Confluent (1)

➵ Sparks Fly...Literally

▸ Down By the River - Led Zeppelin

"The Dread Doctors by T.R. McCammon." Lydia held the book that Malia found the previous night at Tracy's house as we walked through the school doors.

"What?" Malia asked, walking alongside her.

"I don't know. There's something about it." Lydia tilted her head. "Has anyone actually read it yet?"

"Just me. And I didn't understand any of it."

"We should probably all read it."

"Do we have to?" I asked nervously. "Because I have dyslexia and I'm going to be really behind you guys if we are doing some sort of book club."

"You'll do fine. I'll try my best to help." Malia smiled at me.

"We'll help you, Nev." Lydia agreed. I grinned.

"You guys are awesome."

"Oh, and Kira's working on that." Malia inputted.

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"Stiles says he can't find anything on the author." Malia closed her locker. "He thinks it's a pen name."

"A pen name? That's a good guess, I haven't thought about that. Any guesses yet?" I questioned Malia. She shook her head in response.

"'In a small New England town, teenagers are taken in the night and buried alive. Days later they emerge transformed, wreaking havoc and spreading terror, commanded by an ancient order of parascientists known only as the Dread Doctors.'" Lydia read the summary of the book.

"That actually sounds like an interesting book, ya know, if we weren't actually living it." I mumbled to myself.

"Sounds vaguely familiar. How does it end?" Lydia asked Malia.

"It doesn't. This is supposed to be volume one." Malia placed a hand on her hip.

"Oh, let me guess, there is no volume two?" Lydia spoke the question I was thinking.

"I think we're living volume two." Malia said.

"How great." I sarcastically said.

"Then maybe the real question is," Lydia questioned, looking at the book. "Is this a novel or someone's prediction?"

"How about neither and that none of this is actually happening?" I meekly said causing the two Seniors to chuckle at me.

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"Hello?" Lydia spoke into the metal box as she pressed the call button. It made a buzzer sound. Kira, Lydia and I were waiting outside the gate of Eichen House. Scott and Stiles were behind us, leaning against the jeep. Lydia pressed the button again. "Anyone there?"

"Why aren't they answering?" I grumbled, crossing my arms. I was growing impatient.

"I don't know. Maybe they're busy?" Kira shrugged, glancing at the black metal gate.

"Busy doing what? Don't they have a lot of people working there with different jobs? There has to be one person to open up a freaking gate." I expressed, flinging my arms up.

"We already told them we were coming." Lydia told the both of us.

"Oh, then they are just being rude." I nodded and angrily tapped my foot. The creaking of the gate caught our attention. Lydia and Kira both looked at me with smirks. I nervously chuckled. "Never mind."

The five of us walked through the open door and headed up the stairs. Hearing the creaking sound again, I turned around to see the door closing.

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