Parahuman (Parahuman Series) Read online

“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.

  “This is my dad’s business.” She lifted her eyes from the trail to look at him. “One day it will be mine, and I feel I have an invested interest in who’s hired.”

  Okay, maybe this did relate to her, but her face held passion and he respected her for that. She had a future plan for herself centered on something she evidently loved.

  Unexpected despondency swept through him as he became aware of the inadequacy of his own life. Devan was expected to continue to augment his knowledge, and he enjoyed learning new things, but how was this knowledge going to be helpful to someone who was basically a fugitive. What exactly was his knowledge going to be used for?

  Devan tore his gaze from her passionate expression to the trail. “It must be nice to know your plans for the future.” He said impassively.

  Laney looked at him for a moment and then switched her gaze to the trail also.

  “No one ever knows their plans for the future,” she commented softly. “Things change, events happen, the only thing you can do is be content with who you are and adapt yourself to the surroundings.”

  Devan’s head swiveled back at her poignant words and the emotions emanating from her voice. She was starring at the hikers ahead of them, her face guarded, but he could see tightness around her eyes. It had seemed like she had been trying to make him feel better, and in the process had upset herself. Why would she do that?

  Nevertheless, her words resonated deep inside him.

  They walked silently, both immersed in their own thoughts. Devan was curious as to what had caused her distress, and then he had to question again; why was he interested? What was it about this girl that was inspiring such interest from him?

  After about forty-five minutes of walking the group stepped out from under the canopy of the trees into the sunshine. It
was a cloudless day and the temperature was around forty-four. Everyone stopped and took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the surroundings.

  The view was one of those picturesque scenes of rolling mountains and deep valleys with an abundance of wildlife and flowing rivers. Animals were everywhere, although a majority was inaccessible to the average eye. Many of those animals in the immediate vicinity had already begun to scatter in alarm as a result of the noise and human scent.

  The hikers took this time to grab a drink and snap some pictures. Nick used the time to explain his intended route.

  “We going to continue up this mountain and at the top you will be able to look down into Red Rock Valley and the Colorado River. We will be hiking down to the river to have our lunch.”

  “Will we be able to see any animals?” Becky, one of the mother’s, asked.

  Devan had noticed when the families first arrived that all the women had a strong scent of perfume about them; combined with the noise everyone was making, he doubted any animals would be lingering for long.

  “I can’t promise anything, noise can travel a long way out here, but if we are quiet there’s always a possibility.” Nick replied, leaving them with a little more optimism. He didn’t mention anything about their smell, and Devan had to assume he was trying to be delicate about it; that or his sense of smell was completely damaged.

  As they continued the hike up the mountain Nick pointed out landmarks in the distance. Devan took up the rear again trying to dismiss Laney as she talked with Teresa, the other mother. Of course his hearing wouldn’t allow her to be ignored. And he had to admit he was curious about their conversation.

  “You’re so lucky, being able to come out here all the time.” Teresa exclaimed, looking around with wonder.

  “Yes I am, I thank God everyday for this beauty,” Laney replied.

  Devan detected complete candor in her tone, like she really did thank God. In one of Devan’s independent studies he had read about many god figures and deities—there were many out there to choose from. Different cultures believed in different things. It was difficult for him to imagine some spiritual being in charge of everything while other lesser spiritual beings caused disruption. He was more likely to believe in the chaos theory…which he did not.

  “Yes, well, sure.” Teresa seemed uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, as though unsure as how to respond to Laney’s declaration.

  Laney continued though, either oblivious or undaunted by Teresa’s unease. “You can’t help looking around at this and think someone out there created this; nothing this beautiful happened by accident.” Laney waved her arm around at nature with a smile of…he wasn’t sure what kind of smile it was, but it seemed to hold a secret. He found himself staring at it absorbedly before she turned away.

  Devan recognized that she truly believed what she was saying. It was possible she was one of those religious fanatics that he’d read about; maybe that was what the secret smile was about.

  Teresa didn’t look as if she was getting any more comfortable with the conversation.

  “If you guys consider hiking again you should let us take you to an old mining cave just over those mountains.” Laney voiced with excitement and pointed to the east. The rapid change of subject seemed to be an effort of taking pity on the woman’s discomfort. Devan wasn’t sure but he thought he detected a hint of resignation attached to Laney’s redirected conversation.

  “That sounds really interesting,” Teresa gushed, grabbing at the change in conversation as though it was a lifeline. Laney smiled in response and continued to go into further detail about the mining cave. By the end of the discussion Teresa seemed to have forgotten her discomfort from earlier, and was talking to the other female hiker, Becky, about coming back to look at the mining cave. Laney answered questioned they posed for her.

  Soon after they were cresting the top of the mountain; at the bottom the Colorado River wound its way through the valley floor.

  The hikers got lucky and were actually able to see four elk walking a mile down the mountain. The elk were probably barely visible to the group, but that didn’t stop them from getting their cameras out to shoot pictures, trying to zoom in as close as their mega pixels would allow. It didn’t take long for the elk to hear all the commotion and gallop off into the tree line.

