“Can someone fill me in?” Alex nearly shouted.
Mr. Epoch grabbed Alex and Ethan by the arm and pulled them into a huddle.
“You must speak of this to no one! Do not tell anyone you are human! You are lucky you have come across us before you told anyone else. If the wrong person finds out what you are, you will be put in grave danger!” Mr. Epoch explained. “Ethan! Never speak of this encounter! Ever! Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir!” Alex and Ethan replied in unison.
“Wait!” Alex cried in sudden realization. “What time is it?”
“5:30 in the morning. The sun should be rising soon.” Mr. Epoch looked at his watch and read the time. “Why?”
“I’ve got to go!” Alex took off down the aisle. When he reached the end, he turned. “Can I come back later today?” Alex called.
“Of course!” Mr. Epoch called back after a moment of hesitation. Alex smiled and waved before turning back around and running out the door. Where had the time gone?
Ethan turned toward his grandfather. “Will you really let him come back?” he asked. “Even if he’s a human?”
“Why, of course! I wouldn’t get much business if I didn’t let people in just because they were different now, would I?” Mr. Epoch smiled at his grandson.
“No. No, you wouldn’t,” Ethan replied as he smiled before turning and walking back among the shelves.
FORTY-THREE
Alex dashed around the corner and up the sidewalk to the hotel. He was just outside the door when he slammed face-first into an unsuspecting stranger. He and the unsuspecting stranger toppled backward and onto the concrete pavement. Alex slammed his hands out in front of him and just barely caught himself in time. A small jolt coursed through his wrists, but he shook it off as he quickly moved to help the stranger. He held out his hand to the stranger, who was lying face-down on the ground.
“I am so sorry! Are you all right?” Alex asked with worry and guilt in his voice. He received a groan in response. The stranger’s hand swiped Alex’s away as he slowly stood up. Alex could barely make out his features for he wore a robe that covered his entire body, including his head. Alex caught a flash of a mix of orange, red, and yellow beneath the hood as the man growled.
The man looked up at Alex for the first time and gasped before rushing down the steps and farther down the sidewalk. Beneath the man’s robe were two bare feet. Seriously? Does anyone wear shoes anymore? Alex watched as the cloaked man disappeared down the street before turning back to the doors. In front of the doors beneath the overhang stood Jack, Nicole, Brooke, David, and Mark.
“I see you’ve been making new friends,” Nicole smirked.
“How long have you guys been standing there?” Alex asked.
“Only long enough to see that guy push past you. Man, he had an attitude. He even growled!” Brooke laughed.
“I don’t blame him. I was the one who knocked him over,” said Alex, defending the stranger.
“Why’d you do that?” Mark asked.
“I was rushing! I had to get back before you guys left!” Alex replied.
“All right, well, I’m famished! Let’s please just go already!” David threw his hands out and gestured to the steps dramatically. The group walked down the steps and Alex followed next to Jack.
“I thought you said you wouldn’t be gone all night,” Jack said to Alex.
“Yeah, I lost track of time. I really didn’t realize how late it had gotten. By the time I had realized it, the sun was just about to rise,” Alex replied.
“I trust you found what you were looking for?” Jack asked skeptically. “That is, if you actually went?”
“Of course I did! In fact the bookstore I found was absolutely spectacular! It was humongous! There were so many books! Actually, I was planning on going back later today.”
“What is the name of this ‘spectacular’ bookstore?”
“Timekeeper’s Books.”
Jack’s eyes widened at the mention of that name, but he quickly composed himself before too much of his surprise could show. Although Alex caught it all, he chose not to ask about his reaction.
Jensen groaned as the pain flowed through his nose after coming in contact with the concrete slab. He heard the voice of a boy offer to help him up. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the boy’s hand outstretched toward him. Jensen slapped it away and quickly stood. He growled at the boy for knocking him over— let alone talk to him.
He trusted his features were hidden as he looked down at the teenage boy who was almost as tall as he was. He gasped when he realized who it was. He was one of them. Jensen brushed past him and quickly hurried down the steps to get away from him before his cover was blown.
As soon as he was far enough away, Jensen ducked into an abandoned alley. He held out his palm and a small wall of fire formed. Seconds later his sister, Jenna, appeared within the fiery wall. This technique reminded him of holograms the Resolton frequently used. Of course, theirs had many flaws. Their holograms could be easily hacked, or “wire-taped,” as they called it, and broken. He wasn’t familiar with the latest technology. Jensen lowered his hood. His black hair fell in front of his slightly glowing orange eyes, but he didn’t bother brushing it away. His eyes glowed when he was excited, especially when he gained coveted information.
“What did you learn? Where are they?” his sister asked from the fire wall. Her eyes began to glow slightly once she saw him. She always knew exactly why his eyes glowed. Her eyes did the same, after all, although, not always for the same reason.
“They’re staying at the Hilonton Hotel. I probably wouldn’t know they were if I hadn’t run into one on my way out. Or more like he ran into me.”
“He didn’t see you, did he?” Jenna asked. “You didn’t blow our cover?”
