by Rachel Jonas
My strength and speed weren’t normal and I was too concerned about saving her to also worry about hiding it. I was pretty sure she noticed, even if she didn’t know how to bring it up or what to make of it. Between the videos she’d seen of me versus Maddox’s truck, and now this, her mind had to be reeling.
‘A whole week off from school while they make repairs… nice, right?’ I read her message with a laugh.
‘I heard and I’ll take it. Sleeping in every morning and not having practice is gonna spoil me.”
She sent back a smiley face.
Richie said damage around town was minimal, aside from a few historical structures that took a beating, much like C-Building had. His unit was dispatched to put out a small fire, too, caused by some of the aftershocks, but we were lucky. Despite being so ill-prepared for this type of disaster, no lives were lost today.
Rotating my phone in my hands while I thought, I remembered Roz and I were supposed to talk today after the practice that never happened. With everything that went on, I nearly forgot.
Her line rang a few times before she answered and, when she did, she sounded busy, picking up with a distracted, “Hello?”
My eyes wandered out my window, toward the glow of yellow light filtering through Evie’s curtains.
“Hey, did I catch you at a bad time?” I asked.
Roz sighed on the other end. “Not terrible. What’s up?” She could never just be agreeable. Don’t think she had it in her.
“Well, I figured we could talk about the stuff we went over earlier, but, first, you’re cool after the craziness today, right?”
She snickered. “Thanks for asking, but, yeah, I’m cool. I think we were all a little shaken up—no pun intended. I’ve just decided to turn all that negative energy into positive, so I’ll be dedicating more of my time to research.”
That didn’t surprise me. Seemed like research was her thing, which was why I came to her in the first place.
“Finding anything good?” I asked.
I heard her fingers pecking away at her keyboard, moving across them at light speed.
“Eh, not yet, but I’m working on it. And thanks to having this week off from school, I’ll have plenty of time for that.”
I smiled. “So, you heard about that, too.”
“Yeah, probably a little before everyone else,” she replied. “You know… with my dad being a cop and all.”
It was the same here with us hearing the news from Richie long before the school-issued, mass email and phone recording that was sent out to all parents.
“Do you ever talk to your dad about the things you believe in?” I asked, acknowledging to myself that I didn’t even fully know what she believed in. Just that she was openminded to these things like I was and that she was on a mission to find out more.
“Are you kidding me?” she laughed. “It’s kinda hard to fit all my theories into the fifty-seven-second conversations I have with him in the morning before I leave for school and he crashes on the couch. His schedule doesn’t leave much time for chitchat.”
Her explanation made me feel bad for asking. My parents worked, too, but apparently not as many hours as Roz’s did.
“And before you ask the same about my mom, I should tell you she’s not around. She died when I was born.”
The words left her mouth with a chill, like she didn’t feel a single thing when she spoke them.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” was the only thing I could think to say.
She continued to type in the background. “No big. I never met her, so I don’t carry the sadness around with me like most kids who lose their moms do. I mean… yeah, I’d choose to have her here versus not having her here, but… I’m good,” she concluded in that stoic tone of hers.
I nodded to myself, wondering if I’d ever met anyone like her—anyone so disconnected, so icy. It would’ve been more natural for me to continue on with the ‘getting to know you’ portion of the conversation a little longer, but I got the feeling Roz was used to just getting right to the point. So, that’s what I did.
“What can you tell me about what happened to me a couple weekends ago?”
Her fingers seemed to stop moving. This was apparently a subject matter that interested her enough to garner her full attention.
“Well, for starters, I know you and I should both be dead right now. That truck should have mowed over you first before coming to flatten me. I know there’s something going on with you,” she added, sounding as though she was making her way down a mental list. “…but I can honestly say I have no clue what that something is.” She paused before adding, “However… I have a few theories.”
I leaned deeper into my desk chair. “Like…?” I was admittedly curious if one of her guesses would be right.
She breathed into the phone, maybe wishing she’d kept that part to herself so she wouldn’t have to share. “I’ll only tell you under one condition.”
I smiled a bit. “Name it.”
“You can’t laugh and you can’t think I’m crazy.”
“That’s two conditions, but agreed.” If she only knew the things I’d recently begun to believe myself, she wouldn’t have even bothered with the disclaimer.
Another deep breath. “An angel,” she said first. I almost broke one of the rules already when a laugh threatened to slip out. She clearly didn’t know me very well if that even made the list.
“I’ve also considered the possibility of you being a vamp or a chimera of some sort,” she went on, “but none of those really fit, considering.”
“Considering what?”
“So many things,” she sighed. “Those ideas explain the strength and speed, but this is bigger than just you.”
Before calling her, I was getting tired, but now I was wide awake.
“Ok, so, I know I’m a bit overanalytical sometimes,” she went on, “but, on occasion it actually pays off. I’ve connected a lot of dots over the last few months and… here’s what I’ve got.”
I was literally on the edge of my seat now, leaning forward with my elbows resting on my knees. “I’m listening.”
