Watchers

Chapter One **REVISED 2.0**

Chapter One: Revised 2.0

She sat two desks away.

Joss could feel her energy and smell the faint tang of her lotion. She appeared enthralled in what the teacher lectured about, filling her notebook with writing. From what he could see, her penmanship made neat rows along the lines of the paper, organized in a tidy manner that wasted no space. While some of her classmates passed notes and threw eraser pieces at each other, she kept focused.

In comparison to the other teenagers in the room, she stood out. She lacked stature and her frame appeared weak, as if he could snap her in half with both hands. Red hair tumbled everywhere and the color was a contrast to her fair skin and small, precise features.

He dropped his head onto his palm and looked away from her to focus on the scene out the window. Beyond the glass, the naked trees bent their will to the wind and shrubbery as ugly as it was hearty lined the front walk. Students gathered around cars, seniors with a free period at the end of their day. Beyond them, the hills stood thick with forestry that held strong to the green regardless of the season.

He could see her half-reflection in the glass. Either she was that focused, unobservant, or not used to being stared at because he spent more time doing the latter than taking notes and she had yet to catch him at it.

“All right class, don’t forget, science projects are due on Monday,” the teacher ended the lecture with the reminder as he pointed his finger at them and earned a collective groan from the majority of the students.

The bell interrupted the complaints and Joss grabbed his backpack and book. He rose without hesitation, but gave her enough time to gather her things and start toward the door before he moved far.

They hit the archway at the same time. He bumped into her and the books and papers in her hands spilled across the floor and into the hallway.

She looked up, her face miserable with what he thought was embarrassment and surprise. “Excuse me.” Her voice was small and her words polite. “Sorry. I got distracted. Didn’t mean to run into you.”

She began to bend and reach for her school things. He dropped down and started to collect the papers. “Hey, I knocked them down, let me pick them up.”

“Thanks.” she said, as they gathered the rest of her things and moved out of the way of students in a hurry to exit the class and school entirely.

For a moment, he stared. “I’m Joss, Joss Burke.”

The smile changed the entire aspect of her appearance and gave her a beauty that could not be manufactured. It elevated her from pretty to an appealing, lovely attractiveness he did not want to notice. Under other circumstances he would want to pursue her, but these conditions were far from ideal.

“Joss. Hi. You must be new. I haven’t seen you before. I’m Mac Hudson.” She held out her hand.

Out of habit, he shook. “Mac?”

“Uh, yeah. Short for Mackenzie. It was my Grandpa’s name.”

He shrugged and nodded. “Nothing wrong with that.”

She kept silent and studied him. He couldn’t say he liked it. Her eyes held a brightness to them and he could read the intelligence there. It would complicate things, her intelligence.

He recalled his instructions clearly. He could still hear the intensity in Father Luke’s voice as he relayed them. Her beauty or intelligence didn’t matter. It couldn’t derail him. And yet... He knew Father Luke would be asking him why the assignment remained unfinished. Though this was his first day in class, he arrived in town two days prior.

He didn’t leap blindly. Alexander claimed that reckless idiocy all for himself.

Pieces of information appeared missing from the what Father Luke told him. It bothered him. The thought of it kept him constant company as he traveled from New York to Oregon. If the priest withheld something he wanted to know why.

You trust Father Luke, Joss. The man practically raised you. Why would he tell you to do something that goes against everything we stand for? And in the end, what’s one life compared to so many people? Compared to the world?

There remained the question he couldn’t seem to find an answer to.

She still studied him, as if a bug beneath a microscope. He shifted his stance and changed his backpack from one shoulder to the other. As his brows drew together, his flips flattened briefly. “What? Do I have two heads? A third eye?”

As Mackenzie pushed back a chunk of wavy hair, she shifted on her feet, clutched her books tighter, and studied her shoes a moment. Joss almost felt guilt for causing her distress though he didn’t know why. If more people said what they meant, conversations wouldn’t take so damn long.

In his experience, high schoolers lacked communication skills. It bored him and it annoyed him. Being raised to think ahead, to be fast, cautious and aware of all things around him, separated him from these kids. He might as well be an alien.

“You’re very blunt, aren’t you?”

So the little mouse bit back. He expected her to fumble over an apology and excuse herself. Instead she pinned him directly and kept the communication between them open, leaving him a chance to work himself back in.

“Yeah, what’s the point? It’s worthless to pretend otherwise. I’m not going to take a half hour saying something I could get out in thirty seconds.”

The girl laughed. He hadn’t anticipated that reaction. This girl dispelled his image of her more the longer he knew her. Surprise after surprise could only mean trouble and it was trouble he incurred himself by choosing this path to carry out the mission.

“Are you sure you’re supposed to be in high school? Have you met our peers? Nobody says what they mean.”

“Yeah, well, communication, along with the English language aren’t a favorite among people these days.”

She angled her face to one side and favored him with another smile. “I like you.”

“Look who’s blunt.”

