The Zeuorian Awakening Alternate Beginning 6

An overpowering feeling swept over Lexi. The kind that sent a cold chill down her spine and made her body shiver even though it was well over eighty degrees under the September retiring sun, because it meant only one thingdanger was near. And by the intensity of her feeling, radiating through her soul, danger had to be within a few feet of her, maybe even right next to her. She flipped over onto her bare stomach, as fast as possible scraping her exposed skin on the rough surface in the process and searched every inch of the rock, the si!e of a volley ball court, for someone lurking close by, but there was no sign of anyone near her. "erhaps her intuition was wrong# $ut it was never wrong, not once in the seventeen years she had been alive. Something was setting off her internal alarm, but what# Laughter and loud music rose above the slapping of water against the base of the rock. The scent of hamburgers and hotdogs mixed with salt filled the air. %ould it be someone at the back to school party her intuition was warning her about# She glanced over toward the coast, a &uarter mile away, where a large glass house rested a few yards from the water with 'ouglas( firs in the background. Twenty or so teenagers were sitting around a large pool, wearing swim trunks and bikini)s, showing off their muscles and bron!e color skin, but none of them noticed she was sitting on the rock. So it couldn)t have been anyone at the party her intuition was warning her about. *f that was the case, someone had to be on the rock and most likely hiding along the side. *t couldn)t be the side facing the beach since it was a straight drop into the ocean. +hoever it was had to be on the side facing the open sea where there was a small ledge, large enough for someone to stand and close enough to her that they could reach out . . . ,h screw this. She better take off before whoever was hanging around the rock decided to make their grand entrance like a killer in a horror movie wearing some novelty mask, carrying a large kitchen knife and do, well, something bad enough to set off her intuition into a freakin) five alarm hissy fit. She -umped to her feet, ran to the edge of the rock and leaped into the air without hesitation or fear of what was waiting for her below, same as she done countless times before. .er body fell toward the deep, blue color water, twenty(fifty feet below as wind slapped and chaffed her skin on the way down. The only thought that crossed her mind was, /please don)t let me hit the stray rocks hiding under the water and close to the rock.0 .er aunt would have a heart attack if she found out about her -umping off the rock again, especially since the last time she broke her arm. She plunged into the ocean feet first and sank deeper and deeper until her toes touched the sand. She glanced up toward the rock while holding her breath. 1neven rough extensions of the rock sculpted a stairway that led up to a ledge about two feet deep, but there was no human, sea lion or bird staring back down at her. Then what was her intuition warning her about if no one was on the rock# +ell, whatever the hell it was, she wasn)t going to stick around and wait

for something to happen like a thirty foot long shark taking a bite out of her. She pushed off the sand and swam toward the faint light above. A few bubbles floated passed her face as her body broke the surface of the water. An orange light began to glow from the darkness of the water and her feet warmed a couple of degrees. That was weird# The ocean water never climbed above sixty degrees, even in the heat of the summer. *t had to be some type of geological event. 2aybe this was what her intuition warned her about. She reached for the rock to pull herself out of the water as the strange light grew brighter and brighter and the water warmer and warmer by the second. /oh, god, it)s burning me,0 she screamed and grabbed hold the rock, cutting her hand on the shells and stopped. .er arm appeared to be glowing under the purple and orange colored sky. The droplets of water on top of her skin transformed in to steam. 3o, it can)t be# She blinked a couple of times. *t was her body making the water boil and not the other way around. She stuck her arm in the water and the water bubbled faster and faster, forming large waves that splashed hard against her and whipped her body around in the sea. She screamed at the top of her lungs, /help me.0 $ut no one appeared and the sea became angrier. A wave slammed her against the rock. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, the glow on her skin faded away, the water temperature cooled, the sky darkened and the loud roar of the sea transformed into a slow rhythmic beat of her heart. Thump, thump . . . Thump, thump . . . Thump . . . Thu(ump . . . Silence. A pair of lips pressed against hers and rush of air filled her lungs. She coughed up the salt water that burned the lining of her throat and choked out, /what happened#0 /-ust relax angel,0 a distant boy)s voice said above a loud wave crashing down on the sand. /everything is going to be alright.0 .is hand brushed several strands of hair from her face. /i)ll take good care of you.0 /thank you.0 .er eyes grew heavy and she slipped into darkness once again until something woke her. /wait, what happened#0 She sat up and glanced around the moonlit beach, but no one was around. +here did he go# She scanned the beach one more time, but still there was no sign anyone was close by. 2aybe her glowing body scared him off. ,h god, her glowing body. She lifted her arm to inspect the damage, but the glow was gone and her skin had no sign of burns from the hot water. .uh# That was strangeoff the chart strange or was it only an illusion from the sun setting# She could only hope it was. *n the distance, she heard steady breathing moving toward her. ,h, perhaps that was him. She called out, /hello. *s anyone there#0

