Unknown (Unknown Series Book 1) by Wendy Higgins Page A

get to the local Vegas news. The station was static. My eyebrows came together, and the headache I’d had earlier started creeping around from my neck to my temples and behind my eyes.
    “The Vegas station is out,” I told Dad. He stepped over and switched it to AM. I never really listened to any national news on the radio, but he did.
    “This one’s out too,” he muttered. “I think it’s New York based.” He continued to scan until he came to a man talking.
    “—stations out across the United States with no response—”
    And then something altogether bizarre happened. I started to shake. I couldn’t understand it. I looked to Mom, who leapt to her feet, panic on her face. I realized then that it wasn’t me shaking. The entire room was shaking. Abuela cried out and Grandpa Tate gripped his chair handles with white knuckles. A family picture fell from the wall with a crash of broken wood and shattering glass. The ground beneath me shifted so violently I fell to my knees.
    “Earthquake!” Dad yelled. “Out of the house!”
    Mom and I grasped Abuela by her upper arms while Dad helped Grandpa. We rushed from the house with the thuds and shattering of falling things ringing out behind us. Abuela sat in the yard, grasping her chest. I fell to her side and put my arm around her. Pieces of siding fell from our house and a metal gutter screamed as it drooped. From afar I heard a strange woosh and ear-splitting crashing that seemed to go on forever. I looked out to see one of the dilapidated old barns on the edge of Fite property falling.
    Rylen! Were they okay in that old house? I jumped to my feet just as the trembling waned and stopped. A still hush passed over the land, followed by sounds of more things falling and settling. From the neighborhood behind our house that lined our property, I could hear people screaming behind the dividing wall. We were all breathing loudly. We’d never had a quake out here before. I didn’t even know there were fault lines.
    And then my mind went into work mode. Surely there were accidents and injuries. I kissed Abuela’s head and jumped to my feet, running past Mom and into the house. Inside was a mess, but the walls, floors, and ceilings were intact. I dove for my phone on my bed and cursed when I saw no bars. No reception. When I ran back into the living room, Dad was there fiddling with the radio.
    “Power’s out,” he said. His face was fierce as he yanked the cord from the wall and upended the small stereo, opening the battery compartment. “Four D batteries.” He ran to the kitchen.
    Voices sounded from outside and I went to the door to see Rylen running into our yard, eyes quickly scanning Mom, Abuela, and Grandpa until they landed on me and halted. His tight shoulders loosened and he let out a breath before springing up the steps and throwing his arms around me. He squeezed me to him. In that moment, after experiencing such fear, I melted into his embrace and held him too.
    “You okay?” His chest heaved from the run over.
    I nodded, my heart a hammer. Rylen suddenly tensed and his arms disappeared. I looked up and followed his gaze to the doorway where Livia stood, also out of breath, watching us.
    “Uh, everyone here is okay,” Rylen told her. He tugged at his earlobe.
    Livia stared hard at me and said softly, “Es bueno.”
    Dad rushed back into the room and put the batteries in, then clicked the compartment shut. I moved closer to him, away from Rylen, feeling guilty and peeved. Immediately we could hear the newsman again, and my feelings shed away as I listened.
    “—here in Cincinnati, but news is starting to trickle in from other networks. I’m not sure how much of this is speculation or fact, but there is word of an attack on Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas so far—”
    “Shit!” Dad cursed.
    Vegas. Remy was in Vegas! I allowed my entire body a moment of reactionary pain and nausea, and then I pulled myself