Beginnings (The Trifectus Series - Book One) (2 page)

“I’m at skool, I can’t,” I replied.

“Who was that?” Ariel asked.

“Oh, just this guy Marcus I met online.”

“Is he cute?” she asked.

“I’m not sure.  I’ve never seen him.”

Just as we walked in the door, we saw Brittany and Ashley Cornington standing there laughing.  This time they made the switch from picking on me to picking on a student teacher.  Nobody was off-limits to them.  Their father, John Cornington, was a wealthy industrialist who made a fortune after the government turned.  Nobody was about to try to take them on, not even the faculty. 

I made my way to my locker and got my books.  As I closed the door, I saw a face and jumped back.  James was standing there staring at me. 

“Hope I didn’t scare you too badly,” he said, smiling.

“Oh—no—you didn’t.  I was just a little startled.”

Right as he was about to speak, the bell rang.

“Well, I better get to class,” he said with a smile.

I almost melted.  His smile resonated through my entire body.  What was it about him?  Why did he have so much power over me?  What made him different from all the other guys here?

As he walked away, I felt weak.  It was as if he had my soul by a thread.  His energy was my energy and we were complete only when we were together.  I wanted nothing more than to feel his soft, cool lips pressed against mine.  I wanted to feel his hand run through my hair with passion.  I walked to class wanting more.  Wanting more of him.

At lunch, I was still thinking of him.  As I was standing there entranced, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Hello?  Juliet?  Come sit with us.”

It was Ariel.  I walked with her over to a table filled with a hodgepodge of different people.  Everyone from preppy, to nerdy, to jocks and artists sat at her table.

“Everyone, this is Juliet.  Juliet, this is Taylor, Steve, Ryan, Greg, Carrie and Melissa,” Ariel said.

“Hi everyone, nice to meet you,” I said, still focused on James.

As I sat down, I couldn’t stop looking for James.  Was he here?  Was he thinking of me?  Just as I gave up hope looking, there he was.  He was walking in with his sister, Emma.  Emma was two years younger than James.  She had pale skin and red hair, and seemed very chatty.  Even though Emma was sort of an outcast at school, James always looked after her and made sure she was okay.  He loved her, and it showed.

Just as James and Emma sat down, Derek, Cara and a few others came in shouting and howling.  They were amped up and yelling how they were going to win the meet this weekend.  Just as fast as Derek and James locked eyes, the tension shifted.  They stared at each other with intensity, almost as if they had known and hated each other for a while.

“What’s up with them?” I asked.

“Derek and James?  They have been feuding for years.  Nobody really knows why,” Taylor said.

Just as fast as they locked eyes, they both looked away and went on with their lunch.  I looked around the room and noticed Cara staring at me.  She didn’t seem happy.  As we finished lunch, I prayed that James would look at me once more so that I could get that rush again.

After lunch, we had the pleasure of going to gym.  It wasn’t smart, really.  Put a bunch of teenagers in a room together to exercise right after lunch.  We had the rope today.  Everybody moaned when Mr. Callahan told us, but I was focused on something else.  Ever since I was a kid, I have been terrified of heights.  While everyone was moaning at the thought of doing physical activity, I was moaning at the thought of making a fool of myself to everyone.

Cara was up first.  She cracked her knuckles and then jumped higher than I had seen anyone jump before.  She grabbed the rope and climbed it with ease.  As she rang the bell above, everybody was cheering with awe at her ability.  Next up was Ariel.  Everyone cheered her on as she made her way up the rope.  She was no Cara, but she did a great job.  As Mr. Callahan was going down the roster to pick who was next, he called my name.  My happiness dropped and I felt like my heart was racing a mile a minute.  As I made my way over to the rope, my friends from lunch made an effort to cheer for me and give me encouragement.  I placed my clammy, blotchy hands on the rope as sweat raced down my body.  I closed my eyes and started climbing.  I was halfway up when I stupidly looked down.  The length to the floor stretched and I felt as though I was one hundred feet in the air.  I clung to the rope, but I couldn’t hold my body weight up any longer.  I let go and fell.

