Terra's Call (TetraSphere Book 1) Read online

  Before I can speak, Charles and Analiese come in and take turns hugging Coral. They take seats near the couch and join the adults’ conversation.

  Jewel hurries over to us, her face streaked with tears. She throws her arms around Pax and hugs him hard, and then turns to me.

  “You saved her!” I can barely breathe as her hug crushes me, but I’m not complaining. She feels really good. When she lets go, Pax sends me an annoyed look.

  She takes a seat next to him and holds his hand while he tells her what he knows about Sky’s condition. Satisfied, she turns to me. “Did you see it happen, Storm?”

  “I was heading up to the observatory on the Dome, but something stopped me and I felt this urgency to keep going. About a mile from the bend, sudden sharp pains hit me in my chest and a wave of fear nearly caused me to crash. I know now that Sky was projecting what she felt. By the time I found her, the car had crashed through the barrier and fallen halfway to the river. The more I think of it, the more I suspect another alien encounter.”

  Pax jumps to his feet and starts pacing back and forth in front of us. “If that’s the case, then we’re going to have to stay close together from now on.”

  I’m a loner and don’t relish the idea of being surrounded all the time. Admittedly, these three are growing on me, but I need my space. Solitude helps me control my rage.

  Jewel taps on her bracelet, the way she does when she’s thinking, or maybe when she’s just nervous. “That isn’t practical, Pax. Except for you and your sister, we live separately. All of us drive separately, and have different schedules.”

  She gets quiet for a minute and her face looks like she’s wrestling with something. “What if we were able to communicate telepathically? We could call for help without relying on cell phones. Sky could have shown us what was happening as it happened, and we would have seen where she was through her eyes. We’re lucky Storm was nearby this time, but what if it happens again?”

  “Impossible,” I say without thinking.

  Jewel giggles. “You’re one to talk. Didn’t you just rescue Sky using nothing but your mind?”

  Pax takes a seat and I’m glad he’s stopped pacing. “You sound like it might work, Jewel. What do you have in mind?”

  A doctor dressed in scrubs comes in and calls out, “Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher?” We leap to our feet and gather with the adults to hear his report.

  “Um,” he says to Coral and Dylan, “Mind if I speak to you alone?”

  “Why?” Coral asks. “Is there something wrong? What’s wrong with my daughter?”

  “She’ll be fine, Mrs. Fletcher. Her ribs are bruised, but she has no broken bones and no concussion. Other than a few lacerations and superficial bruising, she’s in remarkably good shape after the accident. Please come with me and you can see her.” He glances at us and says, “Only immediate family at this time. Sorry, folks. Once she’s in her own room, you’ll all be able to visit, one or two at a time.”

  “Let’s go, son,” Pax’s dad puts his arm across his shoulder and pulls him along.

  “Later,” he says as they walk away. He knows we’ll wait right here.

  I go back to the corner, but Jewel draws her dad aside and they talk in a low voice. He’s shaking his head and she’s nodding. I can see that the conversation is gaining intensity. If it’s a battle of wills, I’m betting on Jewel.

  Wolf joins me and asks me to tell him what happened. I repeat the story leaving nothing out but my suspicion that an alien craft was involved. I didn’t see it, but I’m convinced. Could I be sensing it from Sky?

  It seems like hours later and I’m yawning when the Fletchers come back with Sheriff Green in tow. He must have been allowed to question Sky while they were there.

  Coral is beaming and Dylan says, “Sky is fine and asking for you. They’ll keep her in ICU tonight for observation, and will either discharge her tomorrow or move her to a room where you can visit her. She wants out tonight, of course.”

  “She’s upset about her car. You know how she loved that red Mini,” Coral adds.

  Pax remains quiet and doesn’t look at us. Jewel gives me a perplexed look. Something isn’t right, and the Fletchers aren’t talking about it.

  I’m exhausted and suspect everyone else is, too. It’s a relief to leave the med center and get home.

