Chapter 7
With the Pack Completed, an Alpha Must Rise
Not too far away, Alex waited for Cassie at the park.
"Shyra, I've picked up another esper," Alex communicated. "She'll be meeting up with me soon."
A voice beckoned back to him, "Good job, Alexander. I am ready whenever you are."
Twelve minutes later, Cassie joined up with Alex.
"How did it go?" he asked her.
"Well enough. So where do we go from here?" Cassie inquired.
Alex extended his arm toward her, but she looked baffled by the gesture. "Hold on tight and take a deep breath," he instructed.
"Are you getting weird on me again?" she asked.
Alex just smirked. "Shyra, we're ready," he said.
"Who are you talking to?" Cassie asked. She had her question answered immediately as she heard a voice speak inside her head.
"I am preparing the transport," the voice said.
Startled, Cassie asked, "Um, who was that?" With her last word uttered, she and Alex were gone—transported in a bright beam of light.
Cassie and Alex were brought back to the entrance of the ship, which was now cloaked to resemble a Shaolin Temple. Shyra was waiting for them. Cassie immediately hunched over and hurled her lunch.
"I apologize about that, Cassandra, but I promise you get used to it," Shyra said.
"Not really," Alex added, leaning in close.
Cassie slowly but surely raised her head and tucked her hair behind her ear. She was embarrassed. She had never vomited in front of anyone before, and it certainly wasn't the dignified persona she liked to exude. Hunched over and on her knees she murmured, "Never again ... I'd rather walk."
The atmosphere was a bit tense after that, but Alex attempted to break it. "Teleportation is still statistically the safest way to travel," he joked. Cassie just glared at him. Alex quickly continued, "Cassie, I'd like to introduce you to Shyra, the person whom I mentioned before—the person who found me and helped me to find you."
"Good day to you, Cassandra Daye. We have much to talk about," Shyra revealed.
The young girl simply answered back, "Okay, I'm all ears."
"Um, Shyra, quick question," Alex interrupted.
"Why does the ship look like a monastery now?"
"I have designed the ship to provide an adequate training ground for all of you, and this structure seemed most fitting. I downloaded the layouts from your Interweb."
"It's actually called the Interne—ya know what? Never mind. Looks cool."
After traveling all over the country recruiting espers for the alliance, four were assembled. They introduced themselves to each other, and Chris and Alex instantly clicked. After narrowing down the next esper to Los Angeles, California, Shyra described to her team the next target. "My ship's scanners have located the next addition to our alliance, she is an esper named Tori Hannon," she explained. "She is an aerokinetic and seems very powerful. Therefore she is to be considered very dangerous."
The team looked at each other and wondered what was in store for them.
"How dangerous can she be? She only controls air?" Chris asked.
"She can remove the air around you, extinguishing your flame," Shyra replied.
Chris looked down with an appreciation of his power's weaknesses.
"You are all going to California," Shyra ordered, but she looked confused as to why the team got so excited.
"I could use a vacation," said Alex.
"This is not a vacation. We are still on a mission," Shyra added.
"C'mon, Shyra. We have been working so hard—a little rest will do us good," Alex pleaded.
Shyra looked at her group; sometimes she forgot they were really just kids. "Very well, I suppose it could not hurt—but only after we recruit the next esper," she agreed.
Everyone prepared for transport and at twilight, the alliance found themselves in Los Angeles. The air was noticeably thick, and the whole town was lit up like a Christmas tree. People roamed the streets, enjoying the crisp night scene that Los Angeles had to offer. Many couples sat nearby water fountains that filled the atmosphere with love and passion.
The team focused on the mission at hand, so they could have a little bit of rest and relaxation afterward. They rushed to the last location they'd felt Tori's power. Tori was still around; she was sitting at a chic outdoor café and noticed the alliance before they noticed her. They clearly weren't California natives from the way they dressed, and the way they suspiciously looked around made them stand out like a sore thumb. When Tori realized they were there for her, she got up, left her money for the bill, and started walking away.
Alex, who was first to realize she was the target, signaled for the others to follow. Tori cut a corner and jumped up on the roof of a building to lose them. Tori began leaping with ease, almost as if she was floating from rooftop to rooftop.
"She's on the roof. After her!" Dimitri shouted.
At first, they climbed the building's fire escape and followed her. They came to the end of a building only to see Tori had stopped running. She was squinting one eye, while her hand held her head. Other than looking like she was in throbbing pain, she was gorgeous with a perfectly fit body gained from either extensive physical fitness or cosmetic surgery.
The girl was draped from head to toe in designer clothes. It was painfully obvious she paid close attention to how she looked in the mirror. Her blonde hair looked like a golden waterfall, with each strand falling perfectly into place, as if she had personal assistants who meticulously brushed it for hours. Even her bangs were perfectly linear. Her eyes looked as if they'd been cut from the highest quality green emerald, and she had the kind of slender nose and drawn out eyelashes that movie stars would kill for.
"Why are you following me?" she asked. "Is this about the blown over lifeguard tower, because I had nothing to do with that."
"No, we just want to ta—wait. What lifeguard tower?" Alex asked her.
"Don't worry about that. I know why you're here," Tori continued. "I'm obviously on a reality show. You really thought you could trick me? This kind of stuff happens all the time around here. You play some prank on me, and then hidden cameras pop out."
"What are you talking about?" Dimitri replied.
"If you guys want a show, I'll give you a show," she shouted back. With that, Tori pushed through the crippling migraine, and the wind started picking up to incredible speeds. The trees down below swayed and stirred as she began to hover, creating a small tornado around her.
"I've got her, guys," Chris said as he channeled his fire, his sleeves combusted into flames reducing them to nothing but ash. He blasted a fireball at her, only to have it sway and flicker violently before being extinguished in the raging winds. Suddenly, there was a change in air pressure and it felt as though they were being lifted up. Tori focused her wind speed at the team and almost blasted Alex, Chris, and Cassie off the building. Dimitri was the only one who stood his ground.
"Listen to me," Dimitri yelled over the wind's noise. "We need your help."
"Why would I listen to you? I can do anything I want, and I have everything I need," she laughed.
"If you help us, you'll have the chance to save the world. You can't be any more famous than the savior of mankind—they'll put a statue up of you in your honor."
The wind began to die down, and Tori slowly walked up to Dimitri out of breath and worn out. "Okay, but if you don't make good on your promise, I will literally snatch the air right from your lungs. We clear?"
Dimitri didn't take kindly to idle threats, but he swallowed his pride for the mission's sake. "Yeah, we're clear," he replied.
"Good. You know, you're kinda cute." Tori blew a kiss at Dimitri, who was still trying to catch his own breath.