Death Whispers (Death Series, Book 1) (35 page)

“Sounds standard, Caleb,” Dad said.

“Yeah... I guess. But there were these creepers
that I named 'formula-people'.”

“Creepers?” Dad inquired.

“People that lurk about and generally give a
sinister vibe,” Mom explained.

“Ah-huh, okay. Go on.”

“Well, they all wore the same clothes and stood
by all the doorways.”

“Like uniforms?” Mom asked.

“
Not
exactly, more like, the same but different. And! They wore
sunglasses... inside
.
How weird is that?”

The parents looked at each other in an uneasy
silence.

The food stilled in my throat, a lump petrified. I
swallowed through the hardness of it.

Dad put his fork on his plate with a clatter.

“
That's
not standard.”

“What are your thoughts, Kyle?” Mom asked.

“My thoughts are... that this thing is its own
machine. That there are forces working that we don't know or
understand.”

“Like I've been saying,” I said.

They
looked at me as if,
explain
that
.

“Dad, come on, remember McGraw and Garcia at the
cemetery when I raised Gran?”

He nodded, somber.

“Well, then there's Parker. All the signs are
pointing to something bigger,” I said.

I recounted what Jade had felt from the people who
had dug through my locker. That Carson was a Pyrokenetic, that John
was a Null. That Jonesy wasn't anything. Well, he was a math whiz, I
guess that was something. But he couldn't bludgeon with equations!

Mom looked shocked. “I guess there are some
blessings.”

I raised my eyebrows.

Dad pretended to wipe sweat off his brow. “Jonesy
doesn’t have a power.”

I laughed. “There is that.”

“Yes, Jonesy with an ability would be...” Mom
searched for the word.

“Explosive...” I supplied.

“I don't know if that covers it, Caleb,” Dad
said, getting a visual of the Potential that was Jonesy.

We all loved Jonesy, but he was an immoveable
object. Regardless of what was going on, he was him, sometimes that
worked, other times, not.

Usually not.

“The officers came by today to let us know
they're discontinuing surveillance,” Mom said.

Good, I thought. I liked Gale and Ward but Gale
had gotten too close for comfort. I sure-as-hell didn't want McGraw
and Garcia sniffing around either.

“When?” I asked.

“When you were running around with your posse,”
Mom said.

“Huh, they still don't have a clue, right?”

“No, so far, they haven't been able to ascertain
a motive for the break-in. Nothing was stolen, some things broken and
touched. Of course, there's the matter of my pulse-top compromise.
However, we did a full diagnostic at the lab and everything is in
order.” Dad shrugged.

“I think it was the formula-people,” I said
flatly.

“So suspicious,” Mom clucked.

“Somebody's got to be,” I replied.

The parents frowned.

“Well? It's pretty obvious someone knows more
about me than we want them to. Why all the interest? As you'd say,
Dad, things aren't 'adding up'.”

“Caleb's got a point, but, that doesn't mean we
live in fear.”

“You're concerned, Dad, or you wouldn't have
dosed me.”

“Caleb, would you stop saying that, please?”
Mom asked.

“Dose, dose, dose, double-dose...” I chanted.

“Caleb...” Dad warned.

“Oh... okay. Geez, you guys!”

“
Anyway,
Gale is suspicious. She had your results as a two-pointer.” I
raised my eyebrows. “She could have sworn you were
much
more.
The last time she got a reaction like the one you gave her, it was
from Parker.”

Swell.

“But, we had the proof.” Mom's relief
palpable.

“Thank God for small favors,” Dad said.

We sat quietly for a second. Then I asked the
important question, “What about the dog?”

Mom
smiled “We'll get him after school tomorrow. Now the Aptitude Test
is finished and that stress is behind us, we'll move forward.”

“Are you going to come, Dad?”

“No, I don't think I need to. I can let you and
Mom get him.” he smiled.

Finally, I was going to get the dog. What to name
him? He was black like night, really dark. I wondered...

“What about a name?” I asked.

