The Skylar Experiment : The "X" in Apex

Chapter Sixteen (part one) - Sleepover

I couldn't detach my stare from his. "No one's ever tried to catch you?"

"Apart from the fact that we have to keep this to ourselves, we're doing fine." He had a vague grin that leaned more toward a wince.

I ran a hand through my damp hair, placing a curly strand away from my face. Their story was bananas, too incredible to be invented. It wasn't hard to believe the government would try to experiment on unsuspecting people. There were a million conspiracy theories on the internet.

I just never thought one of them would be true or that I'd find out.

"Earth to Sunshine? You're not running to a corner to bawl your eyes out, are you?"

I gave him a bland look, and then the air in my chest swelled and brushed overworked nerves. "So you're going to release me tomorrow? First thing in the morning?"

The room shifted somehow, and that grudging resignation on his face was swept away. His body coiled until he sat upright, elbows spread out over his knees. "I intend to if you behave."

Whiteness flashed inside the pupils, and it required all of my self-control to not run behind a door.

He spied the coffee table like he was debating to move past it. To my relief, he kept on the couch, but that unearthly stare was roving over my chair. "I hate unnecessary trouble, so you ought to understand that what follows banks on your reactions. If you're cool, I'm cool. That's all I'm saying."

I pressed a hand over my lips to stop an inappropriate laugh. If I started, I didn't know if I'd ever stop, and I'd probably start crying midway.

"So no Mothman?"

I could feel his eyes trailing my expression, and he let out a low chuckle. My cheeks tingled and I knew they were blazing.

"Fuck, I hope there is. He's my absolute favorite."

"You didn't find him?"

"Not yet. I didn't meet the sheepsquatch and bigfoot either. It's depressing that these hairless goblins are the only thing that go bump in the night," he said.

"And you, clearly."

I should shut up before I inevitably say something unsalvageable.

Real amusement, derived from no one's humiliation, transformed Luc's features. Something I'd never caught before.

"You don't seem scarred for life. That's a good sign."

I rolled the sleeve of my shirt. "I'll never get rid of this."

He focused on the bite, and his face darkened. "You could always say a dog did that."

But every time I'd see it, it would be a brutal reminder of how inconceivably thick I'd been. "I must have had it coming. Hell, if I would have been someone else, I'd think I should have died."

"I did want to shake the crap out of you for getting your butt out there, but you were already in danger."

"What?"

Luc exhaled, his forehead creasing. In a matter of seconds, he'd gained three years. "It's the Wanderers. Since you met one, you've been marked to chase. I've never seen it this bad."

"Those things are called Wanderers?" Who the hell came up with that? "What are they?"

"Early experiments gone wrong. They're bigger in numbers than us, as failure was more common than success. They multiply just fine, like cockroaches."