The Casaday Girls, Book 1: Super Kids. Michael Inc. Markey

      

      THE CASADAY GIRLS

      BOOK 1

      SUPER KIDS

      BY

      MICHAEL MARKEY

      Copyright 2012 Michael Markey,

      All rights reserved.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1117-0

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

      To the real Alexa and Rachael.

      Two Super Kids with special gifts all their own.

      Also, to Sandy Nork.

      My sister, a first class editor who took my draft of fiction and lovingly brought it to life.

      CHAPTER 1

      A VOICE AT THE LAKE

      “Come on, Lex--can’t you go any faster? Get it in gear,” Rachael Casaday coaxed her struggling sister as she jogged well ahead.

      “Give me a break. I don’t have your superhuman speed, remember?”

      “I’m only doing this for your benefit, you know. You’re the one who wants to run a little faster so you can play first string on the field hockey team next year.”

      Alexa huffed and puffed as she struggled to keep up with her whirlwind sister, the ‘flash with plenty of dash’. “I can’t make that happen all in one night. Besides, it’s getting late, and awfully foggy--too foggy for either one of us to be out here this close to Halloween.”

      “I know, so pick it up a bit. At least drivers can see me in these orange sweats, even in the dark and fog,” said Rachael.

      An SUV whizzed by. Both girls wisely scrambled over to the left side of the lane.

      “Dad was smart, getting these suits with the reflecting stuff on them. That last car was entirely too close. My turquoise sweats don’t show up very well, I guess,” Alexa said.

      Alexa and Rachael spent many afternoons or evenings running on the back streets of their development, Dunbar Lakes. It was a quiet neighborhood not far from the town of Voorhees, New Jersey. Twelve-year-old Alexa played lacrosse in the spring and field hockey this time of the year. Now ten, Rachael also played lacrosse, starting in March, and soccer in nearly every season, including the indoor program in winter months. The Casaday girls were just two sisters who loved normal activities, like playing sports.

      But these two sisters possessed superpowers, unique skills and gifts all their own.

      “We could’ve been out here before dark, you know, Lex.”

      “I had to get my homework done. Mom’s rule, not mine.”

      “Yeah, whatever.” As Rachael approached the lake area she looked back suspiciously at her sister. She could feel the pull on her neck and shoulders. “Are you holding me back? Quit it.”

      That was one of Alexa’s superpowers. In giving off a simple stare, she could make things happen, things that don’t normally take place in the lives of most human beings. On her best days, she could control the minds and bodies of her adversaries.

      Rachael also possessed super gifts of her own, such as the power of great strength and speed, and uncanny endurance. She stretched and contorted her body, to loosen up. Rachael then rolled her head side to side and flexed her fingers and arms as she jogged.

      “Don’t know about you, but it has been a long day. I spent all those hours just sitting around in class, cramped up in those nasty chairs. I feel like letting it go for a quick lap around the lake.” Saying that, she exploded to a run. “Want to join me?” Rachael called back over her shoulder.

      “Come on. You know the answer to that.” Alexa merely watched, trudging along. Rachael’s flamboyant demonstration of super speed was nothing new.

      Seconds later, her circle complete, Rachael slid in behind Alexa and gave her a rousing “Boo!”

      Alexa jumped. “Hey--cut it out. Don’t scare me like that.”

      They both slowed to a walk.

      “Do you believe in vampires, Lex?”

      “Of course I believe in them. You know the kind of books I’ve been reading lately. Any stories about the undead--if they’re not really long. I mean, I like to read that stuff, but...”

      “Well, I don’t believe in them one bit. Because I’ve never seen one. Ever. So, they simply don’t exist.”

      “What would you do if you DID see a vampire?”

      “Simple. I’d stare right into his dark eyes and wear him down with my strength and speed, because I have the power to do it. Then I’d use my fighting skill to overcome him with my catlike moves.” She demonstrated a few martial arts positions as Alexa watched, unimpressed. She’d seen this act so many times before.

      “That’s just great, until he bites you in the neck when you’re not looking. They’re lightning fast. Much quicker than you will ever be. Then what would you do?”

      “Uh--” Rachael thought for a moment, and then answered, “I’ll just figure all that out the first time I see one. Say. Maybe I’ll dress up as a vampire for Halloween.”

      Alexa was about to protest Rachael’s choice of costume as they continued on, past Stamford Lake. Suddenly she stopped. “Rache. Do you sense something?”

      “Like what?”

      “I don’t know, but--”

      At that moment they heard the call.

      “Help--help me!”

      “Did you hear that? What was it, a man’s cry?”

      “I don’t know, Lex. It came from over there.”

      They stopped and stared toward the foggy lake, a scary place to be so close to Halloween.

      An owl hooted and they both jumped.

      “Don’t like the sound of that,” Alexa whispered.

      “Come on--it was only an owl. Stop being such a baby.”

      The call began again. It beckoned them away from the road, and through the playground equipment near the lake.

      “Help! Please help me.”

      “There it is again. I wonder. Do the lochs in Scotland look like this when it’s almost dark?”

      “Maybe they do. I don’t want to think about it, Rache. Now you’re talking about a place with other kinds of monsters.” Alexa listened a moment, using her super acute hearing skill. “Hello?” She had to say it, hoping to get some kind of reply. Alexa only heard the soft lapping of water at the shore.

      “Look. Over there,” said Rachael.

      In the gloomy twilight two dark figures made a dash from the wooded lakefront, off into the night.

      “What the heck?” she whispered to Rachael.

      “Come on. Let’s go get them.”

      “Are you crazy? Even in the dark they looked awfully big.”

      “Well, then we’ll follow the cry instead,” said Rachael. She stepped forward.

      “Rache, we shouldn’t be doing this. We’re just