Parahuman (Parahuman Series) (24 page)

     Laney
grinned. “You came up with that last one, didn’t you?”

     There
was an indignant huff on the other end. “I am a serious journalist in training;
I would never fabricate or exaggerate a story. It’s the facts ma’am, only the
facts.”

     Laney
gave a chuckle. “When did the National Inquirer ever concern themselves about
the facts? I thought they were all about big foot, the Chupacabra, and alien
probing.”

     There
was another indignant sound from the other end, but this time it was a gasp.
“Those stories have actual factual data to back them up. Don’t you be knocking
my two favorite hairy guys and alien probing. Those stories put me to sleep
during many dark stormy nights.” He gave a sigh on the other end. “Oh, the good
old days.” 

     Laney
noticed that Devan’s dent had gotten a little deeper. She knew he could hear
Donny’s end of the conversation and had to be questioning his sanity. Laney
herself had speculated on Donny’s mental faculties throughout the years. The
boy was just a little too into his x-files.

     “You
are a few fries and a couple nuggets short of a happy meal, son. You really
need some help.” Laney joked good-naturedly.

     “Put
the three of us together and we make up a happy meal and a half; so it works
itself out.”

     Laney
chuckled and Devan’s dent turned into a fully fledged scowl. Laney wondered if
he was getting impatient about what little information she was finding out.

     “So
Donny, that’s all the stories going on. Seems kind of boring; I guess I was
expecting a little more.” Laney tried navigating the conversation.

    
“Wellll, there was a singular tid-bit about the new guy being seen running into
the athletic building with you. Erica is the only person that is repeating this
though, and since you are the only person to come out of that building with
blood all over you she is being denounce vociferously. I mean what did he do?
Slip out of there unnoticed without you saying a word about it. I think if he
had been in there you would have said something. No one else seems to remember
seeing him at all afterwards. It’s like he just disappeared. Maybe he took off
for the woods and kept on running till he got home.”

     Laney
couldn’t help the nervous laugh that escaped at Donny’s near rendition of what
had taken place this morning. Devan looked dumbfounded as well.

    
“Yeah, actually I wanted all the glory to myself so I sliced up Devan and
stuffed him in one of the athletic bags. I’m going to go back and take care of
it later.” Laney added a sinister ‘whaa-haa-haa’ to the end just to make it sound
good. 

    “I was
thinking that’s what happened, and I covered that exceptionally well
proportioned bottom of yours. There was no way some new guy was going to get
all the attention and acclaim over my girl. I set them all straight on that
score.”

    
Devan’s expression was back to a hard scowl again. What was he getting so upset
about? This was good news. The only person to have seen Devan was Erica and her
story was being discounted. Laney gave Devan a smile and thumbs up sign to let
him know everything would be okay. The smile he gave her back was weak at best.
He must still be worried.

    
“Donny, you are the man. I was thinking about coming down there. I might as
well get all the hoopla out of the way in one shot. I’d hate having to do it
twenty million times over the next week. I’ll probably see you in a little
while.”

    
“Well, I’m just glad you’re alright. See you in a bit, mama seta.”

     Laney
ended the call and pocketed her phone; giving Devan a relieved smile. 

     “It
looks like everything is going to be alright. Donny says no one is taking
Erica’s sighting of you into account. But I was thinking I should go down to
The Diner and get a few accounts of the story myself and I can reinforce to
everyone that I was in there myself.” 

     “Possibly.”
The small frown remained on Devan’s face, and he gazed off into the forest.
Laney was getting worried by his lack of positivity. His eyes flickered back to
hers and there was a sort of puzzled melancholy reflected in his golden stare
before they shifted away. He heaved himself up out of the chair; his height
towering over her. 

     “I
will drive you back to your vehicle so you can keep that appointment.”

     Laney
hopped up from her seat. Devan’s expression had gone back to that stony facade
that she hated. He was suppressing something and whatever it was it wasn’t
sitting well with him. She just hoped that his thoughts didn’t center on
disappearing.  

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

     “Are
you sure you’re alright to drive?”

     Devan
strode over to the French doors and opened them; allowing her to walk through.
“I’m good.” He replied shortly, leading her through the house and out to the
jeep.

     Laney’s
last conversation had disturbed him. Devan had thought his dislike of Jarrod
was because he was exceedingly unpleasant, but he was having a similar reaction
to this Donny individual who he didn’t even know. For all Devan knew he could
be a perfectly nice person, but at the moment all Devan wanted to do is dump
both him and Jarrod into the Colorado River. The feeling to do harm was
actually stronger in regards to this Donny person because Laney demeanor had
been wholly relaxed and she’d actually laughed with him. He had referred to her
as his girlfriend. The words had burned a path of antipathy through his entire
body.

