Wishful Deviltry

Chapter Two

On the way back to Karis's house, Kaleb reverted back to his joyful self. When they reached the front door Kaleb opened it for her. Karis's mom was standing in the foyer with a determined look on her face going through the closet looking for something.
"Oh, hi baby, have you seen our medium size suitcase anywhere?" Beth asked as she stood by the closet door, moving stuff around frantically. Beth was obviously worried about something although she was trying to hide her feelings. Her hands started to shake uncontrollably as she moved boxes and purses around on the shelves of the closet.
"Mom, what's going on?" Karis asked as she stood in the foyer next to her mom with Kaleb right behind her. "Why are you looking for a suitcase? Are you planning a trip or something?"
"Maybe." Beth walked down the hallway to another storage closet. Karis and Kaleb followed closely behind her. She hurriedly search through the closet and found a medium size travel bag in the top left corner. She swore to herself when she couldn't reach it. She stepped back to calm her nerves and snapped her fingers, the bag then fell to the floor just like someone dropped it there. She grabbed it by the handle, spun on one foot to walk out into the hallway towards the living room area when she smacked into Karis, knocking them both back.
Beth dropped the bag and caught herself before she fell to the floor. On the other hand, Karis wasn't expecting her mom to plow into her and she fell backwards. Kaleb came to her rescue for the second time that day by catching her before she hit the ground.
"Are we going to make a habit out of this?" Kaleb grinned. "Because if we are I need to make sure I carry breath mints with me when we're together. Just Saying.". He gently helped Karis get her balance back as she stood up.
Karis ignored his comment and focused all her attention on her mother. "Mom, what's going on?"
Karis's mom leaned back against the wall as her knees gave out and she slowly sank down the wall. Karis kneeled beside her mother while Kaleb stood close behind her in case she needed his support. Beth raised her head slowly. She had a defeated look on her face. "Karis, your father is in trouble and I need to go help him. There's stuff about this family that we haven't told you about, but I cannot get into that right now. I promise I'll explain it to you later, your father is in California on business and I need to go pick him up, that's all you need to know at this moment in time, okay."
Karis had a confused look on her face as she helped her mom stand up. She knew if she started asking her mom a bunch of questions then she would just cut Karis off and not say another word. Karis tried to think of all the events that happened in her family's life that was weird up to this point, but nothing seemed unusual or out of the ordinary. Although, they weren't a normal family, they pretty much kept that to themselves. Only a handful of families that lived in their area had paranormal powers and they all knew each other. All the paranormal families led quiet lifestyles to blend into the community.
"Ok mom, I trust you, but let me know one thing, is dad hurt in any way? He's not on the verge of death is he?".
"Of course not, it's a business problem that your father needs my help with." Beth said as she bent over, picked up the travel bag and walked towards her bedroom.
"Something's not right. My mom never acts this way." Karis suddenly had a nauseating feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I don't know what to do, Kaleb. If I go in there to talk to her about my dad all she's going to do is shut down and cut me off, then I'll never know what's going on."
Kaleb lightly grabbed Karis's shoulders to turn her around to face him. He looked directly into Karis's eyes, trying to read her expression. Karis's eyes were darting back and forth between Kaleb and her mother's bedroom door. Kaleb could see that Karis was on the verge of a hysterics. He smiled at her and gently pulled her into his arms for a comforting hug. She relaxed a little in his arms, thankful for their friendship. Karis thought to herself how she was so blessed to have Kaleb in her life.
As if Kaleb heard Karis's inner thoughts, he placed his finger under her chin to raise her head to look at his face. With a smug look on his face he said. "I swear, Karis, if I had a dime for every time you've worried about something and it turned out to be nothing I'd be a rich man. Just go talk to your mother." Kaleb gestured for her to go towards her Mother's room with his hands.
Karis made an exasperated noise from her mouth. "You sure know how to ruin a moment." She turned to walk to her mother's room.
All of a sudden she heard a loud explosion behind Kaleb. She only had enough time to turn her head and see the shocked look in Kaleb's eyes before she felt the percussion from the explosion lift her body into the air and throw her five feet down the hallway. She tried to brace herself for the fall, but everything happened so fast she did not have time to react. Her body hit the floor, knees first, with a hard thump. She wrapped her arms around her head to keep it from hitting the wood floor. As she landed she felt Kaleb fall on top of her, shielding her with his body from falling debris.
