by Lisa McMann
Once Charlie finished with her unpacking, she started on the containers marked Linen Closet, figuring there wasn’t much in them she could break. As their parents began carting some furniture inside, Andy returned to the garage. “Oooh, you moved all the feathers one at a time, and now you’ve graduated to washcloths. Congratulations!”
Charlie sighed impatiently as she opened a large plastic storage container of throw pillows. “Seriously, Andy. Shut it.” Her phone continued to vibrate like crazy in her pocket, so she stopped and yanked out the phone, remembering at the last moment to be gentle turning it off so she wouldn’t destroy it. It was growing increasingly frustrating to be so careful with every move.
“My mistake,” Andy said sarcastically. “Not washcloths. Pillows. Don’t break your back lifting too many of those—”
“Enough already!” Charlie impulsively grabbed a pillow and launched it at him. It whizzed through the air and struck Andy in the stomach, sending him soaring into a stack of boxes.
“Oof!” said Andy. The boxes were heavy. The top one slid and teetered, then fell off the pile. Files spilled out over the garage floor.
Charlie’s hand flew to her mouth, but she soon relaxed when she realized Andy wasn’t hurt.
Andy lay there for a minute, dazed, and then sat up and stared at her. “Sorry. Gosh.”
Charlie gaped and went over to him as heat pulsed around her wrist. And then a small smile tugged at her lips. “I warned you, ya little butt squeak,” she said. Holding back a laugh, she thought about throwing another pillow, but instead she carefully gathered up the files, straightened their contents, and put them back.
Talos Global—Charles’s Study, she read on the side of the box. Her dad’s old work stuff. She lifted the box and set it back on the stack. When everything was neatly put away again, she went back to the container of pillows and carried it—very delicately—into the house.
Maybe this bracelet was worth keeping after all.
CHAPTER 19
A Broken Promise
As mysteriously as the powers had come, they were gone. By Sunday Charlie was pretty sure that the bracelet was functioning only when it turned her arm warm, but she still didn’t know how to trigger it.
Andy had acquired a sudden new respect for his older sister, which was an added bonus because he stopped bugging her when he was bored. Charlie’s group text messages with her friends back in Chicago eventually lessened, and once Charlie had time to reply she had a lot of fun catching up with everyone. Chatting with them made her a little homesick, but it was nice to be able to tell them a little bit about where she lived now. Once she’d learned that none of them had sent the bracelet, Charlie called her grandma to see how she was doing, and ask if she had dropped the bracelet off.
But Grandma hadn’t done it either.
Charlie called Maria to update her. “Still no idea who gave this to me,” Charlie said, talking softly in her room so nobody would overhear.
“That’s so weird,” said Maria.
“Yeah,” said Charlie. “I found the garden toolboxes, so I’m going to try to cut the thing off this morning.” She nibbled at her bottom lip, wondering if her new friend wanted to get together but not quite daring to ask outright. “So, do you have a lot of stuff going on later?”
“We always have a big family lunch on Sundays,” said Maria. “My stepbrothers are here until three, then they go to their mom’s. I’m free after that. Want me to text you? Maybe we can hang out.”
“That would be great,” said Charlie happily.
“Cool, I’ll check in with you later!”
They hung up.
Charlie slunk around the house to see where everybody was. Andy was working on an old Lord of the Rings Lego set that he’d unearthed during the unpacking, which would keep him busy in his room for hours. Mom was at the hospital for who knew how long. And Dad was holed up in his study with the door closed, working on lesson plans for the coming week. Charlie finally had a chance to open the toolboxes and dig around to try to find something that would cut through the bracelet.
She found a wire cutter, but it barely left a scratch. In the crate of yard tools there was a branch cutter, but it didn’t do anything either. The stronger, more elaborate cutting tools she found were too big or too heavy to give Charlie a decent grip on their handles since she could only use one hand. Not to mention the blade points were sharp enough that they made her think twice about pressing them against her skin. She didn’t care how quickly she could heal—those suckers could really hurt if her grip slipped!
