Zapped by Sherwood Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

“That was after I was bribed to go on this scouting thing. Harper’s big brother Phil was the Eagle Scout in charge of us. Well, I set fire to his tent. I really thought he was gone, but he’d come back and fallen asleep … well, anyway, the short version is, I got put in counseling, and when I told them everything, they told my parents that gender identity usually begins young, blah blah.”
    I nodded, remembering what Mom Gwen had said.
    â€œActually, the therapist was pretty awesome. My parents were told to let me express my preferred gender. Even change my name, if I wanted. So I picked my great-grandmother Mercy’s name. The mother of my grandmother who disappeared. I always thought she just wanted to get away.”
    Like you did, I thought. And my bio mom.
    â€œBut maybe she was into something secret. Maybe her mother was, too, but if she was, mysterious talents—whether it’s magic or some kind of blip in the laws of physics—aren’t very strong, or evil power is really strong, because look how hard it was to bring down the Nazis. Great-Grandma Mercy was a Jew in Lithuania during World War II, and went underground when they invaded her town. She managed to save a bunch of people before the Gestapo caught her group and killed them.”
    â€œShe sounds really awesome,” I said. “But that reminds me of something I read, that the Nazis were into researching magic and weird science. The thought that those guys might have gotten any kind of powers is really, really creepy.”
    â€œI know! Which is why I am totally happy with keeping our talents secret until we know more. Anyway, Great-Grandma Mercy is my hero, whether she had a talent or not. Okay, back to my stupid story, so I can get it over with. I got my own clothes. I started doing schoolwork again. But some people think I got away with murder. Next to murder.” She shrugged tightly.
    I’d already stepped in it a million times, so I was determined not to now. I could tell by her tension that she’d hate pity, and anyway we only had a few block left. There was the long blue line of the bay.
    So I said, “I kinda get why Harper holds a grudge.” Then I remembered what she’d actually said, and got that sick feeling again. To hide it, I asked, “How exactly did she discover your talent?”
    Mercy hunched her shoulders. “At juvenile court, after I nearly toasted Phil. Both families were there. She always tests out anyone she thinks might possibly have a talent, though she was expecting my talent to be pyromania, because of the school fire. She bumped against me. She saw my spring, along with all the anger and hate.”
    I couldn’t help shivering, though the wind was hot and dry.
    â€œI’m not going to say I know all her issues. I’ve had too many people telling me what I’m supposed to think. She kept my secret for three years. I thought I was the only one in the world who had a talent. She waited until she figured out that I keep secrets. She knows I work every summer to pay for the damage I did. She knows I don’t get in trouble now.”
    Mercy’s voice sped up, and I could tell she was bothered, though she was trying to sound normal. “So when she appeared as one of the student representatives at my middle school last year, and got me alone long enough to say that she knew my secret, and what did I plan to do about it, and I said nothing—nothing bad—I was done with being a brat because I was now Mercy, she said she didn’t believe me. But then, last spring, she called. Told me there are others, and did I want to meet them.” She glanced ahead, where the gazebo sat in the distance.
    There was time for one more question. “Those girls chasing you?”
    Mercy’s grin flared. “At the other end of the street where the bus stops, there’s a car repair shop that everyone knows is a chop shop. They sell