“No! Of course not. He didn’t see me,” Jensen replied angrily. Did his sister take him for a fool? He wasn’t an amateur. He knew how to handle things. He’d been in this business for ten years, after all!
“Relax! I was only asking. Otherwise good work.”
“When do we plan on making our move?”
“Jobs like these take time and patience. Lots and lots of patience.”
“I’m aware.”
“I know you are. Now we find who they are associating themselves with. See how much they care about these people. Get under their skin. Once they are so blinded by the need for vengeance, then and only then, do we strike,” said Jenna with an evil smile.
“We might want to wait a bit longer. If we wish to get under the humans’ skin, we will have to wait for them to grow close to others. They don’t know anyone. Even if it’s only one of them that grows close to someone.”
“That might happen sooner than we thought. I followed the boy last night. He seems to be on the verge of a relationship with those Pardictors,” Jensen replied. Jenna scrunched her nose up in disgust. “As to why them, I have no idea.”
“We will have to talk more about this later. I’m heading your way.” Jensen clamped his fist shut, putting out the small fiery image of his sister. He pulled his hood back over his head before walking out of the alley and onto the crowded city streets.
“So, I’ll see you guys later?” Alex asked as they stepped out of the diner.
“Where are you going?” Nicole asked with a hint of attitude in her voice.
“A bookstore,” Alex replied simply.
“Meet us up for lunch at the place we ate yesterday. We’re going to go exploring the city ourselves,” Mark said.
“Nicole and I thought we saw an arcade someplace and wanted to go check that out,” David explained.
“I’m going to go look for some autoshop or something. I want to see if I can figure out how the cars work here.That might help me make some sense of things.Plus, it’d be nice to be with something familiar in this
strange world,” Brooke said.
“You like cars?” Alex asked, unaware that was something Brooke was into.
“You didn’t know that? My dad repairs cars for a living. I help him out from time to time and he sometimes lets me drive them,” said Brooke with her head held high.
“Aren’t you too young to even have a permit?”
“The cops in our town know me pretty well. I am very responsible. They don’t mind it as long as I am obeying the laws.”
“That’s not the only thing they know about her,” said David as he elbowed her in the arm.
“Shut up! That was a one-time thing!” Brooke hissed. Her proud demeanor was replaced with embarrassment.
“Really? One time?” Nicole dragged her words accusatively. “More like one time too many.”
“Thirteen to be exact,” David said matter-of-factly.
“Who’s counting?” Brooke snapped.
“I am,” David said as he smirked.
“What are you talking about?” Alex asked, utterly confused.
“I am quite confused myself,” Jack said, having been listening to the conversation with growing interest.
“Brooke makes all sorts of inventions at her house with spare parts or things she finds in random places. Much of it is from the junkyard. Let’s just say more than a few have gone AWOL,” Mark chimed in.
“Oh yeah? And where do you plan on going?” Brooke scoffed, her cheeks flushed to a hot pink.
“Nowhere. I want to inquire how the cooks were able to make the consumme so clear. I’ve been trying for a number of months now and still have yet to figure it out,” said Mark as he pointed with his thumb toward the diner behind them.
“What’s consomme?” David asked.
“It’s a type of clear soup made from chicken broth. It’s very hard to make as the process to make it requires very complicated procedures, and it needs to be perfectly clear in the end. If it isn’t, you know you failed,” Mark explained. “I also want to know why they have such an exotic menu for a diner. They have things like seafood paella, som tam, chilli crab, arepas, bunny chow, pastel de nata, rendang, baked alaska, cassoulet, these are all meals from around the world. Why and how is this diner making them?” Mark ranted, listing various foods off his fingers.
“You have fun with that,” Nicole said sarcastically.
“What? I really will!” Mark exclaimed.
“Mark, have fun. I have to go!” Alex said as he began to walk off.
“Good luck, Mark,” Brooke called as she dashed down the road and waved goodbye. David and Nicole took off to find the arcade, and Jack headed to his cartographer friend, leaving Mark standing alone in front of the diner. Mark watched as his friends went their separate ways before turning and walking back through the diner doors.
Mark had only been in the diner for half an hour more before he found himself on his way again. He had walked up to one of the waitresses behind the front counter and had complimented the diner on its peculiar but delicious cuisine. He had asked her why the menu was the way it was, and she replied quickly, spouting off an intricate and spellbinding story that Mark knew was merely a marketing tactic, with little to no truth in it.
Mark patiently waited as the waitress finished her story and forced out a few amazed remarks before he asked her if he could speak to any of the cooks. Her attitude changed then, from happy and eager to draw in more customers, to defensive and skeptical. No matter how hard he tried, in the end, Mark had left the diner as ignorant as he was when he first walked in.
Brooke walked four blocks before she came across an autoshop. It was a short blue building with cracked walls and chipped paint. The sign at the top was rusted out and the letters had peeled away. The front of the building was made up of three wide garage doors that were all open, revealing a number of cars being worked on inside.
One particular car caught her attention. An old blue 1973 Chevrolet Nova with two stripes on the hood was lifted on one side while a man in blue overalls and a white oil-stained shirt continued to attach a tire to the car. The car was a beauty, and oddly enough, normal. Freshly polished and waxed; the sun glinted off the shining metal surface.
