“Alex! Are you going to wait for us?” Mark called after Alex but he was unable to hear.
“What are you yelling for?” Nicole asked, stepping next to Mark. “What is he doing?” Nicole asked once she caught sight of Alex, who was now even farther away.
“I don’t know. He just took off,” Mark said as he shrugged.
“Well, he must have been excited to get in the water.” Brooke smiled.
“Then let’s join him,” David said, walking into the water. “Gyah! It’s cold!”
“Come on, don’t be a baby. We have to catch up to him.” Brooke laughed before jumping in, the others following close behind.
Alex drew closer and closer to the jerking movements that caused ripples in the water. Only when he was almost upon it did he realize what it was. A large fishing net was floating just below the surface, jerking around wildly. Alex dove underneath to inspect the net. It went all the way to the bottom of the ocean. The bottom of the net was caught on a patch of coral that held the net in place.
He searched for the source of the jerking and found it to be a small dolphin, caught in bundles of the net. Alex attempted to rip the net free in order to release the dolphin, but his efforts were fruitless. When he broke through the surface, he searched his surroundings desperately for something to aid him. A few feet below the surface was a coral-covered rock that was only a few yards away.
Alex swam toward it and latched onto it with his left hand. A jolt of pain passed through his fingers and he immediately released his grip. He broke the surface and tread water with his right hand as he inspected his left. Blood trickled down his fingertips from a fresh cut where he grabbed the rock. He disappeared beneath the surface and carefully inspected the coral-covered rock. He could feel the jagged spikes of the coral and immediately knew what he could use to free the dolphin.
Alex swam back to the net, inhaled and went back under, scraping the new broken coral against the net, slowly cutting it.
“Alex!” Mark yelled as Alex came up for another breath. “What are you doing?”
“We are really deep! And the waves are really rough out here!” Brooke pointed out.
“Come with me and I’ll show you,” Alex said, ignoring the four of them completely as he dove down beneath the water again.
Nicole looked at the others and shrugged before they all followed Alex into the depths. Alex continued trying to free the dolphin as the others stared in astonishment. Alex was only able to free four parts of the net before having to go up again.
“We have to help that dolphin!” David exclaimed.
“What do you think I’ve been doing?” Alex replied pointing toward the rock. “There should be a rock over there beneath the water. Break off the coral from it and be careful. It’s really sharp. It will help to cut the net.” Alex inhaled once again and dove beneath the surface.
With the others’ help, Alex managed to set the dolphin free within the hour. After they watched the dolphin swim away, they swam back over to the rock to rest, standing on the very top where coral failed to grow.
“What do we do with the net?” Alex asked. “More animals could get trapped so we can’t leave it there.”
“We could cut it away from whatever it’s attached to and bring it back to shore,” Mark replied.
“It’s stuck on more coral. Even if we manage to get it free, how are we planning on bringing it back without drowning or getting tangled in it?” Alex questioned.
“We’ll just carry it. If one of us gets stuck, someone else can help them. That’s one of the beauties of not being alone,” explained Mark.
Alex and Nicole swam to the bottom of the net and began to tear away the coral as the others yanked it up from the surface. They tore the net away quickly and began to drag the net back to the shore. It was not as difficult to do as freeing it, however, for the waves continuously pushed them toward the beach, along with the net.
They all dragged the net up onto the beach and away from the water so that it wouldn’t get swept away. As soon as the net was out of the way they all collapsed onto the sand, breathing heavily, staring at the sky.
“Wow. That was…” Brooke trailed off.
“Tiring,” David said, finishing Brooke’s sentence.
“And kind of fun, don’t you think?” asked Nicole.
“Maybe a little bit,” said Mark.
“I’m just glad we could free that dolphin.” Alex placed his hand over his eyes to block the sun. As soon as he did so, a warm red liquid clouded his vision and he jerked his hand away in surprise. He discovered that his hand was covered in blood. He must have cut it while he was gripping and pulling at the coral. Alex sat up and walked over to where he dropped his stuff and grabbed his towel, ripping off a strip at the bottom.
“What are you doing?” Alex heard Nicole say as they all started to get up and walk over to him.
“Nothing,” Alex said, quickly wrapping his hand with the cloth and wrapping the towel into a ball, hiding his hand behind his back. “What are we going to do with the net?”
“I could bring it home and my parents could take care of it,” said Brooke. “I’m sure my father or I could find some use for it.”
“Let’s try to fold it so Brooke can carry it home easily,” Nicole said.
“What do you want to do now?” asked David once they finished folding the net.
“We still have at least three hours before sun down. I’m going swimming again, how ‘bout you?” asked Mark.
“Race ‘ya!” cried Nicole.
Mark, David, Brooke, and Nicole all ran back into the water splashing and pushing each other on the way. Alex looked at his hand realizing he probably couldn’t go back into the water without facing the risk of getting the wound infected, especially since the wound was so big and bloody. He started walking along the beach, deciding that he would go exploring while the others swam. He wasn’t going to deny the fact that it was bothering him. The wound stung immensely. He winced everytime he moved his fingers.