“I've been thinking about that,” Mom said.

Of course, Mom the Word Queen!

I waited.

“Onyx!”

Mom had it... much better than “Inky.” Or, the
dreaded, “Blackie.”

“Nice, Ali,” Dad said.

“I thought so,” she said, twirling away to
refill my milk glass.

I
slurped down the rest of my milk and cleared away my dishes. Mom
would pick me up from school tomorrow and I would have a new dog,
Onyx.

Things were looking up.

CHAPTER 23

The
school was abuzz over the paranormals who were “outed” by the AP
Testing. I got a lot of, “corpse-lover,” and my personal
favorite, “Doin' any corpses lately?” All of them,
so
clever.
Dunces.

John was acting incognito (ultra-cool vocab word:
to conceal a real identity) by not telling anyone he was a Null but
having a great time running around, getting close to some of the
paranormals. They'd try to put their groove on and... nothing.

Evil for John. I liked it.

Jade was planning to come over to the house to
help us pick up Onyx and formally meet him. I couldn't wait, it was
the silver lining in today's cloud.

The classes droned by as usual. I was itching to
get home and get Onyx. I knew there were other things to think about,
like class, but that didn't matter today. Summer break was coming and
my head was engaged with ideas of playing basketball, fishing, and
especially, extra time with Jade.

Finally, the pulse clock chimed and sixth period
ended. I raced to Building D, feeling a fleeting sense of d
é
j
à
vu.

Mr. Cole was perched on the windowsill like a cat
in the sun. I mentally crossed my fingers and took a deep breath.

“Hey Mr. Cole...” I rushed on, throwing out
all my words at once so my chances would be better.

“My mom and I are going to get a new dog today
and I was hoping I could make up band this Friday?”

I was out of breath but recovering.

Cole took off the glasses, bending his head as he
polished them on his T-shirt, layered under an adult, button up
shirt. I think that was required for adults. I figured Dad had about
three hundred.

Geez. Then he put them up directly in the
sunlight, checking for dirt. His glasses didn't look dirty to me.

He
slowly looked over at me. Please say yes, please
.

He smiled back. “I guess that would be okay. But
you'll have to make it up Friday for sure, Caleb.” He gave me a
mock stern look. But Cole, besides my shop teacher, Morginstern, was
cool. They were the best teachers.

I breathed a sigh of relief and seeing my
expression he laughed.

“Cool! Thanks, Mr. C!” I sprang up, taking off
for the door as John came in.

“Whoa! Where ya going?” he asked.

“I get the dog today, Onyx, remember?”

In a low voice John said, “Cole let ya go?”

“Yeah, but I gotta make it up Friday.”

John pantomimed choking himself with his hands.
“Ooh, the torture! Extra band practice.”

I punched him in the arm. “Shut up, Terran.
You're gonna stay too.”

John rubbed his arm and glared at me. “I don't
know... Friday... may have plans.” he grinned.

“Stuff it, ya putz. You know you've got plans,
with Jonesy and me. That's your plans.”

John grinned wider. “Yeah, now that I'm cool
like you.”

“You
think you're cool like me. Listen, I don't have time for clever
repartee, I gotta split and get the pooch.”

“Fancy words don't intimidate me!” John mocked
swordplay in my gut.

“I thought you needed to get going Caleb?”
Cole asked.

“Yeah, I do! See ya!” I gave John a salute,
taking off.

I checked my watch, damn, forgot to wind it.

I ripped my pulse out of my pocket; three-ten.
Okay, Jade was meeting me at three-thirty, better book. I began a
slow jog, working up a good sweat by the time I threw open the front
door, instantly smelling Mom's banana bread.

Decisions, decisions... shower or food. Sighing, I
slogged off to the bathroom. “Mom, be out in a sec. Jade's coming
over to pick up the dog with us!” Yelling over the kitchen noise.

“Thanks for the head's up!”

I ran the shower super hot like I liked. Finishing
up, I got out, toweled off, and resigned myself to having to floss.
This hygiene thing was a pain-in-my-ass, but I smelled better. Jade
was a motivator!

