Chapter 1
"Hands down, worst movie I have ever seen." Hi angrily tossed his empty popcorn bag in a nearby trashcan.
"Dude, did you really expect anything more? It was two hours of chick flick," Shelton reasoned. I flashed a grin. The only person to notice was Ben, who rolled his eyes and said nothing.
I caught up to Hi and Shelton, stepping between the two of them. "Do you two bozos have any clue how many hours of geek squad approved movies I've had to sit through since we've met? This barely chips the iceberg of my revenge.
"Now that's not fair. You loved the Matrix," Shelton argued.
"And you watched all the Star Wars movies with me. In one sitting," added Hi.
I looked back to Ben, pleading silently for some help. A smirk in my direction was my only response. I was on my own.
"In my defense, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a boss. Anyone who doesn't like his stuff needs to reevaluate their life. As for Star Wars…I grew up on those. You didn't introduce me to anything new. But excluding those, let's take a count of how many other ridiculous, low budget, B level films I've had to sit through. Two hours of something I chose doesn't come close to being equal."
"Point, set and match," Ben finally said.
I fell back, satisfied that I had shut them up for the next few minutes. In my pocket my phone buzzed. Fishing it out, I knew it was Kit checking up on me.
Ever since the boys rescued me from a madman named Andrew Thimba two weeks ago, Kit had been keeping an extra close eye on me. Not that I blamed him. I had vanished without a trace for a week. All the while I had been kept in a false reality designed to keep me trapped inside. Through our flare power, superhuman gifts caused by genetic mutations in our DNA, my friends were able to get me out. Kit knew very little of that. If he did, I would be getting more than check-up texts every few hours.
I shot a reply and turned my attention back to the boys. We meandered through the parking lot towards Ben's Explorer. The nearest movie theatre sits too far inland to take Ben's runabout, Sewee. Now that most of us have reached the golden age of sixteen, we just hop in a car whenever we want to see a flick.
The drive from Morris Island to James Island takes fifteen minutes by car. Not terrible as far as I was concerned. But, going by car just isn't as much fun as skipping over the open waves on a boat.
I claimed my usual spot in shotgun. The engine rolled a few times, but kicked to life. Ben pulled from the parking lot and onto the street. A few turns later and we were merging onto 171 towards Morris.
For a second time my phone buzzed. "What could Kit possibly want now? If it's to tell me Whitney is staying the night I'm sleeping in the bunker," I said, irritation growing with each thought. Whitney was my dad's blonde, overbearing, ditzy, excuse for a girlfriend. Her life goal was to turn me into a lady. A notion I rejected completely.
The text wasn't from Kit. A familiar name glowed up at me from the screen. Jason Taylor.
My school's "it boy". Jason was the complete package; handsome, charming, smart, rich, an all-around good person, and to my disdain, my not so secret admirer. I groaned. Since word got out about my abduction and miraculous return Jason had doubled his attention on me.
Tonight's attempt was a party invitation. That was the third one that week. Each time I managed to come up with an excuse as to why I couldn't go. I felt bad about avoiding him. Jason was nice, but I had too many things on my plate to think about relationships.
"So who's heart are you breaking tonight, TB?" Hi asked, leaning forward in his seat. "Jason? Again?"
"Buzz off, Hiram. I'm turning him down. As usual." I came up with an excuse in fifteen seconds. My fastest yet. Tonight it was I promised Kit I'd help him clean his office.
"He's going to keep trying, Tory. You have to know that." Shelton tried to be helpful, but his words made it worse.
"Of course I do. And as long as we don't have to go to school, I'm going to keep avoiding him." I put my phone on silent. No more distractions for this girl.
Ben was the only one who hadn't said anything. I glanced at him. His eyes were locked on the road in front of us. His knuckles wound so tight around the steering wheel that his hands were trembling. If there as one person who got more annoyed with Jason's crush on me than me, it as Ben. The two were fire and ice. I'd given up long ago trying to convince them to get along. It wasn't happening. Nor would it ever.
"Maybe he'll get the hint by fall and stalk someone else." I desperately tried to lighten the mood. Didn't work.
"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" I thanked Hi silently for changing the subject.
