Shifters (Shifters series Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter 14

Prophesies Suck

–TANNER–

After changing, I notice Melinda and Alice glancing over at me. I know these clothes aren
’
t exactly my style, but at least they fit better than my dirty old ones. How did my old clothes get so small? We get to this gas station in literally the middle of nowhere and pull up next to the pump.

This pretty girl runs out like she was expecting us. Did I say pretty? What I meant was astounding. Her eyes and hair glow with the moonlight. I don
’
t know how to describe her dress. It just flows and shimmers as it clings to her and gently relaxes with every graceful movement she makes.

She says she has been waiting for us for a long time. Really? Like
we
didn
’
t even know we were coming. Her parents come out and welcome us. This is weird. They invite us in with the gentlest kindness imaginable. We all get out of the minivan. Kyle looks around and apparently decides there
’
s nowhere to run and stays with us. If my dad were about to shoot me, I don
’
t know if I would be in a hurry to get home either.

The girl
’
s dad walks to the van like he
’
s going to fill it up with gas so we start walking toward the station with them. Instead of filling it, he gets in it and starts it up.

“Hey!” Kai yells, watching the stolen minivan start to move.

The girl reaches for his hand, and he immediately calms.

“It
’
s okay. We
’
re friends,” the girl says as she leads us through the station office. We don
’
t stop in the office. Instead, we all walk straight through a door on the opposite side. We see a quaint little house tucked way off the street in its own forest. The minivan pulls off to the side of the house. After everything we
’
ve been through, the stillness and serenity of this place is so relaxing. We walk up to the warm glow of the front porch, and the girl turns to face us.

“My name is, Solé,” she says in a gentle tone.

The light from the porch behind her makes her look like an angel glowing with all that is good.

“This is my mother, Océane,” as she motions to her left, “and my father, Honoré,” as she motions to the gentleman walking to the porch. “We have been waiting for you. Welcome to our home.”

Without hesitating, we all follow them inside. The house is small, but comfortable and inviting. We sit in the living room where the sofas and chairs look like they’ve been arranged for exactly how many arrived. Food and drinks have been set at each location.

“Please sit. We have so much to talk about,” Océane says.

I’m so hungry. All of us must be. We haven
’
t eaten anything since this morning. I start to eat when I notice each of us has been served a different meal. Even Kyle seems to be enjoying his. Man, what must he be thinking? All of us finish up, and we help with the dishes.

“It
’
s time you learn the truth,” Océane says as we settle back into the living room.

She recounts the history of the origin of the Shifters and their rise to power. She explains the colonies, the horrors of the slaughter of the Young, and finally ends by recounting the prophecy:

“This generation a Shifter will arise,

Hidden amongst the lost and lies.

A great many will see

The life that could be.

The universe will shake;

The greatest among us will quake.

The towers will fall.

The ruled will rule all.”

She continues, “This was a time of great sorrow and fear. Solé was only three years old at the time. We were able to escape on the second ship. We could hear the fighting over the comm systems. We all cried and mourned for the lost. The journey was long. The Ordinaries assured us the Shifter leaders knew nothing of the location of the lost colony. We decided protecting the Young was of utmost importance. We would disperse ourselves around the planet as a precaution, only disclosing our locations to a very small group. There would be none that knew all locations. If the Shifters were able to locate the lost colony, not all of the Young could be discovered.

She looks at Kyle with a questioning expression, “What we didn
’
t know was there was a relatively small group of the colony that not only remembered the original landing but also had sworn to exterminate any of our kind. This hatred is still unknown to us.”

Solé looks at Kai and says, “This is not new to you. I can feel the pain of your loss. They have prepared you well for your journey.” At that, she stands up and closes her eyes as she begins to shake. Both of her parents hurry to her side. Her father wraps his arms around her, and her mother clutches her feet. She begins convulsing violently as they restrain her and lay her down. It’s obvious that they’ve done this before.

All of us jump to our feet, and her mother reassures us it will pass quickly. In an instant, Solé stills. Her parents release her. Instantaneously, she’s on her feet. Her eyes open to reveal solid white spheres. I jump back as she Shifts directly in front of Ryland.

–RYLAND–

If you’d asked me a “would you rather”
question before all this happened about whether I
’
d rather be able to fly or see the future, I probably would’ve said see the future. That just seems more useful. You would know who you’ll marry, how you’ll do on a test, and which companies to invest in. Flying is just flying, fun as it may be.

