I’m awake but my eyes feel too heavy to open. I’m lying down on something soft, definitely not where I passed out. Everywhere is silent for a few minutes before a girl speaks up.
“She’s breathing but she isn’t waking up. Should I just dump water on her?” Sounds like the waitress from the diner.
“Probably. I don’t know. Why’re you asking me?” A guy answers.
“I’ll do it.” I hear someone leave the room and come back in a few seconds. The lady whispers a countdown from 3 as I try to open my eyes. As the countdown ends, I’m drenched in cold water, waking me up completely.
I jump up from the couch, my blades already out. I’m already in a fighting stance, surveying the room.
“Where am I?” The first question I ask.
The other three people in the room stare at my hands in amazement. They look at me, and then each other before settling their eyes back on the sight in front of them.
“I guess we were right.” The lady says.
I glare at the people who seem to have kidnapped me and try my best to steady myself as I’m still a little weak.
“Where am I? And what do you mean you were right?” I ask.
“You’re in our home and we were right about you being a Zorian.” My eyes go wide in shock.
How do they know that?
“We know that because we’re Zorians too.” The lady answers like she just read my mind.
“I’m Thea, he’s Joey,” she points to the huge guy to her left, “and he’s West.” The one on her right who looked like he was forced to be here, a light scowl on his face.
“How am I supposed to just believe you?” I ask still maintaining my combat stance. I could definitely take these three, all my years of training will finally be put to good use.
“That’s up to you. But we at least need to know who you are first. How long have you been here?” Thea asks.
“How am I supposed to know? You brought me here.” I start to feel weak again, my hunger getting the best of me.
“She means how long have you been on earth?” Joey says.
“Oh right, about 17 years now.” The surprised looks on their faces return.
“What?” They seem shocked.
“How the heck have you been here for so long? And he hasn’t come for you yet?” I know exactly who Thea is referring to, the one I’m running away from.
“I don’t know. And he’s the reason I’m on the run anyways. My mom said he’s here and he’s coming for me.” I finally give in and land on the couch, massaging my sore, jelly legs.
“Ok now I need to know more. But first you need to eat, you look dead. Follow me.” Thea leaves for the kitchen, Joey and West follow, with me in the rear.
The small table is already set with enough food to feed two people. Everyone takes a seat but I still feel very sceptically. My stomach churns at the sight of the food so I give up and decide on eating before thinking rationally. In about five minutes, the plates are empty and I down the glass of cold water before relaxing on the chair.
“You sure do eat a lot.” West speaks for the first time.
“Now we can talk. Where are you coming from and where are you going?” Thea places her hands on the table, waiting for me to start.
“And we don’t even know your name yet.” Joey adds.
“My name’s Onda. Onda Thorne.” I start.
“Like I said, I got a message from my mom. She said Darius is here and he’s coming for me and this time he’s not leaving till he finds me. That’s why I’m running.”
“Where’s your mom?”
“She’s on Zorah. She left a few years ago thinking that if she went to work for him that he’d leave me alone but it didn’t work out that way. He still wants to take me back.”
“So you’ve been on your own for how long?” More questions.
“About 6 years now.” Thea clears the table, taking the plates to the sink.
“Woah, that’s tough. So why is he after you? You were smuggled out? You owe him something? Or is it your mom?”
“That, I don’t know. And where’s my bag?” I head back into the living room to look for my bag.
“I think she’s the one I saw.” Thea whispers as soon as I leave the room.
“How are you so sure? How do we know that she isn’t working with him?” Joey asks in a hushed tone.
“Thanks for the food but I have to leave now.” I shout so they hear in the kitchen and they all race to the front door to stop me.
“Where are you going? Do you have anywhere to go?” Thea asks.
“Not exactly. I think that’s the point of being on the run. You have no destination until you’re no longer being hunted. I’m just going to keep moving until he leaves.” I try to move them aside to get to the door.
“Well why not just stay with us? If Darius is coming for you, he’s most likely coming for us too. That’s why we’re together, so we can defend ourselves whenever that happens.”
I look between the three of them. Why do they want me here so badly? How am I sure they’re not even lying about who they say they are? Can I really trust them? Questions race through my mind as I look between the three people stopping me from leaving the house.
*************
The four of us are seated in the living room. Thea, Joey and West on one couch and my lonely, innocent self on the chair facing them.
