The three of us were
grateful that we hadn’t been discovered and snatched away, because Neighborlee
needed us. We were also kind of ticked that more Lost Kids hadn’t been left to
help carry the burden. That was part of why we were looking for others like us.
About the time I
broke my back, we decided it was time to expand our search beyond the borders
of our town. Were there other towns in the U.S. and scattered throughout the
world where other abandoned children showed up and did the Superboy routine?
Who made those other potential semi-pseudo-superhero kids vanish?
Not to start sounding
like a sulky little brat who didn't get chosen for the school play, but how
come they didn't take us?
True, Kurt's gift for
mechanical wizardry wasn't splashy, and Felicity's talents with dogs, changing
her appearance, and killing electronics were easily hidden with believable
explanations. I had always been careful to do my flying/gliding where most people
wouldn't see me. But if someone had the power and connections to snatch other
kids away, how come they'd never noticed us?
Maybe we felt more
than a little left out.
"Who
knows?" I said to Felicity, who was rearranging her loot. About then I
thought I heard movement coming from my brothers' rooms, and took a look down
the hall. No signs of life yet. Well, it was only 9:30, and we had been up late
with pizza, and it wasn't like anyone had homework to worry about until Sunday
night.
Correction: I had
homework. My first Talk to Terry column.
Lord, now would be a
good time for the Rapture. Please? I'd settle for an alien invasion.
Remembering the
roller coaster of good and bad news from the day before, I brought Felicity
up-to-date while we dove into examining the rest of her loot. I got as far as
describing the first request for lovelorn advice, when the landline phone rang.
I headed for the shelves holding the phone and answering machine. Naturally,
the outgoing message played before I got to it.
"Lanie, this is
Col. Hayward." It was a gravely male voice. "Please pick up the
phone. This isn't something I want to leave on an answering machine."
I yanked with
brainpower when I was still two feet away from the phone, and nearly clocked
myself across the cheekbone with the receiver before I could grab the handle.
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