"Why is it that all of the thoughtless, lazy,
self-absorbed and uncaring people all end up in the Environmental
Geography class?" Genevieve asked. She had intended the question to be
rhetorical, though Levi felt it was his place to answer.
"That
isn't fair, Gen—you're not
that self-absorbed."
She shot him a look.
"Not most of the time anyway."
The two stood just outside
the Geography classroom, observing the students trickling in. They were
the usual straight C's kids, mostly boys, who were each loud, obnoxious,
and generally cruel to fellow classmates. True, it was a general level
class, and considered by most to be an easy credit, but none of that had
occurred to Genevieve when she signed up for it. It
was called "Environmental
Geography"—she had, foolishly it seemed, assumed that those taking it
might be remotely interested in environmental issues.
Near the
back of the room, Randy Weir downed his bottle of Coke, tossed it over his
shoulder, and let out a loud belch.
"Hey, wanna skip today?" Gen
asked. "Please? You don't need
Biology. You're not going to be a
biologist."
The second bell rang
before he could answer, though she knew what it was going to be anyway.
"Have fun," Levi said with a smirk as he turned to race for his
classroom.
Genevieve started into the class, dragging her feet as
she went. She should have switched to something else at the beginning of
the semester. There wasn't much else she was the least bit interested in
taking though. Kern had a Canadian Literature class, but, obviously, that
was
Kern who would be teaching it; signing up had been
completely out of the question, since one of her classes was more than
enough. There was also one of the few Art courses Genevieve hadn't taken
yet that was held at the same time—Arts and Crafts. Now that, while
boring, she could have gotten into without a problem, and only two days
into the semester, she'd even made an appointment with the guidance
counsellor to change it.
But something—or specifically
some
one—had changed her mind about it, and as she slid
into her seat near the front of the room, she was reminded again why that
was.
Janine Marlin-Garcia.
She sat four seats across from
Genevieve and one seat ahead, and days into the semester, she had
transferred into the class when Gen was planning to leave. Called into the
counsellor's office about switching to the Arts and Crafts course,
Genevieve thought and debated in her head over the decision, then finally
elected to stay in Environmental Geography. That meant five months with
people she loathed—five months that could have been spent in an easy Art
class...but also five months to daydream about Janine.
Daydreaming
was all she had, though. Everyone knew Janine had a girlfriend—a steady
one at that—from one of the neighbouring high schools. Plus they had
different friends. Completely different social circles, in fact. And there
was the small matter of Janine not even knowing Genevieve existed. But it
still seemed more fruitful than a straight girl crush, so Gen stuck with
it.
Janine's best friend, Lisa Anne, leaned in and said something
to her. With the roaring laughter and shouts from the boys behind her, the
joke went unheard by Genevieve, though she saw the effects of it as Janine
threw back her head of shiny dark hair and chuckled.
The
disturbing events of the night before almost seemed like a dream now that
Genevieve was sitting in class, and the more she thought about it, the
more surreal it became. Stalked, threatened, attacked? Had all that really
just happened to her? The creep must have been confused about who she was.
He had to be. She couldn't think of another explanation for it.
Well, except that he was a lunatic.
Gen supposed it was
the kind of thing she would normally brush off. But that knife...that made
it all way too real. Every time she seemed to be pushing the experience
from her mind, an image of a cold silver blade, threatening her throat,
flashed before her.
A pair of rich, chocolate brown eyes met hers,
and Gen's cheeks flushed as she realized she had been staring at Janine
all this time while lost in thought.
"Can I help you with
something?" the object of her affection asked, one dark, shapely brow
raised in a look of amusement.
Genevieve felt her face grow even
hotter. She quickly shook her head and looked away, cursing herself for
being so stupid. Though she swore she felt Janine's eyes linger on her a
few beats longer, she didn't dare look. No sense getting her hopes up.
Janine's laughter erupted again, followed by the giggles of Lisa
Anne. After folding her arms on the desk, Genevieve's head slumped down in
prayer for class to hurry up and end soon...or at least start, so she
could focus on something other than Janine laughing at her.
