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  Smooth hardwood floors reflected the sunlight streaming in from the windows. Two modern art pieces in shades of red and white hung above both beds. Chrome lamps topped both night stands. Even the curtains were stylish, white material with black swirls on them. Very art deco.

  She’d shaken her head so much this afternoon that she thought whiplash would hit. Lily got a drink out of the bathroom sink, and the water trickled down her tongue, pure and airy. No chemical residue like most California water. She smoothed her tank top down so the heart on it lay straight. Her red shorts complimented the outfit, and she had to admit it felt good to try for cute again.

  Okay, Kelly, you were right. All black would have been a bad choice here.

  Her phone trilled with a new message. Lily skipped to the bed and snatched it up. Clara wanted to know how things were going. And how Simon looked.

  Her thumbs flew over the keypad, her thoughts tumbling out before she could be coherent. Yes, Simon is dreamy. The conference is way cool. No, I haven’t checked the fire escapes yet.

  Lily snapped a photo of her special Flare smart band. Intricate red flowers popped out of the white background. Clara responded with a green jealousy emoji. The Wi-Fi on it was pretty sweet. There had been no lag since Lily had synced her phone.

  The light beaming through the break of the curtains beckoned to her. Lily pulled them apart, taking in the western sky and the streaking colors of the setting sun. What a view! When was the last time she had truly enjoyed the beauty of a sunset?

  Dust motes danced along the edge of each ray shining through. Lily sighed. To live carefree like that seemed beyond reach. Pain stabbed her heart as the memory of her mother leaving with Luke to run errands flashed before her.

  The setting sun had been gorgeous on that night as well. But with twilight came the horrible news …

  The door clicked. Lily wiped away a loose tear and pulled the curtains shut. Her roommate must be coming in. The bands had been programmed for their rooms, so no keys had been issued. Everything had been thought out for the attendees.

  Except one detail.

  Lily dropped her phone on the bed as her roommate entered. A crash of bags followed.

  “I can’t believe this,” Missy spat as she stood in the doorway, frozen in shock.

  Just like Lily.

  Chapter Eleven

  Missy pointed at the welcome packet on Lily’s bed. “Check your room assignment. It’s got to be a mistake.”

  Lily’s heart sank. How could this weekend turn horrible so fast? Being stuck with her biggest enemy from school? Seriously?

  “How do you think I got in?” Lily thrust her wrist out.

  Missy tried to kick a bag past the door in heels. Athletic, she was not. She stumbled toward the first bed, and Lily just managed to stifle a laugh.

  Missy huffed and threw her welcome portfolio on the bed. She flipped it open, sending a few pages scattering in the air. “Where’s the number for the advisor?”

  Nails pinched into Lily’s palms as she tried to restrain her anger. How had it come to this with Missy? Lily remembered the first time they met. Missy’s brother had accidentally splashed her on the first day at school, and Missy had bailed Lily out with an extra uniform for the day.

  A promising friendship that had detonated four months ago.

  Lily pulled the curtains open again. The sun had dipped below the horizon, the night sky pushing away the light.

  Missy paced around her pile of luggage while talking to the advisor. “We can’t stay together. We know each other, and this won’t be good.” She stopped and tapped her toe, the rapping on the wood echoing in the room. “What do you mean, you’ll figure it out tomorrow?”

  Missy punched the call off with a huff and threw the phone on the bed. Her eyes raked over Lily, and waves of disdain shot from Missy’s pointed eyebrows and snarling lips.

  “They said it’s too late to make any change tonight. I’m stuck with you.” The last words dripped with venom.

  Lily couldn’t believe this. She stomped over to the door. “I’ll get out of your hair. Sorry to inconvenience you.” Missy’s snarling mouth was the last thing she saw as the door slammed shut.

  Demarcus leaned against a pillar in the atrium of the Alturas dormitories. He flicked through updates on his phone and fired off messages to his buddies. He tapped out some smack-talk to his friend Nathan, who could never understand why Demarcus liked the Dallas Cowboys when they’d grown up in the backyard of the Chargers.

