Power (Book 1)

Chapter 7

The world snaps back to me like a rubber band. The room I was in looked similar to the one Cassie described. I turned around, examining the room. Pink was everywhere. Ugh.

When I turned to the bed, I saw a couple of teenagers making out under the sheets. My face instantly went red, realizing that I had the wrong room and that I could probably be sued for this. I quickly turned around so they couldn't see my face and focused again. They were so into it I don't even think they noticed me.

I hear the sucking sound again, and this time, I arrive in the right room.

Cassie is standing in the doorway exactly like she said she would be, leaning against the doorframe. She's wearing an old band's t-shirt that I can't remember the name of and some cut-off shorts.

She is so hot. I have to make a conscious effort not to drool.

"Oh my gosh. That was so cool. I've never seen a teleporter in action before.  They're so rare. You are the only person I know who can do anything like that." She squealed.

I grinned. She was geeking out over me? I was flattered.

"Oh, shut up!" she said playfully. "I can hear your thoughts now, you know. Stop thinking for a second." She closed her eyes, a look of intense concentration on her face.

"I can't. I would die," I said as she did whatever she was doing. I tried to not think about anything too revealing about myself, but that just made it harder not to.

"Okay, I blocked you out." Cassie opened her eyes and massaged them with the palms of her hands. "Phew, that's hard. So," she said, brushing some hair out of her eyes. "How does it feel to be able to be anywhere at anytime?" She sat on the edge of her bed and patted down next to her for me to sit.

I was hesitant to relax here. "Where are your parents?" I asked. I listened out for activity outside of Cassie's room.

"Oh, don't worry about them," she said. "They're out shopping for some new clothes with my sister. I'm home alone. Well, not anymore, since you're here." She seemed to be implying something, but I think I was overthinking it.

I slowly sat down next to her on the bed. It was queen size, big enough for two people, so I was able to still have a lot of room to move around. Cassie's bed was soft and plush. It made me want to just melt into the covers.

"So Jay," Cassie said, brushing some hair out of her eyes. "I need to apologize, and I have to do it in person." She sighed. "I realized that today, the way you reacted...I shouldn't have said that. That was rude, and I don't want the first impression I have on a guy to be that I'm a 'mean girl'."

"Naw, it's fine," I say. "Besides, that wasn't my first impression of you."

"Really?" She arched an eyebrow. "Then what was it?" I think she was flirting with me. I hope she was flirting with me.

"Well-" I was cut off by my phone buzzing. I got up to check it, again expecting it to be Jake, but this time, my mom was calling. "Just a second," I said to Cassie.

I mentally prepared myself for the onslaught of verbal torture as I answered the phone. "Hello?" I said.

"Jay," Mom said. She sounded terrified. "I don't know where you are, or what you're doing, and it doesn't matter. Right now, I need you to come back home. Something is here. We don't know what it is or where it came from, but-" The connection broke for a second. "Oh, God. It's found me! Jay! Jay!"

The line broke.

I dropped the phone. "I have to go," I told Cassie hurriedly. "Something's wrong at my house. I'll be back soon, okay?" I didn't wait for an answer. I imagined I was back home in my room, where I had left.

"No, wait!" Cassie said. She reached out her hand, but it was too late. I was already gone.

Suddenly, I was back in my room. The house was dark, quiet. I stayed still, not making a sound. Then I crouched and crept toward the doorway, peeking around the corner. Nothing was there.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and whipped around, balls of energy formulating in my palms.

"Whoa, whoa!" Cassie said. "Chill. It's just me. I want to tag along, too. You don't get to have all the fun."

Where did she come from? I hadn't felt her touch me when I teleported. I can't even teleport other people, I've tried.

I frowned. Was this a joke to her? Did she really think this was "fun?" I know some people try to be funny as a way to deal with stress, but this was a little too much. My family was in danger, and it was up to me to save them.

Not saying anything, I silently walked down the hall to the balcony. I looked over the edge of the railing. Down below on the floor, I saw it.

It had slimy, amphibious skin. Its neck was elongated, stretched so far that it's head hung low to the ground. It had a massive body, almost taking up the whole space of the living room. A scaly tail hung to the floor behind it.

And in the grip of its hand was my father's neck.