Star Gods
can’t stand him. I make an inappropriate gesture out of Mr. Hansen’s view, and Kevin returns it.“Thank you, Mr. Hansen,” I mutter as I quickly walk around him, glance at my watch, and without thinking, swear. Mr. Hansen clears his throat, and I jog down the sidewalk, my mind a constant tingle. I might as well inform Ashe and Tyce I’ll be late tomorrow.
My cellphone in my pocket chimes with a text message, making me groan. The only person it could possibly be is Ashe; I’m officially a dead man. I couldn’t just ignore Adrianna Jackson, I mean, she’s hot—I can’t finish making second date plans without talking to her—and of course, Mr. Hansen, who’s not so hot, and I cringe at the thought of thinking of them at the same time. I shove my hand in my pocket, and my mind gives me a warning buzz. I need to answer their call—now.
“Hold on,” I mutter, gritting my teeth and yanking out my sunglasses. “Ashe is already going to kill me. Can’t you wait until later?”
The wind kicks up as I weave between parked cars, blowing leaves and debris into my face before pushing me, hard. I swallow nervously. This message must be important to risk in front of humans. I quicken my steps and shove by a cluster of kids with a quick apology. I set my eyes on the building with the concession stand and bathrooms on the football field to receive my message. I dart through the opening of the fence and get to the other side of the building. Suddenly, an unfamiliar red haze fills my sight, and a searing pain blasts the inside of my skull. I cry out, falling to my knees, my hands pushing on the sides of my head. The Star Gods have never caused me pain before. It’s against their rules. What the hell is going on? A bright light sears the back of my closed lids, making me pitch forward. I hit my head hard on the pavement, and I swear I lose consciousness for a second.
“Hey, you okay?” Someone shakes me. “C’mon, man, are you okay?”
The only thing leaving my lips is another cry of pain.
“Hey! I need help over here! I think this kid’s been attacked!”
Well, there’s my explanation for what happened.
Running footsteps stop next to me, and many voices start talking at once.
“Someone better call for help. I think he has a head injury.”
“Does someone know where Tyce is? I think this is his kid brother.”
“I saw him leave,” a girl answers. “Tisha, get Claire, I just saw her by the main door.”
I try to get to my feet but end up still on my knees when someone pushes me back down. It’s too late now anyway, the message is coming through, and I can’t stop it. I shut out the voices around me and watch the scene take place.
A girl runs toward me through an alley, her oversized jean jacket billowing behind her, revealing a light blue t-shirt underneath. Dirty water splashes up, soaking her from the waist down. She keeps looking back, her long, honey-brown hair getting in her face. She stumbles over crushed boxes and slips in muddy debris, as she hurriedly tries to regain her footing. Dumpsters and discarded garbage sweep by, while shadows grow thick and menacing on the brick walls on either side of her, keeping her identity in eerie blackness. I can’t help her if I don’t know who to find. Just as her face is about to be revealed, the scene stops, a red haze fills my sight, and another blinding pain shakes me. I force myself to my knees when the vision snaps out.
“Zeke, I need you to stay down,” Mr. Hansen says. “Help is on the way.”
“Anyone have any Kleenex or something?” a familiar voice says. “He’s bleeding pretty badly.”
“Claire?” The sunlight feels like someone’s jabbing my eyes with a pin. Claire Appleton, Tyce’s girlfriend, kneels in front of me; blocking the sun and making me want to shout out in joy.
“Zeke, are you all right?” She places something onto my forehead, her face full of concern.
“I…I think…”
“Stay put, Zeke,” Mr. Hansen says, his voice now sounding far away even though he’s crouching right next to me. “The ambulance is on its way.”
Ambulance? Who needs an ambulance?
Sirens wail, fluctuating in loudness. The last thing I hear is the closeness of where the sirens stop, and I absently hope that whomever the sirens are for, they’ll be okay.
“Thanks, Mr. Hansen, for everything you did for Zeke.”
I gaze toward the closed hospital curtain obstructing my view, knowing my brothers are standing on the other side in the hallway.
“Ashe, these policemen are here to talk to Zeke. I didn’t see what happened, and this did occur on school grounds, so they need to question him.”
Wonderful. At least I know what I’m going to say. I can’t exactly tell them my brothers and I are descendants of the Star Gods from Planet Eos, sworn protectors of the Earth, and the Luminaries contacted me about someone I need to help here on Earth.
“We need to see our brother first if you don’t mind.”
“Now, Ashe, you and Tyce can’t take matters into your own hands and go after whoever may have done this,” Mr. Hansen warns. “I think your parents would agree with me.” He’s been the assistant principal for a long time and knows us Cartwright brothers probably better than we would like.
“Why would we do that when the police are already here?” Ashe answers sarcastically, and I hear the shuffle of feet and the door to my room close.
I lean my head back onto the mattress while the curtain parts and my brothers step into the room. We really draw attention to ourselves with our sandy blonde hair and violet eyes. It’s amazing no one has experimented on us yet to find our genetic stamp. A girl at school wanted to paint me once, saying I looked like a