Shifting Fate (The Neturu Chronicles Book 4)

by Sarah Carter

  “You wouldn’t want an army of super beings?”

  She smirks and shakes her head. “No, we wouldn't. I promise you, we are a peaceful species. That’s not what we are about. Do we want to advance scientifically? Yes, of course. Are we going to mess with things like that? No. We won’t be God. We won't mess with people like that. We don’t need a super army.”

  “Who needs a super army when they have you?” Connor laughs.

  “True,” Lexi snorts. “But my dad won’t let me join the guard. He won’t let me be used like that. He refuses.”

  “Okay, yeah,” Connor says. “But if it came down to it, they wouldn’t use you to protect them?”

  Lexi shrugs. “Maybe, I doubt it will ever come to that.”

  Connor raises an eyebrow. “If war was about to break out, you wouldn’t protect your people.”

  “Of course I would,” Lexi states. “But I doubt war will break out. I have a feeling it will be awhile before humans find out about us.”

  “You never know,” Connor draws out.

  Tilting her head, Lexi goes, “That’s true.”

  “That's beside the point,” Connor says. “This is incredible. Aliens are real, and they aren’t going to eat our brains.”

  “No, no taking over the world and no eating your brains,” Lexi laughs. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  “You are obviously not tiny, genderless grey men,” Connor teases, scanning up and down her body. “I still would like to see an alien body someday.”

  She rolls her eyes. “I bet you would.”

  Connor laughs, and Lexi shakes her head. It’s then that her eyes look in the rear view mirror. It just dawns on her that the car parked a block away hasn’t moved since they’ve been sitting there. Someone is inside of it, but they haven't moved. Lexi exhales, “Huh?”

  “What’s up?” Connor asks.

  “Don’t look behind us,” Lexi says. “But I think there is someone watching us.”

  “Should you go over there and kick their ass?” Connor says. “Just blow the door off the car.”

  Lexi scans the neighborhood and sees the families outside and kids playing in the yard. “No, I can't. There are too many witnesses.”

  “What are you going to do?” Connor asks.

  “Make their car unmovable,” Lexi declares. She closes her eyes and tries to detach the battery in the other car. But she suddenly realizes that she can’t. “Oh my gosh,” she gasps.

  “What?”

  She spins around and looks at the car behind them. Lexi tries even harder and nothing. “My powers, they aren’t working,” she states slowly, feeling panicked.

  “Has this ever happened before?”

  Looking at him, she gasps, “No!”

  It’s then that the car behind them turns on. It pulls away from the curb and drives past them. The guy turns and locks his eyes on Lexi’s as he drives past. Her jaw drops. She swears she sees the guy smirk as he drives away. She frantically goes to put her car into drive to follow him. It won’t start. “What’s going on?” Connor stammers.

  “I don’t know,” Lexi shouts. “What in the hell!”

  The other car turns the corner, and Lexi’s car turns on. She quickly slams it into first and floors it. The car increases speed rapidly. She skids around the corner, but the car isn’t there. Lexi slows down at the next intersection, but there isn’t anything there. So, she goes down to the next intersection. There’s no car there either.

  “Where did they go?” she snaps.

  “I don’t see them anywhere,” Connor says, looking around.

  “I’m in one of the fastest cars,” Lexi exclaims. “How can I lose them?”

  “They must have turned in somewhere,” Connor replies, staring out the window.

  Lexi slams her hand against the steering wheel. “What is going on?”

  “What was going on with your powers?” Connor inquires, raising an eyebrow.

  She shakes her head. “I have no idea. They’ve never done that before. I couldn’t do telekinesis at all.”

  “Never thought I would hear someone say that,” Connor snorts. “But that’s not good.”

  “No, it’s not good,” Lexi replies.

  “Do you think it’s time to tell your dad?” Connor asks. “This is pretty serious.”

  Thinking about it for a moment, Lexi finally shakes her head. “No, what could he do?”

  “Watch you from a ship,” Connor says. “That’s doable right?”