Their
teacher, Mr. Lambert, showed up seven minutes late, hurriedly imparted the
day's task then left with the claim of having a meeting. He seemed to have
a lot of those, though Genevieve tried to avoid hearing the rumoured
explanations why; she wasn't interested in knowing about the internet porn
alias of her Geography teacher.
Yet another independent project
was left for them to work on. They seemed to have a lot of those, and Gen
usually didn't mind, but this time they were told to work in small groups.
The instructions also said something about making posters to explain air
pollution to be posted in the library, as if anyone in their generation
didn't already know all there was to know about the subject.
Sitting up, Genevieve took stock of the room. Janine was, of
course, already grouped with Lisa Anne and her boyfriend, so her as a
partner was out of the question.
Even if I could get up
enough nerve to ask her, she thought wistfully.
Everyone else—or at
least the dozen or so that intended to do the assignment—immediately
gravitated toward one another and started planning, while the ones that
never bothered continued to not bother, choosing instead to continue
talking.
Why didn't I skip?! Oh well, this was
hardly the only project she'd be missing this semester—
"Um, hi,"
said a quiet female voice.
Genevieve glanced to the desk in the
next row and found the hopeful gaze of a girl she didn't know. The desk
behind her was empty, and it was clear she probably didn't have any
friends in that class either. She tucked a chunk of thick, dark, shoulder
length hair behind her ear, revealing a pair of striking auburn brows that
didn't come close to matching her coffee brown hair colour. Grey T-shirt,
indigo blue jeans, shoulders that seemed to naturally turn inward, and a
ghost-like presence—this was a girl who didn't like to be noticed.
Genevieve appreciated that in a person, especially in a class of attention
whores.
"Do you want to be in a group?" the girl asked.
"Sure," Gen replied with a shrug. As the girl moved her desk over,
Genevieve racked her brain for a name. She'd see her in class before, she
was sure of it, but that was where her familiarity with her ended. Despite
the lazy dye job on her hair, she was pretty, though not the jaw-dropping,
stare-at-her-constantly kind of pretty like Janine. With her curvy
build—and if she stripped her hair back to its natural colour—just a
different set of clothes and proper posture could make all the difference,
though. Still, Gen had no idea what her name could be. Hopefully it would
be on one of her books, so Gen didn't have to go through the embarrassment
of asking—
"I'm Meredith," she said.
At least now I don't have
to ask. "Genevieve."
"I know," Meredith
said, and then quickly fumbled to correct herself, her shy voice barely
above a whisper. If the classroom din got much louder, Gen would have a
difficult time hearing the girl at all. "Well, I mean, I'm in your English
class, so I know who you are."
Damn, Meredith was in at least two
of her classes, and she didn't know her name before this? As someone who
prided herself on being observant of people, this was just humiliating.
"Ah, so you were audience to yesterday's show, starring me and the
spandex hell beast," Gen replied. "I was a little unsure of the
performance at the beginning myself, but I really felt it picked up during
the second act."
"She can be kind of scary," Meredith agreed with
a laugh. She swept back her hair into a ponytail and opened her notebook.
"Is that why you didn't go today?"
"Yeah," Gen lied. The truth was
that she didn't fall asleep until nearly four-thirty in the morning. Every
time she began to drift off, something startled her, be it Penny shifting
on the bed, or a noise outside. When she finally did pass out, she slept
straight through until noon. At least being stalked had some perks—she
missed out on another class with Kern.
"She asked about you,"
Meredith said.
"Kern?"
"Yeah. She asked if anyone knew
where you were."
"Did she seem mad?"
"Um...kind of,"
Meredith confessed. "Someone told her you were home with food poisoning,
though, so she didn't mention it again."
"Someone?" Who the hell
would tell her that?
