E.R.I.C. (The Almost Series Book 2) by Christina Leigh Pritchard

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter One
     
     
    “Drown the Intruder”
     
    E.R.I.C.
     
    I woke to the waves crashing into my legs. The sand itched my back and I could hear something scurry about in the palms above. I rolled over, searching for Shay.
    My hands found nothing but a coconut.
    I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Something had to be wrong. She had her extractor and could relax, right? Maybe she panicked, seeing her skin rip, and when her veins glowed, perhaps she reasoned she might want to see the scientists after all? Metal pieces had threatened to surface and her body trembled with fear. I felt it. If her condition worsened…
    Shay couldn’t survive on her own. I searched the shoreline. Her footprints had already washed away and there was sand in my butt crack.
    I scratched myself, searching for my shirt. It was hanging on the palm above me with the remaining pieces of Shay’s glider.
    Shay .
    The cream puff would die without my help.
    I brushed the sand off me and allowed my eyes to adjust. They changed from their normal visual functions to thermal scanners. I could see a snake’s body heat in the tree and crabs sneaking into the mangroves, but not a human girl.
    I stepped into the sand, my feet sinking. I thought of Shay’s skin against mine. She was soft and warm.
    I shook the thought away.
    What did I care? She was stubborn and ungrateful. I saved her life and she still hadn’t thanked me.
    There was something wrong with her skin. Liquid metal coursed through her veins. She refused to go to the scientists for help. Maybe my brother could assist. I could find her and take her to him. Nick would help. His mind was like a sponge, learning things quickly.
    Nick wasn’t really my brother.
    We were both stuck on these islands alone. Several years ago we came across one another and decided to stick together. It was nice to have someone around. We created little hide-outs and explored, never daring set foot on the shores belonging to the scientists. He warned me to stay away. He and Shay both hated them. What did those scientists do to them? Nick wouldn’t speak of his time on Pigeon Key; stating they were memories he wished to forget. I couldn’t recall meeting them, but something told me I had.
    I stood at the edge of the island. Shay wasn’t anywhere, not even in the mangroves. She wasn’t that clever. I could easily find her each time she’d run before. Maybe she was still trying to get her imaginary friend into Miami. Did she think the hospitals had better facilities to save her?
    It didn’t matter. Shay ran off again . She’d chosen to leave, not me. Still, I stood at the shoreline, searching for any sign of her.
    I turned about and grinned.
    Nick jumped from the trees, landing in the beach. A smile lit his face. We looked similar but his face was rounder and his hair lighter. I was taller and broader with more square features. One thing about him seemed to define him: a small dark mole to the right of his mouth.
    “It took me forever to find you,” Nick said.
    He tackled me and we wrestled, rolling downhill into the water. He punched me in the ribcage. We picked up weapons. Me: a coconut. Him: a live crab.
    “What’re you looking for me, for?” I tossed the coconut at him.
    He ducked, chasing me with the crab. “The scientists are everywhere; we need to get out of here.”
    “I can’t, I have to find the cream puff.” I dodged the flying creature. It knocked against the palm and tumbled down into the sand.
    We laughed.
    Nick sat near the exhausted fire and picked at the remaining branches that hadn’t disintegrated yet. “She’s bad news for you.”
    “No, dude, listen, if you could’ve seen us last night—”
    He laughed. “Oh, I watched everything.”
    “You perv!”
    “Consider it a nice night and pack up your camp. You don’t want to follow that girl—she’s trouble.”
    “Something’s wrong with her skin.”
    “What’dya mean?”
    I pointed at my veins. “It’s