Destined for Dreams: Book One Read Online Free PDF Page A

the stairwell.
    “I have everything I need,” Jacqueline says. “Let’s go home.”
    “Ha, ha, ha. Home,” I mutter to her. “More like a place to gather information to gain amnesty from the board so you can make a home wherever you want.”
    “Don’t ruin this,” she thinks to me. “If I fail, this really will be our new home.”
    Great. I’m going to be stuck with Jacqueline until I die.

4 . NOT A DREAM
     
     
     
     
     
     
    HUNTER
     
    The location of the Creature Council’s headquarters feels like it’s worlds away from the city. The road to the compound didn’t have road markers and if I still had my body, I would’ve had a heart attack when Mr. Soto sped into a tangle of trees going at least thirty miles per hour. It was magical and frightening how the trees swallowed the car and threw us onto a paved road in the middle of a forest.
    It would take a lot of heavy machinery to cut through the trees and greenery to find this road, and even then, I doubt the trees would let just anyone in. I’ve never seen anything like it. No wonder the HPA facilities are all made of cement, metal, and bulletproof glass. Supers can easily turn nature against us.
    A woman in a short blue dress leans against the chain-link fence surrounding the headquarters. Her silver hair is pulled into two buns and adorned with white lilies. She’s barefoot and unarmed, which is an unexpected sight for me since the HPA agents all wear standard issued black pants, shirts, and boots along with a weaponry belt. This woman is the most non-threatening security guard I’ve ever laid eyes on. It must mean she’s deadly.
    The woman waves and Mr. Soto nods to her before driving closer to the opening gate. Up ahead looms a four-story industrial building with reflective windows and a huge patio in front with small umbrella tables. Smaller one and two story buildings surround it like miniature replicas. I count five that I can see and I bet a few more buildings hide behind it.
    Sprawling green lawns fill the space around the buildings. To the right of the buildings are three giant vegetable gardens and a greenhouse. Along the far fence is a fruit tree grove and scattered throughout the property are different kinds of flowers. Beyond the fence is nothing but forest. This is more than some top secret headquarters; it’s a safe paradise for supers. No wonder Jacqueline agreed to come here.
    “It’s better than I imagined,” she thinks.
    “I definitely didn’t expect this. Why did you even consider a deal with my mom? You could live here forever,” I say.
    “First of all, if I didn’t make some sort of deal, your mother would’ve killed me. Second, while this place looks amazing, I don’t want to stay hidden in some small creature-made village. I need my freedom. I couldn’t refuse amnesty from the board. They’re who I fear the most.”
    “Won’t the supers turn against you?”
    “They’ll be more worried about themselves than me by that point.”
    Jacqueline is either really, really, evil and inconsiderate, or amazing and ingenious. I haven’t decided yet. She’s an honorary spy and agent for the board and no one here would be wiser since I’ve never in my life heard of a super working for the HPA. Most don’t stay alive long enough to have that kind of conversation.
    Mr. Soto pulls into a small parking lot with about fifteen other different vehicles. Their transportation is nothing special and I wonder if it’s to fit in with the human population. The board is fond of their identical white vans and I don’t see a single van here. I bet it’s on purpose.
    Jacqueline gets out and joins Mr. Soto. The sun finished setting a few minutes ago and we’re losing light quickly. Without any outdoor lighting, it’s hard to see, and I find it impossible for all supers to have night vision.
    “Hey, Jackie, what’s with the lack of outside lighting here?” I ask.
    She chortles in her mind. “Why? You afraid of the dark?”
    “I