After this though, I would definitely choose flying. Flying is fun. Flying is enjoyable and safe and nice.

Solé just basically passes out. Luckily, her parents set her nicely on the ground. She wakes up with only the whites of her eyes showing like some kind of freak. Although, I guess I shouldn
’
t really throw that word around.

So, she gets up and starts moaning and groaning as though she’s in pain. Kai, Tanner, and I exchange worried glances. Alice looks bored, as usual. Melinda’s on the verge of tears again. Chucky and Frederick look like they
’
re about to get on their favorite ride at Six Flags or something.

Then, she starts screaming. I don
’
t mean a girly sissy little “ahhh!” like when you fake being scared to cling to your boyfriend
’
s arm. I mean like you
’
re watching someone disembowel your parents in front of you while they drip acid onto your toes. I really am rather graphic, aren
’
t I?

I jump, ready to get as far from here as I possibly can. I haven
’
t decided if these people are friendly or not. I don
’
t want to be around for this mess. These people are crazy.

She stops screaming abruptly, and her hand shoots forward, grabbing my wrist. I try to twist out of her grip, but it
’
s like an anaconda. “It is time,” she says, her voice watery and distant.

Her parents are beaming with pride. Pride? While their daughter faints and screams and does all kinds of creepy serial killer type things.

“The Risen shall fall.

The Young shall arise.

The unjust shall be righted,

yet a price shall be paid.

Only blood can free blood.

Only truth defeats lies.”

“It
’
s us?” Kai says in complete shock. “We
’
re the Young from the Prophecy?”

Sol
é’
s father shakes his head solemnly. “The original prophecy only refers to one Shifter. It cannot be all of you.”

Solé’s in a trance, watching something unfolding before her blind eyes. She begins to weep.

“Any among you the Young one may be,

but losses so great will determine which of the three.”

Solé collapses into a heap in her father
’
s arms, breathing hard. She moans and mutters as though she’s in pain for several moments before finally sinking into unconsciousness.

We all stare at her for several moments. She looks so small and thin and frail curled up in her father
’
s arms. “That was a prophecy, wasn
’
t it?” Kai asks. “She
’
s a Seer?”

Her father nods slowly. “She is one of the most powerful Seers of her generation, I
’m sure.
” He looks sad, weary. “Anything involving your own life is the most difficult to see. It clouds your vision.”

“But she can do it,” I say. “She knew we were coming.”

Her mother nods, a tear finally falling from her left eye. “She knew the importance of her visitors. She knew she would have to help you. You’ll need her knowledge. And his,” she says, nodding toward Kyle.

“Kyle?” Tanner asks, befuddled. “Kyle isn
’
t with us. Kyle’s a Keeper.”

“Which is exactly why you need me,” Kyle says quietly.

“We need your knowledge of the Keepers,” Tanner finally says.

“One of the three?” Kai asks. “It
’
s one of us.”

Océane nods softly, gently. “It will not be an easy journey for any of you, but whoever it is . . .” She is so overcome by sorrow and empathy that she can’t continue.

I nod slowly, understanding. “Whoever suffers the most, loses the most.”

“They triggered their own prophecy, didn
’
t they?” Tanner asks slowly, carefully.

“I believe so,” Océane agrees. “I believe in their attempts to avert the prophecy, children were raised who would grow to fulfill it.”

“Because our parents were killed, because our families are Ordinary, because the government was wrong,” I finish.

“Prophecies are only words,” Kai says angrily. “Keepers killed my parents.”

Honoré nods. “That may be true, but trying to avert the prophecy did send you here, among the lost.”

When his words wash over me, I feel myself shudder. Which one of us will lose the most? Will it be the one who tries hardest to stop it? Can I handle losing everything Kai lost? Will I survive it?

“You’ll need your rest for what’s coming.” Honoré says. “Sleep. We’ll speak more in the morning.”

We find that they’ve prepared mats, pallets, cots, and couches for each of us. Tanner, Kai, and I are in the same room. I wait for their breathing to steady, but it never does.

“We need to go,” I whisper quietly.

“What do you mean?” Tanner asks, concern filling his voice.

“She means, you should ditch your friends while you can,” Kai answers for me.

“What?” Tanner says. “Why?”