When the room finally settled, Kaleb stood up fast, grabbed Karis's arm, and pushed her towards the back door of her house. He was yelling something at her, but all she could hear was ringing in her ears from the explosion. Everything sounded muffled. Karis figured she was going into shock because everything seemed to be going in slow motion. She didn't move fast enough for Kaleb because he lifted her over his shoulder like firemen would do when they rescue a person from a burning building and carried her out the back door.
"Wait, wait!!" Karis screamed. "My mom, we have to get my mom, she's still in the house, and she could be hurt."
Karis felt lightheaded as she tried to lift her head to look behind them at the damage the explosion made. Her head was pounding and her eye sight was blurry. The damaged from the explosion was not as bad as Karis thought it would be. The front door was off the hinges and leaning abnormally against the wall. All the hallway pictures had fallen to the floor. There was glass all over the floor. Darkness was trying to take over Karis's sight, but she fought it as long as she could. She squinted to see if she could see her mother in the house, but all she thought she saw was two animal like creatures walk through where her front door once stood. At first she thought it was the shock that was making her see things, but when she rubbed her eyes the creatures were standing on two legs, walking through her hallway. They looked like they were searching for something.
"What's that?" Karis whispered to herself as she closed her eyes. "Animals are supposed to walk on all four feet not two."
Kaleb must have heard her, because he swore under his breath and carried her behind a privacy wooden fence next door to Karis's house. He lightly put Karis down on the soft grass to check her over to make sure she wasn't seriously injured.
"Karis, are you hurt anywhere?" Kaleb asked as he stared down at her with wide eyes. "Does anything feel broken? KARIS!! Are you hurt?"
Karis could hear the panic in his voice. She tried opening her eyes, but the brightness of the blue sky made her close them again. "No, I think I'm okay. My head is killing me and all I hear is ringing in my ears at the moment, but nothing is broken. What was that, did you see what walked through the front door or was that my imagination?"
"I wish it was your imagination." Kaleb turned his attention to the wooden fence. "You lay here and I'll look for a peep hole through this fence to see what's going on at your house. I might see what the heck came through your front door."
Karis jerked up to protest, but her pounding head made her lay back down. As she lay there, she went through the last couple of minutes in her mind. She worried about her mom, hoping she made it out of the house before those things entered it.
"What were those things? Were they animals or people?" Karis asked Kaleb, but when he didn't answer she realized she was talking to herself. Karis turned her head to the side and shielded her eyes from the sun to see where Kaleb went, she saw him peeking through a hole in the fence about five feet away. Her ears finally stopped ringing, although things still sounded a little muffled.
Kaleb walked back over to where Karis laid. "I think that I saw your mother climb out her bedroom window. She looked unharmed. I waved at her to let her know we made it out and she gave me a thumbs up signal before she ran away from the house. How are you feeling?"
"My head is still pounding, but I can hear a little better now. Did you see anything?"
"I don't think so, but I really couldn't see into the house. Look, Karis, we can either wait here until the police show up or go to my house. We can tell my parents about those things that came in your house. They might know what they are and help us find your mom. Besides, we need all the power we can find to help us."
"You're right about the power thing. Help me up and we'll head to your house. I'm pretty sure the explosion has already gotten your parents attention. They'll be worried about you."
"I don't know. The police haven't shown up yet. I'll give my parents a call to fill them in on what happened while we walk." Kaleb reached his hand out to help Karis get to her feet. Karis took his hand and he pulled her up lightly then draped her arm around his neck to help her walk.
He reached into his back pocket, pulled out his cell phone and dialed his home number. He stuck the phone to his ear as they slowly walked to his house, hiding behind every fence and tree they could find. His parents must not have answered the phone because Kaleb swore when he put his phone back into his pocket.
"They must be outside or something." Kaleb grunted as he struggled to keep Karis walking. "We're almost there, Karis, just a little further."
"I know, Kaleb, that explosion gave me a terrible headache, if I could just lay down for a minute I'll feel better, I promise."
"Just wait until we get to my house then we'll figure this whole thing out."
After walking through several neighbors' yards they finally reached the fence next door to Kaleb's house. Kaleb looked through the cracks in the fence to make sure his house was clear of any danger. He saw his mom and dad out in their garden in his back yard.
