The Secret of Strange Waters (The Light Keeper Series Book 2) (10 page)

By the time I got to the entrance of our road, Talon had taken off and left us. I must have been driving slower than I thought. Luckily, I could see his taillights glowing up the road. Or so I thought. “What’s that?” Holly asked leaning in towards the dash for a closer look. “Is that the Light?”

I knew right away it wasn’t, of course, I wasn’t certain what it was, but I was starting to think it was more than Talon’s taillights. For some reason, a panic went over me that I couldn’t explain, and I slowed down. We entered the road from the end farthest from home. Whatever it was, it was between us and safety. It had to be the guys, but I had no idea what was going on.

“It’s probably Talon and Hunter. Maybe they’re waiting. Maybe Owen got sick, too. Hunter would never let him be sick in the car,” Holly guessed. Like me, she was trying to think of logical explanations for what was ahead.

“It looks too bright to be only them.” I got a sick feeling in my stomach; something inside me told me to hurry. I pressed on the gas and sped up the dusty road. Holly gripped the dash and looked at me like I was crazy.

AT THE
PIPELINE ENTRANCE
, there was a small crowd of cars; four, to be exact. Two of which were Tom’s blue Ford truck and my cousin’s red ‘Cuda, along with another truck and a Jeep. They were all scattered and blocked the road; their headlights created the bright glow, and shone on a group of scuffling guys. I noticed Hunter being held back by a pair of them, and another boy kicking at something on the ground, dust flying so thick around them I couldn’t see exactly what, but it was either Talon, Owen, or both.

I slammed on the brakes, and Holly and I jumped out. Holly was grabbed as soon as she got to the front of the Lincoln. I went to help her, but before I could reach her, a pair of strong hands grabbed my shoulders and dragged me away from her. I watched as she kicked and screamed, and finally broke free. The last I saw of her, she was running down the pipeline screaming.

Whoever had me was getting the fight of their life. I kicked and screamed too, with all of my might, but he finally pinned me against the back of the ‘Cuda on the driver’s side.

He held my arms down at my sides and pressed himself against me to hold my legs still. “You’re a little fighter aren’t you?” he said. I recognized his voice as the one who grabbed me in the hall. Cold drops of sweat dripped off him and onto my face as we struggled.

I could hear the sounds of punching, kicking, and pain coming from the dust cloud. I stopped fighting long enough to evaluate my situation. The Cuda’s doors were still open. I could try to get in and lock them, but I’d have to move fast. I kicked the mystery guy in the groin, and he let go long enough for me to break free and make a lunge for the car.

“You stupid bitch!” Strong, sweaty hands grabbed at me, and I fell into the door, knocking him down. He grabbed my legs and screamed more obscenities as I fell, too. Inhaling a cloud of dust made me cough as a fine layer of dirt settled on my exposed skin. He was pulling at my legs as I got up on my palms and tried to crawl into the car, fighting against his grip. Then something caught my eye.

Owen’s black water bottle had slid out from under the seat and was lying on the floorboard by the gas pedal. The indoor light shone on it, just brightly enough to make it visible. “Quit fighting me,” the guy growled. I turned over and got a leg loose enough to kick him in the face. My legs were like noodles, limp and weak, but it did the trick: he fell backward, and I reached over and grabbed the bottle. I knew it had Water in it—it was half full and cold to the touch.

I had to keep moving. I jumped up as fast as I could and dove across the front seat of the ‘Cuda and out the open passenger door. I confused him, and gave myself enough of a head start to run out into the dark trail of the pipeline. Luckily, the headlights shone somewhat into the woods, so it wasn’t nearly as dark as it could be. I remembered there was a trail there somewhere—we’d taken it before on the four-wheelers.

Hurrying onto the path, I knelt down, stayed still, and closed my lips tight to quiet my breathing. I took the opportunity to take a swig of the Water—I needed the strength. I didn’t even care that it was gritty and metallic.

I could hear the sleazy voice screaming to me, laced with a crazy laugh. “I’ll find you! Give up and I won’t hurt you too badly.” I had no intention of getting hurt. Instinctively, I took another long drink from the bottle, letting the grit wash down my throat. He went quiet, but I could still hear him shuffling through the trees around the side of the trail.

My next plan was to summon the Light. I was so scatterbrained with all the excitement that I didn’t have time to summon it, and knew it should be my last resort; I should only expose it if it was an emergency. This was. I heard another guy come walking up.

“I can’t find that girl anywhere,” he told the one looking for me. “I’m going to join the party!”

