The Gathering Storm Read Online Free

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    â€œGabriella Rivera,” the woman said with a slight nod. “Welcome.”
    â€œHi,” Gabriella replied, wondering how the woman knew her name. “Is this—”
    â€œGo inside,” she interrupted. “The others are already here.”
    Gabriella pulled open the doors and stepped insidethe ancillary gym. With that first step, all her expectations vanished. The ancillary gym wasn’t a run-down, dilapidated, old dump. It was clean and bright inside, with gleaming equipment that looked new: balance beams; hurdles; punching bags; scratchy, yellow climbing ropes; and shiny rings that dangled from the ceiling. At the far side of the room, a large pool rippled with clear, blue water.
    This is insane, Gabriella thought as a grin spread across her face. The gym was perfectly equipped for high-intensity training. How was it possible that the ancillary gym stayed locked up all the time? Nobody else at Willow Cove Middle School even knew about the pool—Gabriella was sure about that. The swim team always had to take a bus to practice in the high school pool. There had to be some reason why the ancillary gym was such a well-kept secret, but in that moment, Gabriella didn’t even care. If this is Jock Gym for Superjocks, sign me up! she thought.
    â€œGo take a seat with your friends,” the woman said as she joined Gabriella inside the gym. Gabriella turned around fast, half expecting to see Lizbeth, Daisy, andKatie behind her. Her tense shoulders relaxed when she realized that the teacher meant the other students in the class: Makoto Kimura, Darren Smith, and Fiona Murphy. Gabriella knew them—barely. She wouldn’t exactly call them her friends.
    â€œSure,” Gabriella replied quickly, and then crossed the gym to the single metal bench where the others were sitting in a row. Darren moved over a little, smiling at Gabriella as he made room for her. That’s when Gabriella realized that the ancillary gym didn’t have bleachers. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. She’d been in a lot of school gyms—all over the state, in fact—but she’d never seen one without bleachers.
    The teacher strode across the room until she was standing directly in front of the bench. Under her sharp, watchful gaze, everyone sat up a little straighter.
    â€œI’m Ms. Therian,” she said. Her voice wasn’t loud, exactly, but it carried across the gym, echoing off the concrete walls, as if she had a megaphone in her hand. “This is Independent Study: Physical Education—at least, that’s what the outside world thinks it is. But you all know better, don’t you?”
    Do we? Gabriella wondered, shifting uncomfortably on the hard bench. She had a strange feeling that this was no ordinary gym class . . . not even Jock Gym for Superjocks.
    Fiona’s pale hand fluttered into the air. “Gym is a requirement for graduation,” she said. “Are we getting a special exemption?”
    â€œIn a manner. To everyone else at this school, you’re in gym class,” Ms. Therian explained. “But what you’re going to be learning in this room is far more important.”
    A heavy silence settled over the students as they waited for her to continue.
    â€œThere’s no easy way to tell you this,” Ms. Therian said. “In the many years that I’ve taught, I’ve found it’s best to go ahead and say it: you are Changers. What humans might call shape-shifters. And you’re here to begin your training.”
    Gabriella blinked. Surely she hadn’t heard correctly. . . .
    Surely this was some kind of a joke. . . .
    She didn’t even know what a shape-shifter was . . . .
    Mack’s hand shot up. “Ms. Therian, you’re kidding, right?” he asked. “I mean, shape-shifters are awesomeand all, but they’re about as real as . . . I don’t know,