Phoenix: The Rising (5 page)

Her tears fell silently as the child suckled. Would the elders and her husband allow her to keep the child? After all, she had disobeyed them and gone to Paoha. But the Great Spirit answered her prayers, didn’t it? As her child passed on, she was given a new one to care for. Surely, they would understand this.

Laylah would not have to wait long for her answer. As soon as she returned to camp with the strange child, the Elders and her husband gathered at the council shelter.

“Laylah,” her husband ordered, “you must keep watch while we meet.” Laylah’s husband took the child from her and ducked into the shelter with the Elders.

She closed her eyes and leaned back against the bark-covered walls of the shelter, listening to the singing of her people back in the camp just over the rise. The heaviness of her milk-laden breasts was a constant reminder of the child she lost and the child whose fate the elders and her husband were deciding upon right now. Was this the Fire-Child? If so, surely the elders and her husband would see that she had been chosen to be its mother. After all, even her name, Laylah—the Protector—bore witness to that.

An uneasy feeling shrouded Laylah’s thoughts and her eyes shot open. Something was wrong. The singing she had been enjoying stopped. She looked toward the main camp and squinted as a lone, dark figure emerged on the crest of the rise. Laylah stayed frozen in her spot, unable to move as the strides of this huge stranger brought it ever nearer. Finally, her senses returned, and she ran into the shelter.

“Tse’nahaha! Giant!” she shrieked as she grabbed the sleeping child and dove under a large basket in a darkened corner of the room. Her husband and the elders looked towards the door as a massive body filled the space. Before they could react, The Great One stuck its head inside. Laylah closed her eyes and tried to still her breath as bones snapped and bodies slumped to the floor. She heard The Great One moving about the room and shuddered as its foot hit the basket, but the basket shifted only slightly. A few moments later, the room was silent.

Laylah stayed under the basket until she noticed the daylight fading. The child stirred as she slowly lifted the edge to see if the giant truly was gone. The vacant stare of her husband’s dead eyes met hers as he lay on the dirt floor of the shelter, and she stifled a scream. She lifted the basket off completely, and sat in silence, staring at the mangled bodies of the five dead men in the room...

Julie bolted upright in bed as a scream erupted from her throat—a scream that began in her dreams and eventually manifested itself in her sleeping vocal cords—a scream of pure terror! Her eyes flew open, and she looked around. Her frantic breathing slowed as she realized she was in her bedroom. Grabbing a pillow, she hugged it to her body and lay on her side, staring at the green glow of her digital alarm clock. Something had been chasing her ... something huge and dark and faceless. She could still feel its icy breath on the back of her neck. But it didn’t get her. Not this time.

Charsey leaned against a neighboring locker and watched as Julie worked the dial once again. She shook her head when it opened on the first try.

“I really do not understand how you can do that!”

Julie shrugged and hung up her book bag. “Mine is not to reason why...”

It was almost as if she could hear the gears of Charsey’s brain whirring, trying to catch—trying to make sense of what she had just said.

“What?” 

Julie sighed. “I’m paraphrasing Tennyson.” She slammed the locker and twirled the dial.

“Who?”

Julie smiled and shook her head at her amazingly ditzy friend. “Just a guy who wrote poetry.”

Purple and white football jerseys, Warrior t-shirts, and short, pleated cheerleading skirts, including the one Charsey wore, littered the hallway as the girls headed to their first class. Charsey was the junior captain of the cheerleading squad. Today she wore her hair in a perky ponytail, complete with a purple and white starburst scrunchy. She was already two inches taller than Julie, and the ponytail added at least another two, making Julie feel like a garden gnome next to her striking friend. Julie didn’t have a stitch of purple on, but was wearing a plain, white, v-neck, baby tee. A crescent of porcelain belly was visible just above the waist of her jeans when she walked, but not enough to make her look slutty. She hoped.

As they approached the girl’s bathroom, Julie made a split-second decision, grabbed Charsey by the arm, and pulled her through the door.