“Ok since no one wants to go first.” I finally break the silence, “When did you guys get here and why are you here?”
The three of them cautiously look between each other before Thea speaks up.
“Well I’ve been here the longest, excluding you that is. I’ve been on earth for about six years now. Then there’s Joey, he’s been here for four. And West’s been here the shortest, two and a half years.”
“And why are you here in the first place?” Thea stares into my eyes like she did before, before answering.
“Well obviously we’re not supposed to be here but we’re all here for the same reason. We were banished to Petra but didn’t want to be there so we came to earth and Darius’s job is to bring us back. You?”
“Umm… I was actually adopted. I don’t know my birth parents, heck I don’t even remember anything about Zorah but my adopted mom’s told me a little about the place. She told me that she got me from Darius because she wasn’t able to have kids of her own and after a few months, he demanded that she return me so we fled to earth and here we are.” A brief summary of my life.
“Woah, that’s crazy. So what happened when you got here?” Joey asks.
“Well we were alright for a while but then he came here to get me and my mom and I started moving from state to state for years. We even lived in Canada for about three years before she decided to go in my place, thinking he’d stop then. Been on my own ever since.”
“And how old are you?” Surprisingly it’s West that asks.
“I’m turning 18 in about a month.” I answer excitedly, “What about you guys?”
“I’m the oldest, 19. Joey is 18 already and West should be older than you with just a few weeks actually. His birthday was about two weeks ago.”
Great, I’m the new kid and the youngest. Just great.
“Don’t worry, being the youngest is not such a bad thing. So is being the new kid.” Theas says, once again answering my thoughts.
“I’m sorry but can you read minds or something?” I finally ask.
“Oh yeah, I can. Sorry, it’s kind of a habit.” That explains a lot.
“What else can you do?” I ask as Thea gets up and starts to walk upstairs.
“As for our powers you’ll get to know as we live together, no need to rush things. Follow me.” I grab my bag and follow Thea, leaving the boys behind.
We walk up the stairs and into a short hallway with three doors on the left and one on the right. Thea walks us past the first and second one, stopping in front of the third.
“We don’t have a spare room so you’ll have to share with me, the boys have their own separate rooms.” She pushes open the door to reveal a spacious room with a blue theme.
The walls are blue and grey and so are the decorations on them, with only a few black posters and frames. A huge bed is by the wall with bedding that matches the walls. A black chest drawer is on the right beside a door leading to what I’m guessing is the bathroom. The spacious closet is half open revealing the colourful clothes inside.
“I don’t know if you can tell yet but my favourite colours are blue and grey.” Thea says.
“Oh really, I didn’t notice.” I laugh and drop my bag on the floor, beside the door.
“The bed is big enough for both of us so you don’t have to worry. The bathroom is right there,” She points to the door beside the drawer, “the boys share a bathroom but I have my own, lucky me. The closet is on your left and seeing how little you packed, I think we’re going to be sharing clothes for a while. You can go take a shower, I’ll pick out something for you to change into.”
“Thanks.” I head to the bathroom but pause to ask a question.
“Wait, how did you know that I’m not from here? At the diner, I remember you guys all looked at me weird before taking me outside to question me.” I ask.
“Because Zorians can sense other Zorians. That’s how I found the boys. So when you walked in, the air in there just felt different. We thought you were one of Darius’s minions that’s why we were a little aggressive.” Thea explains.
“Wow, I never actually knew that.”
