Curses, Fates & Soul Mates

by et al Kristie Cook

  I pulled. The door flew open, sending us falling onto our butts, but it dangled from the crunched car.

  “Get them out. Hurry.” I rolled over, and worked my way to my feet. The gravel stung as it dug into my wet palms.

  Zach dragged the first person out. I scurried to the door, and leaned in so I could reach the driver. The steering wheel dented the girl’s legs at the thigh. Water ran pink down her bare skin, puddling at her feet.

  Bile stung the back of my throat.

  If I pulled her out, I’d hurt her legs even more than they already were. I glanced behind me. The pouring rain and steamy windows gave me the cover I needed. I curled my fingers around the wheel, checked to make sure I was clear again, then cranked it up and out of the way. The straining metal objected but was no match for my strength.

  Not much was.

  I dragged the girl out through the open passenger door. My feet slipped, and we fell. She was dead weight on top of me. Completely limp.

  Water poured over us, but it ran murky red from her body into my light tank top. I squirmed out from beneath her and hoisted her into my arms. Fear that the car would explode fueled my energy. I had to hurry. I had to save her.

  The flames flew high. How was that possible? Shouldn’t the downpour douse the fire?

  An explosion quaked the ground. A stabbing pain shot through my shoulder, pitching me forward. Somehow I stayed vertical, but white stars flickered in the corners of my vision. Darkness seeped in. I shook my head. No, I had to keep moving. Get the girl to safety.

  I had super-powers for a reason, maybe this was it. To help. I couldn’t fail on my first try.

  “Amanda.” I didn’t recognize the voice. It sounded like a guy. Oh wait, could it be Zach?

  My legs weakened, and I stumbled. Yeah, Zach was helping me earlier. What happened to him? Was he okay? I stopped and turned. I’d run a good hundred yards from the crash site. No wonder I was tired.

  The rocky ground pierced my knees as I crumpled. I set the girl down in front of me. My legs had morphed into lead weights. Sirens ripped through the soggy air. Finally, someone to help. My eyelids threatened to slam shut.

  Yeah, just a quick rest.

  “Amanda.” That time it was Georgia. I couldn’t mistake her voice.

  She and Zach raced my direction. Georgia’s usually spiky hair lay flat against her forehead. She looked like a little boy. Zach, on the other hand, looked like the athlete he was. Lean and muscular, pumping his arms as he dashed toward me. His forehead creased, and jaw clenched.

  “Amanda. Don’t move.” He shouted. “Just don’t move.”

  When someone told me to not move with a voice laced with as much panic as Zach’s, of course I moved. Was there a snake?

  I scoured the ground around me. I didn’t see anything except the unconscious girl. They were probably worried about her. Blood leaked from a gash in her forehead. I reached for her, intending to put pressure on her wound, but something pinched at me from behind. In the shoulder blade.

  Like a little needle prick.

  Wait. I’d felt one earlier, too. Had the Coats shot a dart at me? Maybe that was why I felt so sluggish. Usually their darts worked faster than this, but still, I was hyped up on adrenaline. I—oh no, I had to keep Zach safe. Georgia.

  “Don’t move.” Zach’s voice sounded closer than before. “You’ve got something in your back.”

  I reached where I felt the prick.

  “No. I got it.” Zach’s hand hooked mine.

  Black streaked Georgia’s ashen face. Too much eyeliner and mascara for a rainy day. “Oh, my God, Mandy. How’d you do that?”

  “Do what?” Pain spider-webbed up my neck to the base of my skull. Nausea clenched my stomach. I fell into Georgia.

  Her eyes shot wide as she caught me. No more pain, only a stinging warmth flowing from my back, mixed with the cool rain. I shivered.

  Strong hands peeled me off Georgia. “Come here.” Zach sat, and his arms wove around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. Wrapped in his strong arms, I felt safe. Protected.

  For once.

  “Georgia, run get an EMT out here for Amanda and the girl.”

  She nodded and jumped to her feet.

  My head spun.

  Zach pressed his cheek against mine. “So, you finally agree to hang out with me, and look how it ends up. You rescue this girl, then get stabbed in the back.”