     Devan
opened the passenger side door of the jeep expecting to see some blood splatter
but it looked like Brett had cleaned it up. Moving aside to let Laney climb in
he noticed that she gave him an apprehensive glance as she hoisted herself up
into the seat. It was probably for the way he was acting but he had no answer
for her, so he avoided her gaze. He needed his glasses. Getting in the driver’s
seat he grabbed an extra pair from the glove compartment and put them on.
Another buzz from her phone caused a small measure of relief to slide through him.
It would give him some reprieve from her appraisal. But she only briefly
glanced at the identity before putting it back in her pocket. 

     She caught
him regarding her.

     “I
talked to
this
person at school and he didn’t see anything.” She
answered brusquely.

     Devan
knew instantly who the person was…Jarrod. That she deemed the call undeserving
an answer lifted his emotions to some extent out of the depths they had fallen.
Only slightly, but higher than where they had been.

    
Instantaneously, Devan perceived the degree of power Laney had over him. Not
four minutes ago he was feeling depressed and angry over some male showing
interest in her, and now those emotions were replaced with relief as she
rejected a call from an obvious, though fanatical, admirer.

     He
couldn’t comprehend how the intrinsic details of her life were causing him so
much turmoil. Devan also hadn’t know that it was possible for emotions to
fluctuate so radically. It was practically exhausting.  

     She
stared at him with a frown. “You don’t really need those do you?”

    
Smiling grimly Devan started the jeep. “No, I don’t need them. I wear them
because my eyes are very distinctive. It’s hard to forget someone who has
yellow eyes with larger than normal pupils.” 

     “So,
the mark on your back,
is
that a tattoo?” Laney’s abrupt switch from his
eyes to his birthmark had him twitching in surprise. He hit a groove in the
road jarring his arm slightly. She was finally asking the questions he had been
dreading.

      “No,
it’s a birthmark.” Devan’s eyes remained glued to the road. 

     Her
brows raised and she paused for a moment in reflection. “And those animal carvings
on your dresser; you weren’t kidding when you said you had an affinity to
them?”

     She
was quick.

     “You
could say they are…relatives of mine.” Devan answered self-derisively.  

     She
paused again; possibly mulling over what other defects he had. 

     “So
the mark on your back is from jaguar DNA, and your eyes are yellow because of…”

     It
appeared she was gearing up for the full disclosure of his origins, and she
actually looked intensely interested in the answers.

     “The eagle
DNA.” Devan supplied. 

     “You
don’t have a tail or anything back there, do you?” She teased jokingly. 

     That
was a question Devan would rather her not have asked, but he wanted to be
truthful with her; even if it made him appear more animalistic.

     “Not
anymore.” He replied uncomfortably.  

     She
smiled probably thinking he was joking with her, but when he remained soberly
silent her smile slipped away. 

     “Oh
god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I was just trying to lighten
the mood and instead…” Laney’s complexion had gone a deep red.

     In
his best offhanded tone he reassured her. “I just reveled to you something
possibly beyond your imagination. You have questions; it’s natural. Some might
make me uncomfortable, but I believe you have a right to know after what you
did for me.”

     “You
saved my life…a few times. I think I’m the one still owes you. I may be
curious, but I don’t want to be intrusive, or cavalier about what you’ve been
through.”

     “How
about I promise to tell you if you’re being either.” Devan offered.

    
“Well, you know…it’s not like you’re the only person to be born with a tail. So
don’t think you’re special or anything.”

     He
swung his gaze her way astounded at her comment to see her grinning at him
impishly. Devan couldn’t halt his grin; she was always surprising him. He
wanted to surprise her.

     “It
was only a little nub of a thing anyway, nothing to write home about.”

    
Laney’s mouth opened in shock at Devan’s statement and he wondered if he’d
offended her. He’d been trying to make her laugh. A few peers had utilized that
saying and was sure that he used it in the right comical context.

     “Oh.
My. Gosh.” Laney exclaimed before giggling uncontrollably. Some more of the
heaviness that had settled over Devan lifted as she laughed. 

     With
merriment still in her eyes she asked curiously. “When you took off so fast in
the woods the other day that was because of the jaguar DNA, right?”

     She
had turned to face him, curling one leg up on the seat. Her posture appeared
relaxed, but her hands were fidgeting with her shoelaces contradicting the
effect. Indicating she was still nervous about questioning him.

     Devan
nodded.    

     “And
your agility in climbing, that comes from the monkey DNA.” She wasn’t really
asking questions now; more like inviting conformations.

    
“Yes.”

     “You
were holding back, weren’t you?  You could have climbed that cliff faster than
you actually did.”   

     The
accusation is her tone had Devan looking her way again. Her eyes were narrowed
on him, but her lips held a half smile.

     “A
little,” he granted. It was more than a little, but there was no need to go
there at this time.

     “And
those times I caught you gazing off into the distance; you were
actually
gazing
off into the distance, weren’t you?” She asked.

     It
was incredible how much she had discerned in the couple of days of their
acquaintance.    

     “More
often than not.” 

     “How
far off can you see?”

