So, this chapter is a tad short. Sorry! But you get to see F! I must say I'm a tinge happy about how all my OC's turned out. I was actually writing this to work on my character building skills. I've gotten better, if you look at DWF. I'm probably going to delete that mess.
I have a reason for being late! It involves a wiener dog, a jacuzzi, and a crowbar. I'll explain later . . .
Anyway, soundtrack: "Free" by Switchfoot. Links are in profile, blah blah blah, ENJOY!
It was a warm, sunny afternoon in Gerrit, California. A lone biker – a young teenage boy – pedaled down a quiet street. The bike was a Huffy mountain bike, dark blue with twenty one gears. On his back was a backpack, heavy by the look of it.
His face was wet with sweat. His brown hair hung from under the hat that was pulled low, his light brown eyes full of exhaustion. A tightness had begun in his legs – cramps from having rode five miles already. The sun beat down relentlessly.
Most kids his age should be in school, which he quite obviously wasn't. The odd timing earned him suspicious glances from passerby. He ignored them; there were bigger fish to fry then sitting in class listening to a teacher drawl on about things he already knew.
A folded white paper poked out of the pocket on his shirt. On it was his only hope of having an actual family – or at least descent guardians. His mother wanted him to do this; it had been her last words. He was going to carry through.
On he rode. Just three miles ahead was his first stop.
Ever slid into his seat in Chemistry class. So far, the day had been perfect in his opinion. Mr. Drake—the P.E. teacher who probably couldn't do a descent push-up—had fallen for the wet hair trick. That was four days of no showers in a row, or in Ever's mind a record. He had also managed to swipe geek lunch money – a total of six dollars today.
The only thing that ruined today was the three day anniversary of his father's passing. It had been a bitter blow, to say the least. Currently, Ever was staying with his friend, Ryan, until his housing was figured out.
Ever's eyes lids began to droop as Mrs. Warren went on about fusion and fission and what it could mean for the future's energy. He had been asleep for only a few moments when a slight buzzing began in the back of his neck.
He slapped at the area, thinking it was just a stupid fly or like creature. Still, the vibrating continued – this time accompanied by a small stinging sensation. Ever forced himself to ignore it. It was nothing – nothing! Just a cramp, or, more likely, a pinched nerve.
But the effects continued, the buzzing growing more rapid and then the sting morphed into a white hot flame. He couldn't take it any longer. His face contorted into an expression of pure pain, and a cry escaped his lips.
"Ever, are you okay?" Mrs. Warren exclaimed, leaving her spot behind her desk to examine her student.
Ever squinted his eyes shut even harder as the burning began to spread, first through his head then to his eyes, which burst open as twin lasers escaped. The red beams sliced through the air, slamming into a poster at he other side of the classroom.
There was a moment of shocked silence before complete chaos ensued.
"Freak!"
"Did you just see that? Awesome!"
"What the . . ."
"Quick, someone call the cops!"
"Keep back!"
Kids that he had known his entire life suddenly turned on him. A bold few walked up to him, but the rest got out of their seats and cowered in the corner, screaming.
Ryan timidly stepped up to his desk. "Ever? Are you okay, man?"
"Stay . . . back." he choked out. Another pair shot out, this time destroying a desk. Ever stood up, knocking over his chair in the process. He grabbed his backpack, throwing it over his shoulder. He ran, but he didn't run, he sped.
Life flashed by his eyes and in a matter of seconds he found himself at the front door of his home. Ever pulled the keyring out of his pocket, inserted the key and unlocked the door. He ran inside, dropping his backpack at the threshold.
Slamming open the bathroom door, he inspected the back of his neck. There was nothing, though the skin looked a tinge pink.
Ever squinted hard in the mirror, studying his eyes. Still the same deep brown – exactly like his fathers. He pressed harder, his eyes millimeters from being slits. Red flashed in his irises and he jumped back, shocked.
He exited the bathroom, puzzled. What was wrong with him? No, there was nothing. He was completely normal. This is all a dream – dad dying, living with Ryan, developing these strange powers. I'll wake up any minute.
But something told him it wasn't. This wasn't some cruel imagination – this was reality. He wasn't in the least normal. Ever remembered his dad's demonstration of extreme strength on more than one occasion.
Extreme strength and extreme speed. It was about as obvious as day. Neither of the two were normal. It hit him as quick as his speed. His father had hidden something from him. And it was only a matter of time before someone opened their mouth and that secret was spilled. People would come after him – the government or some similar cult. Ever would become a human lab rat.
Life was twisted into two different paths, and neither of them seemed very appealing. Turn himself in and perhaps receive fair treatment, or go on the run and discover what this all really meant.
And in Ever's mind, fair treatment wasn't that likely.
His mind was made up. He was leaving, for better or for worse. A sack of food and a change of clothes and he was off with a steak knife hidden in the loop of his pants.
After all, the road to nowhere always starts somewhere.
Fania Dooley was the perfect image of a snotty TV show teenager. Always taking longer than needed on beauty, sucked down data plans, and of course spending hours on end at the mall, she was the queen bee of the school. The girls despised her and even some of the boys feared her ruthless tongue.
Her chestnut hair was typically straightened to the tips and her green eyes were usually surrounded by gobs of eye liner and mascara.
But today was different.
Her usual inappropriate attire was replaced with a straight, simple gray dress and her hair was woven into an intricate braid. Today, though a Friday, had been selected for her father's funeral.
