Wishful Deviltry

Chapter Twelve

Karis woke up the next morning to the smell of fresh coffee roasting. She barely opened her eyes only to have a ray of sunlight briefly blind her as it peeked through the cracks in the closed window blinds. Karis turned her head quickly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes when she saw the time on her alarm clock next to her bed. She sprang up from her bed and jerked on some blue jeans. Her shirt was wrinkled from sleeping in it but she didn't pay attention to it. She rushed out her door to find Jessica dancing around her desk with earphones in her ears hooked to her iPod. She had a coffee pot plugged in next to her computer waiting for the coffee to brew.
"JESSICA!" Karis called out but Jessica kept dancing. Karis picked up a pillow from the couch and threw it at Jessica hitting her on the back.
Jessica twirled around plucking the earphones out of her ears with a surprised look. "Oh, I'm sorry Karis. Did I wake you up?"
"It's eight o'clock in the morning. Are we late for class?" Karis asked.
"No, silly. Classes don't start till ten o'clock. Classes here are different than regular school classes. They say we need the rest so we start later and get out earlier." Jessica grabbed an empty coffee cup and filled it with hot coffee then walked over to the couch to sit down. Karis made a funny face when Jessica took a drink of her coffee without putting any sugar or cream in it. Jessica smiled at Karis as she placed her cup on the coffee table. "I like my coffee strong, like my men. Do you want some? I have sugar in the cabinet."
"No thank you, I'm not a coffee drinker."
"Neither am I. I just like how it makes me feel before training. I'm already hyper from my ADHD. Coffee just makes me more focused. I don't know how to explain it but as long as I don't put sugar in it then I can concentrate better."
"Is training first on the agenda today?"
"No, we have sight class first then chemistry and after that comes computer science. Then we break for lunch for an hour and last but not least we have environmental science, species microbiology, and training."
"What's species microbiology?"
"It teaches about the different mutations of Scrapers such as their DNA, their cells, what species they mutated from, life span, and so on. An extremely boring class at times, but it's something you definitely want to have knowledge about when you fight against these creatures."
"What about training? What do we do in there?" Karis asked nervously.
"On Monday and Wednesday we train with the strength powers. Tuesday and Thursday we train with the force powers. Friday we learn about the maker powers. We'll have to figure out a way to fake your sight power. Wait! I got it." Jessica exclaimed and jumped up to run to her room. When she reappeared she had a watch in one hand and something that looked like a dry bean in the other. "This is an ear piece that picks up frequencies through this watch. We can use these to fake your sight powers."
Karis looked at the small ear piece. "That thing won't get stuck in my ear, will it?"
"No. It's perfectly fine. Let's see if it will work."
Karis placed the ear piece in her ear while Jessica put on the watch and walked in her room shutting the door behind her. "Okay, I can see you through the door, can you hear me through the ear piece."
"Yes. Wow, it's so clear. I think this might work."
Jessica came out of her room and grabbed her coffee cup. "Good, just make sure that little ear piece stays in your ear. It would be hard to explain to everybody why the new girl has stuff falling out her ears. Plus I don't want it to break. These little gadgets are expensive."
"I'll be very careful. Will Kaleb be okay with Kenny today? I probably won't see him until lunch."
Jessica took a sip of her coffee and laughed. "He'll be fine. I bet Kenny is going to have to use his force power to keep the girls off of him. He is fresh meat in a shark tank."
Karis gave Jessica a dirty look. She couldn't figure out why she was feeling this stab of jealousy over Kaleb and other girls. She had kissed Titanium and enjoyed it. How could someone like two different guys that have two totally different personalities at the same time?
"Are you okay Karis. You tend to get this blank stare a lot here lately."
"Really, I've just have a lot on my mind. You know my parents and all." Karis lied. "Hey, can we swing by Kenny's dorm to see if he found anything on that phone?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea. We can go right now. Go get dressed and I'll meet you over there. Whatever you do, don't forget that ear piece!"
Karis nodded in excitement as she ran to her room to get dressed. All she could think about was her parents and how she couldn't wait to hear their voices again. It had only been two days since she had seen them, but it felt like an eternity to Karis. She worried about her little brother, even though he was safe with her grandparents. What did he know about the situation? Does he know that their parents are in danger or that she had been attacked twice? Maybe it would be better if he didn't know. Karis thought to herself as she put her boots on and walked out of her dorm room.
