The Zeuorian Awakening (2 page)

“Changed, exactly how?” Angie asked. “Did you metamorphous into a creature or something?

“No.” Lexi took a picture of herself and sent it to Angie’s cell phone. “Take a look for yourself.”

“Wow,” Angie said. “You’ve always been great looking. Now, oh, man, I hate you. Why can’t my looks change?”

“This isn’t that great. I freakin’ transformed like a character in a movie.” Hopefully not a horror movie.

“Do you know why you changed?”

Lexi had no idea why she transformed. All her life she considered herself gifted and able to tap into the part of the brain scientist claimed allowed a person to speak telepathically and receive premonitions. Now that her body transformed, she didn’t know what to think. It wasn’t something she ever read online or in a book, well, except a superhero comic book.

Superhero
. She pondered what she knew about them. Most of them had acquired their powers through a freak science experiment that had gone haywire or an accident involving hazardous material or they came from another planet.

Well, she’d never fallen into a pool of nuclear waste or been experimented on as far as she knew. She didn’t seem to be an alien. Her blood was red like a human. Her body temperature 98.6 degrees like a human.

“No I don’t know why I transformed,” Lexi said with a sigh. “But there has to be a reason and I plan to find out what it is.”

“I still don’t understand why you can’t go to school,” Angie said. “No one is going to know you transformed. You really haven’t changed that much. Your coloring is darker, but overall, you look the same. I’m sure everyone will assume you developed into a major hottie over the summer.”

“Thanks. I think.” Lexi rolled her eyes. “But Tyler may know my appearance changed in less than a day.”

“How would he know, unless,” Angie’s voice hiked up, filled with excitement, “did you two hook up?”

Lexi smacked herself in the forehead. Why did she mention Tyler? It would only lead to Angie playing matchmaker with Tyler and her again. Even though she thought he looked hot, she swore off boys so she could focus on getting into MIT and avoid another person figuring out what she could do.

“I think I need something to drink,” Lexi said, walking out of her room and avoiding continuing their conversation about Tyler.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Angie said. “You’re not going to leave me hanging after dropping that bomb on me.”

Lexi sighed and continued down the stairs and into the kitchen, ignoring Angie as best she could. She opened up her refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of orange juice.

“Lexi come on stop stalling and tell me what had happened,” Angie pleaded with her.

“It really was nothing.” Lexi sipped orange juice from the bottle. “I ran into him while walking toward the beach and he may have pulled me to shore after I hit my head on the rock.“

“Really, Tyler saved you?” The sound of Angie tapping her long manicured finger nails on her cell phone echoed through Lexi’s speaker. “You should talk to him. I bet my entire wardrobe he’ll be cool about it like I had been when I discovered what you could since everyone knows he’s crazy about you and has been for the past two years.”

“No way.” Lexi slammed the bottle on the counter. “I’m not going to talk to him about transforming. Just because you were cool discovering I could read your mind that doesn’t mean he’ll be cool about it. Its better I avoid him.”

“Lexi, I know your parents scared you into keeping what you can do a secret, but you have to learn to trust other people besides me or you’re going to end up completely alone. I’m sure Tyler would never do anything to hurt you. So talk to him.”

“I’m not avoiding him because of a warning my parents told me. It has to do with—” Lexi sucked in a deep breath and debated whether to tell Angie the real reason she didn’t want anyone to know her secret. Dammit. She better tell Angie before she told Tyler in an attempt to hook them up.

“There’s something I never told you before. It’s difficult for me to talk about, but,” Lexi chewed on her lower lip before continuing, “when I was fourteen a man tried to kill me after he realized I could read others minds.”

She still could recall his black soulless eyes glaring down at her as he pinned her to the ground and said in a low voice, “You’re very pretty. You remind me of an angel—pure and innocent. I wish I could keep you for all of eternity and make you my own, but,” he pulled out a large hunting knife with a long serrated blade from his pant waist band and lifted it up high before he continued to say, “you’re the spawn of the devil and because of that I must kill you before you destroy us all with your powers.”

