Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1)

by J. M. Cataffo

  Sally ran her fingers along the top of the server, then solemnly added, “And we still need to figure out what happened to my mother.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  IT TURNED OUT they didn’t even need to worry about a place to stay. Jake’s father had converted two of the empty offices in the switching station into basic sleeping quarters complete with cots and stored bedding. Jake told them his father had been too cheap to rent a hotel room when they’d come to town to work on the equipment. They’d just stay at the station whenever they needed to. There was also a small bathroom complete with sink and toilet. The only thing missing was a shower. For this, they’d have to go down to a nearby truck stop to rent a shower. It wasn’t the most convenient of solutions, but it meant they didn’t have to go without.

  Sally was glad his father was so prepared. It meant she wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. He’d even kept fresh bed sheets sealed inside plastic containers.

  Since there were two cots, Sally slept on one and Lani took the other. The boys grabbed bedding and picked cot space in the next room. Jake was the only one who had not slept. From the looks of it, he’d spent the whole night working on the site.

  Sally awoke just before dawn to the sound of thunder and pounding of rain on the roof. Unable to fall back asleep and needing to stretch her legs, she went out onto the metal catwalk that ran the length of the upstairs rooms.

  A few minutes later, Yasif came out. Upon seeing her, he hung his head and meandered toward her. “I’m sorry, Sal. I’ve been a real dick lately.”

  She ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing it out since she didn’t have a brush. She wanted to agree, to tell him he’d been more than just a dick, but sleep had restored her patience. “We’ve all been under a lot of stress.”

  “Any word on Steph?” he asked.

  “Not yet,” she replied.

  He shifted nervously. “I just wanted you to know, I meant what I said. Back in the hotel.”

  Her defenses went up. “Is now the best time?”

  “I suppose not.” His head bowed. “I just…”

  “Yaz.” She lifted his head so she could make eye contact. “I know you want to talk about this, but it really is a bad time to try to discuss things. We’ll talk when all this stuff is over, okay?”

  He nodded and managed a weak smile before retreating back into his room.

  By now the others had begun to stir. Sally went back into her room to find Lani brushing her hair and applying makeup from a small bag she’d brought from the van. She smiled. “A reporter has to always be ready to be on camera.”

  “Wish I had a bag like that,” Sally admitted, wishing she could at least brush her hair.

  “Come here.” Lani waved her over. “I’m sure I can find some colors for you.”

  Sally hesitantly sat on a small stool in front of Lani. She’d never been much for makeup, preferring a more manageable and natural look, but though she’d never admit it, the idea of being made up by Lani was a bit exciting.

  Lani went to work on her face, washing it off with some Wet-naps and then applying some light makeup and brushing out her hair.

  “I feel like I’m caught in some crazy nightmare,” Sally said.

  “I know exactly how you feel,” Lani replied.

  Sally thought a moment. “I just wish I knew what to do.”

  “You’ll figure it out,” Lani reassured.

  “How can you say that? I’m just a teenager.”

  “You’re almost eighteen, aren’t you?”

  “Well, yes…” Sally had forgotten; she didn’t feel almost eighteen, and she certainly didn’t feel like she was ready to become an adult.

  “You know more about what’s going on than I do. I’ve only just gotten involved in all this.” Lani pulled at a tangle in Sally’s hair.

  “That’s just it. We have no idea what’s going on. All we know is there are shape-shifting creatures apparently killing people and taking over their lives.”

  “And who have they taken over so far?” Lani asked.

  “Well…” Sally considered what she’d seen so far. “There was that guy in the city, then Mrs. Padilla. That’s all that I know about so far.”

  “Who was the man in the city?” Lani asked.

  “I have no idea. I didn’t know who he was, only that he wore a top hat—which I thought a bit odd. Don’t see many men wearing those anymore.” Sally remembered the elevator. “Oh, and he apparently lives somewhere in the building my mom lives in…” She stopped herself, sadness welling up at the thought. “…lived in.”

  “Remember what I said. Let’s not jump to conclusions yet. We need more facts. We know the man lives in the building; we can go there and see if we can figure out who he is. I also suggest coming up with a plan for interrogating the headmistress or those close to her. We need more information.” Lani continued to work through a few tangles.

  “How are we supposed to do all that?” Sally asked.

  “There are five of us,” Lani suggested. “We break into teams and each takes a task. We find what we can and meet back after. We just need to move fast before the government men figure out what we’re doing.”

  “What if they have information?” Sally asked.

  Lani stopped brushing a moment and looked at her. “Do you really think they’re going to share it if they do? They’re probably interested in the shape-shifters as a military weapon or trying to cover up an alien invasion or something.”

  “Not into conspiracy theories much, are you?” Sally asked.

  Lani laughed. “You get to be in my job long enough, you see them everywhere.”

  Sally raised an eyebrow.

  “Consider this—if these things had only wanted information, why kill Mrs. Padilla unless the goal was to replace her from the start? And if that’s the case, where is the benefit of a long-term observation of the school if not to gather intel on the disappearances? If whoever is behind this has the capacity to take the place of Mrs. Padilla long-term, you can bet there are more of these shape-shifters out there—we know of at least two. And that means this isn’t going to be localized to just the school.”

