Black-Eyed Kids: The Complete Series

by Miranda Hardy

  With Mom panicking about vandals attacking my room, there was no way Astid could stay with me. Astid spent one night in the tree house, but Lisa offered to sneak her into her room. That surprised the heck out of me. I know she’s starting to trust Astid, but it’s actually a smart move on her part. If Kren and his goons are nearby, Lisa’s got her BEK alarm system with her.

  School for the next two days resembles Hell. Lisa and I try to put on normal faces, but knowing what really happened to Marcus and Cadence beats us up inside.

  The police continue to search for them. Just yesterday, Detective Jennings questioned me and Lisa. Astid thought it would be best if we didn’t mention anything regarding Level 6 and the government agents. She’s convinced it would do more harm than good. Lisa disagrees, but she later texted me and reassured me that she didn’t say anything to the detective.

  So I told Jennings that I spent the night at Lisa’s instead of going to Marcus’ house. That made him uncomfortable, but he confirmed it with Lisa too. Nothing like a tale of teenage lust to throw the bloodhound off the trail.

  As Jennings turned to leave my house, he looked me straight in the eyes for a long time. I don’t blame him, though. I’m pretty sure the police think I’m some kind of teen murderer or something. In fact, I kept looking out the window to see if the cops were going to be watching my house. Maybe I’m paranoid, or maybe I should start taking my meds so I don’t start sinking even lower.

  The cafeteria is bustling with kids. The smell of pizza sauce and tater tots fill the entire area. Maybe if I let the everyday world back into my life, things won’t seem so messed up. Even the teachers look at me weird. They probably think that I’m not only a member of that religious cult kidnapping teenagers, but that I’m the its leader.

  Lisa sneaks out of class just for a little bit, but she can’t stay long.

  “I still don’t like lying to the police,” she says to me.

  “The cops already think I’m crazy. I was already on their radar when Tarick disappeared. If I started talking about secret agents and stuff, they’d throw me in a padded cell for sure.”

  Lisa frowns. She knows I’m right.

  “If Level 6 learns we talked to the cops about them, we’re totally screwed. They’ll make us disappear. It’s best that the spooks think that we don’t know anything.”

  “But why don’t they just come in here and take us away right now?” Lisa asks. “What’s to stop government agents from busting through your door at night and throwing you in a black van and hauling you off to who knows where?”

  I stop to think about that for a moment. “Maybe they think that tailing us can lead them to the BEKs. They want something from me. That would explain why one of those spooks pretended to be my therapist.” I take a bite of my sandwich.

  Lisa scoots closer to me, her hall pass in her hands. “Maverick, I’m really scared. I’m worried about Marcus and Cadence, too. I feel responsible for them being taken.” A tear wells up in her eye.

  I throw my sandwich on my brown bag and pull her close. “It’s not your fault. It’s not my fault, either. I didn’t ask for this to happen, and neither did Tarick, Marcus, or Cadence.” Her hair sweeps into her face, and I tuck it behind her ear.

  Lisa gives me a half-smile.

  “By the way, how is Astid doing at your house?” I ask.

  “She’s doing fine. Believe it or not, I feel safer with her there. She used her powers on my parents to make them unground me and take a cruise to the Caribbean. At least they will be safe.” A little crease forms between Lisa’s eyes. “You know, you should really consider having Astid send your mom away for too. Things are just too dangerous around here.”

  “I can’t do that to my mom. It feels wrong manipulating her, and I can’t ask Astid to do that, too, but I am happy you’re not grounded any longer.” I smile and kiss her forehead.

  Lisa’s not convinced. “Consider it, at least, okay? My parents really needed a vacation anyway. Maybe your mom does, too. I wish we all could just run away.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I say half-heartedly. “And if we all just took off, Level 6 would just nab us anyway.”

  We sit quietly for another minute or two, lost in our own thoughts.

  “I wish I could stay longer, but I’m pushing it. I’ll see you after school.” Lisa kisses me and leaves me alone on the bench.

