The Legend of the Firewalker
Page 33
Leah smiled and Angela beamed. “Sure,” she said. “I would love too.”
She headed over to him, but suddenly he started looking around and scanning the ground. Nathan held up the plaque in his hand and chuckled. “Maybe I should place this somewhere or put it in my room first,” he said.
“Gibberish,” said Angela, her blonde curly hair bouncing on her shoulders. “I’ll hold it for you. You guys go ahead and dance before you miss the song.”
Malick fidgeted with the sunglasses attached to his shirt before finally running his fingers through his already perfectly coifed hair. “Lafonda,” he said. “Would you…”
“I know you’re not asking me to dance,” she said.
“Uh—treated!” projected Alan from the table seated far away. He had a grin on his face and continued to text feverishly on his cell phone.
Malick grinned. “Why not?” he asked with a chuckle. “Will you?”
Lafonda appeared highly agitated. “I’ll pass,” she responded.
“Lafonda!” exclaimed Angela. She leaned in close to her and whispered loudly. “Is that anyway to treat a guy that saved your life?”
Lafonda folded her arms across her chest. “I would like to think of it as we’re now even,” she said. “Considering how his reckless driving could have killed us before we even got to camp!”
Malick smiled coyly. “Just one dance,” he said and Lafonda glowered.
Angela swiftly took the plaque from his hands and shoved Lafonda into Malick’s arms. “Go ahead,” she said. “One dance never killed anybody.”
Nathan shook his head and gave his plaque to Angela. “Shall we?” he asked extending his arm.
“Yes, we shall,” responded Leah, taking a hold of it.
Nathan guided Leah to the middle of the courtyard. He laid his hand gently on her waist and they started to dance. “Do you think Lafonda will kill Angela for making her slow dance with Malick?” he asked.
Leah tilted her head over Nathan’s shoulder to get a better view of Malick and Lafonda. “Most likely,” she said with a chuckle. “But so far, so good because they’re still dancing and there may even be some talking going on.”
Nathan continued to dance and waited until he was facing them again. “Yup, it looks like they’re having a conversation,” he said. “They’re definitely talking about something.” Nathan laughed. “But based on Lafonda’s expression, I don’t know if it’s good.”
Nathan looked down while laughing and noticed the white bandage around Leah’s arm. “So, how is it?” he asked in a more somber tone.
“Oh,” she responded after following his gaze. “It’s okay.” She returned his gaze by examining his bandaged hand. “And you?” she asked. “Are you okay?”
“I’m all right,” he said. “Things could be better, but believe me, I’m not complaining.”
There was a brief silence and Leah’s head tilted a little as she gazed into his eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “For coming after us; that was very brave of you.”
Nathan blushed and tried to conceal his embarrassment. “No problem,” he said. He quickly diverted his eyes away and was surprised to see Roy standing over by Argus and LaDonda. It looked like they were having an intense discussion, but Roy quickly smiled after he discovered Nathan was looking at him. He held up a bottle of Wool’s Ointment and waved. “Oh boy,” commented Nathan, swiftly looking away. “Talk about embarrassment.”
Leah laughed. “What?” she asked. “What is it?”
“Oh, nothing,” responded Nathan quickly. He dropped his eyes and tried not to look at his grandfather again. “So,” he said, trying to think of something to change the subject. “How are you holding up? I mean, is this all new to you? Did you always know about your powers?”
“No,” she said. “In fact, it wasn’t until Amanda, wait Lauren – whatever her name is, kidnapped me that I knew what was going on.” She paused. “I knew I wasn’t crazy though. I mean – after the attack at school, I knew the stuff happening to me was real regardless of what anyone else thought was going on.”
Nathan smiled reassuringly.
“Apparently in the beginning,” she continued. “Lauren tried to kidnap me by getting me into The Space In Between through my dreams. When that didn’t work, she decided to just send the Shadow Creatures after me.”
“Did she ever say what she wanted?” he asked.
Leah shook her head. “No,” she said. “Only that she was looking for someone special – someone with a particular power.”
He thought about what Leah said about not being crazy, and the thought of her being alone in the hospital made him sad again. He looked over her shoulder, near the refreshments table, and caught a glimpse of Samantha Darding standing next to Eva Marie Evans, Hugo, and her brother Jim. Nathan sighed. He was at least pleased to see Sam well again.
Leah pulled back a little so that she could see Nathan’s face and smiled. “It’s okay,” she said. “I’m not in the hospital anymore and at least now there are people in my life that believe me and know that I’m not crazy.”
Nathan smiled.
“So,” she said cheerfully and with a grin. “Lafonda tells me you were having dreams about me.”
Nathan’s face was flushed. He was embarrassed again. “Yeah, sort of,” he said. “And I apologize if that sounds weird or freaky.” He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. “It’s just another one of my abilities,” he said. “Through my dreams I can see the past or the future.”
“It’s okay,” she said with a laugh. “It probably would explain why I never felt alone in all this. Even when I was in the hospital, I always felt like someone was with me.”
Suddenly, there was a series of loud bangs followed by little popping sounds. Nathan and Leah both ducked as the courtyard lights dimmed and a bright display of red, white, and then blue dazzling sparkles filled the sky.
They both stood up straight again and laughed. Leah ran her hands through her hair and straightened her dress. “It’s just fireworks,” she said through stifled giggles. She looked up to watch the sky and then turned to look at Nathan. “What?” she asked, with a smile. “Why are you smiling at me?”
He beamed and the light from the fireworks revealed the happiness in his eyes. “Because your laugh is how I always imagined it would be.”
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Table of Contents
AWAKE
NIGHTMARES
PARTY
PARTY’S OVER
STEPHEN MALICK
LEADERSHIP CAMP
A LITTLE COMPETITION
THE FALLEN ONES
PREMONITION
BLUE FLAME
TWO THINGS FOR CERTAIN
THE SPACE BETWEEN
THE TIES THAT BIND
RAINED OUT
MIDNIGHT TRAIN
PNEUMA NOVO
HEROES
A LIGHT IN THE DARK
SOMEONE TO COME
911
MYTHS BECOME REALITY
LOOSE ENDS