Timesurfers (24 page)

“That guy has to get tired dragging such a
huge net of sexy around twenty-four/seven. It’s obscene,” Eve
said.

Cate moved to close the door.

“Wait!” Eve cried. “Let’s sit on the porch.
The sun is glorious. I see you switched your black tights for black
leather jeans today. Bold choice. Not sure about the green and
black checked flannel shirt?”

“You said I needed more colour.”

“A flannel shirt does not count as colour in
any fashion world. What are the boys doing penance for?”

“It’s a long and convoluted story.” Heat
stung Cate’s skin as she stepped onto the porch. Polka Dot
stretched across the steps, mocking the boys working in the yard.
He opened one eye, conveying his utter disdain that her footsteps
had disturbed him.

“You’re in luck.” Eve flopped onto the yellow
striped sun lounge and nestled around to get comfortable. “I’m
clear all day. Tell me your long, convoluted story.” She adjusted
her Audrey Hepburn sunglasses against the glare. “I thought you
were going ballooning with Austin.”

“Already did it.” She breathed deeply,
savouring
the comforting
smell of freshly cut grass. The boys had done that in record time;
maybe one of their powers was super speed.

“Any good presents from anyone yet?” Eve
fluffed her hair. It hung loose with just an antique silver
headband to hold it off her face, which was a very restrained look
for her.

Cate shook the bracelet on her wrist.

“Oooo...Pretty. Who’s that from?” Eve stroked
the bracelet.

“Jonah.”

“That guy’s just too perfect. What did your
mum give you?”

“Nothing yet.” Cate hesitated. “Eve, what do
you remember about Xavier?”

“Who?” Eve had the same deer caught in the
headlights look that she had at the Neon Posse the other
afternoon.

“Xavier. He disappeared on my birthday five
years ago. I wondered what you remembered about it. I found a flyer
Mum must have put up when it happened in his room.”

Eve fidgeted with the buttons of the cushion,
clearly uncomfortable. “Not much. There were a lot of police around
for a while, and you had those plainclothes security people with
you around the clock for months afterwards. You and I never really
talked about it.”

“What if I told you Xavier was here
yesterday?”

“I’m going along with your Timesurfers story,
but if you start telling me that you’re seeing ghosts I think you
might need help.”

“Hear me out. The Timesurfers took Xavier.
They went back in time yesterday and kidnapped him five years
ago.”

“Which Timesurfers?”

“I don’t know.” Cate banged her heels against
the floor.

“But it was definitely a Timesurfer who took
Xavier?”

“Yes.”

Eve blinked back some tears. “So are you
really sad?”

“I was...I am. But I just have to find
him.”

“Ok. That’s a great plan.” Eve didn’t seem
keen to talk about Xavier.

Cate focused on the cracks running across the
decking, which aptly highlighted the multitude of paths her future
could take. Nature and chance made those cracks. Had she made a
dreadful choice joining Mortez? What would have made her do that?
How would she ever make another choice without second-guessing
herself?

“Soooo.” Eve drew out the vowel sound.
“Austin
and
Jonah, hey? You’ve turned into
a bit of a tart now you’re sixteen.”

Cate hurled a cushion at Eve.

Eve settled the round, orange cushion behind
her head. “The Timesurfers would never have sent anyone who’d been
painted with an ugly brush. Jonah would be a hot bad boy in any
century. Austin’s more of an acquired taste, but he has oodles of
swagger and that weapon of a smile. Whether you choose bad boy or
rock star, it’s all good.”

If only it were all good.

Balthazar marched across the lawn. He tossed
the hedge clippers into the rose garden, sending pale pink rose
petals raining on the freshly turned black soil. He leaned against
the balustrade to yank his shirt over his head and looked
expectantly between Eve and her.

“That time of the month.” Eve rolled her eyes
and pointed to Cate. “It comes around so quickly.”

Balthazar blinked a few times, and his face
went from blank to blushing. As the other boys wandered toward the
porch he
signalled
frantically for them to stay back.

Eve sighed. “Run over and tell your friends
about the horror of being exposed to a woman’s monthly cycle.”

Balthazar went a darker shade of crimson. He
flung his grey T-shirt over the porch rail and hot-footed it to
Gaspar and Melchior. After exchanging a few quick words, the three
of them began digging with extra gusto, their back muscles clearly
visible from the porch.