  Demarcus’s comeback never changed. He liked a winner.

  He tapped his foot to hear the echoes in the vaulted room. This was nuts. Here he was on the latest and greatest tech campus in the country, ready to launch into … well, something. Everyone was sure excited by Simon’s welcome a couple hours ago, but Demarcus couldn’t really remember anything of substance. He just knew he was excited to make a difference. Somehow.

  The participants had filtered through the orientation tables after the opening presentation. Tomorrow they would meet for breakfast in the cafeteria and get assigned to small groups for their breakthrough sessions.

  Now he killed time waiting for his roommate—Harry Wales. What a coincidence he’d ran right into him before everything had started. Harry was a nice guy even if he was terribly jumpy.

  Right away Demarcus had sensed that the kid could use someone looking out for him. Harry’s hometown was a small city near Glacier National Park, and he didn’t seem to understand a big city or life outside of the woods. The two might make an odd couple, but it was cool to be a brother to someone and walk them through the culture shock. When Demarcus moved to the area, he didn’t have someone to stand by him.

  Yellow beams of sunlight dropped behind the horizon. Out east, twilight was growing and an early star was out. If Harry didn’t hurry, they’d be wandering around in the dark. What was taking him so long?

  A girl walked past him and pushed out of the glass doors. She stopped at the stairs and scanned the area before descending. Something about her struck him.

  Was she from his school?

  Demarcus checked to see if Harry had arrived. No redhead yet. Okay, he had to check this out.

  He slipped out the doors and saw the girl’s dark hair dance with her hurried steps. It’d be fun to dash in front of her, but he wasn’t sure if she’d seen him in the atrium. He followed along slowly instead.

  The girl rounded the corner of the boys’ dorm, glancing around as she slunk toward the shadows developing. Her brown skin and the birthmark on her cheek sold it.

  Rosa Gonzalez, a girl from his computer class who’d just graduated.

  Okay, this was getting interesting. What he could remember about Rosa was her fiery attitude. He didn’t know if she was the best student. So what kind of kid was Alturas after?

  He paused at the corner, trying to decide whether to turn after her. Could he say hey and not miss Harry if came looking for him?

  Rosa walked to the edge of the building, looking up at an open third floor window.

  A voice called out, “Demarcus? You there?”

  Demarcus turned to see Harry standing at the bottom of the stairs. He waved Harry over, intending to introduce him to Rosa.

  She was gone.

  Chapter Twelve

  What?

  Demarcus stepped forward, searching all around. No sign of her. The open window on the third floor clicked shut, but that was it.

  Where had she disappeared to? Did he just miss her? No, there was no way Rosa could get by him. Unless she was fast too.

  Was he the only gifted one at this conference, or was there more to the whole gathering?

  He chuckled to himself. Yeah, he’d probably watched too many comic book movies. But the consideration still nagged at the edge of his thoughts.

  Harry rounded the edge. “Dude, where are you? What are you doing?”

  “Right here, Prince.” He didn’t want to sound crazy since they’d just met. “I’m looking for you.”
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  Harry shuffled over with a raised eyebrow at Demarcus’s lame excuse. “Heh, that’s what my mum calls me.”

  They stepped out into the night air as a canopy of dark slowly settled over the grounds. Lights flickered on paths across the campus. “So your mom is British and married a lumberjack?”

  “Yeah. Sounds like a Monty Python skit, doesn’t it?”

  Harry was fun to be with when he wasn’t so jumpy. Still, the differences between them made him wonder all the more what had brought them together here.

  A rumble through Demarcus’s abdomen changed his focus, though.

  “Dude, you need a California experience. Hungry?”

  Harry felt his stomach. “I guess. Wasn’t dinner enough?”

  “What? They gave us wraps and milk boxes. Not nearly enough for us growing boys. I saw an In-N-Out Burger on the way here. I bet they didn’t have those in Montana. Have you been to one yet?”

