The Girl From Above [Ground: Zero, Book 1]

5: The Bedsheet Has a Temper

"Get me what?"

Ryan wrapped her arms around her hair defensively. She didn't exactly look her Sunday best, especially after her near death experience with a giant magical owl, but Devany's comment still stung.

Her blonde ponytail had been matted for long that it had taken her scrunchie hostage. She probably smelled like she slept in a dumpster, which had been exactly the case.

She had been lucky enough to receive pity from the Novis librarians, who let her stay the day in the library and gave her their locked dumpster as a safe spot to sleep. She knew many kids weren't as lucky, especially since she had only been living that way for a couple months. Yet she counted her blessings. After all, Novis was a small town, a place where everyone knew each other but liked to pretend that they didn't. If the antique store owner's niece went missing and a girl matching her exact description hung out at the library, well, they would be none the wiser.

"Ryan." Devany's voice brought her back to reality. "That's your name, right? Ryan?"

She nodded, the grip on her hair loosening a little. Devany's brown skin had caught the crimson light of the valley perfectly. Ryan's face flushed as Devany glanced around the room, a smile tugging at her face. Every movement she made left Ryan's mind gasping for air in a sea of potted gold and marshmallows.

"I've never heard Ryan being used as a girl's name." Devany said, her gaze elsewhere.

Ryan exhaled. Her name had always been the topic of conversation for strangers who didn't know where to put their noses. She'd always tell them that no, her parents didn't think she was going to be a boy and no, she had never met her parents, so shut up about it.

Ryan's face scrunched up. No one could listen in on her thoughts, but guilt racked her brain anyways. She couldn't keep throwing personal pity parties like this.

"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty weird that way." She replied, her voice hollow and rough.

"I don't think it's weird, doll." Devany said. "I was going to say I thought it was pretty."

Ryan stood still for a moment, unsure of how to take the compliment. Pretty? Not many people thought her name was pretty.

"Aw, Devany is adopting the round-ear as a pet!" Carson's voice rang out through the room, but Ryan couldn't spot him anywhere.

The glare Ryan saw come from Devany could've put the fear of God into the most stoic and unfearing man. Her face hardened like an unmoving oak tree, her eyes sharp as splintered branches.

She spotted Carson across the room, lying in a similar bed to hers. He was covered in so many bandages that he looked like a cheap halloween costume. She wasn't sure where he had gotten so many injuries, because they certainly weren't due to her.

"You going to apologize?" Devany said, her voice full of ice.

"No." Carson said stubbornly. "I'd never apologize to a filthy round-ear even if my life depended on it."

"That can be arranged." Ryan muttered under her breath.

Carson's head turned towards her in a very bird-like motion. "What did you say to me, mundane?"

Ryan squeaked. She was so used to muttering sarcastic comments that she never expected anyone to hear them. Yet it seemed their giant pointed ears were for more show.

"Ok, nope, we're done." Devany said, grabbing a hospital curtain and pulling it around Ryan's bed, blocking Carson off from their view. "You can sit alone in time out and think about what you did."