“Joey and I need to get back to the diner but we’ll be back in a few hours. West is here so don’t worry about being alone.” Being alone is the last of my worries. “Do I really have to be alone with him? Can’t I just go with you?” I whine. I haven’t really talked to him much but from the looks of it, he definitely doesn’t like me. “No you need to rest and I can tell you’re not used to the smell of alcohol, you looked like you were about to puke when you walked in there. And don’t worry about West, he may seem a little tough but he’s harmless. A little grumpy but nothing to worry about. We’ll be back soon.” Thea puts on her apron and leaves the room, shutting the door behind her. After a few minutes, I hear the front door slam shut and a car engine roars to life. As soon as the car sounds far enough, I get up from the bed and leave the room as quietly as I can. I tiptoe downstairs, looking out for West but he’s nowhere in sight. Deciding on taking a quick tour
“Rise and shine. Breakfast is ready.” Thea softly shakes the bed. I yawn widely and stretch on the soft bed for a few seconds before sitting up. That felt nice. Odd, but nice. “Wow. I don’t remember the last time I slept in a bed this soft and comfy. I could get used to this.” I climb out of bed and follow Thea downstairs. The smell of fresh toast fills the air and Thea and I double our speed. “Morning Thea. Morning Onda.” Joey greets while West just grunts. Everyone takes their seats and starts eating as Joey serves orange juice into everyone’s cup. “So do you guys always cook or how does it work?” I ask, referring to Joey and West. “We rotate it week by week. The boys cook for a week then I cook for the next week. Today’s Saturday so my week starts tomorrow. And since you’re here, you get to help. I finally have a kitchen assistant.” Thea says excitedly. We finish breakfast quickly. Thea and I remain at the table while the bo
Thea slams the front door and stomps around the living room, letting off steam as best as she can. West and I follow, with shopping bags in both hands. Joey emerges from the kitchen with a towel in his hand. “Hey guys.” Joey’s smile slowly fades as he senses something is off. “What happened?” He asks cautiously. Thea turns to him, still fuming, “I’ll tell you what happened. It’s those disrespectful brats, those little punks who believe that they’re better than us but they don’t know I could snap them in half without breaking a sweat if I wanted to.” I stand awkwardly by the door with the bags still in my hand while West drops on the couch like he’s completely used to the situation. I don’t know what to do. Do I just leave the room? “Derek and his friends?” Joey asks. “Derek and his friends.” West nods. “They want to threaten me! Me? Bad choice.” Thea finally storms off. “Let’s get you unpacked.” Joey helps me with some
Sunday morning.I toss from side to side as Thea shakes the bed. It’s too early for whatever this is about.“I’m trying to sleep.”“And I’m trying to wake you up. Wake up!” Thea yells in my ear, making me jump.“What? It’s”, I turn to check the clock, “5:30 in the morning. Even the sun hasn’t woken up yet, why should I?”“Because it’s time for our morning run.” A voice replies. Thea and I turn to the door to find it open with West leaning on the doorframe.“West please tell Joey that she is finally awake and will be done in 5.”Thea points to me as I quietly pulls the covers back over my head, “You! Stand up and get dressed. Meet me downstairs in 3.” She walks to the door and stops to glare at me.“And don’t make me come back here.” With that she leaves, leaving me slightly frightene
I'm lying on something even softer than before. I'm going to open my eyes at the count of three and I better not see Darius again. One. "Onda, wake up." Two. "Is she awake yet?" Three. "Does it look like she's awake?" My eyes slowly flutter open to find the boys gathered around me and Thea pacing around the room, running her hands through her bright red hair. “Oh thank goodness you’re awake.” Joey says letting out a relieved sigh. Thea snaps her head in my direction and rushes to the couch. “Oh gosh. You’re okay. What happened? Are you alright?” She kneels in front of the couch. “I think so.” I try sitting up, using my hands to support me but I land back on the couch. “Or maybe not. Why do I feel like I was dropped from the top of a building?” “Because Joey tripped while he was carr
The boys are up front, with West driving and Joey in the passenger seat. Thea and I are in the back going over the dos and don’ts. “So we’re going to go to the office first to get some stuff like your timetable and locker information.” Thea preps me while adjusting my clothes here and there. For some reason she’s more nervous than I am and I’m supposed to be the newbie here. “Thea will you please calm down, I can feel your legs shaking through the chair.” “I don’t know why I’m on edge honestly. I feel like a mother who’s sending her kid off for the first day of preschool.” “First of all, we’ve known each other for less than a week.” I comment. “It feels like a year to me.” Thea mumbles. “And second of all, you don’t have to worry. I’ll be fine. You said as long as I don’t use my powers and avoid problems then I’ll be okay.” “It’s the avoid problems part that isn’t as easy as you think.” Joey says. “If you would all stop
"... And I expect you to hand in your projects by Friday and make sure you work as a team." Mrs. Jones, our English Literature teacher, says to the class.Ring..."Well that's the bell. Now off to lunch. Ms. Thorne, a word please."I give Thea a questioning look and she gestures for me to go over to Mrs. Jones as she walks out of the class."Since you're a new student and I hate having students who are not caught up with the rest of the class, here is a copy of all that I have taught the class this term. That includes all the assignments. Read it, because..."She pauses and looks around the empty classroom."Don't tell anyone but there is a pop quiz coming up this Friday and I don't want my new student failing.""Thank you ma'am. My lips are sealed." I smile at her.I place the binder in my bag and walk out of the class and see Thea at the door. We start walking down the hall together."What was that all about?"