“Not me. I’m gonna find this little flower and have a party of my own,” he said. His wicked laugh ripped through the air. I gripped the bottle tight; he was close, but I couldn’t move, or he’d surely find me. I sat so still and quiet, I could hear the sound of breathing and nervous sobbing. It took me a moment to realize it wasn’t me. Holly was close, but not as close as the footsteps I could hear crunching the pine straw on the ground.

“Well, well, well, Little Flower.” The guy, who I didn’t know by his face, stared down at me. He seemed to enjoy the sight of me cowering on the ground. I took a deep breath and stretched out my hand, which really confused him. “Oh, no need for me to help you up,” he said, reaching for his belt buckle.

All of a sudden, the Light appeared—it grew from my outstretched hand like a glowing baseball. I could feel the intensity building at its core.

His eyes widened. “What the…?” That was all he managed once I threw the Light at him, sending him backwards. His face blackened with marks, and like a boomerang, the Light found its way back to my hand.

He screamed and ran off the trail, back towards the cars. I grabbed the water bottle and followed, not wanting to leave it behind. The guy didn’t join his friends; he was so scared that he locked himself in the truck.

I walked so fast I was almost running. I felt powerful and strong, like my body was electrified. Sure on my feet, I didn’t stumble over my own power as the guys had. It was as if the Water was made for me all along. The Light was stronger than ever, and I was able to control it like never before, like a weapon. The guys had been right that Alyssa had led me to the Waters for a reason, and I wasn’t going to waste the opportunity to see how powerful it made me.

The gang had tired, but the damage was done. They stood around Talon and Owen in a cloud of dust. Talon was on his knees and Owen was laid out flat. Hunter was still being restrained, and was badly beaten as well. His face was bloody and pain set his expression, but his eyes widened when he saw me walking toward the gang with the Light in hand.

“No, Lily,” he shouted, before taking another punch to the face.

Talon tried to stand, but was kicked back to the ground. “Let him up,” I shouted.

They froze when they saw the Light. All except for Zeb French, the ring leader. “What’s with you, freak?” He spat onto the ground. The others laughed nervously, clearly disturbed by the sight of me coming at them with a glowing orb in my hand. I reached back and threw it at him.

He ducked, and then took off running in circles as it chased him. One of his friends made a move for me, but Talon grabbed his legs and pulled him to the ground where they began scuffling again.

Owen lay still on the ground; I wasn’t sure if he was even conscious. In the brief second I worried over him, another one of the boys lunged toward me. Grabbing his arm with my free hand, I threw him back about ten feet. A silence fell over the gang; even my boys were in awe.

I
was
strong; stronger than any of the guys here, and most of them were on the football team. The Water was magic!

They all stood staring, wide-eyed and slack-jawed before scrambling. Zeb French was the exception once again: “I’ll get you, you witch,” he threatened. Staggering away, he spit towards Owen before jumping into his Jeep and speeding off, with the others following.

The crickets sang their tune a little louder as no one said a word. Talon got up and limped his way to me slowly. He was filthy with blood and dirt, and looked completely terrified of me—he practically cowered as he approached.

I still had the Light in my hand and was feeling electrified with power and strength. “Lily?” His voice cracked as he reached his hand out to me defensively with his palm out, as if he was waiting for me to strike him at any moment.

“Yes?” I reached out to him with my free hand. “Are you okay?”

I heard a gasp come from behind me. It was Holly. I turned to look as she ran to meet her staggering Hunter. The three of them still glared at me in fear.

“What? It won’t hurt you.” I dropped my hand, and the Light darted upward, taking position over my head. Why would they feel afraid, especially Talon? My cheeks grew warm and flushed.

Talon looked slightly relieved now that I was unarmed, and sat on the ground as if to assess the situation. He wouldn’t take his eyes off me; they were still wide with wonder.

Hunter stood to check on Owen. I looked over to the ground where I dropped the water bottle and went to pick it up.

“What’s going on?” Holly questioned Hunter. “What’s wrong with Lily?”

“I’m fine Holly, really,” I said as I passed her, which only startled her more. I knelt down to Owen and lifted his head into my lap to give him some of the Water. His eyes opened, and he looked up at me.

“You’re an angel,” he said. The Light still hovered over my head; surely it looked like a halo to him. “I’m dead, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re not dead. You might feel like you’re dying, but I’m not gonna let that happen.” I gave him some more Water, and then passed the bottle around to Talon and Hunter. “Drink it. You’ll need your strength to heal.”

After I checked Owen over, observing the damage that had been done mostly to his ribs and face, I sent the Light away—leaving us with only the headlights, though they weren’t as helpful.

