Sinister: A Paranormal Fantasy (Sinisters Book 1) by Colleen Fleshman

out, “You really can see it?”
    The girl turned to him, and the laughter in her eyes had to be directed at him. “Yep.”
    “Me too,” Matt said, then winced. Of course he could, or he wouldn’t have known she could. She must think he was a complete idiot.
    She laughed, and it sounded like wind chimes. “I figured. It’s cool to meet someone else who can. All I’ve met so far is Luke.”
    They’d reached the front of the line now, and the teenager behind the counter was impatiently staring at them. The popcorn machines made soft popping noises in the background as Matt stared at the guy, trying to figure out why this stranger was staring at him. The day’s events seemed to have caught up with him, and he was no longer capable of the simplest interactions.
    “You want somethin’?” the boy asked, snapping a piece of gum and sucking the broken bubble back in with a slurping noise.
    “Yeah." Matt finally recalled why he was there. He hunger had mysteriously vanished, but he still ordered. "Popcorn."
    “That all?” the clerk asked in the same bored tone.
    Matt nodded and the boy shuffled off. "So you believe him?”
    She gave a graceful shrug. "Why not? My parents and Jaclyn—that's my sister—had no idea what I was talking about, but Luke showed up and knew exactly what was going on." Her eyes widened. "Plus he can do some realllllyyy cool things."
    "Cool things?" he echoed.
    She waved a hand. "You know, vanishing and reappearing, that kind of stuff. Didn't he show you?"
    Matt shook his head. Luke hadn't done anything beyond show up and tell him he needed to do something. Why would he show Anna proof that he was telling the truth, but not Matt?
    "Well, it doesn't matter. I believed him anyway."
    He had only known her a few minutes, but he could tell that Anna trusted easily. That had always seemed like a dangerous thing to do, but if she were any indication, it made for a much more carefree existence. She gestured animatedly as she talked, her expression open. Belatedly Matt realized she was talking to him.
    "...curious about what he wants us to do. I mean, he said we needed to help him, but he just told me it would be sometime later. I can't wait to get started. Isn't it so exciting?"
    Exciting wasn't the word he would have chosen, but he let it slide. "You mean he didn't tell you anything about Peter Caracalla?"
    Anna looked puzzled. "Peter Caracalla...isn't he that software dude? What does he have to do with anything?"
    It was Matt's turn to frown. "I don't know. Luke told me I needed to do something about him, but not what. I assumed he told you the same thing."
    She wrinkled her nose. "He didn't tell me that. Oh!" Her eyes widened. "You have a mission! That is so cool. I want to help."
    "You can have it," he muttered.
    She cast him a sidelong glance. "You don't want to help? Why not?"
    He hesitated. Anna seemed eager to jump on the Luke bandwagon, but even with her confirmation that the hallucinations were, in fact, not hallucinations, some part of him still distrusted the man. A gut instinct told him Luke was holding something back. Based on the facts he had, though, he had no reason to disbelieve him. And he didn’t want to contradict this beautiful girl.
    "I just wasn't sure if I could believe him, since no one else could see the weird things I was. But now that I met you..." He shrugged.
    "Now that you met me..." she prompted, looking expectant.
    He flashed her a smile. "I guess I do." Any doubts he had, he would keep to himself until he got more information.
    The clerk plopped down a butter-scented bucket in front of the pair. A few pieces flew out of the bucket and hit the greasy glass counter with soft pattering sounds. Matt’s mouth watered as he remembered once more that he hadn’t actually eaten today, and he could almost taste the salt as he gazed at the golden mound in front of him. He paid the clerk and turned back to his new ally.
    Anna grabbed a handful of popcorn and smiled