Parahuman (Parahuman Series) (13 page)

     “For
years my dad has regularly upgraded this bridge, replacing boards to keep it
safe. He’s been a bit lax lately since autumn, but I’m sure it’s still safe to
cross.” Her tone was almost defensive, as though defending her dad’s
reputation.

     “It
looks as if your dad has done a great job keeping it together, but you just stated
yourself that he’s been lax lately.” Devan did not feel comfortable with her
going out on that bridge; some of the underlying frame work looked unreliable. 

     She
put her hand over his and Devan realized in surprise that he was still gripping
her arm. Touching others wasn’t something he normally initiated, but he’d done
it a few times with her already. He noted that his fingers reached completely
around her forearm to overlap on the other side. It seemed like her arm should
be bigger and more muscular from the climbing she did, not slender enough for
his fingers to reach around. Devan jerked his hand away afraid he might be
bruising her, but also because her hand on his had caused a surge of heat to
radiate through his body.

     A
wounded expression briefly crossed her face before being replaced by stubborn
indignation. “I’ll be fine; I’ve crossed this bridge hundreds of times without
anything happening.” She turned and walked across the bridge before Devan could
think of an adequate excuse to stop her. He followed; there was no way she was
going across without him.

     She halted
in the middle of the bridge to gaze down into the swirling water at the base of
the waterfall. Even though it was dark the moon’s glow highlighted the area
well. The water rolled and churned as though fighting for the chance to be on
top rather than pushed to the bottom by the force of the water coming down.
Even with the crashing of the waterfall Devan could hear the groaning and
creaking of the bridge.  

     He
stood next to her uneasily, wanting her to keep moving. “Is there anything on
the other side?”  

     “There’s
a rope that will take you to the bottom.” She made no move towards it though. 

     Devan
could see the rope tied to the trunk of a large tree at the top of the hill. It
was about two inches in diameter and trailed down a steep fifty foot incline to
a tree trunk at the bottom where the other end was tied. Now to get her over to
it and off this bridge.

    
“Would you show me?” He smiled hopefully. 

     Laney’s
eyes widened, and there was shock in them. “You’re smiling. Does the bridge
make you that nervous?”

     What
did smiling have to do with him being nervous? “Extremely nervous.” He
admitted, seeing no reason to lie about it, but it wasn’t for himself, it was
for her.

     She
sighed with a grin. “Well, since you smiled so sweetly, if ever so briefly and
fakely.” She continuing across the bridge to the other side and Devan followed
closely behind, breathing easier when they reached stable ground.

      “We
use the ropes to get down because the hill is very slippery.” She immediately
began making her way down, hand over hand. The hill was angled at about
sixty-five degrees and she went down cautiously to avoid slipping on the wet
earth. Devan watched her descend unaccountably restless and then followed when
she reached the bottom.

     Laney
walked down to the river bank and appeared to be looking out across the water
in thought. Devan ambled up beside her. They were twenty yards from the waterfall
so the noise level was fainter and the mist wasn’t as bad either. Devan perused
the area. Gazing further down the river he could see animals utilizing the
water, quenching their thirst. There were large quantities of small animals but
also a few deer and elk, nothing he would consider threatening. Devan thought
he detected the sound of a car engine, but with the sound of the waterfall it
was difficult to tell.

    
Returning his attention back to Laney he saw that she was watching
him
thoughtfully instead of the river.

     “You
always seem to be looking deeper into the woods than most people, like you’re
on the alert for something.”

     “You
can’t be too careful when you’re in these kinds of woods.” Devan said casually.

     “Or
when walking across bridges,” she bantered with a grin. Stooping down she
pushed up the sleeves on her shirt and reached into the water scooping up a
handful of small stones. She then began sifting through them setting flat ones
aside in the grass and throwing the others back in the river.

     Devan
watched curiously as she repeated this process several times. She did the task
intently, quietly, and Devan just stood there studying her. Her scent drifted
up to him along with the mist and a peaceful sort of sensation invaded his
being. It was different from what he experienced alone out here in the forest.
It encompassed his whole mind and body. Devan couldn’t remember the last time
his thoughts were so silent. No thoughts of the past or the future, no concerns
trying to overrun the tranquility, no theories, equations, or strategies to
solve. He closed his eyes and marveled at the sensation. 

     After
several moments—that seemed like blissful hours to him—Devan noticed a hush in
Laney’s activities. Opening his eyes he looked down to see her staring up at
him, an arrested look upon her face. She looked away hurriedly at his
consideration.

     “You
have to search diligently, but there are the best skipping rocks to be found at
the bottom of this river.” 

     
Devan turned his attention from her to the pile of stones on the ground. She
stood with at least two dozen in her hands, holding out half to him. He took
them with a small frown. Skipping stones? Did these stones have some sort of
mineral attribute that caused them to leap about. He hadn’t come across
anything in his studies about such a rock.

    
“Don’t tell me you’ve never skipped rocks before?” Laney exclaimed in surprise.
She began shaking her head. “You’re years have been woefully neglected.”

     Devan
couldn’t argue that point with her.

     Laney
held out her hand gripping one of the stones between her thumb and forefinger.
“This is how I hold it. Then you just draw back your arm or wrist and…” Laney
demonstrated rather than finish the instructions and her stone went skipping
across the top of the water.

     “Only
four that time.” Her lips formed a pout that intrigued Devan to no end. “The
most I’ve ever done is eight.” The pout curved into a smile; a smile that time
after time caused his chest to tighten. 

