Chapter Two
Kyle’s alarm went off at five thirty that morning, but he had already been up for five minutes before then (which he always did, and it really annoyed him), but instead of getting up, he allowed himself to lie there awake with his eyes closed in a vain attempt to catch more sleep. So, he jumped up right as the alarm went off. He got out of bed, stumbled over to turn the light on (what he needed was an alarm that turned the light on as it went off), and found the clothes he had set out to wear last night after dinner. He pulled the worn jeans on and a t-shirt. He looked into the mirror on the inside of his door to check his appearance. His hair was a mess. Using his fingers, he manipulated his hair (it was getting close to being time to get a haircut, for it came down just too where he could see it) into a more presentable mess. He would’ve used his comb, but it was in his bag, which was already downstairs, and it wasn’t worth the trouble.
Downstairs, his parents were already up and moving around. Kyle’s father was busy making breakfast for everyone: toast, but you got to choose what you put on it, as long as they had it in the kitchen.
“Good morning, Kyle,” his father said, sounding much more awake than Kyle felt.
“Morning, Dad,” Kyle yawned. Kyle’s Dad was a police officer for the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, and very proud of it, so he was fairly used to getting up early. Kyle hardly got to say good bye to him most mornings.
Kyle took his piece of toast and slathered honey on it. He also poured himself a glass of milk and sat at the island in the kitchen to eat. He was halfway through the piece of toast when Sarah walked in and prepared her toast, preferring jelly and butter on hers. After they ate, all of them brought the stuff they would take with them into Dad’s old Ford pickup truck. In total, they were taking four bags, plus a cooler of drinks, so the only stops would be for lunch and gas, and the tent Kyle would be using.
It was quiet when they left. The only other person up on their street at this time was a man who lived down their road a few houses who liked to run in the mornings when it was still cool. Sarah fell back to sleep instantly when the truck started to move. Kyle waited until they left Odessa city limits until he fell asleep.
It was several hours later when Kyle woke up suddenly as the car pulled into a Dairy Queen. The surrounding landscape didn’t look any different from that in Odessa, so Kyle figured they were somewhere in New Mexico. Sarah had to be shaken to wake up (Kyle was all for leaving her in the truck to sleep some more). If anything, their father was good at keeping a schedule. He said that they could stay for an hour and fifteen minutes if they were going to get there before dark. Everyone was able to eat their meal, go to the bathroom, and get back to the truck in fifty minutes. They were back on the road in another two.
When they got back on the road, the first thing Kyle did was check his cell phone. Of course, he had very spotty service out in the middle of nowhere. That couldn’t stop him from checking his text messages, of which he had none. But it was only noon, Kyle reasoned, and most of the people who would text him would be just now waking up themselves.
Kyle’s afternoon was filled with the book he was reading. For the trip, he had brought the first three books in the Alex Rider series, and he fully intended to finish them on this trip. Sarah was, amazingly, quiet for the majority of the trip, either involved with her iPod or playing on her Nintendo DS. Road trips were the few occasions when she was quiet for more than half an hour. When they stopped for gas about fifty miles south of New Mexico’s border with Colorado, Kyle texted Julianne where they were, but even at that gas station, service was sketchy at best.
It was about three o’clock when they were surrounded by towering, beautiful mountains. Kyle liked visiting his Granma in Colorado, but mountains just weren’t for him. He had spent his entire life in Odessa; he was more accustomed to flatter terrain. They stopped only one more time in Colorado to relieve bladders before they pulled into Granma Foster’s driveway.
The house was basically a two story log cabin that Grandpa and Granma Foster had built together. They had lived there the majority of their adult lives, and had raised Kyle’s Dad and his sister Diana here, as well.
Granma Foster was just shorter than Kyle, but if anything, was still just as energetic. Her silver hair was cut shorter than Kyle’s (further proof that Kyle needed a haircut). Her attitude toward life was much like her son’s: that life is just a competition that needs to be won at all costs.
