The Watchers by Brad Magnarella

Author:Brad Magnarella [Magnarella, Brad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Croftverse Press
Published: 2014-05-17T04:00:00+00:00

Janis sighed and slapped her Spanish book closed. How in the world could she memorize the thousand-odd differences between por and para after everything that had happened that day? She had a quiz the next day, but big whoop. At worst, she’d just choose one of the words, maybe para, and stick with it for every question. Couldn’t do much worse than fifty percent, right?

Can’t believe you’re stressing over grades at a time like this.

She lifted her gaze to the curtained window. Mr. Leonard was out there, alive and sleeping in her woods.

Should I be afraid?

She hadn’t imagined his sincerity. He had put himself at her mercy. If she’d run for help, he’d be sitting in a cell right now — or dead, if he was to be believed. She chewed on the end of her eraser with her lips. Could he be believed? Everything he had told her, even the stabbing, followed a sort of twisted logic. She hadn’t been able to play soccer or softball due to the injury, and if that day’s tryouts were any indication, her powers would have become more and more apparent. She would have been positioning herself and her fellow outfielders for balls before the batter even swung. Someone would have caught on eventually.

But who?

She pushed herself from her desk and paced the room.

Agent Steel?

Janis had seen her less and less in recent weeks. Even the strange men at school seemed to have disappeared, their investigation wrapping up, Janis could only hope. But Agent Steel continued to play a starring role in her nightmares — stooping over her, driving the ceramic shard deeper into her side, demanding to know who was with her in the Leonards’ house. Then her cold voice would announce, “We already know. We found him.” And Scott’s body would land in front of her, his glasses shattered and blood specked.

Who is she? Who’s she connected to?

Janis jumped at the sound of knocking on her door. Her father’s visored face appeared in the doorway.

“There’s a call for you,” he said.

“Oh.” Janis remembered she’d turned the ringer off on her phone to study. “Who is it?”

“The boy from up the street. Scott.” A single, solid thump from Janis’s heart froze her arm, midreach.

“Should I tell him you’re studying?”

“No, no. I’ll take it.”

Her father retreated down the hallway. She lifted the receiver to her ear, eyes wide. “I’ve got it,” she said into the mouthpiece. Her father hung up. She waited another second, listening to Scott’s breaths on the other end. They were coming almost as quickly as her own.

“Janis?” His voice sounded strange.

“Yes?” Why in the world’s he calling? We’re still being listened to, right?

“Look, I, ah, I know it’s probably kind of strange, me calling. I mean, we haven’t talked much since the fifth grade.” An awkward laugh. “Don’t worry, I promise not to do my Gonzo impersonation.”

Janis laughed shyly, the way she imaged she might have laughed had they really not spoken in more than three years. “Good,” she said.

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