  “Yeah,” Lexi sighs. “I have a security detail anyway.”

  Jerking his head, he stammers, “What...what are you talking about?”

  “Someone is always near by,” Lexi explains. “I have a detail.”

  “They don’t see us kiss?” Connor counters.

  Lexi rolls her eyes. “My security detail isn’t that close. Dad knows I can destroy anything around me. Everyone else has security up their ass but not me. I can kill with a thought.”

  “But your powers were just not working,” Connor points out. “So, maybe you do need a security detail.”

  “If I tell my dad, you will no longer remember me,” Lexi emphasizes. “Is that what you want?”

  “Of course not,” he replies. “But, this is pretty serious. Your powers didn’t work!”

  She bites her lip and thinks hard. “I know that, but they haven’t done anything violent or threatening.”

  “Yet. They haven’t done anything yet.”

  Looking at a trash can, Lexi knocks it over with her mind. “Well, my powers are working again.”

  “Did you try any of your other powers?” Connor asks. “Or just the telekinesis?”

  “Just the telekinesis,” Lexi says. “I was sort of in shock. Also, I don’t know if that person was actually anything bad. It could have just been a stranger driving past. I can’t start attacking people.”

  He shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know what to tell you. It’s awfully suspicious that all this stuff keeps on happening.”

  “I know,” Lexi sighs. “I don’t know what to think.”

  “I think it’s pretty significant that you couldn’t use your powers. That’s huge.”

  Lexi just stares ahead of her. “That’s never happened before. Ever.”

  “Well, it wasn’t powers; it was power,” Connor notes.

  “That doesn’t matter. My powers have never disappeared before,” Lexi states. “Any of them.”

  They sit in silence for a minute. Finally, Connor says, “You may have to end up telling your dad.”

  “You know what will happen,” Lexi reiterates.

  “Yeah, but this is pretty serious.”

  She sighs heavily. “I know. I don’t know what to do.”

  Reaching over, Connor takes her hand. “We will figure this out.”

  “I just don’t get it,” Lexi states quietly. “I have never lost my powers before.” Her eyes turn to him and widen. “Like ever.”

  “Maybe it was a glitch,” he offers.

  “A glitch,” Lexi gasps. “I’m not a computer.”

  Connor thrusts his hands out. “Yeah, but aren’t you the only one like you.”

  Lexi nods her head.

  “Weren’t you engineered,” he adds on.

  “Yes, what does that have to do with anything?”

  He raises his eyebrows. “What if you glitched? You don’t know how you have your powers. What if there was something that made your powers hiccup?”

  “What would do that, though?” Lexi counters.

  With a shrug of his shoulders, Connor answers, “I have no idea. I just found out aliens are real. How should I know?”

  She slams her head against her head rest. “This is so annoying. I don’t get what's going on.”

  “Maybe those people have something that messes with you,” Connor suggests.

  Her head turns towards him. “What?”

  Waving his hand, Connor says, “What if they have something that messes with your powers.”

/>   “How would they have that? I don’t think they’re Neturu.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Lexi throws her hands up. “I don’t know. This whole thing is just weird. I mean, maybe they have to be Neturu.”

  “But why come after you then?” Connor asks. “If your dad rules the species. Wouldn’t they be scared of him?”

  “Wouldn’t they be scared of me? With all that I can do,” She replies. “I don’t know who it could be.”

  He rubs his chin. “I have no idea. This whole thing is alien to me. Get it. Alien.”

  She deadpan stares at him. “Funny.”

  Connor rolls his eyes. “I was trying to make you laugh, but honestly, I’m going to be of no help coming up with ideas for this. I didn’t know about any of it up until earlier today. So, I’m still wrapping my brain around the fact that you are an alien. I real life alien.”

  “I’m actually an alien to the aliens,” Lexi whispers. “A true freak.”

  “But an awesome freak!” Connor exclaims. “Imagine the good you could do with your powers.”

  That makes her smile. “That’s really the only thing I like to use my powers for,” she explains. “I like to do good in this world.”