The star &uarterback and most popular boy in school walked out of the woods. .e was wearing swim trunks that clung to his statues&ue body. .is -et black hair was dripping wet and strands of hair fell on his perfectly sculpted face. .e smiled at her and his deep blue eyes sparkled under the moonlight. /how are you doing#0 Tyler asked. ,h no. +as he the one who saved her# She sucked in a big gulp of air and choked on it. .e was the most talked about student in her high school. .is name and picture appeared on every personal blog, social media site and forum on the net. *f he even looked at someone, it would be posted for the whole world to read. That)s all she needed was a blurb about how tyler saw her glowing body before he dragged her out of the sea posted on the net for the whole world to read. *f that happened, she bit her lip. +ho would be knocking on her door after reading it# "erhaps a man with a six(inch serrated knife and a bible tucked in his back pocket. 3o, she couldn)t go through that nightmare again. She had to get out of there before he recogni!ed who she was. That)s if he hadn)t already. ,h please, don)t let him recogni!e me. She leaped to her feet and took off running into the dark woods. /hey, don)t go,0 he shouted and chased after her. She stumbled over a rock and grabbed a pine tree to stop from falling. The needles stabbed deep into her palm and she -erked her hand away. The woods were darker than she expected under the starlit sky, but she wasn)t going to let that slow her down and continued to run deeper into the woods. /wait. 4ou don)t have to run away,0 he shouted. .is voice sounded close to her, maybe a few yards or so. She had to find a way to ditch him. She pushed herself to run faster and changed direction to throw him off. $ut tyler changed direction too. .is heavy breathing grew louder and louder. .e was gaining on her, which wasn)t a surprise at all. That)s why he was the star &uarterback. .e was fast, really fast and a lot faster than her. So out running him wasn)t an option, but hiding was. She ducked behind a large bush and watched Tyler run passed her. .is steady breathing faded away the further he ran into the woods until she no longer could hear him. 4es. .er plan worked. 3ow she better head home before he turned around. She sprinted toward the highway and continued until she reached her aunt)s two(story house decorated with light gray siding and white trim. She opened the front door and called out, /aunt irene are you home#0 $ut there was no reply and the house was dark. .er aunt must still be at the hospital working another double shift. She figured her aunt would take the night off for her birthday, but duty calls. She sighed and ran up the stairs into the restroom, threw on the light and stared in the mirror at her reflection. ,h, my god, what the hell happened to her# She looked like a totally different person than she did four hours earlier, transforming from ordinary into extraordinary. That was strange even for her. She was always different gifted with paranormal abilities to read other)s minds and her

intuition, but those abilities were common and not out of ordinary compared to transforming. That was something entirely different. +hat# 5od only knew. *f she transformed that meant . . . She closed her eyes and shook her head. .er body was glowing in the water and Tyler must)ve seen it when he pulled her out of the sea. ,h this wasn)t good at all. *t will only end in someone trying to kill her like the man tried when she was fifteen years(old and accidentally revealed her abilities to him. That would be the last time she openly shared her abilities with another. +ell, except for her best friend, Angie, who accidently caught on to what she could do. $ut Angie would never do anything to hurt her, because like she said, /we)re sisters.0 Tyler on the other hand . . . She wasn)t sure how he was going to react or who he)ll share her secret with. She needed to discuss this with her aunt. She whipped out her cell phone and pressed the first speed dial number, but it went straight to voice mail. /Aunt *rene, call me when you get this message. *t)s urgent.0