The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman

Author:Neal Shusterman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

–11–

MAN OF THE HOUR

I almost died,” said Ethan. “It hurt more than anything you can imagine.”

I couldn’t look at him as he talked. I still couldn’t reconcile his overpowering image coupled with a voice that sounded almost the same—only fuller and more resonant, as if his lungs were twice as big. He was shirtless but wore a pair of Levis, which I guess was perfectly natural but somehow seemed entirely absurd—like those frogs they shellac and dress up like golfers.

“I felt it at first in my gut,” Ethan continued, “like I had eaten something really bad, but then it spread to my arms and legs. I felt like I was boiling on the inside. The pain got worse and worse, and then I just blacked out. My parents say that I was in a coma for two weeks and almost didn’t make it. I was all swollen and bruised . . . but bit by bit the swelling started to go away. And when I woke up, I looked like this. My parents had a lot of explaining to do.”

He took a long look at me. For the most part, I looked pretty much the same as I did before Ethan “died.” “You’re lucky it’s happening to you slowly,” he said, “under Doc Fuller’s control.”

Behind me, Grant reminded me that we had a garageful of anxious kids. “What do you want to do?” he asked me.

I forced myself to look at Ethan again. A shiver of awe slid down my spine. “You look pretty damn incredible. You know that, don’t you?” I told him.

“What can I say?” said Ethan. “I’m a stud in any gene pool.”

I laughed at that. Then I felt my shoulders itching again. When I reached inside my shirt to scratch, I could swear I felt the faintest hint of velvety peach fuzz there. It was weird and wonderful.

“We’ll bring him to the others,” I told Grant. “That is, if he wants to go.”

The Ethan-thing looked down at his thin perfect fingers and wrung them nervously in his lap, then looked up to me with his riveting eyes. “Sure—got a giant cake I can pop out of?”

We came back through the house, and I opened the door that led to the garage. By the look on my face, they all must have realized that they were in for something major. I stepped in, Grant followed, and then a moment later Ethan apprehensively crossed the threshold.

There were gasps, and everyone backed away in silence.

“Everybody,” I said, “I’d like to re-introduce you to a friend.”

Ethan looked around and fixed his eyes on his sister. Then he strode toward her with powerful yet light-footed steps.

When Amy realized that she was the target of his attention, she backed up against the wall and gripped onto Ferrari, who was standing next to her.

Ethan knelt down before her, looked into her eyes, and smiled. That unearthly smile had so much power that it sliced right through Amy’s fear, turning it to wonder. She

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