The Secret of Zormna Clendar by Julie Steimle (best ereader for pdf TXT) 📕

edge of her bed, peering at her bandaged palm. “I must have cut my hand on something. My arms…the bruises…looks like a bad needle injection. And my leg…I don’t know what happened to my leg. But I must have stepped on some glass, because there are still pieces in there that I can’t get out.” Zormna stared at her bandaged hand. Her face contorted with wonder, but then she clenched her right temple with a wince. “My head.”

Jennifer sighed, nodding, and went back out.

She walked back to the bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet, she snatched out a medium-sized plastic bottle. She took carried it back to the attic, handing it to Zormna. “Well, here’s some aspirin for your headache.”

Zormna held the bottle for a second as though not able to think. But then with a nod, she pried the top off. It was unnerving to watch this usually dexterous girl struggle with a simple medicine bottle. Zormna dumped out a handful of tablets into her palm rather than just the one she would have taken had her head been clear. It took just as much effort for Zormna to shove the rest back in and close the lid.

Dropping the pill in her mouth, Zormna swallowed it plain.

“Ew! Doesn’t that hurt?” Jennifer grimaced.

“Not as much as my head.” Zormna groaned and heaved herself off the bed. “We have to get to school.”

And that was it. Jennifer knew Zormna was determined. So, she went back to her own room for her school things. Perhaps at school things would settle down enough for Zormna to feel safe enough to say what was really going on.

*

As soon as Jennifer had gone, Zormna dropped back down upon her bed. Wincing, she fought the aches she had all over. Zormna knew that if she lay down she’d fall asleep again. Besides, her feet really did hurt.

She wished she could sleep straight through the day and the next. She wished it was all a bad dream and she would wake up back Home in her quarters. Then she would go down for breakfast in the cafeteria with all the other officers. She would say ‘hi’ to Dzhon and arrange to play a game of cards later. And she would go visit Alea Arden in her spare time, just to talk. And Salvar would tease her into joining him at Sandi’s restaurant where he would try to get her into a group date with a bunch of civilians.

But her open eyes took in the rafters of the attic. So American. So foreign. And she was not Home.

An image sliced across her mind. A room. White. Everything white. And a bed. Plain with barely anything on it.

Zormna’s stomach gurgled. It was driving her crazy, actually. So hungry. But why? Had she eaten anything at all those past few days? It was difficult to imagine anything in particular. Zormna stared up at the rafters and tried to concentrate her thoughts, reaching back before Jennifer could return to get after her.

An image of her foot kicking over a metal tray onto the floor cut into her memory. Mashed potatoes spattered a wall with a great sense of satisfaction—but Zormna didn’t know why. When she tried to dig out that memory, a searing hot, splitting pain chopped off all other recollection like an axe imbedding itself into the center of her skull. Zormna grabbed her head again.

“Oh….” She groaned, rocking back and forth. “Make it stop…”

The sharp pain ebbed off. But her skull throbbed. And though the residual pounding against the sides of her brain were not as bad as the first blow, it was still like someone was using a rubber mallet to bash both sides. The aspirin did not take effect until several minutes later. By then, though, Zormna was not really sure it had been the aspirin that had done the trick. Because, she had banished all thought to avoid the pain. Letting go of the past three days seemed to be the only cure.

Finally mustering herself up, Zormna pushed off the bed and limped to the doorway. She heaved her school bag onto her shoulder. It wasn’t where she had left it last Thursday, but it was next to the door. With every step, came shooting pain as well as tiny stabs on the soles of her feet, which she had to ignore when hobbling out into the hall. It was such an ordeal just to get from the attic room to the banister at the end of the hall. Sweat had already gathered on her forehead.

She stared down those many steps, dreading the descent.

“Take my arm.” Todd appeared at her right.

Zormna glanced up at him.

Todd held out his arm, bracing his shoulders to carry her full weight if he had to.

Gratitude poured out of her chest. It swelled over her as she gazed on this wonderful, ignorant American boy. It was such a good thing he didn’t know a thing about his ancestry—that he had been spared the pain of it. With an exhausted smile, Zormna put her hand on his arm and held for all her life. They descended together step by step all the way to the bottom. Each right step stabbed through her leg. But gazing up at that red-haired hero, she endured it with all her strength. She was not alone. It wasn’t just nosy Jennifer she was stuck with. There was also Todd—good, undemanding, levelheaded Todd.

The homesickness in her chest eased. Zormna fought back the tears that burned behind her eyes all the way to the bottom of the stairs. Todd steered her past his mother, putting himself in between them as a shield.

Seeing that woman awakened Zormna’s flight response almost instantly. She would have run had not Todd been there still holding on to her. And that woman glared something deadly.

But Todd scowled back on Zormna’s behalf.

Eventually his mother averted her eyes and went about her morning tasks. The woman’s lips remained pursed as she crossed into the living room to pick up the dishes Mindy and Andrew had left behind. When she walked by, she growled under her breath. “You don’t know whom you are consorting with.”

Only Zormna heard her. Todd didn’t seem to. He took Zormna to a kitchen stool up at the counter.

“Can I walk you to school?” Todd asked, helping Zormna sit so he could pack a lunch.

