follicle. He let out a little shriek.
'Kyle, just calm down,' his dad was saying. But Valenti's voice was not only too loud, it also seemed to vibrate strangely. Kyle glanced over at the TV He could no longer see the baseball game… now the screen was covered with blurs of color and motion, but nothing sharp or clear.
'… an alien thing?' Valenti asked.
Kyle stared up at his father, trying to figure out what he was asking. But the very sound of the words was still bouncing around his brain. It was hard to concentrate on anything else.
'… taking you to the hospital.'
The last thing Kyle saw was his father's frightened eyes. Then everything turned white. The sounds disappeared, but the strange tingly feeling intensified. Kyle couldn't tell if he was standing or sitting, and he had no idea where his father was.
I wonder if this is what Buddha meant by clearing your mind, Kyle thought. And then he stopped thinking anything at all.
'How old is your brother?' Maria asked. She still couldn't quite believe that she had two half siblings out there. And that her father had never bothered to tell her.
'He's six,' Sadie replied. 'His name is Richard Jr.' Maria felt a lump rising in her throat and tried to swallow it down. He named his son after himself? It was like he'd just started over after he left her and her mom. He'd
gone off and had the family he'd really wanted. I was just some mistake he made, Maria thought angrily. 1 guess that's one feeling he and Mom have in common.
'Junior. Great,' she said. 'Well, it all sounds very well adjusted and super.' She couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
Sadie looked down at her hands. Now I've made her feel bad again, Maria thought irritably. The truth was, she liked Sadie. She didn't want to hurt her feelings. But it was hard to take in all this new information and not be bitter about it.
'So he and your mom are happy together?' Maria asked, trying to sound friendly.
Sadie nodded.
'Did he tell her about me?' Oops, there was the bitterness again.
'I don't know,' Sadie said. 'I found all that stuff about you in his office, but I never asked him about it. I never asked my mom, either. I just got on a bus and came to find you.'
'What I want to know is where he got those pictures of you,' Michael put in. 'And your report cards. He must've had a private detective following you.'
That's true, Maria thought. All these years, had there been someone watching her? She didn't know whether she should be happy that her father had bothered to keep tabs, or freaked out that he'd had some strange person following her as if she were a criminal.
'Because if someone was watching you, they were also watching me,' Michael added significantly.
Oh, God, another alien crisis. Maria felt overwhelmed. If a private detective had been following her, he would have
seen some strange things. Alien powers, the Granilith taking off, who knows what else. He might have one file on Maria, and a whole different kind of file on Michael and Isabel and Max.
'You know what, I can't handle all this,' Maria announced. She stood up. 'Sadie, I'm sorry, but you have to go home now.'
Sadie nodded miserably.
'It's not personal,' Maria said gently. 'I'm glad I met you, and I'm sure someday we'll be good friends, okay?'
Her little sister looked up at her hopefully.
'But your mother must be worried sick. And your… our father.' Maria grabbed Michael's cordless phone and held it out to Sadie. 'Call him to come get you.'
Before Sadie could take the phone, it rang. Maria jumped and almost dropped it. She pressed the talk button. 'Hello?'
'Maria, thank god I found you,' her mother's nasal voice said. 'I need your help.'
'Why, what's wrong?' Maria asked.
'I can't breathe. I'm having some kind of asthma attack,' Amy gasped.
'But, Mom, you don't have asthma,' Maria said, a gnawing fear growing in her stomach.
'I used to when I was younger,' Amy told her. 'Maria, honey, I'm scared.'
Maria's heart leaped into her throat.
'I need to get to the emergency room,' Amy wheezed.
'Hang on, Mommy,' Maria said. 'I'll be right there.'
7
Isabel waited impatiently with the crowd outside the emergency room. Every time it looked as if she might be able to worm her way inside, another group of people would come running up with a desperately ill friend or relative, and she would have to step aside and let them in. She didn't mind, of course. But she was growing more and more worried by the minute. What was going on here? All these sick people… they seemed to have nothing in common except that they were sick.
So far she'd seen one elderly woman who had an ugly rash all over her arms. A little boy with uncontrollable hiccups. A middle-aged guy whose entire body was shaking violently in a seizure. The latest one carried by had been a girl around her own age who had been vomiting and was completely dehydrated.
What's wrong with Liz? Isabel wondered. Max had called almost an hour ago to tell her he was bringing Liz to the ER. Of course Isabel had rushed right over, but she hadn't been expecting some sort of epidemic.
There was a brief lull in the incoming patients. The area in front of the door was empty. Isabel pushed past the two security guys standing in front of her and sped through the door. One of them called after her, but she kept going as if she hadn't heard him.
Inside, the waiting area was pandemonium. She scanned the room, searching for Max or Liz. Not a sign of them. But, much to her astonishment, she spotted Valenti sitting on a bench next to Maria. Maria's mother was with her, breathing from an oxygen mask.
What on Earth is going on here? Isabel made her way over to them. 'Hey,' she said. 'What's happening? Are you okay, Ms. DeLuca?'
Maria's mom shrugged and gestured to the mask with her hand.
'She's having a severe asthma attack,' Maria explained. 'Which is bizarre, because she hasn't had asthma since she was seven.'
'What caused it?' Isabel asked, taking a seat next to Amy.
'Nothing she can think of,' Maria said. 'That's why we're worried.'
Isabel glanced up at Valenti. She knew he and Maria's mom dated sometimes. Was he here for Amy? Or someone else?
Valenti met her eye and nodded grimly. 'Kyle's here too,' he told her.
Isabel gasped. She and Kyle had been hanging out a lot lately, and she'd grown attached to him. 'What's wrong with him?'
'They don't know,' Valenti said, his voice tight with
worry. 'He passed out at home, and he's been in and out of consciousness ever since. They want me to wait out here until they run some tests.'
Isabel frowned. 'Does this seem strange to you guys?' she asked. 'Ms. DeLuca getting sick, and Kyle, and Liz?'
'Liz?' Maria repeated. 'What's wrong with Liz?'
'Don't you know?' Isabel asked. 'Max brought her in here about an hour ago.'
'Liz was with Max?' Maria looked surprised.
Valenti shook his head. 'We haven't seen either of them.'
