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caleblovesthecoldandfall · 7 years ago

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A man with a shaved head stepped forward and spoke to Katherine. “Just give us the boy. You don’t want to make a scene, do you?”

I turned to Katherine and wondered what the heck was going on. Did she know them?

“Sorry boys, but I was here first,” she said.

The man’s eyebrow twitched. “I guess it’s the hard way then.”

He waved to the other men, and they closed in around us. I cringed. My knees and leg muscles locked up. I couldn’t move. The only thing standing between four burly men and me was Katherine. I had to think fast if I was going to try to protect us. I focused on the nearest guy and remembered one of Hannah’s Martial Arts 101 lectures; if I punched him in the throat I might be able to take him down.

Out of nowhere, Katherine charged towards the men. I didn’t know what she hoped to achieve. The men were twice her size. I flinched as one guy swung his fist at her face. Quicker than lightning, she ducked and did a sweeping kick. The guy fell back, his head making a sickening crunch on the pavement. She hopped to her feet and elbowed another guy in the nose. It snapped, and blood poured down his chin.

I could only stare like this was some awesome movie. How did she move like that? How could she take those guys out like it was nothing?

Mr. Shaved Head marched up behind Katherine. “C’mere little girl.” He pulled a cheap shot by snatching her hair and wrenching her head back. She tucked her knees into her chest and used the momentum to flip onto his shoulders, and she grabbed his forehead and jaw. With a swift jerk, she snapped his neck. She jumped off as his limp body collapsed.

My heart stopped. Suddenly, this awesome movie just got real. OH-MY-GOD! OH-MY-GOD! She killed him! He’s dead! There’s a dead body lying two feet away from me! I was so distracted; I missed how she disabled the last guy. She grabbed my arm and pulled me behind her.

“Come on!” she said.

We started running. It was a good thing too because the deafening sound of a dozen guns firing pierced the air. Bullets pinged around us and glass shattered. Stupidly, I looked back.

“You killed that guy!”

“Yeah, now hurry up!”

She was running at an Olympic pace. I couldn’t hope to match it. I was so horribly out of shape. Why didn’t I listen to Hannah?

Then a bullet ripped through part of my calf. The whole limb flared up with stinging agony. I shouted and immediately came to a stop.

Katherine shoved me behind a kiosk for cover. Shots bombarded the tiny structure. Stuffing rained down on us as the animal toys hanging from the kiosk were obliterated.

“What’s going on?! Who are those guys?! Why is everyone after me?!”

She inspected my wound. “The bullet just grazed the surface. You’ll be fine,” she said.

She tried to peek around the corner to see who was shooting at us. She jumped back to avoid a spray of gunfire. Then she looked around trying to figure out a way to escape. She pointed to the department store attached to the end of the mall; it was the only thing standing in our way to the car.

“We can cut through there.”

“How are we supposed to—?!”

She got up and started sprinting towards the store. I did my best to follow, but my limping slowed me down. The bullets whizzing by my head made it impossible to resist screaming, only the sound that escaped resembled a squealing pig rather than a shout.

Once I saw that the department store’s doors were barred from the inside, I stopped. We’d have to go around. Yet, Katherine was still running towards them. She jumped, rammed her shoulder into the glass, tore through the bars, and landed on a pile of wreckage. I reached her as she got to her feet. She pulled a few chunks of glass out of her arms and legs. Crimson coated her hands.

“Are you okay?!”

“Keep moving!” She pushed me to start running again. My legs filled with spikes. I felt like I couldn’t take another step, let alone run.

We wove our way through the aisles. When we reached the kitchen section, the man with a broken nose popped out from behind a refrigerator. He grunted and tackled Katherine into a shelf display of frying pans. He landed a punch to her face. Disoriented, she searched blindly for a pan. She snatched one, and with a growl, she smacked it into the side of his head.

“Argh!” The man wailed and stepped back, clutching his head. Katherine didn’t hesitate to whack him again. He pulled a huge Bowie knife from his belt and jabbed at her.

“Watch out!” I said. When she looked to see if I was alright, the knife slashed her ear in two.

“Don’t distract me!” She hissed through her teeth. I swallowed the impulsive apology as she deflected another slash.

The man backed her up against a wall of ovens. She swung for his shoulder while one of her feet pulled an oven open. When he dodged the swing of her frying pan, he exposed his neck. She grabbed his throat and pushed his head into the oven. She smashed the oven door against it. CLANG! The guy sunk to the ground.

She led the way to the exit doors. With one swipe of her magic pan, she broke the metal grate protecting the doors, and we emerged outside. The car was sitting all alone. We were in the home stretch, escape and safety were within our reach.

Halfway to the car, I heard the doors behind us open and close. I glanced back. There was one last attacker.

He’d snagged a bow from the outdoors department, but no arrows. That was pretty dumb on his part. He yelled and doubled over. For a moment, I thought he was going to throw up. I stopped to watch him in bewilderment. With each shudder, something grew on his face. It looked like clumps of wet sand. The substance secreted from his pores. I didn’t know whether to be amazed or sick.

When he looked up, a gray mask covered his face. It had two small horns on the top, two slits for nostrils, narrow angry eyes, and a frowning mouth with two fangs. It ought to have looked cheesy, but it didn’t. There was something about it that freaked me out; maybe the way it looked rotten and corrupted.

He raised the bow and drew back on the string. I saw the spot where an arrow should’ve been, spark. A bolt of lightning stretched out into an arrow shape. I blinked a couple of times. This was real, right? Not some video game I’d stumbled into?

He aimed for Katherine. She was just about to reach the car when she stopped and spun around. He released his arrow.

“No!” I cried out.

The arrow hit the ground by her feet and exploded.

The sound was deafening. A wall of air hit me hard. I fell over and scraped my elbows across the blacktop. A cloud of smoke and debris flew into my face. I stared at the dying flames where Katherine had been standing. I don’t know why I looked; I didn’t want to see another dead body—certainly not hers.

Then, miraculously, Katherine stepped through the flames. Her clothes were black and tattered, but she was unharmed. I shook my head. This wasn’t happening. There was no logical way. She should be dead.

I heard the pull of the bow string and the sizzle of the lightning as the man prepared to fire again. A hand touched my shoulder. I jolted as I saw it was Katherine. She had just been over by the car; how did she get to me so fast? Before she could help me up, another arrow came towards us.

I yelled, turned away, and shielded my head with my arms. BOOM! The shockwave slapped my body. The temperature soared upwards. I heard what sounded like rubble hitting a stone wall.

As the explosion died off, the ground started shaking violently. I felt the pavement breaking apart causing lamp posts to snap and topple over. In the distance, I heard the man scream…then silence.

The ground became still, and I gathered the courage to open my eyes. It looked like an earthquake had struck. There was a deep chasm leading from where Katherine stood to where our assailant had been, but he was long gone. What the heck happened?!

Katherine shuffled me towards the car. We got in and surged out of the parking lot. Even though I was buckled up, I was tossed around my seat as she whipped around corners. She must’ve forgotten the car had a break.

“I’m sorry for that,” she said. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Uh, I hope not,” I said.

Her phone rang. She put it on speaker. “Commander,” said a girl with an Australian accent.

“It’s good to know you’re still awake!” Katherine said. “I shouldn’t be dodging arrows right now!” She looked into her rearview mirrors. She didn’t seem convinced that we’d escaped the danger yet.

“I’ve been watching the perimeter. I don’t know how they slipped past me.”

“How many are following?”

“Five more.”

My fingers dug into the sides of my seat.

“Follow me until we get to the safe house,” she said.

“Yes, commander.”

The phone went silent. We pulled onto the highway, speeding back towards downtown. The city lights sparkled in the distance. I felt like I was looking at a picture because there was no way I was still in the real world.

