Chapter 3, Part 4

“My name is Doctor Charles Braxton.”

Cassie automatically stuck her hand out. After withdrawing it from Braxton’s firm shake, she shoved her hands in the back pockets of her shredded jeans.

“So you said something about explaining?” she asked.

“Right! What do you know about your parents?” Braxton asked in return. Cassie immediately went on the defensive. No way she was going to talk about her parents to some stranger, even if he did have a comforting accent.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Ah, perhaps this might be easier if I tell you what I know.” Braxton invited her to sit down at the table and the two boys joined them after providing her with a glass of water.

“You have more in common with these boys than you might think,” he began. “You’re all linked by Novum.”

“The planet?” Cassie stupidly clarified. She’d known her parents were part of the expedition. Her dad had qualified with his flight training and her mom wasn’t about to let her new husband go off to protect some tiny new colony on a planet by himself.

“Yes. Josh’s and Luke’s parents were also there. The Space Colony program only sent young couples up. Each had their own contributions to the colony. Luke’s parents were both medical, and Josh’s father was military like your’s,” Braxton said.

“OK?”

“Do you know why the colony failed?”

“Yeah, there was some race of aliens or something on the planet too and they kept attacking the colony.” Everyone knew that.

“Yes, and I think that somehow ties to you three.”

“In what way?”

“Well, you’ve already seen what Luke can do,” Braxton nodded to Josh. The young soldier rose from his chair and stood at one end of the kitchen.

“Watch carefully,” he said. The others at the table were prepared for the gust of air as Josh disappeared and then reappeared by the sink at the opposite end. Cassie’s mouth hung open as her brain hurried to catch up with what her eyes had seen.

“You….You….”

“Yeah, I can run really fast.” He offered a reassuring grin. Cassie slumped back in her chair as Josh reclaimed his seat at the table.

“Awesome, right?” Luke asked.

“Cassie, do you have any out of the ordinary abilities?” Braxton carefully asked. Three sets of curious eyes turned toward her.

“Uh, yeah,” she mumbled, torn in an odd battle of eagerness and hesitance to reveal herself. Everyone had been up front with her so far and she wasn’t picking up any danger readings. She forced herself away from the table where she’d have enough room and turned around to hide her blush as she realized she’d have to take her shirt off. Thankfully she’d had enough sense earlier to put on a tank top underneath. She pulled off her shirt and peeled away the wrappings, allowing her golden wings to tumble out.

A collective gasp of wonder came from the table. She tentatively peeked over her shoulder.

“Cool!” Luke whispered.

Her shoulders jerked and heaved as she retracted the wings and pulled her shirt back on. She sat back down, clutching the wraps in her hands.

“You can fly?” Josh broke the silence first.

“No. I mean I can, but I’ve only tried a couple of times,” Cassie explained.

“Why?” Luke asked.

“Where am I going to fly? You two can hide your…whatever we have…easier than a giant pair of wings!”

“Oh, true.”

“That’s amazing,” Braxton finally spoke.

“Yeah, well, you try living with it and then tell me how amazing it is,” Cassie snapped back.

“Sorry.” They both apologized at the same time.

“You’ve been through quite a lot, haven’t you?” Braxton asked.

“I guess. We haven’t exactly had it easy. And then the Freak showed up a few days ago and has been chasing me.”

“Freak?” Braxton was confused.

“That kid with Amelli’s guys,” Luke explained. Recognition crossed Braxton’s face.

“So they’re looking for you too, then.”

“Who’s they? All I know is that freak is still out there and…oh shoot!” Cassie bolted upright. The oven clock showed three hours later than she’d promised to be home. The chase and resulting accident, plus meeting two other freaks like herself had made her forget to call Sam and let him know where she was. They’d all be freaking out right now. She pulled out her phone and remembered why she hadn’t been able to call in the first place. The stupid thing was broken. She grabbed Josh’s proffered phone and frantically punched in Sam’s number. There was no answer. Her wings started twitching. That wasn’t right. He’d be waiting right next to it for any word. They would all still be up at this late hour. Her last words echoed in her mind again. The Freak was still out there.

She pulled on her jacket and zipped it up.

“I have to go. My family might be in trouble. I don’t think he knows where we live, but Sam’s not answering and…” panicked tears started pricking her eyes. The boys immediately stood.

“We’ll go with you!” Luke offered. Braxton was already going for his keys and Luke handed the motorcycle keys back to Cassie. Minutes later, she was leading their SUV back to the apartments at a highly illegal speed. She still wasn’t sure she could trust them, but her family might be in danger. She couldn’t let them disappear too.

---

Thanks, guys, for all your contributions last week! They were all great and I had a tough time deciding which one to use for our Doctor. Turns out I took two suggestions for a name. Special thanks goes to proverbs31teen (Clyde Braxton) and Mushu (Charles Zabinski) for their suggestions!

I hope y’all enjoyed “Name That Character” last week. I’ll probably be doing it again sometime because we have plenty of exciting characters coming. I’m also planning some other fun ways for readers to participate, so stay tuned! Hope you enjoyed this week’s edition! Remember to share using the buttons below and help others find Children of Two Worlds!