The Seeker

The heat covered her body, sending pinpricks of heat into every pore.

And it was getting hotter.

Michael didn't know how he was even going to get his two hours of sleep tonight. He had to be living in the noisiest house in America. Dylan was doing his snoring thing in the other bed, and Amanda had the flu. Mr. Pascal kept bringing her into the bathroom across the hall, so Michael got to hear every moment of her puking. He felt bad for her, but still…

He rolled over on his side. He was going nuts. At least Sarah hadn't started her nightly scream fest. He had to be thankful for that.

Sarah must have been a mind reader because right then she started to wail. Michael heard Mrs. Pascal rushing into her room. Which meant the singing would start any second.

I'm out of here, Michael thought. With all this going on, the Pascals probably won't even notice. And if they do, I'll deal with them-and Cuddihy-tomorrow. He crept over to the window, opened it, and crawled out.

He didn't even have to think about where to go. He headed straight for Maria's. He wanted to find out if she'd had any luck with the pen. And maybe he'd try kissing her again. That quick one hadn't brought up any little-sister feelings. Maybe he was ready to move on to the real thing and really let himself taste Maria's raspberry lips.

Michael started to jog. He loved being out at this time of night. He felt like he owned the whole town. He picked up speed, ru

Her mom's car was parked in the driveway, so he tried to be extra quiet as he climbed over the fence. He crept around to Maria's window. It was still open, so he climbed on in.

And saw her lying on the floor. A sharp acid taste flooded his mouth as he rushed over to her. Maria's blue eyes stared up at him, blank and empty. Blood was smeared under her nose and down one cheek. And tiny red dots covered her skin-her face, her neck, her arms, her hands, everywhere that he could see.

"Maria!" He took her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. Her body was stiff and still under his hands. "Maria, come on! Say something." She didn't utter a sound.

He grabbed the sports bottle off her dresser and squirted some water on her face. He stared at her intently. Move, please, you've got to, he thought. But he didn't see even the tiniest response.

He didn't think this was another spell of paralysis. There'd never been any blood before. And those red dots-what were they? What had happened to Maria?

Michael pressed his head against her chest. Relief surged through him when he heard her heart beating, fast and sort of jumpy, but definitely beating. Okay, I can deal with this, he thought, fighting to stay calm. I can heal her. I just have to make a co

He took a deep breath and studied Maria's still form. He wasn't as good at healing as Max was, but he knew he could do this. He had to. There wasn't any wound that he could see, so Michael rested his hands on Maria's forehead. He focused all his attention on her. He was expecting to get a rush of images from her mind.

Instead he saw two creatures. Their-faces didn't even seem like the right word-were wide at the forehead and narrowed down to pointed chins. Their mouths were gaping circles lined with thin earthworm-length tentacles. The tentacles waved in the air, searching, searching. They had no noses and shallow, bumpy depressions where their eyes should be.

No, Michael realized. Those bumps were their eyes. They had dozens of eyes.

In unison the creatures swung their heads toward Michael. The tentacles of their mouths stretched toward him, straining to reach him.

They see me, Michael realized. He jerked his hands away from Maria. He felt like his whole body was vibrating. His teeth kept knocking together.

What was that? What the hell was going on? Those… things weren't any memory of Maria's. And they saw him. It was impossible, but it happened.

Max. He had to call Max. Michael leaped to his feet and snatched Maria's phone off her dresser. He punched in the Evanses' number. Isabel answered on the second ring. "I need you and Max to get over to Maria's right away," Michael said. "And be quiet. I don't want her mom or her little brother waking up."

If Mrs. DeLuca saw Maria right now, she'd call an ambulance. And that would be a big mistake. Michael didn't know what was happening to Maria, but there was no way any hospital or doctor could deal with it. And while they were trying to figure out what to do, Maria could die.

Michael suddenly felt like he'd chugged a gallon of ice water. Coldness rushed through his body, cramping his stomach, making him ache.

That's not going to happen. Don't even think that, he ordered himself. Maria is not going to die. I won't let her.

"What happened?" Isabel exclaimed.

"Just get here," Michael ordered, keeping his voice low. He hung up the phone and returned to Maria. He sat down next to her. "You're going to be all right," he said softly. "I'm going to take care of you. I'm going to figure out a way to heal you."

He reached out and slid his palm down over her eyes, forcing the lids to close. He hated seeing her eyes all blank like that.

Michael decided he should go wait by the front door for Max and Isabel. It's not like they could ring the doorbell or anything. That would definitely wake up Maria's mom and brother.

He leaned close to Maria, her soft hair brushing against his face. Her skin felt hot under his fingers, way too hot. "I have to go away for a minute," he whispered. "But I'll be right back." Then he kissed her. Her lips were soft and sweet, just like he'd thought they'd be.

"I should have done that before," he told her. Then Michael pushed himself to his feet and crept through the dark house to the front door. He unlocked it and stepped out onto the front porch. He'd wait for Max and Isabel out there.

But he couldn't stand still. He hurried out into the middle of the street and looked for Max's Jeep. Where was he? Didn't he know this was an emergency?

You talked to Isabel about two seconds ago, Michael reminded himself. They'll be here as fast as they can.

Michael wondered if he had time to check on Maria and get back out here before they showed up. He turned back toward the house and caught sight of a pair of headlights out of the corner of his eye. He stared down the street. Yeah, it was the Jeep. Max had obviously broken a few speed limits to get here.

Max pulled up alongside him. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"It's Maria. She's in a coma or something. When I made the co

"Okay, we need a plan," Isabel said, her voice calm and steady. "We are going to come up with a way to save her-now."

"Let's take her to Ray's," Max said. "His powers of healing might be stronger than ours."

Ray wasn't exactly Michael's favorite person. But if he could help Maria, Michael would get down on his knees and kiss the guy's feet.

"I'll go get her," Michael said. "You two wait here. There's more chance we'll get caught if we all go." He ran back to the front door and slipped inside. He made his way back to Maria's room and scooped her up in his arms. He cradled her tight against his chest. She still felt so hot. He didn't know if that was good or bad. At least it meant she was still alive.

He carried her out of the house and over to the Jeep. He climbed into the backseat, still holding her. "We're going to take care of you," he said. He hoped somehow she could hear him.