MAXIM: A New Type of Human (Oddily Series #2) (7 page)

Did you capture our intruder yet?

No. But I found more pictures of her on the surveillance cameras!

With her peripheral vision, Nexa had noticed the stunned expression in Paul’s warm brown eyes just before he turned to go back to class.

Can you hear me, Paul?
Nexa used telepathy to call out to him.

When Paul stopped, so did her heart.

Slowly Paul turned around, but then waved, “See you guys tomorrow.”

Nexa, what are you doing to Paul?

Apparently nothing. We will be home in a few minutes.

8

While driving home, Nexa glanced over at Oddily. “I’m curious about Paul. What do you know about him?”

“Not much; except that he’s fairly new to Forest Ridge High, he’s a senior, and he recently started to hang out with Starla’s group of friends.”

“Does he seem strange to you?”

“No, not at all,” she giggled. “He’s really popular, and so…”

“…Hot!” Nexa chimed in making the two of them laugh.

“Somebody’s got a crush!” Oddily teased.

Stunned by the remark, Nexa thought it strange that Oddily would assume she liked Paul, just because of a few questions.

“Well…am I right?” A goofy grin began to spread across Oddily’s face.

Nexa got into the playful spirit and said, “I’ll tell you what. Ask me again after I get to know him a little.”

After Nexa entered the gates to Stafford Manor, the garage door on the West side of the decaying structure opened. Nexa pulled inside and waited for the door to close all the while feeling resistant to having anyone, including Oddily, know of their secret entrance. Right then and there, she decided that Maxim would have to be the one to show her!

Regardless of her brother’s anger if he found out, Nexa altered Oddily’s mind causing her to nod off just long enough for Nexa to drive through their secret passageway and park the car. Oddily’s eyes flew open and glanced around after Nexa had nudged her awake.

We’re home, Maxim. Where are you?

I’ve been waiting for you in the bushes.

Wow, I’m flattered!

Come on, sis…humor me. I need for Oddily to see me in the woods, and then come after me. Can you make that happen?

Oh, how cute. You are going to initiate a game of hide and seek.

Will you stop being a tease? I’m trying to give Oddily a chance to surprise me, okay?

You’re the boss!

When Nexa and Oddily reached the camouflaged house, Nexa spotted Maxim and said, “Oh my…look who’s heading into the woods!”

Oddily’s eyes lit up. “It’s Maxim!”

“Go ahead and surprise him.”

Oddily shook her head. “I don’t know. He might be busy right now.”

Nexa rolled her eyes. “I promise you, he’s not busy!”

Oddily agreed and followed Maxim into the spellbinding woods, all the while wondering where he was headed. She soon found herself surrounded by a new kind of landscape filled with unusual plant life that was so vibrant, with it’s spectrum of colors, she wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Never in her life had she seen flowers like the ones before her. To her left and right, the large unfamiliar blossoms seemed to crowd in on her as she continued her pursuit.

Suddenly, Maxim stopped. Oddily ducked behind a tree and froze, not even moving her foot to get away from the hideous insects that began to crawl towards her shoe. She remained motionless in an attempt to face her fear of bugs as she watched the things inch closer.

“Don’t freak out,” she whispered to herself. “You’ll spoil everything!” But she couldn’t help herself and jumped away from the crawly critters. When she looked over to where Maxim stood, he wasn’t there anymore.

Oddily ran over to the spot where she had last seen him as a large bird flew overhead with a wing span of at least five feet. She spun around searching in all directions until she spotted him again, and then let out a sigh of relief.

When Maxim reached a creek, he walked upstream for a distance, and then stopped where the small creek joined a larger brook. The little waterway had washed around a rock outcrop which formed a high bank on the opposite side, blocking out the breeze.

Finding the spot perfect to watch him, Oddily settled herself near the barrier. She stared at the brook from her vantage point; but she was so mesmerized by Maxim when he began to undress, she really didn’t see the water.

Oddily couldn’t help herself; she couldn’t even make herself look away, even though Maxim had abandoned his outer clothes. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of his finely toned physique, and then she became fascinated. In the filtered sunlight, the hue of his pale body had a hint of blue—maybe a reflection from the water.

Maxim was now heading for the pool near the mouth of the creek and jumped in. Oddily watched him explore the rocky stream swimming further up, and then allowing the current to carry him back. His laughter indicated that he was enjoying himself immensely as he headed back up stream, only this time Maxim ducked behind a boulder.

