Parahuman (Parahuman Series) (3 page)

     There
was a significant hesitation in Devan’s deportment, but Laney was innately
positive it had nothing to do with cheating and everything to do with how she
phrased her inquiry. She didn’t know why she was so sure about it, she just
was.

     Devan
rubbed the back of his neck and held out his phone. “Maybe you should just
check my phone.”

    
Feeling contrite for possibly causing him discomfort even thought it was hard
to tell if she had with those glasses on, Laney decided to let him off the
hook. “With the way you were writing before I left I don’t think you had any
difficulty with the answers, and I also doubt that internet service around here
is that speedy. I was just surprised by how fast you got it done. The answers I
looked at appear well written and detailed.”

     Devan
seemed to just stare at her and Laney’s face began to warm at the extended
silence. His eyes were hidden behind those sunglasses, but Laney could feel
them drilling into her. Was he mad at her teasing? He looked more perplexed
than mad though. She wished he would take those dratted sunglasses off so she
could read him better.

     Laney
looked down at the papers in her hand, shuffling them nervously. “Soooo…how do
you like Silverton so far?”  

     “It’s
satisfactory.”

    
Another grin tugged at Laney’s lips. “Where did you live before?”

    
“Michigan,” Devan answered, sitting soldier straight. He had looked more
relaxed walking around than he did in that chair. 

     
“What made you move here?”

     “My
uncle retired and he’s always wanted to live in this area.” There was no
sentimentality to Devan’s tone, just factual information. In one way Devan
seemed very frank and blunt, but in another…it seemed like he was hiding
something.

     Laney
had an internal debate going on inside her head. Her first thought was to ask
why he was living with his uncle and not his parents, but that was a really
intrusive question to ask someone you’d only just met. Devan didn’t give the
impression that he was a real sensitive individual, but that didn’t mean he
wasn’t, especially about his parents.

     Laney
could relate to the absence of a parent and the invasiveness of certain
questions. She had been dealing with them herself for the last several months
in regards to
her
mother.   

      Two
cars pulling into the parking lot distracted Laney from painful thoughts. She
noticed that Devan’s head cocked slightly as if he heard the cars, the same as
it had when she’d entered the room. It was uncanny that he might have heard the
cars since the windows and doors were shut and the radio was playing, albeit softly.
She hadn’t heard them, but then some people were just born with really good
hearing.  

     “It
looks like our hiking party is here.” Laney grabbed the backpack she had
stashed under the counter. It was already pre-packed with the necessary
supplies for their hike. Walking toward the front door she waved him to follow
her. “Let’s go charm the masses.”

CHAPTER TWO

     Devan
stared at the girl in bewilderment as he followed her out the door. She was
peculiar. Most people took in his height, appearance, and demeanor and normally
distanced themselves from him, but she had seemed to be more amused by him than
repelled. He normally couldn’t care less what people thought of him…anymore,
but this girl, Laney, had him wondering what her thoughts were. The smile on
her face suggested that she found him humorous, but nobody found him humorous.
Because he wasn’t. Devan dealt in rationalities and logic; jokes eluded him,
they had no practical purpose.

     Laney
opened the door causing a breeze to waft through carrying with it Laney’s
unique scent. He had already taken note of it and that of her father’s. Every
person had a distinct smell and now whenever he came across theirs he would
know it, but as accustomed as he was to cataloguing scents Devan never had one
agitate him before as Laney’s did. Her fragrance was a mix of fresh air and
pine with a hint of cinnamon that seemed to wrap around him making his skin and
his throat tight.

     It
was disturbing.

     Laney
spun around suddenly and Devan immediately halted in place so as not to bump
into her. Her head jerked up in surprise at his proximity. Bright green eyes
stared into his, tilted up at the corners giving a cat like appearance to her
face. Thick dark lashes made any kind of artificial enhancement unnecessary,
and small freckles decorated her elfin nose. Devan perceived Laney’s genetics
to be parts Native American, Irish, Italian, and Anglo Saxon. Her skin was
smooth and taupe in color.

     Laney
took a step back at Devan’s nearness. Unfortunately, there was only air to step
back into as she was standing at the edge of the porch by the steps. Reaching
out instinctively, Devan gripped her arm before she lost her footing and went
tumbling down to the ground.

     A
wash of unexpected heat flared through his palm and up his arm at their contact
nearly causing Devan to release her reflexively, but he was able to control the
impulse. He didn’t want her ending up sprawled across the ground just because
he was having an odd physical reaction.