  CHAPTER 11

  “Stabbed?” My gut churned. The Coats had found me. I tensed.

  “Whoa, hold on.” He held up a little triangle-shaped object.

  “What’s that?” I sat up and nabbed the Dorito-sized metal thing, then nestled against his warm body again.

  “A piece from the car. It exploded as you were running away with the girl in your arms. This was wedged next to your shoulder blade.”

  So, the Coats hadn’t found me? They hadn’t shot me with a tranquilizer dart?

  “You didn’t feel that thing stab you?”

  “Not until I tried to touch the girl. Adrenaline, I guess.” And now we found something else that could penetrate my skin. So far very few things did, mostly it was the darts I’d had to watch out for.

  Damn needles.

  A radio crackled. Zach’s body turned. The girl hadn’t moved yet. Not a good sign.

  “Miss, are you hurt?” A baby-faced EMT guy squatted in front of me while another knelt beside the unconscious girl.

  “I’m fine. Get that girl.” What if she was dead? What if I was too late?

  The EMT stood and joined the other one.

  “But you’re hurt, too, Amanda,” Zach said.

  His deep voice rattled his throat as he spoke, vibrating against my forehead tucked close to his neck. He held me tight, and I almost forgot I was in pain, totally drenched, and out of my mind dizzy.

  But I didn’t forget Scott’s explicit warning to stay off the radar. This was so not following that directive.

  “Help me up.” I pushed myself away from Zach’s warmth.

  “Wait—”

  Gripping his shoulder I said, “Up.”

  He stood, and with his guidance I made it to my feet. The world tilted on its axis, but somehow I managed to stay vertical. “Get me out of here.”

  I didn’t need any attention. Accident scenes made good headlines on the news, which meant cameras, pictures…not such a good thing.

  I ducked beneath Zach’s arm and started walking. More EMTs swarmed the unconscious girl. Dan jogged to us, and his eyes widened. “This is crazy.”

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  “Mandy, no. You should let them check out your back.” Georgia seized my wrist.

  “I’m fine. See.” I stepped to the side and raised my arm. A wince almost threatened to ruin my lie, but I bit it back. “It doesn’t even hurt.”

  “But there’s blood—”

  “It’s just a cut. I promise I won’t bleed on your car, Dan.”

  Zach arched a brow but said nothing. Water streamed down the side of his face. A good-sized crowd gathered nearby, gawking at the scene.

  “Let’s go,” I said again.

  “No way. I want to watch.” Dan shook his head.

  I glanced at Zach, then Georgia. They stared at me like I’d sprouted a second head. “What?” I asked, my voice way harsher than I’d intended. “I just want to go home. I’m wet, cold, and hungry.”

  “Me, too,” Georgia whispered.

  “Let’s get them home, Dan.”

  I’d played the girl-card. Took full advantage of the fact that God wove taking care of girls into guys’ DNA. Typically a realization like that would tick me off, but right now, I was okay with it. I wanted a nice, warm shower before someone I didn’t want seeing me saw me. Because that usually led to running. And sometimes a trail of human ice sculptures.

  * * *

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the doctor?” Scott asked as he poked at my back.

  “That’d go over well, huh?�
� Searing pain snaked down my arm as I gripped the sides of the bathroom sink to steady myself. “Jeez, what are you doing back there?”

  “I’m trying to use these steri-strips. They say you can use these instead of stitches. Or I could whip out the duct tape.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I saw it on TV once. Anyway, the cut looks pretty deep. You probably need stitches.”

  “Can’t go to the docs, Scott. Off the grid, remember? Fix it up the best you can. I was already at the scene too long. I had to get out of there.”

  “Probably smart. I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt worse. Sounds like a bad crash.”

  “It was. The cars were mangled. I had to rip off a door and bend a steering wheel up.”

  “How did you hide that?”

  “Fed a guy’s big ego.” I laughed, and stepped away from the devil with peroxide. “Enough of the medical-tech impression, you’re killing me here.” I pulled my shirt down and slugged his shoulder, then scooted out of the bathroom.