“Julie! What the—”

Julie took a breath and blurted it out. “Kas Penemue invited me to the after-game party.” She hesitated. “I said yes.”

“
You
have a date with Kas Penemue? Holy Crap!” Charsey shut the bathroom door and stood in front of it, hands on her hips, Jolly Green Giant style. In that stance, with her skimpy cheerleading outfit on, she looked like she was about to start a cheer. Any other time, and Julie might have thought it funny, but this date with Kas was a problem. Not only did she not want to go out with him, she had no intention of dating anybody. The risk was too great.

“Yes, but now I need to know how to get out of it.”

Charsey’s eyes widened. “Out of it? Are you nuts? He’s one of the most popular guys in school!”

Julie turned and stared in the mirror. “I shouldn’t have told him I would go.”

“Well, you did, and if you cancel, you’re gonna have one upset guy on your hands. If he gets in trouble on game day and can’t play, then you’re gonna have the whole school body to deal with.” Charsey grabbed Julie by the shoulder and turned her around. “Just go out with him. Just this once.” She squeezed Julie’s shoulder. “Who knows, you may end up liking the guy. And besides that, I’m gonna be at the party. It’s not like you’re gonna be alone with him.”

Julie looked down at her hands, which were clenched white. Everything in her told her not to do it, but she knew she was going to.

“Okay.” She looked up at Charsey’s smiling face. “But just this once.”

Charsey put her arm around Julie’s shoulders and walked her to the door. “Good. I’ll pick you up before the game.” She opened the door and shoved Julie into the hall. “You’re gonna have a great time, Jules. Don’t worry!”

Julie watched the door close, turned, and walked down the hall. There was no way she was going to have a good time. Zero. Zilch.

****

The White Mountain Warriors ran onto the field, heading towards a gigantic paper-covered hoop decorated with a poorly painted rendition of their mascot. Charsey held one side of the hoop as the two huge Penemue brothers led the charge, ripping through the paper with their hands held high. The rest of the team followed close behind. Julie sat by herself, up and away from the crowd of screaming students who gathered down near the fence. She hadn’t really made friends with anyone other than Charsey and couldn’t quite figure out why Charsey decided to be her friend in the first place, considering that Charsey was one of the most popular girls at
White Mountain
. She figured it might have had something to do with the fact that her father was the new president of Bishop State Bank, plus the fact that Charsey could be a little shallow. She didn’t care, though. Being new in the community, she needed to show some sign of normalcy. She couldn’t be a total hermit. It also felt sort of good—to have a friend—someone she could talk to. She certainly didn’t get that at home. She even enjoyed Charsey’s idiosyncrasies. She was the ultimate ditz, and was always entertaining, even though she got on Julie’s nerves at times. Besides, Julie hadn’t had a best friend in years. It felt good.

Julie looked over the roster. Kas was listed as a six-four, two hundred-fifty pound tackle. His brother was a half-inch shorter and four pounds lighter. She scanned down the list of names. God, they were huge compared to the rest of the team! Sloan, the blond obnoxious boy from her American Lit class, was dinky compared to them, coming in at five-ten and one hundred-sixty pounds. Her eyes stopped on the last name, and she felt her heart flip in her chest. Eli Sullivan! What was he doing on the roster? This was only his second day of school!

It wasn’t long until Julie had her answer. Eli was a wide receiver, and by the second quarter, he’d already scored three touchdowns. His six-foot-two, one hundred-ninety pound frame sailed through the air, catching passes that looked impossible for a normal person to catch, but he did it beautifully. Julie held her breath each time the quarterback went back for a pass. Eli would scramble and turn just in time for the ball to connect with his outstretched hands. She even caught herself cheering, something she would normally never do.