“What’s in that, Hunter?” Holly tried to keep him from taking it, but he pushed her hand away and grabbed it.

“I could have taken out any one of those guys alone,” Hunter said. He brushed the dirt from his clothes.

“I could have taken them all on if Super Chick here hadn’t convinced me to stop taking the Waters and drink all that damn cranberry juice.” Owen’s frown matched Hunter’s as he sat up, strengthening from the dose. The pain showed clearly in his eyes, though. They hurt him badly.

Holly and I made our way to the car. “I’m glad you took my advice, but it was the alcohol that impaired you,” I said to Owen.

Holly opened the door to the Lincoln, where Meagan was still passed out. “It looks like she slept through the whole thing.” She shook her head, then added, “Owen, your girlfriend’s wet her pants.”

“What? Oh man,” Owen said, limping his way over.

“You’re cleaning that car, Little Brother,” Hunter said calmly. Owen curled his lip in disgust as a rumble sounded from deep in his throat as if he wasn’t that impressed with his date. “Come on, let’s take her home. I think my ribs are broken.”

Holly stared at me the whole way without saying a word. I was sure Mom would be livid, since it was well past one a.m., and we were supposed to have been home an hour earlier. But when we arrived, the house was dark, like she was sleeping.

Granny wasn’t, however. While Owen dragged his stinking, unconscious girlfriend out of the car, she stepped out onto the porch.

“Get in this house, now! All of you,” she demanded. Her voice sounded confused between fear and anger. “Carry that one in and be careful not to hurt her.” We walked in, filthy from our time on the road. The boys were healing now, but the bruises were taking their time fading, and dried blood from busted lips and noses crusted on the guys’ faces, staining their clothes. Holly and I were scratched up, and she had some of Hunter’s blood on her shoulder.

“What is going on? And why’s she drunk?” Granny walked over and got in Owen’s face. He reeked of alcohol, too. She waved her hand in front of her nose. “Owen William Riley! You have been drinking,” she yelled.

For the next thirty minutes, she let into him, and I was certain after that he’d never drink again. Then she woke up Meagan and made her go shower. She was still so drunk and out of it that she didn’t even care she’d wet her pants or puked—I would have been mortified. After she was clean and wearing Owen’s gym shorts and t-shirt, Granny sent the boys to clean up and sent us home.

Meagan settled on the air mattress. She hadn’t quite gathered her strength, and she wasn’t alert enough to question anything. I told Holly she could have my bed; I didn’t feel like sleeping. I was too awake. I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face before either Holly or Talon could jump in the shower. After Holly followed to get her shower in, she met me in Talon’s room.

“Lily, what
was
that?” she asked. “The Light you held in your hand? The glow?” I couldn’t exactly hide it from her now; she’d seen too much. “You can trust me, Lily. I won’t tell a soul. It seems the guys already knew about it before tonight.” She was very observant.

“Yes, they did. I’m a Light Keeper. You know the Bragg Light exists, right?” She stared, blank-faced, and nodded. “Well it’s me. I mean, the Light is mine.” How was I going to explain all the visions and things without her thinking I was a total freak?

“You threw that boy? Or did the Light do it?” she asked. I didn’t realize she saw that.

“That was me. Well, it’s the Water.” I searched for a good way to put it, but I was coming up short. “Look Holly, I’ll be willing to share everything with you tomorrow, but I can’t right now, okay? You need your rest, go get some sleep.”

She nodded. “Okay, Lily. I trust you.” She hugged me and walked away to my room with a towel wrapped neatly around her head. I stood there, shocked by her reaction, my heart growing warm and fuzzy. The guys had all witnessed some sort of paranormal event, not to mention Alyssa passing me her Light, but for Holly to be so trusting was unbelievable…She had faith in me. She was a true friend.

When Talon was done showering, I drew myself a bubble bath, but before I could get in, Talon had to brush his teeth. We needed an extra bathroom.

“Where are you sleeping?” He peeked into my room and noticed my guests were out of place.

“I’m not really tired,” I shrugged. “Must be the Waters.”

His eyes widened. “You drank the Waters.” He released a long breath. “That explains it. I thought it was the Light.” I didn’t understand what was so funny, but laughter tinged his voice. “Of course! Wait a minute, where did you get the Water?”

“Owen had it stashed in his car.” I paused a minute, expecting him to ask why, but he seemed lost in processing the moment, so I continued. “Some guy attacked me, and I had to use it to get away. I was going make a run and lock myself in the car when I found it.”