  I’m on auto-pilot as I brush my teeth and get ready for bed. Fatigue overtakes me and I sleep so soundly I don’t hear the windows rattle, and I don’t feel the bed scoot across the polished wood floor as the earth shakes.

  EIGHTEEN

  Sequoia opens the curtain, singing one of her Cherokee songs. Diffused as it is by the filtering trees, the light is still bright enough to make me pull the cover over my head.

  “Wake up, sleepy.” How can she be so cheerful after yesterday? “It’s time to get ready for church.”

  “What about Sky?” I ask. I’m eager to see for myself that she’s not too injured.

  “Plenty of time for that after church.” I don’t expect any other answer from my aunt. There’s no getting out of it. I missed last week, and Wolf and Sequoia fully expect me to show up today. I usually don’t mind. Pastor Mike’s sermons are relevant and interesting and he can be funny, in a self-deprecating sort of way. He’s one of the good guys. My problem is exhaustion; bone-deep, muscle aching weariness. I guess the crazy events of these past two weeks, not to mention the pretty intense training at Pax’s, have taken a toll on my body. I wonder if this is what being old feels like.

  When I’m showered and dressed, I’m happy to see that Sequoia has laid out a substantial breakfast on the kitchen table. I help myself to bacon, eggs, a stack of pancakes smothered in real maple syrup, and a tall glass of orange juice. My weary body needs the nourishment.

  “I just got off the phone with Dylan,” Wolf says. “Coral says it measured 3.9 on the Richter scale.”

  “What are you talking about?” I’m confused. Earthquakes are measured on the Richter scale.

  “Didn’t you feel it last night, Storm?” Sequoia asks. “The house shook and rattled loud enough to wake us. When I went into your room, your bed had scooted from one wall to the other.” She laughs. “You must have been dead to the world if you didn’t notice your bed taking you for a ride.”

  “A 3.9 magnitude isn’t much to worry about,” Wolf says. “What does concern me is that earthquakes are extremely rare in these parts. I wonder if this has to do with the artifacts.”

  When we have our fill of Sequoia’s delicious food, I lift the dirty dishes to the sink, turn on the faucet, rinse them, and stack them neatly in the dishwasher; all without leaving my chair.

  Wolf, Sequoia and I pile into the truck and drive a mile down the mountain to our church. The road is intact, with no sign of earthquake damage.

  Blue Mountain Mission Church looks out of place, as if it had been uprooted from Arizona and dropped into this scenic, forested valley in North Carolina. The brick walls are plastered to look like adobe and painted white. Square bell towers, each three stories tall, flank both sides of the two-story sanctuary. Every window, every opening in the towers, is arched. We enter through massive wooden doors under a vaulted doorway in the middle. The balance and harmony of the building is pleasing, but my psyche expects desert while my eyes see forest.

  It’s dark and cool inside. The echo of voices greeting each other quiets when the worship leader takes a seat on the platform, a guitar balanced on his lap. Drums, flute, a bass guitar, and keyboard complete the band, and we spend the next half hour singing. After worship is done and the collection has been taken, Pastor Mike Eaglefeather takes his place at the lectern and we spend the next forty-five minutes hearing his take on the Bible. At least, that’s what I normally do in church. Today, I’m fighting sleep. Apparently my near coma last night wasn’t enough rest for me.

  We leave quickly after the service. Everyone has heard about Sky’s accident by now and Wolf and Sequoia’s friends send us off with good wishes and prayers and a
ssurance that there will be a feast at the Fletcher’s tonight. In fact, the Fletchers will feast for many nights to come with all the casseroles these people are sure to drop off.

  By the time we arrive at the medical center, Sky is being discharged. Pax pushes her wheelchair to his dad’s car where she stands up to climb into the back seat.

  “Storm!” she calls out to me. I grin as a wave of joy grows in my chest, and I know it’s not coming from me. I curb my enthusiasm and walk over to the car.

  “It’s good to see you’re up and going home, Sky. I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “You’re coming over, aren’t you; you and your family? Jewel and her parents will be there. There’s a lot I have to tell you.” Concern takes over and the joy fades.