Karis went across the hall to knock on Kenny's door. A girl with strawberry blonde hair walked up beside her and smiled. "Aye, ye must be Karis? Me brother said that he met some new students."
"Do I know your brother?" Karis asked trying to figure out why the girl in front of her looks so familiar.
"Aye, ye met him yesterday, Dillon O'Mylie. I believe ye got interrupted by the brawl Dalton started. Ye need to stay away from that header. He's not the full shilling, if ye get me meaning. Anyhow, me brother and I are twins."
"That explains why you look familiar to me." Karis said.
"Me name is Taren, Taren O'Mylie."
Karis opened her mouth to say something when Kenny's door opened and startled both of them. Jessica stood in the doorway with a grin from ear to ear. "Hey girls, I see that you two have met each other. Welcome to Kenny and Kaleb's bachelor pad. Drinks are in the mini fridge. Okay just cokes, sprites and maybe some water but hey, it sounded good anyway."
Karis and Taren gave Jessica a funny look and walked in the room. "So, has Kenny found anything out about that number?" Karis asked.
"Yeah, I think so. He told me to wait out in the party room." Jessica said rolling her eyes. "I think he meant the room with the TV. He said he wanted to make sure everybody was here so he didn't have to explain it more than once."
"Did I come at a bad time, because I can leave and come back later?" Taren said with wide eyes.
"No, you're fine. I just asked Kenny to check out a number that called my cell phone." Karis explained.
The girls turned around as Kaleb's door opened and he walked out of his room cleaning his ears with a Q-tip. His hair was wet like he just stepped out of the shower. When he looked up, his eyes met Karis's eyes and he smiled. Karis covered her mouth to keep from gasping as the other two girls stared with astonishment. Kaleb gave them a confused look as he glanced down at himself only to realize that all he had on was a towel low around his waist. Embarrassed, he looked back at Karis with a crooked smile and held up one finger. "Excuse me while I go get dressed. Make yourselves comfortable."
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Kaleb. You look pretty hot especially with those six pack abs you got going on there. Not bad at all." Jessica said teasingly.
"Really?" Kaleb glanced down at his stomach again and grinned at Jessica as he flexed his abdominal muscles. "I have only worked out for a couple of months. I tried to tell Karis that sit ups are a good way to build muscles, but...."
"I know what muscles are, Kaleb, and I don't need a demonstration." Karis interrupted him. "Now, go get dressed so we can concentrate on what Kenny found out and not your abs."
"Okay, okay! Man, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Kaleb said as he turned and walked in his room, shutting the door behind him.
"Wow, Karis, did you see his chest muscles and wash board stomach! I bet he could be an underwear model with no problem." Jessica said with a wink. "I mean, he's not built like Titanium, but man with that body and those blue eyes; I'm just saying."
"Aye, he is a nice fella to the eyes, if I do say so me self." Taren added. "Is he spoken for?"
"Not physically, but mentally. Yes!" Jessica said nodding her head towards Karis.
"Oh, I see. Just make sure he steers clear from Ethereal, she is a true gobdaw."
"What's a gobdaw?" Karis asked Taren curiously.
Jessica giggled. "It means an 'idiot' in Irish slang. You'll get use to Taren and Dillon's slang. It's kind of funny at times." She said as she threw herself in Kenny's recliner to get comfortable. "Anyway, I have two words that describe Kaleb, eye candy!'
"Delicious Eye Candy at that. I can't wait to see him on the beach." Taren said with a guilty smile.
"Y'all are horrible, where's Kenny with my phone?" Karis asked trying to change the subject.
Kaleb walked out of his room wearing jeans and a blue shirt that made his eyes stand out even more. He walked over to stand by Karis looking at Taren like he seen her before, but couldn't figure out where. Karis decided to introduce them.
"Kaleb, this is Taren O'Mylie, Dillon's twin sister."
"Oh? OH, now I get why you look so familiar to me. Nice to meet you. Where's your brother?"
"He's not a morning person. He likes to sleep in. Unlike me self." Taren answered with a smile.
