The Pyramid Chronicles: Tyche Point (#1)

Chapter Twelve: The Doctors Newman

Eric stood in front of the high school with Summer and Sam while he waited for Mom to arrive. The first vehicle to pull up next to them wasn't hers, though, but the car Eric shared with Adam.

The passenger door opened, and Willow West stepped out. Without so much as a glance at Eric and the others, she stormed toward the school, a backpack slung over one shoulder. Eric exchanged confused glances with Summer and Sam.

"I'm guessing that's not your mom," Sam said.

"Wait, where are you going?" Adam called to Willow as he emerged from the driver's side.

Willow didn't look back. "I have stuff to do." She waved her hand dismissively as she walked. "And you've got your brother back."

"Seriously, after all that? We need to get to the bottom of whatever's going on." Adam circled the car and stood next to Eric.

Willow stopped, sighed, and turned around. She slowly returned to the group.

Eric folded his arms and lifted an eyebrow. "Where have you two been?" he asked as Willow reached them.

"Willow figured out there's a secret government organization hiding out at Delta Labs, and we thought they might have kidnapped you," Adam explained. "We were looking for you there."

Eric couldn't help but laugh. "Wrong secret organization. The people who kidnapped me are hiding out under the arcade."

"Arcade?" Willow asked skeptically as she returned to the group. "I was wondering why my readings from that part of town didn't match the expected levels."

"I still don't know what you mean by 'readings,'" Adam muttered.

"Wait," Summer said. "There's two groups looking for kids with powers?"

Yeah, that was alarming. Eric was especially unnerved by the fact that Adam had mentioned the government. They were bound to have a better setup than Scorpion's weird, abandoned basement.

"Sam!" The front doors of the school opened, and a girl ran toward them. Sam's sister, Eric assumed.

"Sorry," Sam said. He held up his phone. "I had to let Veronica know we were okay."

"No worries." Summer waved at Veronica, but Veronica didn't seem to notice.

Veronica reached the group and looked them over. "What happened? You said something about people under the arcade?"

"Uh, yeah," Sam said, glancing down at the sidewalk. "An organization called Scorpion. They already have kids with powers working for them."

"And now they've seen you!" Veronica exclaimed. "They know you exist. Sam, this is what I was afraid of—"

A gray van turned into the school's parking lot. The six fell quiet as they watched it approach, leaving only the hum of its engine to fill the air. The glare of the sun on the windows made it impossible to get a good look at whoever was inside.

"Should we be running?" Summer asked once it was clear the van was here for them.

Veronica glanced at her. "I vote yes."

"Wait." Sam held up a hand and closed his eyes. "I don't think they're bad. I feel like they're mostly...concerned? I'm not sure I have the strength to get any real thoughts, but—ow!" His eyes flew open.

"Sam?" Veronica stepped toward him. "You okay?"

Willow pinched the bridge of her nose. "We already know people are after us. Now's not the time to take risks and trust strangers. Unless you happen to be able to read minds."