by Holly Hook
Xavier and I watched the news from my grandmother's house in Oaktown. My father and I had gone to her house after leaving the park, mainly because we had nowhere else to go that was safe, and to my surprise, she let both of us in. It turned out that she didn't hate my father or me as much as I feared. My mother had simply kept news of us away from her after I had Turned. She had only tried to make me leave a few days ago due to the horrible news about me she'd seen on the TV. After my last visit, she had changed her mind.
And after the truth came out about the former mayor of Cumberland, the news had shifted away from me. I was no longer a story. Now, reporters went to work trying to piece together the real tale of the ATC. The organization was still in business, and now it had been bought by one Richard Grimes, a doctor who owned a couple of hospitals. The guy vowed to return the ATC to its original mission: curing us Abnormals of our conditions.
The fight wasn't over.
"Looks like we're in for a long road," Xavier said while we sat on my grandmother's couch. He sipped some coffee. My grandmother and Xavier shared their love of caffeine. They got along better and better. Dad even spoke with Grandma, even though Mom had yet to come around.
Grandma's house was big, so Janine got to stay there, too. She hadn't had the chance to tell her mother about her Turning yet, but her mom was in the city, looking at houses now. George, who had recovered from the burns Thoreau inflicted on him, was in the city fighting with the insurance companies over his house. So far, he had evaded the ATC, probably because he, like I, had become a non-story.
I turned off the news. Things were going to be messed up for a while. It was bad enough that seventy-nine people lost their lives at the Water Adventure. If I hadn't done certain horrible things, far more would have died.
I still had yet to break the news to Xavier that he just might be immortal. So far, his War Magic powers were the same, only stronger. It was better to let things calm down before I dropped that bomb. Dad was already thinking of moving us to the Underground if Primrose, the new leader, determined that it was safe again. Of course, more wards would have to go up to shield it from the ATC. It might take months for that to happen.
But with Thoreau gone, it might be possible.
Janine yawned as she emerged from the basement where she slept. "Night," she said in a tired voice. She wore brown contact lenses now. So far, it had kept the truth from her mother.
"Night," I said, eyeing the dying light outside. "Ready to go out? Trish will show you the, um, hospital basement where you can get started." I didn't want to mention the blood bags, but Janine had to start somewhere.
"Sure," she said with some hesitation.
Xavier set down his coffee. "We can Transpose there," he said, kissing me on the cheek. "Having full access to War Magic sure makes things easier."
We had shared plenty of those lately. Well, when my father wasn't around. There was nothing between us anymore. It was on. Xavier and I were a couple. Aside from the fact that Xavier might freak out when he found out he could be a god, things were going much better. I had a family in more ways than one. I had friends. Life wasn't perfect, but now I had something. I didn't sleep much, but when I did, I could rest easy, knowing that I was doing the best that I could. I was proud to be an Abnormal, and no one could take that away.
"Sounds good," I said.
Xavier held my hand. "We have to stop at my house, though. My mom says she wants to meet you and have a conversation."
It was my turn to balk in horror. "You're serious?"
"Serious. Don't worry. She's not Primrose."
I had met Xavier's parents briefly. They didn't act like the Elders, which was a plus. Now Primrose could fill that role. We still had to determine how she'd treat Xavier from now on, but so far, he'd been allowed to set foot in his own home again.
"Fine. But after that, we go to the mall."
Xavier's mouth fell open in horror. Janine laughed.
"And you have to cut your hair again."
"No!" Xavier said.
"Deal's a deal," I said.
"Fine," he said and kissed me.
Hand in hand, we walked out into the night.
THE END
Thank you for reading this series! I really enjoyed writing this ending. What’s next? A spin off series! Turned By Blood is the first book of Janine’s Story and is also the sixth Abnormals Underground book.
Turned By Blood releases Feb. 15th. Buy/pre-order at the links below:
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You can find it by tapping HERE for the US, HERE for the UK, HERE for CA, and HERE for AU.
To know when I release a new book or return to the Abnormals Underground series, simply click this link to join my email list! You just might get some free stuff for signing up! www.subscribepage.com/e3w3s2
www.hollyhookauthor.com/books
Holly Hook is the author of several Young Adult fantasy, science fiction, fairytale, post-apocalyptic and adventure series. She has been writing since very young and publishing her work since September of 2010.