  “We’ll follow you home,” I say and glance at Wolf who nods his assent.

  NINETEEN

  JEWEL

  Sometimes, I think I should wear my glasses all the time. The rapid color changes in Storm’s and Pax’s energy fields make me dizzy. I’m used to Sky’s aura changing with her moods because hers has always been like a fiery kaleidoscope, but the magenta streaks cutting through Pax’s peaceful colors are new and concern me. They intensify when he looks at me; like Storm’s bright red flashes intensify when he’s around Sky. Do we make them angry? Is it something else? Seeing colors is one thing, but trying to understand them is another thing entirely.

  We arrive at the Fletcher’s house and Pax helps Sky out of the car. Her pale face looks like a raccoon’s, with two black eyes, a bruised nose and swollen lips. She must have hit it hard on the steering wheel after the airbag deflated.

  She’s wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants to cover the obvious bulk of bandages on her left leg. The too-long pants legs are rolled up, but one fold is loose and the right side droops around her foot. They must belong to Pax.

  He scoops her up in his arms. An unfamiliar pang of longing washes over me. We’ve been working out as a group every day for nearly two weeks, but this is the first time I’m aware of how strong he is. With his shirt pulled tight across his back, I admire the play of muscles as he easily carries his sister into the house. The yellow waves in his blue aura have turned brown. Something is off. I wonder what color my own aura is right now; not that anyone else would be able to tell.

  Dad and Dylan pick up a stack of plastic containers someone has left on the doorstep. The Cherokee ladies have wasted no time in bringing food offerings to the Fletchers. They’re a generous people who allow no family in crisis to go unfed.

  Storm and his family pull up behind our car, and we head inside together. Pax settles Sky into a beige leather recliner and lifts the footrest. Coral starts an industrial sized coffee maker and cuts a cake she found in one of the containers. Mom and Sequoia help her, and when everyone is served, we gather in the living room.

  Wolf gets right to the point. “What weren’t you telling us at the med center, Dylan?”

  Before Dylan can speak, the doorbell rings and Pax gets up to answer it. He ushers in a couple bearing food gifts who want to see for themselves that Sky is well. A few minutes later, the bell rings again. A steady stream of well-wishers comes by to see the Fletchers and leave food. Some pray with Sky, some just chat for a few minutes. Everyone mentions the earthquake and there’s a lot of speculation as to what caused it. No one stays long, but it’s soon apparent that our meeting will have to be postponed. It’s just as well. Pax and Storm have been trading yawns back and forth, and I’ve caught a few of them. Besides, I need to get Dad alone to continue the discussion we started at the hospital. I’m glad when my folks take their leave and we head home.

  It’s still early, but I shower and throw on pajama pants, a t-shirt and flip-flops. Mom is in the kitchen and Dad has gone downstairs to his lab. Every time I enter the pantry to take the stairs to the basement I think about the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. Dad’s laboratory is just as magical to me; a place where computer screens are eyes on the universe and inventions have the power to change the world. I need to see Dad about one of those inventions.

  “I’ve been expecting you, sweetheart.” Dad is at a workbench littered with tiny tools. He’s wearing a band around his head ringed with a variety of eyepieces attached to hinged arms that he can select and use as needed. The lenses range from simple magnifiers to those that allow him to see at a nearly microscopic level. He put it together himself.

  A wristband lies pinned to the table in front of him with its electronics exposed. “Dad, you’re working on it!” I’m happily surprised. He was less than enthusiastic when I proposed the changes to him at the hospital. I thought I’d have to argue my point, but it seems Dad has come to the same conclusion I did.

  “I’ve been mulling it over, Jewel, and it would be a safety feature for the four of you. You have a direct link to Mom and me, and we have one to you and each other. A triangular link is relatively easy. By including everyone else, what we’re looking at is more like a snowflake and many times more complex.

  “I’ll have to modify wavelengths and program more variables into the device. Your friends will want to communicate with their folks, as well, and each of them will need one. If the O’Connells and Fletchers agree to this, then Analiese can collect samples of everyone’s DNA and I can begin programming.”