Out of options, she gave up. The bracelet would have to stay. Despite its disasters, Charlie had also seen some of its benefits, like keeping Andy in check. So she wasn’t totally disappointed about it. Maybe it could help her in other ways, too, if she could ever figure out how it worked.
With no homework to do and Maria busy for at least another hour, Charlie grabbed her soccer ball and went to the vacant football stadium near school to run drills and to see if she could activate the bracelet. But no matter how hard she tried to get her speed ability to turn on, it wasn’t happening.
After a while Charlie’s cell phone vibrated. It was a text from Maria. “Come to my house! Let’s do some research.” A second text gave Maria’s address and directions on how to get there.
Charlie studied the directions, oriented herself, and realized she was almost halfway there already. Research, huh? she wondered. She wasn’t sure what Maria had in mind, but she was curious to find out.
She dribbled the soccer ball to the path, texting her dad as she went along to let him know where she’d be. When he gave the okay, Charlie picked up her pace and soon found herself in a neighborhood on the other side of the school, walking up the driveway to Maria’s house.
She rang the doorbell. There was a series of thumps coming from inside, and then an intense amount of barking. Maria opened the door and commanded two large dogs to sit. They obeyed, unlike Jessie, who didn’t bark much but always jumped on people. Charlie wasn’t positive what kind they were, but she thought the brown-and-black one looked like it was part German shepherd, and the other had the distinct red coat and floppy ears of an Irish setter.
“Come on in!” Maria said. In a softer voice she asked, “Are you doing okay? Anything horrible happen since I saw you last?”
Charlie put a fist out for the dogs to sniff and showed Maria her cell phone. “You could say that.”
“Yikes,” Maria said. “How’d you do that?”
Charlie grimaced. “Turning off my alarm yesterday morning.”
“You broke your screen just touching it?” Maria asked. “No luck cutting the bracelet off, I see.”
“Nope.” Charlie looked around Maria’s house. It was cozy and warm, painted in a palette of browns and tans, and furnished with the kind of traditional Southwest design that Charlie was still trying to get used to: horseshoes and cowboy hat throw pillows, brown leather furniture, small potted cacti. As Maria led Charlie through the house, she could hear the clatter of pots and pans. The warm scent of spices lingered in the air. They entered the kitchen, where three adults were cleaning up on the other side of a large island.
“Mamá,” said Maria with a hint of an accent. “This is my new friend, Charlie, I told you about.” She straightened and pushed in the bar stools as she talked. “Charlie, this is my mom, Maytée; my stepdad, Ken; and my grandmother, Yolanda.”
The older woman said something to Maria that Charlie couldn’t understand.
“Si, Abuela,” said Maria. She turned to Charlie. “Grandma’s visiting from Puerto Rico.”
“We’re so pleased to meet you,” said Maria’s mother, who was very pretty and looked like a grown-up Maria. Her hair was black and silky, and hung straight down to the middle of her back.
“Pleased to meet you,” echoed Maria’s equally striking grandmother with a bright smile and a heavy accent. She waved her dish towel in greeting.
“Welcome,” said Ken warmly. “Are you hungry?
We have leftovers—unless Mac ate them all.”
“Oh,” said Charlie, pleased and a little overwhelmed by how friendly Maria’s family was. “Thank you! I already ate lunch. It’s nice to meet you too.”
“Come on,” said Maria. “I’ll show you my room.” She ushered Charlie through the dining room and down a hallway to the last door on the left, and hesitated in front of it. She touched the handle but didn’t open it. “Um . . . there’s something I should probably tell you. I hope you don’t mind,” she said, looking guilty.
“Mind what?” asked Charlie.
Maria pushed open the door, and Charlie looked inside. Mac was sitting at Maria’s desk, holding an iPad.
Charlie was confused. Why would Maria think she’d mind Mac being there? But then her lips parted, and a wave of dread came over her. She gripped the doorframe and turned to Maria, fire in her eyes. “Did you tell him?” she whispered. She could feel the wood starting to give way under her fingertips.