"Meet in the bunker at noon," I reminded him. "It's BYOL. Bring your own laptop."
I took a deep breath. A few days after my recovery from my kidnapping and release from the hospital, Shelton discovered something freaky. About six months ago a boy had been abducted from New York. A week later he was found wandering the streets, claiming that he had been trapped in a virtual reality the entire time.
I learned months ago that if something seemed like a coincidence, then it probably wasn't. I didn't get the luxury of coincidences in my life. Not anymore.
Even after Shelton scoured articles for three days on this boy from New York, we knew next to nothing about him. The first article we read identified him as fifteen year old Anthony Oliver from Queens. His mother, in an interview, described him as a quiet boy, with a tight-knit group of friends, and wasn't the kind to get into any kind of trouble.
Every article Shelton found said basically the same thing. So now we were forced to dig deeper. Anthony was the key to finding Thimba. I felt it in my gut. Then we could find Thimba and before he found us.
His last words still echoed in my mind. Gazing into his emotionless eyes, Thimba was taunting me.
"I seem to have underestimated the power of your pack. So this is good-bye. For now. We will meet again."
Thanks to his virtual reality, Thimba now knew everything about us. And that was bad news. The Virals had some deep running secrets. Any one of them could be used against us and it would be over.
I had since made it my personal mission to find Thimba before he found us. This clown threatened my pack, my friends, and I wasn't going to sit idly and let him get away with it.
"What do you want to find?" Ben asked. We had crossed the bridge to Morris Island.
"I'll be happy with anything."
The Explorer slowed to a stop in front of the Blue's townhouse.
To an outsider there was no way to tell one house from another. Our slice of the world consisted of ten identical homes lined in a block. Reserved solely for employees of Loggerhead Island Research Institute, or as it was locally known, LIRI. My dad, Kit Howard, was the director of the entire facility. The perks? Bragging rights galore. Drawback? According to Whitney, my actions not only reflect myself and Kit, but LIRI as a whole.
"I've gotta jet," Hi said opening the door. "I'm on strict orders to be home for chores." The door slammed and Hi disappeared into the dark.
We remaining three got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk. Shelton muttered a good-bye and started for home. I contemplated for a moment if going home was worth my time. Whitney would be probably be there, and I wasn't sure how I felt about listening to her lecture about being out after dark with three boys.
I glanced at my watch. Barely quarter after nine. The sun had set long ago, but as far as I was concerned it was still early. Kit would be on my side as long as I was home before ten.
"Cooper is probably dying to be let out," I said. "I'm going to go grab him and go for a walk."
"I'll go with you," Ben offered. "Beats sitting home doing nothing." We walked down the wooded sidewalk. We hadn't reached my house yet when I noticed Whitney's car parked in front of my house.
Blargh
"The Babbling Bimbo has decided to grace my house with her presence tonight I see." My voice dripped with loathing and disdain.
"I think I'll wait out here while you grab the mutt," Ben mused. I didn't blame him. While Kit had no problem with us hanging out together, Whitney saw Ben as my one way ticket to social destruction.
News flash, Whit. I don't give a crap what you think.
"Be out in a flash." I bounded up the steps. Before my hand touched the doorknob I heard desperate barking from inside. Cooper knew I was here.
I opened the door and my wolfdog leapt out of the house, and nearly knocked me over. I rubbed his ears and pushed him away.
"Tory, is that you?" Kit called from the kitchen.
"Yeah. Just came for Cooper. I'm taking him for a walk."
"All by yourself?" Whitney's Southern drawl filled the room. "It's not proper for a lady to be out at night, unescorted."
"Well no worries then. Since Ben will be with me." Whitney gaped at me, momentarily flustered.
"Be back by curfew." Thank you Kit, for seeing things my way.
"Sure thing. Bye." I left without another room. Whitney hadn't even recovered from her surprise by the time I shut the door.
Ben was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. He affectionately rubbed Cooper on the back of his head. "That was fast," he mused when he saw me come down the steps.
"Yep. Don't know how easy it will be when I get back though. With any luck, she'll be gone when that happens."