“Just returning the favor.”

Time for a new conversation. “Where are you headed? I’ll walk you.”

“Just home. I don’t have any after school activities.” Moving further away from the door, she waved her hand toward the back part of the hall where an exit sign clearly stated its purpose in obnoxious, neon green. “I live four blocks away. It takes you through a small part of town, but I don’t mind the walk.”

“You tell everyone where you live?” He said, as they walked side by side down the hall, passing other students and rows of lockers. The noise and crowds allowed him to appreciate his lack of traditional schooling.

Her brows drew together, conveying her confusion. “Why? We’re all friends. Are you going to kidnap me or something?”

She could not know how close that came to his purpose.

“Yeah, and do what with you? Take you home and give my parents another kid to feed? Pretty sure you can trust me.”

“Then why did you ask?”

This girl was unlike many of the people he met around his age: inquisitive and perceptive.

He went for honesty. “I don’t know.” And he didn’t. Why should it be a concern to him if she let people she hardly knew walk her home?

“You’re strange,” Mackenzie said and adjusted her sliding backpack higher on her shoulder.

Joss lifted his free shoulder and hand. He let both fall with careless regard. “Never claimed to be normal.”

She seemed about to respond, but whatever her words might be she changed her mind. She closed her mouth, paused and said instead, “Well, if you live in the wrong direction you don’t have to walk me.”

“It’s fine. I need to go to town for a few things anyway. I don’t have all my school supplies yet.”

“I can help if you want. I know what all the teachers expect.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine. It’s not rocket science.”

“Are you sure?” She asked, tossing him a side-wise look he could only describe as girlish. Continuing to walk next to her, he admitted to bemusement. Sometimes girls were strange.

Halfway down the hall, Mackenzie became accosted by a blond girl literally bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. She shot a curious glance his way and slammed her hands onto her hips.

“Mac! Who is this? I don’t recognize him. Are you new?”

The girl fired the questions in such rapid succession he doubted either of them could answer should they even care to.

“Kady! This is Joss. He’s new here. We were just going to walk home. Joss, this is my best friend Kady,” she added, and her ‘best friend’, clad in a cheer-leading outfit blaring the schools obnoxious yellow and purple colors, examined him in a way that made Joss feel as if he were in a medical office.

Joss gave her a nod by way of introduction.

The girl folded her arms, grinning. “Does he speak for himself?”

Mackenzie reached out to grab onto one of Kady’s arms. “Kady! Don’t be rude.”

“I’m not being rude, Mac. I was just curious. Mr. Tall, Dark and Silent here is new so he’s fair game. You know how it is.”

Joss watched Mackenzie pull in a breath and release it slowly. Obviously she worried he might be offended or she herself felt exasperated with her friend’s behavior. It amused him. At least the girl said what she thought. He could appreciate that much.

“I can speak, yes. What would you like me to do? Sit? Shake? Roll over?”

For a moment he thought he rendered her silent. He could read the myriad of expressions crossing her face. Poker would definitely not be her game.

“Well, jeez. No need to be a smart ass about it.”

He gave the faintest of smiles. He couldn’t help himself. “Well you asked if I could speak. Just obliging. I’m... “fair game”, wasn’t it?”

Next to him, he heard Mackenzie smother a giggle.

“Mac, you traitor,” Kady complained as she shook Mackenzie’s hand off her arm, but Joss could see her trying not to smile. “I suppose you have a point,” she added and jabbed her long, painted fingernail at Joss. “But don’t think I’m going to let you off that easy.”

Joss held up his hands as if to ward off and attack. “Duly noted.”

“So, Mac,” Kady said, drawing out her friend’s name in a way that even Joss could tell only meant embarrassment for Mackenzie. “Why is the new guy here walking you home?”

Mackenzie busied herself with stuffing her books into her backpack. Joss watched her fair skin heat up again. The curse of being a red-head, he supposed. That and being the shier, more withdrawn of the two girls. It didn’t take hours of study to realize the hierarchy of this friendship. Though he could tell Kady cared about Mackenzie, it didn’t stop her from inflicting the usual torturous things girls did to one another.

“He offered. I said yes.”

Kady swung her gaze back and forth between the two of them. If it would be possible, Joss could easily imagine seeing the flow of information circling her brain. Her thought patterns were fairly simplistic and wholly focused on the things a lot of teenage girls focused on.

“I ran into her. Knocked her books all over the place. I thought I’d walk her home to make up for it.”

“How... Chivalrous of you.” Those hands back on her hips again.

“Not really.” It didn’t take rocket science either to understand the connections Kady’s brain made.

“Oh Kady, don’t you have cheer practice?” Mackenzie said, in what Joss immediately recognized as a stab at hope to change the conversation.

“Maybe. But not until four-thirty. Why don’t I walk with you guys?”

“Well-”

Kady held up a hand as if that too would stop the flow of her friend’s words. “We’re going by my favorite clothing store. There’s a vest in there I want. Then I promise I’ll leave you two alone.”

