Unmasking the Nightmare

Chapter Eight: Join the Dark Side...We Have Better Sundaes

I absently kicked a pebble and watched it tumble into a storm drain as I meandered down the sidewalk, my hands folded behind my back and my mind full of thoughts. The streets were jam-packed like normal, people swinging around shopping bags and dumping perfectly-good food on the sidewalks, clogging up the storm drains.

I was slightly bothered that my mom wasn't walking me home. Not that I needed assistance, but I didn't like walking through the city by myself. Shortly after the whole fiasco at the arena, my mom had fled the arena in a hurry, not bothering to fill me in on where she was going.

The day of peace between the Elite Chosen and the Reigner Chosen had ended, so she was back to saving the city and basking in the praise that the paparazzi offered her. Still, I had wanted to talk to her. I wasn't sure if I wanted to apologize, thank her for sticking up for me, or question her. It hardly mattered now.

I shifted my pace into a jog, eager to race home so I could shower and get a good night's sleep so I could take full advantage of my free day tomorrow. Tomorrow was my last day of freedom, before I started my hero work as an Elite.

I lasted a few seconds before I slowed my jog back into a swift walk, my back aching from my multiple falls in the arena, my elbow pulsing with pain from smashing Xavier's nose, and my hand stinging from snatching the static energy.

A roar of an engine startled me, and a moment later, a familiar navy-blue sedan pulled up to the curb, dimmed headlights trained on me. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, and then my suspicion turned into alarm when Chelsea rolled down the passenger window, grinning as heavy-metal tunes blared through the speakers.

"Hi Nikki!"

"What are you doing riding up front?" I hollered over the crescendo of music, aghast. "And what music are you listening to? It doesn't sound family friendly!"

"THERE IS NO CAUSE FOR ALARM," came a mechanical voice from inside the car. "MY FAMILY PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE IS ACTIVATED, WHICH GIVES ME THE ABILITY TO CENSOR EXPLICIT CONTENT THAT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR LITTLE EARS."

"Yeah, stop worrying and hop in!" Colton turned towards Chelsea and motioned towards the back seat, which she reluctantly gave up after she realized that Colton wasn't caving to her puppy eyes or her pouts.

"Fine, but don't drive like a maniac and turn the music down!" I pressed my palms over my ears as I popped open the passenger door and squeezed inside. "I've got a wicked headache."

"YOUR SISTER MUST HAVE MORE MEDICAL PROBLEMS THAN I HAD PREVIOUSLY
CONSIDERED. TODAY SHE IS COMPLAINING ABOUT HER HEAD, AND YESTERDAY SHE WAS COMPLAINING THAT HER EARS WERE BLEEDING."

"Is that so?" Colton laughed as he dialed the music down and shifted into reverse, the car beginning to inch away from the sidewalk curb. "Personally, I think she's being dramatic and displaying a pathetically-low tolerance for pain."

"If the car ride's going to start on this note, I might walk home," I remarked sourly. "I thought
you were going to at least ask me how the arena was."

Colton sucked in a dramatic gasp of breath, holding his chest for effect. "My apologies, dear sister. Would you like me to kiss your boo-boos and praise you for crushing your competitors hopes and dreams?"

"Not when you put it like tha—wait a minute." I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at Colton, "You said that I crushed my competitors hopes and dreams, but how did you know I won in the arena?"

"Mom called and told me that she was running an errand and wanted me to pick you up." Colton scratched his fingernails against the steering wheel. "Mom was looking out for you."