Mania Page 3

Either way, I’d gotten very good at hiding.

  It felt so weird to be able to openly refer to Danny as my dad. I’d always known he was—it wasn’t ever kept a secret from me, but it was something we never shared with anyone else. He told some people that he was looking out for a friend’s kid, others that he was training me; whatever lie he felt worked best for the situation.

  But I was never allowed to call him “Dad” even in private. He was afraid I might then slip up in public and somehow reveal our secret. Parker was the only thing he felt vulnerable about; he was terrified people could use Parker to hurt him. His son, his weak spot.

  He could never let his enemies find out he had more than one of us.

  In the back of my mind, I remembered the only time I’d called him Dad. I was eight, and it just took two seconds for him to lift me up and pin my back against the wall.

  “Danny—not Dad,” he growled, glancing over his shoulder even though we were completely alone. “Never Dad … do you understand?”

  My lungs burned with the need for air, but I was proud I kept my emotions in check as I nodded. He released me and I slid down the wall.

  He might have been rough, but his tactics worked. I’d never made that mistake again.

  I surveyed the land, trying to remember everything as it was the last time I’d been here, five years ago. Ten feet in front of me stood the remains of the makeshift fire pit where we’d cooked our meals many nights. Ten feet to my right was the spot Dad had set up a target and taught me to use first a slingshot, then a BB gun, and eventually throwing knives. About a mile over the rise to the left, he’d set up a shooting range and taught me to fire a rifle and then a handgun. We’d been here longer than anywhere, but almost every sign of it was gone now. How fast Mother Nature could wipe away every footstep we’d left behind.

  My feet took me further into the lot without a thought to guide them. There was a clear spot here where nothing grew. No weeds, no wildflowers—no beauty of the land broke through this soil. A vivid memory came floating back; Dad had poured so much rock salt in this spot I wasn’t sure if anything would ever grow here again. I smiled tightly and my chest twisted with bittersweet pain. Even nature couldn’t erase Dad completely.

  Dust swirled around my feet as a breeze kicked up. I could still see Dad standing across the empty lot from me, waiting for me to attack—teaching me to fight—teaching me to kill.

  “Come at me high.” He bent his knees and waited. His eyes, always rimmed with shadows and exhaustion, somehow still looked alert and ready for whatever attack I had planned.

  I’d circled him, hands up, blocking as I searched his stance, his body, and his eyes for weakness. Find the weakness and you’ve won. He’d taught me that lesson time and again. There was always a weakness.

  Then I saw it—the slight dragging of his right foot, the smallest hint there was something wrong. He’d been cornered by some Takers the day before. I knew there’d been a fight, but he’d said everything was fine when he came home. Standing up straight, I dropped my hands and stepped forward.

  “You got hurt?”

  He pounced before I could take a breath. I got one arm up in time to absorb the blow from his fist, but he swung his right foot out—the one he’d been dragging only an instant before—and I was on my back, his forearm cutting off my oxygen before I could blink.

  I struggled against him. Pushing and shoving with all my strength, fighting for the air I knew I needed. But I was only eleven, and he had me out-muscled and out-maneuvered on every side. As always, Dad kept me trapped until my vision started to darken and my body shook with the desperate ache for air before releasing me.

  Coughing, I rolled onto my side to face him as rich, sweet oxygen flowed into my lungs and through my veins. He paced in front of me with no sign of injury, the slight limp from before completely gone. My head pounded as I climbed to my feet.

  “You—you’re not hurt?” Still dizzy, I rested my hands on my knees to regain my balance.

  “No.” He looked a little sad behind his smile and I wondered how much I’d disappointed him.

  “Then why—?”

  “Because, Jack.” He shook his head and sighed. “I was going after your weakness.”

  As I stepped across the overgrown lot now, I heard a light second step somewhere behind me. Abruptly, my instincts brought my mind fully back to the present. There was someone else here—right here, right now—and they were setting my senses on edge.

  I casually moved another step forward, behaving exactly as before but now with all my focus on my stalker, whoever it was. I kicked a rock across the landscape and watched it bounce as I rested my shovel on the ground in front of me.

  There … a crunch of dirt, behind me to the left. Then a muffled footstep, two … I waited again, another moment until he was close enough. Now—

  I spun into a crouch and grabbed the two sneakered feet in front of me. I didn’t recognize the vibrant purple laces until I’d already jerked up and toward me.

  Chloe fell hard onto her back, and I had her pinned to the ground before she could react. Her wide gray eyes stared at me in shock as she struggled to catch the breath I’d knocked out of her. A strand of her white-blond hair was stuck to her dark eyelashes and she blinked, trying to make it fall away.

  Reaching up, I hooked one finger under the strand and pulled it to the side. My motion caught her off guard, and she watched me closely as she panted. My heart beat fast in my chest and I quickly moved off her. Chloe was very smart, and she already knew how to get under my skin.

  I wasn’t about to show her that there were probably a few more ways she could do that.

  “What are you doing here?” I kept my voice low and my anger in check, forcing back the guilt I felt when she winced and rubbed the back of her head.