When Kyle got out, the first thing his father did was laugh, saying, “I told you I could do it in less than a day.”
She only laughed and said, “I didn’t say it wasn’t possible.”
“Yeah, you only said that you didn’t think I could do it,” Kyle’s father returned. Then they both laughed and hugged.
“It’s good to see you, Robert. And hello Kyle,” she said, hugging Kyle tightly. “My, you’re getting tall.”
“Thanks, Granma,” Kyle said, thinking if only he had a dollar for every time someone said that to him.
She kissed his cheek and said, “You’re lucky. Sometimes it is good to be tall.” With a final slap on his shoulder, she moved on to Sarah, commenting on her hair and how pretty she was getting.
After the initial greetings, Kyle and his father worked on unpacking and bringing stuff in while the ladies went inside to recover from the trip (Kyle could hear Sarah talking from the yard).
Kyle took his tent to the backyard, where he was going to sleep for the weekend. He unpacked the tent, laid out the material on a flat space with relatively few rocks and sticks, kicking out any that might be uncomfortable. He laid the three poles that formed the skeleton of the tent out in a separate pile outside of the circle Kyle just cleared. Kyle grabbed the first pole, unfolded it completely, and tried to thread it through the loops of the tent. It had been the first time Kyle tried to set this tent up by himself. He managed to get it through the first sleeve just fine, but when he tried to pull it through the second sleeve, he pulled it through the wrong one. When he tried to backtrack, the pole came apart and got itself caught in the sleeve. When he finally freed it, he made sure to slide the pole into the correct sleeve. It was frustrating, but at least the other two poles managed to slide in place without any problems.
Now that he had the tent together, all he had to do was make it three dimensional. Kyle had one end of the first pole attached and was having much difficulty getting the opposite side of the same pole to attach. After a while of struggling and cursing to himself, he finally managed to get the pole attached.
“Want some help?” said a voice from the back door. Kyle looked up to see his Granma watching him with interest. Kyle had a feeling she had been there for a while, watching him work.
Kyle considered it for a second before saying, “Yeah that would be great.”
Granma Foster’s help speeded things up greatly. Together, they were able to get the other two poles in place in no time at all. Kyle then moved his things inside, and Granma Foster brought out one of her sleeping bags, explaining why this particular one would be perfect for the temperature tonight: thick enough to keep one warm, yet it could breathe, as well. When Kyle was situated for the weekend, Granma Foster told him to go in and clean up for dinner.
Dinner consisted of chicken, mashed potatoes, fresh baked bread rolls, and cooked carrots. It was simple and fast, but very good after a day of traveling. Dinner conversations consisted of what Granma Foster had been doing these days, Sarah’s friends, Kyle’s writing for the school paper, Sarah’s opinions, how the weather had been lately both back home in Odessa and here in Colorado, and Sarah’s decisions on how the world should run. Sarah had a way of controlling a conversation.
After dinner, there was nothing else to do but talk. Granma didn’t watch any TV, saying that it was a huge waste of time. Instead, what she usually did was go into town with friends, or she stayed in and read. With family there, they all stayed in to catch up.
Kyle sat with his family, but didn
’t really contribute to conversation unless directly spoken to. Kyle was just happy to finally be on vacation, relishing the fact that he had only three years left until he was out of school completely. As of that point, however, he hadn’t really considered colleges, but he figured he still had plenty of time before he had to worry about that.
At half past eight, Kyle went to get a shower. Then he went out to the backyard, into his tent, where he stayed up reading till ten and fell asleep.
Kyle woke up to his tent shaking. It didn’t sound windy and he saw recognized a shadow next to the tent.
“Kyle, get up,” he heard his sister’s voice say. She still sounded asleep herself. She kept shaking the tent even after speaking.
