Tobias (C I N's Puritan Series Book 4)
Page 2
“Hello,” I said, stepping closer. She smiled, pointing to something on the ground. “What is it, girl?”
“I don’t need those anymore; can you imagine?” I glanced down and spotted a pair of broken glasses. “Something strange has happened to me, but I like it. I hope I’m this way forever.”
Her shirt billowed in the wind, exposing some of her flesh. She tossed her head back, sighing. “I feel alive, for the first time.”
“What were you before?”
She frowned. “An invisible shadow to my half-brother.”
“Your brother?”
“Yes, only half related. He’s good to me. I’m not complaining about him. I love Michael.”
Anger swirled inside me, as if it were a tornado, smashing into my ribcage, attempting to escape. “Michael?” I could hardly say his name.
“Yes, Michael. He’s right there.” She pointed to what appeared to be a seventeen-year-old, grungy male. He held a contraption with wheels in one hand and a book-bag tossed over his other shoulder. He’d built what his generation called a half-pipe from wood bought at the local lumberyard. It sat on the edge of the lake, a few yards away from the shack that Alex had built. He was outside too, hanging chicken wire inside a coop for his stupid chickens.
Michael hooted, dropping his bag in the grass. He climbed a makeshift ladder to the top, balancing his skateboard on the rim. “And the moment the crowd’s been waiting for!” He hollered again before his feet pounced onto the board. His body flew down the half-pipe, arching up the other side.
I turned my attention back to the girl. “Why are you out here alone?”
She tugged on her clothes, nervously. “Who are you? Why are you asking so many questions? Alex told us to never speak to Dr. John. Are you him?”
“No,” I said. “I’m Tobey, one of the guys from that football team that Alex saved a few years back.”
“So, you knew my mother?”
I nodded. “She was about as beautiful as you.”
She covered her smile with her hand. “Is that so?”
“What is your name?”
“Donna—Donna Denning.” She offered her palm. “Nice to meet you, Tobey.”
I took her fingers gently, kissing the tips of them. She trembled and I glanced up at her. “Why are you blushing?” I asked, inching closer. She scooted away. “Do I make you nervous?”
“Stay back,” she said.
I could feel her pain. It filled my insides. Images of a tall, dark haired boy invaded my thoughts. I tried to see his face but it was hidden among the shadows.
“Who frightens you?” I asked, touching the hem of her dress. It was made of cotton and designed with colorful patches stuck on with glow-in-the-dark puffy paint.
She recoiled and her eyes narrowed. “You won’t treat me like Frank! I’ll never let anyone hurt me again like that.” She clenched her fists and angry tears threatened to run down her cheeks.
“Hold on, girly. I’m not attacking you.”
“I know that look.” She rubbed her tears away. “I know what happens once a man looks at you the same way you’re looking.”
“What happens?”
“I get hurt.”
“Nonsense,” I said, reaching for her. “Trust—”
“Michael!” Donna screamed, racing from her perch. “Dr. John is here! Michael!”
I smirked. “Clever girl.”
Five
Alex Moody
I walked past Michael and his half-pipe. He stood in the center of it, clutching Donna in his arms. His skateboard rolled by itself, slowly losing speed.
Good. He was frightened. That’s how he should feel. His time was up and I was going to be who stopped his clock.
If there was one thing Rayne taught me, it was how to kill without remorse. He’d soon see how frightening I could be. Too bad it would only be for mere seconds.
A smile spread across my face as I faced him. He stood atop his wooden shack with his arms on his hips.
“What are you doing here?” Alex asked. His blue eyes shifted from me to his ‘Warehouse Kids’. “They’ve done nothing wrong. I had to save Michael’s half-sister. There was no other way.”
“Why didn’t you just save the girl and let the others burn?” I asked. “Anna wants them dead—and you, finally.”
“I’m not like you,” he said. “I can’t let innocent people die.”
“Yes, you’ve always been a do-gooder.” I rolled my eyes, remembering Crystal and even that poor Nettie girl that was forever trapped to be a Groupie with Celeste. If he only knew the things he’d done. Too bad Celeste erased his memories.
“I don’t care about you or your new children. I’m here to annihilate them, and then you,” I said.
Someone shoved me. I turned about, ready to freeze them in their place.
“Don’t you dare!” Donna shouted. She punched me in the shoulder and then kicked me in the shin.
I pretended to feel pain, grabbing my shoulder, and then my leg. “What’s your problem, girl?”
“You, that’s what.” She shoved me backwards, onto my bottom.