Somehow, one of my fantasies had sucked me in. There weren’t any men chasing us, no danger. Not even the girl sitting next to me was real. Any minute I’d wake up to find I’d passed out during social studies. Everything made sense now.

“Really?” Katherine said.

“What?”

“Now you don’t want to ask questions?”

“Are you going to answer them now?” I said in a hoarse voice.

She sighed. “Kind of pointless to hide it after that.”

Since it seemed like I wasn’t going to be waking up any time soon, I decided to indulge in my dream. “Why are you here? Why are those guys after me?”

“We’re both here for the same reason.” She ignored the road and looked at me. “You.”

I grimaced as I waited for the car to start swerving into the other lanes. “W-why?”

“Well, I came here to recruit you for my squad. They came to stop me,” she said. “You see, I’m a part of an ancient organization made up of people who can do extraordinary things—things most people believe are impossible. It’s my job to find other special people and teach them how to harness their gifts to help protect the world.”

“So…you’re from the X-men?”

She rolled her eyes. “The X-men aren’t real.”

My face lost all expression. “Wait, are you trying to say I have powers?”

“I know it’s hard—”

“I don’t have powers.”

Her hands gripped the wheel so tightly I could hear it straining. “Fine, you think you don’t? Tell me, have you ever been burned a day in your life? Maybe by—I dunno—hot water, toast, or the sun?”

I snickered. “No, I’m more careful than that.”

“Sure, maybe now, but what about when you were a kid? You can’t tell me you never forgot to blow on your food. I bet you don’t even know what a burn feels like,” she said.

“Sure I do!” My mouth hung open for a minute as I searched for the right words. “It, uh, hurts,” I said.

She arched a skeptical eyebrow at me. “Our abilities start small. They can be easily overlooked, or written off as nothing. People like us could go our whole lives not knowing.”

I raked through my brain to try to find any proof that she was wrong. But my mind drew a blank. That doesn’t mean anything, I thought. I was overwhelmed by everything else going on, of course I couldn’t remember something small like that. Still, I wanted to get the subject off of me.

“What is this organization anyway? Do you guys have a name for yourselves?”

She bit her lip. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that.” She fidgeted in her seat. “You’re going to think I’m ridiculous.”

“Come on, tell me.”

“Okay, I…I’m a…ninja,” she said.

I waited for her to tell me the actual name. When she didn’t, a smile started twisting its way onto my face. I slapped a hand to my forehead and laughed.

Her shoulders fell. “I told you you’d think it was ridiculous.”

No wonder none of this seemed real. Some rich girl had pulled off the most elaborate prank of all time. I was relieved to know I still had my sanity. I was awake, and I didn’t imagine things. I struggled to stop my laughter, but the smile wasn’t going anywhere.

“A ninja?” I said. “I’m really supposed to believe that? Where’s your sword? Aren’t you supposed to be in a black outfit with a mask?”

“Well, my sword is…” her eyes trailed to the narrow space behind the seats, where something wrapped in a jacket rested, “And my mask is in my pocket.”

She was going out of her way to pull off this hoax. “You’re serious about this?”

“Yes, I am,” she said.

VROOM!!! A powerful engine blasted away the silence. We both looked at the side-view mirrors to see that coming up behind us was a rusty old Camaro. The other cars behind us did their best to get out of the way. They probably thought a couple of teenagers were out for a joy ride. Even though I didn’t think it was anything more than that either, I felt uneasy. Driving around like this was still dangerous.

“Alright, you got me pretty good,” I said. “You and your friends can upload the best video the internet has ever seen. But seriously, I don’t think you can keep squeezing more reactions out of me. Can you slow down and take me home?”

“What’s it going to take for you to believe me?” She shook her head. She forced the car to its limits. We went left and right around the cars in front of us.

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure I’m awake right now,” I said.

She searched the highway. “Where is she?” she whispered to herself.

In front of us, a row of sluggish cars blocked all of the lanes. She sped straight for them like she didn’t see them. I felt my heart jump into my throat. She drove into the constricted space of the emergency lane. We were so close to the median and the cars next to us; the side-view mirrors sparked.

Downtown loomed closer. I could make out the black towers against the sky. The exit for my neighborhood came and went. Where was she taking me?

I looked back, and the Camaro was only three car lengths away. Out of nowhere, a Jeep came screeching up through traffic and struck the passenger side of the Camaro, throwing it up against the median. I heard a crunch and saw a fountain of sparks light up the night behind us.

“Finally,” Katherine sighed.

I wondered how long she was going to try to stretch this prank out. Then I figured I should just go along with it. When it was over, she’d leave me and go back to her life. My stomach lurched. I watched the cars behind us with little enthusiasm.

The Camaro rammed into the Jeep until it swerved and spun away wildly. The Camaro was no longer trapped. The Jeep tried to catch up, but the Camaro pounded into a minivan, causing it to skid sideways before rolling and smashing into the Jeep.

The other drivers on the highway freaked out and hit their breaks. A symphony of crashing and breaking glass broke out. The Jeep that had tried to protect us was stuck somewhere in the wreckage.

“You guys are going to hurt someone!” I said. The Camaro crept closer. I worried about what stunt they were going to pull next.

My body couldn’t tell the difference between real danger and fake. I started going into overdrive. I felt my skin get warm. The moisture on my eyes evaporated to the point where my eyelids felt like sandpaper every time I blinked. Sweat broke out on my forehead, and nausea hit me. I leaned against the window and clutched my shirt.

“You okay?” Katherine asked. I shook my head, which only made my dizziness worse. She put her hand on my forehead. The second she touched me, she jerked away like she had gotten burned. “Here, that’ll help.”

She offered me a thermos. I opened it, expecting water, but was pleasantly surprised to find a cold cherry flavored slushy inside. My innards were so hot that I swore the slushy turned to steam the second it started going down, but not before it gave me a bit of relief. Unfortunately, my eyes were still waterless and scratchy.

“Sorry, I get overheated a lot.” I wiped the sweat from my brow.

“Mmhmm, and you think you’re normal.”

“Hot flashes don’t mean I have some kind of powers,” I said and tried not to laugh.

“How bad have you’re ‘hot flashes’ gotten?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes I just get hot, other times it’s a fever. I have to go to the hospital all the time…” I said. Yeah, I started to notice that wasn’t normal. “It’s because I’m chubby, though. They told me to lay off the spicy food, and I didn’t.”

“Seriously, what is it going to take?” Her attention pulled back to the mess behind us. The Camaro was bashing and crashing its way towards us, causing flips and collisions. “They’re getting too close.” Deciding to take action, she unbuckled her seatbelt. “Take the wheel.”

“What?! I don’t even know how to drive!” I said. She let go of the wheel. The car started to drift. She made no effort to control the vehicle. I was forced to take the wheel. “What are you doing?!”

“Getting rid of the problem.”

She rolled her window down and climbed on top of the car. I was starting to question her sanity. We were driving over two hundred miles per hour, and she was trying to ride on the roof?! With lots of effort, I got into the driver’s seat.

My mom had given me a few lessons on driving. The first time was in a golf cart—which I crashed into a wall. The second time she let me use the car, I bulldozed through our neighbor’s trash cans. After that, I decided maybe it wasn’t my time to drive.

I tried to keep my hands steady on the wheel. Just keep it in a straight line. Easy on the break and slow down. Definitely, slow down, I thought.

The moment I eased off of the gas, the Camaro came up beside us. I heard a thud overhead. I saw Katherine leap across two lanes and land perfectly on the Camaro. Her hands slapped down on the top of the roof and ripped it off. It went flying backward and pierced another car’s engine.