  Sally felt sick for a moment. What if she was right? Could there really be a larger conspiracy? A silent invasion? Her mind fueled with these thoughts, Sally realized how easily it could happen. Replace a few key people—no one would be the wiser. “But why?”

  “Why what?” Lani answered.

  “Why replace people at all?”

  “My only guess is that whatever happened to Billy, Daniel, Shayne, and Marcia—Mrs. Conley, rather—has something to do with it. Somehow, their disappearance is linked to whatever goal these things have.”

  “In my dream, Daniel mentioned something about Billy’s path and my path meeting again in the future,” Sally told her. “You don’t suppose Billy may have some answers, do you?”

  “It’s possible, but right now there’s no way for us to investigate whether or not that’s the case.”

  “Unless we can find a way to contact him,” Sally suggested.

  Lani replied, “And how do you propose we do that?”

  Sally shrugged.

  “Until we know more about what happened to Billy and the others, the only lead we have is to figure out what the shape-shifters are after,” Lani stated.

  “And the only way to find out is to gather more information,” Sally added.

  Lani smiled, holding the brush in one hand. “Exactly.”

  She examined Sally for a moment and then said, “Voila! You look much better, my dear!”

  Sally walked over to a dusty mirror and examined her appearance. She had to admit, it was a big improvement. “Thanks!”

  “My pleasure.” Lani gave a slight nod. “Now let’s go find some facts, shall we?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  YASIF SAT IN THE BACK of the news van with Idric and Sally. Jake and Lani were in the front, discussing stuff Yasif couldn’t hear. They’d decided that he, Sall
y, and Idric would return to the school, given they were students. Somehow, they’d find a way to get information out of the headmistress. Yasif thought it was a bad idea, but Sally assured him there was nothing she could do to them in public as long as they were careful.

  Jake and Lani would return to Atlanta to scope out Sally’s mother’s building and see if they could solve the mysteries of the man with the top hat and maybe come up with more about Sally’s mother.

  Yasif kept to himself, mulling over how he’d been acting. He’d made a fool of himself. If he’d just left well enough alone, things wouldn’t be so weird.

  He’d already gotten a response from his father, outlining plans for him to return home. Now that things were set in to motion he was once again having doubts. The idea of not having Sally around at all wasn’t pleasant.

  The trip to the school was uneventful. Idric kept yawning every five minutes, which only made Yasif do the same. He needed a distraction, something to get his mind off Sally. “That was pretty cool, what you did,” he said to Idric. “Back there with the creature.”

  Idric nodded.

  “Where’d you learn that stuff?”

  Idric hesitated. “From my family.”

  “So do you consider yourself a wizard or something?”

  “I’m not really supposed to talk about it.”

  “I just want to know how you did it is all. I mean, you saved my friend’s life.”

  “You don’t treat her like a friend.”

  Touché, Yasif thought. “I just get annoyed by her is all. But I didn’t want to see her hurt.”

  Silence passed between them before Idric spoke again. “I’m an Aashr.”

  “A what?” Yasif had never heard of such.

  “Aashr,” Idric explained. “Its meaning comes from very old terms. We are known as the ‘True Ones,’ the ones who have the ability to use true magic.”

  “True magic? There’s more than one kind of magic?”

  “Only if you believe in the illusions and parlor tricks others do. We believe our power is the only true magic. We are able to sense it and use its power. It’s not just a bunch of nonsense words and simple spells.” Idric fiddled with the edge of his shirt.

  “How did you wind up at Hidden Lake?” Yasif asked.

  Idric glanced out the window. “I had no choice. My mother sent me here so I’d be safe.”

  “Safe from who?”

  “Not who. What.”

  “What?”

  Idric rolled his eyes. “Our people sensed a great evil. My mother sent me to the school to keep me safe from that evil.”

  “You don’t suppose?”

  Idric looked at him. “Suppose what?”

  “That any of this has to do with your evil thing?” Yasif scratched his head.

  Idric shook his head. “Couldn’t be. Why would she have sent me here if the evil was here?”

  Yasif shrugged. “Why haven’t you told us any of this?”

  “I’m not supposed to talk about it, but you guys already know, so what’s the point in keeping it secret?”

  “What other kinds of things can you do?” Yasif asked.

  “Only what’s needed,” Idric answered plainly.

  Yasif furrowed his brows. “I don’t understand.”

  Idric turned to face Yasif. “Our power doesn’t just come from magic; it’s a bit complicated to explain. It comes from what we call convergences.”

  Yasif gave him a puzzled look.

  “When things happen, we sense a convergence if it’s present. Then we use an immutable object like this one…” He held out the stone he’d used on the flying creature. “…to focus that energy into a useful form. The form isn’t usually something I know ahead of time or prepare for. It’s just something that happens; like the energy blast. I felt the energy around the convergence of the storm and the creature. I focused it until it became the blast.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” Yasif said.

  Sally entered the conversation. “I’m just glad you were there when you were, otherwise Steph would be dead.”