Nicole fell into the shallow water laughing. When she finally managed to calm down, she looked around at each of her friends. What she saw puzzled her and her face contorted into confusion.
“Where’s Alex?” Nicole asked.
They all stopped at her words and scanned the area for their friend.
“Did he even come into the water with us?” David asked.
“Relax, guys, he’s over there on the beach,” Brooke said as she pointed toward the beach where they saw Alex disappear around a large collection of rocks and boulders.
“He’s probably just collecting seashells or whatever. Meanwhile…, ” David trailed off before pouncing on Mark and pushing him into the salty water.
EIGHT
"I still think we could just go to a place we’ve already been and spend the day there,” David suggested for the third time. “I can’t really think of anything else.”
“We still have a bunch of places to go!” Brooke protested.
“Yeah, but we don’t know where,” Mark shrugged.
“I’ve got it!” Nicole suddenly shouted. “Let’s take him to the soccer field. It’s Sunday so it should be empty. We’ll have the whole field to ourselves! I didn’t get that soccer ball for nothing!”
They all nodded their heads in agreement and followed Nicole to the soccer field, which was a big field on a hill that overlooked the city. The field had no structures besides the goals and the bleachers. There was a parking lot at the bottom of the hill along with some restrooms that were locked. The parking lot was empty with not a soul in sight.
“Alex, you know how to play, right?” asked Mark.
“Yeah, but I don’t know if I’m any good. It’s been so long since I’ve played,” Alex said bluntly.
“Oh, that’s okay. We’re just playing for fun,” said Nicole. They all walked out into the field and
took their positions. “We’ll play one on one since we don’t have enough players for a real game.”
David immediately went over to the net to be the goalie while the others went to the field. They played for about half an hour before they started to hear voices coming from the bottom of the hill, growing closer. They stopped playing and looked toward the slope of the hill and listened to the voices. A large group of eighteen kids close to their age appeared from the bottom of the hill and laced their stuff on the bleachers next to theirs.
“Hey, Nicole! I thought you said no one would be here,” Mark called to her across the field.
“I thought I did too!” she yelled back.
“Maybe we could play a real game now!” David yelled. “Let’s ask if they want to play a game!”
“Good idea!” yelled Brooke. They all made their way over to the bleachers where the kids continued to fuss with their things. Nicole shouted introductions as she jogged over to the bleachers. When she finally reached the metal seats, she asked if they were interested in playing a game.
“Sure. We were just wondering the same thing,” a girl answered as she tightened the straps on her cinch bag and turned to face them. She had long wavy blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a black and white striped T-shirt and jeans. Her sneakers were cleated, as if she expected to play soccer all the time. She had an overpowering, snarky attitude.
“Who are you?” David blurted. Brooke jabbed her elbow into his ribcage and David immediately got the message. “I’m sorry if that sounded rude.”
“My name is Lily,” said the girl, ignoring David’s apology. “And this is Josh, Mary, Erin, Leroy, Mason, Robert, Jensen, Diana, Karrie, Jared, Bobby, Bridget, Allan, Jake, Melena, and Ian.”
“Ugh! Enough with the introductions. Let’s get started already! We don’t need to know each other’s names to play!” Josh shouted impatiently. He had muddy brown eyes and slicked-back brown hair with a few strands draped in front of his eyes that refused to stay down from the gel. He wore a black short sleeved shirt and brown pants that had splotches of dirt from the ankles to the knees. His sneakers also had cleats, as did all of the other kids in their group.
“Yeah! We came here to play!” Karrie agreed.
Giving into the two kids’ whims, everyone walked out to the field and got into position. On Nicole’s team were Mark, Brooke, Alex, Melena, Ian, Rosy, Jensen, Diana, Bridget, and Bobby.
On Lily’s team were Karrie, Josh, Mary, Leroy, Eren, Jake, Allan, Robert, Jared, and Mason.
When everyone had taken position, they immediately started the game. That’s when things started to get rough. To Nicole’s team it didn’t take long for them to realize that their opponents were much stronger than they looked. The ball rolled over to Alex and he began to dribble it over to the goal but it was quickly stolen.
“We really need to step up our game. We are getting destroyed out there,” Mark said to the team during a break.
“What? Why? It’s just a game,” Alex replied.
Mark grabbed Alex and the others, pulling them away from the rest of the team. “True, but now that we got a break I can get a better look at these guys.”
“Get to the point,” Alex urged.
“They’re from Black Forest Academy! They travel all over the world and play against dozens of teams. They are well known for being extremely aggressive. Every team they have ever played has had a minimum of five players wounded after each game. The rest of their team is back at their school is what I’m guessing because their soccer team is made up of twenty-five people.”
“You’re paranoid,” Alex sighed. “No one’s gotten hurt yet. Either that or I’m delusional.”
“They wait for the moment when you least expect it! And then ...they POUNCE!” David jumped onto Alex and Mark and wrapped his arms around their shoulders.
“If you guys really think so, I’ll put in more effort to try to win. Although I liked it much better when we were just playing for fun,” Alex sighed.
“You weren’t actually trying?” David asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You weren’t either, right?”
“No. We haven’t even started,” David wiped the sweat off his forehead with a cold water bottle in his hand.
