Generations I: Book of Enlightenment

by Mia Castile

  The game was very exciting and of course their team won. I had a feeling they would. After it was over, Ben and Zeke ran to where Hanna and I were cleaning up wrappers and cups from everyone around us.

  “Great game, boys.” She hugged them both.

  “Thanks,” they said in unison.

  “Zeke, this is Ellie,” Ben added.

  “Finally, we meet,” he said, as he extended his hand. Confused, I took it. It was like a shock of electricity shot up my arm. I pulled my hand away.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said softly and quickly sat down.

  “Well, we have to go change and then there’s a celebratory party at Parker’s house.” As I sat there trying to make sense of what was happening, Ben was talking to his mom, but he kept looking at me, concerned. Zeke’s equally concerned gaze was on me too.

  “Just be home at a decent hour. Call me when you’re leaving.”

  “Mom, you’re so overprotective,” Ben said as he put his arm around her.

  “And you’re so under-deodorized,” Hanna snapped back and slapped his stomach. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll wait with Ellie until you get back.” While we waited, I called Gideon. He was still working. Then he and Moriah were going to go to a late movie.

  The boys emerged sparkling clean thirty minutes later, and we all walked to the parking lot together. Ben and Zeke threw their bags into their mom’s SUV and said goodbye. Hanna hugged me too. It was very warm to be treated like that by an adult other than Nancy. It had been a long time. Ben threw his arm around my shoulders as we walked to their car. I looked at Zeke, but he looked away.

  “Are you ready to party your little ass off?” he laughed.

  “You first,” I replied as we reached the car. Zeke went to the driver’s side. Ben opened the door and popped the seat forward. Before I could climb in back, he was already stretched across the entire seat. I pushed the seat back and climbed in myself. Zeke started the car. The music rocked from the dash, but it wasn’t as loud as the car’s engine.

  “We eat first; I’m starving.” Zeke laughed at his brother in the rearview mirror.

  “Zeke, that last goal was awesome, man! We were in the zone today.” Ben ignored his statement.

  “Your last block was awesome. You were in the zone, brother.” He smiled a gorgeous smile at me. I caught my breath and couldn’t help but smile back at him. We went to a trendy chain restaurant where the waitress was overly excited about the fact that we were seated in her section. Zeke and Ben didn’t seem to notice. They ordered a steak dinner each while I ordered a smaller steak dinner. They kept going over play by play of their championship game. I sat there for most of the dinner, silently agreeing every so often to assure them that I was listening.

  “Right, Ellie?” Ben would ask when they paused and looked at me,

  “Uh-huh,” I’d answer excitedly as I moved my food around on my plate. I wasn’t very hungry. I could be a good actress when I needed to be. Zeke’s eyes would linger on me, which made me even more self-conscious and less hungry. When it came time to pay, they split the bill and wouldn’t let me pay my part. We loaded back into Zeke’s car. I tried to climb into the back seat, but Ben made me sit in the front again.

  “I don’t bite,” Zeke whispered under his breath as we buckled our seatbelts, our faces inches from each other. He smiled and added, “I promise.” I leaned back, and Ben popped his head forward between the seats.

  “This is your legacy, brother. You’re the captain of the first team to win the state championship since.” He paused and looked between us. Then he finished, “Since Mom and Dad graduated in ’88. I hope I can fill your shoes next year.”

  “You’re going to do it. I believe in you. I’m still gonna be around to give advice. Trust me on that, brother.” Zeke shifted in his seat, reading something in Ben’s expression as he watched him in the rearview mirror. But then he just smiled.

  We arrived at the party. It was at a huge brick mansion. There were already drunken kids everywhere. We climbed out of the car. Ben almost leapt out. He was halfway up the yard before he realized Zeke and I were following up the hill at a slower pace. He turned and came back to us.

  “Come on, slowpokes!” He stepped in between us and put his arms around us both. “We’re state champs.” He couldn’t contain his excitement. He headed on up to the front stoop where some of his friends were already gathering.

  “He really gets into his sports,” Zeke smiled and shook his head.

  “Yeah, I couldn’t tell.”

  “She’s pretty and funny.” He looked down at the ground.

  “I wouldn’t picture you as the shy one. You’re the captain of your team.” I was very surprised.

  “Well, you have an effect on people, I guess. Ben goes nuts over you, and I go super shy.”

  “Well, Ben’s nuts, with capital nuts,” I laughed.

  “So I’ve heard,” he smiled.

  Chapter 14

  We went inside the house, but Ben was nowhere in sight. We stood in a large entryway with a large chandelier and a dual staircase that rounded to the center of the foyer. A hall rounded to the left, with a large sitting room on that side and a large dining room on the right. I was amazed. I’d never seen a home so large or so fancy. I was in awe. I must have had stars in my eyes because Zeke just smiled at me once more, mesmerizing me.