Maria bit her lip and nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry. I hope you’re not too mad.”
Mac turned around in the chair. “Hey, Charlie,” he said.
Mad? Charlie was absolutely furious. Betrayed by the only person who knew the truth—her friend who said she could keep a secret, not tell the whole world! The bracelet grew hot on her forearm as a jumble of emotions built up inside her. She closed her eyes and, with effort, loosened her grip on the cracking doorframe and clenched her fists at her sides. She couldn’t destroy anything else. Not even the house of a traitor.
CHAPTER 20
Maria Has a Plan
“Back out in the hallway,” Charlie ordered, glaring at Maria.
They stepped outside the bedroom door, and Maria closed it. She spoke quietly, the clatter of dishes in the background reminding them both of the nearness of grown-ups. “I know you’re mad. But listen—”
“No, you listen,” Charlie said in a harsh whisper. “What were you thinking? What if he tells other people? My life will be ruined!” Tears stung her eyes, which made her even angrier. “Jeez, Maria—don’t you know it’s hard enough being new here? Now everyone will know I’m a freak. I thought you were my friend.” She turned away and covered her eyes with her hand, trying to maintain control of herself. But it was hard. She really liked Maria, but now all she wanted was to go back home to Chicago and never see these people again. “What a disaster,” she whispered, slumping against the wall. “I hate it here.”
“Oh, Charlie!” Maria started to reach out her hand to comfort her but then clearly thought the better of it and pulled back. She pursed her lips, her face filled with regret. After waiting respectfully to make sure Charlie was finished speaking, she cleared her throat. “Charlie,” she said earnestly, “I promise you Mac won’t tell anyone. And I only told him about the bracelet and the weird powers because he can help us.”
“Us?” Charlie asked, her voice full of contempt.
“You, I mean, obviously.” Maria shook her head, frustrated with herself. “I’m really sorry I hurt your feelings. And I’m also really sorry I didn’t check with you first before talking to Mac. I should have.”
“No kidding,” Charlie muttered.
“I’m totally the worst.”
Charlie hesitated. “Yes. You totally are.”
“I’m worse than a barrel full of peas. Squeaky ones.”
Charlie made a noise. It almost sounded like a laugh, but she quickly snarled to cover it. “Yes, you’re much worse than that.”
Maria let out a breath. “Won’t you peas forgive me?”
Charlie groaned.
“Because seriously, Mac won’t tell anybody. I promise. And we really do need him.”
Charlie was quiet for a long moment. “To get the bracelet off, you mean?”
“Maybe. Or at least figure out what it is and why it has this crazy effect on you. And maybe even try to hack it.”
Charlie peeked at Maria. “Do you think he can?”
She nodded. “He’s the best. You’ve seen him—people pay him to do junk like this. Only of course he’ll help you for free.”
Charlie blew out a breath. Maria had a point. “All right,” she said, resigned. “I guess there’s nothing we can do about it now. We can’t untell him.” She slid her forefingers under her eyes in case any of her tears had leaked out, and sighed. “Let’s do this.”
Maria smiled. “You’re awesome.” She opened her bedroom door. “Yo, Mac. Come on. We’re going out to the shed.”
Without a word, Mac grabbed his iPad, tucked it under his arm, and followed the girls out through the back door to a little shed in the yard.
“Welcome to my hideout,” Maria said. The shed smelled faintly of motor oil. In one corner was an old lawn mower and a gas can with a funnel on the spout. In another, three bikes of various sizes. There was a workbench with several cupboards on the wall above it and a number of tool drawers below, and a tidy desk area with a lamp and a recycled soup can for pencils.
Maria pulled out the desk chair for Mac to sit in, then rummaged around for another item for Charlie to use as a chair.
Mac sat down and laid his iPad on the table as he responded to a text message on his phone. In the awkward silence, Charlie glanced at the tablet. He had the Animal Planet website up and a Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet tab open. Another tab read “12 Secret iPhone Hacks.” His search bar had the question “When is Shark Week?” in it. Charlie raised an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest.