Eli had also gotten hit hard a couple of times, by the same corner back each time. This gargantuan player rivaled the Penemue brothers in size, but seemed to be a bit slimmer and quicker. Julie took a peek at the Palisade’s roster and couldn’t believe it.
He
was
a Penemue! Dan, at six-three and two hundred-thirty pounds, must have been related, maybe a cousin. The Penemue clan obviously made them pretty big. Julie laughed to herself. Maybe they were the Nephilim, those legendary gigantic killers that Grace and Tina were so concerned with. They certainly were gigantic compared to the other players, but they definitely weren’t giants.
A
t least, they didn’t fit the image of giants Julie had pictured in her mind: mindless, nine-foot, knuckle-dragging, club-wielding behemoths. Julie dismissed the ridiculous thought as
Palisades
began scoring.

By the end of the fourth quarter,
White Mountain
was leading and Palisades was going to make a last-ditch attempt to tie it up with a field goal. Their kicker had been waiting on the sidelines, pacing back and forth through the whole game when he was finally called in. Julie felt sorry for the kid. It must have been horribly nerve-wracking for him to kick, knowing that he was either going to put them into overtime or be blamed, unfairly, of losing the game for his team.

Julie held her breath as the ball was hiked and set for the kicker. Just before he made contact with the ball, Kas barreled through the line. He blocked the kick, and the ball danced between his hands before he gained control of it and took off running. Unfortunately, Kas’s momentum carried him forward, and he connected with the kicker, driving him back a few yards before slamming his body into the turf. Kas continued running, swatting opposing players away from him as his long legs carried him to the end zone. The crowd erupted with a roar.
White Mountain
won. Julie’s attention, however, was focused on the kicker who lay motionless on the turf. She was sure Kas had killed the kid. After all, he had to have over a hundred pounds on him. She exhaled with relief when she saw him sit up and wave weakly to the fans, who once again roared their appreciation. His teammates helped him limp off the field. Football was such a barbaric game.

****

Julie stood outside the gate and scanned the almost deserted parking lot. She thought Kas had told her to wait at this spot, but now she wasn’t so sure. Maybe she should just walk home.

“I never would have taken you for a football fan.” 

Julie twirled around to find Eli standing behind her with a black motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm. He ran a hand through his freshly showered hair, slicking it back away from his face. God, he was beautiful! Undeniably expensive, low-rise jeans hugged his narrow hips, and a navy tee clung to his still-damp chiseled torso, accentuating the obvious six-pack hidden beneath it. Julie felt a bit dizzy as her heart beat out of control. Why did she react this way when he was around? She grabbed the fence, lacing her fingers through the chain-link.

Eli reached out and grabbed her arm. “Are you okay?” He apparently had no idea that his touch worsened things for her, and she shrugged her arm away from him.

“Thanks, I’m fine.” She gulped in some air and exhaled slowly through her mouth until she began to feel a bit better.

“So, do you need a ride home or something?” He held up his helmet. “I brought my bike, but there’s room for two, if you want.”

Julie shook her head, too vigorously she realized, when she saw a slight smile flicker at the corner of Eli’s lips. She felt the blood rush up her neck, but couldn’t say a thing.
Damn him! Why does he keep doing this to me?

“Jules is with me, Sullivan.” Kas seemed to materialize out of the shadows.

The muscle in Eli’s jaw twitched in response to Kas’s presence and his eyes darkened, never wavering from Julie’s. “Are you sure you don’t need a ride?”

Kas pushed past him and put his hand around Julie’s waist. She cringed at his touch and pulled away slightly, but he held tight. “I told you, she’s with me.” He looked down at Julie. “Isn’t that right?”

Julie swallowed and averted her eyes from Eli’s. “Yes.” She looked back up quickly. “But thanks, Eli.”

Kas led Julie off to the south end of the parking lot to a black Ford pickup. Julie was surprised when Kas opened the door for her. It was like dealing with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and she didn’t know which one would surface and when. Julie got in and glanced back to the gate where they left Eli. He stood in the same spot, watching them. As soon as Kas started the engine, Eli headed for the lone motorcycle parked up by the front of the school. Kas drove slowly through the lot. When he got near Eli, he raced the engine and then peeled out, leaving Eli in a cloud of burnt rubber.