Page 64 of Breathless Recruiter

He had taken me to a gray building made entirely of concrete. Inside, there were bright lights and loud drilling noises. I thought it might be where he lived, but that was before they strapped me down to a metal table. If I closed my eyes, I could still see their faces covered in white masks as they leaned over. “I got away and ran into the woods. That’s where I metEarth Mom. She wasn’t like them. I remember being hungry and unable to speak her language. She figured it out. She’s smart.”

“Did she give you a Fudgy bar?”

I glanced at him, eyebrow raised. Could he read minds? Did his powers let him transcend space and time? “How did you know?”

“Intuition.” That didn’t answer anything! “Can I touch it?”

I nodded. “When she realized I wasn’t from Earth, we went searching for the ship. We found it buried in the woods and brought it back. It’s the only thing I have from Halo.”

Dustin’s fingers touched the glass front, and it dematerialized. “Whoa.” As soon as the hatch opened, a hologram of my father appeared. I had watched it a thousand times. I could recite it from memory.

“What’s he saying?”

“We’ll have to work on your Halorian.” My father wore a blue vest with matching pants. He was speaking to me, I assume.

“He’s saying I will be Earth’s protector, an emissary from Halo.” When it reached the end, it cut off mid-sentence. “Your only weakness will be…”

“Now I understand. And you still haven’t figured it out?”

Years later, and I still didn’t know what on Earth could be used against me. Fire? No, I had ruled that out. Fragments of my home world? No luck with that one yet. The color yellow? Itwasan ugly color.

He wrapped an arm around my waist. “I think I get it. Hard to be a hero when you don’t know what will do you in.”

Other than Earth Mom, I kept secrets from everybody in my life. Work only knew half my origin story. If they found out the truth, would they look at me differently? What about the other heroes? I didn’t want to hide secrets from Dustin. I avoided looking at his face, fearful I’d see disappointment in his eyes.

“Wyatt, you’re braver than you give yourself credit.” He pulled me closer, tightening his grip on my waist. “We all have a fear of something.”

He spun me about and lifted my chin with a finger. There wasn’t disappointment, or at least none that I could find. With hands holding my face, he gave me a peck on the nose.

Each touch pushed my fears further away. Not about dying; those would take time. My worry that he’d think less of me vanished when his lips pressed against mine.

The feelings I discussed with Arthur surged. I didn’t know how to put them into words, not in a way that made logical sense. Dustin wrapped his arms around my chest and gave me a hug. My ribs ached as he squeezed, and I never wanted it to end.

“If you’re ever scared, find me.”

“You’ll protect me?”

He shook his head. “No. I’ll stand by you while you protect yourself.”

Love. I understood why humans chased it, why they craved having it in their lives. It bordered on euphoric and, at the same time, a little terrifying. I remembered the conversation with Arthur and bit my tongue. I had already committed one human faux pas today. This one would have to wait until tomorrow.

“Thanks for sharing this with me,” he said.

“You get me.”

“I’m starting to.” He gave my ass a slap as he turned me toward the door. “And I’m liking what I see. Come on. I don’t want to be late for dinner.”

Or dessert!

18

For twenty minutes,I sat on my usual bench next to the water fountain. Earth Mom had packed my lunch, and I wanted to offer Dustin a ham sandwich. Every time a door to the building opened, I perked up, hoping to see him. So far, no luck.

He had charmed Earth Mom, telling funny stories about growing up in Vanguard. I hadn’t heard her laugh that hard in years. He had slipped out the door when she threw her arms around me, telling me to visit more often. She had whispered a simple, “I like him.” When I responded with, “Me, too.” I think both of our faces turned red.

“I like him a lot,” I mumbled.

“Talking to yourself?”

---