“What the…” I said. Okay, she couldn’t just jump two lanes without some wire. And if that roof was fake stuff it couldn’t bust up another car. Maybe she wasn’t pranking me.

She dropped into the car and attacked the driver. The Camaro fell behind. I realized I ought to be watching where I was going. But when I looked in front of me, the highway was empty. Even on the opposite side, there was no traffic. I slowed down and stopped for a minute.

How was that possible? There was a ton of wreckage behind me. Surely, someone would’ve called for help? Where were the police? The news helicopters?

“I got you now, kid,” a voice said. I looked to the passenger side window. One of the masked guys was about to open the door.

“AH!!” I hollered. All I could remember was one maneuver I saw in a video game once. I threw the wheel to the right, hit the gas, and the tires screeched. The car whipped sideways, violently running the guy over. I took off, going back down the highway, in the wrong direction. “CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!” I kept looking back. I hoped no one was coming for me.

I spotted the Camaro upside down. Two masked guys were lying dead on the road. Not too far from them, Katherine was lying motionless. I stomped on the break, threw the door open, and sprinted to her.

I fell onto my knees beside her. She was sprawled out like an X, bits of glass surrounding her. Blood and grime dotted her shirt. The pavement had shredded the fabric. Her skin had a bad case of road burn too, but there were no deep wounds. She twitched, and one of her eyes cracked open.

She groaned. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” I said. “We need to take you to the hospital—”

“Hospital…smoshpital…” She coughed. “I’ll heal.” She started to sit up, but cried out and flopped back down. I heard her grinding her teeth as she trembled. She forced herself to take deep breaths. “Ow…ow…”

“I’m taking you whether you like it or—”

“You’re not taking me to the hospital!” she said as she scowled at me. After seeing the damage she’d done to the other guys, I wasn’t going to risk making her mad.

I squeaked. “Okay.”

She laughed then hissed and reached for her ribs. “Ow…don’t make me laugh.” Her eyes screwed shut. “I think I cracked a rib. I need ice, lots of ice.” She looked down the highway. “We have to get out of here, one of them got away from me.”

“Oh, um, I think I hit him with the car,” I said. “Do you need some help?”

She looked at me like I’d somehow misplaced my brain. “No, I’ll just crawl back to my car.”

I smiled and tried to figure out the best way to move her. I slid one arm below her neck and the other underneath her knees. I stood up, wavering a second and tried to get my balance. At most, she weighed a hundred and fifteen pounds, but it felt like three hundred for a guy who never lifted a weight in his life. I struggled to mask my heavy breathing and tried to put on a manly face. She kept looking at me with an entertained expression.

“What?” I gasped.

“You didn’t have to try to carry me,” she said. “I can still walk.”

“You cracked your rib. No, you can’t,” I said. The strain was starting to fill my voice. “Besides…you weigh like…two ounces?”

She fought back a giggle. “Just put me in the driver’s seat. I don’t want you to drive my car into any trash bins.”

“You know about that?” I asked as I set her down in the seat. My muscles screamed at me to drop her, but I fought the pain.

“I told you. I know everything.”

READ THE BOOK HERE!

Do not steal. Do not alter text.

#Danielhaleyandtheimmortalninja #Caleb Karger #books #YA #fantasy #adventure #modern #ninja #lightning #katherinecarvosso #arrow #danielhaley #carchase #art #writing #original #creepy #face mask #superpowers

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caleblovesthecoldandfall · 7 years ago

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Characters from Daniel Haley and the Immortal Ninja book

Read the first three chapters here

#Danielhaleyandtheimmortalninja #Caleb Karger #danielhaley #katherinecarvosso #summer #mountains #lake #sunset #art #people #girl #guy #smile #happy #drawing

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caleblovesthecoldandfall · 7 years ago

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That night was the first night that I’d been comfortable in my home in weeks. The feeling of being watched was gone. My belongings weren’t out of place when I went to my room.

I suppose I should’ve been grateful since it’s what I wanted after all. Instead, I was disappointed. Now that I’d met the person stalking me, I was sad that she wasn’t hanging over my shoulder.

I woke up the next morning afraid that Katherine Carvosso was a figment of my imagination or a very vivid dream. I started to believe that the day before couldn’t have happened. I mean really, what were the chances of a girl like that talking to a guy like me?

Thankfully, my worry was short-lived. The second I looked outside, I saw that Katherine was waiting for me. She lay on the hood of her car, her skin gleaming in the sunlight, classic square shades over her eyes, in tight jeans, and a yellow button-up blouse with the sleeves rolled up.

One poor guy across the street couldn’t find the will to move out of the middle of his driveway. His coffee was pouring down the front of his clothes. A lady stopped as she was jogging by, put her hands on her hips, and probably wondered why she even bothered.

“Uh, hey-mom-I-don’t-need-a-ride-today-bye!” I said and dashed out of the house before my mom had a chance to ask any questions. I tried to look smooth as I walked down the path, but I tripped over my feet the closer I got to Katherine. “You know, you shouldn’t do that.”

She slid off of her car and landed lightly on her feet. She tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow. “Do what?”

“A girl like you can’t just sprawl herself over a car like this; it fries people’s brains.” I pointed to the guy across the street as an example.

“Are you saying I did that?” she whispered as she got into the car. I sagged into the passenger seat.

“Don’t act like you don’t know,” I said and fastened my seatbelt.

She giggled. “Please explain this, because I have no idea what you’re saying.”

“You’re gorgeous,” I said. My ears grew hot. She chewed her lip to try and hide the smile that wanted to break across her face. The car shot away from the curb.

After we parked in front of the school, I led the way inside. I looked at my shoes until I heard a few whistles and hollers directed our way. All eyes watched us so intensely it was as if they’d spotted royalty and were awaiting directions. I heard a sea of whispering all around us.

The basketball team glared at me. I guess I’d stolen their spotlight. Derek dug his fingers into his basketball and resisted the urge to hurl it at me.

“Does this happen everywhere you go?” I asked.

“Hmm?” Katherine looked away from her phone. “Oh, what, the staring? I don’t know, maybe.”

No one was brave enough to bother us today. Everyone left my usual area in the classroom deserted. After we had taken our seats, I have no idea what happened. I suddenly found myself walking to my next class. I didn’t even remember hearing the second bell ring. I rubbed my heavy eyelids. I guess I still had some sleep to catch up on.

Katherine’s hand slipped into mine, and she whispered into my ear, “Let’s get out of here.”

“What do you mean? And go where?”

“Anywhere.” She bumped my shoulder with hers. “You can’t tell me this is fun for you.” I came to a stop as I realized what she was suggesting.

“You want me to ditch?”

“It’s not like you’d be missing anything important.”

“Yeah, but I can’t just ditch…I—it’s bad,” I said. I looked over my shoulder and searched for a teacher. I felt like I was going to get in trouble by merely mentioning the D-word.

She shook her head. “You’ve been way too cooped up, I’m not letting you say no.”

She tugged me along. I didn’t have the will to take my hand out of her grip and refuse. My blood buzzed as we went down an empty hallway. We ducked around corners and hid from any teachers we saw along the way.

We escaped out of the front entrance. Now that there were no more places to hide I ran straight for her car. Granted running for me was a sad jog. By the time I got to the car, I was gasping for air. We jumped inside. Katherine revved the engine and tore out of the parking lot. I laughed as I watched the school grow smaller in the side-view mirror.

“I can’t believe I did that,” I said and ran a hand through my hair. I felt weightless.

The day invited me to forget that ditching was bad with its cloudless blue sky, dazzling sunlight, and traffic free roads. The songs on the radio kept my thoughts at bay, and the engine’s hum massaged my muscles. The grungy buildings of downtown faded into shopping centers and neighborhoods. Only the gurgle from my stomach pulled me from my trance.