  “I thought we were supposed to stay on campus. Will we get in trouble?”

  Demarcus did a three-sixty to scan for chaperones or staff. All clear. “Man, we’re not gonna cause trouble. We just need more grub, that’s all. We’ll get it to go and eat it here. No worries, man.”

  They strolled to the parking lot and cut across. Cars had to access through a manned gate, with a bypass for pedestrians. The burger joint was only a block away. It was probably a busy location being so close to a large workforce.

  They hit the corner and Demarcus hit the button for the walk signal. He would’ve liked to dash across in a blink, but he hadn’t told anyone about his gift yet. Harry seemed solid, but it wasn’t time.

  The stoplight turned and Demarcus tugged Harry’s arm. They jogged past the cars waiting and hightailed it to the restaurant. The scent of freshly grilled beef floated by, and his saliva hit over-drive, triggered by the delicious smell.

  They waited patiently in line, and he explained the choices to Harry, whose eyes lit up. He surprised Demarcus by ordering a triple-patty burger when their turn came. Demarcus had to get the Animal Style from the secret menu, and he insisted they get milkshakes as well. They nabbed their prizes and pushed through the doors.

  The campus was quiet as they hit the parking lot. No need for stealth. Demarcus was ready to tear the bag open right there, when Harry stopped in the middle of the lot.

  “Dude, c’mon. I’m really hungry. Let’s get to the room,” Demarcus said.

  “There’s someone watching. We’re in trouble.” Harry pointed to the side of the nearest building. A silhouette stood next to the stairs.

  Demarcus couldn’t tell if the person was watching them or not.

  “Oh, no … it can’t happen now!” Harry’s face froze in a mask of panic.

  “What’s wrong? Don’t worry, we’ll explain ourselves.”

  Harry stood ramrod straight, his arms wrapped around his body like he was trying to keep himself together.

  “Let’s just get out of here.” Demarcus looked back and the shadowy figure was gone. “See? It’s fine.”

  He turned to find empty air.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Demarcus stared at nothing. Harry was gone. Disappeared.

  “Harry? Where are you?”

  A scream sounded from behind, and Demarcus whirled around. In the middle of the intersection they’d just crossed, Harry stood like a statue.

  Smack in front of a car barreling toward him.

  Demarcus dropped his bag of goodies and sprinted forward. The air whistled by as he rushed up to Harry and tackled him. The momentum carried them, skidding, to the edge of the sidewalk.

  The car careened through the intersection with a loud honk, and then it was gone.

  The two boys picked themselves up and retreated to a bus stop bench a few feet away. Demarcus rubbed a bad spot of road rash on his left arm. Gravel was embedded in his raw skin.

  Something cold covered the front of his shorts, and he looked down. Pink ice cream dribbled down his leg. Harry held up an empty bag with the bottom ripped out. His dinner formed a trail leading from the middle of the road to where they sat.

  Adrenaline fired through Demarcus’s veins from the sudden burst of speed required to rescue Harry.

  “What on earth were you doing in the middle of the road? Are you crazy? You could’ve been killed.” Demarcus shook Harry to break the vacant staring-into-space look on his face.

  Harry trembled on the bench. “I … I’m so sorry. So, so sorry. I shouldn’t have come to the conference. I don’t know what’s going on. I thought they’d be able to help me.”

  Demarcus held his tongue. He wanted to keep yelling, but something was terrifying Harry. His pale skin looked sickly, and he shook with a fine tremor. Whatever had happened, Harry apparently couldn’t control it and certainly hadn’t planned it.

  Demarcus put his arm around him to steady him. “It’s all right, man. You’re alive. I got you.”

  The pair sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Harry groaned and twisted his neck. Demarcus could see a clump of blood on the back of his head, camouflaged by his red hair. He wadded up the broken bag and dabbed at the wound.

  “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

  Harry turned his hands around to examine them. One side had scraped knuckles.

  “I think it’s mostly my head and my butt. We landed pretty hard.” Harry turned to face him. “How about you?”