Kenny walked out of his room surprised to see everybody in the room. He set his lap top up along with Karis' phone on the table as he took a seat. Everybody gathered around him to see what he found out about the phone. Kenny glanced around to see if everybody was present.
"Where's Titanium?" Kenny asked.
"Nobody has seen him yet. I bet he's prepping himself in front of his mirror." Jessica chuckled.
"Okay, we'll wait a little longer." Kenny looked at Taren and then glanced at Karis. "You okay with Taren being in this conversation."
"Yes, as long as she's okay with keeping quiet." Karis said looking directly at Taren.
"Aye, the only person I talk to is me brother and he knows that if he says anything I will reef him. So, I believe ye have no worries."
"Okay, the only one we are waiting for is Titanium." Kenny said as he typed on his computer keyboard.
"That's no big surprise. Is it?" Kaleb said sitting down in a chair at the table.
"Well, we don't have to wait too long, I see him walking up to the door now." Jessica said using her sight powers to look through the door. "Taren, will you be a doll and open the door for him."
Taren rushed to open the door before Titanium could knock on it. She wanted to surprise him. When she opened the door her smile turned to a frown as Titanium walked through the door with no surprised look.
"How did ye know I was going to open the door?" Taren asked disappointedly.
Titanium made his way to the recliner that Kenny was sitting in and leaned against the armrest looking over Kenny's shoulder at what he was typing on the computer. "I didn't. Just a lucky guess. What did you find out, Kenny?"
Karis felt her stomach knot up with tension when Titanium walked past her without saying a word or even acknowledging her. She told herself to ignore her feelings and concentrate on what Kenny had found out. She would deal with Titanium later.
Kenny looked up from his computer noticing that all eyes were on him waiting for answers to their questions. "To make this story short where all of you can understand, the number on this phone came from a throw away phone which means it is nearly impossible to trace. But if I hook this phone up to my brilliant computer, not only can I get the name of the person that purchased the throw away phone, I can also get a voice recognition on the person whom is talking on the other end of the phone line when we call it back."
"So, who purchased the phone?" Kaleb asked anxiously.
Kenny started typing on his keyboard again. His eyes narrowed with concentration at the computer screen as if searching for the name. "It says here that a man named Trevor Carson purchased the phone, does that name ring a bell for any of you guys?"
"That's impossible!" Karis stated. "Didn't Mr. Carson say his father that died was named Trevor?"
"Yes he did. Now either he's lying about his father's death or he doesn't know he's still alive." Titanium said scratching his head.
"Or..... Somebody could be using his name on a fraudulent credit card." Jessica blurted out before anybody else spoke.
Kenny gave Jessica a wink. "Good call Jessica. Let me find out what the phone was purchased with." Kenny started typing vigorously on his keyboard then stared at the computer screen for a moment as information popped up. "It was purchased with a Visa card that is owned by a Trevor Carson, so it could be possible that it is fraud."
"Well, should we tell Mr. Carson about this?" Karis asked.
"NO! I mean, we need to investigate it ourselves first before we go blurting out the only information we got. Especially to people we don't know we can trust yet. We need to make absolutely sure who's on our side." Titanium said.
"Alright then where do we need to go from here?" Jessica asked.
Titanium half smirked and finally acknowledged Karis. "I think it's time Karis made a phone call."
"Are you out of your mind?" Kaleb said in disbelief. "What if it's someone who wants to know where Karis is hiding?"
"Like they can reach through the phone and grab her dumbass." Titanium snapped. "She's safe at this school, nobody's stupid enough to try to get her while she's here, too much of a liability. At least if we call the number we can possibly get voice recognition, and then we can go from there."
"What do we have to loose, Kaleb. Let's see if we can find out where our parents are. If these people are using some dead guy's name, who knows what kind of trouble our parents are in. We might be able to help them if we have the right kind of information." Karis pleaded. "If something goes wrong and it's not what we want to hear, I promise I won't leave your side. You can handcuff me to your arm for all I care, I just want some answers."
"Fine, but if I think for one minute you're getting yourself into some kind of danger then you better get accustomed to seeing this face all the time." Kaleb said with a fake smile as he pointed to his face with his finger.
