Ascension

Chapter 1

I saw a meme on Instagram once that said Meanwhile in Arizona... and it had a picture of a guy with his face melting off. It had been an exaggeration, or so I thought...until we stop for gas in Tucson, and I almost die on the walk from the pump to the food mart. The heat is bad enough, but there's a light breeze, and where normal places in the country a breeze would bring some relief, this breeze is hot, and it feels like someone is using a blowtorch on my face. According to the thermometer on the dash in the car, it's ten degrees hotter when we reach our new home in the suburbs of Phoenix.

On the bright side, it's so disgustingly hot that my older siblings—who blame me for this move—are too pissed to ride in the same car as me for the rest of the drive. The last couple of hours I get to sit shotgun for the first time since leaving Chicago, and the car is blissfully free of squabbling, whining, and them insulting me. Dad and I get to turn up the baseball game on the radio and ride in peace.

When we enter our new neighborhood, I lean forward and let out a long whistle. "These houses are awfully big."

Dad grins, his eyes sparking with the first hint of excitement I've seen since we left our last home. We've lived in Chicago my whole life. It's as hard for my parents to leave as it is for my brother and sister. I'm the only one relieved to be moving. "Houses here are a lot less expensive than in Chicago."

I blink at the cookie cutter houses we drive past. They're tract homes in a planned community, but they're huge. "Still..." I shake my head in awe. These houses back to a freaking golf course that runs through the neighborhood. "Do we really need this much?"

The grin falls from dad's face. "We wanted to get something nice to make it up to the twins for hauling them across the country before their senior year. Our house is 3,500 square feet. It has five bedrooms and a huge loft, plus a pool."

My jaw drops. "Are you serious?"

His smile comes back. "Yup. You'll each have your own room, and I can still have an office."

My own room. And a pool. That's insane. It's more than twice the size of our old apartment. I'm going to miss living in the city, but I have to admit, having my own bedroom for the first time in my life is going to make me miss it a lot less.

I glance in the rearview mirror at Mom's car behind us. Eli and Elena are both bouncing in their seats pointing out the windows. I doubt they've forgiven me for this move, but maybe now that we live in a McMansion, they'll be a little less nasty.

Dad pulls the car up in front of a large two-story home with tan stucco walls, a brown tile roof, and a three-car garage. "Three garages?" I ask, suspicion thick in my voice.

Dad slides his gaze to me. "You're too observant for your own good."

I cock an eyebrow at him. "Meaning...?"

He smirks. "Meaning we're going to get you kids a car this week, so you have something to get you to school and stuff."

"A car?"

"This place isn't like Chicago. Things are more spread out. It's too far to walk to places, and even if it wasn't, it's too hot. You guys will need a way to get around."

I look back at the house again trying to figure out how much our lives have just changed. It certainly looks nothing like Chicago. The front yard is made of mostly rocks with all kinds of trees, bushes, and cacti in it. There's a line weaving across it where the rocks are darker, making it look like a waterless river is running through it.

Mom pulls into the driveway next to us, and Eli and Elena immediately jump out of the car running toward the front door. Dad and I watch streaks of blond zip past us. My equally as blond mom follows them at a much calmer pace with a pair of keys in her hand, hollering at them to settle down. Dad turns to me. "Don't you want to join the race to claim a bedroom?"