  “Dad, I’m sorry. I had no idea it was going to be this complicated.”

  “Don’t apologize, Jewel. I love challenges and this one takes the cake. It occurs to me that with so many people linked up, we’ll need a simpler code. You four, especially, will have to be able to connect rapidly if you’re in trouble.

  I hug my wonderful dad, thank him again, and go upstairs to say goodnight to Mom.

  “He’s at it again, isn’t he?” She’s curled on the couch and looks up from the book she’s reading.

  I nod. We hug and she holds on for a little longer than usual. She kisses me on the cheek and pushes up from her cozy nest. “I might as well get to bed, too,” she says. “He won’t come up for air until he’s either solved the problem or realizes he’s starving himself.”

  I decide it would be best to say nothing to the others until my parents have talked to their parents and Dad has a working prototype. There’s no purpose served in getting their hopes up when it might not happen.

  Another tremor shakes the house as we sleep.

  TWENTY

  Physics is my favorite class of the day, but not because it’s interesting. I view it as a simple refresher course. I look forward to it because it’s the only class I share with Pax. He’s as bored with it as I am, which makes talking about it later amusing for both of us.

  Today, it becomes obvious that he is lost without his sister. Sky stayed home and will probably miss the rest of the week while she recovers. Meanwhile, I expect I’ll have to watch him mope. For once I’m glad I have my glasses and can’t see his colors, but the reprieve will only last until we meet for training tonight.

  I take my time getting to the lunchroom. I grab my tray, load it with a plate of salad, and sit at our empty table. It looks like Storm and Pax are both off sulking somewhere.

  “May I join you?” I look up at the sound of Marla’s voice.

  “Sure,” I say reluctantly, “why not?”

  She sits across from me and unwraps what looks like a ham and cheese sandwich. She smiles and takes a bite and I picture those alligator teeth ripping the food apart underneath her disguise. I try not to watch her eat but can’t seem to keep my eyes averted. My appetite turns to mild nausea, so I push my salad aside and wish she’d go away.

  When she’s finally done, she says, “I’m sorry about Sky. Do you know what happened?”

  I mumble, “We haven’t had a chance to talk about it.” It bothers me that I still don’t know what Sky’s family is upset about. We didn’t have time to discuss anything last night.

  “Where’s your sidekick?” I ask, in an attempt to make conversation.

  “Max?” she asks. “Pastor
John sent him on an errand along with your boyfriends.” I bristle at her implication, but decide not to respond. What errand?

  Marla chatters something about her classes and Max, but my ears tune her out almost as soon as she starts speaking. I interrupt, “What do you want, Marla?”

  She snaps her mouth shut and stares at me. I’m sure anyone would be able to notice the hostile tension that surrounds our table, though it’s hard to tell which one of us it’s coming from. Without my sight, I can’t tell for sure.

  “I thought we could be friends, Jewel. Apparently not.” She gathers her lunch and stands as if to go, but I reach out my hand and stop her. A line from an old Godfather movie in Dad’s extensive collection comes to mind, ‘Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.’ I don’t want her to know that I know what she is, and making friends seems like a better alternative to spooking her.

  “I’m sorry. I’m being rude, Marla. Please sit down.” With a little ‘humph’ she takes her seat again. I have many questions, like why is she here and where does she come from, but I ask her about Max and she’s only too happy to talk about him. I can’t wait for lunch to be over.

  Storm and Pax are waiting next to my car when school lets out. “Where’ve you been?” I ask, annoyed that they were off running an errand while I was stuck with Marla. To be fair, it doesn’t seem like they really had a choice, but logic plays no part in how I’m feeling right now.

  Pax looks a little pale and seems upset when he says, “Jewel, we need to meet at our house right away.”

  “Pax will lead and I’ll follow you,” Storm says, his face just as solemn as Pax’s. Now I’m getting worried.

  Our little caravan makes it up the mountain without incident. Still, I can’t relax. Something is definitely wrong. We pull up in the Fletcher’s driveway and the boys walk close to me until we’re inside.