The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez: Chapters 15–26

The bell mercifully rings, and we gather our things.

"We need to talk to Brandon,” I tell them.
Maria Carmen purses her lips and nods.
Talib won't look at me. "Or we could jump into a volcano. Or swim with genetically mutated zombie sharks."

I can't help but roll my eyes at Abuela’s complete faith in dubious Cuban remedies.

"The eclipse," Abuela says, her breathing slowing and her shoulders sagging. "If she wants to turn into an animal, she has to bite them during the eclipse. Right now, she can only turn into a snake, a wolverine, and a spider. Those are probably the animals she bit during another eclipse."

"Children, this light-sensitive animal, native to the lakes and rivers of Mexico, can regenerate limbs and even body organs," Mr. Highpants breathes into the microphone.

"She was giving us places to hide, marking those traps that vile boy set."
Val hops up to me. “Thanks for getting rid of those, by the way.”

Miss Humala claps as she stands by the window at the back of the classroom. Her eyes dart toward the woods. "This is due at the end of class, so make sure you're working diligently.”

“Dad always has to leave for work at the oil field piping plant about an hour after dinner because he works the night shift. He hadn’t left yet, so I went to check on him in the living room, and I found him sitting in his recliner with a huge red welt on his neck. His eyes were frozen open, and he wasn’t moving."

"It’s simple. We go to my house and get some of my dad's gear. Heavy-duty flashlights. A collapsible baton. Some rope. Who knows what we’ll need."

The woman morphs into an enormous brown snake, wrapping herself tightly around Miss Humala.

"He’s pretty cool," Brandon offers sheepishly.

I drag my backpack over to where I’m lying on Maria Carmen's floor. I rummage through it, trying to see if Talib packed me a hoodie, when I grab something unexpected: Dad’s animal encyclopedia.

He struggles against her, but she twists his arms behind his back into submission, her long fingernails digging into his skin.

The tule vieja stands above me, her eyes rimmed with red, her skin a mottled gray.

"On it," says Cuervito, taking off into the yellowing sky. An orange haze has settled in the air as the moon moves closer to the sun.

“Yeah. It'll take more than a rabid rodent to knock me out," he says, clenching his fists.

"You know, for two animal-trivia geniuses,” he scoffs, "I’m surprised you didn't know bobcats have incredibly sharp claws."

Her arms flail, and she starts to climb up the rock pile toward us.

“The eclipse is upon us,” the tule vieja says, seething. "Just one bite and I will have your power.”

Long fangs grow from her teeth, glistening in what light the sun still radiates.

Withdrawing from her prey, the tule vieja wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, her fangs retracting into her gums.

The smile on the tule vieja's face exposes yellow jagged teeth, and a sinister chuckle rises from her throat.

They lean on her torso, still shaking their heads from the effects of the spider venom, and stumble off into the woods.

The tule vieja looks up and sees the moon beginning to move past the sun again, breaking the corona.

He hurt his back during a training exercise and was honorably discharged.