"Uh...I don't remember his name—he's that guy
you hang out with a lot. I mean, the one that was just outside of the
class, a few minutes ago—not that I was paying attention or anything, I
just saw him, and—"
"Levi," Genevieve filled in for her.
"Right. Sorry—I'm new, and there's just so many people here." Her
sentence was punctuated by a shout by Randy behind them as another guy
sucker-punched him. The two fell to the floor, play fighting and knocking
desks around, to the cheers and delighted squeals of their audience.
"And many you could probably do without knowing," Genevieve
replied as she opened her notebook as well. Just as her pen touched the
top of the paper to copy the instructions from the blackboard, a small,
pea-sized lump of wet crumpled paper flew over her shoulder to land on the
book.
Gen shuddered at the sight of the spit ball on her paper,
but the roaring laughter behind her suggested several guys were involved,
and turning around to bark at them would probably just get her wad in the
face.
"Do you ever wish you had magical powers you could use for
the forces of evil?" Gen asked with a sigh as she tore the ruined paper
from her notebook and crumpled it up.
"It's definitely crossed my
mind," Meredith agreed with a sympathetic smile.
For a class that
usually felt as though it dragged on for hours in its short,
seventy-minute period, the time seemed to fly by. Soon the bell was
ringing, and everyone filed out of the room, leaving the desks and poster
supplies in a state of disarray.
"Do you want to meet after school
or maybe tomorrow at my place to get the rest of this done?" Meredith
suggested as she and Genevieve followed the other students into the
hallway.
While she didn't have any particular plans for that
evening, Gen still preferred to keep to her house, at least for one more
night so she could keep an eye out for any more stalkers.
"Tomorrow sounds good," Gen replied.
"Great." Meredith
scribbled down her address and tore the sheet of paper from her notebook,
then handed it to Gen. "Ten o'clock, maybe?"
"Hmm, if it's a
Saturday, better make it closer to one—trust me, you don't want to deal
with me in a sleep deprived state."
"Okay, how about one-thirty
then. See you." Meredith gave her a quick, shy smile then went on her way,
easily slipping amongst the throngs of students and disappearing from
view.
"Did you just get some girl's phone number?" Levi asked as
he fell in step next to Genevieve.
"Ha ha. Funny."
"She's
kind of cute."
"But not my type. No, we're working on a project."
"Wow, you made a friend? An actual, new, real live friend?"
"Again, you're so funny, Lev," Genevieve replied dryly. "If
basketball doesn't work out, maybe you could try lame stand-up comedy."
Sure, she didn't have a lot of friends. She liked the ones she had, and
never felt the need to make new ones, which probably seemed odd to
Levi—both he and Hayden seemed to build fast friendships with anyone they
met in a matter of seconds.
"Are you coming to my game tonight?"
he asked.
"Uh..."
"Yeah, yeah, of course not." Levi
sighed. "Think you'll at least make one this year?"
"Probably. As
soon as I'm sure my stalker is gone. Hayden's probably going though,
right?"
"Nah, he's working."
"Guess you'll have to lose
without an audience then."
"Yeah, I guess so..." His voice trailed
off, and Gen didn't really need to look to know where his gaze strayed to.
Sage was headed toward the doors that led to the parking lot, and she
brushed past Gen and Levi on the way without so much as an acknowledgment.
She had to have seen him there, Gen was sure of it. But she completely
ignored him, the skank.
"So I guess Hayden won't be bringing her
along?" Gen guessed.
Levi shook his head. "Even if he could go,
she probably wouldn't be able to make it. I think she went to one game
with him last year."
"So why do you bother getting your hopes up?"
He shrugged, and they both knew there was no good answer for that
one. She had Janine and he had Sage—two girls completely out of reach for
either of them, and they knew it. Of all the things she and Levi had in
common, Gen wished that wasn't one of them.
*~*~*
"No, no way," Sage said firmly.