Oddily was transfixed on the spot where she had last seen him, absentmindedly wiping at the droplets of water dripping down her neck. What was taking him so long?

All of a sudden, Oddily heard someone whisper, “Who were you watching?”

Oddily was too embarrassed to speak when she discovered Maxim crouched over her with a big grin.

“I was…uh…going to surprise you…and…uh…”

“I like it when you watch me.” Maxim straightened up and helped Oddily to her feet.

“You were having so much fun in the water, I…I...”

“…you wanted to join me.”

Oddily made a sad face, and shrugged. “Not really.”

Maxim touched her neck causing goose bumps to pop up on her arms. “I’ll have to teach you how to swim one of these days.”

“Was I that obvious?” Her eyes grew wide with wonder.

“No…just a wild guess.”

Maxim was still amused over Oddily’s shyness as they headed over to the stream. She was acting both awkward and bold while viewing him in his underwear. Little did she know he typically swam naked, but wore the uncomfortable boxers for her sake.

“What do you think of my stomping grounds so far?” Maxim asked while getting dressed.

“It’s hard to believe that all of this is real!”

Maxim laughed. “This is just the beginning.”

Oddily’s eyes glistened with excitement. “I hope it doesn’t include any more creepy looking bugs.”

“Out of curiosity, describe what you saw?”

Oddily scrunched up her face at the thought. “I hope you don’t think I’m crazy, but the thing resembled a centipede with a praying mantis head.”

“You have described one of my father’s hybrids,” he mused in remembrance. “Creating new types of species has been a hobby of his for a very long time.”

“Including the strange looking flowers that I just passed?”

“Yes. They are beautiful, don’t you think?”

“They’re gorgeous, and so are the birds! I saw a huge colorful one fly by, and it was close to the ground dodging the trees.”

“Oddily, this whole place is filled with sights like no other on earth. In fact, I have something to show you. It’s a favorite place of mine, but you need to be real quiet.”

Maxim led Oddily through another section of woods until the trees opened up into a large clearing—a meadow covered with millions of yellow flowers in full bloom.

Without warning, Maxim swept Oddily into his arms and lunged forward, running into the meadow. The yellow flowers took flight filling the sky, and the sight reminded Oddily of the snowflakes whirling inside a snow globe.

“They’re butterflies!” she cried out

Maxim stopped and buried his face in her neck. “I know you don’t like insects, but isn’t this beautiful?”

“This is one of the greatest experiences I have ever had…except meeting you of course.”

“I’m glad that I met you too,” he said thickly.

Oddily’s expression became sober as Maxim set her on her feet. She stepped back to look up at him. “I’m acting silly again, aren’t I?”

Maxim cupped her cheeks and gazed into her eyes. “You’re not acting silly at all.” He began to kiss her with exquisite tenderness, but then stopped. Something was wrong. He felt a cold chill go up his spine when he spotted a flock of birds scatter into the sky in a frenzied manner.

Sis, Oddily and I are near Gray Rock. Will you check the monitor’s to see what…?

Maxim…Run!

A surge of energy shot through him as he grabbed Oddily’s hand and began to flee.

“Maxim, let go—I can’t run that fast!” Oddily became frightened and tried to break free from his grasp. “What are we running from?”

“A bear is right behind us!” He told a lie because he needed Oddily to run faster, and she did.

Nexa, what’s happening? Are you all right?

I’m fine, but someone broke into the control room and hacked into the data base for Tinley. No matter how hard I try to override the intruder, I’m denied access. Maxim…from what I can decipher, Tinley has been reprogrammed to destroy Oddily!

How close is he to us?

Very close. He has access to the surveillance cameras and knows exactly where you two are.

Can you try to block him from the camera’s feedback?

I don’t know—give me a minute. Yes, I did it! The connection has been broken, but now there’s a new problem. I have no way of keeping track of his whereabouts.

That’s okay, I can work with that. I’m going to take a detour and head for the bridge.

You’re not thinking of crossing over to the other side are you?

We may not have a choice, sis.

But some of the ropes are rotten!
Nexa broke out in tears.
None of this would be happening if you hadn’t brought Oddily into our world.

You are probably right. Listen, Oddily is out of breath…I love you.

Maxim swept Oddily up in his arms and carried her as he made a sharp detour, heading up a steep embankment to a higher elevation.

By then, Oddily had caught her breath, and began to wiggle until Maxim had no choice but to set her on her feet. “Do you think we outran the bear?”

Maxim’s brows knotted together with worry while answering her question with one of his own. “Have you ever walked across a rope bridge before?”