I opened the bathroom door, having had just enough
thought process to grab a clean T-shirt and Jade was here. I listened
to Mom doing the hostess-goddess routine. They were getting along,
good.

I rounded the corner, Jade looked up and our eyes
connected in that I-dig-you-but-a-parent-is-around-so-play-it-cool.
It sucked but was as automatic as breathing.

“You ready?” Mom asked.

“Yeah, just had to de-scuzz.”

“De-scuzz?” Jade asked.

“Yeah, got to smell fresh.” I flipped my long
bangs out of the way, still damp from the shower.

Jade laughed, comic relief.

We walked to the garage, our shoulders touching.

Mom got into the driver's seat and Jade and I were
in the rear where I figured Mom would be too distracted with that
driving thing to notice us holding hands.

Jade leaned her head onto my shoulder. Her hair
smelled like a big piece of fruit, nice. I wanted to touch it but
knew that was pushing it.

We
pulled up front and I listened with that part of me that hears the
dead. In the case of Onyx, we had already done that psychic dance,
he
recognized me.
I felt him in my head. We walked through the big glass doors, Jade
and Mom in front, me bringing up the rear.

****

The Dog knew when the Boy entered the
place-where-he-lived and howled joyously. He sniffed at the metal
tubes which made seeing more difficult. He held the liquid that
smelled interesting inside his body because the People-who-fed-him
took him to a good smelling place to let the liquid go. The Dog held
it but not without effort.

The Dog heard the voices of the People coming
with the Boy, who was special, the Dog knew because the Boy called
him in a special way, soundlessly. The Dog liked the Boy. The Boy
would throw the soft, round thing. The Boy was... was... using those
people sounds in his head.

I'm here Onyx, you'll come home with me.

The people-sounds were very exciting and the
Dog could feel a little liquid come out.

Bad Dog, Bad Dog... he must hold the liquid.

The Dog saw the Boy and his People come to the
bars and look down at him. He was a Bad Dog because of the liquid
Accident but the Boy did not notice. The Dog was relieved and moved
his tail, hoping the Boy would be pleased.

“Good dog, Onyx,” The Boy said.

The Dog wagged his tail harder, the end hitting
the metal tubes. The Boy had said a word that was important that he
did not know. He recognized some words.

He pressed his nose to the metal tubes, they
were cold against his nose but he needed to smell the Boy and his
People. The small female smelled like not-right-garbage and was
excited to see him; so he wagged his tail harder. The older female
smelled like the Boy. They were pack to each other. Would this be a
pack like his other Boy? There was a sharp pang of sadness when the
Dog remembered his other Boy, but he shoved it away because the New
Boy was making the sounds from his mouth and he must listen.

“That's a good dog, Onyx.” The Boy said.

The Dog jumped up on the metal tubes and the
Boy stuck his hand through and the Dog gave him one lick. The Dog
understood some people did not like a lot of the wet thing in his
mouth that was so good for all kinds of things.

One of the people-who-fed-him approached and he
was a Good Dog and sat down. He continued wagging his tail because
the small female put her delicious hand on top of his head and moved
it in a most pleasant way.

The alpha female of the Boy's pack made new
sounds out of her mouth and the Dog understood she had a tonal
quality similar to the Boy...

“Arlene, is there any more paperwork to fill out
before we take Onyx home?”

“No, Mrs. Hart, just sign this form attesting to
pick-up.” She showed Mom where and Mom bent over the 'X', marking
out a quick signature.

“Thank you. By the way, we're sure glad that
he's going to a good family.”

The
Dog saw the person-who-fed-him make dominant eye contact and he
shifted his eyes away politely
then
looked back.

“We'll miss him around here.” she smiled.

The Dog heard the sounds, good dog, which was
his signal to begin to wag his tail again. Which he did; thunk,
thunk, thunk. He also heard that strange sound, Onyx, which meant
something important. He would try to remember, for the Boy.