Shifters (Shifters series Book 1) (27 page)

“It doesn
’
t change anything,” Kai says, reading her mind. “You called them out, that
’
s all.”

“They were already coming,” I agree.

She nods slowly. “But I taunted them. It won
’
t make them happy.”

“They
’
re already trying to kill us,” Kyle shrugs. “How much angrier can they get?”

“It may confuse the young—
Tyros,
” I say slowly. “About how we
’
ll rule. We
’
ll need to be careful.”

Kyle nods.
“
I don’
t think we have anything to worry about. I think they
’
ll understand.”

There’s a knock at the door, and we all freeze. My blood chills to ice. Someone is here. At the Keeper safe house.

“Hide,” Kai mouths.

“Coming!” Kyle shouts toward the door. “Give me a sec!”

He sounds like a moody teenage boy. I wonder how they
’
ll take that. As quickly and quietly as we can, we slip into the open bedroom from which Solé emerged. We all pile against the door, trying to listen.

“Hey,” Kyle
’
s mumble is almost indecipherable through the muffling of the door. “Sorry.”

“Who are you? Are you authorized to use this safe house?” The voice is clearly that of a full-grown man. A very irritated full-grown man.

I can almost picture Kyle shrugging and scratching his head. In his T-shirt and boxer shorts, ridiculous. “Uhh . . . look, man.”

“If you don’t have authorization, you’ll be treated as an intruder. You’ll be placed under arrest—” the guy
’
s delivery is purely robotic.

“Woah!” Kyle says. “Calm down. Look, I
’
m not supposed to be here, per say. I am a Keeper though.”

The tension in the air eases slightly. “What are you doing here?”

“I . . . uh . . . I got into a fight with my dad. He
’
s kind of a hard—” Kyle says casually before the Keeper interrupts him.

“Kid, you can
’
t just use a safe house to get away from your dad. We
’
ll have to report this to—”

“Please don
’
t do that! My dad’ll kill me! Come on! Your dad must have been a Nazi sometimes too, right?” Kyle pleads. I hear fear in his voice now.

“What’s that?” a new voice asks, closer to us.

“Breakfast?” Kyle says, his voice high-pitched.

“I can see that,” the robotic guy says.

“No, the bloody towels,” the second man says.

“I got a nosebleed,” Kyle answers without skipping a beat.

“That
’
s an awful lot of food,” the second man says. “Are you alone?”

“Yeah, of course. I wouldn
’
t break protocol like that,” Kyle says.

“You
’
ve already broken protocol,” the robotic man snaps at Kyle.

Kai holds his finger to his lips to shush us and opens the door to step out. “Where are you?” he asks with a laugh. “I smell breakfast.”

I hear a rustle then the clicking sound I now recognize as the safety on a gun. “Identify yourself!” the second man shouts.

“Oh, my God, Kyle?” Kai snaps. “What the heck?”

“Ummm . . .” Kyle isn
’
t sure what to say.

“What are you doing here?” the robotic cop demands evenly.

“Look, he said his dad was out of town and it would be safe for us to . . . crash here,”
Kai answers.

It suddenly occurs to me what Kai is doing. Whoa! He
’
s seriously a genius.

“You told him this was your home?” the second guy snaps at Kyle.

“Look,” Kai says. “I
’
ll be happy to leave.”

“Why are you here with this young man?” the robotic cop demands.

“Look, I
’
m here with my boyfriend. His dad doesn
’
t approve, so we try to keep it quiet. Please don
’
t shoot me,”
Kai
’
s voice breaks like someone who’s terrified to have a gun pointed at his face.

“Oh, God . . .” the second guy mumbles.

“You used our safe house for . . .” the robotic guy can
’
t complete his sentence.

“I promise I’ll have it cleaned up and be out in half an hour. I
’
m really sorry. Please don
’
t report me,” Kyle begs.

“Ugh! Just hurry up.” They both stomp out the door, slamming it behind them.

When we hear the door slam, Solé, Devon, and I all head into the living room, laughing hysterically at Kai who has an arm wrapped around Kyle’s shoulders.