  “Egos?” he hollered after me as I made my way to the living room. I knew that phrase would get him.

  “I had Zach hold the car door handle and told him to pull. He probably thinks he ripped the door off.” I huffed on my fingernails and polished them on my shirt. “Pretty quick thinking on my part, wouldn’t you say?”

  Scott laughed. He sauntered into the kitchen, and tossed the bloody gauze and scraps of tape into the trash. “You’re sure you didn’t see Coats around?”

  “You think they caused an accident? Aiming for me?” The thought had crossed my mind.

  “No. They want you alive. Why do you think they always use darts? But we can’t rule it out, either.”

  “True. It was too hot there anyway. Too many people around to grab me. But yeah, I was watching. Didn’t see anything Coat-like.”

  “Good.” He opened the fridge. “Want a sandwich?”

  “Sure.” Cooking, like car-tire maintenance, was not my brother’s strong point, but he made the best turkey sandwiches.

  My phone buzzed, and I dug it out of my back pocket.

  Movies tonight. Dan, Zach, you and me. Call me. I pushed the phone aside. I’d have to deal with that after some food. I’d already gone and kissed the guy. A yummy kiss it was, too. I should pass on this date, though. Keep my distance.

  “So, what’s the story with Zach?” Scott asked.

  “Why don’t you tell me? You buddied him up this morning.” I slouched onto the bar stool. Scott turned and whipped something at me. I shot my hand up and froze whatever it was mid-air, sending it clanking to the floor.

  Lettuce.

  “You’re getting pretty good at that.” Scott smiled.

  “I’ll keep practicing.” Then, maybe I could help people like I’d helped that girl. It felt good to do something positive with my powers.

  “Zach seems pretty cool. Got his head on straight.”

  Oh sure. That’s why he was skipping class the other day and tempting me into the Janitor’s Closet. I kept that info to myself.

  “So, will he be hanging around more?” Scott slid a paper plate toward me. His famous turkey-and-lettuce-on-wheat-with-a-touch-of-mayo sandwich.

  My brother, the chef.

  “I don’t know.”

  “What’s to know?”

  “Why are you pushing him on me? We might be leaving right after graduation anyway.”

  “Might be leaving. And I’m not pushing.” Scott hitched his hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “You deserve a little bit of normal, Mandy. Some fun. You’re eighteen for crying out loud and haven’t had barely any kind of life since Mom and Dad died. You’ve earned a little fun, you know?”

  Kind of hard to have fun with Coats looming, but I adored my brother for his thoughtfulness.

  “I’m not sure I want to let him into my freakishly weird world. I mean, what if I slip, and he sees me freeze lettuce?” Or worse. What if I give him frostbite while kissing him?

  I kept that last thought to myself, though.

  “You don’t worry about that with Georgia, do you?”

  “Little different.”

  “How?”

  “It just is.” Clueless Scott. It was called hormones. Zach turned my crank, and I couldn’t keep this freezing thing under control when I got anxious, nervous, or, whatever Zach did to me.

  But I didn’t want to have a sex talk with my big brother. The whole sex thing confused me enough. Mom never got to that part. I snatched my paper plate and shuffled to the couch for some TV-time. Watching singers make fools of themselves might cheer me up.

  “I’m going to head out for a while. You okay here?”

  “Yeah, sure. What’s up?” Scott actually looked good. Nice, clean tan shirt, jeans, and brown flip-flops. I hadn’t noticed. “Wait, where are you going?”

  “I have a date.”

  “A whaaat?” I pressed pause in the middle of an off-pitch squeak some wannabe bellowed.

  He shoved his wallet into his pocket. “Remember that girl who came into the store the other day? Skinny, brunette…”

  Did I ever. Beautiful, smelled nice, and evidently impressed my brother. The light bulb clicked on now. That skinny brunette must have been what Scott meant he had reasons for staying in town as well.

  “She came back and asked me out.”

  “No way.”

  He nodded, sending his curls bobbing, then stepped to the door.

  A date? My brother? I could have had some serious fun with that, but when I saw his lips twitch into a crooked smile, I knew he was nervous.

  “Well. Um. You look nice. Have fun.” I almost choked on my sandwich.