  It feels weird eating at a big table all by myself. I was never the most popular guy in school, but I always had plenty of friends that would sit with me at lunch. Tarick, Cadence, and Marcus always sat with me if they had the same lunch hour. But usually, there would be another two or three buddies at my table.

  After Tarick’s disappearance, my other friends had stopped calling or texting me. And as I sit here finishing my sandwich all alone, I feel the lingering stares from the other kids. Even guys I used to pal around with look at me as if I have the plague.

  Last year, we read The Scarlet Letter in American Lit. That’s me. Put a big-ass A on my chest.

  Lisa is the only one that will even blink in my direction. After Cadence and Marcus’ disappearance, now even she had mentioned feeling that she was an outcast. It’s messed up. I want to shout, I’m not in a cult!, but it’s no use.

  Classes can’t end soon enough. Mom didn’t call to remind me to go to the therapist. I have a feeling she doesn’t want to push me now, especially with Marcus’ disappearance.

  I’m sure a part of her wanted to ask me questions about Marcus, too, but I dropped a bomb on her instead. I fed her the same line I gave Detective Jennings. I told her that instead of spending the night at Marcus’ house, that I stayed at Lisa’s. Her parents were out of town, after all.

  Amazingly, Mom wasn’t too pissed. Maybe it’s because I was doing the normal teenager-thing and wanted to spend the night with my first serious girlfriend. Instead of grounding me, she gave me a lecture about safe sex and said she’d bring me some condoms after work. My embarrassment was worth it though. The last thing I need is to have Mom scared of me too.

  I feel horrible for Marcus’ mom and Cadence’s parents. Hopefully, I’ll figure something out. Maybe I should go to therapy and see if Dr. Wilson, or whatever her real name is, will admit the truth and I can bargain with her. I’ll help them get whatever it is they want in return for Marcus and Cadence’s safety.

  I’m practically running out of the school building, and I nearly run over some poor freshman moving too slow out the front doors. I find Lisa’s car and wait for her. Again, it’s like I might as well not even exist. I see guys I’ve known since grade school walk past me. Once in a while, someone will glance my way, but they hurry away.

  Finally, Lisa’s walking down the main steps to the parking lot.

  “Hey!” I reach out to her and she walks into my arms. “You took forever.”

  Lisa gives me a nudge with her elbow. “My last class is clear on the other side of the building.” She unlocks the doors and I get in her Mustang.

  “I guess we should go to your house right away,” I say. Normally, I’d have some shady intentions saying something like that to a girl. “Plus, I could use your help on an essay for English Lit.”

  Lisa starts the engine and throws me a smile, but then it quickly evaporates. “I hope Astid is okay. I didn’t like leaving her alone.”

  “I’m sure she’s fine,” I say.

  We weave through traffic and finally get to the main road. With the warm wind coming in from the open windows, I close my eyes to enjoy these next few minutes in peace. But my imagination won’t stop running wild. I don’t want to imagine what’s happening to Marcus and Cadence right now, but the guilt won’t leave me alone.

  After the ten-minute drive, we arrive at Lisa’s house. Right away, an eerie feeling comes over me. The front door sways open, and Astid isn’t there waiting for us.

  “Let me go in and check. You stay in the car,” I say.

  Lisa nods. “Mav, be careful.” She grabs my left hand and squeezes
it.

  I jump out of the car and casually walk towards the front porch. The door squeaks when I push it a little further open. “Astid?” I call out. Astid, damnit, where are you?

  No reply comes, and I slowly slip into the house, checking behind each door. I’m expecting other BEKs to jump out at me, but there’s no buzzing sound in my head, so they must not be around. Maybe those spooks from Level 6 are here and they took Astid. All they wanted was Astid and the other BEKs, and we practically handed her over on a silver platter.

  After moving slowly through each room, I find nothing out of place. I’m relieved, yet even more terrified. Where is Astid? Maybe she went to my tree house. I pray there’s a simple and harmless explanation for all of this, but I know better than to be so optimistic. I take one final glance at everything before bolting out of Lisa’s house and heading back to her car.

