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Chapter 66: VX
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The True Nature Series Chapter 67: Flowers-in-the-Attic Scary
MY SLEEPLESS AND DREAMLESS night suddenly caught up with me, and before I knew it, I was snoozing.**I was in an unfamiliar house, furnished with denim and suede fabrics, heavy draperies, and shiny crystal chandeliers. Clearly this was another vision. My eyes followed the patterns along the hallway rug until I noticed Zena pressing herself against the wall beneath an ornately framed Monet-like painting. She bent her ear toward the sound of voices arguing in the next room."How much longer do we need to prove ourselves to the Kasadu? I'm sick to death of this nowhere town. We're stuck here while our friends back home are getting blessed. Millisande must laugh every time she thinks of us.""Your sister would never do that," said a man."I can't believe it! You still have a thing for her," accused the woman in an acrid voice. I recognized the voices now. They belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Tayler. Zena's parents."We have a good life here," Mr Taylor said. "Why can't you be happy?""B
The True Nature Series Chapter 68: Vexed
ON MY WAY HOME, I weighed the pros and cons of telling Ruthie about the Taylors, because it led to another secret I'd been sitting on. Should I tell her that Zander's father was the Collector, too? How much could I divulge if I didn't? I wondered again if I was risking her life in some way. Before I stepped out of her car, I casually dropped the first bomb, as if it was simply another item on our list of things to bring to the beach. She gasped dramatically. The car lurched forward before she remembered to slam on the brakes and put the car in Park."You think the Taylors are freaking spies for the Collector?" she screamed at me.I nodded, shut the car door, and walked off toward my front door. The hum of the car window rolling down had me spinning back to see her raising a shaking fist. She didn't leave without extracting a promise of details once she returned from grabbing all her beach gear.She showed up twenty minutes later with the top down on her convertible and her bodyboa
The True Nature Series Chapter 69: Beach Day
"IT'S COLD!" WHINED RUTHIE. We were piled high with our towels, bodyboards, food and sunscreen. Ruthie was disappointed to see new clouds forming in the sky, obscuring the sun. And without the naked blast of sunlight, the cold air caused goose bumps to spread along our uncovered legs. I was glad I brought a sweatshirt. "I thought it was going to be a nice day." Ruthie scrunched up her shoulders and made a face."It will heat up soon. Positive thoughts.""I hope so," she whined."It usually does. I bet the water is warm, though. Well, warm-er." Movies like Blue Crush or Point Break built up expectations of bikini babes, hot sun, and bath temperature water. That was southern California, not up north in the Monterey Bay. More often than not the fog didn't dissipate until late morning and then it crept back in by mid-afternoon, providing a short window of warmth. "It better be warmer than last time," grumbled Ruthie, referring to our last foray to the sea when we hadn't thawed o
The True Nature Series Chapter 70: When Seals Pop ...
NOW SHE UNDERSTOOD WHY I was so worked up. "Exactly," I said."Does anyone else know? Besides us and Bobby?" asked Ruthie. I knew what she meant by it. We had to contain the knowledge that Dante drove me home from school that day."Zander does, of course. I don't think Bobby told anyone other than Shrina, at least so far. I'll remind him to keep his gob shut when we get back to school. And to tell Shrina the same thing."Ruthie nodded. "Well, his eyesight getting better is kind of odd."I clenched the blanket tighter."Do you think Dante changed him when he knocked him out?" asked Ruthie."He didn't change me." I met her gaze as she raised an eyebrow. "You know what I mean. Anyway, what if I did something to Bobby, that day at lunch when Dante first noticed me? Dante said I fixed him. He could tell I was doing something, through my aura. Man, I wish I could jump back in time and do things differently."I flopped down and I tried to move back into the body mold I'd burrowed into
The True Nature Series Chapter 71: Shark Attack
I RAISED MY HAND as they drew near, and then shaded my eyes as I peered out into the waves, panic beginning to bubble up inside me."Nice ride in, Tru," smiled Isaac, his eyes glinting with appreciation."Where's Ruthie?" asked Phoebe."I don't know," I said, breathing fast. "She was right next to me.""Is that her board out there?" asked Isaac, pointing to a red spot far from shore.A bodyboard bobbed, like it was being pulled down, its end tipping all the way up."Holy crap!" I screamed. "That's her!" It looked like something was pulling her under.We ran into the water. "Maybe she's stuck in a riptide!" I cried, fear for my friend choking me.Isaac and Phoebe swam so fast that they outdistanced me in no time. Then they dove under just as Ruthie's head bobbed up. She sucked in a gulp of air before shrieking in terror, her arms crawling toward us. A dark fin poked out of the choppy water near her. My heart stopped. That is no riptide, I thought before she went under again.
The True Nature Series Chapter 72: Superpowers
I TURNED MY ATTENTION to Ruthie. Dark eyes blinked at me. "I hope he didn't get her," she whispered between chattering teeth."He?" I asked, relieved to see her responding. She was going to be okay."Ja-jaws."I cracked a smile. "You're all right."She coughed, a hiccup-like explosion that I recognized as a poor attempt at laughter. "I look like Edward Scissorhands, don't I?" Her mouth turned down, trembling.I hugged her, grateful to hear her talking, no matter how self-deprecating she sounded. She lifted a shaky hand to touch her face."Don't!" I blocked her hand. "You'll make it worse.""Worse?" she croaked. "Why doesn't it hurt?""You're still in shock, sweetie, but at least you're talking now. I'm glad you can't feel them yet." Before peeling off the towel to look at her injuries again, I lowered her down to the sand and grabbed our backpacks. I stuffed them under her feet. I found another scratch down her back and a cut on her foot. None of her injuries would kill her
The True Nature Series Chapter 73: Miracle
"TRU!" I heard Ruthie's wail, the concern in her voice, and opened my eyes to see her perfect face peering into mine. "Are you all right?" she asked. "You passed out!""Sorry. I'm fine, really. Just mega tired." I sat up feeling sluggish, but I shook off the fatigue and hugged her. "You look perfect! Better than perfect." I pulled away to smile tiredly at her. "I even think your zit is gone."She didn't laugh like I wanted her to, but pulled away. She picked up her compact, pausing before flipping it open to stare at her flawless face, now only marred by dried patches of blood. She soaked one edge of her towel with her water bottle and scrubbed the blood away. As she stared at her healed skin, her face began to crumple and she broke down into sobs. I reached out to hug her."I believed you, Tru," she said, a catch in her voice. "I really did. But hearing you say it is so different than seeing it for myself." She stared at me, her face the picture of humility, a rare look for her
The True Nature Series Chapter 74: Dante's Computer
RUTHIE ENDED UP SPENDING the rest of the day at my place. Dad worked on his car for hours while we hid away in my room. We pulled up re-runs of Court of Palms on my computer and covered our faces in green goo, Ruthie's homemade face mask. It was nasty, but it took her mind off the shark attack. Once in a while I'd watch her eyes dilate as she stared off at nothing. I could almost see her sucking in the fear. Sometimes I put an arm around her and she leaned on me, saying something snarky like, "Good thing you have big shoulders." When I dropped her head and she giggled, I knew she was going to be okay. I was still trying to derail Ruthie's dark thoughts after dinner. Ruthie was supposed to head home, but she was dragging her feet. We'd gone through most of the emergency junk food, painted our nails, and watched a lot of YouTube videos. I drooped in my desk chair, exhausted from trying to keep up with her. She, on the other hand, was high on soda and Oreos and currently going through
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