While I was falling, a million thoughts came into my head.  I only dropped for a second or two, but it felt like an hour in my head.  Suddenly, the fall was over.  I wasn’t on the ground.  I wasn’t even hurt.  I opened my eyes and saw James.  He was holding me.  He caught me. 

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yyy-yeah,” I said, embarrassed.

As everyone rushed around me to see if I was hurt, I couldn’t stop staring into his eyes.  He looked back into mine and I could feel his soul staring right back at me.  I could feel his essence dancing with mine in perfect harmony, as if it was meant to be.  I knew he was meant to be mine.  I knew I was supposed to be with him.

Going home was the worst part of my day.  For most kids, going to school is dreadful and painful.  For me, however, I would take sitting in a classroom for seven hours a day over being in this dysfunctional house any day.  I came home to the typical situation.  Mom and dad were fighting about pointless things.  We used to be happy.  We used to be a close family unit.  Now, we are just three people living in a house together.  Roommates at best: not a true family.  We used to take vacations and trips all over.  With my father being in the military, we got to travel the world.  That was when I was five.  Now, all we do is fight and see who can scream the loudest. 

That night I needed a change.  School was stressing me out, and home life wasn’t helping much either.  I decided to log on to Bubble Power Pets and relieve some stress by bashing some blompers.  When I logged on, I was happy to see Marcus was online.

“Hey!” he said.  “How have you been?”

“Stressed!”

“How come?”

“My parents are fighting again.  School has been tough also.”

“Aw, I’m sorry.  I’m sure it will get better though!”

“I hope.  To top it all off, this guy I like still hasn’t even asked me out yet.”

“Oh…you’re talking to someone?”

“Well, not even talking.  I wish we were talking, but it seems like I am just another face to him.  Why do you ask, though?”

“Oh, no reason.  Just trying to keep up-to-date!”

Marcus had always been a great friend to me.  I felt like I could be myself with him.  I could tell him my secrets and my dreams.  He is really great to me, but I don’t know if I ever see myself actually dating him.  I mean, after all, he won’t even meet me or send me a picture of himself.  He is just that buddy who is always there if I need him. 

Deep down, however, Marcus was hurting.  He loved Juliet deeply.  He wanted to show her what he looked like, but he was terrified.  If she found out what he really looked like, she would never talk to him again.  She was the only true friend he ever had, and he didn’t want to lose that.  She brightened his day and made him feel like he was on top of the world.  To him, she was the angel he had been waiting for his whole life. 

Bubble Power Pets had always been a release for me.  It was as if I was able to escape to a virtual world where real world problems didn’t seem to matter.  I could sit for hours on end, just basking in this fake, virtual world that had been created.  I could let go and be myself.  During this particular play session, however, I noticed something strange.  It seemed like whenever Marcus and I would play together, strange things would happen.  It seemed like every time Marcus would do something, a glitch would happen.  He would get items, levels and quests done easily, with no problems at all. 

Just as I was about to ask him about it, I heard my name being called.

“Juliet!  Juliet, could you come down here?” my mother asked.

As I walked down the stairs, I saw my parents both sitting there on the couch.  They sat there as if I had done some horrible thing and they needed to scold and punish me for my behavior.

“Juliet, honey, we need to talk,” my mother said softly.

“Your mother and I are worried about you, sweet pea,” my father said.
              “What—why?  Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

“Well, no,” my father said.  “But we are worried you aren’t taking your new opportunities seriously.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Take your new friends, for instance.  You don’t seem to want to hang out or socialize with them outside of school.  We are worried that you are too preoccupied with the computer to make real friends,” my father said.

“Real friends?  People online are real people, you know.  That makes them REAL friends.  I’m sorry that I’m not little miss perfect cheerleader that goes to every pep rally, but I DO socialize,” I yelled.

