Good Nerd Hunting (Nerds, Inc. Book 1) Read online

  Blake slipped out and descended the stairs. Before he reached the front door, he ran into the kitchen, grabbed a BLT, put it in a Ziploc bag, and stowed it in his bag. He ran to the front door and closed it quietly behind him before sprinting down the street.

  Operation: Find Keira’s Baby starts now! he thought.

  You have no idea where she is, said his Inner Critic.

  So? he replied.

  So, what, you’re just gonna run around aimlessly until you find her?

  No, that’s stupid. I’ll be on the lookout for Keira’s friends and interrogate anyone who crosses my path.

  You’re fuckin’ idiot. Nerd Hunting Season isn’t over yet, Brainiac. If you go around asking for Keira, word will spread, and the nerd hunters will be after you in packs.

  Exactly, Blake thought with a smirk.

  How are you supposed to get a clear shot when your arm hasn’t fully healed yet?

  I’ll manage.

  He rounded the corner and spotted one of Sammy’s nerd hunters, Max, riding a bike a block away.

  That was the asshole with the BB gun, Blake thought, rubbing his bruised shoulder.

  Before he was spotted, Blake dived into the nearest bush and peered through the leaves. Max was alone. Perfect. Blake unzipped his bag, pulling out a small drawstring bag and emptying it into his back pocket, filling it with marbles. Then, he reached into his pocket protector and withdrew a marble covered in long, thin spikes. Max was almost to the bush. Blake took out his sling shot and loaded it. He pulled back the rubber—ignoring the stinging pain in his bandaged forearm—aimed and fired. It hit Max’s front tire, which exploded, causing Max to fall over. Blake fired a smooth marble at the bandaged wound on his leg. Max howled with pain. Blake jumped from the bush and stood over Max, his slingshot loaded.

  “Blake, you fuck!” Max bellowed, clutching his leg.

  “Where’s Keira O’Connor?” Blake demanded.

  “How the hell should I know?”

  Blake pulled back the rubber.

  Max recoiled. “Even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you.”

  “Then where’s Randy Franklin?”

  “Bite me!”

  Blake released the rubber. Max screamed, his hands shooting to his eye.

  “Where’s Randy?” Blake repeated.

  “I heard he’s meeting with some friends at Luigi’s,” Max whimpered.

  “When?”

  “About twenty minutes ago, or maybe thirty—I’m not sure!”

  “That’s a good boy, Max.” Blake reloaded and struck Max’s other eye.

  “Aargh!”

  “Thanks, you’ve been a lot of help,” Blake said as he collected his marbles from the concrete. “See ya!” He sped off down the street, leaving Max to writhe on the hot pavement.

  After a few minutes of running, he heard laughter. Sprinting up the street, he saw two more nerd hunters: Jeremy and Scott. Before he was spotted, he found the nearest tree and climbed, settling himself on the tallest branch. He loaded his slingshot with a smooth marble and waited. When he thought them close enough, he pulled back the rubber. Nonetheless, he hesitated.

  You’ll never make the shot, said his Inner Critic.

  Watch me.

  He fired. The marble struck Jeremy in the eye. He fell off his bike and collapsed onto the pavement. Before Scott had time to react, Blake fired another marbled that had him clutching his eye on the ground with his friend. Blake climbed down the tree and walked towards the pair.

  “Hey boys, remember me?”

  They looked up at Blake with surprise and disgust.

  “We’ll get you for this, you little shit!” Scott spat.

  “Whatever.” Blake fired at his second eye.

  Jeremy shrank away from Blake. “No, please, I’ll do anything.”

  Blake pondered this as he loaded another marble. “Anything, huh?”

  “Y-yeah,” Jeremy stammered.

  “I’m looking for Keira O’Connor. Have you seen her?”

  “Uh…”

  “No idea, huh? Shame.” He pulled back. Jeremy winced, and Blake smirked. “Two for flinchin’.” He hit Jeremy’s other eye. He loaded another and hit his knee. Blake spat at Jeremy’s feet. “Thanks for nothin’.”

