The ground begins to shake like someone—a very large someone—is doing Tae Bo in the next room.
Kyle stops talking and listens. He pauses for a fraction of a second, half-hesitating, and whips two knives from his calves and tosses one to me. What the heck is he do—OH MY GOSH THERE’S A KNIFE FLYING AT ME! Somehow, the sharp, glowing weapon ends up in my hands. Like it’s magnetic or something. Weird I think. Then I stop myself. This whole day has been weird.
Meanwhile, Lorik has drawn a similar knife from a belt that I hadn’t seen before. He’s tensed in a fighting position. Mrs. Jameson stands with her arms raised in the air like she’s cursing someone. The sky outside goes completely dark. I instinctively move closer to Kyle. He’s my only thread of normalcy in this situation, thin though the thread is.
I still don’t know what to do with my knife or even why I need it. That is just about the worst position to be in, just FYI.
…
Literally, the next thing I know is Lorik slapping my cheeks in an effort to revive me. I must have passed out I reason.
“She’s awake,” I hear Kyle say. I try to move my head to look for him, but a sharp pain in my neck stops me.
“Get away from me,” I mumble indistinctly.
“And back to herself, apparently,” Lorik remarks dryly.
Mrs. Jameson comes to my defense. “At least she can still think clearly. Not many people could survive…that. Especially untrained.” I turn and cast my eyes in her general direction to see what she was talking about. Then I wish I hadn’t. There’s some sort of smelly, hairy thing on the ground. I can’t see much detail; my eyes are swimming and my head hurts again. From what I can see, it looks like Bigfoot.
I notice Lorik still hovering over me. Why won’t he leave me alone already? Yeah. I’m in a bad mood. Deal with it.
Lorik narrows his eyes in disgust. I turn to look at him. “Hey, Lorik?” This earns me an irritated glance as he bandages a long cut on my right foot. “Can you read my mind?” What? It’s worth a try.
“Yes,” he states matter-of-factly. I think about challenging his claim, but instead decide to just let it go. Wise choice, Lorik’s voice echoes in my head. Well, so much for doubt.
“Sit up,” Lorik orders. I move my arms to, then give up. My body hurts way worse than Tommy and his Turds have ever made it hurt. Instead, I moan and close my eyes, only to feel Lorik’s none-too-gentle hand on my face again.
Mrs. Jameson delicately picks her way around Bigfoot, and helps Lorik get me into a sitting position. Kyle stops inspecting the monster and comes to sit by me, gently draping an arm around my shoulders to support me. Lorik and Mrs. Jameson drift across the room, whispering to each other urgently.
I lean into Kyle, the warmth of his body welcome to my half-dead body. “How are you not freaking out?” I demand to know. I’m a little miffed that he’s not in as much pain as I am. He grins at me and answers “Well, you did all the work.”
I look at him like he’s insane, and say the only thing that comes to mind: “Huh?”
“You can tell her in the car,” Lorik interrupts. Would it kill him to use manners?
Kyle’s eyebrows shift questioningly. Lorik nods his head slightly.
What now? I wonder somewhat grumpily. I try to act like I don’t care that they’re discussing something that obviously includes me. Without my consent, too.