She bit his hand covering her mouth, until he jerked it away from her. Then she screamed, “Mom, Dad, help—“

He struck her face with his fist. The force of the blow made her head spin as she struggled to remain conscious. He lifted the knife up in the air and thrust it at her chest. She closed her eyes and waited for the blade to pierce her heart.

But the blade never reached her chest. It flew out of the man’s hand and hit a redwood tree when her father kicked the man. The man scrambled to reach for the knife, but her dad held a gun to his head and shouted, “Cheryl, grab Lexi. I’ll take care of him.”

Her mom ran out from behind a tree trunk, breathing heavy. She clutched Lexi’s hand and pulled her toward their house. Not once did her mom slow down. She didn’t stop until they were safe inside the house and the front door had been dead bolted.

Her mom bent over to catch her breath and asked Lexi, in between gasping for air, “Are you alright?”

But Lexi wasn’t alright, far from it. Tears welled up in her eyes and she choked out, “He thought I was the spawn of the devil.”

“He’s crazy, honey.” Her mom hugged her. “You’re not the devil.”

“But he thought I would destroy everyone with my powers.”

Her mom pulled away from Lexi and stared at her with wide eyes. The color had faded from her face and she swallowed hard before stuttering, “H-he k-knew you can read others minds?”

“Yes. He saw me guessing cards with a boy in the store.”

“Why didn’t you mention before you told a boy you can read minds?” Her mom grabbed her shoulders and squeezed them tight. “Lexi, how many times must I warn you, it’s not safe to tell anyone what you can do?”

“But why?”

“There are too many people like that man who can’t handle it and consider you’re a threat to them.”

“They think I’m dangerous because I can read their minds?” She couldn’t believe it.

“Yes and they’ll do anything to feel safe again, even kill you. I don’t ever want to lose you because other’s twisted fears.” Her mom hugged Lexi tight and kissed her forehead. “So please promise me to never tell another person about what you can do.”

Lexi nodded her head and bit her lower lip until it bled. “I swear. I won’t ever tell another living soul about what I can do.”

Oh, man, she regretted showing off her telepathy to the boy, but she never thought someone would actually try to kill her for being able to read minds. She won’t make that mistake ever again.

Lexi steadied her trembling hands and continued to say to Angie, “I know there are people who would think what I can do is cool, like you, probably more than half the population on the world if I had to guess. But there are still a few who don’t. The more people I tell, the more likely those people will find out. I like to avoid another psycho trying to kill me. So for now, I prefer only Irene and you know what I can do and no one else.”

“But what about—”

“Especially not Tyler. I’m not interested in dating him and don’t want to share something that personal with him.”

“I still think you should tell Tyler. He could be the one.”

Lexi shook her head. Angie didn’t know when to give up, but she knew away to make her stop. She changed the subject. “Anyways, can you probe Tyler tomorrow and see if he saw me glowing in the water and knows my appearance changed?”

“Okay,” Angie said with a sigh. “So how long are you going to ditch school?”

“Maybe forever.” That sounded like a good idea at the moment. “I may graduate early and go to MIT. I already have enough credits and had been accepted to MIT this fall. I checked the college schedule and school hasn’t started yet. I should be able to get in this semester.”

“And if you’re aunt doesn’t let you graduate early like she had this summer, when will you come back to school?”

Angie had a point. She should consider the possibility Irene may refuse to let her attend MIT again. “I guess if that happened, I’ll wait a week and say I had a boob job and a makeover for my birthday. Hopefully by then Tyler would’ve forgotten what I had looked like when I walked by him on the beach.”

“Wake up. You’re late,” Lexi heard Irene shout from the hall. She lifted her head from the desk and rubbed her eyes. Tyler’s Facebook page was still on the computer screen and there were no messages from him.

Yes! He hadn’t noticed her glowing or transformed, but a part of her wondered why there were no posts from him. From what she could tell on his Facebook page, he normally responded immediately from his cell phone after someone posted a message to him.

Well, whatever the reason he hadn’t posted a message yet, it gave her time to discuss her plan to attend MIT with Irene and leave town before anyone knew about her transforming. She already packed her bags.