"It'll only
be for a few hours." Hayden gave her that look—that
please-just-do-this-for-me-look that she always gave into. But
no, not this time. She was putting her foot down, damn it. Well, at least
she would be figuratively. Literally, she sat on the hood of his car,
which was parked in the school's lot. Her jean-clad legs dangled over the
edge. Hayden put a hand on either side of her thighs and leaned in to kiss
her lightly. Lightly turned heavy in a hurry, however.
He never
played fair.
"He won't even notice me there," she insisted as she
pulled back. She saw it was a losing battle though, and not just with him.
No, with her own resolve as well. Hayden's hazel eyes pleaded with her,
and she knew that when she walked to his car—even before she heard what he
had to say—she'd eventually say yes. He always did that to her. It didn't
matter if she'd made up her mind about something; he'd change it, usually
with just a grin. Always did, and likely always would.
"Oh, he'll
notice." Hayden smiled and Sage rolled her eyes. "You know he'll notice."
"Not funny."
"I had to get something from his room the
other day for Mom, and this notebook was wide open—"
"Stop telling
me this!"
"'Dear Diary,'" Hayden said in a high pitched voice, and
Sage couldn't help but chuckle. "'I know the prettiest girl in the whole
wide world but she won't give me the time of day.' And then there was this
little sad face."
"You're kidding, right?"
She waited with
bated breath, but he didn't respond with anything more than a grin.
"Right?!"
"Duh," he replied. "But that's what you seem to
expect him to say. This isn't ninth grade anymore."
Ninth grade.
Sage shuddered to think about it, to imagine this had gone on that long.
It was thanks to Levi—or, more specifically, their ninth grade History
teacher for putting them in a group together for a project—that led to her
meeting Hayden, and she'd always be grateful for that. But gratitude
wasn't enough to encourage her to spend any alone time with the guy.
"He isn't daydreaming and drooling over you all the time,
surprisingly," Hayden continued. "At least go to the game, it'll mean a
lot to him.
"But why should I—"
"Because none of his
friends ever show up, and I have to work tonight on his first game of the
season. You've avoided him for two full years—you have to make an effort.
I could understand you being a little uncomfortable when we were first
going out, but you should be used to him by now."
This was
ridiculous. They both knew why she avoided Levi. It was something they
just didn't talk about. Ever. That was the unspoken deal. How long could a
guy hold a crush, anyway?
"I have classes tonight," Sage said,
still trying to wiggle out of it.
"You have classes every night,
hun. You manage to miss them when you want to, like last weekend when we
went camping—"
"Which is why I can't skip tonight. My teacher will
have my head."
"I don't think they do that anymore, if they ever
did. And it's just this once. C'mon, for me. Go to his game, sit in the
stands, maybe clap if you can stand to."
"Stop making me out to
seem—"
"Do this for me, Sage?"
She sighed. "Of course I
will. What time?"
"Seven-thirty. It should last a couple of
hours."
"Not the way they play."
"Touché."
She
pushed him out of her way and hopped off the hood of the car. "You owe me
big time," she said, crossing her arms and trying very hard to look
defiant and angry.
"And I look forward to working it off," he
replied with a grin, leaning down to kiss her again. One hand slid to her
waist, the other caught in her shoulder-length braids to pull her closer.
His watch beeped suddenly, interrupting the two.
"Ten to
three," she said as he glanced at his watch anyway, hoping it was a
mistake. Sage knew it wasn't, though—Hayden was always on time, which was
part of the reason that damn accountant hired him to help. It probably
wouldn't hurt him to be a little less responsible and dependable
sometimes, but then he just wouldn't be Hayden.
"Maybe it's a
little fast..."
"Nope, you gotta go." She poked him in the side.
"Don't be so lazy."
"I know, I know. Want a ride?"
Sage
shook her head, as Hayden knew she would. "Since someone wants me to skip
class tonight, I should get some exercise in. I'll jog home."
"Okay, wish him luck for me."
"Maybe," she replied as he
walked around the car to get in the driver's side. "But I'll definitely
cheer, and do all sorts of useless things like cartwheels and twirl
pom-poms."
