Hidden Thunder

By Kevin Hickey

Haley Lynne Johnson is not your ordinary teenage girl. Insead of texting her friends or playing video games, Haley dreams of far off places and slaying dragons. Haley wishes that she could travel and see the world and have grand adventures miles away from St. Cloud, Minnesota. She should be careful of what she wishes for because Haley is about to have the adventure of her life!

When she learns that her grandfather is about to retire from his job, Haley cant wait to return to Sweden. She remembers what a great trip she had there the last time. She returns to the town of Trollhatten, meets her two cousins again, and gets to spend time with her family listening to her grandfathers old stories. What she doesnt know is that sometimes these old stories are true! Will she ever get her father to believe them, though?

Who does she meet? Why is he in Sweden? Come with Haley as she learns for herself why people often told tales of things that are old, powerful, and best kept hidden. Maybe there really are such things as gnomes, cave trolls, and dwarves that made magic weapons in days of yore. Haley has a lot of spunk for a kid but does she have enough courage to save her family when what she really needs is the greatest weapon of all time? She better, because for her and her family, time is running out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475907902

Kevin Hickey

Kevin Hickey was born in Ann Arbor, Mi in 1959 and recently returned to the area after a twenty year absence. As a former stay at home dad, substitute teacher, and coach for various sports, he has given much of his time to the education and welfare of children of all ages. After reading The Illiad and The Odyssey in the fourth grade, the author became enamoured with Greek Mythology and developed a passion for the history and mythologies of ancient civilizations.

Book preview

HIDDEN 

 THUNDER

BY

KEVIN HICKEY

iUniverse, Inc.

Bloomington

HIDDEN THUNDER

Copyright © 2012 by Kevin Hickey.

Cover illustration by Ian Ibaek Moller

www.ian-m.dk

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4759-0789-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-0790-2 (ebk)

iUniverse rev. date: 04/26/2012

Contents

Acknowledgments

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Acknowledgments

Special Thanks to Lynn Ayres and Debra Grysen for the

editing assistance.

Also I want to thank my two daughters Devan, and Danika Hickey for giving me the inspiration to write it.

1

Haley, Haley Lynne Johnson! You are not a hunk a hunk of burnin’ love. Now turn that thing down right now!

But Mom, Baby, it’s The King! Haley said, in her very best Elvis voice.

Haley, I said turn it down. I can’t even hear myself think! You better not be dancin’ on your bed again either, young lady!

I’m not, Mom! Haley said, as she jumped off the bed. That was close, she thought to herself. Haley tried very hard not to lie, especially to her mother.

Haley turned down the stereo and plopped back down on her bed. As she stared up at Victoria Falls, one of the many waterfall posters she had in her room, she pretended she was exploring deepest, darkest Africa. Instead of always going online or texting her friends, she slayed dragons, fought ferocious beasts, and sailed The Seven Seas. Her mother always said that she was a dreamer and her imagination ran as wild as her hair. She was a little tall for her age, but she was lythe and agile. She was also flat out fast! No wonder she ran track and played soccer. She had auburn hair that turned redder in the summer and bottle green eyes that could bore right through you. Her fine features and unblemished skin made her look almost perfect. Statuesque, even. Okay, she had a few freckles.

Mom, is Daddy coming to the game?

I don’t know, Sweetheart, but you better start putting your hair up and getting ready, it’s almost time to go.

Haley’s dad, Tom, was the owner of the local Saab dealership outside of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Although he kept his own hours, sometimes he just had to be at work. It seemed that lately he had to be there more often. Haley always looked forward to when he could make it though. Her dad always knew what really happened in a game; how hard she tried, how well she played, or why they won or lost. Soccer is just hockey on grass, he told her.

Her dad played hockey back in Sweden when he was growing up. Some said that he was the best Swedish defenseman since Borje Salming. Maybe, nowadays, as good as Nicklas Lidstrom. He had a big shot, and even bigger heart. One of his coaches once said, I’ve seen players with as much talent as you have, and I’ve seen players who played as hard as you do, but I have never seen a player with as much talent as you have, play as hard as you do. He never had great speed but he was never out of position either. If he hadn’t blown out his knee in the Olympic semis against Canada, he definitely would have gone pro. No one in town seemed to know this however, and her dad never brought it up. He didn’t talk much about hockey or Sweden anymore.