  “Astid is gone, and there’s no sign of her anywhere,” I tell Lisa. “You need to take me home now. Something doesn’t feel right.”

  “You think she might have gone back to your house?” Lisa asks. “Maybe she went to your old tree house. That would be okay, right? Isn’t your mom still at work?”

  A cold ice pick of terror runs straight through my chest. I pull my phone from my pocket and speed dial Mom’s cell. I get back into Lisa’s car as the phone rings before going to her voice mail. I try her work number. Lisa pulls out of the drive way and gets back on the main road. No answer at work either.

  “I can’t get a hold of her,” I say.

  “I’m sure she’s fine. She’ll call you back any minute.” Lisa speeds up but is careful to not go more than five miles an hour over the speed limit. “I’m worried about Astid, though. Hopefully she’s waiting for us at your tree house."

  When we enter my development, my stomach lurches at the sight of Mom’s car in the driveway. She’s already home from work, and it’s too early for her. “I hope she’s feeling okay. She never leaves work early unless she’s sick."

  My words sound even and calm, but I’m already sweating. My brain fills with the frantic buzzing of killer bees. Before Lisa can kill the engine, I rush out of the car and dash up the driveway. I throw open the door. In the living room, Astid’s on one knee. She’s next to Mom who lays still on the floor.

  Maverick, I’m so sorry. Tears stream from her big black eyes.

  “What did you do to her?” I run into the room and bend down to wake her up. “Mom?” I shake her, but she doesn’t respond at all. Her body is limp. “Wake up, Mom!” Her eyes are closed, but her mouth is drawn slightly open.

  I put my ear to her chest to listen for a heartbeat, but I hear nothing but my own heavy breathing. When I touch her pale face, her skin is ice cold.

  “Astid?” Lisa’s in the doorway, her hand cups her mouth to stifle a scream.

  Astid straightens up and backs up against the wall. I was too late, I’m so sorry.

  “What are you saying? She’s not dead. She’s sleeping,” I shake her harder now. “Mom! Mom! Wake up, damnit!”

  “Oh my God!” Lisa rushes to my side. “Maverick, I’ll call an ambulance.”

  “You did this!” I scream at Astid.

  She shakes her head. No Maverick, I didn’t. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t save her. She was already gone when I got here.

  “NO! NO! NO!” I taste murder on my tongue, and I want to kill every single black-eyed freak in the world. “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”

  I pull Mom’s listless body up into my arms. “Mom! Mom! Wake up now!” A trickle of blood flows from her mouth. I pull open her eyelids, and jump at the sight of them. My body shakes uncontrollably as I stare into her blood-filled eyes.

  Lisa screams and looks away, and she gasps for air in between sobs.

  Mom’s not sleeping. She is dead.

  31

  ASTID

  THE TREE HOUSE seems cold and lonely. The clouds look like tiny starbursts exploding as the sun descends on the western horizon. The agony overflowing in Maverick’s mind rips me apart, and the pain courses from his body to mine. Instead of essential energy flowing, it’s pure emotional poison.

  It’s so strong, it reaches me here, even when I’ve never been able to feel someone from this far away before. He’s still home, crying and exploding with rage.

  When Mother died, I recall the brief moment of sadness, but we expected her death. The heavy, horrible feelings streaming through Maverick now are a hundred times worse. His bond with his mother was far greater than the one I had with my own mother.

  Maverick might believe my brother and the others did it, but I know better. Kren would never have allowed the body to remain, but perhaps he is angrier than I’d imagined. Maybe he left evidence of his cruelty in order to send me a message.

  That’s unlikely, however. I’m certain it wasn’t Kren who took Maverick’s mother’s life. There’s only one other possible cause, and it’s too terrifying to contemplate.

  32

  MAVERICK

  ON MY DRIVEWAY, the paramedics cover Mom with the white sheet, and the finality of it sets in. She’s gone and she’s not coming back. She’s dead because of me…no, because of them. Those demon-eyed monsters took her away from me. She didn’t deserve any of this. All she wanted was to protect me, and now this is what happens?

  It’s not fair.

