Rise of Alpha (The Prodian Journey #1) (14 page)

I nodded, sparing a glance toward the cop who seemed intent on finishing up the investigation. Darryl spoke up. “Officer, we need a minute here.”

The officer huffed. “Fine, but hurry up. I don’t have all night.” Then he walked away.
 

Once we had a little privacy, I urged them to sit down on the sidewalk. “I’m glad you guys are okay,” I whispered.

Mark could only nod his head.

“I wish I had known this was going to involve you guys.”
 

Darryl released a shaky sigh. “Tell us what’s going on.”

Before I could speak, Mark found his tongue. “Right after you said to get out, I heard rumbling from the front, like an earthquake, so I pulled Darryl out towards the back exit. We heard the explosion when we were running away.”

“Damn. You guys could’ve been killed.” I felt sick to my stomach.
 

“I’m glad you called.” Darryl glanced around, shaking his head.

“I should’ve warned you guys right away, but everything that’s going on is just too unbelievable. It took me some time to figure out the signs, but I’m glad it wasn’t too late.”
 

The cop came back and interrupted our quiet conversation, studying me with interest. “Time’s up. I need to get back to the station. Who is this?”
 

“He’s a friend of ours,” Darryl said.

“Well, let’s wrap this up, and you can fool around later.” He gestured for Mark and Darryl to follow him.

Fooling around?
Cop or no cop, the guy deserved a punch in the face.

I stayed within earshot.
 
No one mentioned anything about my phone call, which was good. I doubted that they would have believed us anyway.
 
The blaze continued to rage, and soon Darryl’s parents arrived.

Mark and I stepped back and watched the teary reunion. After being reassured that their son was unhurt, they switched their attention to the cop.
 

We stepped away and continued our conversation.
 
“Did you call your parents?” I asked Mark.

“Yeah. They’re catching the first flight they can find.” He still sounded shaken.
 

A loud crackling from the burning structure distracted us. The extreme heat from the fire fanned across our faces. Nothing had been spared.
 

Darryl checked over his shoulder to make sure no one was paying attention to us. “So what do we do know?”

We leaned against a squad car, and I launched into a brief explanation, beginning with the death of Shannon’s father. Then I told them about my introduction to the Aarmark creatures and how the Ergans were manipulating events.

“You mean that’s who did this to us?” Mark asked in disbelief, his eyes wide with terror.

I stood up and tried to shake off the oncoming twitches. “Yes. It’s my fault for getting you guys involved.”

“Damn.” Darryl shot to his feet. “I don’t know about you guys, but I ain’t taking this sitting down.” All those hours of playing video games had given him confidence, but he needed to remember that this wasn’t a game.
 

“Calm down, you knucklehead. We’re dealing with aliens here. Aren’t you afraid you might end up dead?” It looked like Mark, for a change, was going to be the voice of reason.

Kicking a pebble with his foot, Darryl nodded. “Of course I am, but I’m not going to sit around and wait for those bastards to kill us.”
 

Mark looked unconvinced. He began to pace. “What do you think, Talon?”

“Well, I’m chin-deep already since I promised Shannon’s mother I would help. But you guys don’t have to be involved in this.”

Mark stroked his chin while Darryl started muttering. “This is so not freakin’ happening,”
 

“The hell it isn’t,” Darryl chimed in. “Just think, we can combine our mad skills from
Call of Duty
and
League of Legends
.”

This made me smile, but I shook my head. We were talking about real danger, and my bonehead friend was treating it like a game.
 

Mark grinned. “I still get to be Varus.”

Darryl clapped his hands. “And I’m going to be Garen. Booyah!” He pumped his fist in the air.
 

“Epic.”
And really dumb
, I thought to myself while we high-fived each other.
 

A movement from the corner of my eye alerted me to Matro’s return. He was wiping the blade of his weapon on his pants.
 

Mark shook his fist. “This is war!”

“Damn right!” Darryl seconded.
 

“I think if we’re going to do this, it’s time to introduce you to Matro, a fighter from the land of Tranak.”

Mark and Darryl whipped their heads in the direction I pointed, and they both stumbled backwards, eyes bulging out of their sockets, when Matro became visible to them.

“What the hell?” Mark said.
 

“He . . . he . . . is the alien?” Darryl continued backing away.
 

“Hey, guys. This is not a joke. He’s real, and we’re the only ones who can see him,” I said, grabbing Darryl by his shirt and dragging him back.
 

Matro saluted and moved closer. The man walked like a predator, fierce and determined. “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m
not
an alien. I’m from another universe, understood?” My friends nodded with a mix of awe and intimidation. “Then if we’re on the same page, I suggest you kids keep your voices down. People might think you’re crazy.”

“Uh, um . . . ” Mark cleared his throat. “Can I touch your weapons?”
 

Matro chuckled. “Can I touch your nose?”
 

Mark was clearly out of his element, and Darryl’s mouth gaped open.
 

Matro took this as an opportunity to explain himself. “First rule in my book. A weapon is a part of your body. It is sacred. It could mean life or death.”

This made sense, and we all nodded in understanding. “Are you going to teach us?” I asked.

Matro hesitated. “Well, I know Detherina ordered Car to teach you some tricks, but I guess these two can join in.”

This seemed to light a spark in my friends, who jumped up, rubbing their palms together. “We’re ready!” Darryl said.

“You think you’re so slick,” Mark told him.
 

Just then, Darryl’s father called for him. Mark and I waited while they talked, and then Darryl came back. “We’re going home now. I’ll call you guys in a bit.”

