by S.A. Waters
“Carter, stop!” Dakota pleaded. But it was too late. I was already face-to-face with Tommy.
“Leave. Her. Alone.” I spoke firmly. I could see him at eye level, and I peered over him little bit; he should be very afraid.
“Or what?” He replied, trying to save face.
“Or this!” I shouted and I full on punched him in the face. He bent over a bit but recovered quickly. He attempted to punch me back, but I grabbed his arm and twisted it back with no effort, then I kicked him to the ground. All the training I had learned back in Mystic with Dylan had really helped. I kicked him one more time for good luck. By now, Tommy’s nose was ferociously bleeding, and I had scraped his arm up pretty bad. He was on the ground, almost unconscious. I bent down and grabbed his ear. “Apologize,” I demanded sternly. He nodded, but couldn’t get up to carry out the order. A teacher then yelled my name.
“Carter-Adrian Breese!” She yelled. I turned around. It was Mrs. Chuck. Of all the people I could’ve been caught by. I sighed and followed her through the crowd of interested students who had witnessed the fight, up to the principal’s office.
I was faced with a three day suspension. I couldn’t come back to school until Tuesday. My regular classes would resume then, and I was to leave immediately. The principal called my “parents,” who’s call went directly to Katy’s cell phone. “Hello?” She picked up. The principal explained what had happened and that I needed to be picked up; she agreed, and told me to wait outside the school. I gathered my things and Dakota walked me out.
“Why the hell did you do that?” She asked. “What were you thinking?”
“I did it because I was sick of him picking on me, and there was no reason why you had to be involved. I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m sorry, Dakota.” Right then Katy honked her horn. I waved goodbye and started walking.
“Carter,” She stopped me. “Thank you.” I gave a polite nod and smile; and got in the car. Nailed it!
“Thank’s Katy,” I greeted her, avoiding eye contact.
“I get a call in the middle of nowhere at work saying that you got into a fight? Carter! I can’t believe you! I had to close down so I could come pick you up! Why would you do that?” Katy started yelling at me. I felt really bad.
“I’m sorry,” That’s all I could manage. Then I noticed a smirk upon her face.
“So, how did it feel?” She asked, now interested in my fight.
“Actually, it felt good. I was sick of that kid. Do you think that Nate will get mad at me?”
“Nah. He would get a little upset, but he’ll be fine after an hour. In fact he might even congratulate you. So why did you do it?”
“I refused to get his basketball for him so he threw it at Dakota and her food spilt all over her nice shirt. So I took a stand.”
“Good for you! I’m proud, Carter-Adrian.”
“Really? So you’re not mad?”
“Nope. I just yelled at you because I felt like I needed to make you feel bad as your mother figure. It’s not as fun as it seems in the movies. Carter, why would I get mad at you for standing up for yourself and, more importantly, standing up for others. For what you believe in. What is there to be mad about?” I smiled.
“Thanks, Katy. For everything. Wait, mother figure? I’m like, a year younger than you!”
“Yes. However I am an adult because I’m eighteen. You are seventeen, making you a minor under the law. So ha.”
“Fine, mother. I get your point. Can I work at the diner during my days off?”
“Of course. Was that girl who thanked you Dakota?”
“Yes. Yes it was.”
“She’s pretty. You two should go out.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Ooooohhhhh! You guys would make a cute couple!”
“Oh shut up!”
“What? It’s true! I bet that she loves you now after what you just did for her.”
“I sure hope so. Hey, maybe she likes bad boys who get suspended!”
“Or maybe she likes nice guys who stand up for what they believe in.”
“It’s all about perspective.”
“Very true!” I had a good feeling that this wasn’t going to be such a bad weekend. But this is a great chance for me to get some more information on the location of Alpha Maximus. After work, my next stop is the house of Rebekah Ramer and her father.
That Saturday at work, Kody and James walked through the door.
“You beat up Tommy Payne!” James shouted.
“Are you freaking serious!” Kody joined in. “That’s awesome!” I laughed and stopped cleaning for a second.
“Who told you?” I asked them.
“Dakota,” Kody said.