     Laney
looked down at Devan’s hand on her arm startled, then back up at his face
inquiringly. He released her arm promptly and retreated back a step, rubbing
his hand on his shorts to dispel the anomalous heat in his palm.

     “You
were about to fall off the porch.” Devan cast his eyes down at her feet.

     Looking
behind her Laney’s eyes widened in surprise. She swiveled her head back to him
with a grin. “Wow, thanks. That would have definitely left a bruise.”

     Devan
merely nod in agreement.

     Laney
was rubbing her arm where Devan had grabbed onto her. Devan hoped he hadn’t
inadvertently hurt her. He was unaccustomed to touching others so his grip
might have been a little rougher than needed.

     “I
was just going to tell you to hang out here while I go greet everyone.” Laney
threw him another grin before spinning and skipping down the steps. Long dark
brown, nearly black, hair caught up in a pony tail bounced and swung between
her shoulder blades as she moved. Subtle highlights in it shimmered and shifted
reminding him of moonlight shimmering on water. Devan found himself almost
mesmerized by its movement…a desire to touch and see how it felt rose up inside
him. 

    
Whoa!
Devan put an immediate halt to his fanciful thoughts. This was just hair he
was looking at; made up of keratin, melanin, and oil, same as everyone else in
the world. He was shocked he’d even made an analogy between hair and a
waterfall, because that wasn’t anything like him at all. He didn’t have
whimsical thoughts, and he
never
had thoughts of touching other people.
Shaking a hand was the most contact he had with others, and even that was
limited.

     Laney
skipped up to the hiking group that consisted of seven people: two adult males
and females; most likely the parental figures of the two preteen year old
girls, and a possibly eight year old boy. The families appeared very excited
about the upcoming hike, smiling and chattering unrelentingly. Devan grimaced
at the thought of having to interact with them.

     Devan
had determined that acquiring a job was essential for the continuing education of
his social interactions. He had no need for money, but the knowledge acquired
could be crucial in possible future endeavors. The only setback was that Devan
was not a social creature. He was pushed to attend school because
someone
thought
he needed the peer interaction, but he was not comfortable there. Schools were
excessively loud and filled with an abundance of unpleasant smells. Devan
didn’t know how anyone was able to learn in that kind of environment. But then
he wasn’t there for standard edification, his intellect was far beyond any of
the teachers there, he was only there to study social interactions.

    
Devan’s head cocked to the right at the sound of approaching footsteps.

     “Hello,
everyone!” Nick came around the corner of the building with a smile and a wave.
He was carrying a backpack similar to Laney’s, but also an X Bolt Hunter rifle.
“Are we ready for our hike?”

     The
adults around Laney immediately began to gravitate toward Nick and away from
Laney, and Devan comprehended why Nick had said he needed an adult for the job
position. For Devan, knowledge carried more weight than age, but as he spent
more time in the world he realized that people put much more emphasis toward
the contrary. It was unaccountable to him why they thought this way, but then
many of society’s views perplexed him. 

     Devan
abruptly took note that everyone was wearing warm clothing whereas he was in a
t-shirt and shorts. Disquiet at the dissimilarity came and went because while
it was anomalous, it wasn’t necessarily overly inappropriate. There were other
individuals besides him that had resistance to colder weather and hiking would
warm the other’s internal temperature to where they would most likely unzip and
loosen clothing. 

     Nick
spent a few minutes going over the rules with the group; basic hiking and
survival procedures. Laney stood beside him quietly, but also in recognizable unification.
Devan watched silently from the porch, discounting the many looks he was
receiving from the families. He was accustomed to that because of his height,
but Laney also cast a few sidelong looks in his direction. Those he wasn’t able
to discount as easily, because they left an anomalous feeling in their wake.

    
“Let’s head on out then.” Nick announced at the end of his discourse.

    
“Woo-hoo, finally!” The boy child jumped around in excitement while the two
girls twisted to give Devan another look. 

     One
of the female adults yelled out. “Come along Johnny, I want you no more than
ten feet from me at all times.”

     
Devan surmised that this female must be the male child’s mother.    

    
Everyone trailed behind Nick as he took the lead and headed into the woods
behind the building. Devan saw Nick look toward Laney giving a nod in his direction
and then Laney jogged back to the porch, the pack on her back jiggling up and
down. She looked him up and down.

     “Hey,
do you need to grab a jacket out of your jeep or anything?”

     He
cocked his head at her concern. “No, I’m good.”

     She
didn’t look reassured if the frown on her face was any indication. “Are you
sure? If you didn’t bring one my dad has extra inside.”

     Devan
stared at her in curiosity. Why did she care? “Really, I’m good.” 

