"Thanks, but ... don't worry about it. It's okay."

Now Claire understood Alec's earlier comment about her mom. No wonder he's often so quiet and moody, she thought, her heart going out to him. It was bad enough to grow up without a father. But to have no parents at all? That was too awful to contemplate. She'd a.s.sumed Alec had moved here with his parents because of a job transfer or something. Who does he live with? she wondered. A grandparent? An aunt or uncle? She wasn't sure this was the right moment to ask.

They neared the bottom of the stairs, where the construction crew was still working atop a three-tiered scaffolding tower. Claire spied Neil standing just beyond it by the drop-off circle. He waved at them and shouted something Claire couldn't hear over the annoying beeping noise of a truck backing up.

The four of them pa.s.sed underneath the scaffolding, heading toward the circle. They were halfway through the makeshift corridor when Claire heard the sudden, loud roar of an engine. To her horror, the truck was speeding backward toward them. Before she could think or move, the vehicle collided with the base of the scaffolding with a devastating crash.

The screech of tearing metal ripped through the air as the entire structure overhead began to collapse.

A huge wooden platform barreled down directly at them.

Claire screamed and ducked, a single thought popping into her mind: I'm going to die.

eight.

Frozen in terror, Claire fixed her gaze on the heavy wooden platform hurtling toward their heads, which was a split second away from crushing them all.

But it never did.

Somehow, impossibly, the platform seemed to hover for a fraction of a second in midair. Alec stood tall above her, one arm extended, fingers splayed, as if magically holding up the platform by sheer willpower. She heard screams and shouts from above as suddenly the whole board tilted to one side. In her peripheral vision she caught sight of three men landing safely on the pavement nearby.

Before Claire could blink, Alec's arms were wrapped around her and their friends and then they were airborne. They landed heavily and painfully on the concrete, out of harm's way, as the entire scaffolding tower smashed to the ground beside them in an explosion of dust, screeching metal, and splintering wood.

The thundering clatter echoed in Claire's ears as they all lay in a heap. Dust stung her eyes, but as she blinked it away her gaze briefly locked with Alec's. Then, just as suddenly as he'd tackled them, Alec was up on his feet and gone. Claire struggled to regain her senses, her ears ringing. Erica and Brian moaned beside her.

"Oh my G.o.d." Claire's voice sounded strange and m.u.f.fled, as if she were underwater. "Are you guys all right?"

Her friends sat up, choking. "What the h.e.l.l just happened?" Brian shouted, grimacing in pain as he rubbed his left arm. The dust coating his spiky black hair made it look almost gray.

"We almost died!" Erica cried just as loudly. Then she burst into tears.

Numbly, Claire wrapped her arms around Erica and held her. Everything sounded so muted, making her feel detached from the world around her.

"Where's Alec?" Brian said.

"I don't know." Claire craned her neck, trying to see over Erica's shoulder, but the truck that had caused it all was buried in the debris, blocking her view-and no doubt blocking everyone else's view of them.

"What happened?" Brian said again. "Did Alec just save our lives?"

"I think he did." Claire pulled herself dizzily to her feet, as the sounds around her slowly returned to normal volume. "I'll be back in a sec."

As she carefully made her way through the rubble, she noticed that the cab of the pickup truck was empty. Where was the driver who'd caused the accident?

A crowd was gathering in the drop-off circle just ahead, all chattering loudly and staring at the gigantic mess. Mr. Lang and Neil ran up to her.

"Claire! Holy s.h.i.t!" cried Neil. "I saw the truck hit that thing, and then it all came down ... I thought you guys were dead!"

"No, we're okay."

"Thank G.o.d," said Mr. Lang.

"How the h.e.l.l did you get out of the way in time?" Neil asked.

"Alec tackled us. He-" Before Claire could finish that thought, she spotted Alec talking to some of the faculty and construction workers, who looked just as befuddled as she was. She couldn't understand a word they were saying. "What language are they speaking?"

"Who?" Neil said.

"The construction workers."

"Somebody said it was Korean," answered Mr. Lang. "That student over there is translating, so the teachers will know what to tell the paramedics."