"Okay, my parents are in the garden, there's a gate at the end of the fence that we can go through, but we have no hiding places between here and my house." Kaleb paused to take one last look around. "Can you hold out until we get inside my house, it's going to be a fast trip. If I have to I'll carry you, but it'll be easier if you can walk it."
Karis rubbed her eyes to try to clear her vision. "Yeah, I think I can manage. You know your parents are going to see us and wonder what the heck is going on. Unless they heard the explosion?"
"I don't know, but hopefully we'll soon find out. Sorry Karis. I can't give you answers that I don't have, but maybe my parents can answer some of our questions. We'll go on three, okay." Kaleb said as he got close enough to open the gate.
Karis tightened her grip around Kaleb's neck. "Okay, but let me count, I want to make sure I am ready. One........ Two........ Three."
When Karis said three Kaleb pushed the gate open, and they took off running towards his front door. Kaleb told his parents to get inside. Karis saw his parents look up from planting seeds with confusion. Patrick Wood, Kaleb's step dad, looked at his wife and then back to the two running kids. Kaleb's mom looked concerned as Karis stumbled and fell right before they reached the door. Kaleb picked her up and carried her in the front door to the couch where he gently laid her down. Kaleb's parents dropped their shovels and rushed to follow them inside the house.
"Are you okay, Karis? Why were you running like that, has something happened?" Kaleb mom asked as she walked through the front door with Patrick at her heels. Patrick turned and locked the dead bolt to the front door.
Kaleb's mom, Sarah, was a very petite woman with a toned frame. She reminded Karis of a female version of Kaleb. They both looked so much alike that people sometimes mistaken them as twins.
Kaleb opened his mouth as if to answer her questions, but the phone started ringing. Patrick went to the kitchen to answer it while Kaleb's mom drilled Kaleb with more questions.
Kaleb held up one finger to his mother. "Hold on mom, one question at a time or better yet, let me tell you what happened."
Kaleb told his mom about what Karis's mom was doing, then about the explosion. When he told her about the two creatures they saw come through Karis's door Kaleb's mom gasped. "That can't be right. Are you sure that's what you saw come through the door? Could it have been two people with masks?"
"No mom, it looked like some kind of animal that walked on two legs. I couldn't tell if they were hairy or not, but they did have some long jagged claws that I could see a long distant away."
Karis tried to lay still in order to listen to the conversation that Kaleb and his mother were having, but her head was hurting so bad that she could feel her heart pounding in her temples every time it beat. She grabbed her head and slightly moaned.
"Hey mom, do you have that headache remedy you gave to Uncle Cliff for his migraines; the explosion caused Karis to have a splitting headache and we need her to feel better fast, I'm pretty sure whatever came to her house will be looking for her soon."
"Sure honey, let me mix some up, stay right here, we have a lot more to talk about." Sarah said as she hurried out of the room. Patrick came back into the room with a look of worry.
"What's wrong dad, you look like you've seen a ghost?" Kaleb asked as he sat down at the end of the couch to let Karis rest her feet on his lap. "Who was that on the phone?"
"Wait until your mother returns, and then we all need to have a quick conversation. All I can tell you right now is Karis's mother is okay, but there's a lot more that you both need to understand about what happened at Karis's house."
Kaleb's mom walked back in the living room with a cup of steaming liquid. "Here, Karis, I need you to sip on this. Give it a second to go down and it should get rid of your headache immediately."
Karis took a sip of the liquid and swallowed carefully so she would not burn her tongue. It tasted like bitter blackberries with a touch of peppermint, but her headache subsided as soon as she took a second sip. Her ears finally popped and her hearing became normal again.
"Wow that's some good stuff! You'll definitely have to give me the recipe." Karis stated as she sat up in relief. "Now, what's going on with my mom and dad?"
Karis sat at the edge of the couch anxiously waiting for what Patrick was about to tell them. She wished she could be as calm and collective as Kaleb looked to be, but when he reached to grab Karis's hand for comfort she felt his palm sweating just as much as her hand was. At this point in time Kaleb nor Karis cared what their hands felt like, they wanted answers. Patrick paced the rug in front of the couch were Kaleb and Karis were sitting. He had a stern look on his face and was trying to collect his thoughts while Sarah made herself comfortable in the chair beside them. Patrick opened his mouth to say something then shut it again as if he couldn't get out what he wanted to say.