"Can't we just talk about this when we get home?" Thea groans. "No. Now." "Well I'm sore. We'll talk about this later." "How are you sore? You were literally made out of steel a few seconds ago." I scream. "It's not that easy okay. Now I'm not going to say this again, we'll talk about this later." She gives me her signature glare from the rear-view mirror and I give up. Out of frustration I throw my hands in the air and accidentally hit an unconscious West, causing him to fall on my lap. I turn to ask Joey for help but he’s already out. Looking down at West, I silently studying his facial features. His nose was slightly crooked, purple and swollen. His lips are slightly parted, revealing his pearl white teeth. The scar across his face seems clearer to me now. I still wonder what caused such a huge scar. I slowly run my finger along the scar. Right where the scar stops, I notice the mark I saw yesterday. It’s not a circle, it’s
“Onda wake up. You’re not safe.” Mom? I try to look around but it’s too dark to see anything. I don’t even know where I am. I feel the ground and I can tell I’m in a room; the floor is cemented. “Baby you have to be careful.” My mother’s voice moves across the room in a whisper. “Mom where are you? Where am I?” The loud creak of a door echoes through the room, telling me that the room is bigger than I think. The door slams shut and I hear footsteps. I slide back, hoping to hit a wall soon but I never do. The footsteps draw closer and I ready myself for a surprise attack. I still can’t see anything so any attack would be a surprise at this point. “You think you’re safe with them.” A voice whispers behind me. I try to turn around but my body is frozen. I can’t even turn my head. Their hot breath fans my neck and cheek as they breathe down my neck. Rough hair scratches my neck as they move closer.
“Once again it’s Friday, my favourite day of the week.” Thea stretches as we exit Geometry class. “Not me. It’s the one day I have a class where I’m seat partners with Alexa and she tries really hard to piss me off every time.” I slam my locker shut so hard it rattles, threatening to come off its hinges. “Sucks to be you. See you later though. Remember, you can’t hurt her.” Thea gives me a thumbs up as she walks to her next class before the bell even rings. I drag my feet to Literature class and slump in my seat. The bell rings and in walks Alexa and the girl whose punch I will never forget – her name is Tracy. “Ok class we don’t have much to discuss today, we’re going to continue from where we stopped in our books last week and ask questions at the end of the class.” The only sound heard in the room is the sound of flipping pages as Mrs. Jones returns to her desk. “Hey Rhonda.” Here we go again. “It’s Onda, get it right.” “Sorry, it’s
WEDNESDAY “I see you’re feeling better.” “Better than ever.” Joey beams as he plays around with his balls of fire. “So what exactly was the problem?” Thea asks. “I still don’t know but I’m better now, that’s all that matters to me.” I will take my actions to the grave. Telling them is only going to make them trust me less, as if they trust me at all already. “Okay everyone in the car.” West orders as he grabs the keys from the coffee table. With Joey in front of me, leading the way, and Thea and West behind me, we all head for the front door. I stop in my tracks, feeling a sneeze coming. “Oh no.” My loud sneeze is followed by a slight tremor and the house shivers. The sound of plates and utensils hitting the floor in the kitchen takes the lead and the bookshelf by the window is half empty. Everyone turns to me as I flash a nervous smile. “Surprise. It’s back.” ************
“You okay?” West asks Joey as we enter the car, ready to leave for school. I glance at Joey and he looks quite pale. Did I do that? “Yeah I’m alright. Let’s go.” Thea joins us and West starts the car. We reach school just as the first bell rings. “Mr. Parker.” West and I look at each other in horror as we realize that we have Geometry now and Mr. Parker gives detention to anyone who gets to class after him. We sprint down the halls and take the stairs three at a time to reach our class. West opens the door while I rest my hands on my knees in exhaustion. “He isn’t even here yet.” I sigh as we walk over to the only free seats in the class. As I manoeuvre my way through the occupied desks, Brian kicks his leg out just as I’m about to pass him but I’m quicker than he thinks. I skip over his foot with my right leg and step on it with my left heel. West and I high five after seeing Brian clutch his foot as we get to our seats. My choice of
SUNDAYThea doesn’t wake me up for our morning run today, I wake her up. The run is quite peaceful, unlike last time. Everyone makes sure I stay clear of the lake as we run past it. We get back to the house about an hour and a half later and we all scatter to get ready for breakfast.“What’s for breakfast today?” I ask Joey as we head downstairs together.“I don’t know either. West said he’d handle it himself today. To be honest, I’m a little scared.” We enter the kitchen to find West running around the kitchen. I’m not going to lie, West looks good when he’s cooking. His hair is stuck to his face just like yesterday and I can’t help but admire him.Joey snaps me out of my trance and pulls me to the table.“Woah someone went all out for today’s breakfast.” The table is covered in all sorts of things.“I’m feeling good today.