"Hey, don't knock the cheerleaders—they provide a
valuable service to the community."
"The community, you say? And
here I thought it was just the varsity boys' teams."
Hayden
feigned shock. "And here
I thought you were more progressive than—" He closed
the door and she couldn't hear the rest of what he said. He started the
car, but didn't drive yet. Instead, the passenger side window rolled down,
and Sage leaned in. She rested her arms on the door to continue their
conversation.
"Nope, sorry, not me—not progressive in the least."
"So then you'll stay home and cook my food, clean my house, and be
my love slave?"
"No, but I'll make catty remarks about airheads
whose sole accomplishment in life is to finding new words to chant that
almost rhyme with 'Newhaven.' I will, however, consider the roll of love
slave if you make it to work on time so you can get your pay check and buy
me a present."
He pretended to think it over, but shook his head.
"Nope, no deal. I think I'll get myself one of those cheerleaders
instead."
"I've got news for you babe—they'll be wanting presents
too. Probably more expensive ones at that."
"Nah, you don't know
cheerleaders very well. They're more interested in the box it comes in
anyway. Plus who cares for diamonds when you've got shiny wrapping paper?"
"Well then, you might also want to try bubble wrap. It provides
hours of entertainment for those of little brain cells."
"I'll
pick some up on the way to work," he agreed. "Call you later."
"You'd better."
"Love you."
"Love you too."
Another grin that said to her, "Ha-ha, I got you to spend the
evening with my little brother who's in love with you," and he was off.
*~*~*
Here they were: first game of the season, and the
Newhaven Phoenixes were going to get their asses handed to them. There was
no doubt about it—at least not in Levi's mind. They lost all but two games
last year. This wouldn't be any exception.
He drummed his fingers
impatiently on his knee as the rest of the team filtered out of the locker
room and sat down. Yes, they were going to lose, but he wanted to get out
there anyway. Regardless of the score at the end of the night, he just
enjoyed being on the court.
"So, what are our odds?" Warren
Humber, team captain, asked as he sat next to Levi. The two guys looked at
one another and started laughing.
"Odds of winning or odds of just
not embarrassing our school?"
"We won't embarrass anyone," pointed
out another team member. "It's not like we're expected to win."
Levi glanced across the court to see the visiting team gathered in
a circle, and the ref walking to centre court.
"I think we're
starting," he said.
Warren jumped up in front of the team and
spoke in his mock-excited, commanding captain voice. "So, what are we
going to do?"
"Lose!" chanted the team on the bench.
"How
much are we going to lose?"
"A lot!"
"And will we be good
sports about it?"
"Never!"
"Why?"
"Because we're
the Newhaven Phoenixes! Phoe-nix-es! Phoe-nix-es!" The team stood up and
shouted their own name, and the home crowd in the stands went wild
cheering with them. Usually Levi stood back to chuckle in amusement at his
school's acceptance—and even pride—in the fact that they'd be losing...but
his attention was drawn to a single figure in the stands. The
shoulder-length black braids, nondescript athletic clothing, gorgeous
face...
Is that...? No, it couldn't be. She wouldn't be here...
No, wait, there was no mistaking that expression of utter boredom.
It was definitely Sage Bethany.
He scanned the people around her,
but didn't see Hayden or anyone he recognized that well. Sage came here
alone? To the game?
His game?
"Hey," Warren called, and Levi
realized his team was already lined up to greet their opponents. "C'mon,
we've got a game to lose!"
To hell with that! Tonight, they were
going to win!
The Newhaven Phoenixes lost the
game.
While Levi would defend the score of forty-six to seventeen
as a sign that they had definitely put up a fight—as it was rare they
cracked the double digits—they still lost.
He didn't bother
showering when he ran into the locker room after the game; he simply
grabbed his duffle bag, threw on his jacket, and flew back out the door.
Warren and a few of the others called something after him, but he wasn't
listening. He had to find Sage.
Levi found the gymnasium virtually
empty, with only a few stranglers hanging behind. None of them was Sage.