"Whoa Karis, I'd be more worried about that if I were you." Titanium snorted as his tossed her the phone. "Just redial the number and put it on speaker phone."
"What do I say?" Karis asked nervously as her hand started to shake making it hard to hold on to the phone.
"If you don't recognize the voice just tell whoever it is that this number came across your phone and that you did not recognize it. It could be a possible wrong number." Kenny said handing Karis a USB cord to plug in her phone to connect to his computer. "This will help us get voice recognition from the person on the other end of the phone. It will also save the voice to a program on my computer so I can access it again later if we somehow get disconnected."
"Okay, here goes nothing." Karis turned on the phone and pressed the number on the screen to redial it. She had it on speaker phone so there was a moment of silence before it started ringing. Karis felt her heart start to race as she heard the first ring followed by the second ring. At first she thought it was just going to keep ringing, but someone answered on the third ring.
"Aloe. Multipurpose Enterprises. How may I direct your call?" a female voice in an English accent answered.
"Uh, Yes, I received a call from this number and I'm not sure who it was. Is there any way you can find out if someone tried to call me from that facility?" Karis asked politely.
"Hold please." The female voice said as music started to play on the phones speaker.
"Karis, just hang up. They're probably finding out information about you as we speak." Kaleb said anxiously.
"Don't be stupid, the only thing she can do is come back on the phone and say that nobody from that office called this number." Titanium said irritably.
"Aye, if ye don't mind me saying something, I don't understand why a so called throw away phone is connected to a company. Usually, the goms have a phone plan with high tech phones." Taren stated looking at Titanium. "And the name of the company, 'Multipurpose Enterprises', this seems a bit of a horses hoof. I would take whatever these people say with a grain of salt."
Titanium opened his mouth again to say something else then closed it as the music on the phone stopped and the female voice came back on the line. "Sorry to keep you waiting, I shall transfer you now."
"Transfer me to whom?" Karis asked the lady, but the music started playing again before Karis finished asking the question.
"Something's not right. They're not giving out much information. I think they're trying to keep us on the line as long as possible. This just feels like a bad idea." Kaleb said nervously.
"Let's just see who they put on the line. Kenny has the phone hooked to his computer and he can run voice recognition on whoever talks on the phone. We have the upper hand here. We have Kenny." Titanium said with a wicked grin.
"You give me too much credit." Kenny pointed out
"That's because you are so awesome." Jessica chimed in making Kenny blush with embarrassment.
Everybody tensed up as the music stopped again and a male voice came on the phone. "Hello, Karis. We have been expecting your call."
Karis's eyes widened and her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. She looked at Kaleb with pleading eyes, not knowing what to do next. He mouthed quietly for her to hang up the phone with his hands while Titanium was shaking his head no and motioning her to talk. Karis took a deep breath, which calmed her nerves just enough for her to talk.
"Who is this and how do you know who I am?"
The male's voice was gruff with a slight British accent. "No need to worry about who I am at the moment. What you need to worry about are your parents. I'm sure Kaleb is with you, am I right?"
Kaleb leaned in closer to the phone wanting more information now that the man on the other end of the line knows more about them than they know about him. "Yeah, I'm here. What's it to you, what do you know about our parents?"
"Ah... You got me on speaker phone, very convenient. Now I can speak to both of you and whoever else you have in your presence. Listen closely for I will not say this twice. There is a certain package that we are extremely interested in that will soon arrive for Karis."
"Yeah, why are you so interested in it?" Karis asked.
"Do not interrupt me!" The man's voice grumbled sternly. "We are willing to make an even trade. Kaleb's parents for the package you have in your possession."
"You have my parents? How do we know you're not lying to us?" Kaleb asked in a shaky voice.
"Ah, now I have your attention. You are still little children playing in an adult game. The difference between adults and children is that we adults do not play fair. The truth is that we may or may not have both of your parents. But are you willing to take that chance?" The man on the phone spoke with confidence. "When was the last time you talked to your parents? How did I know both of your names? You might think you are smarter than us, but you are just kids. Even if you are surrounded by powers, just remember; we have powers too."
Karis couldn't hold her temper any longer. The man on the phone, who was threatening them and talking about her parents, made her explode. "Where are our parents, you son of a -."
