Read Online Echo by J. K. Accinni - Free Book Online Page A

smarting from childhood taunts that left psychological scabs on his vanished scars, too easily picked open.
    What disturbed him the most? The big why. Why him? Why now? Maybe an infection? Was it evolution run amok? And shock of all shocks, he couldn’t get over the fact that the tail felt completely natural . He could move it at will. He liked it. And that fact scared him the most.

Chapter 6
    As time moved on, Scotty ached to confide in someone. His life felt like an emotional roller coaster. He vacillated between fear and depression, frustration and insecurity. And pride, can’t forget that. If he outed himself, someone might tell him his tail must be removed or put him on display. He felt like a freak; the kind of freak that might send the authorities slobbering to get a chance to study him and stealing his paltry life with its insignificant pleasures. So, he decided to keep the horrific changes his body continued to produce, a secret. Even the hair that grew back through his ringworm scars looked different. Abby teased him, saying the bleached blond look didn’t really work with his dark hair color. He tried to pass it off as the latest style at school, although it was more blond now than anything else. He almost didn’t recognize himself in the mirror.
    The kids at school sure noticed. He couldn’t fail to notice the whispers behind his back, the finger pointing in the hallways, the garbage dumped in his locker or the crude comments written on the blackboards; probably because of his eye. It no longer wandered. It stayed centered just like his other eye. Abby and his mom were stumped but very happy for him. Maybe in time the kids will stop singling him out and want to be friends. Sighing, he prayed that when he got older, maybe then he could confess and seek help without fear.
    He did have another thought (totally ridiculous, of course) lodged in the back of his mind, gnawing away like a wolf cub cutting its baby teeth on its first bone. As a child, he played in the woods constantly. He vaguely remembered an incident that involved him in some kind of traumatic experience in the woods. Mostly, because his mother laughingly told him something must have happened. His seventh birthday; the day he wished his father dead. He remembered that part clearly. He remembered running off to the woods, and falling asleep on top of a huge rock. Things got fuzzy from there but he knew he left the woods with a very valuable gold coin. Abby remembered a fanciful story of meeting a golden fairy. He cringed when he thought about what an idiot he sounded like. He knew he didn’t meet a fairy, duh. Just the mention of it embarrassed him. God knows what he might have said as a kid. Nonetheless, he did have an impression of talking to someone. And he remembered having dreams about a golden glow; perhaps eyes? All very nebulous and confusing; and his changes began sometime after that.
    He sighed. Sliding off the bed, he pulled open his bottom dresser drawer where he kept his treasures. Taking out a tiny wooden box, he opened the lock and pulled out the gold coin. His mother decided they would save it for Scotty’s college education. The coin would provide more than enough money to give him an education; almost unheard of for the likes of him. His mama understandably put all of her hopes for a better life on Scotty. She thought he stood a good chance of succeeding. No one dare fantasize about Abby’s future. They all knew the chances of her living a normal lifespan. Slim to none.
    Scotty wanted to use the coin to buy a new kidney for Abby. They discovered a kidney can cost over two hundred thousand dollars on the Internet. The coin was only worth a little over half that. Abby cried over Scotty’s generosities, refusing to take anything from him that would compromise his own chance for a future. He remembered the pitiful look on her face. Abby wouldn’t be in such a jam if he or his mom were a tissue match. But they learned a long time