  “Think of all that you could do if you became a detective,” Connor states.

  “With my intelligence I always thought I would do something scientific, but you are right. I could do a lot of good.”

  Smiling and nodding, he says, “Missing children, murderers. You could do so much good.”

  “But how would I decide who to help?” Lexi asks. “I couldn’t solve every case. How would I choose?”

  “Do you think you would see every case, though? If it involves you, you may not see it, but you could probably use your powers to help.”

  Her eyes widen and she agrees, “That’s true.”

  Connor waves his hand. “You could do a lot of good. And if someone is running from you, you can just trip them.”

  A hearty laugh comes from Lexi. “That would be funny.”

  “You would make an amazing detective,” Connor declares solidly. “You should really look into it.”

  “I think I will,” Lexi replies, smiling. She then turns her attention to outside her window. “First though, I have to figure out what’s going on.”

  He shrugs. “What can you really do? If you can’t stop them.”

  “I’m going to try next time,” Lexi states. “I’m going to whip out all of my powers. If things go wrong, I will have my dad step in.”

  “He will erase my memory,” Connor sighs.

  She presses her lips together. “I will think of something.”

  “Maybe you should think of something and tell him right now.”

  Shaking her head, Lexi replies, “No. I’m going to try and take care of this myself. I will only have my dad step in if things go badly.”

  “But what if they go really badly?” Connor inquires. “What if it’s too much to cover up?”

  Lexi sighs. “I don’t know. This whole situation is screwed up.” She turns her car around and heads back to Connor’s house.

  “That’s for sure,” Connor says. “This whole alien thing is a little much, and now there’s some sort of conspiracy.”

  “Yeah, it’s weird,” she agrees. “There’s not much I can do until I actually catch one of them.”

  “You may have to use your powers next time,” Connor suggests.

  “Yeah, I’m going to,” Lexi states.

  With a frown, Connor asks, “And if your powers don’t work?”

  “I will come up with an idea,” Lexi replies. “I’m a genius, after all.”

  Connor laughs. “Full of yourself much?”

  She sighs again. “No, I just have all the knowledge up in my brain.”

  “That’s a fact,” Connor says. “Well, we will figure it out.”

  They get to his house and park. Suddenly, they hear yelling. They look up. This bigger, scruffy guy is standing on Connor’s porch. “Oh shit,” Connor exhales.

  “Who’s that?” Lexi asks.

  “My stepdad,” Connor groans. “I have to go.”

  When he opens the door, Lexi hears yelling. “Get your stupid ass in here right now,” the stepdad yells.

  “Is everything okay?” Lexi asks Connor, as he gets out.

  He leans over in the door. “Yeah, you should go.”

  Lexi looks at the stepdad, who is glaring at Connor. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, go, it will just make it worse,” Connor says. “I will talk to you later.”

  “Okay,” Lexi whispers. Connor barely smiles and closes the door. Lexi watches him walk to his house. When he gets to the porch, the stepdad grabs him by the collar and throws him in the house. She narrows her eyes. Thinking about it for a minute. Lexi gets an idea. She knows something is up. Pulling away from the curb, she drives home. When she gets there, she looks around. No one is looking. Closing her eyes she disappears.

  Reappearing, she is behind Connor’s house, amongst the trees. Concentrating, she hears voices coming from the kitchen. She creeps over to that window. Trying not to be seen, she peers in. Connor is standing there with his stepdad. The stepdad is yelling at Connor. “I told you to clean the living room.”

  “I did,” he responds, thrusting out his hands. “I vacuumed and dusted.”

  “Not good enough! When I say clean, I mean clean.”

  Lexi is taken off guard. Usually Connor stands up tall and looks confident. Right now, he looks terrified. “I’m so sorry,” Connor stammers.

  “God, if I hadn’t made a promise to your mother, I’d leave you on the streets!” His stepdad yells. “You’re a pain in my ass.”

  “I’m only here for another year,” Connor says.

  “Are you back talking?”

  Quickly, shaking his head, Connor stammers, “No...not at all.”

