Discoveries

by K Swanson

  In confusion, I scanned the yard. “That thing?” I pointed at a large, black metal… thing. It sort of resembled a bowl with three legs and a screen dome over the top.

  Nick nodded. “Yep.”

  “We could ask. I doubt they’d mind, as long as we put it back though.”

  Min seemed pretty easy-going, unless it was about clothes.

  A couple times, Phil had come out of their room dressed for work, and Min had shaken her head with a look of horror. They’d both disappeared into their room and come out minutes later with him wearing something completely different.

  I bit my lip, walking to the fire pit and nudging it with my toe. It didn’t even budge. “Are we even going to be able to move it though?” It seemed heavy. Perhaps we could just sleep on the deck.

  With a chuckle, Nick came over and lifted it. He made it look so easy, without even appearing to strain his muscles. He finished moving it as the back door opened again. Sam and CJ headed away from us, toward the woods. Lex headed in our direction, with Jayden trailing after him. He’d replaced the mug with the thermos that must have been in his bag.

  “More coffee?” I asked. Wasn’t it bad to drink that much of it?

  Jayden nodded, and I noticed he merely looked tired now instead of exhausted.

  Nick asked the question I’d been thinking since we met Jayden. “Why do you always look so tired?”

  Taking another sip from his thermos, Jayden seemed to think about the question. “I don’t sleep.”

  “Ever?” I asked, my eyes going wide. Was that even possible? That sounded even more unhealthy than the copious amounts of coffee he drank.

  “Rarely.” He sat near me in the grass, putting his drink next to him before he fiddled with the silver rings on his fingers.

  “Why?” Nick asked as Lex wandered closer to the tree line.

  I tilted my head curiously, watching as Lex picked up sticks and branches from the ground.

  “Bad dreams, mostly.” Jayden sounded so matter-of-fact about it, like it wasn’t a big deal, then yawned. Perhaps he’d be able to sleep tonight.

  Working quickly, Lex soon had a bonfire going. The mesh lid sat nearby, and no one seemed concerned about putting it on the fire, so I didn’t worry about it.

  Eventually, the sound of a car made Lex stand up. “That’s probably the others. I’ll go help bring stuff back.”

  I started to stand. What all had CJ gone to get? Would they need more help to bring stuff back here?

  Lex waved me off. “Stay and keep an eye on the fire. Jayden can help me.”

  Jayden lifted his gaze. “I can?”

  Part of me expected him to object, but despite his question, he stood and followed Lex. Minutes later, the guys came back toting a large duffle bag and multiple sleeping bags.

  “What’s in there?” I asked, gesturing at the bag hanging off of CJ’s shoulder.

  “Awesome shit, including stuff to make s’mores.” He dropped the bag in the dirt then unrolled the sleeping bags.

  My heart raced as I realized this was really happening. We’d be sleeping out under the stars! I popped up from the ground to help CJ, and the others did the same.

  Minutes later, CJ held up some sticks he’d pulled out of his bag. “Who’s ready for dessert?”

  I scooted closer. “I’ve never had these before!”

  “Never?” he asked, concentrating on sliding a marshmallow onto the pointy end of the stick.

  When I shook my head, he handed me the stick. “Just hold it over the fire and cook it as long as you want.”

  I followed his instructions, not bothering to tell him I knew how to make s’mores. I just never had before.

  Sam surprised me by dropping down next to me with his own marshmallow on a stick. His hand covered mine as he gently pulled mine up. “D-don’t c-catch it on f-f-fire.”

  He’d voluntarily sat next to me and spoken to me? Maybe this was a sign that Lex was right and Sam really didn’t dislike me.

  Nick thrust his marshmallow directly into the flames, grinning in delight as it caught on fire.

  Sam rolled his eyes. “Yeah. D-don’t d-do that.”

  Nick blew out the flame, waited a few seconds, then pulled it off to stick it in his mouth.

  “He seems to like it that way, though,” I said.

  Sam shrugged, turning his stick slightly. “We’ve d-decided Nick isn’t n-normal.”

