Chapter Six
––––––––
OAKLIE HAD BEEN FEELINGstrange ever since the gold comet had appeared last night.She’d gone to bed at two and had gotten up at eight in the morning.Six hours of sleep was enough for her to function, even though she still felt a bit tired.
“What is it that I can feel?”she grumbled as she rubbed the back of her head.Shrugging the weird sensation off for now, she ate some dry cereal for breakfast, then washed it down with tea.Her folks had installed a gas stove before she’d been born.There was still plenty of gas left, so she could heat water and cook the occasional animal she hunted down.
Not in the mood to sculpt, Oaklie wandered around her sprawling two story home, studying the pictures that hung on the walls.Her mom had been a proud woman with some Native American blood in her veins.Both mother and daughter had the black hair, dark eyes and tanned skin that proved their heritage.Oaklie had inherited her artistic talent from her mother as well.The other skills that had appeared when she’d been a toddler must have come from her real father.
“Whoever the hell he is,” she muttered.Her dad believed he was her biological parent right up until he’d been raptured.Her mother had taught Oaklie to hide her skills from her dad and siblings.
She managed to ignore the strange sense in her head for a couple of hours before it became unbearable.“I need to know what’s causing this,” she decided.It was dangerous to leave the extensive property her family owned, but she would take the risk this time.
Oaklie changed into baggy clothing that would help hide her gender.She tied her long hair into a bun and pulled a baseball cap on to cover it.Large sunglasses covered the upper half of her face, leaving her delicate jaw and full lips on display.“It’s the best I can do, unless I wear a mask,” she joked.Hit with inspiration, she grabbed a black scarf from her closet and wound it around her neck and jaw.“Perfect,” she said in satisfaction, then headed outside.
Her sneakers were old, but comfortable.They didn’t make much noise as she left the house.It wasn’t snowy enough to opt for snow boots.She left through the front gate, which opened at her command, then fused it shut behind her.She’d magically joined the logs all around the property, making it impossible to break the fence down.People had tried to burn it down, but the flames hadn’t been able to take hold.
She followed the strange feeling in her mind and it led her towards the town a few miles away.Oaklie sprinted the distance in a couple of minutes, then halted behind a building to take stock.She could sense people nearby, searching the stores that had long ago been looted.“Good luck finding anything to eat or drink in there,” she muttered.
Her mind prodded her to keep going, so she skirted around the town.Picking up speed, she ran a few more miles and halted when a large pale blue house came into view.
“Ugh, it had to bethisplace where I ended up,” she murmured in disgust.Trees sheltered her from the view of anyone who might be inside.She’d instinctively shielded her power as her mom had taught her seventeen years ago when she’d been three.It was second nature to act normal by now.
A still smoldering bonfire had been lit on the front yard.Oaklie studied it and frowned when she saw skeletal remains.“Someone burned the bodies,” she said, keeping her voice to a low whisper.“There are rat corpses in there, too,” she added in surprise.
Someone was inside the house that had been built well over a century ago.The family who’d lived here had all been despicable.Oaklie had gone to school with a few of the younger generation.The boys had hit on her and their sisters had treated her like dirt.Even the adult men had made inappropriate propositions to her.Her mom had been a beautiful woman and had put up with their sly remarks for decades.Oaklie had learned to keep her distance from them back when she’d been in middle school.
“But they didn’t keep their distance from me,” she said with a scowl.
Curiosity had driven her to scout the town a couple of weeks after the Rapture.A lot of people had vanished, but half of the town had still remained.They’d gone nuts and she’d witnessed people murdering each other in broad daylight.Corpses had been strewn everywhere, including this place.She’d been to town a few times since then.There were fewer living people each time she visited it.
“Who’s staying here now?”she asked, eyeing the house.The occupant felt different from normal, that much she knew.
As if drawn by her curiosity, the squatter appeared in the doorway.Oaklie darted behind a tree, using the low branches to shield herself as she peeked through the leaves.“He’s big,” she whispered, taking in the man’s size as he let himself out.He paused and peered around as if he sensed he was being watched.“He’s gorgeous,” she murmured.His hair was pale blond and his eyes were pale blue.His skin was lightly tanned and muscles bulged against his clothing.The outfit was too small for him, which meant he’d stolen them from the house.
Oaklie knew everyone in the town and nearby properties.This man was a stranger.He was probably just as psychotic as everyone else seemed to be, but she was fascinated by him anyway.
He walked over to the bonfire to check on the remains, then looked around and frowned again.His gaze passed over her and she held her breath.No one could have spotted her through the dense foliage.He muttered something, then began walking down the driveway towards the road.
Her disappointment that he was leaving already turned to intrigue as he turned left towards the town.Only now did she realize the sweater, jeans and sneakers he was wearing weren’t appropriate for the chilly weather.Like her, he didn’t seem to feel the cold as much as normal people did.
“Whoisthis guy?”she murmured beneath her breath.His body was jacked just like the sculpture she was working on.Watching his toned butt as he walked, she flushed when she pictured him naked.
The hot blond guy picked up his pace and began to run, then he took off so fast that he became a blur.Oaklie’s jaw dropped in shock.“Holy crap!”she exclaimed.“He can run even faster than I can!”
Hot excitement bubbled inside her.She’d never met anyone else who possessed enhanced senses, strength and speed before.Maybe he could tell her about her true origins.She’d never done anything horrible enough to be left behind when the Rapture had taken all of the good people.It was possible he might not be as evil and twisted as the rest of humanity who hadn’t made the cut.
“I need to get close enough to him to sense if he’s good or evil,” she figured, then put on a burst of speed to try to catch up to him.