“Hungry?”

“I guess so,” I said. We exited the highway and searched the side of the road. I pointed to a modern-day glass hut, splattered with color and character pictures. “A burger sounds nice.”

“No, absolutely not. Fast food is suicide.” She stuck her tongue out and shivered as we drove past.

Eventually, we pulled up to an impressive building that resembled a pagoda. Samurai statues guarded the tinted windows. A handful of men in sharp suits went inside. Katherine’s car was not totally out of place in the parking lot.

“Now this is real food: all organic, locally acquired, and their employees don’t work like dogs for minimum wage,” she said.

It was dim inside. Glass cases held ancient replicas of armor and ornate teapots. The dining room was loud from all of the conversations and sizzling grills. Katherine spoke quietly to the hostess, and we were led to a secluded table, away from the noise.

“We will be right with you.” The hostess bowed.

Katherine waved her off and said something in another language. My brow arched. “You speak Chinese?”

“Japanese.”

“Oh, whoops.”

Despite having a large table to ourselves, Katherine planted herself in the chair beside me. Our arms were close enough to touch. I gulped at the minuscule gap separating us. Why would she sit so close to me?

“May I get you something to drink?” a waiter asked.

“Two strawberry lemonades, please,” she said. The waiter nodded and walked away. Katherine put her elbows on the table and turned to me. “So, five years from now, what do you want your life to be like?”

I scratched the back of my head. “I guess if I have to pick…I’d like to draw comic books professionally.”

She laughed. “That’s it?”

I tapped my chopsticks together. “I don’t like talking about myself,” I said.

“Don’t worry so much about what people think about you. Be yourself. If that’s not good enough for them, then you didn’t need those sorts of people in your life,” she said and poked my side. It tickled, and I fought against the compulsion to smile. “So, what, no wife? No five-million-dollar home?”

“I thought the whole point of the ‘Five Years from Now’ question was to be realistic,” I said.

The sound of a buzzing phone interrupted us. She took her phone out of her pocket. Her pleasant expression darkened when she opened a text message. I couldn’t read what it said. Her thumbs pounded at the screen in response. Her body became rigid. She jammed the phone back into her pocket. Her foot tapped on the floor, a million taps per second, and she chewed her thumbnail.

“Uh…is everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, sure,” she answered, but her thoughts were clearly elsewhere. “You didn’t have to be somewhere after school, right?” I shook my head. “Good.”

My curiosity was rising. Questions zipped through my mind. I didn’t care about trying to coax answers out of her anymore. I had to know, now.

“Why are you here?”

“We’re getting to know each other.”

“Not really. You won’t let me ask anything about you.”

“Perhaps you don’t give me questions I like,” she said. My lips formed a tight line. “There’s plenty I could tell you. I like the color green. I had a cat named Oreo because she was black and white. My favorite pastime is hiking. See, you never asked about that sort of thing.”

“That’s great but—”

“Don’t ask about what I can’t tell you.”

I blinked. “Why can’t you tell me?” She ignored me, and she sipped her lemonade. “What are you? A spy? A secret agent?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“Is it against the rules or something? Do you have superiors watching your every move?” I peered over my shoulder.

The chef arrived, saving Katherine from my barrage of questions. I had enough sense to stop asking in front of a stranger. As I watched our food cook, I ran through several theories about her. She had to be a part of some big ultra-classified organization; CIA (possibly), or an unknown military branch. From what I could tell, she was well trained. She snuck into my house like it was nothing. She was a talented liar. She’d made it seem like she slipped so I could catch on that something was out of place. But I was sure I didn’t know anything that she didn’t want me to know.

I tried to enjoy the chef’s skills of flipping his spatulas and making artful displays with our food, but it was hard with Katherine’s mood change. She glared at the chef like she just wanted him to cook the food and quit playing around. Her phone continued to go off. Every time she checked it, the edgier she became.

“Finally,” she said once the food was ready. She snatched her plate, ate three bites, and then pushed it away. She crossed her arms and waited for the bill to come.

I basked in the onslaught of flavor. Everything had cooked to perfection. I didn’t know how the chef could mess around like he did and the food still came out spot-on. If I tried doing that in the kitchen, all I would get is some unevenly cooked food. I cleaned my plate. Full and satisfied, I leaned back in my chair and became aware of the world around me once more.

Katherine was eyeing me like a turtle that took ten minutes to cross its tank. “Are you done now?”

“Yeah.”

I realized why she was so irritated. Our server had been waiting for me to finish before bringing the bill. When she opened it, I saw the price of our lunch.

“Whoa! Uh, I don’t have that kind of money,” I said.

“I got it,” she said as she took out a roll of hundreds. My eyes bugged out. Who walked around with that much cash? I wanted to ask about it, but she was already making her way towards the exit. I had to waddle to keep up with her.

Her sense of urgency got worse once we were outside. Her eyes scanned the area. When I didn’t walk fast enough, she pushed me forward gently. Not even the safety of the car made her calm down. She squeezed the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white.

“Where to now?” she asked.

“Well, there’s a mall across the street—” Before I could finish, the car was halfway to the nearest intersection.

The mall wasn’t crowded like it was on the weekends, but there were a few clusters of people. Katherine made it a habit of blending into each and every one. She kept me away from the windows and stores that were too empty.

“Why are you avoiding empty places?”

“I’m not. If you really want to go into the women’s lingerie store, go right ahead,” she said. After that, I kept my mouth shut.

We did four laps around the mall before we ran out of things to look at, so she dragged me to the movie theater. The darkness seemed to put her at ease. Her eyes stopped darting around so much, and the tension in her muscles lessened.

The first movie we watched was three hours. Apparently, that wasn’t long enough to avoid whatever it was she was hiding from. I didn’t mind. I got to see whatever I wanted. The only requirement was that it had to be at least two hours. At times, she would lean over and whisper into my ear; a joke, or an insightful fact I didn’t know. I hadn’t really had the experience of going to the movies with someone closer to my age (at least I think she was). That was fun to know what it was like.

She was reluctant to buy snacks until she saw the candy. She bought a small mountain of Skittles. Since she got junk, she agreed it was only fair that I got some, too.

The next time I checked my watch, it said 9:46 p.m. My mouth fell open. I checked my phone. My mom had sent a couple of messages and called ten times. I opened one of the texts.

MotherShip: Where are you? Are you still alive?

Dan: I’m ok. Sorry, hanging out with a friend. Be home soon.

I didn’t have to wait long for a reply.

MotherShip: Ooo a friend? Is it a girl?

I shook my head at the phone. I wasn’t even going to respond to that. I tucked the phone away. Katherine stood beside me, eyeing everyone like they were up to no good.

“I really liked the movies,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I had her attention, she didn’t bother to look at me. “But I should probably go home. School tomorrow and my mom is worried…”

She frowned, hung her head, and let her arms dangle lifelessly. “Alright,” she said. “You’ve grown weary of my company.”

“You know I haven’t,” I said. Her head jerked up, and a stunning smile appeared on her face like nothing was wrong.

“Just checking.”

We went past a strip of outlet stores that formed a walkway between the theater and the mall. The storefronts were dark and barred, and the walkway was lit by cozy lanterns now that the sun had gone down.

The others who had seen the last movie with us were all parked by the theater. Katherine’s car was still on the other side of the mall. So, it was just the two of us as we walked back.

Our footsteps echoed around us. Katherine’s eyes dashed left and right. The further we went, the more her phone buzzed with messages. She didn’t check them.

I didn’t have to be a super spy to know something was wrong. I could feel it in the heavy air, and in the way the hairs on my arms stood up. The area didn’t feel so big and empty anymore; it felt tight and claustrophobic—like many invisible eyes surrounded us.

