The Athena Effect Read Online Free

fit right in with the homeless population of the bus station, and thankfully, no-one tried to talk to her again. She pulled a baseball cap down low on her forehead and pulled out a book, pretending to read with her head down.
    A motorcycle pulled up to the curb, and two dark haired young men climbed off. She squeezed her eyes shut. The sound reminded her of her parents, and her eyes burned as she fought back tears.
    She was afraid that if she allowed herself to start crying again, she might not ever be able to stop.
    “Thanks for the ride, bro,” she heard one of them say. “I’ll call you when I get to town.”
    “Just hurry back… alright?”
    “When are you gonna come along with me? What should I tell him?”
    “I have nothing to say to him.”
    She heard a heavy sigh, “Hey Cal…. Take good care of Rufus, okay?”
    Her eyes snapped open at the sound of her name.
    “Sure thing,” the other man answered, flashing a wide grin. The two shook hands, leaning in for a one armed hug with a few backslaps. One of them headed towards the bus station, turning back to call out, “Take care, little bro.”
    She watched the one named Cal as he sauntered back to his bike. It was a bigger, more powerful looking motorcycle than her father’s; she’d never seen one that looked like it before. She tried not to stare, but she’d never seen anyone who looked like him before either.
    He was tall, taller than her father, clad in dirty blue jeans and a black leather jacket that fit snug across his broad shoulders. His hair was dark, like his eyes, which were fringed with black lashes that made them stand out even from a distance. She’d never seen a really good-looking man before, and she watched him, fascinated.  
    He walked with a confident swagger that belied the anxious chartreuse color he was radiating. Like everyone else at the bus station, he was troubled. He reached into his pocket for a pair of mirrored sunglasses, slipping them on to hide his arresting eyes. She watched him straddle the bike gracefully, without putting on a helmet. He revved the engine and sped away, going much too fast.
    Beautiful idiot, she thought.
    A small economy car pulled up in front of the station and stopped with a screech. Cal looked up to see a woman with short brown hair checking her face in the rear-view mirror. She wore a black vest over a white shirt, and she climbed out and smoothed her skirt, looking flustered in a tangerine sort of way.
    She scanned the crowd in front of the bus station, and when their eyes finally met she hurried over, asking, “Are you David’s kid?”
    Cal nodded, thinking that the woman looked younger than she’d imagined. She stood up and held out her hand politely, “I’m Cal.”
    “Sorry I’m late– I just got off work. You can call me Angie. You sure have his hair, don’t you?” she pumped Cal’s hand, smiling apologetically, “Nice to meet you.”
    “It’s nice to meet you too,” Cal said politely, “Thank you for letting me stay with you.”
    “Well… I’m double-parked… So let’s get going. Is that all of your stuff?” She looked at the battered green duffel bag suspiciously.
    Cal nodded, slinging the bag over her shoulder and following along behind her. They drove off in an uncomfortable silence. She could tell that Angie was uncertain; yellow with curiosity, but far from happy about the situation she found herself in. People couldn’t help the colors they gave off, making Cal a walking lie detector.
    “I was sure surprised to hear about David,” Angie finally said. “We were adopted at the same time, but I was only a baby and David was nearly six years old. I suppose he never really felt like part of the family, because he changed his name back when he was a teenager.”
    Cal was surprised, because her father never spoke of his childhood at all.
    “When our parents divorced we just kinda drifted away from each other. He got himself a scholarship and I stayed with my mom until