Missing a Human Heart

Mrs. Evington promptly returned my email and assured me that she’d take care of everything. They could even come to school the next morning, she said.

As soon as Mom and Dad were in bed, Pandora crept downstairs to get more food for the guys. I pulled out a box from my closet and opened it.

Last summer, I had interned at a local hospital. I mostly did research with mice and baby chicks (which had horrified Pandora, of course, since she was irrationally against animal testing), but I watched the occasional surgery and was even taught a few basic things such as how to check a patient’s blood pressure and pulse. I didn’t plan on becoming a doctor, but medical research interested me. If I ever wanted to do research involving humans, I’d need to learn how to check their vital signs and how to draw blood.

I pulled out a few glass vials, sterilized needles, and a tourniquet. I planned on taking blood samples from the guys and then examining them tomorrow after school with the microscopes in Mr. Kaufman’s room. He wouldn’t mind. He knew I was preparing a research project on sickle-cell disease, and he always let me use his materials whenever I needed.

I went into the guest room without knocking. Tempest was reclining on the couch, Damon was leaning against the wall throwing a small rubber ball into the air and catching it, and Charlie was sitting on the edge of the bed. They had all been discussing something, and they immediately stopped when I walked in, eyeing me warily.

“Hello,” I smiled a little uneasily. I set my materials down on the desk. “I hope you don’t mind if I draw some blood. I can help you find a cure, but first I need to fully understand what has happened to you. Now, I think I’ll first take a sample while you’re in human form, and then you can change-”

I was suddenly slammed against the wall. I dropped the glass vials in my hand, which shattered on the desk. Damon gripped my shoulders hard, his brown eyes looking like they were on fire.

“Don’t you ever bring those things near us again. Do you hear me?” he growled in a low, threatening voice.

“What are you doing?” I heard Pandora exclaim. I glanced over to see her standing in the doorway holding a tray of food. She quickly set this down on the desk and grabbed Damon’s arm, trying to pull him away.

“Leave her alone!” she shouted. “Let go of her!”

“That’s enough, Damon,” Charlie commanded sternly. Damon glared at me, but he finally let go and stepped back.

I stood still, completely stunned. Pandora protectively wrapped an arm around my shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the mutants. As much as she wanted to help others, I knew that she still placed our family’s safety above all else.

“I think you should leave now,” she said, trying to sound strong although her voice was shaking.

“Damon is a jerk. We won’t let him hurt you,” Tempest tried to assure us.

“You’d better not,” I finally found my voice. “Touch me again, and I swear I’ll send you right back where you came from. I’m sure what they’ll do to you won’t even compare to my harmless blood-drawing.”

They all looked sincerely frightened by this concept, so I gathered the unbroken vials and other supplies and left the room, Pandora close behind.

“What are we doing?” she whispered, following me back to my room. “Pamela, I think we’ve made a big mistake!”

“It’ll be fine,” I smiled weakly. I couldn’t believe that now I was defending them instead of the other way around.

I somehow managed to get to sleep that night, although my door was locked, and I had propped a chair against it.

I woke up early the next morning to make sure I’d get a chance at the bathroom. Not that I took much time to get ready anyways. I only had to brush my teeth and braid my hair, and I could do the last one without a mirror.

Instead, I spent the extra time flipping through my Biology textbook for information on horses, foxes, and fish. I was most concerned about Tempest. At least the other two were still mammals. His skin had to have changed, I reasoned. Perhaps it now more closely resembled a whale’s or a dolphin’s skin. There were so many questions that could be answered if they’d only let me run a few tests. Surely I could at least get a cheek swab…

“I already fed them breakfast. Are you ready?” Pandora was suddenly at my door. I glanced at the clock in surprise. I was usually the responsible one, but I did have a tendency to lose track of time while researching.

“Yeah, let’s do this,” I nodded, closing my Biology book and putting it in my backpack.

Pandora went downstairs first to distract Mom and Dad while I sneaked out the door with the guys. As soon as she heard the car start, Pandora ran outside and hopped in the passenger’s seat.

The sky was gray and cloudy, and it smelled like it might rain. The trees were alive with color, though. Autumn was my favorite part about living in Maine, although I had terrible allergies.

I pulled into the school parking lot and managed to find a spot not too far from the front doors. Pandora and I led the guys to the counseling center, where Mrs. Evington was waiting for us.