My lungs clenched, and I had to remember to breathe. I searched for anything that might be out of place, but I didn’t look too hard; I didn’t want to find out.

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind her. “Stay close,” she whispered and slowed her pace.

She took another cautious step forward. We were now standing in the center of an intersection. Leading out to the parking lot were two passageways between the stores. There were two figures on each side waiting in the shadows. The sight of them felt like a punch to the chest. I heard pounding in my ears.

All four, men I saw now—slowly came towards us. They were tall and muscular. They wore black tactical clothing with lots of pockets. An assortment of knives hung on their belts. Even in the faint light I could tell they had cold, hard expressions, and their eyes all held a strong sense of purpose. They were all looking at me.

A hard bubble of air formed in my throat.

Katherine growled. “Great.”

Read chapter 3

Sneak preview for “Daniel Haley and the Immortal Ninja”

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caleblovesthecoldandfall · 7 years ago

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At first, I thought our house had suddenly become haunted. I’d heard someone whispering downstairs in the middle of the night only to find no one was there and everyone in the house was asleep. Stuff in my room would go missing for days before reappearing out of the blue. After sunset when the windows turned into black panels, I felt eyes watching me from the shadows outside. I could always tell the ghost had messed with something when the smell of pine trees hung in the air.

I asked my mom and my sister if they noticed anything odd going on in the house lately, but they looked at me like I was nuts. Apparently, none of their things went missing, and they didn’t hear the whispering at night. I thought it was strange that the ghost didn’t seem to bother them at all.

Things only got worse.

Someone had rearranged the books in my locker, and chips I put into the shopping cart at the store would vanish once we got into the checkout line. A few weeks after that, I started seeing someone walking behind me—following me to the bus stop—but when I turned around, there was no one there. Or, I’d be at my desk doing homework and catch a glimpse of someone pacing back and forth in front of my house.

No matter where I went, I never felt alone. Someone, somewhere, was always watching. It was starting to drive me crazy. Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer. I wanted to know for sure what was going on. So one night, I’d set up a camera in the corner of my room in hopes to see how my stuff had managed to move all on its own while I was asleep.

I didn’t have time to review the hours of footage the next morning before school, so I had to wait until the end of the day. After dinner, I told my family not to bug me and locked myself in my room.

I turned my computer on and hit play on the recording. A grainy black and white image of my bedroom filled the screen. I kept my eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. The only thing that seemed to be moving was me as I tossed and turned on the bed.

Then about halfway through the recording, the door to my bedroom opened. My body froze. I locked my door every night, so I don’t know how it swung open on the video as if it wasn’t locked at all.

My heart went from a nervous pace to an all-out panic as my eyes stayed glued to the screen. The dark shadow of a person stepped into my room. They weren’t hazy or see-through, so that meant they weren’t a ghost. They stood at the foot of my bed, watching me sleep for a few minutes before wandering around the room. They’d flipped through the books on the shelf, messed with my collectible figurines, and shuffled through the closet. They had done it all so silently that I didn’t notice anyone in the room with me.

As they made their way around, they stopped when they saw the camera. They grabbed one of my notebooks and flipped to an open page. They scribbled something onto the paper and held it up to the camera.

I guess the jig is up.

They put the notebook back exactly as they found it. Then as quietly as they came, they backed out of the room and shut the door.

My eyes watered up in terror. A stranger had broken into our house. They had been watching me sleep. I wasn’t delusional. For the past few months, someone was stalking me.

My mind began to race. Why would someone come after me? No one would get any money if they kidnapped me. I thought I was too ugly for a serial killer to want to cut me up and preserve me in their fridge.

My hands were shaking. I tried to stay calm as I rushed down the hall to my mother’s room. She had her hair in a messy bun and wore her baggy “mom is off duty” shirt while she played a game on her tablet.

“Mom, I need to show you something,” I said. She didn’t bother to look up at me; she merely pointed to her shirt. “This is an emergency!” I yanked her off of the bed.

“Daniel, I’m in the middle of collecting my coins!”

“I know, but I need you to see this!”

I dragged her into my room. I sat down at the computer and tried to play the video. An error message appeared: FILE NOT FOUND. What?! I thought. I went through the computer files and the recycle bin. The video was gone.

I reached for the camera. Maybe I could plug it in and upload the file again, the only problem was the camera was gone too. It wasn’t on the desk where I left it. I searched the room frantically. I rummaged through the clothes on the floor, my bookshelves, and under the bed.

My mom yawned. “What is so important that you have to show me right this minute?”

“It was a video. It was on my computer five seconds ago, and now it’s gone. I can’t find the camera. It was just here!” I said as I tore at my hair.

“Well, how about you show me tomorrow when you find it, okay?” she said and started to leave my room.

“No, mom wait! It was here you gotta believe me. There was someone in my room; there’s someone following me—they broke into the house—”

My mom laughed as she went down the hall. “What’re you talking about? The alarm would’ve gone off. You need to lay off the scary movies. All this talk of ghosts and whatever is getting exhausting.”

Just like that my chances of calling the police and getting help went up in flames. I was on my own. I didn’t know what to do. Or rather, what could I do? No locks or alarms could stop whoever was after me. All I could do was sit there and wait to die.

I snatched my hockey stick and made a hiding place in my closet. I stayed perfectly still for hours, waiting for my stalker to come. I had a death grip on my makeshift weapon. Even when it started to hurt, I didn’t dare loosen my hands. My heart thundered in my chest, the pulse pounding in my ears. I clenched my teeth until I’m sure my gums began bruising. I didn’t know when they would show up, but I knew they were coming.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up when I heard the door open. My body became rigid and on alert once more. I peered through the crack to see if anything had changed. I was blinded by daylight as someone stepped quietly into my room.

I shouldn’t have been so stupid. The killer would’ve known I’d be up all night waiting for them to come. They’d outwitted me. They came in the morning when they knew I’d be groggy. Well, they were about to get a nasty surprise.

I sprang out of the closet bellowing like Tarzan. I swung my hockey stick, and it collided with my mother’s head.

She screamed and grabbed her forehead. “What on earth are you doing?! Put that stick down this instant!” She hissed in pain.

“I’m sorry!” I dropped my hockey stick. I held my hands up and backed away slowly.

She rubbed her forehead and gave me the stink eye. “…and to think I was just coming in here to check on you because your alarm didn’t go off…” She was lucky that I wasn’t all that strong. She’d barely have a bruise.

“I’m really sorry.” I looked away, embarrassed.

“Go use the bathroom before I wake your sister up,” she said, waving me off.

“Right…” I knew if I didn’t move fast enough Hannah would hog it. I lumbered down the hall to the bathroom.

Every day I avoided looking into the mirror as I brushed my teeth, but failed. I ended up poking at the blob that should’ve been a stomach and at my soft, round face. It wasn’t fair that other guys my age had lost their baby fat and gotten more muscular; I just turned into a big teddy bear. Being fat was like being trapped. I couldn’t do the things I wanted to because I was slow and unconfident. I’d give anything to look like a pro wrestler.

Hannah rolled across the floor like a ninja. She was wearing a gas mask and held her hands up in a fighting pose. She was no taller than my waist, but that didn’t faze her. She punched my side.

“Are you ready for the apocalypse, punk?!” Hannah asked.

Hannah had once been a regular kid who liked coloring books and baby animals, but then she started watching Apocalypse Ready. She claimed that the show scared her straight and showed her what she really needed to focus on. Now, she spent most of her time watching martial arts videos and buying odd things off of the internet with her allowance.

“Yeah, sure, I’m ready,” I said around a mouthful of toothpaste.

“No, you’re not! You haven’t been doing your assigned five mile run every day. If you don’t train, you won’t be ready.” She poked my gut. “I don’t want you to die because you can’t run away from a marauder!”

