Mica snickered. He didn’t need to see my face; he could feel every thought in my brain. Every girl for a hundred miles wanted the flirtatious compliments that rolled so easily off Blake’s tongue. Except for me, usually. But tonight I had steered clear of my typical bathing suit and board shorts, opting instead for a white bikini, red tank and denim skirt that looked nearly too tight in just the right way.

“No one’s gonna mistake you for Mica tonight,” said Blake’s older brother, Billy, as he pushed a keg down the driveway. My face reddened more as Billy drew attention to the fact that ‘til a few months ago, Mica and I had passed for identical twins because I didn’t have a single curve to make me look like a girl. Recently, seemingly overnight, I’d grown in all the right places.

“Missed you too, Billy,” I said, grumbling a little but accepting the bear hug he offered. My surrogate big brother, Billy, had spent as much time with Mica and me as Kaleb and Blake, ‘til he’d left for college a few years back. He’d come back to do his medical residency and he’d brought his girlfriend, Celeste, with him. “When did you guys get here?” I asked.

“A couple hours ago. I went up to see Kaleb after I took the boards. He says good luck to all you guys tonight,” Billy said.

“Sure he did.” Mica snorted, echoing my sentiments exactly. Kaleb hated The Guard, had made me promise more than once during all our years as Nippers that I’d never join. But when he left, I started training because it made my Gram so happy. I got addicted to the adrenaline rush that came from racing in the ocean and loved every minute I spent on my surf board, even though I was much better at paddling it then standing on it.

As soon as Mica and I had turned sixteen two months ago, we took our lifeguard exam and made it onto the beach patrol, which meant this summer I would get paid to sit on the beach. The basic lifeguard test required all over the world was just the first step here, but I had ten weeks to collect the certifications I’d need to be a proper surf lifeguard and get an invitation to join The Guard.

Billy looked at the pink of the sky, picked up the keg and plopped it into the passenger seat of the small electric vehicle that looked like the baby of a golf cart and a pick up truck. Golfies and dune buggies served as transportation on Pinhold. Proper cars and gas engines of any kind were banned for environmental reasons. “That puts you lot in the back,” he said, gesturing to the flatbed portion of the tiny thing.

I attempted to climb up into the truck and came up on the limits of my short skirt, falling backwards into Blake. Luckily, he caught me before we both tumbled to the ground. His huge square hands stayed on my hips, holding me up. I jumped away from him quickly.

“Klutz,” said Mica, putting his hands on the rails and vaulting gracefully into the back.

“Let me help you,” Blake offered, lifting me over the side and into the flatbed, following me in with ease. I crammed against Mica to sit down, but no matter how I wiggled, we were not all going to fit.

“This worked a lot better last summer,” Blake said in that smooth, slow tone that made everyone lean in to hear him talk.

“All the extra workouts, bro,” Mica said, giving Blake a high five.

I squirmed away from both of them, standing again.

“I’ll walk,” said Blake, getting up like a gentleman so there was room for me.

“Nah,” said Mica, squinting his silvery eyes at the setting sun. “Can’t be late. Cami can sit on your lap.”

When the boys had satisfactorily arranged their legs, I settled on Blake, gingerly, trying not to get close. Then Billy gunned the gas and I fell hard onto Blake’s lap as the cart took off. We were speeding way to fast for me to adjust my position, so I looked around trying to distract myself from how uncomfortable I felt having this much physical contact with Blake. It wasn’t that I didn’t like him, I did. It’s just that we had less than zero chemistry. That, combined with my family’s insistence that he was perfect for me, made me keep my distance physically.

It wasn’t hard to find something that captured my eyes. Our sunsets rivaled any wonder in the world. Pink light glinted off the bay on one side and the ocean on another, sparkling on the narrow gravel road made from tiny pieces of the black stone we quarried here.

We slowed down through the center of town to avoid the day-trippers who walked slowly back to the ferry, blissed out and happily exhausted from their beach day.

“Mainer,” Mica muttered under his breath, when a cute guy with a surfboard locked eyes with me.

Visitors from the mainland keep the Island going, but most of us who live here have a love/hate relationship with them. Except for me. I smiled back only to get an elbow in the gut from Mica.

“Be nice,” Billy called from the front. “Those folks will pay your salary this summer and make it possible to sustain The Guard, which you’ll appreciate soon. If you get in, of course.”

“Have you seen me swim lately? I’ve beat all the local records—even yours,” Mica said.

“Tonight’s not about speed, man—swimming from the little island to here is meant to represent rebirth,” said Billy.

“Don’t get all Yoda on me, Billy,” laughed Liam. “This is Pinhold. If you’re in the water, it’s a race.”

“For Nippers like you, yes. But The Guard’s about other things,” Billy warned, wrestling the golfie onto the bumpier path down to the beach. It was kitted out with dune buggy wheels, but hardly a smooth ride.