     Devan
looked down at the stones in his hand. “The purpose is to obtain the greatest
amount of skips across the water.”

     A
musical laugh floated from those curved lips. “The purpose is to have fun.
But
,
for the competitive individual, and I must consign myself to that category,”
another musical laugh drifted from her mouth, “the highest number of skips does
proclaim a victor.”

     Devan
situated the stone in his hand in the manner Laney had demonstrated, but then
modified it slightly to increase the throws effectiveness. He drew his forearm
back slightly and then snapped it forward. The stone went flying over the
water, skipping across it fifteen times.

     Laney
burst out laughing. “Oh, come on. Jeez, are you good at everything you do?”

     “No,
remember, I can’t ride a horse,” Devan reminded her.

     “Oh
yeah, they don’t like you, right?” She said with dubious humor.

     “It’s
true; cats, dogs, birds, you name it, they don’t like me.”

    
“Really,” she mused. “They say that animals have a sense about a person.” Her
eyes roamed over Devan as though looking for something deficient.

     He
shifted uncomfortably at perusal. “They just take offense to certain odors,”
Devan explained rationally.

     “So
you’re telling me you smell.” She grinned widely. Turning she drew back her arm
and sent another stone flying. It skipped five times.

     “We
all smell, but my smell is offensive to them.” Devan admitted, feeling his
temperature rise. He wasn’t sure why he was discomfited, it was only the truth.

     Laney
launched another stone over the water. Six skips. Devan launched his, with a
little less fervor this time. Fourteen skips. Well…it was less. Laney gave a
snort.       

     “Some
people believe animals can sense good from evil.” Laney announced, throwing another
stone. Six again. 

     Devan
frowned at her source of information. “Where did you hear this? I’ve never
heard of good and evil having a smell.”

    
“That’s just something certain people believe.
I
don’t believe animals
have some special sense of smell to tell if someone is good or evil. I don’t
think people are either one or the other. We all have tendencies and it’s up to
us on whether we follow through on them. Some people find it easier to follow
their own desires for whatever they want; be it money, power, or material
possessions, whereas others believe in something higher than just the desires
of this world.” She skipped another rock across the river and turned to face
him. “I definitely don’t believe that you’re evil, not the way you saved Johnny
yesterday.” 

     For
some reason Devan’s throat felt tight. He coughed to loosen it up.

    “You
think one act of goodness can give you an adequate knowledge of a person’s
character?” He was curious as to how she viewed him. 

     “Not
always,” she paused, circling her arms in the air around him in an encompassing
way, “but there’s just something about you that screams protector of the small,
defender of the weak.”

     “Are
you not so subtly referring to my height?” He asked drily.  

     She
looked down and her eyes inched their way up his body. “You are tall.”

     “It’s
freakish, I know.” The way people stared at him confirmed that.

     “No
it’s not. You were made that way for a reason,” she declared heatedly. Her tone
switched to teasing. “Like for rescuing kittens from trees or helping us
shorter people get things from the high shelves.”   

     Devan’s
lip twitched at her comment, but he couldn’t help thinking that she was ‘right
on the mark’ about him being
made
that way. 

    
“Yeah, I can’t tell you how many kittens I’ve rescued.” He replied drily.

     “You
never know; the day may come when you get that call, or see that cat symbol in
the sky, asking for your help.” Laney voiced, theatrically looking up at the
sky. “You’ll come rushing to the rescue in your jeep-mobile and spandex. Really
tight spandex.” Laney threw him a lecherous grin and an eyebrow wiggle.

     A
laugh rumbled from Devan’s throat, startling him. He’d half-heartedly chuckled
before, and even mildly snorted, but a real laugh was something never before
experienced. He felt all of a sudden lighter.

     “Do
you have to wear those sunglasses all the time?” Laney asked unexpectedly.  

     The
lightness evaporated at the continuation of lies. “Any sort of light causes damage
to the iris.”

    
“They’re very striking; it’s too bad you have to cover them up.”

     Her
comment had Devan swiveling his head toward her in amazement. His eyes were inhuman,
not striking. 

     “You
mean unnatural,” he corrected her.

    
“Nooo, I mean dazzling, dramatic, remarkable” she reiterated firmly. 

     Devan
could only stare at her. They were standing about three feet apart from each
other and her scent combined with the river and the forest mingled in the air.
The mist in the air cast a glow around her that was ethereal; it was hard to
look away. Thoughts began to drift through his mind that had no basis in reality
and it jolted him out of his irrational state. He gave his head a shake to
expel the images, but they were tenacious so he banished them to the lower
recesses of his brain and built a wall around them.   

     “I
should probably get you home.” He voiced quietly.  

     “I
guess; we do have school tomorrow.” She said, sounding sensible but glum at the
same time. 

     The
thought of school never put Devan in a good mood, but for some reason knowing
he would be seeing Laney there made it seem not so bad.  

     They
headed back up the slippery incline, Laney going first with him following.
Devan wanted to hustle her over the bridge but he remained silent having
already voiced his feelings about the bridge. The groans and creaks emanating
from the structure were not reassuring, and then alas, she paused in the middle
to look over the railing at the river below. He waited in an uneasy tolerance.

     Laney
reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out two stones. “Want to see who can
throw the farthest?” She raised an eyebrow.

     “Are
you being funny, or serious?”

     She
frowned. “I’m being serious. Why?”

    
“Well, because, I’m me and you’re you.” Devan explained. It was pretty self
explanatory.