She cleared her throat and called out, “Hey Irene can we talk?”

“After you get ready,” Irene said outside her bedroom door.

Lexi jumped from her chair, knocking it over, and rushed to the door. Irene disappeared behind the wall and started down the stairs, “Can we talk now?” Lexi asked. “It’s important.”

“I said after you get ready.”

Lexi opened her mouth and closed it. It wouldn’t hurt for her to take a shower and get dress just in case Irene decided to let her go to MIT.

She ran into the bathroom next to the hall, tearing off her camisole and bikini underwear. She jumped into the shower and turned it on. A few minutes later, she stepped onto the rug and rushed into her room with the towel wrapped around her body.

She grabbed a pair of worn jeans from a drawer and pulled them on, grunting the entire time as she tried to squeeze her new curved figure into the unforgiving denim.

“Hurry up,” Lexi heard Irene shout from downstairs.

“One more second,” Lexi replied, squeezing a frayed T-shirt over her large breast.

A cool breeze brushed across her skin from the air entering her poorly insulated wood frame window. The weather already felt like fall, but what did she expect living in the northwest. She slipped on her worn hoodie, warming her chilled skin before rushing out of her room and down the stairs.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Lexi started to say while entering the kitchen. “I actually transformed last . . .“

Her words trailed away as she stared at the kitchen table where Irene should’ve been sitting. In her place was a morning newspaper open to the funnies, a half-eaten bagel and a small present with a note next to it.

She lifted the note from Irene, “Sorry sweetie, there was an emergency at the hospital and I had to go back to work right away.”

Seriously. Lexi gaped at the note. Irene couldn’t wait five minutes to talk to her. A car engine revved close to the house and pair of headlights beamed through the kitchen window. Oh, Irene hadn’t left yet. Maybe she could stop her before she drove away.

She tore open the kitchen side door and rushed outside, taking the sidewalk toward the front of the house. The fog swirled around the driveway and grew thicker the closer she came to the road. Irene’s SUV pulled away from the curb and Lexi waved to her, but she continued toward the corner of the block and disappeared into the fog.

Dammit. She missed her or maybe not. She rushed back inside and grabbed her cell phone sitting on the counter. After the first ring, Irene answered the phone. “What’s up,” she said.

“Can we talk?” Lexi asked. “There’s something important I need to tell you that had happened to me last night.”

“What happened?” Irene’s voice sounded alarm. “Did someone hurt you?”

“No, no.” Lexi said, calming Irene down. “No one attacked me, but something happened after I jumped off the large rock island.”

“You mean the rock I forbid you to go on after you broke your arm jumping from it last summer.”

“I know, but—”

“Yes you do know better,” Irene said, anger radiating off her voice. “I understand yesterday was tough being the second anniversary of your parents passing, but recklessly jumping off a twenty foot rock into the ocean for some type of thrill will not help you get over their loss. It’ll only end in you getting hurt or dead. You may have little regard for your life, but I don’t. Now promise me not to go on that rock again.”

Lexi wished for once Irene would understand she hadn’t gone to the rock to get a stupid adrenaline rush by jumping off it. She went there to remember her parents and everything they had enjoyed doing together. For some odd reason the rock made her seem close to them, but when Irene wanted her to promise not to do something, she knew it was a waste of time to fight her over it.

“Fine,” Lexi said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. “I promise not to jump from the rock again. Now can we discuss what had happened to me?”

“Yes. Oh, darn. I got another call on the line.” Irene placed Lexi on hold for a minute before picking up her line. “I have to explain a procedure to an intern. We’ll talk after I get back from work.”

The line went dead. Lexi stared at the cell phone in her hand, blinking several times. She couldn’t believe Irene hung up on her. She debated going to the hospital and talking to Irene, but a couple of doctors and nurses saw her the other day and would know her appearance had changed.

Double dammit. She slammed her cell phone on the counter. Irene gave her no choice. She had to wait until Irene got home to tell her about transforming.

Her cell phone buzzed and she answered it right away. “I’m so glad you called back. We have to talk now. It’s life or death.”