Tempest (#1 Destroyers Series) (31 page)

Janelle nodded, too miserable to say
anything, too jealous that her friend was going back to the world
she wanted to return to, and settled into the cushions of the
couch. The boat started outside and sped away, its motor growing
fainter and fainter. She wished she were on it, heading back to the
mainland.

Her father sat down beside her and waved Gary
over to the booth, who had come in from outside. She had barely
noticed even him. Mr. Deville handed her father a bundle of papers,
probably the same ones that had blown off the table yesterday.

Janelle clawed at her jeans. “Okay. What was
it you wanted to tell me?”

Her father took them and shuffled them
around, flipping some over and smoothing out creases. He cleared
his throat. “Contrary to what Andrina said, Tempests aren’t here to
slaughter people. It’s a side effect of what we have to do, but
it’s not our purpose.”

“Then what is our purpose?” Gary asked,
brushing the bangs back from his face. “Andrina never told us
anything else. With her it was all just ‘kill, kill, kill before
they find us first.'”

“I know. That’s why I had this printed out
before we left to get you. Take a look.” He handed the bundle of
papers to Janelle as Gary shuffled over to sit next to her. Good.
He made her feel a little better, being there. At least he
understood.

Janelle shifted on the cushion. Her father
had printed out a bunch of stuff from the Internet. She read the
title to the one on top:
Hurricanes Play Major Role in Earth’s
Heat Balance, Scientists Say.
Janelle flipped the paper to the
back.
Hurricanes deposit sediment in marshes and provide many
areas with the rainfall needed to sustain life.
A news article.
Area Farmers in Need of Joey’s Rains.

Her arms trembled as she lowered the papers
to her lap. “So this is it?”

Her dad lowered his voice. “The point is that
if it weren’t for us, life on this planet would be in horrible
danger. Droughts would take over in places and kill crops. People
would starve. Species would go extinct. The world’s heat would stay
in the tropics and make them too hot to live in without storms to
carry it away. It would be a huge, huge disaster.” He leaned
forward, elbows on his knees. “I know this is going to sound
strange, Janelle, but by doing our job, we’re saving lives.”

“What?” Gary leapt from the couch, echoing
Janelle’s thoughts exactly.

“You ended a bad dry spell Florida was
having. I bet Andrina never told you that part,” her father said.
“It was on the news. Of course, you probably avoided the TV after
you changed back.”

“Actually, I ripped the wires out of the
hospital one so Andrina couldn’t torture me with it. Janelle, you
need a tissue?” Gary sat back down and took her arm.

Tears had filled her eyes without warning,
blurring the pages on her lap. Great. Now she was going to cry in
front of everyone. She put her face down in her hands before her
father could see and let the tears flow. She hadn’t wanted to hear
all this. She hadn’t wanted there to be a reason she
had
to
change.

“What’s wrong?” Her father rubbed his hand up
and down her back.

She could barely choke the words out. “I’m
scared, okay?”

“I was when it was my time, too. My mother
couldn’t comfort me. It was why she didn’t tell my little brother
anything when it was his turn. I'm sure that's the reason I held
back from telling you as well. But it’ll be okay.”

“But what if I
am
like Andrina?”

“You’re not. Trust me on this,” her father
said. “Just because you have a lot of power doesn’t mean you have
to be a monster. You think I’m not as strong as my mother was? I
chose to restrain myself. And you will, too.”

Janelle lifted her head and stared out the
window for a long time. She blinked the water from her eyes. The
ocean sparkled outside and the sun shined on a calm day. “What’s it
like? The change, I mean?”

“It’s nothing to be afraid of, honey. It’s an
enjoyable experience.” He smiled at Gary. “You didn’t tell her
that, did you? Were you too embarrassed?”

Gary shook his head. And blushed. “I…I didn’t
want her to think the wrong thing about me.”

Her father pointed to the papers. “Look at
the last page there, Janelle. I think I know what it is you’re
going to do.”

Janelle sucked in a breath and wiped the last
of the moisture from her eyes. She flipped to the final page of the
packet and read the bold words across the top.
No End in Sight
for Northeast Drought, Water Restrictions in Place
.