Mackenzie walked forward, bumping shoulders with Kady. “We don’t need to be alone, Kady. He’s just walking me home. Then I have a science project to work on. Remember? The one due in a few days?”

Kady groaned. “Don’t remind me. I’m not close to being done.”

“You haven’t even started, have you?”

The other girl suddenly found the ceiling particularly fascinating. “Well...Maybe not.”

“Oh Kady. You know you have to pass science. I can’t help-”

“Please, please, Mac!” Kady grabbed her friends shoulders, shaking her none too gently. “You know I don’t understand all of that stuff. When will I need science? I want to be an actress.”

“Kady, you’re scrambling my brains. Stop.” Her friend let go. “I can’t always help you, you know. And I wish you would go to college and find something to support yourself with. Being an actress is hard. You’ll have to go to California and-”

Kady waved her hand, as if dismissing Mackenzie’s words. Joss could tell this conversation became a frequent one between them.

“All right. But you have to promise to come over this weekend instead of going to Greg’s party.”

Though the blond pouted, she said, “I promise.”

“Now come on, Kady. I’m sure Joss has things he needs to do.”

* * * *

Mackenzie looked at him. He could tell she was holding her breath. It came out a slow stream, stirring the surrounding air. Shaking her head, she came to stand next to him. Kady finally finished her shopping. She bought what seemed like half the store before she left for cheer leading practice.

The stores appeared compact, connected by little more than a wall between each. It reminded him of old photos, of how towns used to be. Most places now either boasted malls or separate stores for every popular chain in a hodge-podge of buildings spread out over a small section of land.

The sidewalks were freshly kept, flowers here, trees there, all manicured and well-cared for. Few people walked behind or in front of them. Even the street couldn’t be what he would call busy. The contrast from the cracked sidewalks of New York, the pushy crowds and the bumper to bumper traffic almost felt like walking into a diorama of a town instead of an actual town.

Of all the places he traveled for assignments, none came close to being like this. Of all the places to find the girl who would cause chaos and destruction if allowed to live, he would not have guessed it to be here.

“Joss, you don’t have to walk me home if you need to do some shopping. I’m guessing you live in the other direction, so...?”

Yes, his lie. For a servant of God, he felt they often lied far more than he cared for.

The ends justified the means?

“It’s no big deal, Mackenzie. I’m coming back this way anyway. I said I’d walk you home, so I’ll see you there.”

“You are serious when you say something, aren’t you?”

“Any reason to be any other way?” He said.

“No... I guess not,” she said, but her tone went quiet and he wondered what questions lived there should he want to pry.

Noting the vibrant blue of Mackenzie’s scarf brought out the blue in her eyes, he watched her pull the multi-colored yarns more tightly around her neck. Feeling some strange need to distract her, he reached out, fingering it briefly. “Nice scarf.”

“Thanks, I made it. It’s so soft and comfortable. It keeps me warm.”

“Maybe,” he said, drawing his thumb down her nose. “Your nose and cheeks are red.”

She reached up, touched her nose. “Oh, I guess they are…” Giving him a smile that didn’t seem to want to cooperate with her lips, she rubbed her hand across them, drawing his attention there.

He leveled his gaze on her, eyes sharp, taking in every detail. He didn’t want to admit that he was beginning to enjoy her company.

They were walking again, alone, down a quiet neighborhood. Houses lined up like dominoes, all older, but well kept with small yards and little space between. If someone reached out one window, they could practically touch the person across the way. Though truthfully, New York, with its crowded apartment buildings and condos hardly separated a person from their neighbor either.

He should do it here; follow Father Luke’s orders and get it done with. Yet here he walked, pretending to be another normal teenager, fighting some war within himself that even he didn’t understand.

The amusing part of it all – if he could call it that – she carried no insight into how powerful she could be. What did she know though? Unless people were good at blocking it all out, something leaked through; something made them aware they lacked complete normalcy.

“I’m really sorry about what happened with Kady. She’s a good friend. She just kind of invites herself along.”

“It’s really not a big deal. She needed that vest apparently.”

“She’s a shopaholic of the worst kind. Plus, I think she was worried about me since she doesn’t know you.”

“Like I said, no big deal.” He paused, something stirred in him and the words fell out before he could stop them. “Somehow though, I don’t think a cheerleader is going to protect you from me.”

“Do I need protection?” She was gripping the strap of her backpack, some of the color sliding from her face, but she stood up straight and kept her unwavering gaze on him.

What are you playing at Joss?

Hell if he knew. Some part of him seemed to want to warn her and give her a chance to fight. The notion was asinine, but it rose nonetheless. The doubt took root, planted deep with the thought that Father Luke withheld information from him. Why else would he be here with her now?

Then why the hell did you accept this mission in the first place?

A good question. One he didn’t know the answer to yet.

“What if you do? What would you say?”