“It was nothing really. Just sticking up for what I believe in. Nothing more.”
“It seems you are a man of many wise words.”
“Thanks for doing that though,” James said, his tone becoming more serious. “Drew told you about Kyle?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“She’s acted weird since the death. She sometimes still wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. Sometimes she’ll cry for hours. Not too often anymore, but for the first month she would cry a lot. After Kyle died she became quieter, and had a hard time defending herself. Dakota is very strong and has a lot of self control. Too much self control.”
“Yeah. She doesn’t really know when enough is enough. The fact that you not only did it for yourself but for her and others as well, it’s great,” Kody added. I had never seen James get that deep before. I had no idea that the plane crash affected her so much, thinking that the terrorists had hit my mark and killed me forever. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.
“Anytime, guys. Where’s Drew?” I changed the subject.
“I don’t know,” Kody said. “I think he’s with Dakota. So we decided to come thank you. Since I am no longer ‘sick’ and James isn’t ‘out of town.’” Typical James behavior. I was a little shocked that Kody and Drew were faking it though. Especially Drew.
After work I headed over to Rebekah Ramer’s house. School got out at 3:30, and it was 3:15. I peered through the window, and saw her dad passed out on the couch. I gasped. This was definitely the same guy from the FBI agency. He had the same slicked back black hair, same olive colored skin tone, and the same stubble from a recent shave. Behind the bushes, I heard footsteps. It wasn’t Rebekah, but instead Austin and Timothy. They walked up the driveway and barged in the house, not even knocking. Ramer immediately woke up and stood up at the sight of them.
“Darius Ramer?” Austin asked.
“Yes,” Darius replied. Then Austin pulled out a gun.
“Prove it,” He said, aiming his gun at Darius. Darius held out his hand, and Timothy touched it. Darius’s neck glowed an eye-blinding red. I fell backwards and couldn’t breath. What? I sat back upright again, and continued to watch. Darius climbed up his wall, and Timothy fell on the floor when he snapped his fingers. Hypnosis. Not fair. Timothy awoke when Darius snapped his fingers a second time. My eyes widened when Darius spoke again.
“Timothy Swanson and Austin DeLuca?” He asked.
“Yes,” Austin replied.
“Prove it.” Austin held out his hand and Darius touched it. Austin’s neck glowed the same shade of red, as well as Timothy’s. Austin pulled out his gun again, and looked at Darius’s dart board. He closed his eyes and turned around. Austin fired his gun between his legs, and bullseye. The bullet shot right through the center of the dart board. Then he opened his hand, producing a flame. Aim and fire. Now it was Timothy’s turn to show off. “HELLO DARIUS!!!!!” He screamed. Timothy’s voice was so powerful that it shattered the windows and almost burst an ear drum. Austin laughed and Darius nodded approvingly.
“And?” Darius asked. He apparently wasn’t content with Timothy’s one power.
“I have the other power of sight,” Timothy responded. Then he looked
out the window, ducking down as far as I could behind the bush.
“For example,” He said. “There is a boy hiding in your bush.” My heart sank as Austin stepped out of the window and I got up to run just before he grabbed me. I ran and ran all the way back to the barn. It was way too close. I didn’t have my hood on, but he didn’t see my face, thank God. I sat down on my mattress in shock. I really screwed things up.
Chapter 16
I didn’t go back to the Ramer’s house again. Instead, the only spy work I did was very far away. If I spotted them then I kept my distance and read their minds. Not too much information was recovered. It’s going to take some time and patience to get anything out of them - they’re as dumb as a doornail.
It was November 21. Thanksgiving was tomorrow, and school got out two days ago. I planned to spend it with Katy and her brother, Jack. The weather was cold and some snow had begun to fall.
I went back to the grocery store to pick up some food for tomorrow’s feast. Along the way, I heard a noise. A very faint, crying sound. I turned back around to see who it was. Sure enough, it was a girl crying behind a trash can. To be more specific, it was Dakota.
“Dakota,” I muttered. “What’s wrong?” I sat next to her as she picked up her head from her arms.