Next he tried the hallways outside of the gym, the front foyer, finally
ending up in the parking lot. It was dark outside, and though he scanned
the people getting in and out of their cars, he saw no sign of her. Great,
where did she go?
He was about to give up when he spotted someone
far out in the field, jogging in the direction of the ravine way out
behind the school. Hayden had commented several times on her cutting
through there on her way home from school...what if that was her?
I should probably just talk to her
tomorrow, he thought. But here she had come all the way to
his game; he ought to at least thank her for it. Nothing would ever happen
between them—this he knew. She was over at his place every other day, and
though it was vaguely annoying to see her and Hayden together, it was
clear they were happy. It would be different if his brother was a horrible
person or something. But even as kids, they got along. Hayden was too
easy-going to pick a fight with, and Levi himself didn't have any
complaints in the sibling department.
Except that his big brother
managed to not only get a girlfriend—which in itself was an accomplishment
given his preference to never leave the basement in favour of playing
video games—but snag Levi's budding crush and stay with her for two years.
But why come to his game? Especially alone? He had to find out.
Levi crossed the parking lot and jogged in her direction.
"Sage!" he called when he reached mid-field.
I hope I
catch up to her... It would be hard to follow her through the dark
ravine. "Sage!"
She didn't even acknowledge she heard him, instead
running along at a steady pace.
Damn, she's
fast,
Levi thought as he pushed himself ever harder to close the distance
between them. Sure, he could blame his windedness on the fact that he just
finished a game, but she'd been going steady for awhile and hadn't slowed
a step.
"Sage!" he called one final time before she disappeared
down the steps that lead to the creek and fields. Great! He supposed he
could call her and thank her later...
Levi was about to turn
around when he noticed four tall, broad shouldered men dressed in dark
clothing come out from the trees near the steps. They conferred for a
moment then glanced down toward the creek.
They were too old to be
from Newhaven High. And they almost looked as though they'd been waiting
for someone...
The memory of the guy who'd been stalking Gen
invaded his mind suddenly, sending a chill down his spine. Was there some
sort of gang in town bothering high school girls? He scanned his memory
for any recent news of similar attacks. Usually, that sort of thing
warranted an announcement or possible school assembly to warn people, but
nothing like that came to mind.
There were multiple flashes of
silver as each man pulled something out of his jacket. Dread filled Levi's
gut as he realized they had knives. The men filed down the stairs, moving
slowly as if trying not to be seen.
Sage...
Levi glanced back at the school. It would
take twice as long to reach the pay phones inside as it would to run down
to the ravine and make sure they weren't after her. Dammit, why did he
never remember to bring his cell phone?
He started for the stairs.
Last night wasn't so bad—it had just been one guy who grabbed Gen, and
Levi had the element of surprise. Now, however, he was looking at more
than an elbow to the face for his efforts. What was he going to do against
four men with weapons? Nothing. He knew it. Hopefully he wouldn't have to
do anything, though—Sage seemed pretty fast, so they could possibly outrun
the guys. Maybe.
He'd find out in a moment.
He paused at
the top of the staircase, staring down into the abyss-like darkness below
him. No lights were around to penetrate the night down there, and since
trees shaded most of the path, he was facing a trek through the ravine in
pitch black. The shadowed bottom of the stairs was a huge mouth, waiting
to eat him whole, daring him to tread forward with the promise he might
help Sage. But scary darkness or not, he couldn't leave her.
His
heart racing, Levi thumped down the steps, gaze probing the night for any
sign of them. At the bottom of the staircase, his eyes adjusted to the
lack of light. The small creek moved fast tonight, water rushing over the
rocks. It was about knee-deep in middle, though the wooden bridge off to
the side saved anyone from wading through it. He ran across the bridge and
studied the clearing through the break in the trees. There was no one
there. So where the hell did they go?
Levi was about to head for
the clearing to continue his search when the rustle of tree branches
stopped him. Swinging around to the left, he watched the trees closely,
but saw no one.