  Blake collected his marbles and returned them to his back pocket before sprinting to Luigi’s. Running to the back of the lively restaurant, he saw Randy Franklin at an outside table eating pizza with his two friends, Kevin and Jason. Blake hid in a bush, concealing himself in the leaves. He went from bush to bush, evading the eyes of the waiters and patrons. Finally, he managed to hide in one closest to Randy’s table. He sat and waited, munching on his BLT as he listened to them go on about stupid things, like cars, boobs, and WWE. But Blake’s ears perked up when he heard his brother’s name.

  “Ya think Phoenix suspects a thing?” asked Kevin, before taking a bite of his slice of pepperoni.

  “I doubt it, and we’ll keep it that way,” Randy replied with a sneer.

  “You’re a total savage!” said Jason. “Did you really tell him the baby’s got her daddy’s eyes?”

  Randy nodded before taking a sip from his glass of soda. “Spillin’ the beans without spillin’ the beans. Classic revenge tactic from yours truly.”

  “Where is the baby, anyway?” asked Kevin. “I haven’t seen her in a while.”

  “In the park with Keira,” answered Randy. “She wanted to show her off.”

  “Wish we could lure Phoenix out again,” Jason sighed, slumping back into his seat.

  “Nah, he won’t be comin’ out anymore this summer,” said Randy. “He’s probably too afraid I’ll have him arrested for assault and battery.”

  The trio shared a hearty laugh.

  Blake, whose blood had reached its boiling point, loaded his slingshot, but his hand was shaking so violently that when he fired, he missed Randy’s eye and hit the glass he was holding instead, just as he took a sip. Glass exploded on the table, scattering shards and soda everywhere.

  “What the hell was that?” Randy demanded.

  “You need to loosen your grip, Randy,” Jason informed.

  “That wasn’t me, stupid! It was…”

  “It was what?” Jason asked.

  “I don’t know!”

  Another marble shot through the air, and this time, it hit its target. Randy grabbed his eye, howling in pain as he fell over backwards in his seat, crashing to the ground. Blake withdrew; they’d find the marbles soon enough, by which time, Blake would be in serious trouble. He crept from the bush and ran. Sure enough, when he rounded the corner and was out of harm’s way, he heard his name called out, a roar of anguish.

  “Just be grateful you have one working eye,” Blake scoffed.

  But what they said was bullshit, right? he wondered. There’s no way they’d be part of some evil scheme to keep Phoenix away from his… his…

  Are you fucking stupid? his Inner Critic retorted. Of course, they would! You’re McCrackens, remember? Now, go find your niece!

  The park was active when he arrived. Toddlers rode on trikes while children chased one another, their giggles loud and infectious. Butterflies seemed to dance in the bright sunlight to the beat of the birds’ songs. Blake slowed to a walk, scanning the area with his expert eyes. Within a few moments, he spotted his target, surrounded by a small clique of girls and pushing a stroller. He readied his slingshot, being sure to keep his distance, and followed them to a large tree in the middle of the park. Keira and her friends sat beneath the tree’s shade while Blake hid in a bush within earshot.

  “Randy is so good to me,” Keira bragged, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder.

  “Yeah, you seem a lot happier now than when you were with Phoenix,” agreed one of her friends.

  “You two make the cutest couple,” said another friend.

  “Phoenix would’ve never made a good father, anyway,” Keira added. “He wants to be a musician. How’s he gonna pay for diapers with the nickels
and dimes he makes from tips in the park?”

  Blake pulled back the rubber, aiming for Keira’s grinning face.

  My brother is a musical prodigy, he thought, not some desperate street performer.

  “Hey, what time is it?” Keira asked. “I think it’s time to feed.”

  Keira stood and reached into the stroller, withdrawing a baby swaddled in blankets. Blake dropped his weapon. The baby had little tufts of dark hair, with features that favored her mother… but her eyes were light blue.

  “Wow, she really does have her daddy’s eyes,” a friend sneered.

  “Tell us her name again, Keira!” another friend begged.

  “Luno Esmé O’Connor,” she said, taking her time with each syllable.

  “What kind of name is Luno? Why not Luna?”