  Nick glared in our direction, the fire casting spooky shadows over his face.

  When my marshmallow looked brown all the way around, CJ held up a graham cracker he’d broken in half and placed a piece of chocolate on one side. After helping me slide the marshmallow between the crackers, he took the stick from me, his dark eyes never leaving my face.

  I flushed. “What?”

  “I want to see your reaction to trying one,” he replied, a small smile curving his lips.

  He wanted to see my… I glanced at the treat in my hands. Was it really that good? The only way to find out was to take a bite, so I did. My eyes widened. The chocolate was melty, the marshmallow sticky and soft, and the graham cracker gave it a bit of a crunch.

  “This is amazing!”

  CJ’s grin turned into a chuckle as he roasted his own marshmallow. “Thought you’d like them.”

  I fought a blush as everyone went back to minding their own business.

  After s’mores, everyone brushed their teeth with the toothbrushes CJ had brought in his duffle bag, and we sat around telling stories until we couldn’t stay awake anymore.

  Connections

  My eyes flew open to reveal a nearly black sky sprinkled with little twinkling lights. It was still late, or perhaps it was early. I wasn’t entirely sure. Why was I even awake? Rolling over, I placed my hands under my head, trying to get more comfortable. The sound of gravel crunching under someone’s weight caught my attention. I began to sit up, but a large hand moved to my stomach, pressing lightly.

  My pulse jumped, and I barely fought the urge to go invisible as I realized the hand wasn’t pinning me in place. It was more like a warning. A gasp came from the side of the house where the footsteps had been, and a few seconds passed before the sound of retreating steps could be heard.

  After a few moments of silence, CJ mumbled, “Whoever it was is gone now.”

  The hand on my stomach disappeared as Nick rolled to his side. Everyone seemed to settle back down, as if this were a regular occurrence. Did it happen often? Or perhaps they’d been expecting it after the texts I’d received.

  I made a mental note to ask them in the morning why they hadn’t been more concerned about it as I attempted to get more comfortable. My eyelids drifted shut as I sighed. I didn’t feel all that tired anymore, but I didn’t want to be too exhausted to do anything tomorrow.

  I had no idea how long I lay there with my eyes closed, willing myself to go back to sleep. A couple times I thought I was close, but then my eyes would pop open as I imagined I heard footsteps again.

  The sky was lightening when I rolled to my stomach, lifting my head to see the boys. Nick lay on one side of me, his large body almost perfectly still, except for his sides moving with every breath. I couldn’t even see CJ on the other side of him. Sam moved a little as he scratched his forehead, then he stilled again.

  Lex slept on the other side of me, and in the dawn light, I watched him toss and turn. He gave a moan.

  Suddenly Nick sat up, his gaze dropping to Lex. “What’s going on?”

  It wasn’t light enough to make out his features, so all I saw was his silhouette.

  “Bad dream?” I suggested.

  Jayden groaned and thrashed around, nearly hitting Sam in the head. The movement must have been enough to wake Sam because he flinched before sitting up.

  Thunder rumbled overhead, and my eyes widened. What was going on? The sky had been getting lighter. Now it suddenly darkened. It was as if the sun had peeked over the horizon and then dropped back down.

  “Is it going to
rain?”

  I barely got the question out before the dark clouds released a downpour.

  Nick was out of his sleeping bag so quickly my brain almost didn’t register his movement. “Lex, wake up!”

  Almost immediately, the rain stopped.

  My heart beat so frantically, I thought I was going to be sick.

  Sitting up, Lex glanced around. He picked up his glasses from above his pillow and put them on, the lenses covered in drops of water. “Shit. What the hell happened?”

  Climbing out of my soggy sleeping bag, I replied, “I think you were having a bad dream…”

  Sam came over, a pair of rimless glasses sitting crooked on his nose. “Is ev-everyone ok-kay?”

  CJ squatted next to me, and I was pretty sure he would have sat down if things had been drier. He shook out his hair like a dog, droplets of water flinging everywhere. I blew water out of my mouth as I twisted my own hair around my fingers, wringing out the excess water.