“Dude! Gross! You’re not even my type!” Kyle laughs, as he shoves Kai away, then grabs Sole and gives her a huge kiss.

Kai laughs.
“Yuck! At least we
’
re alive, aren
’
t we?”

“What’s going on?”
Tanner asks groggily, as he walks in.

Glad he didn
’
t come out a minute earlier.

Chapter 41

Supergirl?

–TANNER–

I hear the door close and people laughing, so I go out to the living room where Solé and Kyle are making out in front of everyone. I have no idea what’s happening.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

They look at each other and smile. Kyle holds his fingers to his lips telling me to be quiet. He peeks his head out the door then comes back in, saying, “It
’
s okay. They
’
re gone.
”

What? Who?

Ryland walks over to Kai and playfully shoves him, saying, “That was a little
too
convincing. You
’
re starting to scare me.”

“Hey. You got me into the theater,” Kai says in a horrible British accent.

I don’t know what they’re talking about, but she’s wearing some way too skimpy underwear to be walking around in full view. She
’
s never exactly been shy around me, but there are guys here who are
not
her brother.

“Uh . . . Ry . . .” I say looking down her body.

“Oh, sorry,” she says as she picks up a small blanket from the floor and sort of covers herself. Kai smirks, watching her—obviously not minding the view.

“
Geez, Kai,
” I say. “You don
’
t have to be so obvious. That’s my little sister.”

Kyle pipes up saying, “Oh, yeah! Like you
’
re one to talk. I finally had to come out here and sleep on the couch the way you two were going on.” He looks between Devon and me.

Oh, my God! I thought he was sleeping. I can feel my entire being flush a deep shade of red. I look at my sister who’s trying not to laugh. Solé is biting her lip, trying to keep a burst of energy under control. Devon’s looking down at the floor like her parents just caught her sneaking a cookie before dinner.

I’m devastated. I have no idea what to do. Devon looks up from the floor and straight into my eyes. Her face changes from embarrassment to a huge smile. She looks at my sister who gives her an almost imperceptible nod.

What does that mean?

Without an ounce of hesitation, she rushes over to me, wraps me in her arms, and kisses me right in front of everyone. She pulls away and meets my eyes again.

“I love you, Tanner Ascunse,” she says like she wants everyone to hear.

She has a huge smile on her face. I look around and everyone is staring at us. This time, I know exactly what I’m going to do. There’s no way I’m screwing this one up. I cup her perfect face in my hands and tell her exactly what I
’
m thinking. “I love you, Devon Almasta,” I say, and kiss her again.

“All right, break it up, lovebirds,” Kyle says. “We get it. You love her; she loves you. Anyway, we
’
ve got like twenty minutes before the Keepers are back. Let
’
s get out of here.”

We all sit down to have a quick breakfast that Kai apparently prepared. How early did he get up?

Sitting here with this strange group that’s become my family in a DC apartment is kind of surreal. My life’s changed so much in just a few weeks. I don
’
t even recognize myself. I’ve grown so much so quickly. There’s a beautiful girl who’s professed her love for me. I’ve watched my sister change from a spoiled twelve-year-old beauty queen into an amazing leader and superhero—seriously, with fans and everything—sworn to save the world. We met some creepy stalker guy that’s now almost my brother, and I suspect even more than that to my sister. Then, there
’
s Solé and Kyle. They’re the most unlikely couple ever. A Shifter and a Keeper. Sworn enemies like
Romeo and Juliet
.

This makes me think of my family. Well, as it turns out, my adopted family and how close we all were. On Sunday mornings, our dad would get up and make us all breakfast. I always tried to sleep in and would complain about having to get up by ten o
’
clock to eat. Ten o
’
clock! What is this? A school day?

In truth, I really loved it. Mom would still be in her nightgown, and dad would be wearing his pajama pants. Bryce and I would grab some shorts off the floor and run downstairs. Ryland would stumble down the stairs in a short T-shirt and underwear with her annoyingly perfect hair, pretending to be mad about all the noise we were making.