“I’ll have more time to focus on it this summer, okay? I promise, no marauders are going to get me,” I said and rinsed my mouth out.

“You promise?”

I sighed. “I promise.”

After getting dressed, we had to switch into rush mode. We skipped breakfast and piled into the car.

For mom to get to work on time she had to do drive-by drop-offs, which meant she slowed down enough for us to jump out of the car. We unloaded Hannah first before driving across town to my school.

“Have a good day, sweetheart!” my mom said as I hopped out. It was loud enough for a few groups nearby to have heard. I lowered my head and hurriedly shuffled towards the school’s entrance.

The hallways were chaos. People threw paper balls, chased each other, but mostly they were milling around with their friends. My school had a uniform dress code: a white shirt, a blue tie, and either a plaid skirt or blue pants. It was to promote equality, but actually, it just promoted the teenager’s urge to express oneself through accessories. I snuck around the edges of the crowd, behind their backs so they couldn’t see me. I beelined straight towards my first class before—

WHACK!

My head shot forward, and I struggled to stay on my feet. I looked down to see what had hit me. The 7:50 basketball was on time. My body tensed at what was coming next.

“Morning, freak!” a group of guys behind me hollered. I rubbed the back of my head and kept walking. I reminded myself it was the last week of school and I wouldn’t have to deal with them over the break.

When I reached the Science room, the temperature was boiling. The only thing to help ease our suffering was a shabby fan in the corner. It provided just enough of a humming noise to mask everyone’s gossip while Mr. Varnes searched his desk.

I sat down in the last row closest to the window, which hadn’t helped me to focus. I had a tendency to let my eyes wander outside. I searched the sidewalks for my stalker. Although, when I thought about it, I didn’t think they’d be on the sidewalk. They’d most likely be in a bush, or worse, they had already found their way into the school.

I had wished for something exciting to happen to me almost every day, but I guess I needed to specifically tell the universe that I wanted to be the chosen one destined to save the world; otherwise, it thought a creepy stalker would do just fine. I wanted to feel important and special, but not in that way.

My thoughts stalled as the classroom door opened.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we have a new student enrolling here next year. She would like to shadow one of the kids,” an office administrator announced.

“Yeah, sure. Send her in,” Mr. Varnes said.

I didn’t hear the girl when she walked into the room, which was odd. I could always hear people’s footsteps. They either scooted or stomped about, but this girl made no sound. Everyone’s chatting ceased. Somewhere a pencil fell. Overwhelmed by curiosity, I looked up to see this mystery girl.

My jaw dropped.

She strode in with such confidence and poise; a queen would be hard pressed to match. She was tall and lean. Her skin was tan from hours underneath the sun. Her hair was dark brown with lighter streaks throughout and went down past her shoulders in coiling waves. Her face was the crowning jewel of her perfect body. Everything was symmetrical and well proportioned. She had bright eyes the color of healthy grass.

My eyes narrowed. There was something familiar about her. I was sure I must have seen her before. Maybe as a blurry figure on the outskirts of my dreams? Someone on a magazine? Whatever it was, I felt an urgent tug from my stomach. It was a mixed feeling. I wanted to get closer to this girl, yet at the same time, something was screaming at me to run away.

“Uhh.” Mr. Varnes fought to find words. He blinked several times. “T-take any seat you want.”

Most of the guys scrambled to make a seat beside them available. Those who had girlfriends dropped their heads with regret. The girls fidgeted with their hair insecurely and glared with jealousy. Some clung to their boyfriends. However, the new girl paid no attention to them. She scanned over the room and spotted me.

I froze in place like a deer in headlights. I gulped as I saw her come towards me. What was I supposed to do? I’d never been within a hundred feet of a pretty girl without doing something stupid, and this one might as well have been Helen of Troy.

I started trembling. No, don’t come over here! I thought. I looked down and tried to hide as much as I could behind my desk. I wished so badly that I could turn invisible. She took the desk beside me.

I felt her eyes on me. Crap, how red is my face right now? I pressed the button on my pen rapidly. I tried to pretend she wasn’t there. It was impossible.

“So, um…is anyone up for a spelling game?” Mr. Varnes asked. The class groaned, but all I felt was a sweet relief as the attention turned away from me.

Now that it was safe, I did my best to sneak a glance at her. The moment I looked, I think my eyes became transfixed. The longer I stared, the more determined I was to find some blemish or a spot she’d missed with her make-up. I couldn’t find anything, not even a scar or a freckle.

“Alright! Thinking caps on. First word: spell stromuhr.” The class pretended to be occupied by something on their desk. “Does anyone even know what that is?”

“S-T-R-O-M-U-H-R, it’s an instrument for measuring the quantity of blood that flows per unit of time through a blood vessel,” the new girl said out of nowhere. Beauty and brains? Really? Was I dreaming or something?

“Well, it’s nice to see someone brought their brain today.”

Mr. Varnes called out another word. Again it was nothing I’d ever heard of before, but this girl spelled it with no problem. Seeing that he finally had a challenging student, Mr. Varnes gave her more and more complex words. She didn’t even have to stop and think it over before she spelled them out.

This wasn’t natural. Something was up—and what was that smell radiating off of her? The moment she sat down, I felt like I was in a forest. The scent was refreshing. What could it be? I stopped breathing as I realized…she had the same piney smell that had randomly started popping up in the house.

My heart felt like it had taken a suicide dive from its perch in my chest all the way down to my navel. The color drained from my face. I finally put all of the pieces together; the way she made no sound when she walked and why she looked so familiar. She had the same outline as the person that I’d caught on camera.

It was her. She was my stalker!

Right at that moment, she chose to look at me. Her eyes locked onto mine. She grinned knowingly at me as she saw the recognition on my face.

She offered her hand. “Katherine Carvosso,” she said.

So, I’d finally come face to face with my pursuer. She didn’t look like anything I’d pictured in my mind. She had a sweet, inviting smile that wasn’t hiding any malicious intent as far as I could tell. I had to be wrong. Maybe she just happened to use the same fragrance as my stalker?

I grazed her hand. I was too afraid of tainting it with my nasty, bloated fingers. “Daniel I am.” I winced. “I mean—I’m Daniel. Daniel Haley,” I said.

Katherine’s brow rose, but instead of giving me the usual Oookay-You’re-a-Weirdo look, she seemed amused. “Would you mind if I shadowed you?” she asked.

“Uh…” I was tempted to say yes, but then I mentally kicked my brain. Was I insane? I couldn’t agree to have her follow me. Next, I’d be inviting her over to my house for tea and offer my throat for her to slash. “Actually, you should just follow someone else.”

The bell rang. I jumped out of my seat, snatched my bag, and ran towards the hallway. I had to get away as fast as I could. I knew I could lose her in the sea of uniforms. I didn’t slow down until I was on the second floor. When I looked back, there was no sign of Katherine.

Some weird part of me felt bad. Was she back there lost somewhere? I slapped my forehead. What was wrong with me?! She broke into my house!

I turned into the sanctuary of my next class. I would tell the English teacher, Mrs. Kinney, that there was a potentially dangerous girl in the school. She’d get arrested, and I’d be safe. Maybe it was better that she’d confronted me at school after all.

“Oh, Daniel, there you are!” Mrs. Kinney said. “This young lady was trying to find you. She said you were supposed to be showing her around the school?” Mrs. Kinney stepped aside to reveal Katherine standing there. She waved innocently at me. Escaping her was going to be harder than I thought.

I stepped closer to Mrs. Kinney and whispered, “Can I talk to you in private?”

“Not right this minute. The school needs you to be a good representative, and the first part of that is manners. Offer her a spot next to you, won’t you?”

