epiphany - lydia martin [book 1]

chapter forty. chess

My mom was terrified.

Gerard paid Scott a visit last night. Apparently, he controlled the Kanima now. That had to mean that Matt was dead, and Gerard probably killed him. He threatened Scott by using the Kanima to hold our mom up by her throat with his tail. She wasn't okay with this. Obviously.

She hadn't talked to Scott for days, and neither did she talk to me. She hadn't seen me transformed, but I think she knew after I got shot and just magically healed, that I wasn't human either. She definitely knew. The way she looked at me, when she saw the bullet wound wasn't there anymore. It absolutely gutted me. I'd never seen that look in her eyes before. Like she didn't even know who I was anymore. She hadn't said a word to me since.

So I was surprised that she was here at the game.

We were all stood in the locker room, waiting for Coach to make his speech for the semifinals. "Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will be joining others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind." Coach started, holding a walkie talkie up to his mouth.

"What?" My mom asked in confusion, looking at Stiles and I. I shrugged, not having a clue as to what the hell he was talking about either. But then again it was Coach, no one ever knew what he was talking about.

"Mankind - that word should have new meaning for all of us today."

"What the hell is he talking about?"

"He does this every year." Stiles answered.

"We are fighting for our right to live." Coach chanted.

My mom furrowed her brows, "Wait, is this?"

Stiles nodded, "Yeah, it's the speech from Independence Day. Coach's favorite movie."

"But as the day the world declared in one voice - We will not go quietly into the night!" Coach exclaimed.

"He doesn't know any sports speeches?" I wondered.

Stiles shrugged, "I don't think he cares."

"Today we celebrate our Independence Day!" The dark-haired man finished. The players shouted in confidence, cheering the man on as they all got pumped up.

"Well spoken, coach." Gerard said, stepping next to the man. I saw my mom tense up next to me at the appearance of the old man. "I might have chosen something with a little more historical value, but there's no denying your passion. And while I haven't been here long, there's no denying my pride in having a winning team for this school. I know you'll all be brilliant tonight, even with only one co - captain leading you." I furrowed my brows as I looked over at Scott. Gerard was having Scott benched. Which meant something was gonna go down on the field. "Now, I'm your principal, but I'm also a fan. So don't think I'll be content to watch you merely beat this team. Get out there and murder them."

We were the only ones to shift awkwardly at the choice of words, seeing as Gerard definitely had an ulterior motive.

"You heard the man. Asses on the field!" Coach shouted. I patted Stiles' shoulder as they started to run out of the locker room, indicating that I would catch up with him later. I walked up to Scott and Finstock, watching my brother look at the man in confusion.

"Are you benching me?" Scott asked in disbelief.

"It's not my decision." Coach Finstock mumbled.

"But I have to play."

"McCall, you're failing three classes. Academics come first." Finstock quoted, waving his hands in a manner that indicated he didn't agree with it.