“Alright, I’m up,” Kyle snapped, annoyed. Sarah finally stopped shaking the tent and walked away, allowing Kyle to get dressed and fix his hair. It was just a little chilly, so Kyle wore a long sleeved shirt and fresh jeans. He opened the tent, stepped out, and stretched to his full height. He stretched his arms out to their full length and rolled his shoulders and his neck in circles. Inside, bacon, eggs and toast were cooking; Kyle could smell them as he walked in the backdoor, which led to the kitchen. Granma Foster was at the stove flipping bacon while Dad and Sarah were sitting at the table, Dad with a cup of coffee in front of him, but otherwise awake. Granma Foster was perfectly awake, humming a little tune as she cooked. Kyle had always suspected certain behaviors were inherited.
“Good morning, Kyle,” Granma Foster said.
“Morning, Granma,” Kyle said as he sat at the table.
“Sleep well? It got a little chillier out last night than usual for this time of year.”
“I slept alright. That sleeping bag worked great.”
“Good,” she said, and handed him a plate loaded with food. When Mom came out of the bathroom and everyone was sitting, plans were made for what would be done for the day.
For the morning, there was basically free reign for whatever you wanted to do. Kyle wanted to explore the area around the house that Granma Foster owned. She agreed, only telling him not to jump any fences that he may come across. Granma Foster’s property went over part of a small wood going up the side of a mountain. Just past the edge of the backyard was the edge of the wood. Carrying only a bottle of water, Kyle entered the wood. Kyle was out for nearly two hours exploring the landscape. He checked under rocks, broke sticks off of trees that were in his way, and even crept up on a doe that was grazing in a small clearing. The forest was mostly oak trees, but of all sizes. Saplings dotted the ground, while there were some large ones that if Kyle could climb to their tops, he could probably see for miles around. Once Kyle found what he believed to be the largest tree in the forest, he sat under it to where it was blocking the breeze. He just listened to the forest. It was a little windy, but Kyle suspected that since was at a higher elevation from when he first set out this morning, but his jacket helped keep him warm. He heard birds singing and squirrels scampering through the trees and brush. It was amazingly easy to clear your mind with so much noise around you. He subconsciously decided to live out here once he had a chance. After about half an hour, he decided to head back before he fell asleep.
Mom and Dad wanted to treat Granma Foster to lunch in town. There was a Chili’s that Dad remembered passing on their way through town. Granma’s car, though, was not made for five people, so they were forced to take Dad’s truck, which could barely fit five people. Sarah had to sit in the middle, since she was the littlest person in the vehicle, but even she had to slouch if Dad wanted to see out of the back window. It was a good thing they decided to have late lunch, because the Chili’s was practically empty. Everyone got the signature ribs. They stayed there about an hour talking and eating.
They got home and just relaxed either reading or talking. That night however, was clear, and you could see all of the stars. After a while, the adults, too tired to stay up any longer, went inside to turn in, leaving Sarah and Kyle alone outside. It was the first time Kyle and Sarah had been alone together all weekend.
At first, they just sat in silence for a while, both looking at the sky as if hoping the other would become too tired to stay up any longer. Kyle stared at the sky, studying the stars and making his own little pictures in his mind. To him, they made the Apple logo, a hand, a bird and other random shapes he could think of.
Kyle could see out of the corner of his eye that Sarah was now looking down at her shoes. She had a look about her as if she was considering saying something. Kyle had a feeling that a conversation was just on the tip of her tongue, itching to get itself out. Truly, Kyle was surprised that Sarah had managed to hold the silence for as long as she had.
“Kyle?” her voice came, quieter than Kyle expected. Kyle could remember a time when Sarah hardly talked without asking questions only. She spoke with the same voice now that she had back then, when she would follow Kyle wherever he went. They were both little kids, and her tone brought back all of those memories. It brought back memories of them playing together in their backyard back home. They would ride their bikes up and down the street, read together and generally get along better than they did now. Sometimes Kyle missed those times, and wondered what happened to his relationship with his sister. He always reasoned that no matter what, he would have her back.
“Yeah, Sarah,” he said, turning to look at her. She looked uncomfortable with what she was about to say.
“What’s junior-high like?”
