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Chapter 69: Beach Day
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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
The True Nature Series Chapter 75: Special Effects
"HOW ARE YOU FEELING? Really. And you know what I mean," I said, squeezing her hand.Her eyes widened. "Oh! You mean that whole business about giving me superpowers?" She smirked. "Nope. Nothing. Figures I wouldn't be that lucky."Relief flooded through me and I pulled her in for another hug. "Tell me if it changes," I insisted."Sure, sure," she said, patting my back. Then she left through the front door. I headed to the kitchen for a soda. The bubbles tickled my nose as I stared out the kitchen window into the backyard. Reality was a funny thing. I shook my head thinking about the strange wolves I'd seen out there. Then I pictured the shark fin in the water and Ruthie getting pulled under. Her face had been a wreck. That had been real, too, and I was glad I'd healed her. The truth was, I would have tried it even if Isaac and Phoebe had seen me. I almost had a heart attack when the doorbell rang. I tiptoed to the peephole. Sapphire blue eyes, wavy auburn hair, perfect mouth. Now
The True Nature Series Chapter 76: Photo Bomb
"UM, IGNORE THE MESS," I said, as we reached my room. What was I thinking? Clothes and makeup were scattered across every surface.He chuckled. "Tru, I've seen your messy bedroom before.""Yeah, but it was dark then, and now it's way worse." I grabbed a glass from the bathroom and filled it with the flowers Zander gave me before setting it on my dresser next to the doorway."But, I could see with absolute clarity because I was holding you, remember? It was amazing." A sliver of awe entered his voice. "You were like my own personal flashlight." When we had been imprisoned together in Dante's cellar, we had discovered that he could piggyback on my ability to see in the dark, as long as he was touching me."Oh yeah. Okay, so now you know I'm a slob.""And I still like you." He twirled me around. "A lot." His lips were feather soft as he kissed me. Wow. My heart thumped so loudly, I was afraid he'd hear it. I forced myself to step away."I, uh, that ..." I waved my hand at his
The True Nature Series Chapter 77: Usemi
ZANDER SHRUGGED. "I DON'T know the specifics. But I do know she's on a reward poster back home. So, whatever she did, it's pretty serious." I couldn't quite imagine her face on a reward poster. But why was I surprised after what she'd done to my mom? Zander's eyes narrowed. "You know something, don't you?" He swore. "Did Dante say something about it? How did he even know about her?"I bit my lip. "Maybe the Collector is from the same place you're from?" I suggested, hoping that he might make the leap to his father. If he figured it out himself, I wouldn't have to tell him and risk alienating him. I certainly wouldn't like to hear anything bad about my dad."Could be," nodded Zander. "There are a few Nasaru facilities. He could have worked in one of them and then branched off on his own somewhere ..."I sighed, not sure if this was the right time to tell him about the true identity of the Collector. "Anyway," I said, moving on even though guilt burned through me like acid. "You
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