“We’ll start with your stuff—speed, strength, indestructability. Then there’s all the strange weather and natural disasters, today’s quake included. And, let’s be honest, things in Seaton Falls are a little off, too. Our kids, for instance—our boys all look like huge, corn-fed, farmhands, with very few under six-feet tall.”
I smiled at her choice of words, picturing my brothers and I all standing side by side in overalls with pieces of straw hanging out our mouths. We’d been known to take up quite a bit of space in a room, so she had a valid point.
“And, I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but a lot of our girls are freakishly strong. No, they don’t have the size and height, per se, but I’ve spent enough time with Beth and her friends to notice they’ve got man-sized strength in those small frames.”
“Are you saying you think there’s something going on with Beth, too?”
Roz hesitated on that one. I guess it was because, even though they didn’t seem all that close, they were family. “…I’ve considered it. And, if I’m right, I think she knows a lot about what’s going on around here. Like… she’s keeping secrets.”
I mulled that over for a bit, trying to think back to if I noticed anything. Or if I heard Lucas mention anything since he’s made a career out of watching her as much as legally permitted. Nothing came to mind, but I was sure I’d be watching her now, too.
“So, according to your theory, our entire generation here in Seaton Falls is… something other than human?”
She breathed into the phone, sounding annoyed. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I didn’t say all the kids just… a lot of them.”
“Then wouldn’t that mean our parents are keeping secrets, too?”
Roz was thoughtful for a moment before answering. “Sure seems that way.”
My brow quirked. “What do you mean? What have you noti
ced?”
She hesitated again, just like she did when I inquired about Beth. “My dad’s been weird lately. For the past two weeks, he’s acting even shiftier than usual. Then, today, he jumped up off the couch like the house was on fire. On his way out the door, he said something about an appointment, and then he was gone. And I’ve been around the man long enough to know when he’s lying and, tonight, he told me a bold-faced one. What kind of appointment could he possibly have to go to this late?”
“Are you sure it wasn’t a date?” I asked.
I could practically see her rolling her eyes through the phone. “No, Prince Nick, it wasn’t a date. My dad doesn’t do dates.”
I noted that there was slightly less snark behind the insult than usual.
My parents had left with similar urgency tonight, around eight o’clock. They used the excuse that the Riley’s from down the street had invited them out for a last-minute dinner. I already knew better than to believe a word they said because of the conversation I overheard a few days ago. But even if I’d known nothing, I would have been suspicious, seeing as how they’ve hated the Riley’s since as far back as I could remember.
It felt wrong not giving Roz a lead on this one. She’d been freely sharing her info with me, so, before I could stop myself, I blurted two words: “The Council.”
“What… council?”
I shrugged as if she was sitting there with me to see it. “That’s all I know. I overheard my parents mention it in the heat of an argument Friday night. They said something about The Council holding mandatory meetings starting this week, Monday. Today.”
She was quiet for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. “I’ll look into it. Anything else I should be digging up?”
It was hard to narrow it down to any one thing, with all the questions the conversation with my brothers dredged up. The most pressing thing had to be that I was somehow different from them.
“Since you asked, if you can find anything significant about the link between the autumnal equinox and harvest moon landing on the same day, that could be helpful. Specifically, what happens when someone’s born on that day.”
Roz was quiet for a moment, but, thankfully, didn’t press for more details. “K, anything else?”
There was one last thing I needed her to look up, something a bit more sensitive in nature, something I couldn’t elaborate on.
“Can you also see what you find on a person or a… a being… that smells like smoke?” It felt strange referring to Evie in that way, as a being, but I was beginning to come to terms with the idea of nothing being quite what it seemed. Apparently, most of the ‘people’ around me weren’t really people at all.
It hadn’t left me how concerned my mother was about me being around Evie, either. And I wanted to know why. What did she suspect?
“Ohhh… For your girl. Got it,” Roz said matter-of-factly, making my heart sink when she made the connection. I was completely silent, which made Roz laugh into the phone. “Don’t worry, Your Highness, I’m like a locked box when it comes to secret keeping, so relax.”
I know, in her mind, that should have comforted me, but it didn’t. The last thing I wanted to do was drag Evie into any of this.
“And if you’re wondering how I knew,” Roz added, “…I’ve smelled it, too.”
I didn’t confirm or deny Roz’s assumption that I was talking about Evie, which also meant I couldn’t address the fact that, if she smelled it, maybe she was something, too. I had no reference point to say whether regular humans could pick up on another beings’ scent, but I was almost positive that was exclusive to those of us with ‘abilities’. It wasn’t like cigarettes or burning wood or anything offensive. It was something else. Something I couldn’t place.
“I’ll look into it, but I’ve gotta go. Research and whatnot,” she said. “But I’m assuming I’ll see you at the party tomorrow night?”
I heard about it, but wasn’t sure I wanted to go. Some idiot from my team thought it’d be a good idea to throw an End of the World Party in light of recent events. While no lives were lost, it still seemed in poor taste to me.
