Guardian Angel by Adrian Howell Read Free Book Online Page B

we going?” asked Alia.
    “You’ll find out,” said Ed Regis.
    “Will there be a bath there?”
    “You’ll find out.”
     

Chapter 3: Discovery and the Fall
     
    We were already at the city’s edge, so it took only minutes before Alia figured out that we were headed away from civilization and the amenities it provided. She groaned in frustration.
    “It’s just another day,” I promised her. “You can bathe for a week once we get into Wood-claw.”
    Suddenly Alia gave me a worried look. “Scott didn’t tell us if everyone was alive.”
    I smiled. “I’m sure they’re all just fine.”
    Alia stared out the window for a moment before saying, “Rachael said Candace was okay.”
    “Hey, cut it out, Alia!” I snapped. “I’m worried about them too, you know!”
    Alia gave me a wounded look. “I didn’t mean it like that, Addy. I just meant that I wanted to see Candace too.”
    “Candace?” I repeated. “What for? I thought you’d be more interested in seeing Patrick again.”
    “Well, sure,” said Alia, looking down at her knees. “And baby Laila. But Candace is my friend, too. We used to talk a lot back when we were living in that old house.”
    “Yes, I know,” I said dryly. “You’re a big blabbermouth. You didn’t have to tell her everything you knew about me.”
    Alia laughed. “I didn’t tell her everything. ”
    “Hey,” called Ed Regis from the driver’s seat, “are you two wearing your seatbelts?”
    “No,” Alia and I said together.
    “Put them on. Now.”
    Alia had caught the tension in Ed Regis’s voice too. “What’s going on?” she asked.
    “I think we’re being followed,” Ed Regis replied quietly. “Don’t look back. Just buckle up and sit tight.”
    I helped Alia tighten her seatbelt. Then, buckling myself in too, I gave her arm a little tug. She looked at me and nodded quietly. All of her playfulness, her little upsets and worries, all instantly gone, replaced with a warrior’s calm. I never fully understood how my sister managed it, but I was glad that she did.
    “You want me up front?” I asked Ed Regis.
    “No,” he replied. “Not yet, anyway. I see one car, one driver only. Let’s just watch what he does.”
    We were only about halfway to our campsite, speeding along a narrow asphalt road that ran along the foot of a steep hill to our right. The left side of the road was mostly flat, grassy fields, with an occasional clump of trees here and there. It was too dark to see much else. I occasionally caught the headlights of the car behind us in the rearview mirror. I couldn’t see it well, but it looked like a light truck or SUV.
    “Is he really following us?” I asked.
    “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure,” said Ed Regis.
    “Maybe it’s someone from Wood-claw keeping an eye on us,” I said hopefully.
    Suddenly the headlights behind us disappeared completely, as if the driver had turned them off.
    “Hang on!” shouted Ed Regis.
    The engine roared as he floored the gas pedal, and Alia and I were pressed hard against our seats.
    “Hey, slow down!” I said. “He’s gone, isn’t he?!”
    The front windshield exploded. Our car rocked wildly, spinning around once as it flew off the road and into the grassy field. My seatbelt cut painfully into my waist and I bashed the side of my head against my door window.
    When everything finally stopped moving, we hadn’t turned over, and nothing appeared to be on fire.
    “Addy?! Are you okay?” Alia asked frantically. “Ed? Are you hurt?”
    “I’m alright,” groaned Ed Regis.
    “Addy?” cried Alia. “Addy?!”
    “I’m fine,” I said, holding the throbbing side of my head, ears ringing. I knew I wasn’t seriously injured because if there was any blood on my skin, the iron in it would have drained my psionic power.
    I looked over at my sister, who was panting heavily but appeared uninjured and alert. Ed Regis was clawing his way out of an airbag. Through the shattered windshield, I saw that