Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 123779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
It takes me a moment before I realize what she’s asking, and I quickly shake my head. “No, that’s not why I’m spending time with you.”
“Oh good,” she breathes as she pushes the door open. “Because I’d hate to kick you in the junk.”
I let out a burst of laughter because I’d actually like to see her try.
After climbing out of the truck, I follow Alchera to the trail she likes to take, and we’re both quiet until we reach the waterfall.
Alchera gestures at the waterfall like it’s a masterpiece. “Ta-da. Welcome to my fortress of solitude.”
When she sits down on a patch of grass, I drop down beside her. Sitting with my knees bent, I rest my forearms on them.
Even though I know the answer, I ask, “Do you come here often?”
“As often as I can,” she murmurs. Her eyes leave the waterfall and settle on me. “So, Ryan Jackson, tell me about yourself.”
The corner of my mouth lifts. “There’s not much to tell.”
“Where did you live before moving here? What was your previous school like?”
Prepared with suitable answers, I say, “I used to live in Boulder, and it was pretty much the same as this school.”
“What’s it like living in a city?”
“Too busy for my liking,” I answer honestly.
She glances at the nature around us before muttering, “I can’t wait to leave this town.”
My eyes are locked on her face. “Why?”
She shrugs before meeting my gaze. “I just feel like there’s more to life than just this.”
There is so much more, my charge.
She sucks in a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. A nervous expression flickers over her features. “So, out of all the open seats in class, what made you pick my desk to sit at?”
Unable to lie, I answer, “You’re the only one I wanted to sit next to.” Staring deep into her eyes, I add, “No one else interests me.”
A light frown forms between her eyebrows, and she looks skeptical, but she doesn’t comment on what I just said.
You’ll learn to trust me.
“How about you?” I ask. “Have you lived here all your life?”
“Kind off,” she replies. “I was found at this waterfall when I was thirteen.” She doesn’t look at me as she continues, “No one knows what I was doing here, and I had no memory of my past. It’s been almost five years, and I still don’t remember anything.”
Hearing the sadness in her tone, I murmur, “I’m sorry.”
I should’ve come with you.
She shrugs as if it’s nothing. “It is what it is. Mayor Calder was kind enough to take me in, so it hasn’t been that bad. I’m actually lucky.”
Needing to hear the answer, I ask, “Have they been good to you?”
She nods before she glances at me. “Yeah.”
Thanks be to Awo.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
She gives me a questioning look. “Why?”
“No reason. I’m just glad.”
The corner of her mouth lifts, then she asks, “What’s your family like?”
“I have two older brothers. Twins,” I answer truthfully. “It’s just us and my dad. My mom died when I was younger.”
Alchera gives me a compassionate look. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay. It happened a long time ago.”
Silence falls between us, and I struggle not to spend every second staring at her. The last thing I need is for her to think I’m a creep.
Chapter 4
Jane / Alchera
It’s twilight, where I’m standing in a park. There are no chirping birds but just a dead, chilling silence all around me.
I can feel every hair on my body rise as a strong electric current sizzles in the air.
Glancing up, I see the heavens begin to churn, dirty gray clouds massing above my head. I suck in a breath, and suddenly, there’s an explosion of sound. It’s so loud my ears ring.
It nearly drives me to my knees as I grab at my ears, but I’m not fast enough to block out the noise. Blood starts to trickle from my ears, seeping through my fingers.
I can hear trees screeching all around me, and I smell flesh burning.
Everything is dying!
My breaths explode over my parted lips while it feels as if my heart is being torn from my chest. The pain increases horribly, and a fear I’ve never felt before envelopes me entirely as I try to scream.
My vision blurs, and when it clears again, I find myself in the middle of a road where everything around me is being torn apart. There’s nothing I can do. I’m standing on quaking ground, shocked to my very core, while people scream and die around me.
Oh God!
The earth shudders violently, and huge chunks of ground start to disappear, leaving deep black gaping holes.
I watch helplessly as the ground gives way beneath people’s feet, and they plunge to their deaths.
My heart lurches in my chest at the horrifying sight unfolding around me. It feels as if my feet are glued to the quaking ground. Fear and panic engulf me until I’m struggling to take a breath.