Trust
The Hero Chronicles
By Tim Mettey
Copyright © 2013 by Tim Mettey
All rights reserved.
KENWOOD PUBLISHING GROUP
www.kenwoodpublishinggroup.com
Cincinnati, Ohio
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment from this “stripped book.”
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievable system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For more information regarding permission, write to Kenwood Publishing Group, Attention: Permission Department, 11060 Kenwood Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242.
ISBN-10: 0-9885425-4-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-9885425-4-9
To the children who lost their lives in
the Moore, Oklahoma tornado.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my family, friends and fans that have given me so much support while writing Trust. I also need to thank some important people: Karen, Katie, Joodi, Lauren, Ben, Lori, Rick, Carolyn and Mickey for editing, tweaking, and pretty much doing everything to get it to this point. Without all of you, my book would still be just a dream, sitting on my shelf. I look forward to working with all of you for years to come.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Obsession
3. Leftovers
4. Subpoena
5. Trial
6. New Student
7. Wired
8. School
9. Coach’s Wife
10. Rite of Passage
11. Aftermath
12. Field Trip
13. Riley’s Story
14. Anger
15. Arabian Nights
16. Summoned
17. Council
18. Consequences
19. Loss
20. No
21. Favor
22. Second Chance
23. Valentine’s Day
24. The End
25. Storm
26. Arrival
27. Ashlyn
28. Going Back
29. Someone
30. Unsure
31. Mr. Weathers
32. Home
33. Help
34. Gone
35. Goodbye
Connect with the Author
About the Author
Preview of Fear: Book Three of The Hero Chronicles
Everything I went through to get to this point was worth it, because now I had Elle. I still couldn’t believe how such a wonderful, amazing girl ended up with me. We were inseparable during the summer. Unfortunately now I was keeping more secrets from her. It was for her protection, but I still hated it.
Elle and I were lying in my front yard under the shade of the towering oak trees, enjoying each other’s company like we had done most of the summer.
“Nicholas, what’s wrong?” Elle asked for the hundredth time.
“Sorry, I’m just preoccupied today.”
“It’s okay. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t me.”
How could it be her? She was nothing but wonderful, my reason for living.
“Elle, it’s not you. You know that. I’m just thinking about the last interview I did. It wasn’t very good.”
Last year when I confronted the mob of reporters at the school’s entrance, I told them if they would leave me alone I would do interviews. To my dismay, Cora, my aunt and guardian, made sure I did every interview they requested. It had now become the thing I dreaded most. I had to relive the worst day of my life, the 10-10 Earthquake, like it was some recurring nightmare from which I couldn’t wake up.
“Sorry, Nicholas, I know how much you hate doing interviews, but at least that was your last one until next summer.”
In addition to me only doing interviews in the summer, Cora had told the media that I would only answer questions over the phone. She also required that they never say where I live or where I go to school, even though they were camped outside of my school last year telling the world all of that information. Cora thought, better safe than sorry.
Cora had even talked to Ester Theasing, the head of the Thusian Council and a friend of ours, about doing the interviews to make sure it was safe for me because of Xavier and the Seekers who were trying to eliminate me and any other Thusians. Ester didn’t have a problem with it.
Chase Letterby started visiting us more midway through the summer. After the attack last year he left as soon as his doctor talents were no longer needed. No one had heard from him for a while. Even his regular TV appearances had stopped. But as more time passed during the summer, he started to frequent our house again. Cora didn’t seem to mind his company, despite his countless attempts to get her to go out with him. He was fixed on the one woman he couldn’t have, Cora.
Elle and I continued to lie beneath the trees. She went back to reading her book while rubbing my head. Her hand moved slowly through my hair, making me forget all of my worries. With every pass, a wave of relief went through me. I had positioned myself on her lap facing our driveway, so I could watch my new obsession. A large house was being built next door. It was hard to believe that the lot had been completely wooded just a month ago, and now the house looked close to being completed. Cora was not happy about the new house and the new neighbors that came with it. She still wanted our privacy, and the trees surrounding us had given us ample protection, but now they were gone. She even tried to buy the lot, but it had been sold exactly a week after we moved in last year.
The workers swarmed over the site like ants working hard on their hill. It was amazing to see such a large home being built so quickly. For some strange reason it was fascinating to me. I had no interest in design or architecture, but it still captivated my attention.
Cora and I had been in five different houses in six years, but never a brand new house—one freshly built just for us. Our new neighbors were about to get the fresh start I had wanted after the earthquake, but never got. Maybe that was the reason for my obsession.