Korean? Stunned, Claire turned back to where Alec had been standing just seconds ago-but he had disappeared into the throng.

Sirens blared. Two police cars and an ambulance charged down the hill and pulled up to the scene. As Erica and Brian joined Claire, a bevy of concerned teachers, students, and parents descended on them.

The next four hours felt like twelve. The paramedics examined everyone involved in the accident, except Alec, who had vanished. Brian had dislocated his shoulder, and one of the workers had twisted his ankle, but everyone else, including Claire, escaped with only minor cuts and bruises. Neil stood patiently by her side during everything, making sure that she was comfortable, and bringing everybody bottles of water. He even stuck around while she, Brian, and Erica were questioned by the police.

"So you're saying this other student, Alec MacKenzie, pulled all three of you to safety when the scaffolding fell?" asked a tall, gray-haired police officer as he jotted down notes.

"Yes," Brian replied, adjusting his arm sling.

"Is Mr. MacKenzie here?" the cop asked.

"I think he already left," Claire said.

"And he's a friend of yours?"

Claire nodded.

"Do you have his contact information?"

Claire hesitated. "We ... just met Alec a few days ago." She was embarra.s.sed to admit that they knew so little about him. "I don't know his phone number, but it should be listed in our school directory."

"It isn't," Erica chimed in. As Claire shot her a curious look, Erica added, "What? I checked. Alec's not in there. Maybe they didn't have a chance to add him yet, because he's new."

"What about the pickup truck that ran into the scaffolding?" the policeman inquired. "Did any of you see who was driving it?"

Erica and Brian shook their heads. Claire said, "When I walked by right after the accident, no one was in it."

"What was up with that guy, anyway?" Brian interjected. "Was he high or something?"

"We won't know that until we find him," the cop replied. "Thanks for your help. If I need anything else, I'll be in touch." With that, he turned and walked away.

"What did he mean, 'We won't know until we find him'?" Erica said.

It was Neil who explained. "There's this mystery about the truck driver. I was listening while Alec translated for the teachers. Two of the construction workers claim their fourth man called in sick today, but no one can get him on the phone. The third guy insists he saw the missing dude climb into the truck just before the accident."

"He must have fled the scene," Claire mused, "probably afraid he'd be fired or arrested."

"Or deported," Brian added, taking a swig from his water bottle.

"But why did Alec leave in such a hurry?" Neil said with a frown. "I swear, he was right next to me, and then he was gone."

Claire wondered that herself. Just then she heard her mom's voice.

"Claire!"

Lynn raced toward her, leaving her car parked in the jumble of vehicles beyond the police blockade. She was at Claire's side in seconds, her face a mixture of panic and relief as she threw her arms around her. "Claire! Oh, honey."

"It's okay, Mom. I'm all right. Really." Claire relished the warmth of her mother's embrace, grateful to have a mom to hold and comfort her ... and grateful to be alive. She knew most people didn't walk away from such a serious accident-which brought her back to the question: How the h.e.l.l had Alec saved them like that?

Claire wondered if Erica or Brian had seen Alec's strange hand gesture when the scaffolding seemed to hover briefly in midair, instead of falling straight down on them. Neither of them had mentioned it, and Claire didn't want to bring it up with all the adults around. The police would probably say she'd imagined it.

But Claire knew what she saw.

"Do you think Alec is a vampire?"

It was Sat.u.r.day afternoon, and Erica, Brian, and Claire were sitting on a bench at the end of the Venice pier, chowing down on the empanadas they'd missed out on the day before. It was an uncharacteristically foggy day, with a cool breeze rippling across the surface of the gray-blue ocean below. A handful of fathers and their kids were fishing off the edge of the pier nearby.

"A vampire?" Erica laughed. "What brought that on?"

"I know this sounds insane," Claire said, "and you may think I'm totally crazy. But Alec is different from the rest of us. Sometimes, he doesn't even seem human to me."

"You're right!" Brian steadied the cardboard food tray on his lap as he tried to eat one-handed. "You do sound crazy."

"Hear me out, will you?"

"We're listening." Erica looked at Claire, chewing patiently.

