The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2)

Chapter One: Fire and Water

With the sun shining and a light breeze coming in from the ocean, it should have been a pleasant day on the California coast. Eric had been bold enough to carry a tentative optimism with him as he, Adam, Sam, and Veronica ventured onto the mainland for a recruitment mission.

Of course, they had the misfortune of running into Scorpion. Again.

This mission was one of many the four had been on to track down other altered from Tyche Point. With their hometown destroyed, and multiple organizations pursuing them for their abilities, it had been easy to convince most kids they found to come stay on the Fortuna. There was no obligation to join the fight against Scorpion, though some had volunteered to help anyway. And pretty much everyone was training to use their powers.

As for the kids who chose not to come, now they were at least aware of Scorpion and SCI and could take precautions. Plus, some who had turned down the offer at first wound up changing their minds and calling the Fortuna later.

Now, nearly a month after the destruction of Tyche Point, Eric and the others had brought about twenty kids to their side.

Scorpion had gotten their hands on a few more recruits, too, as they'd learned in their recent fights. Eric had no idea how they'd managed it in such a short time, even with the advantage their jetchoppers gave them. The Fortuna Guard—the name Summer insisted they use, and it was hard to say no to someone in a hospital bed—was having a hard time tracking down kids. And they had the benefit of the list of altered Raveena had found at Delta Labs.

The technicians working for the Newmans had been diligently searching news and social media for names on the list but matches came less frequently than everyone had hoped. Not to mention it felt rather...stalker-y. But it was either track the altered down, or risk them falling victim to Scorpion. Or the government agency SCI.

While Scorpion made it clear they wanted altered for their army, Eric and the others still didn't know what SCI was doing with the kids they abducted. And they were fairly certain SCI had gotten their hands on some altered. A few had been reported missing, and the Scorpion kids they'd run into didn't recognize the names. The fact that Scorpion liked to brag about their recruits made that easy enough to figure out.

To make matters worse, because the kids weren't all disappearing from the same town, the general public had yet to take notice. Local authorities were in the dark, too. Not that they'd be able to do anything if they did know who was responsible.

It was a lot for Eric to worry about. And this was all on top of online classes and reassuring Mom every other day that he and Adam were okay.

But today was supposed to be simple. Eric and the others were near L.A., searching for a girl with geokinetic abilities. The group of four walked a busy street lined with shops, headed toward the hotel she was apparently staying at with her family.

"So, geokinesis is just moving dirt around, right?" Adam asked.

Eric shrugged. "Maybe rocks, too?"

"Why, because they're made of earth? Metal comes from the earth, too."

"Dude, everything comes from the earth," Eric said. He shot his brother a sideways glance. With limited access to hairdressers on the Fortuna, Adam had elected to trim his hair on top and let the undercut grow out.

Sam chimed in from behind them, where he walked next to Veronica. "Do you think it's weird that different altered can control some atoms and not others?" he asked Adam.

"Yeah, I guess." Adam glanced back. "Hey, can you use telekinesis to control everything we can control?"

"I don't think so," Sam replied. "I tried controlling water once, but I couldn't keep a hold of it. And I definitely can't pull it from the air or turn it to ice."