     The
frown remained. “Okay, if you’re sure.” The frown smoothed out into a smile and
she wiggled her eyebrows up and down. “Let’s go then. It’s going to be loads of
fun.”

     Devan
narrowed his eyes at her behind his sunglasses. There was some kind of hidden
meaning behind those words but he was unable to grasp what it was. He was able
to recognize the challenge attached to her tone though, and was powerless to
refuse its call. He ambled down the steps.

     Laney
spun on her heels to catch up with the group. “Try to keep up or it won’t bode well
for your job prospective.” Laney threw a grin back in his direction.

     Devan
felt an unfamiliar twitching of his lips; another challenge, one right after
the other. Devan caught up to her in five steps—long legs did have their
advantage—but then he had to restrain his strides to match the group.

     It
was going to be a long arduous hike.

     “So,
how long have you been an outdoor enthusiast?”

    
Generally Devan hated answering questions, but this was something that was
related to the position, and it was something he could speak about
truthfully.    

     “Six
years.”

    
“Hiking, climbing?”

    
“Both,” he admitted.

     “What
kind of terrain have you had experience in?” 

     This
was starting to sound like an inquisition…or an interview. Devan gave her a
quick assessing look out of the corner of his eye, wondering about her motives.
Her expression appeared curious, but most likely she was gathering information
for her father…hence the look and redirection. It seemed dishonest to lie about
his knowledge of terrain he had never been in, but he wasn’t supposed to talk
about past locations. He had already lied to Laney about relocating from
Michigan, when in fact it had been Mississippi. He decided to keep it
general.  

     “I’ve
been in the northwest, the northeast, and south of the border.” Devan wasn’t
accustomed to offering up information that wasn’t asked, but he had some idea
of what her next question would be, so to shorten the interview he continued. “I’ve
had experience with bears, mountain lions, and wolves so the animals in this
area are familiar to me.”  

     She
raised her eyebrows at him. “Like, close up experience.”

    
“Close enough.” Devan replied vaguely. He had actually been in
very
close
contact with all those animals. Many of the animals in the forest gave him a
wide berth, but with the amount of time he spent outdoors it was only natural
he would run into some of them at various junctures.  

     Laney
gave him a dubious look, but then she seemed to accept his serious expression
as truth and began nodding her head, apparently satisfied with his credentials.
Devan found the gravity of her behavior intriguing. It wasn’t often he saw such
seriousness in someone her age; or he should say their age, most of the time he
forgot he was categorized in the same group. 

     Laney
looked up and her lips pursed in disapproval. “Were you pulling my leg?”

     He
looked down at her in astonishment, and then down at her legs. “I didn’t touch
your leg.”

     Her
eyes narrowed. “Ha, ha. Were you lying about your contact with those animals?”

     Devan
frowned down at her in confusion. “No.”

     “Why
were you grinning then? It looked like you were joshing me,” she huffed.

     Grinning?
“Joshing you?” He echoed in puzzlement.

     Laney
rolled her eyes. “You know, joking with me.”

     “No,
I wasn’t joking with you.” Devan’s lip twitched spasmodically; for some reason
this seemed like a comical conversation because of the miscommunication.

     “Then
why were you grinning before?” She asked with a grin of her own.

     Had
he been grinning? Most of his smiles were generally thought out and then
delivered; they didn’t just pop out unannounced. However, it could be possible
that his mouth had curved unconsciously. “Your earnestness in questioning me
just came across as very adult and not something I’m accustomed to hearing from
someone our age.” Devan revealed frankly. 

     “Oh…I
just felt I needed to get some background information.” She began explaining,
and then she stammered out. “Not for myself, but for the job. I mean, it’s not
like I was trying to pry or anything. Well I was, but just about your
wilderness experience.” Laney finished her rambling in a rush and tightened her
lips together firmly. He saw a small tinge of pink creep up her neck.

     Devan
gave her a nod of understanding, and could feel a genuine smile curving his
lips at her oddly endearing discomfiture. That she had taken it upon herself to
interrogate him on behalf of her father showed a sense a responsibility and a
maturity he hadn’t encountered in many peers their age. It was a nice change
from the superficial and capricious attitudes he normally had to deal with. His
peers were by and large a self-absorbed group to the extent of dismissing
anything that did not directly relate to them. 

     “It
sounds like you take this job very seriously.” Devan offered in an effort to
ease her discomfort…he didn’t know why. Normally he didn’t take any notice of
other people’s comfort, or lack thereof. In fact, he had never really
considered their emotions unless it somehow correlated with their behavior. He
wondered why he was taking notice now.