  Demarcus held up his left arm. The limb complained with the motion—it would be fun to use tomorrow. Harry gasped at the sight. Not a good sign.

  “Let’s get back over to the campus,” Demarcus said. “I left my food behind. We can split it. But what just happened?”

  The duo limped across the walkway. Harry lowered his head and shrugged. “Just a mistake.”

  No, that answer wouldn’t do. Something was up. Demarcus held a hand out, blocking Harry’s path. “C’mon, man. I just saved your life. I think I deserve an explanation.”

  Harry squinted and bared his teeth. “I don’t know what’s going on. Sometimes I just … I just end up somewhere else.”

  Demarcus couldn’t hold back a small laugh. “Yeah, right. You just teleport into harm’s way?”

  Harry raised his head and caught Demarcus’s gaze. His eyes glistened in the light of the streetlamp. “Not always into danger. But yeah, I just disappear and end up somewhere else. I can kinda feel it coming on, and I try to stop it. Sometimes it seems to work. Other times—well, you saw what happened.”

  Demarcus shook his head, questions pinging in his skull. “What do you mean? That’s like a comic book stunt.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’m nothing like a comic book.”

  “Isn’t there anything you can do? Can you direct it?”

  “I can’t figure out how to control where I’m going. I’ve been in some strange circumstances so far. Up a tree. In the middle of a stream.” Harry’s eyes flared. “I just want to get rid of it. I’m hoping maybe something or someone here can help me.”

  Demarcus loved his ability so much. What would it be like to have one seem like a curse instead of a blessing?

  They stepped over the curb and it was Harry’s turn to bring up a question. “So how did you get to me so fast? I was a good sixty, seventy yards away.”

  Uh-oh. What could he say to keep from revealing his speed?

  “I think it was the adrenaline rush, dude. I saw you in trouble, and I just hustled out there.”

  Realization dawned on his face as Harry wagged his finger at him. “No way. I looked up and saw you flat-footed in shock, and the next thing I know you’re in my face and we’re skidding on the asphalt. Fess up. You’ve got a secret too.”

  Demarcus kicked a rock on the ground, bouncing it under a car. He didn’t know what Harry would do with his secret, but what was he going to do now?

  “Yeah. I broke my ankle this spring and had to be in a walking boot. When I got out of it, I went to a field to test out the strength with some running. I started going faster and
faster. Now I outrace cars on the highway. Just now I think I had a bigger burst coming after you.”

  Harry’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “Whoa. So you’re like the Flash?”

  He couldn’t help a chuckle. “Naw. I don’t think I could run on water or go supersonic. But how cool is this? We’ve got super powers!”

  They reached the spot where Demarcus left his meal. They found nothing on the ground. “Oh, no. Where’s my grub?”

  A white-haired man stepped from behind a truck. In his hand he held the white bag with the goodies from In-N-Out. He extended it toward them.

  “You don’t have super powers,” he said. “You have gifts. The question is, what will you do with them?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Demarcus and Harry shared a look as the stranger led them to a side building and into a vacant meeting room. A street lamp shining through the window provided the only illumination.

  Demarcus didn’t want to draw attention to the conversation about to happen, especially since they’d already spilled the beans in front of the fossil who’d brought them here. He hoped that this out-of-the-way area the old man picked would do the trick, far from the dorms and the main conference buildings.

  The three of them sat at the elongated conference table in an awkward silence. Harry held his head in his hands. Demarcus didn’t know what to do, but he snuck a fry out of the bag and popped it in his mouth. His sprint had made him even hungrier.

  The silvery glow from outside framed their guide. His head looked like it had a halo, light reflecting off the remaining whitish wisps of hair that stubbornly held on to his scalp.

  Despite the weird circumstances, peace radiated from the man. And he didn’t act surprised about the boys’ conversation. Instead of being incredulous about their claims, he’d corrected what they said.

  The elderly dude gave them a warm, grandfatherly smile. “I’m sorry to have spooked you boys out there. You can call me John.”