     “I
can see as far as you; it’s just that my eyesight is a little sharper and has
more clarity. It’s a common misconception that some animals can see farther. On
an open plain both animals and humans can see the same distance. It’s just that
some animals are able to receive a sharper image of an object in the distance
than a human eye is able to; it’s more of a binocular effect.” Devan clarified.

    
“Innterressting.”

     Devan
glanced her way to see that her expression matched her tone…it was just as
droll.

     “So
how much farther can you see more
clearly
than the rest of us?” She
rephrased, raising her eyebrow.

    
“Sorry.” Devan apologized, realizing he had been spouting inconsequential
details in his nervousness. He gave her a smile of contrition. “A lot; almost a
hundred times clearer.”

     Her
eyes rounded in astonishment at his answer, and after a slight pause she
continued with her questions. “Are there others like you?”

     “No,
that’s why I’m such a commodity.” Devan answered tightly.

     “What
they are doing has to be illegal. You should go to the police or some
government official and blow the whistle on the whole operation; then they
wouldn’t be able to touch you.” Laney voice was filled with indignation.

     “When
Brett and I left we were labeled criminal fugitives. The Company put out a
cover story that I was the son of an executive and that Brett kidnapped me. The
police would have arrested Sam on sight and taken me back to The Company.
Anything I would have said about hybrid experiments at the age of ten would
have been laughed at as the imagination of a young boy. If I tried to explain
now they would think it was some type of Stockholm syndrome. In regards to the
government; The Company has several if not more officials in their pockets.” Devan
tone was neutral; there was no purpose getting upset over something that
couldn’t be changed.

     “If
you showed them your eyes and…markings,” Laney’s face turned red slightly at
have to mention the
markings
, “they would believe you.”

     “They
would be strange birth defects to other people.” He explained.

     “What
about your exceptional strength. What you did back there in the building; breaking
the lock doors and the jumping…that wasn’t normal jumping. And Saturday, when
you ran through the woods to save Johnny, you were gone in a second. No average
person can run that fast.” Laney persisted. 

     She
sounded desperate trying to find some solution for him. The concern she displayed
on his behalf was touching, but the solutions she presented Brett and he had
already gone over hundreds of times. 

     Devan
smiled ironically at her disclosure of his extraordinary sprint through the
woods on Saturday. She had noticed it and not discounted it as he had
thought.  

     “If I
were to show my strengths to other people, it would only get me locked up in
another facility where others would test and examine me. Believe me, Brett and
I have examined all possible outcomes and it’s either exterminated, back to The
Company, or stuck in another facility. I’m not going back to being locked up
and experimented on again.” This last part was said with steely conviction. The
idea of being confined again was not an option Devan was prepared to risk.

     “I’m
sorry,” Laney apologized. “I’m pushing, I know, but it just seems so unfair
that you have to live in fear all the time.”

     “We
have been doing well so far, as long as we lay low and don’t draw attention to
ourselves.” He gave her a sidelong look to emphasize his point. 

     Devan
veered right into the schools parking lot. There were still several vehicles
parked in the lot but no one was present. He pulled up next to her truck and
parked. The statement he was going to make felt like it was being ripped from
his throat.

    
“Laney this doesn’t have to be your burden to share. We’ve never shared it with
anyone else, both for their safety and for ours. If for any reason you think
this is too much to handle you can forget everything you’ve seen and heard and
go back to your normal life. We can even make plans to leave if that would make
you more comfortable.” He kept his eyes fixed ahead, unwilling to see the
relief on her face. Although each time Devan thought about leaving it brought
an actual pain to his chest he would do it if it made her feel more secure.

     She
was quiet for a long time, but he felt the heat of her stare.

     “Do
you really think I could forget even a little bit of what I’ve seen or heard
today? And let’s say it was possible for me to get amnesia regarding this whole
situation, it’s not something I would want.” Her tone was offended.

    
Turning in his seat Devan saw her glaring at him. She appeared angry at the
idea that he would even suggest that she forget. Actually, she looked to be
bristling in her seat.

     “I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to offend; I just thought it would be easier for you this
way.” Devan tried explaining, thinking he must have phrased something the wrong
way. 

     “Life
isn’t about doing the easy thing; it’s about doing the right thing.” She said
in mellower tones. “You’re going through something I can’t even imagine and I
want to be able to help you in any way I can.” She looked at him with those
intensely green eyes of hers and Devan felt that tightening in his abdomen
again; the one that wasn’t from being hungry. Tearing his eyes away from her he
looked out the window.

     “And
I would also never be uncomfortable with you staying here. I hate the idea that
you have to move around all the time just to feel safe.” She said softly.

     Her
gentle tone caused a lump in his throat. “You’ve already done the right thing
by me and I appreciate it, but...” 

     She
interrupted him before he could finish. “What are you doing tomorrow?” The
innocuous question had him swinging his gaze back to her in confusion.