  “Do you want a drink?” Zeke leaned in to speak in my ear. My heart skipped. I knew his scent; it was so familiar.

  “Yeah, whatever is fine,” I said shakily. He went to the kitchen through the dining room. As soon as he entered, there was a roar of cheers. I had to laugh as I leaned against the wall by the front door. Suddenly, there beside me was Ben holding two cold beers. He handed me one. He already looked a little tipsy.

  “Drink up. Tonight’s the night.” I had no idea what he meant by that. Some of his teammates came over with some girls, and he introduced them to me. I couldn’t remember their names as soon as they were said, but they all seemed nice. This was so foreign to me. I was never the one who hung out with the jocks and cheerleaders. The crowd disbursed and left Ben and me standing there with two girls and a guy. The girls were looking me up and down as the guys were talking about the game. Another boy ran up and insisted they go help him fix the beer keg. Ben was done with his beer and I’d only sipped mine, so he took it from my hand and chugged it. “I’ll be back.”

  “So which one are you into?” the sultry brunette asked stiffly.

  “I’m sorry?” I was surprised at her bluntness.

  “We’ve watched you with both of them. Which one are you into?” She stood there with her hands on her hips.

  “Look, they’re high commodity at our school. They don’t date a lot of girls,” the blond snapped.

  “Ben dates, but Zeke hasn’t dated anyone since the middle of last year, and she didn’t even go to our school. Uugghh,” the brunette corrected her.

  “It doesn’t matter; Zeke is the hotter one anyway. He’s the one we care about,” the blond retorted.

  “Look.” My finger went up in their faces. Where was this attitude coming from? Maybe I was just trying to fake out the fakers. “I don’t know you. It’s none of your business who I’m into.”

  “Well, we’re just saying. Maybe YOU don’t know who you’re into, but you ARE into one of them.” The brunette looked me up and down again as they both turned and walked away. I sighed and leaned back against the wall. Neither Ben nor Zeke were in sight. I wanted to just leave but decided it would be a long walk home. Instead, I chose to make a quick round to see if I could find one or both of them. Maybe they could take me home. There were kids everywhere—dancing, making out, playing drinking games, and talking too loud to each other. I went out the back door by the pool. People were swimming and lounging. It was pretty much just like the teen movies I’d watched. I never thought I’d see something like that. I sat down on a lounge chair and leaned back. I was out of my league here. I watched the door, willing one of them
to come through it. Then there he was. He spotted me and came over with two drinks.

  “Where’d you go? I was looking everywhere for you.” He sat down beside me and handed me a soda. I was relieved.

  “I had to get out of there,” Zeke smiled and nodded his head

  “It’s more peaceful out here. Do you want to get out of here?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He helped me stand up, and we went back inside.

  “I need to find Ben so we can go.” We went room to room, but no one knew where he was. Then we went upstairs, and Zeke started knocking on doors and opening them. I stayed in the hall. The first room was a no. The second, third, and fourth room held no Ben. We got to the fifth bedroom. Zeke knocked and opened the door. It was dark, but we heard voices whispering. He turned on the light and there, on the master bed, lay Ben and the blond girl that had interrogated me earlier. They were both in their underwear. Ben glared at me. My jaw dropped because for someone who was so into me, he sure was getting naked with that girl.

  “Sorry, man. Ellie wants to go home.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, brother,” he spit the words out. “I’ll find my own way.” He began kissing her again, so Zeke backed us out of the room and shut the door. He turned to me and grabbed my hand. He dragged me behind him as I stared back at the door, not believing my eyes. “It’s better my mom didn’t see him in this condition anyway.” He led me down the stairs and out the front door. We walked across the huge lawn in silence, still holding hands. I kept looking at our hands. When we got to the car, he opened my door. After I sat down, he shut the door. He came around, climbed in, started the car, and pulled out on the street. I leaned my head back against the head rest. It had been a long day. I was glad that it would be over soon. I was still processing the sight of Ben and the hurt of his betrayal.

  “What are you thinking about so intensely over there?” He reached for my hand again. I gave it to him.

  “Stuff,” was all I could muster because I was suddenly very angry with Ben.

  “Don’t let tonight’s impression of Ben be all that stays with you.”

  “Do you dream when you sleep at night?” I changed the subject, not wanting to discuss Ben anymore. He had made his choice, and it wasn’t me. Besides I had to find out if I was crazy or not.

  “Yeah, I think everyone does. Why?” His eyes never left the road.

  “Just wondering. . . Do you remember your dreams?”