A trickle of sweat slithered down his forehead,
and as he reached up to brush it away, he realized he was trembling.
Great, some big hero he was…
And then he caught sight of Sage in
the distance. Near the middle of the creek, she stood on a rock sticking
out of the water, her back to him. She waited there a moment, back
perfectly straight as she studied the water in front of her, then she
hopped off the rock onto another a few steps away. She seemed okay...
Levi opened his mouth to call out to her when the men from earlier
appeared from the trees not far from the creek's edge. There was
one...two...three...damn, where was the fourth? He didn't have time to
wonder—they were closing in on Sage.
Perhaps it was due to the
noise of the busy creek that she didn't notice them approaching, because
she continued hopping to the next stone without so much as a glance behind
her. Levi started jogging toward the scene, but they were still several
yards away.
The man nearest to her treaded through the water
without hesitation, twirling the knife in his hand and swinging his arm in
an arc toward her—
Sage turned and kicked the knife out of his
hand with one swift movement. Levi stopped dead in his tracks, stunned as
he watched her move with the grace of a dancer, kicking off the ground and
twisting mid-air. Her heels swung upward in a smooth arc, one after the
other, striking the man in the head as one of her hands touched down on
the stone for balance. She landed perfectly back on her rock again after
completing her strange, one-handed cartwheel, then stood upright and
surveyed her opponent. He fell back into the rushing water, too stunned to
move. Her gaze moved to the others now advancing on her.
What the...? Her new attacker
approached, while the third waited only steps behind at the water's edge.
Just as her opponent drew near, she grabbed his head and—to Levi's
astonishment—vaulted over him and landed on the man behind him. They both
fell to the ground, and Sage rolled off of him and flipped onto her feet.
Sure, Levi knew from Hayden that she took a bunch of self-defense
classes or something, but this was insane! That just...that wasn't humanly
possible.
Whether it was possible or not didn't seem to matter to
Sage, though; she now took on two armed men, and was quite clearly
winning. She guided each punch thrown at her to the side, sending her
attackers sprawling to the ground. She took the odd hit to the face, but
every time it seemed the men were gaining ground, she pulled out some new
trick and turned their attacks around on them.
The sight of the
fourth man breaking through the trees disrupted Levi's daze. At first, it
relieved him to see he didn't appear to be carrying a knife like the
others...then he noticed the dark object in his hand, and how he was
taking careful aim...
Scanning the ground for any sort of weapon,
Levi's gaze landed on a large branch. He scooped it up and ran at the guy
wielding the gun. Just as he tried to slam it down on the back of the
man's head, the gunman immediately ducked, as if he knew Levi was there.
When the branch didn't connect with its target, it threw him off
balance, and he fell easily when the gunman elbowed him in the back. Just
as he turned the gun Levi's way, the teenager swung the branch against his
legs.
As the fourth attacker stumbled, Levi's grip tightened
around the branch, and he slammed it against the side of the man's head.
The wood connected with a
thud against his skull, and the
attacker fell to the ground. Sage's opponents were also down for the
count, and her eyes drifted over the bodies and fell on Levi, who
struggled to stand.
He gaped at her, still uncertain of what to
say. He really just saw that, right? She really knocked out three armed
men?
He tried to talk to her, to ask if she was okay, to find out
if she knew what the hell was going on, but the words stuck at the back of
his throat. She casually stepped over the bodies, kicking the gun in the
water as she passed it.
"H-Hi," Levi managed to stammer as she
walked past him. She paused, pulled a small earphone from her ear, and he
then noticed the iPod at her waist.
"Hi," he said again, giving
her a look of utter confusion.
"Hi." She stared at him for a
moment, awkwardly biting her lip as she contemplated something. "Good game
tonight." With a weak and uncomfortable smile, she started jogging out of
sight.
Levi gazed after her for a moment, and then looked at the
still unconscious men once again. "Good game tonight?" That's all she had
to say?
What the hell was going on?