“My Nipper days are long gone. After three years in the Junior Guard I’m more than ready for the big game,” Mica said in a casual voice that hid his feelings. Those he sent to me—dark, angry feels that clicked directly from his brain to mine. Like telepathic text messaging that I both loved and hated. Mica was half of my heart—but, I could never be alone with my thoughts. He saw everything that mattered to me, our secrets sent in clicks and symbols and feelings, back and forth even when we didn’t want to share.

On a harsh hitch I flew sideways, bouncing back down on Blake. “I got you,” Blake said, keeping his arms around me this time. This was Blake, polite and protective. Charming to a fault, protective of everyone. Being this close to him disrupted my equilibrium, and not in a good way. It got worse with every bump and blip. Each time we moved, he’d adjust his arm around me, pulling me closer. Between the forced contact and the bouncing truck, I felt nauseous by the time we arrived at the private beach where the party would be held.

Nippers and the Junior Guard—kids younger than us who were not participating in the ceremony or attending the party—were preparing the beach for the bonfire. Islanders sixteen and up were welcome to stay for the fun, but most people over twenty-five or so never did. Mica and I were the oldest of five sets of twins born within six months of each other after a ten-year dry spell when only a handful of babies had been born at all. In Billy’s year, he was the only one. Growing up there weren’t many kids on the Island close to his age, so he was very happy when we came along when he was eight. He was there almost every day of my childhood, taking care of Kaleb and Blake, and Mica and me.

“Everyone else in The Guard went over already,” said Billy’s girlfriend Celeste, walking over to give him a kiss. Celeste wasn’t Pinhold-born and bred but she’d accepted an internship with the Ocean Research Institute for the summer. I’d met her last year when she was interviewing for the position, and I’d come to love her quickly. “So, are you guys ready for this?” Celeste asked to Blake, Mica and me. We each nodded enthusiastically, and went down to the water. I’d waited sixteen years for this and didn’t want to wait a minute longer.

“I’m so curious, even though I know I shouldn’t be!” Celeste whispered in my ear, holding me back. I nodded because she was right.

“They don’t really appreciate curiosity,” I said, agreeing with her. Technically, The Guard was a surf rescue club. They existed in popular surfing spots around the world to supplement the beach lifeguards and they hosted surf carnivals. But here on Pinhold, they acted more like a fraternity, with ceremonies and rituals for members only. Since Celeste hadn’t been born on Island, or descended from of one of the original
ten families who had landed here eons ago, she could never get in. Blake, Mica and I at least had a chance.

We all stripped down to swimsuits and passed Celeste our clothes to hold before getting on the old school multi-person raft. Billy paddled the distance to the other shore where the ceremony would take place on the little island that sat independent of the rest of Pinhold. It was a small sanctuary, protected by a tricky current and tons of heavy trees. It had broken off from the larger landmass with the eruption of an ancient volcano, or so the legend said. It was only about two hundred square feet, and only visible when the tide was low.

Tonight the water lapped gently when we pulled up. A combination of dark rocks and soft black sand edged the tiny land mass. I jumped from the wooden craft and ran through the shallow surf. Anticipation, adrenaline and the energy from the people waiting for us flowed through me and drew me in. I felt giddy with it.

Thirty lava stones swirled in a sacred spiral, with members of The Guard around them. Some held torches to provide fire and light, and others beat rhythms on the stone drums that each had a slightly different tone. The tapped tones and beats sounded like ocean waves, like the ancient conversation between sea and land.

I’d heard the drums from home over the years, but they never sounded like this before. It enveloped me,
connecting me to the union of nature, time and the many who’d come here before me. I breathed in, savoring the connection, when Blake caught my eye. He smiled, and I knew he felt the same as I did.

His grandfather and my grandmother stood in the middle of the circle. Both were Elders on the island, revered for their wisdom, athletic prowess and lifelong commitment to The Guard. Both had competed professionally on the international Surf Carnival circuit. Since Blake’s grandfather was busy running the day-to-day events on Pinhold, my grandmother had taken charge of most of our training through the years. They were expecting great things from us in the upcoming lifeguarding sport competitions, but tonight’s ceremony was a spiritual one.

The single most important thing drilled into us year in and out was that those of us lucky enough to have homes on Pinhold had a responsibility to take care of the island and the ocean around us. Tonight’s ceremony was about renewing that commitment for the members of The Guard. But my friends and I would take the pledge for the first time.

Can’t we just skip to the party?
Mica clicked, his intense, impatient feels disturbing me. His average emotional temperature always burned higher and dipped lower then mine, which meant that his feelings more frequently influenced us. But I wasn’t about to let that happen tonight.

Stop. Breathe. This is happening. Enjoy it, ok?
I clicked back, attempting to share my happy calm.