Rise of Alpha (The Prodian Journey #1) (9 page)

There were voices outside. Curious, I looked out from my window and saw my mother talking and tending her plants. Mom took her role as a nurturer seriously. She was making hand gestures and looked upset.
 

I lumbered through my morning ritual, feeling somewhat guilty about my latest vision. By the time I reached Marshall, I was still feeling like I wanted to throw up. As usual, Mark and Darryl were sitting on the brick steps, waiting for me by the front entrance. I didn’t have to say anything for them to see something was up. I sat down, the cold concrete surface making me shiver.
 

“Bro, you look like shit,” Darryl commented.

I raked my fingers through my hair. “Gee, thanks. You always say the nicest things.”

“Tell us about it.” Mark looked around before scooting closer to me so no one would overhear.

“There’s going to be a fire somewhere. Two children die,” I said in a flat tone. The possibility made me sick to my stomach.

“Do you know when?” Darryl turned on his phone, ready to search the internet.
 

“Nope. I have no idea what to think anymore. It’s not like I can predict it. I don’t even know how all this crap is connected to me.”

“Okay, this is what we’re going to do. Da-rio and I will look at the news, and we’ll let you know. Don’t watch TV. We don’t want you freaking out on us.” Mark got up, and we shook hands. Darryl saluted.
 

We were at the doors when I heard that sweet voice calling my name. Mark, Darryl, and I all turned around.

Shannon was running up the steps, her backpack bouncing against her back. Brittney and Veronica were trailing behind, and judging by their horrified expressions, they weren’t as ecstatic as Shannon was to be seen around me.

“Wait up,” Shannon said, flashing a manila folder at me.

I grinned at her, jubilant in the face of Mark and Darryl’s obvious disbelief. It seemed like my friends would now have to believe me.

Shannon was breathless by the time she stopped next to me. “Larry, Curly, and Moe!” she said and handed the folder to me.
 

Mark grinned, and Darryl tried to act cool.
 

“What is this?” I asked, flipping through the contents. I didn’t bother acknowledging her friends, whose dislike was blatant. The folder held a bunch of photos, and I looked them over. “These are pretty good. Did you take them?” The different photos were of people and had been taken in color or black and white, and showed a lot of different emotions. I had to admit, she had an eye for outstanding shots.
 

Shannon beamed. “Yeah, I put them together last night. I hope they’ll convince you that I can do justice to my subjects.” She winked, subtly reminding me of her request to photograph me.

That didn’t escape everyone else’s notice. They all looked at Shannon like she’d lost her mind. I shook my head. Thankfully, Shannon dropped it, but she kept beaming at me. The first bell rang, saving me.
 

We all scrambled in different directions to get to our classes. Shannon and I walked side by side in the hallway, amid surprised and envious stares. I felt taller, even better looking, with her next to me. It was amazing how beauty could rub off on someone.

We reached our photography class just as Mr. P. was closing the door. He gave us his customary grunt because we were a minute late.
 

The rest of the day passed in a haze for me. I didn’t see Shannon again until the end of third period.
 

That night, I worked on my homework right after dinner. I’d forgotten about my dream until bedtime when Mark called, sounding breathless.
   

“Bro, you won’t believe this.”
 

I glanced at my clock. Almost midnight. It must be important for him to call at this hour. I had a sinking feeling he was about to give me news I didn’t want to hear.

“What is it?”
 

“There was a fire in Fontana. Two kids died, ages two and seven. The parents weren’t home when it happened. The babysitter was able to run to safety with the oldest child. They still don’t know what caused the fire.”

I closed my eyes, and my racing heart thundered in my ears. “Oh, man!”
 

“Brian, dude, this is freaky.” Mark’s breathing was heavy.
 

“Tell me about it.” My mind was already whirling with morbid thoughts. What if every dream was going to be about dead people or tragedies? Could these visions make some kind of difference?

“Well, I’m going to knock myself out and get some sleep. I scoured the Internet and watched the news. I got the story from the eleven o’clock news.” He paused. “You know, there were other fires out of state, one in Arizona and one in Maryland. This is insane!”

I tried to sound calm and cool for his sake. “Marko, go to sleep. Thanks for letting me know.”
 

We hung up, and I sagged against the mattress. Sleep was out of the question. It was going to be a long night. I gave in to an impulse and dialed Shannon’s number, hoping she would forgive me for waking her up.

“Hello?” she answered after the third ring, sounding tired.
 

“Shannon? I’m sorry to call you this late, but I can’t sleep.” It was better to apologize right away. If she decided to hang up on me, she would already know my reason for bothering her.

“It’s okay. I can’t sleep either. I’ve been tossing and turning for the last hour.” I heard the sound of the sheets in the background. She must be making herself comfortable.

Like the loser that I was, I imagined holding her in my arms, her head resting on my shoulder. It felt great, even if it was only happening inside my head.

“Why can’t you sleep?” she asked.

“I just heard some bad news.” I closed my eyes, loving the imaginary feel-good sensation her closeness stirred inside me.

“You want to talk about it?”
 

“Maybe another time . . . ”

“You know my number. You can call me anytime.”

That I would do. Listening to the melodic rise and fall of her voice was a drug I wouldn’t mind taking over and over. Just like that, I gave in to an embarrassing and spur-of-the-moment impulse.
 

“Hey, you want to see a movie with me on Friday night?” To let her know that I was a flexible guy, I added, “Anything you want is fine with me.”