  “Phoenix told me that’s what he wanted to name his firstborn daughter,” Keira explained. “It seems only fair.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Well, to be fair, he was wasted when he told me.”

  “Are you ever gonna tell him the truth about Luno?”

  “Of course not,” Keira scoffed. “Like I said, nickels and dimes.”

  The girls crackled.

  Blake slumped on his knees.

  * * *

  “Where’ve you been?” Phoenix demanded as soon as Blake opened the front door. Phoenix lounged on the couch, an ice pack pressed against his cheek.

  “I went outside for a while.”

  “Why? We were supposed to pack.” He gestured to all the boxes that lay strewn across the living room floor.

  “I heard you chasing Rascal, so I thought I’d be safer outside.”

  “Good call,” Phoenix murmured, slumping back.

  Blake hesitated. “Uh, Phoenix?”

  His brother looked up.

  Blake shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “While I was out, I saw a lot of… hunters.”

  “Did you give ‘em hell?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “Good.”

  Blake paused again. “I didn’t just see them. I saw someone else, too.”

  “Who?”

  “Uh…”

  Look at you, his Inner Critic teased. You can’t even spit it out.

  “I saw… I saw Randy. He was at Luigi’s. I put his eye out for you.”

  Phoenix nodded. “Thanks.”

  Blake left without another word and went up to his room. He collapsed onto his bed and groaned into his pillow.

  You mean to tell me, his Inner Critic began, you systematically took down Sammy Franklin’s toughest hunters, but you don’t have the balls to tell your brother he’s a father?

  I’ll try again tomorrow.

  Bullshit. You’ll say the same thing tomorrow and the day after that. You’re the worst brother ever.

  I know.

  6

  Hope

  A few days later, Cleona was brought home. Blake’s father picked her and his mother up from the hospital. Blake and Phoenix watched him pull up the driveway in his blue Toyota Corolla from the kitchen’s window that morning. Cleo was being carried in her car seat by the time they’d opened the front door.

  Their mother, the car seat in her arms, beamed as she set Cleo down on the living room coffee table. Phoenix shook his head, then turned to leave. Blake watched him go, then turned to his mother in time to see her smile falter. Turning around, he realized that his father wasn’t even in the room.

  Do something, stupid! his Inner Critic snapped.

  Do what?

  Figure it out!

  Without thinking, he held out his index finger for his sister. She grabbed it without hesitation.

  “Hey, Cleo,” Blake cooed. “I’m your brother, Blake. This is your new home. You’re gonna live with us now.”

  The newborn’s face contorted into an ugly grimace before she let out an earsplitting wail. Taken aback, Blake withdrew his finger. His mother, who now looked as tired as she had in her hospital bed, gathered up Cleo. “I’ll be upstairs,” she mumbled.

  Blake watched her carry the crying baby up the stairs. He went into the kitchen, hoping to find his missing father; it was empty. He entered the dining room instead, pushing the door ajar. His father sat at the table pouring himself a shot of Jack, his back to the door. He downed it in one gulp. Blake backed away, closing the door without a sound, and retired to his room, where Rascal sat waiting for him in his usual spot on Blake’s pillow.

  “What happened to us?” he asked.

  Rascal whimpered.

  “Downstairs, the air felt…” He paused as he searched for the right words. “Dead… cold.” Blake sat up to face his pet. “I can’t tell him. When he saw Cleo, he walked away. How would he react to Luno? What if he goes mute again?”

  After Phoenix and Keira had broken up, Phoenix went silent for a month. He’d had a similar episode when he was about fourteen that lasted even longer. Blake didn’t think he could survive a third mute episode.

  Rascal bowed his head in defeat.

  “I know. It’s a lose-lose, isn’t it? He thinks he’s free from Keira forever, when really, he’s not. This sucks.” He rolled over onto his back. Rascal got up from the pillow and laid his head on his owner’s chest. “Looks like I’m taking this one to the grave.”

  There was silence for a moment as Blake dwelled on these thoughts. Then, without warning, he sat bolt upright, knocking Rascal onto his back. He smacked himself hard on his forehead.

