Parahuman (Parahuman Series) Page 22

  “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 m
ore 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.

  “What?”

  “Since we probably won’t have school tomorrow, what are your plans?”

  Devan had no idea what to say. “Uhh…I’m not sure.”

  “What do you usually do?” She asked sounding interested.

  “Run, climb,” he said.

  Laney’s face was turning red before his eyes as she seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say. “You shouldn’t be climbing with that arm, or running too much after your blood loss, but maybe we could go hiking a little bit…together.”

  Devan could have told her that he would be almost in top working condition tomorrow, but he was sidetrack by her offer. “Together?” Devan repeated, nonplussed. Her suggestion for some reason wasn’t computing.

  She looked at him with a smile softly curving her mouth; a smile that spread from one rosy cheek to the other. “Well yes. I like to climb, and run, and hike, too. How about I come over about ten o’clock tomorrow, okay?” Not waiting for a reply to her question, she jumped from the jeep. “Make sure you get some rest, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Devan stared after Laney in amazement as she ran toward her truck. He had only been echoing her statement but she seemed to have taken it as an agreement to a rendezvous. Was there a polite way to get out of it? Did he want to get out of it? The only way that was going to be possible now was for him to call her since she had run off so fast. He did have her number on his phone given to him the night of the peer gathering.

  Laney slid into her vehicle with a wave. Devan stared after her as she drove away. She gave the appearance of having no problem with what he was, and her acceptance felt…great…no amazing. Relief beyond anything he’d ever known flowed through him. But there was also another part of him that was exceedingly anxious.

  Another person knew his secret. He knew he was placing a great deal of trust in Laney, and even though he truly believed she wouldn’t tell anyone his secret it still left him feeling edgy.

  These feelings of edginess made Devan brood over the power of Laney’s touch; the rush of heat that flooded his body and tensed his muscles. He grew up only experiencing analytical manners of touching; when he was measured, examined or poked with needles. However, when Laney touched him it in no way felt analytical; it felt like nothing he had ever experienced before. Each time she laid her hand on him it was an emotional experience. When she had tended to his arm, the concern and anxiety in her eyes, the soft touch of her hands; no one, not even Brett had ever displayed that level of emotion toward him before. It made his throat constrict in…in what he still didn’t know. Devan knew he was beyond thankful that it had been him that was hurt and not Laney. The thought of that…

  His mind shied away from those thoughts and shifted to the wolves. What was with their strange behavior this morning and why had they come onto populated school grounds? Wolves typically stayed away from people. For a pack of them to stroll into a school yard was extremely bazaar. It would be like a person strolling into a wolf’s den and sitting down in the middle of them. It just wasn’t done.

  Sick or diseased wolves were sometimes reported straying into populated areas, but this was a rare occurrence; for a whole pack of them to stray was—a quick calculation in his head—one in eight hundred seventy six million, two hundred fifty three. The number was probably even higher since this was the only known wolf pack known to exist in Colorado at the moment.

  The way those wolves had methodically searched that parking lot wasn’t the actions of sick animals…they had been searching or hunting for something. The pursuit had been so consuming that they had even risked the presence of countless people to look for it, and Devan couldn’t shake the feeling that he was the focus of their hunt. But why?

  The way they had all honed in on his jeep and then moved to the storage building; those actions had been purposeful, not random. Everything about the packs behavior wasn’t normal; their conduct outside the building, the way that single wolf had jumped through the window, and how it had attacked and come back for more…it was all exceedingly out of the ordinary.

  Animals did have strange reactions to his scent; it was quite possible they had just taken an extreme aversion to his presence in their territory. They were canine and he was part feline. However, the size and facial structure of the wolves were a disquieting element and something he couldn’t ignore.

  When moving to Silverton Devan had committed to memory the layout of the entire town. There was only one veterinary clinic and it was the most likely place they would have taken that dead wolf. He would have to go past The Diner to get to the vet’s possibly bringing attention to himself. However, he’d noted the great number of vehicles lining the street near that establishment as he drove into town so another vehicle would probably go relatively unnoticed.

  He had to take care of one thing here at the school though. He drove his jeep over near the athletic building. Police tape stretched across the broken door, rollup door, and window, but after taking a quick examination of the grounds to make sure no one was watching he ducked under the tape and stepped inside. Blood still covered the ground where the wolf had bled out, but Devan wasn’t interested in that. He was here to remove any evidence of his presence.

  He went and stood in the spot he’d hoisted Laney into the rafters, and rolled the morning’s scene through his head where the wolf had crashed into him from behind. It was like a movie playing in his head. He saw himself lifting Laney and then her yelling a warning as the wolf crashed into his back. The weight of the wolf made him stumble forward and this caused his glasses to fly off his face. Devan could see them soar through the air several feet before landing on the ground and sliding under the same stack of track and field hurdles he’d thrown the wolf into earlier.

  He delved into the twisted mess and unearthed the demolished glasses, putting them in his pocket to get rid of later. Walking over to the window Devan checked out the sill to ensure he’d left no blood behind. He’d been careful when he’d climbed out but also in hurry.

  He was happy to see that his carefulness had paid off. He’d dripped blood as he’d snuck away and there was some on the roof of the school, but no one besides him or another animal would discern small drops of blood in the grass, and it was scheduled to rain in two days so that would wash away the blood on the roof. It was extremely unlikely someone would go up there before it rained and even if they did the roof was black making the blood barely noticeable.

  He exited the building still aware of his surro
undings, hopped in his jeep and headed for the veterinary clinic. Passing through town it looked like the weekend; cars lined the street and The Diner was overflowing with the town citizens. Devan took note of Laney’s truck, as well as Hali’s, and Jarrod’s along the street.

  The Veterinary clinic was just a couple buildings down from The Diner on the opposite side of the road. Finding a spot a further bit down the road he parked.

  The Clinic wasn’t a customary office building, but rather it was someone’s home and they ran their office out of it. The residence looked deserted with no vehicles present in the driveway, but Devan knocked on the door just in case. The only sound he received in reply was barking.

  The door was unlocked of course; no one locked their houses in these towns. Poking his head in he called out, “Anyone home?”

  No person answered, but he did get more barking from a dog in the other room. It sounded like a large breed by the timbre of the bark.

  The house smelled like a variety of animals had passed through it on the way to getting their checkups, but there was no smell of the wolf anywhere inside this home. Stepping back out of the house Devan went around to the back.

  Directly behind and to the right of the home was a building set up to lodge animals for overnight treatment. Breathing in deeply he could smell that the dead wolf had definitely come this way. Looking around cautiously, he hurried over and stepped inside the building.

  The entrance consisted of an animal emergency room with an examining table and beyond that was a cold room; the most likely place to hold a dead animal so it wouldn’t start to smell. Opening that door Devan found what he was searching for.

  On the floor was the wolf. It took up quite a large area of the floor. Whoever had hauled it in had used a blue tarp to transfer it. There wasn’t a lot of blood—the animal having bled out at the school—so it really didn’t look all that macabre.