Autumn (22 page)
The pressure built, and Lou winced, shutting her eyes tighter as Ariel clawed to hold on.
Then the energy spilled over.
And that’s when all hell broke loose.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cooper was parked in front of the basketball court when the library exploded.
It rattled the road, and a huge rift cut a line through the sidewalk, dividing the street into two jagged halves. The top windows bordering the entire library shattered, spewing glass fragments like shrapnel. Small chunks of glass and bits of brick rained down on the windshield,
pinging
like hail.
Cooper was too shocked to move. He watched one of the exterior walls of the library crumble as if it had been built of sand. Loose book pages caught in the breeze, skittering into the road.
After a moment, Nigel the librarian stumbled out through the frame of the front door which no longer contained any glass. He made an awkward attempt to run across the street but caught his dragging feet on the ravaged concrete and fell face-first to the ground.
He didn’t get up.
Smoke billowed from the building, but it was a purple-red color, unlike any smoke Cooper had ever seen.
Seeing that dark, ashy cloud was what told Cooper this was no normal explosion. Not that
any
explosion was normal, but this was no gas leak.
He opened the door of his truck and got out, the ground still vibrating under his feet. A few people had emerged onto their porches or crowded at the end of the block to see what was happening. The police station only a few doors down had emptied, and all the officers were running down the street.
The wail of sirens sounded from the fire station as volunteer firefighters rallied to get to the scene.
Cooper reached the edge of the chasm that now bisected the whole street. It wasn’t so large a person could fall in, but it would still make driving on the street impossible. He hopped over it and moved towards the library as another wall collapsed. Without two support walls, the roof on one side caved in, sending a new wave of dust and debris into the air.
He shielded his eyes and looked into the exposed skeleton of the library.
Archer Wyatt was standing next to his mother, Ariel, who had a large gash on her forehead. Archer held her upright and guided her towards the front lawn, where they both sat down, seemingly too stunned to make it any farther.
“Cooper Reynolds, you get the hell away from there.” His own mother’s voice was crisp and commanding, even through the din of chaos surrounding the building.
Several officers had crossed the gap and were crowding around Ariel and Archer, applying basic first aid. The fire truck had come to a stop at the edge of the crevice. There was no fire, in spite of the smoke, so the volunteer firefighters were looking confused as to their next course of action. Several were helping the officers with Nigel and the Wyatts, but they didn’t seem to know what to do with the building.
“Everyone stay clear, it’s not safe,” his mother boomed, her voice forceful and serious.
Cooper kept walking forward, the purple smoke furling around his ankles.
His mother caught up, grabbing him by the arm. He tried to jerk free but was surprised by her strength.
“I said stay back.” She had the mixed authority of a mother and a sheriff, yet Cooper still wanted to ignore her and climb through the hole in the wall.
He wrenched himself loose in the same moment Lou staggered out of the rubble, her hair tangled and her face streaked with ash.
She looked bleary and lost when she got to the grass, taking one step on solid ground before she collapsed. Cooper ran for her, practically tripping over her when he crouched down, his fingers flying over her face and arms, trying to assess the damage. Her wrist was burned, and there was a knot on the back of her head, sticky with fresh blood. She winced when he touched it.
“
Stop
.” She batted his hand away.
He listened to her but continued to scan her, attempting to see if there was anything seriously wrong with her aside from the burn.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“The library
exploded
, Lou.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she gave him a serious, cold expression. “Why are you calling me that?”
“Lou? That’s your name.”
She searched his face, the anger fading into confusion. “That’s a name friends call me. I have no idea who you are, so why are you calling me that?”
Cooper sat back on his heels, not sure how to reply. He looked up at his mother, but the moment he did, she glanced away. He followed her gaze across the lawn to Ariel Wyatt.
He didn’t miss the nod Ariel gave his mother.
Nor did he miss the sly, knowing smile on Archer’s face.
“Did you plan this?” he asked his mother.
Her gaze flicked up to the library, incredulous. “I would never plan something like this.”
Lou rubbed her temples, then attempted to get to her feet. Whether or not she trusted Cooper—which she obviously no longer did—she still accepted his help to stand.
“You really don’t know who I am, do you?” He stared at her, unable to keep himself from smoothing her hair back off her forehead and letting his hand rest on her cheek briefly. His heart shrank like a deflated balloon to see the lack of recognition in her eyes.
She was struggling, reaching for some memory but coming up blank. Her confusion and frustration was evident in her expression.
“Should I?” she asked, when it became obvious she couldn’t put a name to his face.
Finally he dropped his hand.
“No. No, you shouldn’t.”
About the Author
Sierra Dean is the kind of adult who forgot she was supposed to grow up. She spends most of her days making up stories, and most of her evenings watching baseball or playing video games. She lives in Winnipeg, Canada with two temperamental cats and one sweet tempered dog.
When not building new worlds, she can be found making cupcakes and checking Twitter.
Sierra can be found online at
www.sierradean.com
On Twitter at @sierradean
And via email at
[email protected]
Coming Soon:
Winter (Dog Days #2)
Coming November 2013
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