“Carter,” She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her jacket sleeve. “I’m fine. What are you doing here?”
“Picking up some stuff for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I think the real question is, what are you doing here? Where are Kody and the others?”
“Come with me.” She said as she lead me into an alley I was unfamiliar with. She sat down again, and I sat right next to her.
“Remember how I had told you about my ex, Kyle?” She asked. Uh-oh. I know what this is about now.
“Yeah.” I replied, twitching a bit. My voice cracked.
“Well, we didn’t break up, he died in a fire in June.”
“I know. Drew told me.”
“Oh. Anyways, in the eighth grade, he had asked me out. Today. This would have been our five year anniversary.” And there it was. I felt a tear roll down my face. This was all just way too much.
“You remind me so much of him. You guys even have the same eyes.”
“Dakota, I know how you feel.” She started to get angry as she stood up.
“No, you don’t Kyle! Nobody understands! Why do you think you always know the answer to everything, Kyle?” My heart sank. Those were the same words she had said to me last year when her parents got a divorce and her brother drowned. I couldn’t take this anymore, I grabbed her and pulled her in to kiss her. She tried to fight at first, but then she accepted it and enjoyed the moment, as did I. Her lips were so soft, and everything just felt so right. When I pulled away, I felt tingly, but for another reason. Then my whole body started to sting when I realized that I had been touched by a Lybrian. I felt the mark on my neck burn, as it glowed a bright gold instead of the cobalt blue color. Soon the stinging stopped and the light from my mark dimmed down; I still felt tingly though. What did I just do? I had been exposed as The Light. I looked over at Dakota with a worried and horrified look on my face. She had taken several steps back and gasped.
“K-k-k-Kyle?” She stuttered. I nodded, and she ran to me, jumping into my arms. I caught her and held her close. “Kyle,” She said again. I could feel her tears drip down onto my shirt. “I’ve missed you so much. I can’t believe it. I love you, Kyle.”
“I love you too. But I’m not Kyle. I’m Carter now.”
“Wait, oh my gosh.”
“What is it?” I asked, putting her down.
“What have I done!? I have just exposed you to everybody! Now you’re really going to die because they are going to find you and you are going to have an awful death and I’m going to get kicked out of the Code of Law and become a mortal! I’m so sorry!”
“The Pacts probably already knew who I was. It’s not your fault and it’s going to be okay. I’m not going to die. You, Kody, James, and Drew and I are going to kick some Alpha ass.” Speaking of which, Kody, Drew, and James came around the alley, panting and full of concern.
“DAKOTA!” Kody screamed. “HE’S BEEN TOUCHED! WE HAVE TO FIND HIM!” Then James looked up at me.
“Guys,” He said. “Look.” They saw my mark glow. I did my nervous routine, where I cock my head to the side and scratch the back of my neck.
“Kyle?” Kody asked in awe. He stepped back and his face turned white as if he had just seen a ghost.
“Surprise?” I said. Drew came up to me and reached out to touch me.
“Is it really you?” He asked in a voice so small it was almost a whisper.
“Yeah. Hi, guys.” James gave me a slight head nod, but didn’t say anything. Kody came up to me and then gave me a hug. When he released, I saw him begin to cry.
“I can’t believe it,” He said. “How were you exposed?”
“Today was Dakota and my’s anniversary, so when she was crying, I lost control and kissed her. Therefore touching her. It wasn’t her fault.”
“I know. Actually I’m kind of relieved. I’ve missed you, buddy. My brother has come home.” I smiled and looked up.
“I love you guys. Let’s get out of here before the Pacts find out where we are.”
“Where?”
“My place. Hurry. We have to be stealthy here and we can’t run, but everybody put up your hood and let’s sneak through a few streets. If you guys knew that I had been touched, then it’s more than likely the Pacts did too.” Everyone put on their hoods except for James, because he wasn’t wearing a jacket. Oh well.
We snuck out of the town and on to the old road that leads to the barn. That’s when we sprinted. We made it to the barn safely, and I shut the doors behind me.
“Take a seat,” I instructed. Dakota sat next to me on the bed, Drew sat on the floor, Kody pulled up a chair, and James climbed up and sat on the storage shelf. Show off.