  “Where are you going with this?” he asked cautiously.

  “Nothing; it’s stupid. Nevermind.” I looked out the window.

  “Sometimes I dream about a girl. Sometimes I rescue her; sometimes she rescues me.” I looked at him. I wanted to scream, “Stop beating around the bush!” He pulled over in a parking space beside a city park.

  “Do you want to go on a walk?” he asked as he turned off the ignition. I was confused.

  “Yeah, let’s go for a walk,” I replied flatly. He got out, and I opened the door. He took my hand as he helped me out of the seat. He didn’t let go of it. It was a beautiful night, and we walked in silence for a while.

  “I have been really excited about getting the chance to finally meet you, you know.” It was as if he were carefully picking his words. “Even though we’ve just met, I feel like I’ve known you before.”

  “What did you say to Ben at halftime today?” I asked—maybe too bluntly.

  “I told him that I was more nervous about after the game than the game itself.” He was looking down at the ground again. “He said you weren’t as intimidating as you seemed.” I had nothing to say. He stopped, and I stopped too. I looked him in the eyes and held his gaze. I couldn’t have taken my eyes away from his if I had tried.

  “Am I crazy?” I whispered, more for myself than to him.

  “No.” He took a step toward me. He gently placed his hand on my cheek. His eyes searched my face, and then his thumb traced my lips. It was like he was in a trance. His eyes never left mine. He leaned in, and I closed my eyes. Would this be my first real kiss? Our lips touched, and then we both heard it.

  “GGRREELLIEI.” I froze. I looked at him as he looked around us. We were surrounded by the wolf dogs. “GgrreElliei.” The alpha dog stepped forward. I grabbed Zeke’s hand.

  “Don’t freak out. Promise?” he whispered.

  Chapter 15

  “Um,” was all I got out because suddenly the park swirled and morphed around me into the front seat of his car. The next thing I knew, we were sitting in his car and he let go of my hand. I just looked around me as he began digging in his pocket for his keys. “LOCK YOUR DOOR!” he yelled as he started the car. The wolves were running right for us.

  “How’d you do that?” I locked the door. He backed it up and pulled out as the dogs still chased us. He didn’t answer me. “HOW’D YOU DO THAT?” I yelled again, turning to face him, bracing myself on the dashboard. He was focused on driving. I couldn’t believe the dogs weren’t far behind us.

  “ZEKE!”

  “I’ll explain later. Where’s your brother?” I looked at the clock on the radio. It was ten-fifteen.

  “Maybe just getting out of a movie with Moriah,” I said, out of breath as he swerved dangerously through the traffic. He looked at me with surprise. “I’ll explain now: they’re dating.”

  “Oh, call him. We need to go get them. They aren’t safe.” I called, but there was no answer. I left a message for him to call me—that it was very important.

  “Which theater are they at?”

  “Probably the one closest to their job.” We headed in that direction. He called his mother to let her know what had happened. He told her we were headed her way. We pulled up to the curb just as a movie was letting out. There, walking casually toward us, were Gideon and Moriah. I opened the door and stood on the sidewalk.

  “Ellie, what are you doing here?” Gideon surveyed the car as he walked up to me.

  “Gid, I need you guys to get in the car.”

  “Wha-Why?”

  “Please, it’s important.”

  “OK.” He held up his hands surrendering as he and Moriah climbed into the back seat.

  “Are you kidding me?” Moriah questioned flatly as her eyes met Zeke’s in the rearview mirror.

  I pushed the seat back and got into the front seat. Zeke pulled away from the curb.

  “Hey, Moriah. How have you been?” Zeke looked at her in the rearview mirror.

  “I’m good.” She looked at Gideon and smiled.

  “We were almost attacked by those creatures again,” I said, as I turned to look at everyone.

  “Almost? How’d you get away?” Gideon looked confused.

  “I don’t know. Zeke’s going to explain later.” Zeke shot me an annoyed look. Gideon looked from me to Zeke and back at me. He didn’t take his eyes off me as he said, “Tall, dark, and handsome, nice to meet you. I’m Gideon, Ellie’s very strong, over-protective brother.” I turned around and faced forward. I could feel the heat rising to my face. Moriah giggled, and Zeke cleared his throat to cover a laugh.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Ben’s brother, Zeke.”

  “So where are we headed?” Gideon continued.

  “My house. We have to talk to my mom. Besides, we’re safe there.”

  “Safe from dogs,” Moriah sighed.

  “Safe from The Noctem,” Zeke answered, holding her eye contact in the rearview mirror a second longer than anyone would notice. Well, anyone who wasn’t paying attention to his every move. Then he looked over at me with deep concern.