  After the group acquired all their pictures and refreshed themselves everyone continued down the mountain to the river. By now everyone had their jackets unzipped as the sun and their body temperatures warmed. Laney and her father still appeared fresh after the ninety minute, three mile hike. The families on the other hand were walking a bit slower; Devan heard the two teens complaining about their feet. Even, Johnny, the ten year old was losing a little bit of his stamina.

  Devan was walking next to Laney in the back of the line, again, when he noticed she was staring intently at his forearms. She glanced up and seemed embarrassed about getting caught staring at his arm because her skin flushed and she turned hastily away. Devan watched the crimson color spread out from the center of her face and down her neck; it was quite remarkable really, the way the color flooded almost every inch of her skin.

  She didn’t appear to appreciate his contemplation of her blush; the narrowing of her eyes was an obvious indicator.

  “I wasn’t checking you out,” Laney burst out huffily.

  The direction of the conversation startled him. Checking him out? For what? “Okay,” Devan agreed cautiously.

  “I was just noticing that the hair on your arm matches the hair on your head. I was positive it was colored.” She declared testily, and bluntly. Why was she so annoyed?

  Of course most people assumed he colored his hair, it was a natural assumption. You don’t normally see hair that’s brown, gray, orange, and white.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Unaccountably, Devan found himself offering an apology and an explanation. “I’ve just never observed someone’s internal temperature rise so intensely outside the use of physical exertion.”

  Her face lost its indignation, but not its ruddiness. She raised her eyebrow, her expression going completely serious.

  “Are you calling me a tomato?”

  Devan frowned in confusion. “I don’t think I was…was I?” He asked tentatively. Sometimes hidden meanings were filtered out of words and sentences that completely escaped Devan’s notice.

  Laney gave him a look of deep contemplation before answering. “People have made comments that my face can turn as red as a tomato.”

  Devan shook his head to correct her. “No, I wasn’t referring to the color but to how rapidly it covered your entire face as well as your neckline. It is highly improbable that your skin would turn as red as a tomato from just an internal temperature rise, it would take a severe sunburn to get that shade of red.”

  Both Laney’s eyebrows rose and a smile pulled up the corners of her mouth. “Yes...well…my red face aside I should apologize for my outburst. I’m usually not so rude; not most of the time anyway.” Her smile turned a bit sheepish.

  “It’s not necessarily rude to state the obvious.” Devan extended. He found he wanted to alleviate her guilt, but he also realized that he was actually enjoying their conversation and wanted it to continue.

  “Actually it can be quite rude to state the obvious sometimes. Like, if someone has a really big nose or a huge pimple on their face. I doubt that person would appreciate the obvious being pointed out.” Laney laughed. “As it is, I could have been less blunt.”

  Devan smiled at her depiction. “You’re not going to let it go, are you?”

  “No,” she admitted still smiling. Devan could feel himself starring; pulling his eyes away from hers he returned them to the landscape. “Not to be obviously blunt again, but your hair color is rather unusual. Not in a bad way, I quite like it actually.”

  “You don’t think it’s strange?” He asked curiously.

  “Yes, but strange is not necessarily a
bad thing,” she said, rephrasing his words, “and, hey, most people try to get their hair that way on purpose.”

  That was true; several people had asked him how he colored his hair in hopes of attaining the same result. It was kind of funny because it was only in the last year that he had stopped coloring his hair. Before that both he and Brett had dyed their hair to disguise their looks somewhat. It had been a relief when Brett had said they could go back to their natural appearance; having to continually dye his hair had been a pain. The smell had been horrible.

  “It must be difficult moving in the middle of the school year, having to leave friends, start all over again.” Laney remarked, changing the conversation onto a more typical subject.

  Devan shrugged. If she only knew how often he had moved and started over again, and again, and that he had no friends to leave behind.

  “Well I know of a few coaches’ who will be delighted to see you. Do you play any sports?”

  This was another typical subject approached by many who saw his size. Larger males normally were involved in sports; this seemed especially prevalent in small towns. It wasn’t generally accepted with good grace by those deeply involved in the sports arena when he told them he didn‘t play. Some people seemed to think he was their ticket to a championship or something.

  “No, I have other interests.” Devan replied elusively.

  “Couch Robertson, the basketball coach, is going to be heartbroken.” Laney sighed dramatically with a hand to her chest.

  “It is not my intent to break his heart.” Devan commented. For some reason this elicited a chuckle from Laney, which in turn caused a rush of warmth to spear Devan’s chest. He rubbed at it absently.

  Further conversation was put on hold as they reached the base of the mountain. The walk down had been made at a quicker pace—with the help of gravity— and the prospect of stopping and having lunch was rejuvenating the group. Laney and her father began setting up lunch in an open area close to the river. While they did this the families strolled around taking pictures of everything.

  Devan stood off to the side watching, unsure of his role. Thankfully, Nick yelled that lunch was ready after only a few minutes. A buffet of sandwiches, cut up vegetables, and fruit was laid out on a picnic blanket. The families sat themselves down and dug in.