  Jayden woke up, a curse on his lips.

  Everyone answered Sam’s question with reassurances we were fine, and I nearly missed Lex’s mumbled words as he said, “Except I nearly drowned everyone.” His fingers played with the silver studs in his ears.

  I stared at him. He’d nearly drowned… wait… was he saying he was responsible for the rain? That was ridiculous. No one could actually control the weather… could they? What did I know about the Chimera Project? I knew there were multiple institutions. Obviously, not everyone with powers lived in them though. At least, I was almost positive Bas had powers. And obviously, Ollie did.

  Could Lex be from the program? What were the odds of finding more like me? Unless… had Lacey known there were others like me here? Was that why she’d dropped me off with the Reids? My thoughts raced, moving faster than I could follow. Were the other guys a part of the project?

  I bit my lip, taking a deep breath as I forced myself to calm down. Hadn’t Lacey said it was dangerous for anyone to find out my secret? That was probably why the guys hadn’t told me about their abilities. And we really hadn’t known each other that long, right?

  A hand touched my shoulder, and I flinched, glancing at CJ. “Are you all right, mon étoile?”

  I nodded, forcing a small smile. “Yeah. I’m good.”

  Nick stood, still watching his cousin. “Looks like the sleepover is over. Let’s get everything loaded back into CJ’s hybrid.”

  I blinked. If CJ had a car, why did he take the bus? I turned a curious gaze to CJ.

  “What?” He raised a brow, tilting his head as he stood.

  “Why do you take the bus?”

  “Habit, mostly.” He grabbed my right hand, pulling me to my feet. “And it allows me to finish any last minute homework I have.”

  “Oh.”

  We worked in silence as we all loaded everything into the vehicle that was like a cross between a car and an SUV.

  As we walked by the side of the house after loading everything, Nick stopped and glanced around. A multitude of vines crisscrossed over the gravel. I frowned. “I don’t think these were here last time I walked around the house.”

  CJ gave a half-hearted shrug. “I’m sure they’ll disappear over the next few days.”

  As Jayden walked past, he nearly tripped over the vines we were inspecting. With a curse, he scowled at the ground before continuing on his way.

  Nick placed a hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention. “Promise me you won’t go outside alone for right now?”

  I tilted my head as my brows rose in question.

  CJ nodded, agreeing with Nick. “Someone was out here last night. Not sure what scared them off, but I’d prefer you not make yourself an easy target.”

  The serious look both of them were giving me was so different from their usual expressions that I found myself promising to stay inside when I was alone.

  We got back to work, and by the time everything was cleaned up, I couldn’t stop shivering.

  Nick pulled me into his chest. “Go in and get warm, Hayls. We’ll text later.”

  I nodded, still in a bit of shock from everything that had gone on this morning and the rare moment of seriousness from Nick. Lex nodded at me and hopped into the driver’s seat of his SUV. Jayden hadn’t looked at anyone since we’d woken up, but his scowl kept me from asking him questions. He did wave in my direction before hopping into the SUV though, which gave me hope that he might at least still like us a little.

  Sam pushed his glasses up as he stepped in front of me. “You’re sh-shivering.”

  A small smile tugged at my lips. “It’s just a little rain.” Tilting my head slightly, I thought about asking why I’d never seen him wear his glasses before, but I guessed he usually wore contacts.

  He put a hand on my shoulder, and his gaze went behind me for a second. “H-head ins-side.”

  When I turned, I saw Phil standing on the back porch, watching us. “Bye, Sam. Thanks for trying to help figure out who was texting me.”

  “W-welcome. I’m n-not done s-searching though.”

  “I can’t ask you to keep—”

  He held up a hand, glancing over as Lex backed out of the driveway. “You aren’t as-sking.”

  What did that mean? That he’d do it anyway? When I glanced back at him, he gave a nod, gesturing that I should head inside.

  CJ twirled his keyring around a finger, waiting for Sam to get in. I had questions, but I didn’t want to keep them when their wet clothes were probably as uncomfortable as mine. With a wave, I jogged back to the house.