“That look has skin cancer written all over
it. Slip, slop, slap, boys,” Eve called to the hatless and
shirtless trio, who each gave her a puzzled look. “Slip on a shirt,
slop on some sunscreen, and slap on a hat.” She groaned as they
continued to look blank. “That’s how you prevent skin cancer.”

“I told you that,” Cate said.

“And you should know. Australia leads the
world in skin cancer deaths. Weed!” Eve called to the no one in
particular and waved a finger toward the jasmine covered pergola.
“I still find it unbelievable Jonah shares any DNA with loser Zach.
Jonah has perfect hair all the time and his jeans hang dangerously
low to tease everyone with glimpses of his insane abs.”

“His abs are distracting.”

“He’s long, lean, and ripped! Plus he’s so
tall.”

“Quick, wipe the drool from the side of your
mouth.”

Eve gave her the middle finger.

“The cousin thing is rubbish.” A fountain of
words bubbled through her stomach and gushed from her mouth.
“Remember I told you Austin took me into the future and right now
you and I are living in an altered time line?”

“Indeed I do. I’m still not onboard with the
idea we never had any friends.” Eve lifted her sunglasses and
quirked her eyebrow. “But go on.”

Polka Dot stretched as only cats can and
looked expectantly at Cate. “Ok, those three”—she motioned to the
boys in the garden—“and Zach are also Timesurfers. Or Zach will be
soon. He’s ‘crossing over.’” She used finger quotes to
emphasise
the words.

“I hope it’s painful for the twat.” Eve
screwed up her face. “Is everyone but me a Timesurfer?”

“Yet again, you walk to the beat of your own
drum.” Cate rolled her eyes. “Gaspar is attempting to get your
attention. Acknowledge him before he chops off a toe.”

Gaspar turned dirt over with a shovel,
obviously declaring war on the weed Eve sighted as he shot furtive
glances at her. When he
realised
Eve was watching a tentative smile crept
across his face. She gave an enthusiastic wave and ear-piercing
wolf whistle. He resumed digging with a self-satisfied smile.

Polka Dot hissed at Eve. He was the most
unlovable cat, brimming with cynicism and loathing. He detested
most people, but insisted on hanging around. Eve was his
favourite
. He only sank
his teeth halfway into her ankle.

“Sign me up for some Timesurfing action.
Kicking some medieval butt would be awesome. Do you think they’d
give me a real sword? How fun would it be to visit yourself in the
future? I also could avoid that disaster elf haircut I got when I
was ten.”

Cate held her hand up. “You can’t sign up.
You’re born a Timesurfer, and they only travel
back
in time. Not forward.”

“Right. Time travel to the future...of course
that
would be hard to believe. Hang on.
How did Austin take you with him to the future?”

Cate pressed the heels of her hands into each
eye. “It’s his present. They’ve travelled
back
in time to us.”

“Right. I’d be keen to go and spend some time
with Merlin, Arthur and Morgana.”

“Well you can’t, because they aren’t real.
They’re legends.”

“Oh...you learn something every day. The
Timesurfers must have a reason for dragging their sexy selves
here.”

“Me.”

“You?” Eve sauntered over and leaned against
the porch railing, her head propped to the side as she watched the
boys. She was taking all this very calmly. “Enlighten me.”

“I’m going to join Mortez. The boys are
already on her team. She’s some kind of sadistic megalomaniac who
feeds people to fire ants and cuts off body parts.”

“Interesting choice, you.”

“The other choice was Naitanui. Austin, Rose,
and Rafe work for him. He protects history from the magical
manipulation of Mortez. She took over from a guy called Elias.”

A small smile danced across Eve’s face. “And
what happened to Elias? I bet someone killed him with a sword. Or
put a deadly poisonous snake in his bed. Or Mortez chopped his head
off and stuck it on a spike for everyone to see.”

“You have a particularly disturbing and
gruesome side. Elias isn’t dead. He disappeared when Mortez ousted
him, but reappeared at the Neon Posse the other day. What were you
doing there, by the way?”

Polka Dot growled and dove toward Cate’s
ankle. His needle like teeth sank into her Achilles tendon. She
yelled and shook her foot, but Polka Dot hung on and raked his
claws down her shin.