That wasn’t the first question Kyle was expecting to hear, but for that matter, he had no idea what he was supposed to expect.
“Well,” he answered, “It is a little different from elementary school, but what exactly do you mean?”
Her answer came out in record speed.
“Well, what’s it like? What are the teachers like? What will my friends be like? Will everything change? If not everything, what will change? Are eighth graders mean? Are the teachers mean? What is the cafeteria like? Do you have assigned seating or can you sit wherever you want in the classrooms? What happens when…”
“Whoa, slow down,” Kyle stopped her. When she finally took a breath, he looked her straight in the eye and said, “Slow down, calm down, and one at a time.”
When she finally calmed down, Kyle explained, “Junior-high is not that big of a deal. Yes, it is different, but it’s not the end of the world. The teachers aren’t ‘mean,’ but you have to pay attention more in classes. Also, you’ll have a teacher for each course, not one teacher that can somewhat teach all of them. Keep your friends close, too. Good friends are what you’re going to need if you want to survive. And I’ll tell you, if I didn’t have the twins by my side all of the time, I would probably be a very different person. Also, if you’re in an extracurricular activity, stick to it. It’ll give you friends even after junior-high. It’ll be fun, and you’ll do fine. It’s easier to get to know teachers. And in high school, there are teachers that you can get to know as friends, just as much as the upper classmen and the people in your own class. Oh, and some more advise, don’t bother trying to be a couple with someone while in junior-high. I’ve seen a lot of boys and girls who were best friends before seventh grade, and now they either don’t speak to each other or even hate each other. Junior-high is just a dirty mix of hormones.”
“Did you ever think about asking Julianne out then?” she asked.
Of all of the things people have ever asked Kyle, that one right there just became a contender for the top hardest question ever asked. He considered for a minute before saying, “I never thought about asking Jules out. I already see her and Justin as my family, and I always considered what Jules and I have to be as good as it gets.”
“You two do hang out a lot together,” she pointed out.
“We’re just friends, and her brother is my best friend. It’d be awkward,” he reasoned.
The conversation died after that, but Kyle couldn’t help but consider what his position with Jules was. She is Kyle’s closest frie
nd, and he did care about her, but then Justin was her twin brother. What would he think about them getting together? Kyle had known Justin quite literally as long as he had known Jules. But, Kyle was one of the few people Jules liked enough for him to call her by her full name, not that he did on a day to day basis. Kyle decided to drop the subject, and just in time for Sarah’s next question.
“What’s that?”
Kyle looked back to her and said, “What’s what?” She was looking back over the top of the house. Kyle followed her gaze until he saw something unusual.
Kyle had never seen a blue star before. It also seemed to constantly get brighter and brighter. Then, he heard a faint sound, like the sound of a supersonic Jet that’s far off but sounds as if it’s getting closer…
“GET DOWN,” he yelled. He yanked Sarah out of her chair and covered her with his as the sound grew louder and louder very fast. Sarah’s protests were drowned out by the sound, and she struggled a little bit. It also suddenly grew really bright, as if some giant blue sun illuminated the world. Kyle closed his eyes. The ground was shaking terribly; Kyle could feel his insides vibrate almost to the point of internal damage. He could feel something fly just above the house and with a deafening crash, it impacted the side of the mountain, probably not two miles from where they lay. Adding to that, a wall of air smacked into them. Kyle’s tent was sent flying, and since the door was open, its contents were scattered; his flashlight smacking him hard in the arm. If they hadn’t been lying on the ground, they probably would have been no better off than the tent. The patio furniture smacked into the side of the house, and Kyle heard all of the windows shatter on this side of the building.
And it was all over. As fast as it had all happened, it was done. From the time Kyle first spotted the thing in the sky to the aftermath of the impact, had lasted not even half a minute. Kyle looked up to see a light giant light coming from the impact mountain. Kyle jumped on the first thing that came to his mind, and picked up the flashlight that landed beside his hand.
Power Trilogy Book One: An Ancient Power Page 2