“Rise and shine.”I roll to Thea’s side of the bed stretching as far as my limbs can go.“It’s almost ten o’clock. We need to go to work. Wake up sleepy head.”I spring up on hearing the time. 10 AM? I’ve never slept in this late before. I grab my phone off the nightstand and race to the bathroom. Thea giggles as I slam the door behind me.“I really shouldn’t be slacking off this much. What’s gotten into me?” I pick up my toothbrush first and squeeze paste on it. As I brush, I pick up my phone and turn it on. As the screen comes on, the first thing I notice is the time.7:39 AM.“Thea!” I scream, sputtering toothpaste everywhere. She lets out an evil laugh from the bedroom.Next thing I notice is the texts from Beckett.“Hey! Are you home yet?” 9:32 PM.“Don’t forget you’re taking little Jack-Jac
“And then she threw two balls at him. One hit his leg while the other misses him but gets stuck in the wall behind him. The crowd went crazy.” Joey narrates the story for me as I scarf down my lunch. “Wow. Who knew dodgeball could be so exciting?” West laughs. “He deserves it though. I knew something was fishy when he suddenly wanted to be friends with you, asking you to join him for lunch.” Thea says. “And you didn’t say anything? Aren’t you supposed to be ‘protecting’ me?” “Yeah but experience is sometimes the best teacher. We all went through it, so you should too.” She shrugs and bites down on her Deli wrap. I didn’t expect much sympathy from her anyways. “By the way, it says I have Child Development as an elective in the nurse’s office. What’s child development?” I ask as a gulp down the last of my orange juice. The boys turn to Thea with wide eyes. “Why would you give her child development? Literally no one ever picks tha
FRIDAY “I’m so happy it’s Friday.” Thea yawns as we exit geometry class. “You successfully succeeded one week of school, how do you feel?” She holds her pen to my mouth like it’s a mic. “I feel drained. How many more weeks of this do I have to go through?” I whine. “You don’t want to know.” She laughs. “What class do you have next?” “I have English literature next and we’re having a quiz, I’m scared. Then I have PE.” “Ok, that means you have PE with Joey. Good luck on your quiz. Later.” She walks off and I run to the vending machine in the girls’ locker room. I’m still trying to get the hang of these machines so it takes me a few minutes to get myself a coke - I need the sugar for this quiz. As I walk out of the locker room, I bump into someone and drop the can. I catch it with my foot as it's about to hit the ground. "I'm sorry." The person bends to help me get the coke but stops when they see it balan
Ringgg! Finally, Spanish class has come to an end. That is probably going to be the most boring class I'm in. I even caught Thea sleeping. The teacher, Ms. Lopez, was talking so slow and kept stopping to give me an odd look. Weird lady. Thea and I quickly run out of the class, looking and feeling exhausted. "That was torture. Is that what you go through every time?" I ask Thea as we exit the classroom. "You wouldn't believe." She shakes her head dramatically. “She’s just the substitute though. Our real teacher is actually pretty cool. She’s on maternity leave.” She turns to look at me and her expression suddenly to one I don’t recognize. "Onda, we’ve known each other for less than a week and a lot has happened since we met. I want you to know that I’ll never break my promise. I promised to protect you and I will. Okay?" "Where’s all this coming fr..." "Are you ready?" I jump, startled by the voice ever-so-close