Shannon didn’t respond right away. I wanted to kick myself for assuming she’d go out with me, even if it was only as friends. Who was I kidding? My feelings for her were stronger than that.
 

“I work Friday night—”

“It’s okay.” I didn’t want to hear any other excuses. It was a big fail for me to consider doing more with her than just being her project partner.

“Don’t cut me off,” she said. “As I was saying, I work Friday night, but I’d be happy to watch a movie after. Is this a date?”

Duh!
Then my idiocy reared its ugly head. “No . . . just friends hanging out.”

There was a long pause before she spoke again. “Okay. Sounds good.”

Her answer made me warm all over. After we agreed on the time and where to meet, we hung up, and I was left staring at the ceiling and thinking happy thoughts.

Meeting the Tranak Leader

Today was the big day. I had to admit, I wanted it to be a date, but I was too chicken to tell her. Nonetheless, it was enough that Shannon had agreed to see a movie with me. It was strange that she didn’t seem to have any movie preference when I asked her in class the day before. I thought she’d go for a chick-flick. Oh well, what do I know about girls, anyway?
 

I turned onto St. George Street with hopes of finding a parking spot. Since I was thirty minutes early, which was a rarity, I found one right away. I parked my coupe and sat inside to kill time while I waited for Mark and Darryl, who were carpooling together.
 

I was tinkering with the radio dial, looking for anything besides the usual talk shows, when I heard a rap on my passenger side window. I could see the body, but not the face, of a woman. Her clothes were unusual. Glimmering ribbons were tied around the waistline of her ill-fitting dress, or whatever it was she was wearing. I leaned toward the window to see her face, and she rapped on the glass again.

Good thing I had engaged the locks when I left home. It was something my dad drilled in my head ever since he’d handed me the keys to my brand new car.
 

When the woman bent down, our eyes locked. It was like an out-of-body experience. My body felt lighter, my breathing slowed down, and I had the odd sensation of time slowing.
 
I fumbled with the door handle, trying to decide whether to flee or stay inside the car.
 

Then it dawned on me. I had seen this woman before.
 
She was the same limping woman I’d seen on the street several days ago. In an instant, everything around me started blurring, like we’d been enveloped in a cocoon. The woman smiled, and for a moment, I didn’t feel the fear I knew I should.

Despite her compelling smile, I was unwilling to let her in. I gripped the steering wheel, electing to drive away while I still could. I pushed the ignition button, but the engine wouldn’t start. The radio turned off on its own, and the luminous display on my dashboard dimmed and shut down. Panic began to seep in as I frantically pushed the button to start the car while glancing at the woman outside my window.

With a wave of her hand, she disengaged the locks. In the next moment, she was sitting on the front passenger seat next to me. Her movements were swift, faster than what human eyes could follow, but somehow, I saw every single one as if it were in slow motion.
 
She locked the doors again with a snap of her fingers, and I found myself scooting away from her until my body was pressed against the door.

“Don’t be afraid, Brian Morrison,” she said. Her voice had the same wind chime sound as Shannon’s. “And don’t try to run. We need your help.”

“Who are you? What do you want from me?” My voice shook, and my shoulders started jerking. I clamped my mouth in an effort to suppress the harsh words that were guaranteed to make an appearance soon.

“My name is Detherina. I come from another place.”
 

“An alien from another planet?” I blurted out of fear.
 

She tried to reach out, but I shrank further away. “Don’t be afraid, Brian. I’m not an alien. I come from Tranak—a parallel universe.” She smiled, showing off a set of perfect, white teeth.

Dether—or whatever her name was—was beautiful, in an ethereal way. Her jet black hair sat coiled in a tight knot on top of her head like a crown. She watched me with crystal eyes that were strange, yet mesmerizing. Her thin lips were dark red, just like the color of blood.

“You’re an alien.” This wasn’t real. This had to be a dream.
 

She laughed, a melodious sound, and for some reason, I felt she wasn’t a threat. All the same, I kept my hand on the door handle, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.
 

“I wouldn’t want to be called an
alien
, but yes, I’m not of this world.”
 

“What do you want from me?” I asked again.

“In our universe, I’m what they call the Totren, or the leader. I’m a bit like the president of your country, except I am filling in for our true supreme ruler. I lead a group of what you would call creatures. We’re quiet, disciplined, and self-sufficient.” She glanced ahead.
 

Through the blur of whatever bubble she’d used to surround my car, I could still see people walking by, oblivious to me and my passenger. I gripped the door handle and tried to jerk it open, but it wouldn’t budge. Whatever magic she was using, I was beyond freaked out.

She swung her head back in my direction and pleaded. “Please don’t run away. I won’t hurt you.”

“What do you want from me?” I ground the words, wanting the answer she seemed to be reluctant to give me.

“You’re the key to my daughter’s safety,” she said. Her voice quavered, and her eyes brimmed with golden tears.
 

“Daughter? What are you talking about?” I asked, reeling.
Red alert, red alert. Time to run, Brian.
   

Her voice took an eerie tone. “Shannon.”

I blinked once and then again, unsure if I’d heard right. It wasn’t possible. “No . . . no . . . ”
You’re a liar.
 

“I’m not lying. I am her mother,” she reiterated.

“She told me that her mother is Madame Elizabeth!”
 

“Elizabeth is half-Aarmark, half-human. I am a pure Aarmark—a race thousands of years older than yours. Elizabeth is posing as Shannon’s surrogate mother because I am not able to stay here very long. I have people to lead, so her father and I agreed that he’d keep her here until her eighteenth birthday.”