“Welcome to our school!” she smiled at the guys. “Follow me, and I’ll help you put together a schedule.”

She led them to her office, and I pulled out my planner and made a note to send her a thank you card later this week.

“Should we wait for them?” Pandora asked.

“No, they’ll be fine,” I shrugged, leaving the counseling center. I noticed that Pandora lingered behind, but I continued on without her.

I didn’t go to our locker because I only had Art first hour. It was the only class I was struggling with. Miss Pena often said in frustration that I was too much of a perfectionist and that in all her years of teaching, she had never met someone with so little creativity. I was just as frustrated. How was I supposed to raise my B to an A if she was such a subjective grader? She was so vague with her instructions! How in the world was I supposed to know what to include in my projects if she didn’t give me a specific list of requirements?

I went into the classroom and took my spot on a wobbly stool at a table with Taylor Hartman and Brittany Davidson. They were the two most annoying freshman I had ever met. They were always giggling and squealing loudly and talking two hundred words a minute.

“Oh my gosh, your skirt is so cute!” Taylor said to Brittany, her voice actually squeaking.

“Oh my gosh, I know, right? I got it at Express!” Brittany exclaimed. I frowned at her. The bright blue skirt was mid-thigh length. Wasn’t she freezing?

Brittany and Taylor turned their judging eyes to me, seeing that I was looking at her skirt with disdain. Like I cared what they thought. This was one of my favorite outfits: khaki pants, white blouse, and gray cardigan. It was warm, sensible, and professional. What more could you possibly want?

“Mind if I sit here?” a sickeningly familiar voice asked.

I scowled as Damon plopped down on the stool next to me. Brittany and Taylor stared at him with wide eyes.

“Why are you here?” I asked unhappily.

“Because they won’t let me take any upper level art classes until I pass this one or until my ‘transcript’ comes through,” he replied, using air quotes.

“You like art?” I asked dubiously.

“Is that so hard to believe?” he asked, resting his chin on his hand and gazing at me. “The real question is why are you here?”

“Fine arts requirement,” I grumbled.

“Now, why don’t you sound happy about that? I find the arts to be… stimulating,” he said, winking across the table at the delighted Brittany and Taylor.

“You’re disgusting,” I frowned. “And I still haven’t forgiven you for last night.”

“And I haven’t forgiven you either,” Damon shrugged.

I successfully ignored him for the entire class period and left as soon as the bell rang, losing myself in the crowd to make sure he couldn’t follow me. Charlie and Tempest were tolerable, but Damon disgusted me. He attacked me, for heaven’s sake! I wouldn’t mind if he was captured by mad scientists.

Tempest was in U.S. History with me, and he politely walked with me to my next class. Well, he walked part of the way, at least.

Tempest suddenly put a hand on my arm, stopping me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, seeing his face darken.

“Jaren,” he practically growled.

“What is that?” I asked in confusion, but he had already starting pushing his way through the crowd. I followed, peering over his shoulder.

Pandora was at our locker, absorbed in finding her books. I suddenly noticed a young man with short brown hair and narrow, sharp eyes standing behind her. He reached out a hand to touch her.

“Get away from her, Jaren!” Tempest shouted. The entire hallway fell silent, and people stopped walking to watch Tempest approach the young man angrily.

Pandora looked up and blinked at Tempest.

“What’s going on?” she asked innocently.

“I’m sorry. I think you have me confused with someone else,” the young man said, looking puzzled.

“Tempest, this is Mr. Barber. He’s the student teacher in my math class. I have lunch now, and he was going to help me with our next assignment,” Pandora explained calmly.

“How long has this been going on, Jaren?” Tempest asked heatedly.

“I really have no idea what you’re talking about,” Mr. Barber laughed awkwardly. I noticed that Tempest was twitching slightly, his muscles strained like he was doing everything he could to keep from lunging at Mr. Barber.

“Pamela, you have to believe me,” Tempest murmured in a low voice, aware that everyone was watching.

“He’s been my student teacher all year!” Pandora exclaimed. “How could he be-”

“He escaped before anyone else did,” Tempest replied quickly. He glared at Mr. Barber. “If you won’t leave, then we will.”

Tempest grabbed each of us and pushed us through the crowd.

“Tempest, will you explain?” I asked impatiently.

“We’re going to find Damon and Charlie, and then we’ll probably leave,” he answered.

“And go where? For how long?” Pandora asked.

“Anywhere but here, and most likely forever,” Tempest said.