  The stepdad jumps forward and grabs Connor’s hair. He yanks his head back and puts his other hand around his throat. “Remember what happens when you mouth off.”

  Fear washes over Connor’s face. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’d better watch yourself,” the stepdad seethes. Connor jerkily nods. He lets him go. Connor obviously sighs. The stepdad then reaches back and punches him in the stomach. He instantly drops to the floor. Lexi gasps. The stepdad turns and looks out the window. Lexi disappears.

  She reappears in her room. Lexi runs out of the door and makes her way downstairs.

  “MOM!” She yells.

  Lexi searches the house and finds her mom in her office. “Hi Lexi,” her mom chimes.

  “Mom, I need your help. I don’t know what to do,” Lexi cries.

  Her mom looks panicked. “What’s wrong?”

  “Connor’s dad beats Connor,” she says. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “How do you know that?” .

  “I had a suspicion that something was up, and I went back and looked in the window,” Lexi exclaims. “He grabbed him by the throat and then punched him in the stomach. We have to do something!”

  Standing up, Lexi’s mom comes around her desk and hugs Lexi. “Okay, sweetie. Tell me everything.”

  She knows she can’t tell her mom everything, but she tells her everything she knows of Connor and his stepdad. Her mother lets her go and then taps her chin.

  “What?” Lexi asks.

  “I have an idea, but you can’t breathe a word of it to your father,” her mom says.

  “We need to do something,” Lexi gasps.

  Her mom looks around and then says, “Get us out of here. Take us to a park.”

  Lexi grabs her mom and jumps them to a nearby park. “What are we doing?” Lexi asks.

  “I didn’t want your father to overhear,” her mom replies. “Okay, so you need to find out when Connor’s not going to be there.”

  “Okay,” Lexi says.

  Smiling, her mom whispers, “I need a picture of his mother. I’m going to change into her and scare th
e crap out of his stepdad.”

  She presses her lips together. This sounds very much like what she did the other night. Lexi wonders if she is more like her mom than she thought. But, she knows she will do anything to help Connor.

  “Okay,” she agrees.

  “So, your job is to get a picture of his mother. My job is to scare his stepdad,” her mom declares.

  “Do you know we are a lot alike,” Lexi laughs.

  Her mom smiles. “Why do you say that?”

  “This sounds like something I would come up with,” Lexi answers. “I really am your daughter.”

  “That you are. Never doubt that,” her mother teases. “Just don’t breathe a word of this to your father.”

  Lexi takes her fingers and acts like she’s zipping her lips. “Not going to say a word.”

  “We should do this soon,” her mom states. “So, try and get a picture.”

  “I will wait until they aren’t home,” Lexi replies. “Then I will jump in there.”

  “Don’t get caught,” her mom sternly says.

  She rolls her eyes. “Mom, I’m better than that.”

  Winking, her mom laughs, “I know. We will take care of this, and I haven’t done something sneaky with my abilities since I was your age.”

  “You go on missions, Mom,” Lexi scoffs.

  “Totally not the same,” her mom states. “Your dad is in charge there. We will keep this one under the radar. You know he wouldn't want us to interfere or use my powers that way.”

  “I say we take this asshole down,” Lexi exclaims.

  Her mom tilts her head. “Lexi, language.”

  That comment makes Lexi roll her eyes. “Mom, really?”

  “Yes, I have to be a mom once in awhile. I may not be that old, but I’m still your mom.”

  Lexi smiles. “I know.”

  She puts her hand on Lexi’s shoulder. “We will take care of this. If this doesn't work, we will get your father involved.”

  “He wouldn’t do anything,” Lexi groans.

  A look of shock passes over her face. “Your father wouldn’t do anything! Why in the world would you think that?”

  Shuffling her foot, Lexi says, “It may out the Neturu. He wouldn’t do anything.”

  “That’s totally not true,” her mom replies. “You don’t know your dad very well then. He would step in and do something.”

  “Why don’t we get him involved now?” Lexi inquires.