Leviathan by Shae Alexander (read along books .TXT) 📖

Characters

Chrissie – Main Character
Zeke – Chrissie’s Big Brother
Tyler – Chrissie’s younger cousin
Leviathan – You’ll find out later. It’s a surprise.

Chapter One

Something was shining into my eyes. I flung the blanket off of myself thinking that it was time to wake up already. I groaned as I glanced at my clock and saw that is was only three in the morning. I looked around the room and saw a dark green beam of light showing through my window. I didn’t know what it could’ve been. Maybe a reflection off of something outside. I put my hand in the beam of light just out of curiosity. The light bounced off of my skin and formed four more small green beams of light around my room. I gasped and jerked my hand out of the beam of light, and the four little beams disappeared. “What?” I whispered to myself. I put my hand back into the beam. When I moved my hand around, the four little beams moved around the room as well. My breathing and heart beat started accelerating. I didn’t know what to think about this beam of light. Why would the light bounce off of my skin? The light didn’t even touch my skin. I took my hand out of the light and jumped out of my bed to look out of the window and try to see where the light was coming from. When I walked through the beam, the whole room turned dark green. I looked around the room with wide eyes, and jumped out of the light. I was so shocked that I couldn’t move. I just stared at the light. After a few minutes, I heard a rustling noise outside. I turned my head to look out of the window, but the beam only shined in my eyes. I walked into another room without the beam of light so I could look outside.

My eyes widened in wonder as I stared at a dark green, glowing orb outside of the window. I ran to my living room and grabbed my jacket. Then I ran outside to get a better look at the mysterious orb. As I inched up closer to the orb, the area around me started to smell as if someone was holding a strawberry up to my nose while it was raining. I looked around to see if it had been raining. But everything was dry. Did the orb smell like strawberry rain? When I looked back to the orb, I could see that it was shaped like an oval. I squinted as I stared at the bright orb staring back at me, calling me closer. When I was close enough to touch the orb, I heard a thumping noise. Then I saw a little red spot that was thumping up and down, matching the rhythm of the noise. I slowly extended my hand toward the oval shaped orb. I placed two of my fingers lightly on the red spot. It felt like warm velvet, thumping up and down under my fingers. Suddenly, it was like I loved the little orb as though it was my baby. I took my fingers off of the orb, and thought about leaving it there. But my heart hurt at that thought. I felt like I would be leaving a little helpless baby all alone. I put my hand lightly on the orb, and I felt the thumping while I listened to the rhythm of the beating. Then I decide that I would just bring the orb home with me because I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving it alone anymore. I gently picked up the warm, velvety, little orb. The surface around me smelled so strongly of strawberries and rain, that I thought that I could taste strawberries for a minute. I tucked the orb under my jacket to keep it warm. I was afraid to hurt or drop the orb, so I took very slow, careful steps back inside of my house. When I was inside, I gently took the orb out of my jacket and held it in my hands while I wondered what to do with it.

I laid the little orb down on the top of my bed and laid down next to it. I inhaled the sweet scent of it and watched the little red spot thumping up and down until my eyelids became too heavy for my eyes to stay open.

When I woke up later that morning, I didn’t see the orb. I felt both relieved and sad as I thought about the orb being a dream.

Suddenly, I felt like something was in front of me, pulling on my arm, while something else was behind me, pushing on my back. I tried to push and pull away from the tugging and pulling, but then it was like something grabbed my legs and brought them down to the cold, hardwood floor while I was being pushed and pulled. I was beginning to get afraid. I tried to reach for my phone with my free arm, but then something else tugged on that arm too. I tried with all of my might to stay where I was, but the pushing and pulling got stronger. Whatever was holding onto my legs lifted me up into the air. I tried to scream, but I was so scared that I couldn’t force any sound out of myself. My heart and breathing started to accelerate as I shut my eyes and forced myself to think it was all a dream.

