Echo Into Darkness: Book 2 in The Echo Saga (Teen Paranormal Romance) by Skye Genaro Page B
Authors: Skye Genaro
Tags: teen paranormal romance
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the door.
"Wait, I have to talk to you."
"Forget it. Don't ever come here again, and you were never here. Got it? I know nothing."
"I'm not going anywhere." I turned to face him, and he skittered backward with his hands raised between us. Given his size, I found it more than a little disturbing that he was afraid of me. "I get it," I said calmly, "you're wigged out, but I need you to think back to the night I was here with my friend Becca. Remember?"
He squeezed his eyes tight. "Yeah."
"There were three kids here that night." I described the girl and the two guys, and Tugg shook his head violently.
"No, I don't know anything. Now get out…" Movement out of the corner of his eye distracted him. If it were possible, he turned a lighter shade of gray. "What the—"
I followed his gaze to the skating bowl. All the store's skateboards, dozens of them, cruised across the concrete as if ridden by ghosts. They skidded on the bowl's lip, launched up the quarter pipe, jumped over each other.
"Whoa," I said.
Tugg babbled nonsensically and his legs went limp. He put his head between his knees.
Secretly, this was the kind of thing that upset me the most, seeing a normal person's reaction to paranormal occurrences. It reminded me how much of a freak I was.
I rested a hand on Tugg's shoulder. "Tell me what happened here tonight."
He shook his head. "Too crazy. Too crazy."
Frightened people often refused to talk, even when it was in their best interest. I saw this all the time when my dad and I lived in a crime-ridden neighborhood south of Seattle. Our neighbors witnessed the worst of human behavior, but when the police came around asking questions, they clammed right up.
I went to the edge of the bowl and jumped in. I kicked one of the boards, sending it flying across the cement. That was enough to sever the phantom thread that kept the whole lot of them moving. All the skateboards rolled to the center and stopped.
Tugg watched me, wide-eyed, like I was his personal superhero.
"What happened here tonight?" I asked again.
"Two of them came in. The skinny guy and the red-haired girl. She moved things without touching them," he stuttered and motioned to the mess of clothing and gear, "and she was standing over there and she lifted me off the floor like, like," he made an upward motion with his finger. "And voop , she hung me right up on the wall."
"Why?"
He hesitated. "Because I wouldn't give them your name."
They had remembered me after all. My head swam and, much like the night I was drunk, the graffiti walls blended together. I joined him on the floor.
"You know them?" he asked.
I wheezed a couple of deep breaths. "Did you tell them my name?"
"I didn't remember it."
"Okay," I wheezed. "Okay. That's good."
"Who are they?"
"That's what I came to ask you. Do they come here a lot?" I asked.
"Just a few times."
"Do you know their names?"
He clamped his jaw down tight, undecided. Gave me a once-over. Decided I was worth helping.
"The skinny guy called the girl Luma. She's the one who did all the damage. That's all I know, and you did not hear it from me, got that?" He lurched to his feet. "I'm quitting this job. If they come back, I'm not going to be here. I don't even skateboard, I just show up for the girls."
Tugg closed the shop and drove me home. "I wouldn't have told them your name, even if I could remember it," he said when he pulled in front of my house. "I'd never do that to an innocent girl. This Luma chick, though…she's evil."
A shudder ran down my neck. "Thanks, Tugg."
"Yeah. See you around."
I was betting I'd never hear from him again.
********
Becca's car was back from the repair shop, and Kimber let me ride to school with her.
"How much longer until you get your keys back?" Becca asked.
"The last time I asked, my dad said when pigs fly and dinosaurs pop out of his butt."
"Gross."
"Yeah, well, he got his point across. I'll be hitching rides until college."
We rode the rest of the way in
"Wait, I have to talk to you."
"Forget it. Don't ever come here again, and you were never here. Got it? I know nothing."
"I'm not going anywhere." I turned to face him, and he skittered backward with his hands raised between us. Given his size, I found it more than a little disturbing that he was afraid of me. "I get it," I said calmly, "you're wigged out, but I need you to think back to the night I was here with my friend Becca. Remember?"
He squeezed his eyes tight. "Yeah."
"There were three kids here that night." I described the girl and the two guys, and Tugg shook his head violently.
"No, I don't know anything. Now get out…" Movement out of the corner of his eye distracted him. If it were possible, he turned a lighter shade of gray. "What the—"
I followed his gaze to the skating bowl. All the store's skateboards, dozens of them, cruised across the concrete as if ridden by ghosts. They skidded on the bowl's lip, launched up the quarter pipe, jumped over each other.
"Whoa," I said.
Tugg babbled nonsensically and his legs went limp. He put his head between his knees.
Secretly, this was the kind of thing that upset me the most, seeing a normal person's reaction to paranormal occurrences. It reminded me how much of a freak I was.
I rested a hand on Tugg's shoulder. "Tell me what happened here tonight."
He shook his head. "Too crazy. Too crazy."
Frightened people often refused to talk, even when it was in their best interest. I saw this all the time when my dad and I lived in a crime-ridden neighborhood south of Seattle. Our neighbors witnessed the worst of human behavior, but when the police came around asking questions, they clammed right up.
I went to the edge of the bowl and jumped in. I kicked one of the boards, sending it flying across the cement. That was enough to sever the phantom thread that kept the whole lot of them moving. All the skateboards rolled to the center and stopped.
Tugg watched me, wide-eyed, like I was his personal superhero.
"What happened here tonight?" I asked again.
"Two of them came in. The skinny guy and the red-haired girl. She moved things without touching them," he stuttered and motioned to the mess of clothing and gear, "and she was standing over there and she lifted me off the floor like, like," he made an upward motion with his finger. "And voop , she hung me right up on the wall."
"Why?"
He hesitated. "Because I wouldn't give them your name."
They had remembered me after all. My head swam and, much like the night I was drunk, the graffiti walls blended together. I joined him on the floor.
"You know them?" he asked.
I wheezed a couple of deep breaths. "Did you tell them my name?"
"I didn't remember it."
"Okay," I wheezed. "Okay. That's good."
"Who are they?"
"That's what I came to ask you. Do they come here a lot?" I asked.
"Just a few times."
"Do you know their names?"
He clamped his jaw down tight, undecided. Gave me a once-over. Decided I was worth helping.
"The skinny guy called the girl Luma. She's the one who did all the damage. That's all I know, and you did not hear it from me, got that?" He lurched to his feet. "I'm quitting this job. If they come back, I'm not going to be here. I don't even skateboard, I just show up for the girls."
Tugg closed the shop and drove me home. "I wouldn't have told them your name, even if I could remember it," he said when he pulled in front of my house. "I'd never do that to an innocent girl. This Luma chick, though…she's evil."
A shudder ran down my neck. "Thanks, Tugg."
"Yeah. See you around."
I was betting I'd never hear from him again.
********
Becca's car was back from the repair shop, and Kimber let me ride to school with her.
"How much longer until you get your keys back?" Becca asked.
"The last time I asked, my dad said when pigs fly and dinosaurs pop out of his butt."
"Gross."
"Yeah, well, he got his point across. I'll be hitching rides until college."
We rode the rest of the way in
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