Patrick raised his head to look at both of them and finally said, "Karis that was your father on the phone. He is okay just as your mother is, but we don't have a lot of time to explain everything right now." He sat on the edge of the coffee table to be able to look at both of them eye to eye. "The creatures that entered your house were called Scrapers, which are manmade mutants. The mutants have two different types of DNA in them, one from a human and another from an animal. Now Scrapers only obey the person who made them. Although they are not very smart they are extremely fast and deadly, which makes them a very valuable weapon for their master. If I could have got a look at them I could tell you what kind of Scrapers they were but that doesn't matter right now. Those Scrapers were controlled by someone who's looking for something. Only your father knows what that something is and all your father could tell me was that those creatures didn't find what they were looking for."
"But the explosion and all the debris, should we call the fire department?" Karis asked, "Didn't anybody see what happened?"
"No, we cannot call the Fire Department or Police because there's nothing for them to go to." Patrick answered.
"You mean my house is totally gone!" Karis shouted.
Patrick put his finger to his lips to try to keep Karis from shouting. "No, calm down, your house is fine. The Scrapers used some kind of mirage to make your house look like nothing happen. To normal people the explosion sounded like a clap of thunder from far off. While everybody continued with their normal everyday lives, the Scrapers searched your house and fixed it back the way it was before anybody ever knew the difference."
"I don't understand! From what I remember about the history of our kind, nothing like this has happened in over a hundred years, why did they come to my house? WHY NOW?" Karis asked through gritted teeth while on the verge of crying. "And why mess with my family? DAMON! Is my brother, Damon, safe? He's staying the summer with my grandparents in Oklahoma. Will the creatures go after him? Do my grandparents know what is going on?"
"Look, Karis, I'm pretty sure your brother is fine and I know you have a lot of questions, but we don't have time to answer them right now. For all we know those things are going to find out where you are if we don't get you out of here fast. I have a feeling that the Scrapers may think you have whatever they're looking for." Patrick stood slowly and it was apparent that he had come to a decision as he looked at Kaleb. "Go to the upstairs closet, push the clothes out of the way, and grab the backpack that is in the very back covered by all our camping gear. And Kaleb, don't take long."
Kaleb nodded his head and raced up his stairs two at a time. Karis didn't know what to do so she sat on the couch very quietly as she watched the Wood family plan their getaway to points unknown. She felt like her life was spinning out of control and she still hadn't received her powers yet.
Karis watched as Sarah walked into the kitchen. She heard her rattling through drawers, possibly looking for something. When Sarah walked back in the living room she handed a cell phone to Karis. "I assume you left your cell phone at your house since you haven't been trying to call your mother so I want you to take this one. It has numbers in it that Kaleb can let you know whose they are and your parents can reach you on it when they need to. They know the number. Most of our kind has a couple of bug out phones."
Karis took the phone as Kaleb came running down the stairs with a back pack in his hand. Although everything was chaotic, Kaleb still kept his cool.
"Where did dad go?" Kaleb asked looking around curiously.
"He went to the safe to grab some stuff for you to take with you." Beth hugged Kaleb tightly and said, "Kaleb, I know you don't have your powers yet, but you do have your brains. Remember what we've taught you and don't trust anyone but each other. Promise me you'll trust your instincts, what you feel in your heart is usually the best choice you can make, don't second guess yourself, got it.".
"I got it mom, what's going to happen to you and dad?".
"We've got a place to go, but it would only put you and Karis in more danger to go there with us or even to know where we're going. It's the same place where Karis's parents are."
"Where are we going and how's it going to be safer than being with you and dad?" Kaleb asked as he threw the backpack from upstairs around his shoulders where it rested comfortably on his back. Patrick came through the door as Kaleb asked the question.
"Kaleb, you and Karis are going to go to your new school early. The Dean of the school already knows about the situation and is preparing for both of you." Patrick said as he handed Kaleb a heavy duffle bag that sounded like it was full of metal items. Kaleb didn't ask what was in the bag, he just nodded like he understood.
Karis snapped out of her shocked state and stammered, "Wait a minute, we cannot go to that school without powers, those students will eat us alive."