Maria returned with a rectangular wooden crate and set it on end next to Mac. “Here you go,” she said.
Charlie perched on top of it. Mac set his phone on the desk and looked at the girls.
“Okay,” Maria said. “First of all, Mac, can you please promise that you won’t tell anyone about Charlie’s bracelet or about the strange things that are happening to her? Or about anything we discuss or discover here today or in the future?”
“Yeah, sure,” Mac said.
“Say it,” Maria prompted.
Mac gave her a slightly annoyed look but turned to Charlie. “I won’t tell anybody anything about any of this. I promise. And,” he added, “I think it’s actually pretty cool you’ve got these powers.”
Charlie gave him a hard look, then nodded, satisfied. “Okay. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Can I see it now?”
“What?”
“The bracelet. I need to see it.”
“Oh,” said Charlie. She stretched out her arm and rested it on the table next to Mac’s iPad. He snapped a couple of pictures with it, then pulled out his cell phone and took a few more, zooming in and using features on his camera phone that Charlie had never seen before. “Flip your arm over, will you?” he asked.
Charlie did it. Mac took more photos. He lifted his head and glanced around. “You got any more light in here, Maria? This flash isn’t doing it.”
Maria reached for the flexible work lamp from the corner of the desk and brought it as far as its cord would reach. She flipped the switch, and light flooded the area. Mac took a few more pictures, and then he narrowed his eyes and studied the etchings. “What’s the pentagon symbol all about?”
“I don’t know,” said Charlie.
“It looks like a logo inside. Are those letters? It’s like a letter T and a . . . a C. Or is that an O?” Mac twisted Charlie’s wrist, holding it to the light. “Maybe it’s just a circle,” he muttered.
“Ow,” said Charlie.
“Sorry.” Mac straightened her arm and examined the dark screen, then tapped it. “Does this work?”
“No.”
Mac looked at the buttons on the side. He pressed one, then another, then two at once. Nothing happened. He pushed the remaining buttons in much the same manner, then continued without any pattern at all.
Charlie watched him. “You’re just pressing them randomly.”
Mac looked up. “Yeah. So? Did you try that already?”
“Not really,” Charlie admitted.
“Okay then. I don’t tell you how to play soccer, now do I? You got me?” He continued.
Charlie made a face.
Maria shrugged. “He really is the most tech-smart person I know,” she said.
“Yeah, he’s really something,” Charlie said drily.
Mac ignored them and kept messing with the buttons.
Charlie looked around the shed. “Do you do your homework in here?” she asked Maria. It was kind of cool to have a quiet place like this to go to. It was like a secret little house.
“Sometimes. I’ve got three stepbrothers, so when they’re here, the house gets a little crowded. It’s complicated—don’t ask.” Maria hopped up on the table nearby.
“They’re cool,” Mac said, not looking up from his task. “We hang out.”
Maria nodded. “True. Mac’s here practically more than I am.”
“That’s nice,” said Charlie. She was getting bored, and it was weird having Mac pawing at her arm and breathing all over it. “I just have a younger brother,” she said. “I hit him with a pillow yesterday. Threw it so hard he flew backward into a stack of boxes.”
“No way,” said Mac. He looked up.
“Seriously?” Maria asked.
“Yeah.” Charlie laughed a little, remembering.
Maria and Mac looked at each other, and Mac raised an eyebrow.
“What?” Charlie asked.
“Nothing if I can’t get this thing to work,” Mac said. He kept pushing buttons, and then he pressed two of them and held them down.
“And what happens if you can?”
Mac didn’t answer—he was counting under his breath as he held the buttons. Maria just shrugged, but she looked like she was hiding something.
Charlie frowned, wondering what they were plotting. But she didn’t have much time to spend thinking about it, because a moment later, Mac gasped.
“Whoa!” he breathed. “Check it out.” As Maria and Charlie bent toward him to look at the bracelet, he read the message that now scrolled on the screen:
CHIMERA MARK FIVE . . . DEFENSE MODE INITIATED . . . KEY IN ACCESS CODE TO DEACTIVATE.
