Halfkinds Volume 1: Contact by Andrew Vu Read Free Book Online
Authors: Andrew Vu
his
prowess, how he’s so good he could run circles in broad daylight. It’s not
something I would do, but his cheetah ancestry also means he’s not that smart.
“Do you think Leonard really went
back home?” I ask Isaac, my twin brother.
Isaac twitches his nose and his
whiskers shake. “I don’t know Iris, but it seems pretty likely. He was the
closest to mom. Remember how much she used to baby him? He always was her
favorite.”
Isaac speaks in the past tense and
it irks me a little. Mother is dead, and we now have to talk about her as a
memory, not someone in the present. It makes me sad. I wasn’t as close to her
as Leonard, but she was still my mother. She took care of me and my brothers
and sisters, and it’s something I couldn’t shake in just a week.
I twitch my nose and sniffle a
bit. I try to prevent the tears from coming out of my eyes, but in doing so I
let out a faint sigh. Isaac senses my sadness.
“Are you okay?” he asks me. Isaac
is the one I am closest to, he is my twin after all. He is usually my
confidant and can sense my emotions better than any of my other siblings. He’s
earnest and on good terms with the rest of the family, but they usually refer
to us as one entity. They say it must be a cat thing, that we stick to our own
kind. I think it’s because Isaac understands me, and I understand him.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I say.
“You’re sad about mom, aren’t
you?” he asks.
“Yeah. I mean, who isn’t.”
“Tiago for one.”
Since mother had died, Tiago
quickly took his place as the leader. Throughout the week, he was the one who
had been giving orders and telling us how to ration our supplies. He was also
the one who commanded Ace to search for Leonard.
I can’t imagine how it must be to
have the weight of ten other siblings on your shoulders. Isaac thinks that in
the last few days, Tiago has come off way too cold, especially the way he
handled us leaving in the first place. I could tell Isaac disagreed with how
we left mother and the house so suddenly. It seemed wrong to leave her corpse
to rot. He wanted to punch Tiago in the face.
But I know what we did was for the
greater good. Tiago was thinking rationally. It was too dangerous to stay in
one place, and Tiago had to do what he could to protect us. Sometimes the best
decision isn’t always the most popular one.
Tiago has also been discussing
with our second oldest brother, Oscar, on what our next move should be. It’s
odd that they are working together, they’ve never really seen eye to eye on
anything. One is a softy, one is as hard as a rock. I guess to formulate a
plan, you need to hear both sides.
We can’t hide in this warehouse
forever and our supplies are slowly dwindling. The younger ones, like me and Isaac,
have to rely on their leadership in order to get through this.
I myself am scared of what the
future holds, but I’ve always been afraid. What kind of future could I ever
possibly have? We have no home anymore and we can’t bounce from place to place
forever. Even worse, if something did happen to Leonard, if he got found out,
our existence would be known. We’d be mobbed down and murdered.
Thinking about my future makes me
shudder.
Suddenly, we hear knocking from
the back entrance of the warehouse. I grab a lead pipe I had been sleeping
next to. We had locked the doors tightly, but we are still on edge over
possible intruders. First we hear three fast knocks, followed by a pause, and
then two more fast knocks. I ease up a little. It’s the secret knock we had
made before. Ace has returned.
“Ace, is that you?” I ask.
Isaac shushes me. “Let Tiago
handle this.”
“Ace, what is the code?” Tiago
asks.
“Aww, c’mon, just let me in,” Ace
says impatiently.
“The code,” Tiago says again
sternly.
“Eight,” he says.
Tiago had made a coding system for
us during the week. If there was someone
prowess, how he’s so good he could run circles in broad daylight. It’s not
something I would do, but his cheetah ancestry also means he’s not that smart.
“Do you think Leonard really went
back home?” I ask Isaac, my twin brother.
Isaac twitches his nose and his
whiskers shake. “I don’t know Iris, but it seems pretty likely. He was the
closest to mom. Remember how much she used to baby him? He always was her
favorite.”
Isaac speaks in the past tense and
it irks me a little. Mother is dead, and we now have to talk about her as a
memory, not someone in the present. It makes me sad. I wasn’t as close to her
as Leonard, but she was still my mother. She took care of me and my brothers
and sisters, and it’s something I couldn’t shake in just a week.
I twitch my nose and sniffle a
bit. I try to prevent the tears from coming out of my eyes, but in doing so I
let out a faint sigh. Isaac senses my sadness.
“Are you okay?” he asks me. Isaac
is the one I am closest to, he is my twin after all. He is usually my
confidant and can sense my emotions better than any of my other siblings. He’s
earnest and on good terms with the rest of the family, but they usually refer
to us as one entity. They say it must be a cat thing, that we stick to our own
kind. I think it’s because Isaac understands me, and I understand him.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I say.
“You’re sad about mom, aren’t
you?” he asks.
“Yeah. I mean, who isn’t.”
“Tiago for one.”
Since mother had died, Tiago
quickly took his place as the leader. Throughout the week, he was the one who
had been giving orders and telling us how to ration our supplies. He was also
the one who commanded Ace to search for Leonard.
I can’t imagine how it must be to
have the weight of ten other siblings on your shoulders. Isaac thinks that in
the last few days, Tiago has come off way too cold, especially the way he
handled us leaving in the first place. I could tell Isaac disagreed with how
we left mother and the house so suddenly. It seemed wrong to leave her corpse
to rot. He wanted to punch Tiago in the face.
But I know what we did was for the
greater good. Tiago was thinking rationally. It was too dangerous to stay in
one place, and Tiago had to do what he could to protect us. Sometimes the best
decision isn’t always the most popular one.
Tiago has also been discussing
with our second oldest brother, Oscar, on what our next move should be. It’s
odd that they are working together, they’ve never really seen eye to eye on
anything. One is a softy, one is as hard as a rock. I guess to formulate a
plan, you need to hear both sides.
We can’t hide in this warehouse
forever and our supplies are slowly dwindling. The younger ones, like me and Isaac,
have to rely on their leadership in order to get through this.
I myself am scared of what the
future holds, but I’ve always been afraid. What kind of future could I ever
possibly have? We have no home anymore and we can’t bounce from place to place
forever. Even worse, if something did happen to Leonard, if he got found out,
our existence would be known. We’d be mobbed down and murdered.
Thinking about my future makes me
shudder.
Suddenly, we hear knocking from
the back entrance of the warehouse. I grab a lead pipe I had been sleeping
next to. We had locked the doors tightly, but we are still on edge over
possible intruders. First we hear three fast knocks, followed by a pause, and
then two more fast knocks. I ease up a little. It’s the secret knock we had
made before. Ace has returned.
“Ace, is that you?” I ask.
Isaac shushes me. “Let Tiago
handle this.”
“Ace, what is the code?” Tiago
asks.
“Aww, c’mon, just let me in,” Ace
says impatiently.
“The code,” Tiago says again
sternly.
“Eight,” he says.
Tiago had made a coding system for
us during the week. If there was someone