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The next morning, even before we were halfway down the driveway, the three stooges approached from the direction Noah disappeared yesterday and I traded a glance with Julia.
“I hope we don’t offend Noah, but we’re going to have to ditch him after school today,” I said.
“I’m sure we’ll think of something.”
I shifted and offered a strained smile. “I hope you won’t get offended, either,” I said, knowing she would be upset by this little revelation. However, both Ben and Danny said it could be dangerous for mortals to join us.
Her eyes narrowed.
“They said it would be dangerous,” I added before she could get all revved up.
“So? Being at the beach was dangerous, too. I came out of that all right.”
“It isn’t under discussion, Julia. I’m going somewhere you can’t follow.” I turned away before she could argue, planting a smile on my face for the approaching trio.
“Hey,” Noah nodded, his gaze jumping from me to Julia and back like he was dissecting the mood or something. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” Julia answered from behind me and I gave a nod, following her lead.
“I’m just not thrilled about going to school today after all the crap that happened yesterday,” I said and met Julia’s gaze, voicing some of my underlying unease. I didn’t know if Joe planned an ambush, and I wasn’t thrilled to find out.
“I don’t think those guys will bother you today,” Noah said. “They were pretty beat up and I’d be willing to bet they’re making up some shit story about how many guys handed them their asses.”
Both Ben and Danny suppressed a grin and I shrugged, hoping like hell he was right. We walked the rest of the way in a morning stupor, not talking much until we separated at the door, Julia and I heading in one direction and Ben, Danny and Noah heading in the opposite direction.
It never occurred to me that Joe and his friends would continue their taunting to save face until one of his friends grabbed Julia and yanked her away from me. I spun right into the path of Joe’s flying fist and reacted.
I’m not sure who was more surprised when I caught his fist inches from my face. But I kept my cool, staring him down.
“I suggest you tell your buddy to let my girlfriend go,” I said and pushed his fist away. “Otherwise, we’re going to have another scene. And this time, there will be more than just Julia and me as witnesses.” I raised my eyebrow, challenging him.
“I swear...” Joe started but I cut him off.
“What? That you’re going to pummel me? Bullshit. Now back off before I send you to the emergency room.”
A shadow crossed his face and for the first time, I felt another human’s fear as palpable as a hunger pang and it came along with a warning gasp. It threw me off and I stepped back, picking up the backpack that dropped when Julia was pulled away. I turned to the thug holding her, meeting her frightened gaze before leveling a glare at the idiot with his arm wrapped around her neck.
“You want to let her go?”
Glances were exchanged and for a minute I didn’t think he was going to listen. Every muscle in my body tensed in preparation of another swing, but Joe just nodded and the kid let Julia go. She straightened her shirt out and stepped by my side, sending a how-dare-you glare at the boys surrounding us.
This was a kid unaccustomed to being bested in front of his friends and if I didn’t diffuse this situation, it might become explosive.
“Look, I get it. We’re new, fresh blood, so to speak, but I’m serious, you need to back off and leave us alone. I won’t humiliate you if you stop bothering us. Deal?”
His face reddened and Julia rolled her eyes at my less than delicate peacekeeping skills.
“What he means is we don’t want any trouble,” she started but the bell interrupted and the kids scattered, leaving us alone in the hallway.
“How did you do that?” she asked when we were the only ones left.
“I didn’t have time to think. I just reacted.”
“I didn’t know you were that strong,” she whispered, her voice filled with enough awe to make me smile.
“Physical therapy has benefits beyond just plain torture,” I grinned and took her hand, heading in the direction of our first class.
The rest of the morning went by without another altercation and even though I believed our situation with Joe and his gang had been put to rest, I still tensed up when we walked into the lunch room. No heads turned like yesterday and I let the breath I was holding slowly filter out from between my lips.
The lunch line was smaller today and we zipped through before I had a chance to get my bearings. I turned toward the table scanning the room and blinked. Chills settled into my bones and I wished to god I had my knife with me.
The room was full of reapers.