“But Mrs. K—”

“Daniel, can you recite Shakespeare’s Macbeth in Latin and Greek?” she asked. What did that have to do with anything? I shook my head. “Can you even tell me who Robert Frost is?” I wanted to say something, but my mouth just hung open. “That girl is a prodigy and do you know how many have graduated from this school? None! Do whatever it takes to get her to stay. Now sit.”

Katherine sat down with a satisfied expression. I don’t know how she’d gotten to the English room and managed to brainwash Mrs. Kinney so quickly, but it could only mean one thing: she was no amateur at this game.

I sat down slowly, put my bag in my lap, and hugged it. I stood no chance against this Katherine Carvosso (if that was even her real name). Whenever she chose to make her move, I was already defeated. I took in ragged, shallow breaths. My time on this world was swiftly coming to an end.

“Okay, everyone, you may talk quietly amongst yourselves,” Mrs. Kinney said.

The room filled with the screeching of desks being turned to face each other and the immediate roar of multiple conversations. Katherine didn’t hesitate to put our desks together. I didn’t bother to move. Though I’m pretty sure my expression made it look like I’d gotten jabbed with a needle.

“Would you relax?” Katherine shook my shoulder to try to loosen me up. “You act like I’m trying to kill you.”

I fought to crack open my lips; fear had dried and stuck them together. “Well…aren’t you?” I managed to say.

“Of course not, silly.” She eased back into her chair. “I just want to get to know you.”

I leaned over the desk and whispered, “I’m pretty sure you know everything.”

She resisted the urge to laugh. “Well, I won’t deny that I know everything. But when it comes to you, I only know the small things. For one,” she began listing on her fingers, “your favorite color is navy blue. Two, your favorite sport is hockey. And three, you prefer Star Wars over Star Trek.”

“And how could you possibly know that, huh?” I wanted her to admit she’d been stalking me, so I knew for sure. Once I had her confession, I was going straight to Mrs. Kinney.

“It’s called your online profile,” she said. “You don’t have yours set to private.” I should’ve known. “I know the tiny facts about you. What I want to know is the real stuff.”

I shook my head. “No way. I’m not going to tell you anything unless you tell me something.”

She drummed her fingers on the desk, mulling it over in her mind. “Fine.”

“Where did you come from?”

“I moved here from Paris. Before that, I was in Australia, Spain, India, and sort of all over the place. I move around a lot,” she said.

“Why do you move so much? Are your parents in the military?” I asked. She stiffened and a strange look stained her face. I imagined it would be similar to someone who was lying to an interrogator and had suddenly screwed up their story.

“Yeah…you could say that,” she said.

“You don’t sound too sure.”

She smirked. “You caught me. Now, I’ll have to kill you.” There was no playfulness in her eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was joking. I felt like I was walking down a suspicious alley, and despite my instincts to turn back, I kept going.

“I-I c-can keep a secret,” I said.

“Good. You might need to use that skill in the near future.”

I shifted, unable to find a comfortable position. “So, how long are you staying here?”

“However long it takes,” she said, looking me dead in the eye. Then she pointed to the dozens of superhero pins on my backpack. “What is it about superheroes that interest you?”

I’d never gotten the chance to enthuse about superheroes with someone. My excitement burst out of me. “Are you kidding? What’s not interesting?! They have all these great powers and exciting lives. Don’t forget great costumes. Who wouldn’t want to be one?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno. It sounds complicated. You’d always have to keep secrets, distance yourself from everyone you loved to protect them, and you can forget time to do anything you wanted,” she said.

“I would do it.”

She watched me with a scrutinizing gaze. “You’d honestly sacrifice everything to go around saving other people?”

“What would I be sacrificing?” I slouched and lowered my head. “I don’t have a girlfriend or friends; I spend all my time at home sitting around.”

“You’d have no problems leaving your family?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have to leave them entirely, right? I could still visit.”

She shook her head. “What if your enemy followed you home? What if they used your family to blackmail you? Could you put them in danger?”

I frowned. “No…I couldn’t.”

“There’s nothing wrong with fantasizing about being a hero, but you should be careful about what you wish for. You never know what’s out there.”

I thought it was ironic that she of all people would be saying that. Then a heavy weight fell onto my shoulders. My excitement disappeared. The truth was, even though I was scared, I was glad that she was there. She was the most intriguing thing about my life. Once she lost interest, I’d go back to my bland regularly scheduled programming.

“I think what’s out there is scarier than anything.” I stared at the desk. “I don’t want a mundane job, a cookie-cutter house, or a family that goes through the same boring routine over and over. I don’t want to live, and die, and be nothing.”

“You want to be famous?”

I found a tiny paper ball. I rolled it around between my index finger and thumb. “No, I don’t care if a lot of people know my name. I just want to know that I’m important, that I can do extraordinary things,” I said.

Sympathy filled her eyes. “But you can.”

I flicked my paper ball across the classroom. “No. The reality is that I can win a Nobel Prize, I could hand out free food to try to bring about world peace. What I want…” I sighed. “…what I want is to fly spaceships and defeat the evil empire. I want to do things no other human can do. But that sort of thing doesn’t exist, and to me that’s scary.” I looked around the room. “I mean, is this it? Is this all life has to offer? Is it all just about working to buy things? The greatest thing destiny can offer someone is a desk job?” There was a long pause, and I realized I’d just gushed out my most intimate thoughts. I felt naked. “Sorry, I’m probably boring you.”

“No, not even a little,” she said.

“Seriously? Talking about me is holding your attention? You, who has been all over the world. I should be asking about you.”

“But I already know about me.”

The bell sounded. For some funny reason, I didn’t try to escape. I let her follow me to the cafeteria. I got a tray from the stack in the corner and followed the line to the unhappy lunch ladies. I frowned at the brown lump placed on my tray.

“Do you want any?” I asked.

“Actually, I don’t eat meat,” she said.

“Really?” My face bunched up with confusion. If she couldn’t tolerate the idea of eating an animal, then there was no way she could bring herself to hurt me, right?

I turned around to face one of the worst parts of my day; trying to find a table to sit at. Since I didn’t belong to any social group, I was forced to sit alone at the graffiti-covered table that had a broken leg. The area had snatched the scent of Taco Tuesday and refused to let it go.

Only something disturbing happened, half of the school swarmed the area the moment we sat down. The popular cliques wedged themselves onto the benches beside us. Had they lost their minds?

My tormentor sat down beside me and wrapped a thick arm around my shoulders. “What’s up, man? Aren’t you gonna introduce me to your friend here?” He smiled and winked at Katherine. “So, I heard your name was Katie.” He pointed to himself. “I’m Derek. And as the best guy this school has to offer, I’m gracing you with first dibs. How about a movie after class?”

Frustrated, I waited for Katherine’s eyes to fill up with admiration and say she’d go anywhere with him—only she didn’t. Her eyes narrowed to slits.

“Katherine is my name. And, no, I don’t think I can go to a movie tonight.”

He reached across the table to grab her hand, a gesture that would put a guaranteed SOLD sign on any other girl. Her body shook, and her hands turned to fists. “Come on, what about—”

“No. I’ll be busy.”

“Oh, yeah? Doing what?”

“I’m hanging out with Daniel.”

Derek gave me a baffled look. He was probably thinking the same thing I was. Why would a girl like her want to hang out with me?

A storm brewed in his eyes. “Look, you can’t say no to a guy like me.”

“Just leave her alone, man,” I muttered.

“No one asked you, dough boy.”

Katherine sprang to her feet. “What did you say?!”

Derek looked shocked by the ferocity in Katherine’s tone. He seemed like a deflating balloon as he sunk in his seat while she towered over him. She invaded his personal space; nostrils flared like a bull.

“You want to run that by me one more time?”