I laughed, pointing at the small lake behind us. I called the water, encircling us with an ice wall.
Donna stumbled, landing on the frozen barricade. “Who are you?”
“Dr. John,” I answered, brushing dirt from my pants. “I suppose I should take you in for observation. It’ll delay the deaths of the others. If you check out, then maybe they’ll all get to live. What do you say?”
“I won’t go anywhere with you,” she said.
I stepped closer, so close, we were inches apart. “If you were anyone else, you’d be dead already.”
“Why didn’t you kill me?”
I grabbed her by the chin, bringing her face up to mine. “I haven’t figured that out yet.”
She pressed her tiny hands against my chest. “Let me go right this instant.”
I obliged, watching her squirm to get away. She bent, escaping underneath the arm I had resting against the ice wall.
Alex and Michael pounded shovels against my barrier. It would crack soon.
“Donna, are you going to come with me or should I just end them all right now?”
Tears ran down her cheeks. I pressed her against the wall, holding her hostage by her torso with mine. She felt good, and a snow flurry filled my stomach. I wiped her tears with my finger. I just wanted to kiss her. I’d never desired it more than I did right then.
“Let me go!” She screamed, pushing me away. “I won’t ever let anyone hurt me like Frank did—never again.”
She wasn’t lying. Who was this Frank person?
“Last chance, Donna.” I pointed to the cracks in my ice wall. “Once it cracks, if you haven’t agreed, then they all die.”
“You’re lying.”
I shook my head. “Do I look like the type of person who doesn’t follow through on what he promises?”
“You’re not allowed to lie, are you? It’s your boundary with your ‘gifts’!”
“Clever girl,” I smiled. “Are you going to come with me or not?”
Just then, the walls split, ice boulders tumbled towards us. I covered Donna with my body. She cried, watching as I forced the water in the lake to rise, high above our heads. In an instant, the ‘Warehouse Kids’, Michael, and Alex would be crushed to death.
Donna sobbed, grabbing my leg. “Please don’t kill them. I will go with you—just let them live.”
Six
Why I didn’t Kill Them
Donna Denning. She reminded me of why I came to Lynn in the first place. I was to seduce the Oneida of the East, and have an heir who shared both my ‘gifts’ and all of hers’. My child would become a force to reckon with. I didn’t expect the Oneida of Fire to arrive and give her ‘gifts’ to Crystal, and then trap us in Lynn forever...
Donna gave me a son. And, as I held him for the first time, my desire to obey Rayne faded. I’d never let anyone use my son as a pawn.
How could I become just like my mother? Not as long as Donna, my little vixen, sauntered around C I N, would I dare touch any of them.
Why did I fall in love with Donna?
She was broken and had been discarded—just like me.
I twirled my son in the air, listening to his laugher. Yes, I was never going to help Anna.
Never.
OTHER BOOKS IN THE c i n sERIES
The C I N Series: Book 1
C I N
ALL 6 C I N Series Shorts are available in BUNDLED format for over 50% off!!
Short Stories included in BUNDLED format:
The C I N Series Shorts: Story 1 - Donna Denning
The story behind Donna’s traitorous beginning…
The C I N Series Shorts: Story 2 - Jimmy & Amber
The story of Jimmy and Amber’s beginning…
The C I N Series Shorts: Story 3 - Pete & Marie
Millie loved Pete and Pete loved Millie… So, why’s he with Marie?
The C I N Series Shorts: Story 4 – Regrets
Are there second chances in life?
The C I N Series Shorts: Story 5 – Lanie
Millie’s cancer is now in 90% of her body and she needs Lanie to help her…
The C I N Series Shorts: Story 6 – Rat
Millie just wants to remember…
Also available:
The C I N Series: Book 2 - Traitor
The Puritan Series: Bundled Stories 1-5 (Coming Soon!)
C I N’s Puritan Series: Story 1 – Fatal
Francisco longs to be the one with the most power. His actions turn him into something horrific and fatal…
C I N’s Puritan Series: Story 2 – Sucki
A True Hero Isn’t a Monster
C I N’s Puritan Series: Story 3 – Charles
No one loves without being forced into it.
C I N’s Puritan Series: Story 4 – Tobias
Why he didn’t kill them…
Coming Soon:
Story 5 – Celeste
Ravenna Frost
A C I N Novella for Casting Call Winners:
Savannah & Jake
Ally’s Secret
The C I N Series – Book 3
Finally, the truth is revealed!
Learn more:
http://www.christinaleighpritchard.com/