Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs 1: The Never Hero (57 page)

How Jonathan was to behave around her was unclear. That such a worry could even enter his consciousness, given what he now knew, was absurd to him. How could his mind so obviously prioritize the wrong concerns? As everyone was present, and Jack right beside her, it didn’t seem like a question he needed to feel out just then, so he sat down on the couch. Just close enough to Leah as to betray no meaning. He liked the idea of watching a movie now. He’d done enough heavy lifting with his brain for the day.

“Jack’s never seen Star Wars,” Leah said as Jonathan sat. “Hayden couldn’t let this be.”

Jonathan nodded. This, of course, made perfect sense.

“Hayden?” Jack asked. “How many times have you seen this?”

“I don’t know, kid,” Hayden said. “Probably fifty.”

“Wow,” Jack said, “and you never get sick of it?”

Hayden shrugged.

“Just one of those things,” Hayden said. “Every time I watch it, I get giddy with the same feeling I had the first time. I can’t help wishing a wise old man would show up and train me to use the super powers I never knew I had.”

A groan escaped Jonathan’s lips. He hadn’t expected it, or to sound like he found what Hayden said so silly as to be offensive.

“Oh yeah, Tibbs?” Hayden asked, wanting an explanation for the response he’d gotten.

It was Jonathan’s turn to shrug.

“Any old man ever shows up and offers to train me to use super powers, I’d assume he wants me to fight a war he can’t fight for himself.” Jonathan said. “Sometimes wanting something is better than having it.”

Hayden looked like he was going to argue, launch into a long-winded rant. Instead, he seemed to get lost thinking about it.

“Might have a point,” he said.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2005 | 8:00 PM

SHE
blazed down the freeway, the lights of the city fading behind her as she turned onto Interstate 280. She poured on the throttle dangerously, pulling herself down tight around the sports bike to cut the air.

Rylee, now committed to leaving, was making a conscious effort not to look in the rear view, not to even let the thought gain ground in her mind. The more distance she put between herself and Manhattan, the less likely she was to turn back when her resolve wavered.

She had little on her, just her gear and what she’d crammed into the knapsack strapped to her back. She wasn’t leaving behind anything she couldn’t replace. All she needed was the bike and her stuffed bank account. They gave her the freedom to go where she pleased, the freedom to run.

She’d planned it for weeks now. She didn’t know if he could track her. Maybe it didn’t matter where she was. Maybe he could find her anywhere. She wasn’t letting herself worry about the consequences of rebellion. The chance had to outweigh the repercussions. To Rylee, what mattered was that she was doing something, anything, to take matters into her own hands, to control what she could.

If he wanted her, he was going to have to chase her down. If he didn’t like what she was up to, he would have to find a way to stop her. She had no idea how far he might take it. She supposed it would depend on how much it interfered with his schemes, but Rylee didn’t believe he would kill her. He seemed to need her too much.

Seattle.

It had to be a city on the other side of the damn continent, but she knew it was the place to start. There was something important there, something he was trying to protect, something she could leverage.

She needed to know what that man valued. If she could take it away, she might be able to take her life back.

Dear Reader

T. Ellery Hodges is an independent author.
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COMING SOON FROM T. ELLERY HODGES

The
working
title of The Never Hero sequel is:
The Never Trespass
(due out in 2015).

 

 

 

 

Also in production for 2015:
Rolly - The Broken Mind Sagas

R
olly awoke in the days after the grid went down. Until then, she'd spent her entire existence locked up in a padded room within the mind of
M
olly
. It has been three years since Molly went to sleep, and Rolly has kept their body alive, surviving in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. Now, something has brought Molly back to the surface. She intends to use Rolly as a weapon, but the girl who has been sleeping through the worst period in human history has a conscience, and its liable to get them both killed.

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

T. Ellery Hodges lives with his wife and son in Seattle, Washington. He is currently hard at work on the sequel to The Never Hero. If you’d like to know more about T.Ellery, visit his blog at:
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