  “I really didn’t do much,” Idric said. “I only did what I could.”

  Yasif smiled and crossed his arms. “Personally, I just think we make a great team.”

  The smile that appeared on Sally’s face made him regret ever having sent the email to his father.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  AFTER DROPPING SALLY and the others at Hidden Lake, Jake and Lani headed back toward downtown Atlanta. The memories of the attack were still fresh in Jake’s mind. His pulse quickened more with each passing moment as they inched closer to the Atlanta skyline.

  There was something else in the back of his mind. For the first time in his life he had a reason to pull himself out of the rut in which he’d become stuck. It was the only thing that kept him from cracking; the off-chance, however slim, that he could do something to make things right between him and Daniel.

  Pain arrested his stomach and he doubled forward.

  “Are you all right?” Lani glanced at him.

  He managed. “Yeah, I’m okay.” But the pain persisted, bringing him to tears. A few deep breaths and some rocking eased it back. He caught sight of his complexion in the mirror. It wasn’t pretty.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Lani asked again.

  Jake took a few deep breaths, releasing the air through his mouth slowly. “Yeah.”

  “I’ve got something that will help,” she replied. “If you want it.”

  He glanced at her, giving her a puzzled look. She reached into her bag and rummaged for something inside, occasionally glancing up to check the road. With a distinctive rattle, she produced a pill bottle.

  “No.” He felt the urge to puke again. “No pills.”

  “It’s not what you think. It’s Campral. To treat alcohol addiction, but it’ll help with the symptoms.” She held the bottle toward him.

  “Alcohol addiction?”

  She nodded.

  At least he wasn’t alone. He took the bottle, popped the lid, then held one of the small white tablets in his shaking fingers. His throat was parched, but he forced the pill down anyway, anxious for the medicine to kick in.

  Lani spoke a moment later. “When I woke up in an alley, my clothes ripped and my belongings gone, I knew it was time to get help.”

  Jake gave her an uneasy look.

  “I didn’t even have a good reason for becoming an alcoholic. It just happened. One drink led to another until I found myself having several a night. I started going to bars and partying it up. It wasn’t until the day I woke up in that alley that I realized what my life had become.”

  “It’s more than just alcohol,” Jake admitted.

  “I figured,” Lani said, “but it’s never too late to get help. No one can force you. You have to make the choice yourself, but if you need to talk to someone who understands, I’ve been there.”

  He thanked her for her kind words. Right then all he wanted to do was crawl into a bed and sleep it off, but that wasn’t an option. He settled on just sitting back and closing his eyes. By the time they reached the building, he was feeling a little better.

  “Looks like your friends are here.” He pointed at another news van parked in front of the building.

  “Channel 8. I bet they’re here investigating the damage that creature caused.” She wrenched open the side door of the van.

  “You think?”

  “Yup. And it gives me an idea. She pulled out a large video camera and handed it to Jake. “You’re going to be my cameraman.”

  “Me?” he replied in protest.

  Jake rapidly familiarized himself with the controls while Lani fixed herself up in a mirror. She pinned a badge to his shirt and came out with a microphone proudly sporting a logo of her television station. They made their way past the growing crowd and into the building. The Channel 8 staff were already waiting for an elevator, a man in a suit accompanying them.

  “Not another news station!�
� The suited man was exasperated. “I don’t need all this media.”

  “I’m sorry Mr.?” She led on for him to give her his name.

  “Londheim,” he said. “I’m the owner.”

  “This is obviously big news, Mr. Londheim. We’d just like to cover the story,” Lani said.

  “It was a gas explosion,” he replied, his gaze moving nervously from one person to another. “Nothing of consequence. The cleaning crew jarred the gas line when cleaning out one of the units.”

  Lani and Jake exchanged a glance. “Then there’s no harm in a camera crew,” she said. “Perhaps a few eyes on the situation will keep a bunch of rumors from starting?”

  The man eyed her, then nodded.

  They ascended together, the Channel 8 reporter casting glances from time to time. When the doors opened onto the familiar hallway, Lani straightened her blouse and checked her hair in the mirrored finish of the elevator wall. They followed the owner into the unit.

  Chills ran up Jake’s back as he saw the extent of the damage.

  “Please be careful,” Londheim said. “They have not yet cleaned up the glass.”

  A few crunching footsteps and they once again stood in the place they’d been attacked.

  Jake surveyed the damage through the camera, taking in every last detail of the monster’s rampage. He focused in on the scratches on the wall, the place the thing must have swiped at Stephanie. The owner was explaining it was caused by shards of damaged equipment. Jake nearly laughed, then noticed a section of carpet had been removed and knew it was the exact place Stephanie lay after the attack.

  “Mr. Londheim.” Lani tapped Jake’s shoulder and approached the man. Jake focused them both into the frame. “Was there an occupant here during the explosion?”

  “No…no…as you can see the unit was vacant…”

  Before he could say more, she continued. “How long had this unit been vacant?”

  He gave her a confused look. “I believe for a few days.”

  “Are you sure about that, Mr. Londheim? It would be awfully awkward to find out the unit was actually occupied and you’re covering it up.”