After yelling at my parents, I ran upstairs.  Why can’t they understand me?  I’m not this super-social girl that wants to go out to parties and school functions.  I just want to come home and be alone.  Ever since this move I haven’t wanted much to do with anything or anyone.  I have just wanted to be alone.  How could they say that my online friends aren’t my real friends either?  Marcus is more of a friend and family to me than they will ever be.  They have no clue.  I can’t wait until I can leave this place.

I sat alone for most of the night.  I couldn’t get the day out of my head.  I hadn’t been as embarrassed in a long time as I was when I fell off that rope.  I bet everyone thought I was the dorky new girl who couldn’t tell her right from her left.  Why did James catch me anyway?  He could have just let me fall and embarrass myself, but he was there.  I kept wondering how he even could have caught me as fast as he did.  I fell for a second or two, which was barely enough time for even me to react and comprehend what was happening. 

All I knew was that he was enchanting.  He was someone I could see myself being with.  A guy that would always be there to catch me, just like he did earlier.  As I started drifting off to sleep, thoughts of him filled my mind.  I went to sleep with a smile on my face, and I was happy.

Chapter Two

Tension

The next day
at school was a rare one.  I couldn’t focus at all.  Not on lectures, quizzes or even talking at lunch.  I hated everything.  I hated that I was forced to live in this oppressive city and country, with my father at the head of the worst part of it.  You see, for centuries there has been conflict.  We figured out long ago that we are not alone.  The vampires and werewolves roamed around Europe for centuries looking for their place: their home.  They have never liked each other and we only made it worse.  Humans have always been afraid of the unknown.  There have been countless tales and fables of vampires seducing women, werewolves killing whole herds of livestock, and the people that try to intermingle with them. 

These days are different, though.  They no longer do these things because now they are hiding.  They are hiding from not only our government but also every government in the world.  We figured out that we could catch them.  Sure, it was hard and the military lost a lot of men in the process, but they found a way to capture and exterminate these groups to make sure they couldn’t stay alive. 

The vampires mostly only get more numbers by stealing the lives of mortals.  They seduce them, both men and women, and give them the bite.  They play it as a cat-and-mouse game.  They have high powers of persuasion, and can wrap a mortal around their fingers without breaking a sweat.  There have been some others, children, born to vampire couples, however.  They tell us that this is dangerous.  They tell us that they don’t like to do this often.  The babies have a higher thirst for blood in pregnancy than any other time in their lives.  They will eat the mothers from the inside out if they have the chance.  This is what the government tells us, anyway.  I’m not even sure if it is true.

The werewolves were a whole different breed entirely.  There are packs all over the country and especially the world.  They mostly live in the outdoors.  Caves, farms, woods, etc.  They are shifters, meaning they can shift into their werewolf self.  Think half man, half wolf, extreme attitude.  People like my father can normally spot them, though.  While in their human forms, they still keep many canine attributes.  Higher sense of smell, strange scratching, even higher athletic ability.  They can outrun and outjump any mortal on this planet, and that is just in their human forms.  They don’t care about humans as much, though.  They aren’t interested in mating with or even being close to us.  They spirit bond.  Werewolves mate and only stay with another werewolf.  They mate for life and will never leave the side of their mate, even if it means they themselves die.  The younger, newer generations of werewolves aren’t like their parents and grandparents.  They are starting to merge themselves into society.  Schools, gyms, shopping, they are all around us.  They used to be secluded to the dense forests but now they have gone urban.

I was suspicious at school that some of these people were there.  I mean, look at Derek.  He is the fastest guy this school has ever had, and he is only a junior.  He constantly beats everybody by what seems like a mile.  Even athletes at other schools can’t keep up with him.  He was in Mr. Quigley’s class with me.  He always seemed weird around me, especially today.  He kept his eyes on me for almost the whole class, almost as if he was scared of me.  People at my old school were afraid of me, because of my father.  They think that just because my father is a colonel in the military that I will have them shipped away to some secret prison in Nevada if I don’t like them.  These people wouldn’t know about him, though.