"Now Karis, there is no need for name calling." The man spoke before Karis got the last word out. He continued in a more serious tone. "When this package arrives, we want only you to bring it to the train station and put it in a locker with the number 222 on it. Take the key and tape it under the first seat closest to the locker. There will be a letter under the seat with directions to where Kaleb's parents are located. We will contact you again later."
"What about my parents?" Karis said gritting her teeth, trying not to cry.
"They are safe if that is what you want to know, but just make sure you keep this phone close, we might use them for collateral later. Did you understand my instructions?"
"How do I know you're not going to kill them when you get this package?"
"You don't, but I can say that we are still interested in what your parents can offer us after we receive the package. As long as you both do as you are told there will be no need to harm either of your parents. Now, let me ask you again, did you understand my instructions?"
"Yes, how will you know when I get the package?" Karis asked as she looked over at Kenny, who gave her thumbs up.
"Just text the phrase 'Game On' to this number; then we will know. Stick to the plan and everything will be back to normal for you and Kaleb."
"Fine, but if anything happens to our parents." Karis started.
"We know, we know, children, do you think you are the only people that have threatened us before. Do not make us do something you will regret. We will be waiting for your text."
The line went dead. Karis stared at the phone in disbelief. She didn't know whether to throw the phone against the wall and watch it smash into little pieces or call them back to demand them to let her talk to her parents. Either way she knew that it wouldn't help her situation. Kaleb walked over to Karis, took the phone out of her hand, and slowly pulled her into his arms. She buried her head into his shoulder and started sobbing. He gently stroked her hair with his hand as he hugged her tight.
"Did you get anything from that, Kenny?" Kaleb asked still hugging Karis.
"Well, the Multipurpose Enterprises is definitely a hoax. I don't know where he was calling from but on the bright side, I got voice recognition on the man talking."
Karis lifted her head from Kaleb's shoulder and gave him a fake smile as she went to look at Kenny's computer. She wiped her red, puffy eyes with the sleeve of her shirt and stared at the computer screen. There was a picture of a man that looked to be in his late thirties with short brown hair that was greying on the sides. His goatee looked like it had a red tint to it and was placed under a large crooked nose. Possibly from being broke several times, Karis thought to herself. His eyes were such a deep brown color that it made his pupils looked extremely dilated. His eyebrows pulled together in the middle which made him look like he had a permanent mad expression on his face. The man did not look familiar to her, but his name did ring a bell. "James Littleton, I've heard that name somewhere before, but I can't remember where." Karis said.
"It says here that he has been arrested several times on theft charges, but made bail by an unknown source." Jessica said. "I bet that unknown source is his partner in crime."
Titanium made a growling sound as he stood up and paced angrily in a circle. "I won't let this guy call all the shots and you won't go to a train station by yourself. There's no telling what they'll do. If they took your parents, who's to say they won't take you too?"
"I won't let that happen!" Kaleb said.
"I know you both mean well, but they want me to come alone and if I don't do what they say then we'll never see our parents again." Karis's voice cracked. "I can take care of myself. Maybe I'll get my powers before the package arrives. With the training I'll be getting here, everything should be fine."
"Out of the question! We'll have a plan by then and it won't be you alone at a train station." Titanium snapped. "This James dude said that this is an adult game and we're just kids, well these kids don't play by adult rules."
"You got that right! We're all in this together. After training today lets meet at the library and plan the details." Jessica said with a smile.
"Sounds good, I'll print this guy's information and see if I can find anything else on him. I need a shower before class. Meet you guys at the library later." Kenny stretched in his seat and finally stood up. He grabbed his computer, unplugged the cord from Karis's phone, and took the computer with him to his room.
"Aye, I better go find me brother before class. I hope ye don't mind us joining ye little group here. We are really good at keeping secrets and we might be able to help ye in the long run." Taren said shyly.
"I think you were pulled into our little group without knowing it. So, welcome, we're definitely glad you and your brother are on our side." Karis said.
"Okay then, on that note I will see ye in class later." Taren waved bye to everybody and walked out the door.
Karis leaned on Kaleb for support as all her energy mentally drained from her body. She wanted to just sit down and cry until all her pain was gone.