“So since we are all here and my true identity is revealed,” I stated. “we need a game plan. I’m only safe tonight. I know I can defeat and find Alpha Maximus, but I can’t do it alone. I need your help. However, we can’t leave because the Pacts are here. So we need a plan. What are your guys’ powers? If you can, demonstrate. Drew Ethan Van Unen, you go first.”
“Gladly. I have camouflage and I’m pretty flexible.” Drew stood up and inhaled. Then he disappeared. We heard a large clapping sound, and Drew was now visible. Now for flexibility, he stretched his arm across the barn and touched the wall. Impressive.
“Nice. Dakota Grace Wilson?” I looked next to me and she was gone. “Where’s Dakota, guys?” Then she reappeared up on the storage shelf next to James.
“Invisibility, everyone!” She said proudly. Dakota hopped down and them picked up the whole mattress with me on it. “And strength.”
“Very nice,” I complimented as she sat back next to me. “Kodiak Christian Ge. Your turn.” Kody stood up and cleared his throat, rubbing his hands together in preparation. He pulled a knife from his pocket and cut Drew’s arm. Deep. I stood up, even though Drew wasn’t hurt at the slightest. Then Kody touched the spot he had cut and almost instantly the cut was gone. Then He flew across the barn. That’s right, flew. No wings, Kody was just able to fly.
“Alright, Peter Pan,” I said. “Finally, it’s James Schlepi’s turn to show off.” James got down from the shelf and went outside, not saying a single word. We followed him out as he started to run. Really fast. I asked him to run around the barn ten times, and when he was finished (I had timed him), his time was 6.7 seconds. Then James went back in the barn.
“Don’t you have another power?” I asked. No response from James.
“He can breath underwater,” Dakota said, then fired a dirty look at James.
“That makes sense why he excelled in track and swimming. He can run fast, and breathing underwater makes him more agile.” Dakota smiled and nodded. James still just sat the
re. Was he mad at me or what?
“Alright, Mr. Light,” Kody said, lightening up the mood. “What are your powers?” I read James’s mind because I was curious and sick of his silence.
“I should’ve known he was the Light. Now I wonder if he wants to be called Kyle or Carter?” No sign of the silence, but still good for demonstration purposes.
“James is wondering if I should be called Kyle or Carter. The answer is Carter or Carter-Adrian. I am not Kyle anymore. And yes, my power is mind reading. My other power is durability. So I can jump off roofs and stuff and not get injured. For example, When I got shot in the plane, it hurt a little bit, however I got away with only a scratch. No big deal.”
“That’s cool,” Drew said. “So what’s the plan, boss?”
“We have to find the location of Alpha Maximus. There are three Pacts that I know of in Rockfrett. Darius Ramer, who helped get me arrested in my last life; Austin DeLuca, one of the terrorists who crashed the plane; and Timothy Swanson, the other terrorist.”
“Ramer, doesn’t his daughter go to Oliver?”
“Yeah. Her name is Rebekah. So Darius, Austin, and Timothy are the only ones who would know his location. I know where Darius lives, and that Austin and Timothy hang out there while Rebekah’s at school. So here’s what we need to do in order to capture the Pacts. Austin and Timothy are pretty much joined at the hip. So we can go after Darius first when he’s alone.”
“That’s not possible,” James said. The first words he had spoken to me.
“Why not?”
“Darius Ramer is a retired spy, and the most feared among Lybrians. If Alpha had a job, Darius would be on it and would get it done. He retired because he almost blew up Pact. Now he is back on the job, and my guardians told me that he’s stronger than ever.”
“How do you know?”
“My guardians. He holds the powers of hypnosis and wall climbing.”
“That part I knew. However we all can do our part to get them in our captivity. Here is the plan. Kody, you are going to fly, carrying James, into his house down the chimney, and have James open the door. Your super speed will make the door open swiftly and silently. Drew and Dakota, you are going to camouflage and go invisible to knock him out. Dakota that’s your job. We will go from there. This will happen the day after Thanksgiving.”