  “What do you think, genius? I snuck into the back of your van because I can’t get enough of the smell of oil and old upholstery?” She struggled up onto her elbows. “I’m here to help.”

  “You shouldn’t have come.” I hopped to my feet and held out a hand to her, but she glared at it and stood up on her own.

  “Let me help.” A weed was tangled up in the hair on the right side of her head. I stared at it, trying to decide whether it was a good idea to touch her again.

  She shifted her weight to one side and rubbed her hands against her jeans to brush the dirt off. Her eyes never left me, and finally she said, “What are you looking at?”

  I grunted under my breath. My hand approached and she froze, eyeing me warily.

  Taking another step closer, I closed my fingers around her shoulder and reached for the weed. Once I’d freed it, I held it in front of her eyes before releasing it to the ground at our feet. “Why?”

  She cleared her throat twice. “W-why what?”

  “Why would you even want to come with me?” The skin of her shoulder had felt hot beneath my fingers. I flexed my hand as I dropped it back to my side.

  She bent forward, flipping her hair upside down and running her fingers through the strands to shake out another weed and some dirt. Then she stood upright and was suddenly very close—too close—but I wasn’t going to be the one to back away.

  She finally answered. “Because I want to make sure you aren’t going to disappear or back out on me, Jack. This is too important to me … to all of us.”

  I sighed. “Do you trust anyone?”

  “No.”

  “Why don’t you go home to your family?” I watched her for any reaction. After monitoring her for those first couple weeks, I’d eased up. I’d figured my options were either to let her go—and, if she betrayed us, not save her life with the new formula—or tie her up and watch her constantly. I didn’t have time to do that, and Parker’s mom would definitely have frowned on me keeping a prisoner in the storage room.

  “I—” She looked away and withd
rew a step, turning her back on me. “I just need to make sure you don’t forget our deal.”

  “Fine, but the first time you get in my way or slow me down … ”

  “I won’t.” She glanced at me over her shoulder, her sudden smile distracting.

  I bent over and picked up my shovel, muttering as I walked over to the spot where our trailer had once been parked. “It isn’t if, it’s when.”

  It was clear from Chloe’s expression that she’d heard me and didn’t appreciate it. She gestured at the area I’d been pacing on earlier. “I hate to interrupt all of … this, but are you just going to walk around and stare at the ground all day or are we here trying to accomplish something?”

  I pushed my knuckles hard against my forehead, fighting off the wave of memories that threatened to wrap me up and wash away what was left of me. “We’ll do something.”

  “And what’s that?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “We’re going to dig, and I don’t know how deep we have to go.” My voice was grimmer than I intended, but her attitude was bothering me and we’d only just started.

  When she walked over, I passed her the shovel and plastered a cold grin on my face. “You get to go first.”

  Four

  Parker

  I sat on the couch with Finn watching a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of an old Bruce Lee movie. Finn’s shirt today was one of my favorites. It said, Dear Math, I’m not a therapist. Solve your own problems.

  Classic Finn.

  Addie and Mia were supposed to be here soon, and I was having a hard time sitting still while I waited. I needed Addie. Everything with my brother had been so uncomfortable lately, and she somehow always knew exactly the right thing to say or do to make me feel better.

  Jack had been gone for over an hour. He’d probably reached Logandale by now. As always, his first instinct was to leave me behind. I was sure I could’ve helped somehow … if he’d let me.

  I was getting really sick of being shut out.

  The doorbell rang. I hopped up immediately and went to answer it. Addie smiled at me brightly from the porch steps and my tension began to seep away immediately. Mia stood just behind her and gave a little wave.

  “Are you ready?” Addie asked.

  “Yeah, Jack’s gone. Come on in.” I leaned over for a quick kiss before backing toward my room. “I’ll grab the laptop and meet you guys at the table.”

  Addie had her pen and notebook out by the time I came back. The TV was off and the three of them were waiting expectantly for me to return with the laptop.

  Addie scanned her notes. “So, last time we were looking for references to Eclipse and came up pretty empty—”

  Finn interrupted. “If you’re certain we should rule out any reference to vampires … ”

  “I’m sure.” I laughed as I opened the computer and pushed the power button.

  Mia smiled at Finn and shook her head before giving me a sympathetic glance. “And the time before that, we looked up your dad.”

  “Right.” I popped the knuckles on my right hand and forced myself not to show how much it hurt me to talk about him. “Didn’t find much there either, except for the police reports from when Mom reported him missing.”

  “So what do we research this time?” Mia asked.

  I scratched the back of my neck and thought for a minute. “Let’s look up any news about Benton Air Force Base first.”

  “Got it.” Addie jotted my suggestion onto her list and I typed the words into my browser. Finn scooted around the end of the table and read over my shoulder.

  “Most of these are about the base closing in 1987 … ” I glanced over at Finn as I scrolled down the page. “Let me know if you see anything different.”

  He nodded and squinted as he stared at the screen.

  Midway down, I spotted an article from last month. “Here’s one.”

  Opening it, I skimmed through, reading the important parts aloud. “Base used to be a central training hub for new Air Force pilots … it stood vacant and abandoned for so many years … ” Then I stopped and stared at the words.