There had to be enough black-cloaked figures to account for the number of students in the cafeteria and my gaze snapped toward the window; toward the darkening sky outside. Warning alarms in my head began to sound and the tray teetered in my grip. When Julia spoke, it sounded like someone had switched real-time into a slow motion parody.
My gaze traveled over the sea of black to the table where Ben and Danny sat on either side of Noah. Their eyes were glued to the window like they were expecting the brewing storm beyond the giant plate glass while Noah chattered on, clueless to the pending danger.
It took a moment for Ben to meet my gaze. The slight shake of his head was all I needed, but even so, his voice resounded in my head, confirming my fears. This is all part of the master plan.
The crack of thunder jump-started time again and I dropped my tray and turned, knocking Julia’s tray out of her hands. A sound that reminded me of a freight train filled the cafeteria and I grabbed Julia, sweeping her feet from under her. I followed her down to the ground, wrapping my arms around her waist and rolling until she hit the wall. I stretched, covering her with my body just as the window shattered inward, swirling deadly shards outside the funnel rotation.
Closing my eyes, I put my forehead to hers, pretending we were encased in a protective pod while the rest of the cafeteria was ravaged by a tornado that had formed right outside the window.
Screams blended with twisting metal and I clenched my jaw against the urge to expand our protection. I knew better. If I interceded, a more catastrophic event would take the place of this already horrifying situation. That knowledge didn’t do anything to quell the burn of injustice gripping my stomach.
I squeezed Julia tighter, aware of her ragged breathing. I chanced opening my eyes and found her gaze locked on mine. Terror filled her eyes and a teardrop splashed on her cheek. I wasn’t aware I was crying until that moment and I closed my eyes again, letting the heat of my tears slide down onto her.
Wind howled around us, drowning all sound except the rush of air, and then an eerie quiet descended. The only movement I could discern was Julia under me, her breath hitching in her chest. I unwrapped my arms from around her and pushed up onto my elbows, coughing at the dust hanging in the misty air.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She shook her head and fear froze me in place. I blinked at the silence surrounding us and turned to look at what was left of the cafeteria.
Every person sat staring at us with dropped jaws and not a thing was out of place. Bright sunshine filtered in the window along with a view of a bright-blue cloudless sky.
“What the hell?” I muttered and rolled off Julia, sitting up and surveying the dumped trays before running a shaky hand through my hair. If I could have crawled into oblivion at that moment, I would have.
I got to my feet and offered Julia a hand without meeting her questioning stare. The sounds of kids resuming lunch filled the room and I couldn’t bring myself to look at Julia, or anyone else for that matter.
“Nick, what just happened?” she whispered after she brushed herself off.
All I could do was shrug, because I was still asking myself the same question.
A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I turned toward the owner. Mr. Laramee, the vice-principal, stood looking down his nose at me in that all-too-familiar glare.
“Son, I don’t have any idea what you were thinking, but you could have seriously hurt this girl,” he said. “We don’t tackle other students, understand?”
“I thought...” I stopped myself before I said too much. “I’m sorry,” I said, amending my sentence before I confirmed that I was a total lunatic.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
I met his gaze and both his eyes and lips narrowed.
“Are you high?”
“No, sir,” I said and shifted my weight.
“You’re eyes are red, are you sure you haven’t taken anything?” he pressed.
Now I was getting aggravated. “No, I haven’t taken anything, sir.”
“Then I think you need to head to the nurses office and get those eyes checked out.”
I nodded. Anything that took me away from the cafeteria and the snooping stares of the other students worked for me.
“I’ll go with him,” Julia said and stepped beside me.
We headed down the hall toward the nurses office at the front of the school and as soon as we rounded the corner out of Mr. Laramee’s sight, I stopped and leaned against the wall. My legs shook under my weight and I nearly collapsed.
“Nick?” Julia’s soft voice beckoned and I glanced at her.
“I saw a tornado, Jules. It ripped through the cafeteria and nearly everyone died.” A loud buzz filled my head and my legs gave out. I slid into a sitting position on the floor and concentrated on breathing until the high-pitched whine diminished.
She squatted and took my hands in hers without saying a word. Her brow furrowed in thought and I wondered if what I witnessed was a glimpse of the future or if I was truly going insane.