“Didn
’
t you hear Solé? Whoever loses the most. As in . . .
I don’
t want what I lose to be Alice and Melinda.”

Tanner nods, understanding dawning on him. “So, we leave then. Just the three of us,” Tanner says decisively.

“I’m coming too,” Kyle says from the shadows of the hallway.

“Snap, Kyle.” I breathe. “You scared me.”

“I think my mother made it clear,” Solé pipes up from the other side of the room, her parents behind her. “You need Kyle and me.”

“Okay,” I agree. “You’ll take care of them? Hide them?” I ask Sol
é’
s parents, referring to our friends.

“Of course,” Honoré answers. “Of course we will. You take care of our little girl.”

I nod solemnly, knowing the weight of that promise.

Chapter 15

Road Trip

–TANNER–

As the others are sleeping, we gather up our new supplies and sneak out of the house. Leaving my best friends in a house of Shifters we just met in the middle of the night while we go off to save the planet is not something that would have been on my list, but here we are. Not only are we leaving our friends, we’re taking a Keeper who just yesterday would’ve killed us without a second thought. Have we really thought this through?

Honoré leads us to a small SUV parked behind their house.

“We can
’
t just take your car,” Ryland insists.

Océane replies, “This was its intent. Please accept it.”

I still don
’
t totally get it. These people had everything ready before we even got here. Kai and Kyle walk right over to the SUV and start loading it up. Solé hangs back with her parents, embracing them and saying goodbye. I jump in, close the door, and roll my window down. Ryland is standing, looking at the house with her back to me.

“Ry,” I say.

Solé walks over to her and takes her hand. She turns around to get in the SUV, and I see she’s crying. I feel like teasing her about it, but I stop myself, realizing I’m about to cry myself. Seriously, I
’
m a boy. I do my best to hide it from her, knowing she’ll definitely tease me about it.

Kai gets in the driver
’
s seat with Ryland next to him. Kyle gets in the back seat. Solé climbs in and for some reason doesn
’
t take the seat next to me. Instead, she just gives me a warm smile and sits right next to Kyle in the back. She gives him an inviting smile and wraps her hand around his.

Kyle snaps his hand out of hers, saying, “What the . . . ?”

Solé has a look of surprise and embarrassment as she places her hands in her own lap. Just as we start to move, she quickly climbs into the seat next to me.

“Is it okay if I sit here?” she asks.

I nod.

“Which way?” Kai asks from the front seat as we pull up to the street.

“You were on the correct path when you came to us,” she responds.

“Okay then,” Kai says. “Left it is.”

“And where exactly are we headed?” Kyle asks from the back.

I can see Kai
’
s eyes in the rear view, and Ryland turns her head to look.

“We’ll find what we
’
re looking for in Pennsylvania,” Solé says pleasantly.

Kyle lets out a laugh, “And what are we looking for in Pennsylvania?”

All of us are silent as Solé responds, “We shall find out in Pennsylvania.”

Kai says, “That
’
s kind of a long way, but it sounds like we
’
re going to Pennsylvania.”

Wow, we may have just broken a record for the most times saying Pennsylvania in ten seconds. I’ve lived my entire life in a small town in Connecticut. Evidently my parents, or who I thought were my parents, were trying to hide me from an evil galactic regime bent on my destruction. I guess if you
’
re going to try to hide someone, that
’
s as good a place as any.

Already I
’
ve seen more of the state in the last few days than I ever thought I would. We drive on the small highway headed south. The car is filled with the droning sound of the wheels on the road and Ryland and Kai talking in the front seat. Solé’s laying her head on my shoulder. I can hear her quiet sobs as she listens to Kai tell Ryland about his parents and that terrible night. I don
’
t hear a sound from Kyle in the back seat. When Kai finishes, I hear Ryland quietly say, “I
’
m so sorry, Kai.
”

We drive for a little while in silence. I lean over to Solé and quietly ask, “What
’
s it like when you . . . you know . . . do the Seer thing?”

“It
’
s hard to explain,” she says as she sits back up, wiping the tears from her eyes. “It
’
s, um
… like I completely lose control of myself. My head explodes with”—she pauses—“an intense feeling. I see everything rush at me at the same time. The past, the present, the future, all at the same time. Mom says it
’
s how God sees.”

“It looks like it hurts,” I say. She just smiles warmly. I don
’
t know her very well, but I think that means it does.

