A Shadow's Light BK 2 Read Free Page A

anymore?”
    “Easy,” replied James with a hand in the air. “I’m sorry buddy--didn’t mean to get you riled up. Just wanting to help you is all.”
    “I know. I…I just don’t…ah, forget it,” replied Test as he turned away from James.
    The conversation made him think about Nicole. He still had dreams of her. In his dreams, he didn’t have powers and they were together at the trailer house in Lincoln. His mom was there and she looked very pretty, wearing nice clothes and make-up with her hair done up all fancy. Then he would wake up and realize that it was all just a dream. It was getting to the point that he didn’t like to sleep any more just because it felt like he was being tortured. He knew that he and Nicole could never be, but couldn’t help thinking of what might have been. He also knew, or at least did months ago, that his mom was still alive, but he had no idea where she was.
    Test was now facing towards Enrique’s truck, but looking off to the shoulder of the road. Rob was driving quickly, the bumps and ruts in the dirt causing the truck to bounce wildly, and making it difficult for any of the passengers in the back to keep their seats. There was very little light remaining and the head lights on Enrique’s truck were now shining brightly into Test’s eyes. The glare forced him to look a little farther off to the side of the road. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something moving.
    Bounding from the side of the road, a deer came with great speed on a collision course for the front passenger side of Enrique’s truck. Test held up his right hand instinctively. The deer froze in mid air and then was immediately thrown back into the opposite direction. Enrique’s truck came to an abrupt stop, swerving to the left and onto the shoulder of the road. A plume of dust engulfed the truck from behind, making only the headlights visible for a few seconds. Having seen the headlights swerving in his rearview mirror, Rob stopped his truck quickly as well. Every one of the passengers in the bed, rolled, slid, or landed on one another, Test included.
    Stunned, the crews gingerly crawled out of both vehicles, each with a pain or sprain to show for the sudden stop. Test watched each of them nervously, fearful that his power had been seen. With no one paying a bit of attention to him, he breathed a momentary sigh of relief.
    The last one out of either vehicle, Enrique opened the door of his pickup slowly. As he closed it, he scratched his head and walked around to the front of the truck and stood by Alyssa and Eric. Eric Benson was the only crew member riding in the back of Enrique’s truck. He was a bit on the odd side, and stood six foot one with blonde hair and blue eyes. In his early forties, he was in great physical shape from his years of working in construction and logging. At times he could be incredibly quiet and reserved, but within minutes, could transform into an obnoxious and belligerent jerk. Test often thought that if there was a candidate for being bi-polar, Eric was it.
    “I could have sworn that we hit that thing,” said Enrique as he examined the grill on his truck.
    Frantic and upset, Alyssa replied. “Uncle E, that deer changed direction in mid air. I swear it! I don’ know how we couldn’t have hit it?”
    “Oh come on now, Alyssa. I’m sure your eyes were playing with you. Actually I’m pretty sure that your eyes were probably closed, or at least focused on something else!” said Enrique with a smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
    “I’m serious!” she replied, pushing Enrique’s hand off of her. “I saw everything perfectly. That deer was in the air and then it was like someone pressed rewind on the DVD player.”
    Test, James, and Rob, along with Jordan, the final member of the team, walked up to Enrique, Alyssa, and Eric. Jordan Baxter was the brains of the operation. He was quick with numbers and knew something about everything. He didn’t look like