His knees quivered. “W-well…” he glanced at his friends for help, and then he gestured to me, “he is. He’s fat a-and he’s weird. He never talks to anyone.”

“It’s better to say a few meaningful words than to exhale trash all of the time.” She turned to the others. “That’s the problem with all of you ignorant people. You think anyone who doesn’t act like you; you can declare as weird and treat however you please.”

“N-nuh-uh…”

“Well, guess what. You’re going to wake up one day to find all you have are empty, brainwashed lives and there’s nothing worthwhile inside of you. So you can all backoff! That’s right! Get up and leave!” She crossed her arms and waited for them to get moving.

My peers and classmates that had ridiculed and threw things at me all year could only stare at the ground like scolded children as they went back to their usual tables. I struggled to hide the victorious smile wiggling its way onto my face.

No one had ever stood up for me. No one had ever cared. For once, I felt like I had worth. Katherine was choosing me over all of them. I took my fork and poked my arm. Nope, I was awake. The world is about to end. That has to be it.

“Um, thank you?” I said as she sat back down.

“I know what it’s like to get picked on and you don’t deserve that,” she said. Something about that didn’t click in my mind. She was a triple threat; smart, beautiful, and friendly. Girls like that didn’t get picked on; everyone around them worshiped them.

After lunch, the cafeteria crowd separated into two groups; one headed towards the gym to watch a movie, and the other towards the library to work on last minute assignments. I hung my head and went towards the library.

“You should go watch the movie. I have to try to decipher the mysteries of algebra,” I said.

“Oh, do you want some help?”

I halted and looked back at her. “You’d rather help me with homework than sit around?” I gestured to the movie group.

“Yeah, math is fun.”

She was officially the weirdest stalker, ever.

We found a table hidden amongst the bookshelves. I gave her my textbook, and she went straight to work. One moment she was speaking English and the next it was some bizarre numerical language. My mind couldn’t resist the urge to wander somewhere else.

I ended up staring at her and wondering what her deal was. I thought stalkers started freaking out and twitching if they didn’t have someone’s full attention: Katherine certainly didn’t do that. It seemed like she asked me things to be polite (not because she was desperate to know) and she kept making me laugh. I had to remind myself of what she had done, but even that stopped bothering me. I was flattered that a girl like her had been stalking me.

I kept trying to gather the courage to confront her about why she did it, but I faltered. As minutes ticked by, I started to dread the end of the day. Was this the last time I was going to see her?

“…then you want to multiply X by thirty-seven—”

“Will you be coming back tomorrow?” I asked.

She looked around the library. It was the first time she bothered to pay attention to the school. I’d forgotten that “school” was supposedly the reason she was here. “A second look couldn’t hurt,” she said.

Warmth spread through my chest. The last bell rang and threw me out of my daze. I scooped everything back into my bag and hurried towards the hallway. If I made it to the bus stop before 3:35, I could catch the early bus home.

“Thanks for your help, I’ll see you tomorrow!” I called back to her.

Despite being locked up all day, not everyone was racing out of the school. Countless students moved lifelessly through the hallway, their energy drained. I tried to get around them, but they zigzagged and blocked me. I was forced to give up and trudge behind them just as slowly.

“Is it me, or are you still trying to get rid of me?” Katherine asked as she caught up to me.

“What? No! Of course not. It’s just…if I don’t catch the early bus, I won’t get home until six,” I said. She mouthed an “O.”

I held the door open until she passed through. The parking lot was loud with the sound of honking and everyone trying to scream over each other. Most of the commotion was coming from a swarm around a single car.

Katherine sighed. “I wish they’d leave my car alone.”

I stopped briefly as my eyes followed her. The horde backed out of her way to reveal a shiny red car. It was not one of the daddy-bought Mustangs or Convertibles some other kids drove. Her car looked like those on magazine covers that cost a fortune. How in the world could she afford it?

As she went to the driver’s side, some of the people surrounding the car tried to talk to her. She ignored them and got in. Once the engine roared to life, the crowd jumped back.

I refused to believe it and continued my lonely trek to the bus stop behind the school. I kept my eyes on the ground and soaked up the hot breeze the cars stirred up as they drove past. I wondered just how nice it would feel to drive home in a fancy car instead of on a cramped, smelly bus. A powerful engine made me jolt and look up. Waiting by the curb was that unmistakable red car, holding up traffic. The passenger window rolled down.

“Need a ride?” Katherine asked.

I felt like an ice cube was sliding down my back. My mind kept replaying the old cartoons warning children about strangers. Don’t you do it! Don’t you get in that car! Just keep on walking to the bus stop!

“Come on, I promise I won’t bite.” She smiled, and I moved towards the car like a moth drawn to light.

I ignored the blaring alarms in my head. I tried to reason with my fears. There was nothing dangerous about her. She hadn’t done anything suspicious all day. Serial killers weren’t this nice, and she was probably the nicest girl alive.

I got in, and the muggy air from outside evaporated in the air-conditioning. The car had that new smell to it, and the dashboard looked like it belonged on a spaceship. Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly with Me” played quietly from the speakers.

The instant the door shut and my seatbelt clicked, the car blasted forward. The force pushed me into the back of my seat. I screamed internally at the onslaught of incoming objects: a curb, a house, and other cars. My body prepared for impact. I gripped my seat as Katherine wove through traffic so swiftly I heard the tires squealing.

This had to have been the worst idea I’d ever had. We were about to crash any second. All I could picture were the firefighters pulling a sack of broken bones from the mangled car and my mother screaming in agony over my body.

“AAAHHHH! Are you crazy?!” I shouted. “Slow down!”

“What? This is nothing,” she said. I was about to hyperventilate as she slammed her foot against the gas pedal. The car growled in response. I tried to close my eyes, but I couldn’t manage it. I had to witness the moment I died and left this world for good.

She yanked the wheel to the left. The car drifted around the corner, painting the road with tire marks. Another car was coming straight towards us, and I knew it couldn’t stop in time. The car got so close I saw the whites of the other driver’s eyes. Before the cars collided, Katherine easily swerved around and kept going. Ahead, a rapidly approaching light turned from yellow to red.

“Stop!” I begged. She hit the break. I was flung against my seatbelt and thrown back. I held my head. I was sure I had some sort of whiplash.

“Sorry?” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

I groaned and sank back into the seat, trying to catch my breath. “You deserve to get busted by a cop for driving like that! Are you trying to kill somebody?!”

“I’d like to see the cops try to catch me,” she said. “And no one has ever died because of my driving.”

“That’s hard to believe,” I said. “What kind of car is this, anyway?”

“To be specific, it’s a Saleen S7 Twin Turbo. It can go two hundred and forty-eight miles per hour, and zero to sixty in three point two seconds,” she said. I was shocked that she knew all of that.

“How much was this?”

“A few bucks,” she said. The light turned green, and we went back to speeding, only now it was slightly less reckless.

“Where’d you learn to drive?”

“Driving school.”

“You’re pulling my leg…” I said. She nodded, and I smiled. “You’re a terrible liar.”

“Or, maybe I just let you think that.”

Some part of me was still hoping that I was wrong and she wasn’t the person spying on me. That hope crumbled as she pulled up to my house without needing to ask for directions. There was no denying the facts anymore, no matter how unbelievable it all seemed. I pressed my lips together and stared at her.

“I can give you a ride tomorrow,” she said. “I mean, if you want.”

“Sure…” I said. I tried to reach for the door latch without looking, but my hand just fumbled. As I felt the blush rising, I finally grabbed the latch. “Uh, bye?”

“For now.”

I got out of the car and watched her as she sped away. I continued to stare into the distance long after the car had gone out of sight. I kept repeating one question to myself: what did she want from me?

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