Peanut was always wearing one of Ryland
’
s T-shirts that she couldn’t keep both shoulders in. She was so cute with her huge brown eyes and long mussed-up hair.

I remember one day when Dad sat her on the counter so she could help stir the pancake batter and crack the eggs. She always got shells in the pan, and Dad would tell her it was okay as he carefully picked them out.

“Oops. Sowwy, Daddy,” she said. “I got some ovah dare too.”

Ryland poked her in the belly and told her, “I love your breakfast the best in the whole world.” She tickled her, and Peanut wiggled and giggled at her silly sister and said, “Tanks Ry. I wuv you the bestest.”

“Hey!” I complained. “I thought I was your favorite?”

Peanut put her finger to her chin like she was contemplating the meaning of the universe and said, “Hmmm. Sowwy, Tan Man. I fink today Ry is my favewuht. Maybe you could be my favewuht tomowo.”

Mom and Dad were holding back smiles, watching us. I pretended to get mad and said with my meanest voice, “You know what that means, don
’
t you?”

Her brown eyes grew as big as bowling balls, and she screamed, “
No bomb!
”

I scooped her off the counter and flew her around the room as she wiggled and screamed, “
No bomb! No bomb!
”

I threw her onto the couch and screamed, “That
’
s right! It
’
s the Tickle Bomb!”

We wrestled around as she giggled and pretended to fight back. After we were worn out, she sat on my lap, smiled at me with those huge eyes, and said, “Maybe tomowo you can be my favewuht.”

Mom and Dad laughed, and my sister smiled then raised her arms in triumph. I just threw my hands up in defeat.

I’m startled back to reality when Devon says, “You
’
ve been quiet. What’re you thinking about?”

“Huh,” I say, looking at her. I glance over at Ryland who
’
s playing around with Kai and say, “Peanut.”

At that, Ryland stops cold and looks at me.

Devon smiles and says, “Peanut? Why would you be thinking about peanuts?”

I look back at Ryland who
’
s all of a sudden serious. She tells Devon, “
Our little sister.
”

“Oh,” Devon says. “Peanut?”

“Her name is Penelope. She
’
s six,” I tell her.

“We
’
ve always called her Peanut,” Ryland tells her and gives me a thoughtful look. She stands up, wipes a tear from her cheek, and says, “We have to go.”

–RYLAND–

Okay, first off, I need to say Tanner and Devon
’
s little PDA (public display of affection for those of you who don
’
t go to public school) was absolutely nauseating. I mean, I get they
’
re in love. I
’
m happy for them. I am. Tanner totally deserves a nice girl. But
that
. . . was gross.

Anyway, thinking about Peanut makes me sad. I mean, I have no idea where she is or if she
’
s safe. For all I know, she could be tucked into her warm little bed. For all I know, she could be shivering in a cold, dark cell in the basement of some government building.

I understand that technically Tanner and I aren
’
t legal citizens. We aren
’
t even from this planet. However, if I understood government stuff in my history class at all, if you are born here, you are a citizen despite where your parents are from.

I
’
m not strictly sure that applies to aliens, but it
’
s not as though Peanut isn
’
t human just like everyone else here. It
’
s not like she was born a freak like Tanner and me. That makes me happy, but sad at the same time.

I still remember the day she was born. I remember being stuck in a boring hospital waiting room with David, the leader of my mom
’
s Bible study, who I now know is really a group from my planet. I remember whining about wanting to go home and wanting my mom. Tanner was too busy playing with Legos to care.

We were waiting for hours. Now, I know that
’
s normal, understandable. At the time, I was bored out of my mind. So I was crying, pouting, and throwing a fit.

Finally, my dad came out. “Daddy, I want to go home!”

I started to run toward him when I saw he was holding something. It was a little pink bundle. It was squirming and gurgling.

“Meet your baby sister, Penelope,” my dad said, kneeling down and holding her out to me.

I remember leaning over to peer down at her. She was so pink and wiggly. “She
’
s ugly,” I said, scrunching my nose.

“Ryland,” my father chided. “She
’
s new to this world. You need to be kind to her, to protect her.”