  “What happened?” Phil asked, his gaze still on CJ and Sam.

  “I’m not really sure. Is a flash storm a thing? It came on really fast and left just as quickly.” I shrugged as I headed inside.

  “Well, why don’t you head upstairs for a warm shower, then go back to sleep? Min has work today, but I’ll be home. Most likely, I’ll be spending that time in the office, since I have to catch up on a few things.”

  I nodded, thanking him as I headed upstairs. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go back to sleep, but it was worth a try.

  * * *

  Hours later, I stood in the kitchen, surveying all the ingredients I’d set on the counter. I’d always wanted to try this, but at the institute, I’d never had the ingredients or permission to make cookies. After getting the okay from both Min and Phil, I’d gotten to work.

  Double-checking the list of ingredients I needed, I frowned. I still needed quite a few things from the store. Most importantly, peanut butter and chocolate.

  I bit my lip, shuffling my way to the office door. “Phil?”

  “What’s up, Haylie?” He stood, coming to the front of his desk.

  “I was hoping to make cookies…” I hesitated, not wanting to bother him.

  “Yes?” He crossed his arms, tilting his head with curiosity.

  “I’m missing some ingredients, and was wondering if I could walk to the store to get what I need?” The worst he could say was no.

  “Sounds like a reasonable request. Let me go get some money for you.” He dropped a hand on my shoulder to give it a gentle squeeze before making his way across the house and into his bedroom. I followed him and stopped in his doorway. “Why don’t you invite those friends of yours? They all left abruptly after the downpour, and since I’ll be home, it’s all right for the boys to be here with you.”

  He came back to the doorway and handed me a fifty.

  “This is too much.” I didn’t need that many items, and I’d investigated when I went shopping with Min the last few times. Food wasn’t that expensive.

  With a chuckle, he headed back to the office. “Go ahead and get what you need. If you have any change, you can give it to me when you get home.”

  “Thank you!” I headed upstairs to grab my phone, a little surprised to see I had some messages.

  CJ: Who’s doing what today?

  Lex: Work.

  Nick: You know what I’m doing.

  Sam: Helping my uncle
at the gym.

  And there was a separate text message.

  Unknown: Your guard dogs won’t always be there to protect you. And don’t think you can get away by using your little disappearing act.

  I swallowed hard, a chill running down my spine. He knew what I could do? I rubbed the back of my neck, forcing myself to breathe calmly. He could be referring to anything.

  My phone rang, making me jump so badly I dropped it. Quickly picking it up, I answered it. “Hello?”

  “Please tell me you’re not doing anything today?” CJ’s voice sounded almost panicked.

  “Well, I had planned on walking to the store to get stuff to make cookies.” Was it important to know what I planned to do?

  “Can Nick come help you?”

  That seemed like a weird request. “Why? What’s up?”

  “He’s bored! The last time he came over out of boredom, he killed my Darth Vader flower!”

  That didn’t sound like something Nick would have done intentionally, but I could definitely see him accidentally uprooting the poor thing.

  “Is he over there now?” Even if CJ didn’t want Nick over for fear of having his flowers killed, I didn’t want Nick’s feelings to be hurt if he overheard CJ.

  “No. He’ll be here any minute though.”

  “This works out well. I planned to see if anyone was available to go to the store with me.” And I liked having Nick around. He made me laugh.

  “And even better, he has the car, since Lex is working today.” I didn’t know Lex had a job. “If you’re okay with it, I’ll send Nick to you as soon as he gets here.”

  “I’ll be waiting for him.”

  I headed downstairs and wandered into Phil’s office.

  He glanced at me, a smile lighting up his faintly freckled face. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m going to the store with Nick, if you’re okay with that?” He’d said to invite them, but I didn’t want to assume he’d still be okay with it.

  “Of course. Have fun. Just shoot me a text if you’re going anywhere else.”

  After a nod, I headed for the front room and sat on my knees on the couch so I could watch out the large window for Nick.