Her father wrapped his hand around her
forearm. “Come on. We’ll be there when you change back.”

Janelle rose without a word and followed him
outside.

A hurricane spun over the waters of the
Atlantic.

She had started out as a mere wisp of
cloud—nothing, in other words—only a few days ago, floating
aimlessly along whatever path the wind took her. Disappointment
plagued her for the first few hours of drifting over the ocean with
the other wisps, with nothing to look at but the curvature of the
earth and nothing to do. Her dad had lied. Again. This was so
boring
.

But no
, Janelle thought. She was
special. And meant for something greater.

The heat from the ocean below drifted up
towards her. Like the aroma of a feast. She fed on it, growing
stronger and absorbing the clouds around her as the sun set. This
was better. Maybe her dad hadn’t lied too bad this time.

The first night came and she started to spin
as the ocean’s power coursed through her new body. On the second
day she grew stronger still, until an intoxicating roar filled her
being. Now on the third day, she was getting somewhere.

The ocean churned below as Janelle flew
ahead. Never before had she felt so free. So able to leave behind
all the crap of her other life. The memories of the past few days.
But this wouldn’t last forever. She’d have to go back to that life
soon.

The sun set for a third time. Janelle kept
feeding off the heat of the water, gathering more and more of its
moisture around herself like a cloak. She’d need it for later. She
wasn’t sure why…but it was the right thing to do.

By Day Number Four, an incredible power raced
through her like a million thunderstorms. Invigorating. Alive.

But land appeared on the horizon. It
stretched up and down like a green and brown splatter of mud. No
sparkling ocean lay beyond its borders…and no fuel. And she was
getting slowly closer to it. Great. This would have to end, and
soon.

She tried to stop and turn back, but no use.
Something urged her on. Pushing her. She had better enjoy this
while it lasted.

Three more days passed. The land got closer.
And closer. So she moved forward as slowly as she could, savoring
this amazing power. And every night, the stars shined overhead with
nothing to ruin the spectacular view. Meteorites streaked across
the sky.

As the sun peeked over the horizon on the
seventh day, she took a turn to the north. It felt right to do so.
Janelle flew faster, the power within her singing as she moved. Why
had she ever been afraid to do this? She’d never enjoyed anything
more in her life.

But the land had come closer by day number
eight—much closer. Now Janelle moved alongside it, keeping a safe
distance but going faster. And faster. Gray blobs—cities?—lined the
distant coastline.

A distant little voice reared up in her
consciousness.
Show them no mercy
. But it faded away like an
old, moldy nightmare. It wasn’t important. Then her father’s voice
replaced it.
Control yourself, Janelle. You’ll spare more
lives.
That was better.

The coast curved up ahead…and now she was on
a collision course with it. Crap. She’d nearly forgotten. She had
to calm down before she got to it. Janelle urged herself to slow
with all her might, but she couldn’t…the energy of the ocean kept
floating up towards her, tempting her. She could savor it one more
time, just one more…
No
, she thought over and over. The land
drew closer and she didn’t have time for this.

The roar began to fade. The energy drained
from Janelle as she rejected the ocean’s offer of more. Hours
passed. Her body grew feebler and started to break apart. She was
starving to death.

The rocky shore crept in under her now,
battered by her waves. And then the ocean vanished completely. Only
trees, buildings, roads, and fields stretched out under her
now.

No warmth. No energy. The last of her life
drained away. So tired, she was so tired. Any minute, this would
end.

They were nearby. Her father, Hank, and Gary.
She could sense them somewhere below, waiting. It was time to go
back now.

A wobble shook her being. Janelle’s awareness
dropped from the sky as if a trapdoor had opened. Wisps of cloud
rushed past. An invisible box seemed to close in, squashing her
down to a tiny point with a hollow whoosh that rushed in from all
sides. The world went black and she spun around tighter and
tighter. She was going to pass out. She was going to—

With a sloshing sound, it all stopped.