“Okay, let’s get started,” Lily shouted from across the field.
When they finally resumed the game, Alex realized what Mark and David were talking about. It was almost as though each player was holding a raging monster locked up inside them and they were waiting for the right moment to let them out and destroy everything in their path. They were extraordinarily fast, swerving from left to right, bumping against opponents in their path, nearly knocking them over into the dirt.
When the ball finally came to Alex, he took one look at it and sped across the field to the goal and kicked the ball in. He did it so swiftly and with such force, no one could tell he was moving, let alone see the ball. The goalie didn’t notice Alex was there. The goalie was still standing, unprepared by the time the ball hit the net.
Mason stood in a squatting position in front of the net, ready for anyone to try an attempt to get a goal through him. Mason knew, though, that none of these amateurs or anyone from his school could get past him. Not even professionals could. Ever since he had started soccer, no one had ever scored a goal in his net. That’s one of the reasons he was in this school. He never expected to be so easily defeated by some rookie from some public school.
He was in the perfect position. Ready to do anything needed in order to block every attempt possible. He was ready. Yet, what was that sudden rush of air that just whipped past his head? And when did that kid Alex get here? Just a second ago, everyone was on the other side of the field. Mason’s eyes slowly traveled up to meet Alex’s. Mason froze out of fright from what he saw. Something about his eyes made Mason stop breathing altogether. Alex’s gaze was so cold and frightening it looked as though his eyes were ice. Mason could have sworn his eyes turned a luminescent blue. But then, he must just be imagining things. Mason slowly turned his torso around to see a black and white ball spinning in the middle of the net before slowing down and dropping onto the ground, rolling a few inches away in the grass before coming to a stop.
Mason’s eyes widened as his mind processed what happened. Alex turned around and walked over to David with all eyes on him. Then, as if shaking out of a trance, everyone continued to play the game, as if nothing ever happened.
“Why was everyone staring at me? Was I not supposed to score a goal?” Alex asked, confused.
“Dude. You actually scored a goal! Against Mason! That kid has never let a ball slip past him in his entire lifetime!” David shouted excitedly, clapping a proud hand on Alex’s back.
Alex ignored David’s remark and went back into position once again. Everything was going normally until Lily saw Alex’s bandaged, bloody hand.
“Yo! What did you do to your hand?” Lily asked as she passed Alex, walking over to her position. Alex quickly averted her gaze and turned his attention to the ball that was now in play.
During the break, when his teammates discussed strategies, Mason zoned out.
“Mason! Get your head in the game, man! What’s up?” Jake snapped his fingers in his friend’s face.
“His eyes…—” Mason shook his head slowly, as if he was hypnotized. He refused to look at his friend. The team stopped talking and all heads turned to Mason.
“Whose eyes?” Jake asked.
“Alex’s. The kid who scored a goal past me. They were so cold. They… were frightening,” Mason stuttered. There was a long pause.
“Well, the eyes are windows to the soul, am I right?” Allan laughed as he swung his arm around Mason’s shoulder and shook it encouragingly.
Mason turned his head to look at the other side of the field where Alex and his team discussed their next plan. What was that thing he saw in that ki
d’s eyes?
“There’s no need to worry about him anymore. I have a plan that could make him vulnerable. But, only if you listen,” Lily whispered as the team inched into a huddle, wicked and cruel smiles spreading across their faces.
When Alex stepped back on the field to resume the game, he noticed that everyone on the opposing team had a wicked sneer on their faces as if the monsters inside them were about to catch their prey. Alex continued playing, ignoring everyone on that team and focusing on nothing but the ball ahead.
When Alex finally had the ball again, they struck. Josh sped past him and stole the ball, at the same time swiping Alex’s feet out from under him. The force of the blow sent Alex toppling to the ground. Alex quickly stood up and started after Josh in an attempt to retrieve the ball. With his guard down, Lily sped past and while doing so struck his right hand. Hard.
Alex fell to his knees, clutching his hand and gritting his teeth. He looked down at his hand again. Blood was pouring out of the cut having been forced open again. Alex wandered over to his bag on the bleachers and re-bandaged the bloody hand as quickly as he could. After Alex had finished bandaging it, he quickly rushed back into the game, choosing to pass their cruel plan off as a supposed ‘accident’. Although, he knew the truth.
Lily ran over to Josh grinning triumphantly.
“Critical hit!” She shouted as she threw her hand in the air and Josh slapped it.
“Ha! That looks like it hurts!” Josh laughed as he stared at their fallen opponent.
“Can’t wait to see the look on his face when he gets off the ground!” Lily turned back around to watch Alex. Alex remained on the ground for a few more seconds before getting up and walking over to the bleachers. They were unable to see his face.
“Hold up. I can’t see his face. What’s he doing?” Josh asked.
“I don’t know. I can’t see his face either,” Lily said. Josh and Lily watched side by side as Alex walked over to the bleachers and dug into his bag with his back turned, blocking what he was doing from the others. When he finished whatever he was doing Alex jumped down from the bleachers and walked back down from the field. That’s when they saw his face. Entirely expressionless.
The Abnormals: Book One Page 5
