Scorpion Shards Read Free Page B

asked.
    â€œNo one important,” he replied. “My name’s Dillon.” She still could not look away from his eyes, and what she saw there told her all she needed to know. His eyes poured forth his guilt, and she knew that somehow he had done this to her. He had sent the terrible driverless car.
    â€œYou bastard,” she groaned, and yet she felt strangely relieved. This time it had been real, not just another vision—and yet she wasn’t dead. In its own way, it was a relief.
    Dillon leaned away, unnerved. “I didn’t want to hurt you.” He said anxiously. “I didn’t want to hurt anybody . . . . It’s just that . . .” He stopped. How could he hope she could ever understand?
    â€œNo, tell me,” she said and grabbed his hand. Dillon gasped and tried to pull his hand back; but even in her weakened state, she held him firmly . . . and he was amazed to discoverthat his touch didn’t scramble her mind. She did not shrink away from him.
    How was this possible? Everyone he touched was affected— everyone .
    â€œYour hand is warm,” she said, then looked at him curiously. “You’re not afraid! I don’t make you afraid!”
    â€œNo,” he said. She smiled, keeping her eyes fixed on his, and in that moment a brilliant light shone through the half-opened blinds—a sudden green flash that resolved into a red glow in the dark sky.
    Whatever that light was, it seemed to make the rest of the world go away, leaving the two of them floating in a hospital room that was floating in space.
    This, thought Deanna, is the most important moment of my life  . . . and she immediately knew why.
    â€œYou’re like me!” she whispered. “You’re just like me!”
    Dillon nodded, his eyes filling with tears, because he too knew it was true. In this instant, he felt closer to Deanna than he had ever felt to anyone. I almost killed her , he thought. How horrible it would have been if she died, and we had never met. He marveled at how the strange light painted a soft glow around her charcoal hair, and he felt a sudden reverence for her that was beyond words. The only words that he could speak now that would make any sense would be his confession.
    â€œI destroy everything I touch,” said Dillon.
    â€œYou don’t destroy me,” answered Deanna.
    â€œI’m a monster,” said Dillon.
    â€œThat’s not what I see,” she answered. It was the closest thing to forgiveness Dillon had ever felt. Then Deanna began to cry and began a confession of her own.
    â€œI’m afraid,” she said.
    â€œOf what?”
    â€œOf this place. Of my life. Of everything inside and out. I’m terrified.”
    Dillon gripped her hand tightly. “Then I’ll protect you,” he said. “I’ll make sure nothing out there can hurt you.”
    Deanna smiled through her tears, because she knew that this boy who had almost destroyed her now meant to protect her with all his heart. He held her hand with a delicate intensity, as if having her hand in his was a miracle of the highest order. In this instant, she trusted him more than she had ever trusted anyone.
    â€œNo,” she answered. “We’ll protect each other.”

2. ’STONE GETS COOTIES
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    O N THAT SAME NIGHT, THE DARK SKY OVER A LABAMA WAS punctuated by a million stars. Still, those stars were not bright enough to shed light on the ground, and since the moon had not yet risen, the ground was left darker than the space between the stars.
    Winston Marcus Pell lay in his lightless room, wiggling his fingers, trying to see them. His dark skin could have been painted fluorescent yellow, and still he’d have seen little more than a vague shadow.
    A night this black was either a good omen or a bad one—depending on which set of superstitions you chose to believe—and Winston had to keep reminding