Outcasts

| 10 |

Break Point

The point at which a person or system succumbs to stresses or pressures and descends into crisis. crisis. exigency. emergency. juncture ...

A wall of physics books surrounded Mallory and Peter as they sat at his desk in front of his computer. Mallory had a protective shield of literature books in her own bedroom for the same reason. The psychic energy the books gave off created a buffer from the chaotic energy swirling through their households.

Creed was in the shower and Gemma was laying on Peter's neatly made bed. She admired the light and airy beach theme that his mother had done up his room with. Wall-to-wall graphics of colorful surfboards, sand colored walls and furniture that reminded her of the bleached driftwood washed up on the shore. Her delicate fingers smoothed the indigo blue, soft cotton bedspread that had a sea coral pattern. The recessed. soft lighting from made her feel as if she was an in an underwater garden. The bath towels in Peter's private bathroom were decorated with the same coral pattern, except the coral was a deep orange-pink. She sighed as she thought of her own bedroom that was filled with junk and the size of a utility closet in their trailer. She stood up and her toes brushed the plush ocean-blue rug. "It felt as if I'd taken she had taken a mild mescaline hit."

"How would you know what taking mescaline feels like?" Jaxxon asked her.

"Everything feels surreal." She rolled over onto her stomach.

"But it's real,"Jaxxon insisted. "Don't make light of it."

"Stop being dramatic," Gemma said. "I'm just saying it's a situation we can deal with."

"Let's hope."

"Are you sure your parents won't mind if we stay here over the weekend?" Creed asked Peter. He had a seahorse patterned towel wrapped around his waist as he towel dried his dark hair.

"No, they won't mind. They'll be glad I have company while they're at their Global Warming conference in San Diego. They're going to stop in Carlsbad before they come home and visit LegoLand. Mom always wanted to see it. Don't ask me why."

Jaxxon moved towards the door. "I'll go and wait for the pizza delivery. It should be here any minute. Don't start without me."

Creed noticed Gemma eyes locked on his nude torso and followed Jaxxon. "I'm gonna check if my clothes are dry." When Mallory felt the exchange between Creed and Gemma, her violet eyes widened.

"Hurry back, this data's interesting," Peter said. The equipment's readouts he'd loaded into his computer reflected in his gold rimmed wire glasses.

"Interesting how?" Gemma asked. Her eyes were feverish. She touched her lips. They still tingled from Creed's kiss.

Mallory walked over and sat on the bed. She lowered her voice. "What's up with you and Creed?"

Gemma shrugged. "I was out of it after we saw Mr. Kinsey killed.. He kissed me."

"He kissed you? You've both been friends since you were toddlers."

Gemma nodded. "I don't think it was anything romantic. He helped me ground myself. I was in shock."

"I'm glad you survived." Her voice was neutral but her eyes has turned a deep violent. The color of the storm.

Creed returned, dressed in his short sleeved vermilion-colored shirt and jeans and they ended their conversation. "I've downloaded seismic activity from the area," Peter said. "It's just as so thought. As the anomaly becomes increasingly active, the seismic activity in the area increases."

"How did you access that data?" Jaxxon asked.

Peter grinned sheepishly. "I have access through my mom's EBSCO account. She lets me use it for research. I've been writing a treatise on the continual magnetic charge in the earth's core. I believe it's tied to the sun."