Patrick walked over to where Karis was sitting and kneeled down beside her. He placed his hands on top of her shoulders to calm her down. "It'll be okay Karis, we have three kids here in town that were shortly briefed on the situation and are going to meet you both at the airport to take you to the school. They'll show you around and make sure no other students find out that either of you don't have powers yet. You met them this afternoon at the Department of Transportation. They are willing to cooperate to make sure you and Kaleb stay safe."
"Really? How can we trust these kids dad? This situation happened when they showed up to town. How do we know they're not involved?" Kaleb asked irritably. "Besides, how the heck were they briefed on the situation when it only happened like not even thirty minutes ago?"
Patrick sighed deeply and looked at his wife for support.
"Kaleb, can you trust us on this?" Sarah asked as she took a deep breath, "There are so many uncertainties right now, the safest place for you both is that school and we don't want to just throw you in there alone without powers."
"These kids," Patrick continued for Sarah, "have been at this school for a while. They can help you adjust and make friends."
"But we don't know them." Kaleb interrupted. "And I sure don't trust them!"
Patrick rose from his kneeling position and walked up to Kaleb. "Please, Kaleb, just try it out, we want you both safe and we have no other options. If you don't trust them, don't tell them anything important."
"I'm not the one you should worry about saying anything." Kaleb said as he looked over at Karis.
"What?" Karis asked with a confused look on her face. "You think I'm going to spill the beans. I can keep my mouth shut when I want to."
Patrick continued talking to Kaleb. "When you get to the school, check your surroundings, play detective, and get the facts on people. All that matters is you and Karis stick together and only trust each other until you're comfortable there. Don't let your guard down."
"Gotcha dad, I'll remember what you taught me." Kaleb said as he gave his dad a reassuring manly hug with the usual back slaps.
Karis walked up to Kaleb to take one of the bags to help him carry. He handed her the backpack, because he knew the duffle bag would be too heavy for her. She put the backpack on her shoulders and put her hand through Kaleb's tensed arm. "Let's give these guys a chance Kaleb, we've known Jessica for a long time and she can show us around the new school easily. Anyway we don't have time to argue about it, I really don't want to run into those things that were at my house anytime soon. Whatever we got to do let's do it now."
"Okay, kids, grab your stuff and go get in the car. We are taking you to the airport now." Sarah said as Patrick grabbed the keys to follow everybody out the door to the car.
Kaleb nervously smiled at Karis as he reached for the front door to open it. Karis glanced around quickly before she stepped out of Kaleb's house. Kaleb followed her and quickly slid in step beside her. Kaleb put one arm around Karis's shoulder. Karis smiled at him. She was relieved that they were in this together.
When they reached the car, Kaleb opened the door and threw the duffle bag on the floor. It made a loud clanking noise when it hit the floor. Karis took off the back pack and placed it in the seat next to her as she climbed in the car. Before Kaleb got into the car, he took one last look around. Karis looked up at him from inside the car. She noticed he had an uneasy look on his face.
"Kaleb, What is it? What's wrong?" Karis asked as she tried to step out of the vehicle to see what he was looking for.
Kaleb stopped her and leaned his head in the doorway of the car to look Karis in the eyes. "You know that funny feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you feel like something is not right?"
Kaleb's face was just inches away from Karis's face. She could see the dark blue circle around his bright blue irises. He stared at her for a second his eyes locked to hers.
"Why, do you have that feeling right now?" Karis asked him nervously.
"Nope," Kaleb smirked as he jumped in the seat next to Karis and buckled his seat belt. "Not at all."
Karis looked at Kaleb stunned. She didn't know if she should laugh or get mad at him for joking around at a time like this. She looked over at him, waiting for him to explain himself, but instead he just busted out laughing.
Karis relaxed a little in the seat. Even though her nerves felt like they were in tight bundles, she started laughing with Kaleb. She realized as long as she stuck with Kaleb things would be okay.
Kaleb's parents slid into the front seats of the car. They turned around to find Kaleb and Karis hysterically laughing. "Is everything ok?" Sarah hesitantly asked.
"Don't ask! Your son is just being his normal self." Karis said as she tried to catch her breath from laughing so hard. Patrick started the car and headed for the airport.

I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. Please feel free to leave any comments. I will upload Chapter 3 in a couple days. Happy Reading!!