Any excuse to party…
“Maybe. Maybe not,” I replied. “I’m kinda surprised you’ll be there, though.” She seemed a little lowkey to be popping up at all the events I’d seen her at lately.
“With my uncle paying me so handsomely to be Beth’s wheels until she gets her own back, I’ll be wherever the money leads me,” she laughed.
“Well, before you go, you never came out and told me your final theory on what you think I, and the other kids, might be. Give it to me straight.”
“Well, when I take all the facts into account, including the latest reports—the sound in the woods, the howling—I think I might know what we’re dealing with.”
I waited and laughed when she didn’t spit it out. “You’ve gotta stop with the dramatic cliffhangers.”
She stammered a few times before finally tossing the word out there, letting me in on what she’d been keeping to herself. “…Werewolves.”
While, I now knew the term was politically incorrect—if that’s even a thing in this instance—she was still on the right track.
“So, I’m assuming you’ve read the blog post, too,” I commented, since she brought up the sounds in the woods.
“Why would you assume that?” she asked.
My brow tensed when her question confused me. “Or… were you one of the witnesses?”
The sound of laughter rang through the phone again. Something I said had apparently been funnier than I realized. “Okay, so, I think we need to start over.”
I had no clue what that meant, starting over.
“Prince Nick, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Rozalind Chadwick, but to closeted nerds in the greater Seaton Falls area, I’m also known as ChadTheUnscensoredOne.”
I had absolutely no words. In my naivety, I assumed the author of Behind the Falls was a guy. Well, my naivety and Roz’s choice of name, but the bottom line was, I didn’t see this coming. It made sense that her tenacity matched the tone of the blog, but… I just didn’t realize we were acquainted long before the day she approached me in the hallway.
“Now we both know a secret about the other—you know the face behind the blog,” she said, sounding like there was still a laugh in her voice, “and I know your girlfriend’s not what she appears to be.”
I was quiet.
“I’ll keep yours as long as you keep mine.” There was an undertone of jesting in Roz’s words, but I would assume nothing. I’d keep everything we discussed here tonight between us.
The line went dead and it took me a moment to wrap my mind around her confession. I made a mental note to go back to the blog’s archives to reread old posts, wondering if there were ever hints or clues that the author was even a student at Seaton Prep. While I was sure she’d been careful to cover her tracks, there had to be some sort of breadcrumbs leading back to her.
I gave the party thing a little more consideration, too. Much more than I had earlier. Mostly because I wanted to observe people now that I’d come into more info. My brothers spoke of a clan here in Seaton Falls, but I was starting to get the impression I underestimated its size. I was starting to get the impression many of my friends and classmates were a part of it whether they realized it or not.
And, according to Roz, it sounded like a few did. Like Beth.
Going to this party would also give me an excuse to hang out with Evie again if she agreed to go—assuming she wasn’t too turned off by the tasteless theme. So, without overthinking it any more than I already had, I texted her. She answered back quickly with her ‘Yes!’ and it made me smile.
It was official. I’d go the party and look at my classmates with new vision, a clearer picture of who they were, who we were as a unit. If Roz was right and there was something bigger going on, there might come a time when we’d all have to band together for a greater cause.
When and if that day came, I
wanted to see it coming. Hopefully, with Roz’s help, I could figure this thing out and protect the ones I cared about.
All of them.
—
Chapter Twenty —
Evie
Either my shower was too hot or I was coming down with something. Whatever the case, I couldn’t seem to cool down. I made the mistake of telling my mom about it and the first thing that came to her mind was, with C-Building being so old, when it collapsed yesterday, I could have breathed in some mystery substance that was making me feel ill.
I was only about seventy-five-percent sure she was wrong, but I was one-hundred-percent sure it wouldn’t stop me from going to this party.
Not in a million years.
If I had to chomp on ice all night to stay cool, I’d do it.
I looked myself over in the mirror, giving the jean cut-offs I wore a tug after adjusting the straps of my blue and gray, striped tank. I had no clue if this was what you wear to an end-of-the-world-party or not, but, after changing five times, I was over it.
Watching from my bedroom window, I bolted the second I saw Nick exit his house. I breezed down the stairs, kissing my parents on the cheek as I cradled a gray hoodie in the bend of my elbow, carrying my purse crosswise over my torso. I had everything and wouldn’t give my parents a chance to interact with Nick this time. Not after my dad’s weirdness last Friday. Instead, the second Nick lifted his finger toward the bell, I snatched the door open, greeting him with a smile. The one he offered in return made me feel like lava ran through my veins, making me even warmer than I already was.
“Hey, ready?” he asked. There was a twinge of excitement in his voice and I felt the same thing. Happened every time we hung out or got close to each other.
I nodded, pulling the door closed behind me. We crossed the yard to his driveway again, just like last time, but tonight we were taking a black Audi. I’d seen his dad pull in driving it a few times—always at the end of a work day, I assumed. Inside was spotless, not a stitch of trash, not a speck of lint or dirt on the carpet. I almost didn’t want to put my feet down.