Jessica and Titanium were the only ones left in the room besides Karis and Kaleb. Everybody was quiet for several minutes until Jessica broke the silence. "I hate to be the party pooper, but we need to get to class, it is almost ten o'clock."
Kaleb looked down at his watch and shot up to his feet, making Karis lose her balance, falling over the back of the couch and rolling to her feet.
Titanium started laughing. "That'll never happen again. I was sure you were going to fall on your face, miss graceful herself."
"Sorry Karis, I didn't mean to make you fall. We only have fifteen minutes to get to class. Are you sure you are okay?" Kaleb asked holding out his hand to help steady Karis.
Karis laughed out loud. "Yes, I'm fine. I know you didn't mean to, but don't let it happen again. Next time I might not land on my feet."
"He's right, we better get to class, the teachers don't forgive tardiness and they never forget." Jessica said grabbing Karis's hand and pulling her to the door.
"I guess we'll see y'all at the library after training." Karis said waving at KALEB.
"Yeah, Kenny and I will find a place in the library and save you a seat."
Jessica pulled Karis out the door before she could say anything else to Kaleb. Titanium followed in step behind them. "I guess I'll see you both in training."
"What? Do we have training together?" Karis asked nervously.
"Yep, strength and sight today so be prepared to wrestle with me. I might let you win at least once or twice. You know, to make it look like you are trying. You might even enjoy it." Titanium said with a grin as he grabbed Karis around the waist and pulled her into his chest with their faces only inches away from each other's. Karis stared into his dreamy eyes that were a light green with brown flakes. She was so amazed at how his eyes would change colors depending on what he color clothes he had on.
"Oh, now you want to acknowledge that I'm in your presences. Just a few minutes ago you acted like I wasn't even in the room." Karis said irritably trying to pull away from him.
Titanium tightened his grip on her so she couldn't break loose. "I was only acting that way in front of Kaleb. You were the one that didn't want him to know about us, so I'm playing by your rules."
Karis relaxed in his arms. "Your right, I'm just under so much pressure right now. I'm sorry for jumping down your throat."
"I'll forgive you this time, now can we make up." Titanium loosened his grip, leaned down and kissed Karis softly on her lips. Her body shivered as goose bumps formed on hair arms. She kissed him back, but not with the same affection that he gave her. Titanium pulled back and gave Karis a worried look. "What's wrong? Do I have bad breath or something?"
"No! Not at all, I'm just nervous that Kaleb might open his door and see us. Can we make up later, you know, more privately."
Titanium rolled his eyes and smiled. "Sure, if that's what it takes to get you to loosen up? Look Karis, I really like you, I don't know where this thing between us is going to go, but I don't want it to end. You make me feel alive, like I have a reason to use my powers when before it was just a competition. I never wanted to protect something as much as I want to protect you." Titanium cupped his hands on each side of Karis's cheek and lightly kissed her forehead. When he pulled back, Karis could see the sincerity in his eyes. "I don't know how to explain my feelings. I've never been good at that, but all I know is as long as we have this between us, I'll play by your rules."
"I tell you what?' Karis grabbed Titanium's hands and lowered them to his side as she held them. "Let's take it one day at a time."
"Sounds like a plan." Titanium looked up over Karis's shoulder at Jessica and called out, "Hey Jessica, see you in training, there's a mat with your name written all over it, better bring your boxing gloves; ha-ha."
Jessica raised her arms in the air and yelled back with a smile. "Bring it, if you dare!"
Titanium gave Karis a hug and kissed her softly on her cheek. "Catch you later, babe. Don't let Jessica get you into too much trouble."
Karis gave him thumbs up as she turned and caught up to Jessica. "Just keep walking and don't say a word."
"Girl, you got him wrapped around your finger. What are you going to do about Kaleb?"
"I don't know." Karis whined. "What Kaleb doesn't know won't hurt him, right."
"Yeah, for right now, but you better figure out who you want before this starts getting out of hand and somebody does get hurt."
"I know, I know. Just give it a couple of days. I'll figure it out. Let's just get to class before we're late."

Hope you like it so far, I will update chapters a lot faster, I will try to update two to three chapters a day. Thanks!!