  Lisa touches my shoulder. “Mav, let’s go inside.”

  “Do you have any family in town you can stay with?” Detective Jennings asks. “Someone I can call for you?”

  Lisa shakes her head. “His dad lives in Indiana,” she tells him. “We need to call him.”

  Tears roll from her eyes, but I’m in no shape to console her.

  “Can you stay with a friend? An adult that will stay with you or allow you to stay with them?” Detective Jennings’ voice sounds sincere, less severe than the previous times he’s dealt with me.

  I’m amazed he’s not cuffing me and throwing me in the slammer. I know I would if I were him. Three friends missing and now this…any sane person would peg me as guilty. They must think I’m a serial murderer by now.

  Luckily, school officials were able to confirm that me and Lisa were at school all day. Otherwise, I know I’d be in jail.

  Through my despair, I decide that I have no choice but to turn to the one person who’ll understand my situation better than anyone else will. “Ronald Tunstall,” I say. “He’s a friend of the family, and he’s in town. I’m sure he’ll stay with me.”

  “Let’s give him a call then and inform your father of the circumstances,” Detective Jennings says.

  Circumstances? Is my mother’s death just a circumstance? Heat begins to build under my skin.

  I grit my teeth, holding back the stream of profanities that threaten to erupt from my shaking lips. “I’ll tell my father what’s happened here, and then I’ll call Ronald for help.”

  Jennings nods and leads Lisa away from me so he can talk with her in private. She pulls out her phone with trembling hands. The detective looks sympathetic.

  I get my own phone out and find Dad’s number, but I just can’t do it. He’ll freak out and rush down here right away. Getting Dad involved might get him killed too. Instead, I find Ronald’s card on my dresser and call him.

  Ronald answers, and all I say is, “They killed my mother.”

  He asks me a few pertinent questions about my parents so that he can get his story to the cops straight. Then he says sorry about a dozen times before telling me to wait for him.

  The next hour is a blur. Amazingly, Detective Jennings doesn’t arrest me. Instead, he hangs around with some other cops in the living room.

  Ronald arrives an hour or so later, and I continue to pace in my room. The detective refused to leave until he arrived, and Lisa took it upon herself to wait with Jennings, right near where my mother lay dead not two hours before.

  “Where is he?” Ronald asks as he enters, his voice carrying down the hall.

  I hear heavy footsteps coming toward
s me, and Ronald stops just inside my doorway. My fists ache from being balled for so long, and I release them at my side.

  “Was it…?” he asks, but doesn’t finish the question.

  I nod, and Ronald enters my bedroom. He takes quick steps towards me and embraces me tightly with his thick arms.

  Despite my best to keep it together, I lose it all over again.

  THE SUN BREAKS through the window and hits my eyelids. I didn’t think it was possible to fall asleep, but I must have cried my way into exhaustion. Last night felt like such a nightmare, as if it didn’t really happen.

  Jennings and the police hung around for a long time, talking with Ronald for a bit until they left. He did leave to get some sandwiches for us, but I didn’t take one bite. The last thing I remember was crawling into bed.

  It’s now morning, and nothing but dread greets me when I wake up.

  Ronald slumps over in the beanbag chair, with a revolver sitting on his lap. Lisa pushes up against my back, and I’m thankful she stayed with me through the night.

  I sit up, and Lisa rouses awake.

  “Mav?” she says, her voice cracking.

  “Yeah?” I ask, sitting up.

  “We need to call your dad.” She rises onto her elbows. “He’ll know what to do about your…”

  “No!” Ronald shakes himself fully awake, and he clutches his gun. “If your father comes to town, he’ll be in danger, too.”

  I wholeheartedly agree. “That’s exactly why I didn’t call him.”

  “So, what are you planning on doing?” Lisa asks me.

  “We need to find the BEKs and end this.” I walk out the door and into my mom’s room to her closet. “I’m tired of being such a coward.”

  “Find the BEKs?” Lisa asks from the doorway.

  “Kid, you’re angry at the moment, and I totally understand that,” Ronald says. “Believe me, I’ve been there. I get it.”