“Take care, bro,” I said before he turned away.
 

“Brian, can you give me a lift?” Mark asked.
 

We left the scene, still shaken from the horrible experience, but also filled with anticipation at the prospect of learning to fight from Matro and Carionis. While we walked to the car, Matro walked alongside us, and Mark kept glancing at him until he nearly stumbled.

“Bro, he’s real, if that’s what you’re wondering about,” I said.
 

“Dude, I’ve always known you were weird, but this one tops the charts.” Mark shook his head in disbelief.
 

“Thanks! I aim to please.” I opened the door, and he took the front passenger seat.

“I won’t join you, Brian, but I’ll be around.” Matro waved and disappeared.

“Weird,” Mark repeated and then slumped against the leather seat.
 

“Fffuccckkkk.” Involuntary tremors and phonic tics assaulted me as soon as I sat in the driver’s seat.
 
I didn’t fight it this time. In fact, I welcomed the twitches, letting them run their course. All I felt was relief that my friends had made it out alive. After some time, the jerking stopped, and I pushed the car’s start button. Mark was so used to my attacks that he didn’t even pay attention anymore. His eyes were closed, and I could guess what was running through his mind.
 

I drove home through the maddening traffic around the explosion and made a silent vow to myself.
I will make an effort to take all clues into consideration.
No other human would be dragged into this. The war between Detherina and those ugly mofos had almost taken the lives of my best friends. The last thing I needed was to have more innocent lives affected by my new bizarre reality.

Sunday was humdrum compared to the chaos of Saturday night. Mark, Darryl and I communicated often, either by text or online chat. We even got in several games of
L.O.L.
to take the edge off. On top of that, I also worked on finishing my English outline and even wrote an extra analysis for Shannon. I figured she’d be too distraught to worry about homework. We exchanged texts when she wasn’t occupied with preparations for her dad’s funeral service. She and Elizabeth had been busy dealing with out of town relatives.

I told my parents about the explosion before they could find out from the news media. The cause of the explosion had been identified as arson, according to the reports on television. Police authorities and fire officials were still piecing all the clues together, but I had big doubts they’d ever find who was responsible.

Monday came and went without incident. I attended all my classes, regretting the reason for Shannon’s absence. The news of her father’s death had spread like wildfire around campus, and as far as I could tell, most of the senior class was planning to attend the memorial service.
 

The service was set for the next day, and with my parents’ blessing, I skipped school to attend the funeral. Darryl and Mark did the same. Tuesday morning, we all squeezed inside my coupe and drove together to the chapel.

When we got there, I wasn’t surprised to see the place packed to the brim. I spotted Shannon right away, sitting in the front pew with Elizabeth and Gilbert flanking her. We worked our way to the front, as close as we could get to her. Carionis was standing close by, hidden by the columns of the tiny chapel, while Matro and Detherina stood like sentinels next to the urn containing Arthur’s ashes. I knew no one could see them except me and my friends. Matro dipped his head in acknowledgement when he saw us, but Detherina was too distressed to notice. I saw her looking at Shannon with sad eyes.
 

Shannon glanced over her shoulder at me and offered me a weak smile. I wished I could do more for her.
 

The service started, and for the next thirty minutes, we sat and watched and listened. When Shannon stood at the podium and delivered her eulogy, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
 

It had been explained to me that as a part of the Aarmark tradition, Arthur’s remains had to be buried in the homeland of his beloved. I had no idea how this would be possible. All I knew was that they’d cremated something for show, for his human family’s sake.
 

Afterwards, I had a brief moment with Shannon in the corner of the chapel. I waited until the room emptied before I took her hand and squeezed it. “You okay?” I asked, noticing the dark patches under her eyes.

“I can’t believe he’s gone.” She dabbed her face with a tissue.

“Be the brave girl that you are. You’re going to get through this.”
 

“I know. But I’m going to miss him,” she sobbed.
 

I pulled her into an awkward embrace. “Hang in there,” I whispered. A movement nearby made me look up to find Carionis watching us with a blank expression.

Shannon and I stayed huddled together. With my thumb, I traced the trail of her tears and wiped them away. After a few minutes, Gilbert appeared in the doorway and whisked her off to a black limousine for the private family-only memorial.

Carionis spoke from behind me, looking rather out of place with his leathers, Mohawk, and piercings. “Do you want to come? I’m sure you’re invited, too.”

“Can my friends come?”
 

He looked at Mark and Darryl, as if calculating their coffin size, before nodding his head. “I guess they can. Follow my motorcycle.”
 

Carionis walked fast, so we ran to my car in a hurry. We saw his motorcycle streak by, and I stepped on the accelerator to follow him.
 

The burial was a short ceremony, also attended by Arthur’s two siblings and his mother. They spoke with Shannon and Elizabeth afterwards, while we hung in the background next to Matro and Detherina. Darryl and Mark kept sneaking peeks at Shannon’s gorgeous, intimidating Aarmark mother like they couldn’t believe she was real.

Shannon glanced my way several times, and each time, I offered her a thumb’s up. I’d never been a cool guy, so I was running out of ideas about how to act with her.
 

Mark chuckled. “You’re killing me,” he said.
 

“What?” I hissed.

“Your geekiness knows no bounds.”

I covertly flashed him the middle finger. “Whatever.”

Once the small crowd had dispersed, Shannon came over to us. “I’m going home now. I’ll be in class tomorrow.” She gave me a gloomy smile.

“I’ll call you tonight.”