The mood in the small house that had just days ago housed a happy, complete family was now depressing. Dishes were stacked in the sink, clothes were piled in baskets around the laundry machine. The house was quiet and might have seemed abandoned to some, but it was in fact mourning. Mourning was natural. It was one's way of saying goodbye.
The funeral was brief. A pastor said a few words, followed by Fania's mother. The casket was lowered into the ground. Tears were shed.
Her father was gone.
Fania returned home numb. The service was all a blur to her. Her mother had excused herself to go and take a nap, but Fania knew that was the last thing on her mind.
Fania herself just lay on the couch and stared outside. Cars drove by, the people on their way somewhere oblivious to the pain a family was enduring. A few kids walked by, laughing and bouncing a ball against the pavement.
A half hour went by, but Fania still didn't move. Her phone rang, but she didn't answer. She could imagine her friends yelling, "The apocalypse is coming! Fania didn't pick up!"
A lone cyclist rode past, a small, white paper clutched in his hand. His head turned, looking in the windows. Apparently, he wasn't looking where he was going and he crashed into the trashcan at the end of the driveway.
Trash spewed into the street and the kid lay still.
Fania jumped off the couch and pulled on some shoes. She flung open the door and ran down to the scene of the accident.
"Are you, like, okay?" Fania asked, wrinkling her nose at the stench.
The kid groaned and rolled over, his face covered in a mixture of dirt and garbage gunk. "I think."
"Good. Since you won't be requiring medical attention, clean it up, pretty boy!"
He scowled. "Oh, don't worry! I'll clean as soon as you clean that." he gestured to her face.
"You little brat! I could get you in so much trouble right now. Or, even better . . ." Fania whipped out her phone and snapped a picture of the kid. "Now I can post this to the school's web page and you'll be humiliated for life!"
"Yeah, that could work, if I lived in this city!"
"Wait, you don't live around here?" Fania asked, eyes narrowed.
"No, I live in West Dunes. It's about - "
"I know where West Dunes is! My question right now is are you going to clean up this mess?!"
"I'll do it right now, sheesh!" he pulled himself to his feet, pushing garbage off his arms. His eyes flickered to the mailbox and back to the paper still clutched in his hand. "Is your last name Dooley?"
The question caught Fania off guard. "Um . . . well . . . maybe?" she sighed. "Yes."
The boy groaned loudly. Really, mom? Out of the billions of people on this planet I get stuck with her? "Look, as much as you're going to freak, I've rode fifteen miles today to find you. Or, one of your family members. I'm not sure."
"What? Why?" she questioned. "And, before you bring up the 'I'm your long lost brother story,' what's your name?"
"Gael Rivers," he sighed. "Why I'm here, I have no clue. Believe me, if there were another way I would have left long ago. Just – here, read this." Gael handed her the slip of paper.
Fania quickly read it. "W-Wait, your mom just died in a car accident?"
"Yes," he mumbled.
"When?"
"Three days ago, on Tuesday. Why?"
Fania shivered. "My dad died on the same day. Car accident." she glanced back at the sheet. "You need to find these people?"
"Yep. One down, two to go." Gael smiled sadly. He looked up at her. "Do you think the deaths are connected?"
Fania thought for a moment. "Maybe. But either way, I'm coming with you."
"Wait, what?!"
"You heard me. I'm coming with you. This could be a chance to find out what really happened to my dad."
"Okay, makes sense. But how do you know I'm not a murderer who's going to drag you into a dark alley and kill you?"
"Because I have valuable info on E. Daniels," she smiled. "and I'm a first degree black belt."
"Wait. You? Black belt?"
"Yeah, yeah. We leave in a half hour." Fania paused. "After you clean up yourself and the driveway."
Enjoy it? I hope you did :)
Fania's character came from Leo. Obviously he isn't that bad, but I figured their kids would have inherited at least some of their personality, thus being a condensed version of their parents.
My late reason is that my dog got off our porch, which has a baby gate so he usually can't run off. But my siblings, being the 'duh' kids they are, left it open and he took off running. We didn't realize until about an hour later, and by then he had dug a HUGE hole to get under our rotting jacuzzi. Now, if you know Dachshunds, then you know what I'm talking about. They're stubborn little dogs. And great diggers. So from five to ten o'clock at night, I was attempting to get the little rat out from under there. Eventually, I found my dad's crowbar. Let me say, that guy has two of EVERYTHING. Anyway, I had to rip out two boards to get to the little 'darling.' I somehow managed to hit myself in the jaw with the awesome object, and I now have a bruise on my cheek. SO, that is my excuse. And I promise you that I didn't lie about a thing. It seriously happened like that.
Shout-outs!
Ereader12: True, true :) Thanks! I might, actually. You know what, she actually might be an important part of the plot line later. Maybe not too important, but I'll try! :D Thanks for reading and reviewing!
PurpleNicole531: Yeah :) Pretty cliché plot line in a way, but I have a pretty good twist coming on that! Or at least I think it is. :D Thanks so much!
UrFriendTheNinja: Thank you! :D And yep, we got to meet Leo's girl. Adam's kid will be making an appearance next, or at least a better appearance :) And I apologize, but the Rats will not be in this story :.( I really am sorry! But here's your update! Hope it was worth the wait! :)
Okay, so I've decided that Somewhere will be updated every Monday, should my schedule allow. And my older fics are NOT abandoned. I'm working on Storm Surge whenever I can, which isn't much, and Critter Craze! is a thought in progress. I think my dog story will come in handy on that . . .
Anywho, I hope this chapter was good! It'd be much appreciated if you were to leave a review :) Thanks for reading!