I frowned and I furrowed my little seven-year-old brow. “Why? I didn
’
t want her.”

He laughed. “It doesn
’
t matter if you chose her, sweetie. We don
’
t always get to choose the people in our lives, but those that are bigger and stronger have a responsibility to protect those that are smaller and weaker.”

I think at the time I said something like, “So, can we go home now?” After that day, though, I thought a lot about what my dad said. I made a promise to myself that I would always take care of Peanut. I would protect her.

Now, I realize my dad wasn
’
t just talking about Peanut. He was preparing me. He was always preparing me. For this. For now. He was preparing me for a time when I would be bigger, stronger, faster than others. He wanted me to be responsible with my powers and abilities.

We grab our stuff, and Kyle peeks out the door to find out where the Keepers are. They’re at the end of the hall. We can
’
t go out that way. Well, Kyle and Kai can.

“I
’
ll take them out the window,” I say flatly.

I take Solé first. She
’
s the lightest. Afterwards, I grab Devon. When we hit the ground, before I jump back up for Tanner, she stops me.

“Thank you,” she says.

“For what?” I say, shrugging.

“For taking care of Tanner, for saving me,” she says with a shrug, like she couldn
’
t possibly thank me for everything I’ve done for her. This is, of course, ridiculous.

“It
’
s nothing,” I say and leap back toward the balcony.

I land with a thud, grateful for the expensive designer tennis shoes, regardless of the evil, conniving snake-woman that gave them to me. “Ready?”
I ask Tanner.

He gulps. “Guess so. Can
’
t be as bad as last time.”

I grin; then, we’re falling through the air. I hit the pavement at a crouch, and Tanner tumbles to the sidewalk. Devon rushes over to pick him up. He stands up and brushes himself off.

“We
’
ll get there,” he says with a grin.

Kyle and Kai meet us in the car. “I know what happens tomorrow,” Solé says with a sly smile on her face as we pile into the car and adjust ourselves. “But what are we gonna do today?”

Suddenly, I’m at a loss. What do you do the day before a huge battle? Do you study like for a final? Do you rest up? Do you train? Do you spend your last day preparing for if you don
’
t come back?

“We have fun,” I say with a grin. “‘Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die, or something like that.”

“I
’
m in,” Kyle says with a grin.

“What exactly do we mean by fun?” Kai asks eying me.

I get the idea he
’
s not sure our idea of fun sounds like fun at all.

“What
’
s the one thing you always wanted to do before you die?” I ask.

Kai frowns at me as though he’s truly miserable at the idea of this day. “I guess . . . I always thought . . . maybe it would be cool . . .”

“What?” Tanner asks, not patient enough to wait for Kai to finish his sentence.

“I just always wanted to ride a roller coaster,” he says with a shrug like it
’
s stupid.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Solé
squeals.
“That sounds fun!”

So, I find a map stuffed into the overly full dashboard console and give him directions to Six Flags America in Maryland. The drive only takes about thirty minutes, but we’re all so excited it feels like hours. When we finally get there, pay to park, and hike the half-mile to the entrance, we’re literally bouncing around.

“Where to first?” I ask, holding the park
’
s map in my hands.

“Superman!” Devon squeaks, pointing at the huge roller coaster on the map.

After waiting in line for like two hours, it
’
s finally our turn. Kai and I take the front car. Devon and Tanner take their seats right behind us, but Kyle and Solé march all the way to the back.

I don’
t think I’ve ever had so much fun. When the first drop comes, my stomach decides not to follow me down. I’m empty, hollow, and screaming. When we get off the ride, my legs are shaky and wobbling, and I have to hold onto Kai for support. He
’
s laughing so hard he
’
s crying.

We get turkey legs and corn dogs and funnel cakes and eat until we
’
re sick. Then, we find out about THE FLASH passes. So, of course, we get the platinum because it
’
s not our money anyway.

We ride the Wild One and the Joker
’
s Jinx. I buy a pink Supergirl cape, and Tanner gets a Batman T-shirt. I’m so happy, running around with my cape on. This is the best day ever.