The man leaned back on the ground and cursed, wiping away sweat that had formed on his forehead. Brooke walked toward the man and tapped on his shoulder. The repairman jumped, clearly startled, and arched his neck to see who had tapped his shoulder.
“What seems to be the issue?” she asked.
“I can’t seem to get this tire to stay on,” the man growled. He shrugged her hand off his shoulder and turned back to the tire. “What can I help you with?”
“Oh nothing, I just noticed you were having some trouble there so I wanted to see what I could do to help,” Brooke said with a shrug.
“You?” The man scoffed. “What could you possibly do to help?”
“Excuse me?” Brooke was taken aback by this man’s rude response.
“I don’t think I need help from a teenager. Go get an education,” the man retorted before placing a wrench on a nut and pulling down. Brooke crossed her arms across her chest in annoyance. What did her age have to do with anything? Brooke smirked as she unfolded her arms. She made her way to the other side of the car. The man ignored her as she bent down and out of sight. When she stood back up again, she stood in front of the man and leaned on the side of the car. Brooke opened her palm and let a small metal bolt fall onto the floor with a clink. The man picked up the small bolt and looked to the teenage girl for an explanation. Brooke smiled knowingly.
“Would you look at that?” Brooke stood up straight and strode confidently out of the shop, leaving a baffled and defeated man behind her.
David and Nicole hurried through the large glass doors of the arcade. Both were extremely excited. They couldn’t recall how long it had been since they had gone to an arcade. Game consoles and game boxes were lined up in rows. Other, more active and manual games were scattered between the rows and on the walls. David and Nicole immediately took off in separate directions, each finding game after game to engross themselves in.
Two hours passed before they saw each other again. David had found a large crowd gathered around one particular game, and in that crowd he found Nicole. She was staring up at the game with wide eyes. David hadn’t bothered to see what game it was. He was too focused on getting Nicole’s attention. She finally looked down at him when he began to shake her arm.
“Check it out!” Nicole nodded toward the game. For the first time, David got a good look at it. It was one of those Dance Dance Revolution games. The platform had variously colored tiles that lit up with arrows on them. A screen in front of the platform showed two columns with arrows that matched the ones on the platform. When the specific arrows reached a line at the top, the player would have to hit the same arrow with their foot on the platform. There were thousands of different levels and the farther up you went, the harder it got.
At the moment, two teenage boys were competing viciously at one of the harder levels. That was one of the reasons the crowd had formed. The other reason was that one of the boys seemed indestructible. He wore a dark blue baseball cap and a black shirt. A grey hoodie was wrapped around his waist and he wore tan shorts. His shoes were torn up and dirty. His feet moved so fast they were almost a blur. He had short blonde hair and muddy brown eyes. The boy in the blue laughed aloud as the kid next to him failed and his screen flashed red. The boy that failed jumped off the platform and a few other teenagers clapped him on the back, cheering him up.
“Who’s next?” The boy shouted across the crowd. You could tell that he knew he would win against anyone who dared try. The crowd burst to life as people pushed and pulled their way through the crowd and over to the platform, desperate to show their skill.
David heard Nicole growl next to him and he snapped his head to look at her. She was glaring at the boy on the
platform as she pulled her slick black hair into a ponytail. David’s eyes widened knowingly. He knew exactly what was going to happen next.
“I’m going in,” Nicole growled, not taking her gaze off the boy. She was determined to wipe that egotistical grin right off his face.
“Beat him to a pulp!” David gave her an encouraging push and she stormed forward. Nicole always was a great dancer. He was a good dancer too, but he was not ashamed to admit she was better. Much better. He had no doubt that she was going to win.
“I’m next!” Nicole shouted, shooting her hand up into the air. She was a bit tall for her age and had a very loud voice when she wanted it to be, so everyone noticed her immediately. The crowd went quiet as she made her way to the platform. The boy in front of her smiled more widely, if that was possible.
“Hello, challenger! My name is Nathan! I am pleased to make your acquaintance!” The boy stuck out his hand. Nicole took his hand and shook it, gripping it more than needed. She glared at him and told him the message that she wanted to convey. Only three words were needed.
“You’re going down.”
Alex stepped through the open doors of the bookstore. It was much busier than the night before. People littered the entire store, searching the shelves for books. Someone bumped against Alex’s shoulder and Alex quickly turned to face them. A man in a blue cap and light blue jean jacket stumbled forward next to Alex. In his hands he held a large stack of boxes that towered above his head. A few of the boxes at the top tumbled off but were stopped in mid-air when a yellow substance surrounded them.
“Watch it, kid. I almost dropped these because of you,” the man grumbled as he walked farther into the store. Ethan and his family were gathered at the front desk, unboxing thousands of books out of the bountiful supply of deliveries the delivery man had recently finished bringing into the store.
Alex rushed up to them and stopped next to the man he ran into.
“That’s the last of ‘em,” the man said before turning to leave. When he saw Alex, he scoffed and dipped his cap in front of his eyes before departing.
The Abnormals: Book One Page 30