  “No guff?”

  I shook my head, and picked up the remote. “Naw, you patched me up. And, well, I scared the crap out of you last night. I guess I can give you a break.”

  “Hey, there’s hope for you yet.” He slipped out the door.

  So, if he was going out with someone, not worried about letting her into our freakishly weird world, maybe I should, too.

  CHAPTER 12

  “Scott’s on a date?” Georgia asked.

  “Shocker, I know. I figured if he was going out, I would, too. So, come on, tell me about Dan. You two seemed to be having fun today at The Pier.” I sipped my steaming Java Joe’s gourmet cider, extra whip.

  Georgia smiled at me over her coffee mug. “Not as much as you and Zach from what it looked like.”

  “Yeah, well…”

  “It was getting pretty steamy between you two.” She looked at me with wide, blue eyes.

  I never noticed it before but they were almost the exact same color as mine. “All I’m going to say is that Zach Landry can kiss a girl silly, that’s for sure.”

  “Did I hear you say something about Zach? As in Zach Landry?”

  I craned to my side, and every muscle tensed. Samantha Jones sat two tables away. Couldn’t even sit at Java Joe’s and chat with my best friend without someone listening.

  “Eavesdrop much?” The sarcasm in my voice was completely intended. That chick bugged me. Tiny waist, big smile, and I think she got my boob allotment. Georgia’s, too.

  A chair scraped across the tile floor. Georgia’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. I glanced over my shoulder. Samantha stood near, her hands propped on her hips.

  “You do realize we’re dating, don’t you?” She batted her clumpy, black eyelashes.

  “Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your fat-free-tall-skinny whatever coffee.”

  Dating? Why that son of a—

  “You think you can swoop into town and take over?” She stepped toward me.

  I almost spit my cider out laughing. She was all of five-foot-three and barely one hundred pounds. She’d float away if someone sneezed hard in her direction. Sure, I was about the same size, but I had the whole super-strength thing going on.

  “No swooping intended. Just here to finish out the last of my senior year, then fall int
o my wonderfully prosperous life of smoothie-making.”

  Georgia giggled.

  Samantha flipped her long hair and swayed across the shop to the door, leaving a trail of perfume so thick it clogged my sinuses.

  I reached for my cup. “Did that really just happen? I mean, are you kidding me?”

  “She’s nuts. What the hell did she mean about her and Zach?” Georgia gripped her mug and stared in the direction Blondie strutted. “She’s on crack. They’re not dating.”

  My cheeks flamed. “Who cares, anyway? I don’t.”

  “You’re a sucky liar.”

  If she only knew.

  Georgia brought her coffee cup to her mouth. “You’re into him, don’t even try to deny it.”

  But I didn’t want to be. For this very reason. He was, like, publicly traded stock or something. Everyone owned a little part of him.

  “He’d better have a good explanation for little miss Priss’s claim when we see him tonight.” Georgia’s brows pulled together, creasing her forehead. “He’s into you. I can tell. At that crash today, he was all focused on you. And when you took off with that girl in your arms, he freaked. How did you carry that girl so far, anyway?”

  “She was a tiny little thing. Did you see her?”

  “But so are you.”

  “Adrenaline.” Yes, I so needed to get the subject changed. “Have you heard if she’s okay?”

  “I listened to the early news. They only had a splash of it on there, though. They just said two were in the hospital, more to come at ten.”

  “Did they show pictures?”

  “Some. Mostly the smashed cars and EMTs. I think I saw Dan in one of them, standing by his car.”

  “Oh, good.”

  “But if they knew what you did, they could have interviewed you. That would have been cool.”

  “Whatever. Hey, let’s fly. Don’t want to keep our dates waiting, right?”

  We trucked our way down the sidewalk to the theater. Georgia rattled on about Dan, but my mind wandered to Zach. What frustrated me most was the fact that Samantha had made me doubt myself.

  The first day of classes I’d pegged her for trouble. As in cat-fighting-back-stabbing trouble. I hated this. Life was complicated enough trying to keep things thawed out. Why on earth did I let myself get mixed up with Zach?