OCDaniel Read Online Free

in bookshelves and action figures, while the others had posters of bands and movies, and even one of Tom Brady that my dad had bought me when I’d made the football team. My desk was tucked under a dusty window that overlooked the street, and it was constantly littered with papers and drawings and books. I went to click on my home page, when I was Zapped. I went back and clicked it again. It still didn’t feel right. I was at ten clicks and already feeling sweat bead on my forehead when I closed the browser. I could feel the urge to go back and try another click. But I knew it might start something that would take hours. I needed to write. Now.
    Daniel stared at the moon in disbelief. It was like something had bitten the bottom right section, taking a chunk out like from a vanilla cookie. The moon stared back at him, glimmering faintly in the daylight.
    A million thoughts ran through his head. But only one mattered. The device had worked. It had seemed so unlikely, tucked away in the attic and wrapped in a blanket of dust. But there was no other explanation. He had turned it on, and he had done something terrible.
    As he stared in horror at the sky, something else caught his eye. A flicker of movement.
    Daniel turned just in time to see something slip between two houses. Something big.
    There was a gentle knock on my door, and an even softer voice. “Dan?”
    â€œCome in.”
    Emma stepped inside, clutching a book under her arm and watching me from beneath a loose strand of blond hair.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” she asked curiously, spying my laptop.
    â€œNothing,” I said, shutting it before she could read anything. Even the little writing I had done had calmed me a bit. I didn’t feel like I had to go click the link again, anyway. “What’s up?”
    She sat on the bed and shrugged. “You want to read for a while?”
    â€œSure.”
    We both lay down on the floor, staring up at the stucco ceiling. We did that a lot.
    â€œWhat do you see?” she asked softly. Sometimes we created entire stories in the stucco. Her hair was splashed out like sand on the carpet.
    I focused on one spot in particular. “A bird. An eagle maybe. Eroth, the King of Eagles, flying over the plains of Alog. He is preparing for a battle, I think. Goblins march on the kingdom. You?”
    â€œA face. It looks like a girl. Pretty but cold eyes. A princess maybe . . . no . . . an archer. San’aa, the daughter of a fallen king, and the most famous archer in Arador. She can hit a bull’s-eye from one hundred yards.”
    Emma looked over and smiled mischievously, her hazel eyes twinkling.
    â€œAre you really going to ask a girl on a date?”
    â€œProbably not.”
    She turned back to the ceiling. “You seemed different at dinner.”
    â€œHow so?”
    Emma seemed to think about that. “I don’t know. Just . . . distant. Even more than usual.”
    That instantly brought Sara Malvern back to my mind. A tingle crept down my back and into my socks.
    â€œJust tired, I guess,” I replied, hoping she didn’t hear the worry in my voice.
    Emma opened her book and started reading. “I don’t believe you.”
    â€œYou never do.”
    We read until my mom came in and told Emma to go to bed. We both stood up, stretching sore limbs. Emma said good night and shuffled through my bedroom door. I watched her shadow turn the corner, fading into the hallway light. I was alone again.
    I decided to write a bit more. As I opened my laptop, I noticed a piece of paper sticking out of one of the pockets of my backpack. Frowning, I picked it up. Scribbled in splotchy black ink was a note.
    I need your help.
    â€”Fellow Star Child

CHAPTER 3
    I read the note several times and then folded it up with trembling hands. I had no idea what a Star Child was, or why anyone would possibly want my help. Someone must have snuck it into my bag