friends. I was in the body of a student at the Academy."
Ted narrowed his eyes. "So girls and boys both train there?"
"No."
Before Ted could let that answer sink in, the two of them had moved back into the main lobby.
Now that Ted wasn't about to pass out, he could see the disaster the Sheriff Department lobby had become. One officer had a mop and a water bucket and tried his best to soak up the green pool of blood. Another swept up bits of drywall from the multiple structural collisions.
Natalie was the first to see Ted. For some reason, he flashed back to the dance they shared at prom.
"Hey." Natalie wrapped her arms around him. "I'll try not to hug you so hard that you pass out again."
Ted hugged her back. It felt so good to hear Natalie's voice again, too.
"I'm going to get made fun of a lot for this, aren't I?"
Dhiraj ran over and patted Ted on the back.
"Well, if it isn't our little southern belle." He mimed the action of waving a fan in front of his face and did his best southern accent. "I do declare, I was so overwhelmed by seeing my best friend Dhiraj that I up and lost consciousness."
Ted made sure to return the back slap with twice as much force. "Good to see you, too, Dhiraj. Where's Jen?"
Ted knew his friend well enough that it wouldn't be hard to get the subject changed from his fainting spell.
"Field hockey camp. Can you believe they start two weeks before school? Although, it does give me the chance to give more foot rubs."
Ted felt his strength start to return as he surrounded himself with friends. Sheriff Norris gave a nod from the other side of the room as he took care of the business of cleaning up the department. Ted noticed Yoshi sitting far across from them and out of earshot. He was watching the four of them interact.
"I want to know more about this gatekeeper and about this Yoshi guy." Ted smiled at the samurai before turning back to the gang with a neutral look. "Can we trust him?"
Erica looked surprised. "With our lives, Ted. He's been fighting for the cause a lot longer than you have."
Ted looked back over at Yoshi and wondered if he'd had the same lack of choice in the matter. Ted furrowed his brow and tried to read the man's thoughts. For the first time since he'd learned about the power, he couldn't detect a single emotion, memory or short-term thought. The lack of information was unsettling.
"I'm sure you're right." Ted put his arms around Dhiraj and Erica, trying to hide his line of conversation from the samurai. "I've just got a bad feeling about him. Let's hope I'm wrong."
Chapter 12
Jennifer laid out her field hockey uniform on her bedspread. Unlike previous years, her top had a red C stitched on the front for captain. Natalie had quit the team to focus all her attention on basketball and recruiting. While Jennifer's skills paled in comparison to Natalie's, she was a senior, and Coach Fowler knew she'd do anything to win.
She looked down at the outfit and thought about how little the captainship meant. How little the team meant. A dark soul that could cross between worlds had attacked the Sheriff's Department and put both her father and Dhiraj at risk. She sighed.
And what was I doing? Running sprints?
Jennifer knew she couldn't have done anything to stop the gatekeeper or the giant lizard creatures, but she felt like she should have been there nonetheless. Field hockey was fun and she'd been playing it her whole life, but she had a new team now.
But what position should I be playing?
Jennifer felt empty. For the past decade, whenever she felt that way, she looked through her pictures. Lately, she'd shunned her collection of Polaroids and yearbooks for the Deputy Daly binder.
Jennifer flipped through the familiar pages detailing Daly's disappearance after he'd nearly killed Erica a second time. She recalled how her blood used to boil upon seeing his pearly whites in the article photos. The last few pages in the binder were the ones that made her smile. After
Ted narrowed his eyes. "So girls and boys both train there?"
"No."
Before Ted could let that answer sink in, the two of them had moved back into the main lobby.
Now that Ted wasn't about to pass out, he could see the disaster the Sheriff Department lobby had become. One officer had a mop and a water bucket and tried his best to soak up the green pool of blood. Another swept up bits of drywall from the multiple structural collisions.
Natalie was the first to see Ted. For some reason, he flashed back to the dance they shared at prom.
"Hey." Natalie wrapped her arms around him. "I'll try not to hug you so hard that you pass out again."
Ted hugged her back. It felt so good to hear Natalie's voice again, too.
"I'm going to get made fun of a lot for this, aren't I?"
Dhiraj ran over and patted Ted on the back.
"Well, if it isn't our little southern belle." He mimed the action of waving a fan in front of his face and did his best southern accent. "I do declare, I was so overwhelmed by seeing my best friend Dhiraj that I up and lost consciousness."
Ted made sure to return the back slap with twice as much force. "Good to see you, too, Dhiraj. Where's Jen?"
Ted knew his friend well enough that it wouldn't be hard to get the subject changed from his fainting spell.
"Field hockey camp. Can you believe they start two weeks before school? Although, it does give me the chance to give more foot rubs."
Ted felt his strength start to return as he surrounded himself with friends. Sheriff Norris gave a nod from the other side of the room as he took care of the business of cleaning up the department. Ted noticed Yoshi sitting far across from them and out of earshot. He was watching the four of them interact.
"I want to know more about this gatekeeper and about this Yoshi guy." Ted smiled at the samurai before turning back to the gang with a neutral look. "Can we trust him?"
Erica looked surprised. "With our lives, Ted. He's been fighting for the cause a lot longer than you have."
Ted looked back over at Yoshi and wondered if he'd had the same lack of choice in the matter. Ted furrowed his brow and tried to read the man's thoughts. For the first time since he'd learned about the power, he couldn't detect a single emotion, memory or short-term thought. The lack of information was unsettling.
"I'm sure you're right." Ted put his arms around Dhiraj and Erica, trying to hide his line of conversation from the samurai. "I've just got a bad feeling about him. Let's hope I'm wrong."
Chapter 12
Jennifer laid out her field hockey uniform on her bedspread. Unlike previous years, her top had a red C stitched on the front for captain. Natalie had quit the team to focus all her attention on basketball and recruiting. While Jennifer's skills paled in comparison to Natalie's, she was a senior, and Coach Fowler knew she'd do anything to win.
She looked down at the outfit and thought about how little the captainship meant. How little the team meant. A dark soul that could cross between worlds had attacked the Sheriff's Department and put both her father and Dhiraj at risk. She sighed.
And what was I doing? Running sprints?
Jennifer knew she couldn't have done anything to stop the gatekeeper or the giant lizard creatures, but she felt like she should have been there nonetheless. Field hockey was fun and she'd been playing it her whole life, but she had a new team now.
But what position should I be playing?
Jennifer felt empty. For the past decade, whenever she felt that way, she looked through her pictures. Lately, she'd shunned her collection of Polaroids and yearbooks for the Deputy Daly binder.
Jennifer flipped through the familiar pages detailing Daly's disappearance after he'd nearly killed Erica a second time. She recalled how her blood used to boil upon seeing his pearly whites in the article photos. The last few pages in the binder were the ones that made her smile. After
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