“I have to pee,” I hear from the back seat.

“Me too,” Ryland speaks up.

“Okay, we
’
ll stop at the next rest stop,” Kai says.

“I can
’
t wait that long,”
Kyle complains.

“All right, we
’
ll stop somewhere in the next town,” Kai says. “I
’
m sure all of us need a break.”

–RYLAND–

One thing I can say about road trips is they are not at all like they are in the movies. You don
’
t just sing and laugh until you magically appear at your destination two seconds later. I mean, it isn
’
t a four day drive or anything, but it does take almost five hours to get to Philadelphia from Connecticut.

I also think that whom you
’
re with on the drive probably makes a huge difference. No offense to Kyle or Solé, but driving with total random strangers who were raised with completely different beliefs is kind of awkward. I mean, Kyle
’
s family thinks we’re all evil, and Solé just tried to hold his hand.

“So,” I say, trying to break the silence after our bathroom stop at Taco Bell (gross, by the way). “Kyle, why did you . . . ?”

Kyle slowly turns his head in my direction. “Why did I decide to come with you?” he says. “Maybe I
’
m just here to sabotage you. Maybe I
’m infiltrating your little
”—he pauses like he’s looking for the right word—“coven.”

“He
’
s not,” Solé says dreamily. “And we aren
’
t witches, silly,” she adds, turning to grin at him. It
’
s strange to think she
’
s actually the oldest one in the car.

“Why do you keep doing that?” Kyle asks Solé.

“Doing what?” She smiles.

“Acting like we
’
re friends or something.”

“We will be,” she nods.

He shakes his head. “How are you guys handling all of this?”

“
Well,
” I say. “It
’
s not exactly like we have any other choice. We can
’
t just go home and pretend this never happened.”

He frowns. “I suppose not.”

Tanner tries to sound hopeful. “We
’
ll figure this out soon, though.”

“I think I came with you because . . . because I wanted to help you figure this out,” Kyle says after momentarily considering Tanner
’
s optimism.

“Figure it out?” I ask.

“Well, yeah,” Kyle says. “I mean, I was thinking about how I would feel if I woke up one day and
Surprise!
not only was I adopted, but I
’
m from another planet and people want me dead. It
’
d be scary. I
’
d want to know where I was from. I
’
d want to know who I really was.”

I frown. I hadn
’
t really stopped to think about where we are from. We are from another planet.

Another planet.

There’s a whole other world out there. Are the oceans blue? Are there even oceans? Does it still rain there? I love the rain. Are there forests like these with trees taller than you can see? Are there cities with skyscrapers?

Would it have changed me growing up there? Is this the me I was meant to be, or am I just this way because I was here? Am I really who I am? Is this who I should be?

I know, I got a little bit reflective and over the top at that. I realize though why Kyle has come here. That kind of question changes a person. Maybe he wants to know who we are so that we can figure out who he is.

“You want to know if what your parents are doing is really right,” I say softly.

“It isn
’
t,” Kai growls under his breath.

“Hush,” I say softly. “Don
’
t take it out on Kyle.”

Kai stiffens at my words. He’s caught between guilt and bitterness. He says nothing.

“I get it,” Kyle says. “They were your parents. It doesn
’
t matter who they are or what they
’
ve done.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?” Kai says accusingly.

“Yes,” Kyle whispers.

No one really knows what to say after that. Solé dozes off on Tanner
’
s shoulder, and I stare out at the empty road as the rain begins to fall. We just drive.

“I can help you,” Kyle says after what must have been at least forty-five minutes of silence.

“What do you mean?” Tanner asks.

“I do know Keeper secrets,” Kyle says meekly.

“Of course you do,” Solé says, waking up. “In two weeks, you
’
re going to take us to Keeper headquarters.” She slaps her hands over her mouth. “Oh, dear,” she says, muffled. “You probably aren
’
t ready for that yet.”

Kyle blanches for a moment then begins to laugh. His laugh turns into a roar that fills the car. “Okay,” he says, finally regaining control of himself. “We
’
ll see.”

Even Kai cracks a smile at that, but I wonder if the glimmer in his eye is not from the merriment in the car, but from the idea of his vengeance. I wonder if Kai can ever be reconciled to Ordinaries. I wonder if he’s too full of hatred.

This’s what I’m thinking as we finally reach the outskirts of Philadelphia.