Janelle stood on a muddy road, trembling in
place. Her clothes stuck to her like a second skin, soaked. She
fell to her knees—she had legs again—and sank into the soft earth
as a tiny peek of sunlight filtered down through the surrounding
trees.

A motor grumbled behind her. Footfalls
approached. But who cared? Nap. She needed a nap. It sounded good
she didn’t care if she had to take it in the middle of the
road.

“Janelle, it’s over. Let’s get you somewhere
where you can sleep.” Her father appeared above her. “Gary, get her
legs. We’ll lay her out on the backseat of the van.”

Gary. Her dad. They were here. Just like
they’d said they’d be.

Gary took one arm. Her father the other.

Everything blurred. Her legs dragged as they
pulled her along. A van door slid open and she landed on a firm,
velvety surface as hands released her. The backseat. A tickle
formed in her throat and she coughed. Mr. Deville closed the door
and sat in the seat right in front of her.

Gary sat beside her. “It’s okay,” he said,
letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

Her father climbed into the driver’s seat.
Gravel crunched as the van rolled down the deserted road.

Janelle lay against Gary and closed her eyes,
listening as the rain she had brought to this place started to
pummel down on the land again.

* * * * *

She woke up swaddled in thick blankets and
lying on a lumpy mattress.

Ugly brown curtains hung down to one side of
her. Her father, Mr. Deville, and Gary sat on the edge of another
bed, facing a television with the volume so low that she could only
hear the high pitched whine. They’d tilted it away from her.

“She’s awake,” Gary said, tapping her father
on the shoulder.

Her father took the remote and clicked off
the television. “How you feeling, honey?”

Janelle moved her arms and legs, flexing the
joints. It felt so strange to have them again, like she’d been
crammed into a body she hadn’t learned how to control yet.
“Weird.”

“That’s normal.” Her dad walked over and sat
on the side of her bed. “You’ll feel fine tomorrow and we’ll get a
flight out of here.”

She looked around at the motel room. “Where
are we?”

“Rhode Island.”

Janelle groaned and sank back into the
pillow. A queasy feeling filled her stomach. The past week felt
like the strangest dream ever. Perhaps, it was. She couldn’t
believe she had enjoyed the transformation. But--

“How bad?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Her father patted her
knee.

Every muscle in her body tightened at his
words. “How bad was I? You know what I’m talking about.” She’d find
out sooner or later, so it might as well get it over with now. Her
heart raced as she waited for his answer.

“Nothing catastrophic as far as we go. You
calmed down enough when the time came.” He parted the curtains to
peek outside. “You worried everyone for a few days, though.”

“Worried everyone? It was the biggest
evacuation in this country’s history,” Gary said.

“Gary!” he snapped, pulling the curtains
together.

“Well, she wanted the truth,” he said.

Janelle sat bolt upright as his words sank
in. Leave it to Gary to be blunt. “He’s kidding, right?”

“Actually, no, he’s not,” Mr. Deville said.
“You, uh, inherited both Andrina’s and my mom’s power, all right.
Broke some records, too. It was pretty scary for a little
while.”

“But it worked out all right,” her father
said with a force that made them both go silent. “People got a good
scare, but maybe that’s a blessing in case someone like Andrina
comes along again. But they also breathed a big sigh of relief when
you calmed down.” He lowered his voice and faced her. “Do you want
the details?”

Janelle shook her head, speechless. Details.
They could wait. She needed her head to stop spinning first.

“That’s fine,” her father said. “You can
always seek them out when you’re ready. Now, what do you want from
Burger Planet?”

* * * * *

Two days later, they returned to Alara on the
new boat Deon had bought with his insurance money, leaving from the
same marina in the Bahamas they’d meant to leave from two weeks
before. Janelle could sit back and relax on the journey. Not like
last time. That tingling and urge to jump in the ocean was gone.
The mountain had partially lifted from her shoulders.

Even Gary’s mood had improved. He smiled more
and didn’t make quite as many negative comments. She played cards
and watched movies with him late into the night. It was the best
couple of days she’d had in a long time, period.