Alive Again: Awakening (Book 1)

186

I grabbed a notepad and a pen from the hallway table and began writing. I struck through several lines, as the words continued to come out wrong:

Dear Dad and Mama,

Apparently, there is someone who is after me--

By now you must know that Pearson was blown up--

It wasn't my fault--

I'm safe. I love you. I'm sorry.

Always,

Robyn

I desperately wanted to tell them that I'd come home soon, but I couldn't bring myself to lie to them or me.

Afterward, I moved up the stairs as quickly as I could. There were five other people in my home at that moment, which made the dark silence around me eerie.

I threw open the door to my room. A strangled noise escaped me, a cross between a shriek and a gasp. There was a giant spidery branch extending through my open window into my bedroom. The streetlamp outside cast an ominous glow on the skeletal limbs  sitting inside my room and for half a second, I thought some demon had come to collect my soul.

I jumped at Brandon's sudden appearance behind me. Maple was sitting on my window sill, staring anxiously in my direction.

"I'm fine . . ." I gulped down air, as my heart rate slowed, gesturing toward the giant claw of nature sitting before us.

Once Brandon saw that nothing was wrong, he looked at Maple. "I'm almost done, May. Let the others know." Maple nodded and leapt from my window.

Before I could say anything more, Brandon began throwing open my dresser drawers. Alarm rose in my body as he started messily sifting through my clothes in the darkness. He threw one of my bras over his shoulder.

"Wait, don't—" Reflexively, I pulled at his arm. I realized that this was exactly how I'd been electrocuted earlier. No pain came this time, just Brandon's electric blue gaze in the dark.

"Everything all right?" He mocked me, glancing down at my hands on his bicep. I let go reluctantly. He was quiet a moment, looking me over. "Change clothes," he said. I was still wearing my school uniform, dirty and ripped in a few places due to this afternoon's escapades. "Put this on. It'll protect you." He handed me something dark and balled up. "And then pick out regular clothes you can run in. Do you have anything that would fit Delilah and Maple?"

"Sure. Check my brother's room for stuff the rest of you can wear," I suggested and he slipped out the door. In his absence, I hurriedly stripped down to my underwear and climbed into the body suit (?) he'd given me. It was a somehow a perfect fit.

I tried to roll the sleeves up to hide them from view, but when I reached for the fabric, it was gone. I could feel it on my arm, but all I could see was my skin. I padded across my body examining the texture and fabric of the suit. It made a metallic sound when my knuckles made contact with the front side of it. Were these metal plates all down my arms, legs and torso?

"State of the art bulletproof tech." I jumped. Delilah was leaning against the wall beside my window.

"You guys have got to stop sneaking up on me," I gasped.

"Sorry."

"Here." I plucked a few items from my drawer and handed them to her. "Shirt and running shorts." Glancing around my room in the dark, I saw a few clothed teddy bears of mine, whose shirts might fit Maple and Beetle.

Brandon reappeared. "Everything's set. Let's get out of here."

"Right," Delilah hopped out of my window. Brandon tossed a bundle of clothes out after her and turned to me. "Come on."

Maybe I should have expected what came next. The best I could do was freeze in silent shock when Brandon hooked his arm around my waist and threw me out the window. I didn't have time to react before Delilah and Sting caught me and lowered me to my feet.

"Let's not do that again either." I said, ignoring the hint of smugness I saw on Brandon's face. I took one last look at my childhood home, hoping that somehow it wouldn't be the last time.