After I don’t know how long, I started to smell strawberries and rain, and I heard a light thumping noise. Then my feet were touching grass, and the pushing and pulling stopped. I slowly opened my eyes, and looked around. I was underneath a big shady tree in my backyard, and right in front of me, was my little orb. It was like it was smiling at me. “How did you get outside?” I whispered to the orb. I felt something pulling on arm again. My arm was being pulled down, toward the orb. After a few seconds, my hand was on the little, red, thumping area of the orb. I felt like something went through my entire body. Then the hand that was on the orb started tingling. I lifted my hand off of the orb to examine it. It was red. My hand was red and tingly. I was beginning to get really scared. I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to erase this whole orb thing. But then I started to feel like I loved this orb as my own child again. I felt like I had to protect it from something. I felt like it needed me, and I needed it. I need to protect the orb. I need to love the orb.

I sat down in the soft grass and placed my hand back onto the red thumping area. “This must be your heart.” I sat with the orb for a few minutes, then I heard someone banging on the front door. “Chris!! I know you’re home! Your car is in the driveway!” I heard my brother shout as he banged on the door.
“Stay here please.” I whispered to my orb. Then I jumped up and ran inside. I decided to wrap a towel around my head so it would look like I just got out of the shower. Then I ran to open the door.
“What you took you so long to open the door?”
“I was in the shower. Thanks for being so patient Zeke.”
Zeke walked inside and threw himself on the couch.
“Come in, why don’t you?”
Zeke laughed and sprawled out on my couch. “So, what’ve you been up to little sis?”
“Nothing.”
Zeke sat up and raised an eyebrow as he scrutinized my face. “You have a secret.”
“No I don’t.”
“I’ve seen that face before.”
I didn’t know that I was making a face. Was I really that easy for Zeke to read?
“Chrissie, what are you hiding?”
“I’m really not hiding anything.”
Then something green started shining through the window again. Zeke pointed to the beam of light.
“What is that?”
I exhaled. “I guess I can’t keep the secret from you anymore.” Zeke raised his eyebrow. “Follow me Zeke.” I walked trough the beam and then everything but me turned green. Even Zeke turned green.
“Chrissie, everything is green. Everything but you.” Zeke had a very worried tone in his voice.
“Why are you green?”
“What do you mean? You should be asking why you aren’t green.” “This happened earlier this morning. Everything turned green but me. I thought that you wouldn’t turn green either.” I stepped out of the light, and the light turned back into a beam. Zeke’s eyes widened and his face turned as pale as a ghost.
“Are you okay Zeke?”
“I think so.”
“Do you want to see what’s making this beam of light?”
“I think so.”
“If I show you, you can’t tell anybody. It’s between you and me. That’s it.”
Zeke nodded.
“Come on.”
We got up and started to walk outside.

When we were standing on the back porch, I turned around to look at Zeke.
“Don’t freak out when you see it. And don’t tell anybody.”
“I swear that I won’t tell anybody.”
We walked the rest of the way to the orb. When Zeke saw the orb, he gave me a worried look.
“Chrissie, what is it?”
“I don’t know. I found it outside really early this morning.”
I sat down next to the orb and patted the grass that was next to me. “Sit down Zeke.”
Zeke slowly sat down next to me. I grabbed Zeke’s hand and placed it gently on the heart of my orb.
“What are you going to do with it?”
“I’m keeping it.”
Zeke stood up and shrugged. “It’s your choice.”
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“You can’t tell anybody Zeke.”
“I won’t. I couldn’t if I wanted to. Nobody would believe me. I don’t even think that I believe it. I’ll come by tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow Zeke.”

After Zeke left, I started scolding myself for telling him. I was glad that I was always able to rely on Zeke when it came to secrets. I placed my hand on the orb and a rush of happiness went through me.

I sat with the orb for a little while, and then I heard the phone ringing. I jumped up and ran inside.
“Hello?”
“Chrissie, where are you? Kelsey’s getting pretty mad that you’re not at work yet.”
“Some important things popped up.”
“Well, do you want me to take your shift?”
“No, just tell Kelsey I’m on my way. Thanks for calling me Jesse.”
“No problem. I’ll talk to you later.”
I hung up the phone and ran to my room to put my work uniform on. I was rushing so much that my foot got tangled inside of my pants and I nearly fell over. I grasped the dresser and sighed. Then I took a deep breath and slowed down a little bit. When my uniform was on, I ran outside to the orb, and squatted down next to it.
“I’m going to work. Please just do me a favor, stay hidden. I don’t want someone to