  “What?” Addie asked, but I couldn’t find my voice to answer.

  Finn took over for me, sounding like he felt guilty for even speaking the words. “Until an explosion rocked the base in the early morning hours yesterday. Initial reports indicate some kind of gas leak may have caused the explosion, but the investigation is ongoing.”

  I swallowed hard and scrolled further down.

  Finn continued before I even had a chance to speak, and I was grateful. “Reports have come in that bodies were found among the rubble, and it is believed that some of the local homeless population may have been using the base for shelter … ”

  I stared at the words. My dad could’ve been one of the bodies they found. They might have buried him a month ago with a plain marker and no name. The thought made me feel sick, and I pushed out my chair abruptly and got to my feet. My friends didn’t say a word as I walked past them and into the backyard.

  After a minute, Addie came out to sit with me. She slipped her hand into mine and sat in silence. I watched a family of bluebirds nesting in a tree a few feet away. They flitted about from branch to branch, chirping to each other—singing. It was nice. Soothing, somehow.

  “Finn finished the search.” Addie’s voice was soft and tinged with worry. “That was the only article written about the base in the last ten years.”

  “What if they found my dad and buried him somewhere?” I asked after thirty more seconds of silence, looking into her hazel eyes. “What if he has a grave and we can’t find him? We can’t visit … can’t mourn him right. No one had a funeral or showed up for him.”

  “You both showed up.” Addie shook her head hard. “You and Jack tried to save him, and instead, he saved you. Don’t take the meaning of that away.”

  “I know.” I sighed and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. Addie rubbed her hand gently across my back. “I just wish there was somewhere I could go to feel close to him again. The base has been the only thing I had … and now, knowing they removed some of the bodies, I’m not sure it would feel the same anymore.”

  “Your dad didn’t sound like the type to stay in one place.” Addie rubbed the tips of her fingers across my knuckles as she thought. “Given the choice, he probably wouldn’t have wanted a grave anyway. Judging from the way he lived his life, he probably would’ve wanted to be scattered in the breeze somewhere.”

  I closed my eyes, feeling the truth in her words slightly mend my pain. Jack hadn’t answered most of my questions about our dad yet, but still, I knew this part was true.

  “And if you need a place to feel like you’re close to him … ” Addie leaned over, resting her head on my shoulder. “You figure out where you want that to be, and find your own way to say goodbye. You know we’ll all be there with you whenever you need.”

  I sat up straight and wrapped both of my arms around her, kissing her softly. “You know I love you, right?”

  “You better.” She grinned up at me and winked. “I’m kind of awesome.”

  “You’re extremely awesome.”

  “Glad you think so.” Addie tucked my hair back, then she kissed my neck lightly and my heart sped up. She whispered, “Because I love you back.”

  Finn cleared his throat from the doorway and we both pulled back to look at him. He was staring straight up at the sky like he couldn’t handle glancing directly at us.

  “It’s safe to look.” Addie laughed. “You know that seeing us kiss won’t burn out your eyes or anything.”

  “Eh … better not to risk it,” Finn muttered as he walked out to us holding a large yellow envelope. “This just got dropped off. It’s addressed to you, Parker.”

  I took it, assuming it was probably some packet of college information.
Now that Mom and I agreed I had a future to plan for, I swear she’d started requesting info packets from every university this side of the Mississippi.

  But when I flipped it over to check out which school had caught her attention this time, there was no return address label. And when I read my name, my heart skipped a beat. That handwriting … I may not have been able to understand the formula Dad gave Jack, but I’d looked at it enough times to recognize his sloppy scribbles.

  I didn’t know how or why, but I’d just received a package from my dead father.

  FIVE

  Jack

  This spot had to be it. I’d been thinking about it for a while—it was the only spot that made sense. Dad had always planned to hide something on the lot. He tried to leave something small buried everyplace we stayed, and we’d stayed at this place the longest.

  I stopped digging for a minute. The day was getting warmer, and even though it wasn’t noon yet, it was still mid-summer and the manual labor made me sweat. Wiping my hand across my forehead, I looked over at Chloe. She’d spread out my leather jacket on the dusty ground and was sitting on it.

  I remembered Dad wearing that jacket while he explained why the spot between the tree and the barren patch of ground we practiced fighting on was the best place to bury something.

  “You can’t choose your spots based on anything that will change,” he’d said, pacing back and forth between the two landmarks to keep warm in the chill fall air. “Shrubs or other plants come and go with seasons. Rocks are too easy to move or kick around unless they’re big, heavy boulders. Trees will grow, but that only makes them easier to find.”

  He’d grinned at me and I’d smiled back as he drew an X in the ground in front of him with his toe. “Right here is perfect.”

  I’d shaken my head, not quite following. “Why? The tree is ten feet away.”

  “Right below a tree is the first place I’d look, wouldn’t you?” He moved to the spot where he’d killed all the plant life with rock salt and then pivoted to face the tree. “So you find two landmarks that aren’t going to change. And then bury it right in the middle.”