We started off towards the beach. The moment Cooper's paws hit the sand he took off like a bullet train. Something over a dune caught his interest and I saw his hulking frame slip over the top and out of sight.
The air was heavy tonight. A storm was coming in. Gusts of hot air surged in from the ocean. I slipped a hairband around my knotted red mop, hoping to contain the frizz.
The sensation of the world right before the storm is something that could never be explained. I felt on the edge of the world, inches from toppling over. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. The ocean has a power that demands respect.
My mind drifted to a memory of a different storm. The surge of a storm pounded on the side of the boat. My hair clung to the sides of my face masking my vision. I looked over the raging water to see Cooper helplessly floating in the water. Ben jumped in after him, disregarding his own safety.
It wasn't often that memories of my week in my alternate reality surfaced. I did a pretty good job of burying them. Every once in a while, something would pick at the wall holding them back, and things would run out like an open floodgate. This was one of those moments.
I froze in the sand. My hands flew to my head as I squeezed my eyes shut. Once they started, the memories had a hard time stopping.
My body trembled. I knew where this was going. There were things that I didn't want to see. The memories I buried the deepest.
"Tor?" Ben called to me. He took my shoulders and repeated my name. The boys had all seen my episodes. They never pried into what they were about. Some details I still hadn't told them yet. I wasn't ready to admit them myself.
I shoved the memories back away. Each one clawed, trying to come back out. Instead I focused on what I knew to be reality. It was the only way to make it stop.
When I felt I had some control again I opened my eyes. I was no longer standing, but kneeling in the now cool sand. Ben was beside me, hands still gripping my shoulders.
"I'm OK," I said softly.
"You sure?"
"Yeah…maybe…" My body continued to shake like a leaf. That didn't surprise me. My trips down fake memory lane usually left me shaky and disoriented for several minutes.
Neither of us moved. I tried to gain composure and shove the memories deeper down inside. Maybe keeping it buried like I did is what caused these panic attacks. I wasn't sure, but I did know that I wasn't ready to tell the boys how my time in the fake reality ended.
No one but me knew this, but I still had nightmares of that moment. When my world stopped turning. Blair Nova, the enemy generated by my subconscious, shot and killed Ben. Nope. Something I wasn't ready to deal with.
When I stopped trembling Ben helped me to my feet.
It had started raining. I hadn't been aware of it until just then. I laughed when I noticed Ben's hair plastered to his face. It reminded me of Cooper when he got a bath.
"Laugh it up, Brennan. Just wait until you see what you look like."
"Can't wait." I whistled for Cooper, who came bounding over the beach. He stopped beside me and decided then to shake excess water from his matter fur.
"Ugh, thanks for nothing, mongrel." Ben stepped away from Cooper in disgust.
"Trust me, it didn't make much difference. Ready to head up?"
"Yeah."
"Race you to the sidewalk." I took off running before Ben could answer. Cooper yelped as he tore after me. Ben brought up the rear.
My lead didn't last long. "You're legs are longer," I reminded him when I met him in front of my house.
"Excuses." We both laughed.
I trudged partway up the stairs. "See you tomorrow?"
"Bunker. Noon. I've got it." I grinned, nodded, and turned to head inside.
"Tory?" Ben called after me. I looked back at him. In the glow of the floodlights I saw the concern tracing his eyes. "You're sure you're OK?"
I paused, unsure of how to answer. Ben could read me like a book. "I will be." That was the best answer I could give him.
He smiled. "See you tomorrow then."
With a final wave I turned back around and opened the door. Cooper shoved in past me, excited to get out of the rain. I took one final look back to see Ben jogging to his own house.
I sighed, frustrated at how complicated things were, and stepped inside.
And here is the first full chapter to Pride. Not much action, but it sets up a few things that will become recurring themes in the story. Now, on to more serious business. If I was to make several stories following this plot line, including other multi-chap stories, one shots, drabbles, etc, I feel like a series name is vital. So here is my question, well two questions: Do you like this idea? Me making multiple stories that tie into this central plot line? And, if I did, what are some suggestions for calling it? Something cool of course. If I like the title, then it'll become official and I will make an announcement. So, thanks for sticking with me for a second story.
Peace out,
Wolfie