Zormna smiled painfully, nodding. It was better to not respond to his mother just yet.

*

Jennifer watched from the stairs. A faint smile had formed on her lips, but it was with pain.

Who was Zormna really? World-ender or persecuted orphan? She was as much a mystery as ever. The ever-independent soldier, super-ninja girl from wherever did not look like she was acting. Was this person really destined to bring about an apocalypse? Or was that an excuse used to hate someone who, frankly, had awesome genetics. Yet watching Zormna, Jennifer found herself asking how could someone so dangerous be just as equally fragile?  

Hopping down the rest of the stairs to join her brother in fixing Zormna a brown bag full of her favorites, Jennifer shot her mother a look that said:, ‘The jury is still out.’

Her mother returned the look with a terse nod.

 “We can get doughnuts at school for breakfast. We’re late anyway,” Todd said to Zormna. “They serve it in the cafeteria before classes. Brian and his sister Joy eat breakfast there after some early morning church class they have.”

Smiling at him, Zormna nodded then sighed. She glanced to where Mrs. McLenna was peeking darkly around the family room corner. Averting her gaze, Zormna turned back towards Todd and Jennifer. She forced a smile onto her lips—though in the end she just wiped her eyes, the pained smile breaking off.

Todd assisted Zormna off her stool. She wobbled on her feet, cringing as she set her both feet on the floor. But Todd propped her as soon as he had hoisted up his backpack and lifted her book bag. From there they walked (or in her case, hobbled) to the front door. Jennifer helped out on Zormna’s other side.

“I bet this preferential treatment suits you, Zormna,” their mother said, stepping from her hiding place. “So Her Highness is off to school?”

Jennifer could see her mother’s anger swelling as she said this, giving her courage to speak. She had been cowed since the shouting match the day before, and more by Jennifer’s looks. Their mother could barely look at either Jennifer or Todd in the eye, though this time she glared protectively. “Will Queen Zormna grace us with her presence after school, or will she be leaving for good?”

Todd opened his mouth with disgust.

“Mom! Can you be civil?” Todd yelled, bracing Zormna up more staunchly. “She just barely got back. Can’t you see she’s hurt?”

Jennifer only glared, trying to make her eyes tell her mother not to be so obvious. They could be overheard.

Zormna remained silent. Her head hung. She trembled. Jennifer clung tighter to Zormna to hold her up.

“All I can see is that you two are waiting on her hand and foot,” their mother replied, folding her arms disapprovingly.

“Waiting on her?” Todd shouted. “So we’re supposed to let her limp on her own and—?”

But Zormna waved her hands to stop him, going pale. “Todd! Don’t argue with your mother over me. Ok? I do not want to ruin your family. If she wants me out,” Zormna said, looking directly at Mrs. McLenna, “Then I will go out. I do have that house. If they insist I leave—I will go.”

Mrs. McLenna shivered. She peeked at Jennifer. Then she muttered something that sounded like gibberish to both Todd and Jennifer, though Zormna understood it perfectly. The blonde flushed faintly in her cheeks.

Jennifer glared harder at her mother. Private alien conversations were not winning her points.

“Alright.” Her mother threw up her hands. “Just…just…just go to school. Get out of my sight. I have to talk to David…Mr. McLenna about this anyway. You’ll have our decision tonight.”

Their mother turned away. 

Both Jennifer and Todd opened their mouths to speak, but Zormna straightened up to her old militaristic posture and bowed to their mother. “Thank you.”

Their mother stared at Zormna as if asking the same question Jennifer had been thinking: who was this Zormna Clendar anyway? She was not normal.

Todd opened the door and helped Zormna down the front steps. He became her crutch as they continued on to school, while Jennifer volunteered to carry Zormna’s bag.

With so many questions still unanswered, Jennifer decided to focus on the here and now. She glanced back to her house once, noticing her mother watching from the front window. Then she looked to the road. And sure enough—the FBI car was there.

Her task now was to keep the secret of Zormna Clendar.

 

Todd and Jennifer helped Zormna to her seat in Mr. Keller’s class with a doughnut in hand. Brian and Joy came in with them, asking questions first.

“So, where were you?”

“Don’t bug her. Zormna’s still a little sick,” Jennifer said. The Hendersons were really pushy sometimes.

Brian scanned Zormna up and down then shook his head. “As far as I can see, all she looks is starved.”

It was true about that. Zormna had devoured three doughnuts already and was starting a fourth. Brian’s sister Joy sat in the seat next to Zormna holding a cup of cocoa in her hand, waiting for Zormna to swallow so she could give it back. Joy was much like Brian, tan, dark haired, and athletic; though she wore her straight hair in a chin-length bob that would have suited a flapper girl. Decked in her red, white, and black, skull and cross-bone junior varsity cheer uniform, Joy was dressed for the pep rally scheduled for that afternoon. Jennifer never much associated with her. Aside being a cheerleader, Mormons were weird.

“Thank you so much,” Zormna murmured before gulping it down.

“Didn’t you eat anything when you were gone?” Todd asked.

Jennifer wished he’d shut up. Though, truthfully, she was dying to know what