“Do something,” Cate hissed at Eve.

“What if he has cat
leukaemia
or feline aids?”

Polka Dot dropped her ankle and spun around.
His back arched; the hairs along his spine stood to attention. He
yowled at Eve, who dove on the sun lounge, tucked her feet under,
and sat on her hands,
minimising
the bare skin Polka Dot had to target. He
leapt the railing and galloped into the Fijian Firebush near the
steps.

Cate clamped a hand over her ankle, as hot
spikes of pain seared up her calf. If Polka Dot so much as stuck
his head out of that bush, she would kick him with her uninjured
foot.

Eve untucked her feet. “Maybe Polka Dot has a
thing for Timesurfers. That would explain why he likes me and no
one else. Do you need the first-aid kit?”

“No. Timesurfers have powers, and mine is
healing.”

Eve gave an uncertain laugh. “Now you’re
yanking my chain.”

“That’s how I healed your leg the other day
when you fell down the bus steps. I’ll prove it.” With her hand
around her ankle, Cate squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on
wanting her wound to heal.

“You look constipated,” Eve joked.

After a nasty glare at Eve, Cate shook out
her shoulders and took a few deep breaths. As the seconds ticked
by, she felt nothing. She opened her eyes and sighed, unable to
explain the failure. A warm tingle started at her toes and danced
up her ankle. The stinging pain vanished. Relief washed through her
as she twirled her now perfect ankle.

“There’s not even any blood.” Eve ran her
thumb over the ankle that no longer had teeth marks. She looked
from Cate’s ankle to the boys, her jaw slack. “I want to know what
they can do. Bo—”

The rest of the sentence was lost as Cate
threw herself on Eve and pinned her to the ground.

Eve pushed against Cate’s shoulders. “If this
is a come on, I have to reiterate, I love you, but not in that
way.”

She fought to hold Eve down.

“I think now is a good time to throw out
there that no means no,” Eve panted.

“I’m not coming on to you. You can’t just
blurt out ‘show me your Timesurfer powers’ across the yard.”

“Fine, my lips are sealed. Get off!” Eve gave
her a firm shove. The only sound was them sucking in deep breaths.
“Do you know what Jonah’s and Austin’s powers are?” Eve
straightened her sleeveless white turtleneck and adjusted the
purple and gold silk scarf tied around her neck. She looked more
way more grown up than usual.

“Jonah is a conduit. He can use any
Timesurfer’s power as long as he can touch them, and they’re
conscious.”

“I’ll bet that’s what he tells all the
girls,” Eve broke in with a short laugh.

“No, I’ve seen him do it.”

“Austin?” Eve pushed.

“I’ve seen him stop time, and he’s pretty
fast, but that’s all I know.”

“Not following.”

“He snaps his fingers”—Cate snapped her
fingers for effect—“and everything and everyone except the
Timesurfers are frozen for a bit.”

Eve drummed her fingers on the wooden floor.
“How long are they frozen for?”

Cate shrugged. “A bit.”

“Helpful. What about Rose and Rafe?”

“Rose is a healer, and Rafe is überstrong and
can control minds.”

“That makes sense,” Eve muttered.

“None of this makes sense.”

A car horn blared. Cate smiled big. That was
her ride to independence.

***

The rest of the day she spent in a variety of queues.
She waited in a queue for the written test for her driver’s
licence
, a queue for the
practical driving test, and a queue for a driver’s
licence
photo. Finally, she waited
in a queue to get her actual driver’s
licence
. The whole thing started again for her
motorbike
licence
. She
even had to stand in the photo line again because they couldn’t
take the risk her driver’s
licence
photo taken two hours before was out of
date.

Instead of her usual
“?
YOUR DAY TEXT”,
Pip sent her about fifty emoticons in reply
to Cate’s
“I’M HOME AND I DROVE MYSELF
HERE”
6:00 p.m. text. Dinner with her mum and Eve was
followed by a video montage that was equal parts embarrassing and
hilarious. She waddled to her bedroom, her stomach uncomfortably
full of pasta and trifle. She counted the flowers embroidered on
her mosquito net and vowed never to eat that much food ever again.
Now she had to come up with a plan to find Xavier.