  “What am I, stupid? Oh, sorry…”

  Rascal stood up and shook his body from nose to tail.

  “I can’t just sit back and let this happen. I can’t leave Luno with the O’Connors. They’ll corrupt her. And she needs her father and uncle,” he added. Rascal barked his agreement, his tail swishing through the air.

  “I’m gonna go talk to him right now.” He hopped off his bed and walked out the door. Rascal tried to follow, but Blake stopped him. “Stay in my room. I don’t think he’s ready to see you yet.” Rascal’s tail became still, and Blake closed the door behind him.

  He had one foot on the bottom stair when his heart sank: His brother stood at the top of the stairs, his keyboard and staff paper under his arm. He was going back to the basement.

  Good job, Brainiac, his Inner Critic complained. Perfect timing, as always.

  “H-hey, Phoenix,” Blake stuttered. “There’s something I… I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Make it quick. I have work to do.”

  “It’s about the other day when I was out.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I… I saw Keira at the—”

  “Don’t say her name.”

  A cold silence hung between them.

  “But see, Keira, she was—”

  “Are you deaf?” Phoenix asked, glaring. “I don’t ever wanna hear that name again.” He descended the stairs, knocking into Blake’s shoulder as he went. Blake stood rooted to the spot for a few moments before returning to his room. Rascal waited for him on his bed, his tail whipping the air behind him. Blake closed the door and shook his head. Rascal’s tail became motionless, and he rested his head atop his owner’s chest when he laid onto his back again.

  “There’s no hope in Rosewood, Rascal. It doesn’t exist here.”

  * * *

  On the day of the move a week later, the McCrackens woke at dawn and loaded all their furniture and belongings into two moving trucks with the help of a small group of movers. Blake, being the weakest in the family, carried the lighter boxes into the trucks, while Phoenix and his father helped carry the beds and tables. Blake’s mother spent most of her time looking after Cleo, who cried throughout the ordeal.

  In a few short hours, they were ready to depart. The movers climbed into the trucks. Blake’s parents and Cleo took his father’s car while Phoenix drove their mother’s car with Blake and Rascal in the back.

  Blake took one last look at their house as they pulled away. It was empty and dark inside but bathed in gol
den sunlight on the outside. They passed the bookstore, the chapel, his old school… and then he saw him: Sammy Franklin. Blake hadn’t seen him since the last day of school, scared into hiding after he heard that Blake took down his best hunters. Knowing Sammy, he was headed for his first day of summer school.

  “Pull over,” Blake instructed, rolling down his window.

  “What? No, you should’ve gone before we left.”

  “Not for the bathroom. For Sammy.”

  The red Honda Accord screeched to a halt. In one fluid motion, Blake reached for his slingshot in his back pocket, grabbed a spiked marble, and fired. Sammy fell off his bike when the front tire exploded. Blake reached for a smooth marble, this time leaning out of the window for a better shot. Rascal did the same, his tongue hanging from his mouth. Blake struck Sammy’s eye, then his mouth, as Sammy writhed on the hot pavement, bellowing in pain.

  “Hey Sammy!”

  Sammy looked up, blood dripping on his chin, in time to see Blake flip him off with both hands. “See you in hell!” Rascal barked after him as they pulled away.

  “Nice,” said Phoenix when Blake retook his seat. Rascal sat in Blake’s lap and licked his grinning face.

  “Thanks guys,” Blake said. “Revenge is underrated.”

  “I can’t believe we’re finally leaving this cesspool we call a town,” Phoenix said as they drove past the city limit sign, the surrounding trees waving their goodbyes in the breeze.

  “Yes!” Blake exclaimed, punching the air. “No more Franklins!”

  “Yeah, no more assholes.”

  “I’ll admit, though: I’m gonna miss Nerd Hunting Season.”

  “What, you like being hunted down every summer?”

  Blake shrugged. “It gave me something to do besides read.” He reached into his bookbag and pulled out a notebook and pencil.

  “What homework are you working on?” Phoenix asked, taking a brief look back.

  “An outline for each of the first five chapters for US History,” Blake answered, his pencil flying across the page. “I also have a book report due, so I should work on that next.”