Far From Normal (Phenomenal Teens Series - Book 1)

Chapter Thirteen - No Longer Safe

Chapter 13 - No Longer Safe

The front door swung open and I smiled at the familiar face. “Hey, you made it. Come in,” I ushered him in before stepping aside to make room.

 “Are the others here yet?” Kiernan asked as he kicked his shoes off and pushed them to the side.

I nodded my head as I led him through the foyer to the living room. Vivian and Tyler were seated on the couch while Alex sat across from them in the single cushion sofa. After coming back from my dad’s office the previous night and calming down, I had sent everyone a text telling them to meet up at my place to talk. I’d made sure to let everyone know how urgent the meeting was.

“Sup,” Kiernan announced his presence as he entered the room. The others waved and watched as he walked across the room and found a place to stand in the corner. “The place looks nicer in the daytime,” He commented, looking around. Vivian shot me a questioning look as I took a seat on the other side of her.

“I’ll tell you later,” I mouthed back before turning to face everyone.

“So what’s the emergency?” Alex spoke up as he shifted in his seat to get comfortable. Everyone turned and looked at me. I bit the inside of my cheeks as I glanced at Kiernan who was leaning against the wall. He folded his arms across his chest and waited for me to begin.

 I opened up my mouth to speak, but I froze. I didn’t know what to say. Well actually, I did. I had spent the whole night planning out how to break the news to them. That our lives were in danger, especially Alex and Kiernan’s. But now that they were all here and ready to listen to me, I choked. I felt someone place their hand on my back.

“What happened Elara?” It was now Vivian who was the one comforting me and asking questions. I felt the room become tense as everyone sensed that something was seriously wrong.

I cleared my throat and reached into my pocket. Pulling out my cellphone, I brought up the pictures of the computer screen that I had taken last night and handed it to Vivian.

Tyler leaned over and together they stared at my phone. I watched as Vivian covered her mouth in shock as her eyes soaked up every word like a sponge. Tyler looked up at me and instead of the calm face he usually had on, his eyes were instead filled with terror.

Closing my eyes, I merely nodded at him, as if confirming what he feared. 

“What is it guys?” Alex sat up in his seat, practically ready to yank the phone out of her hands. Tyler and her exchanged a look before handing the phone over to Alex who eagerly took it. Even Kiernan couldn’t help waiting for his turn. He walked over to Alex and peered down at the phone, reading it over his shoulder. I waited for a response.

“What the hell’s this supposed to be?” Kiernan asked. He looked to me for an explanation. I stared back at him, unsure on how else to clarify.

“What do you think it means? They’re going to kill us,” Alex retorted nonchalantly. Vivian stifled back a cry.

I turned and gave her a tight hug. “It’s going to be okay.” I said as I glanced at Tyler. He sat there staring at the ground, completely at a lost of words.

The room was silent as the realization struck everyone. We were no longer safe here. The only sound that could be heard was Vivian’s labored breathing as she tried to calm herself down.

Kiernan was the first to speak up. “We can’t waste another minute in this town.” He finally said. I looked at him, slowly taking in his words.

After a while, Alex finally let out a sigh. “He’s right. We need to leave, asap.” He agreed as he ran his hand through his dark-raven hair, sweeping it back to the side.

“Are you guys serious? We can’t leave, where would we go!” Vivian fired back at the idea. She shook her head vigilantly as she sat back against the cushion of the couch.

“What? Would you rather us stay and be killed? You saw it yourself, they’re coming after me and Tyler tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure they’ll be coming after you soon after.” Kiernan told her matter-of-factly, silencing her. He started pacing back and forth in the room, on edge.

“Calm down man, she’s just scared." Alex turned to him. "We all are,” He said, his voice barely a whisper.

“It's alright, Alex." Vivian told him as she drew in a long breath. She looked at Kiernan. "Okay. Say you’re right, where would we go though?” She calmly asked him now. The room was silent again as we reached another dead end.

Hearing this, I sat up in my seat. “I know where.” All eyes were on me. “In the file, they mentioned a girl named Stella Powell who was also part of a project. She must have somehow found out about the experiment and got out in time.”

Alex furrowed his brows as he connected the dots. “So you’re suggesting we go and find her in Los Angeles.”

Biting my lower lip, I nodded at him as I waited for any inputs.

Kiernan cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention. “It’s a good idea so far. We’ll find the nearest Greyhound station and hop on a bus to LA. She’s been hiding for a while now, so she obviously must be doing something right to still be alive.” His approval to my idea was comforting. I had come up with it late last night. I suddenly felt very tired as I remembered what little sleep I’d gotten.

Another wave of silence washed over everyone as they thought of what to say next. I looked around the room. “So it’s decided? We’re all in agreement then?” I asked.

I looked over at Tyler for his input. But the blonde just sat there silently in thought. I took his silence as an indication that he had no opposition to the plan. The thought of going through with this was frightening I would admit.

They all began to nod their heads as they slowly accepted the idea and fact that we were no longer safe here.

“So when do we leave?” Vivian asked.

Everyone looked at me, waiting for a response.

“Tonight.”