"First off, Alec's really strong. I mean, the first day we met, he broke my locker by barely pushing on a LockerMate."

"So he works out," Erica replied. "Have you seen his biceps? He looks like he could break me in half."

"What about yesterday?" Claire insisted. "The way he lifted all three of us at the same time?"

Brian shrugged. "It was a crisis situation. You've heard all the stories: mothers lifting up cars to save their babies, blah, blah, blah."

"But did you see what he did before he tackled us?" Claire persisted.

"You mean in that split second when I cringed and shut my eyes?" Erica asked.

"My eyes were open. Alec was standing above us with his arm raised like this." Claire stretched her hand skyward and swung it outward, demonstrating. "That platform was falling straight down at us. It should have smeared us on the pavement. Instead, I saw it pause for a split second, like Alec was somehow magically holding it back, and then it tilted and crashed off to the side instead."

"That's ridiculous," Brian scoffed. "The scaffolding just collapsed in stages, that's all, and fell sideways, which gave Alec time to save us."

"I don't think so. And what about the construction workers? They were on top of a three-story tower, but somehow they all slid safely to the ground. People said it was a miracle they weren't all badly injured."

"What are you suggesting?" Erica asked, shaking her head. "That Alec guided them all down to the ground with the Force?"

"Maybe."

A pair of seagulls squawked overhead, then swooped down and snapped up some invisible tidbits from the heaving sea.

"Okay, even if that did happen, it doesn't mean Alec's a vampire." Erica grinned. "It means he's from a galaxy far, far away." She and Brian glanced at each other and laughed.

Claire frowned. "Come on, guys. I'm being serious here."

"CB, Alec is not the next Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi. Trust me," Brian insisted with patience and mock solemnity, as if he was trying, once and for all, to convince a deluded grownup that there was no Santa Claus. "And even if vampires did exist-which they don't-there's no way Alec is one. Think about it: He walks around in broad daylight, and he doesn't (a) burst into flames, or (b) sparkle like a dis...o...b..ll."

"Have you read Dracula?" Claire asked. "Sunlight didn't affect him at all."

"Yeah, and he wasn't real either," Brian retaliated.

"Alec eats," Erica pointed out emphatically. "Vampires don't eat food, remember?"

Claire shook her head. "They did on Buffy. They just didn't like the way it tasted."

Brian snorted. "You've switched sources now from a hallmark of Victorian literature to a cult TV series?"

"Alec loves food!" Erica went on. "Have you forgotten his chocolate-cookie o.r.g.a.s.m, or the way he inhaled that bowl of mac-and-cheese like it was manna from heaven?"

"Yeah, but don't you think it's weird that he'd never eaten anything good before he got here?"

"Not really," Erica replied. "He said he grew up on a strict diet."

"Okay, fine, but Alec has skills that should be beyond people our age," Claire continued. "He's a total prodigy at cla.s.sical guitar. He got an A from a teacher who apparently only hands out Ds. And he seems to be fluent in both Spanish and Korean."

"So he's a brilliant guy who grew up abroad, probably moved around a lot, and knows a few languages," Brian said. "Big deal. That still doesn't make him a vampire."

"I suppose you're going to say he's pale because he's from the UK?"

"Exactly!" Brian and Erica cried simultaneously.

"So if he had nothing to hide yesterday, why did he run off before anyone could question or examine him?"

Erica shrugged. "I don't know. I wish we knew where he lives or at least his phone number, so we could call and check that he's okay."

Claire stood and twisted her hands together, perplexed. "Something just doesn't add up, guys. Even if you can explain away all those other things, the fact is, I saw those platforms hover for a moment in mid-fall before they tipped. I'm telling you, Alec held them up-somehow-with his mind, and he made them fall to the side. He may not be a vampire, but I think he's... I don't know ... telekinetic."

"Telekinetic. Huh." Erica nodded pensively as she crumpled up her cardboard food tray and tossed it into a nearby trash can. "Well, Claire, if you have ESP, I suppose it is possible that Alec has some kind of mental super-power, too."

"Erica!" Claire shot her a silencing look and then glanced worriedly at Brian.