Haley gobbled down a protein bar, grabbed a couple Powerades, and looked for her music. Her mom was waiting in the minivan and was totally ready. Cassie Johnson was the ultimate soccer mom. She had it down to a science; folding chairs, water bottles, snacks, blankets, rain gear, mosquito repellant, sunscreen, even bee sting relief! This was a huge game against Parkside, and she had a good feeling about it. She layed on the horn a couple of times and yelled out the window, Come on Haley, we’re gonna be late! Don’t you want to see Mackenzie score today?

Chill, Mommasita! Haley said, as she climbed in to the van. We’ll be there in plenty of time, and besides, Mac plays defense remember?

I know, Cassie said, as she pulled the van away.

Haley turned on her iPod, kicked off her shoes, and started to sing. This is how she prepared for the biggies, as she called them. A lot of the games lately had been against the weaker teams in the league and she could tell that the girls were coasting. But this game, against Parkside, was definitely a biggie. They had two girls named Brittany and Bridgitte. The B girls. Bridgitte was huge, so everyone called her The Beast. She was like an ogress who towered over the other players. No one even knew how old she was. She dominated down low because of her size. Brittany on the other hand was small, quick, and mean. It seemed that everytime someone caught an elbow, or got tripped, she was right there. Once, she even got red carded in a game against Bedford. Her dad, the coach, went ballistic and pushed the referee. They both got tossed and had to sit out the next game.

As they pulled in to the parking lot Haley saw Mackenzie coming towards her, almost crying. What’s the matter? Haley asked, getting out of the van.

Brittany told me that I had a big butt and she couldn’t wait to kick it today.

What did you say to her?

Nothin’.

Whaddya mean, nothin? Why do you always let her dog you like that?

I dunno.

Quit takin’ her crap. Tell her to shut up, or say somethin back about her pimply little face or her big buck teeth!

Yeah, right. That’s easy for you to say, she had The Beast there too, ya know.

So! Stand up for yourself, Mac! You’re such a squid!

Yo, let’s go, let’s go! Huddle up!, Coach Curtis said, clapping his hands. Hey, what’s the matter? MacKenzie looks like a damn tomato.

Brittany started on her, already. She’s okay. Haley said

That’s alright, no problem, no problem. We’ll just do all our talking on the field. Coach said.

Coach was about to give his usual, This is just another game talk, when he noticed the girls had that look. They were fussing and fidgeting and he could tell they were not going to buy that stuff today. Okay, listen up! We all know what’s goin’ on. This is NOT just another game! he said with a smile. He rubbed his chin, paused for a second, and said, I know Parkside plays a little rough, but we’re gonna change things up a bit and surprise them. Mac, you’re going to play forward today. We need you up front. Casey, you’re going back on D. You’ve played there before and you’ve got Kelly back there to pick up your slack if you need her. Start stretchin and get ready you guys, it’s almost quarter till.

Haley, is he freakin’ crazy? I haven’t even played midfield all year and now he wants me to be a striker?

Mac, you’ll be fine. Just head to the net and I’ll get you the ball. I promise.

But what about Bridgitte? She’s gonna squash me or somethin’!

What about her? She’s a cow. She can’t hang with you and you know it! Why do you think coach moved you up? Duhhhhhh!

Don’t you duh me, MacKenzie said, as she lay down on the grass. Come on Red, help me stretch out, I don’t want to yank my hammie or anything.

Things heated up in a hurry even though it was getting colder and starting to drizzle. Haley tried to set up a header off a corner kick only to see Bridgitte bury two girls at the same time with a forearm. Coach Curtis wanted a penalty called but she got away with it because the ref didn’t see it. When Haley told her to knock it off, she just wiped her nose on her sleeve and giggled. Then one of the Parkside girls slipped and got kicked in the face and started crying. She got a black eye and sat out for awhile. There was no scoring in the first half because the field was getting slick and both sides were playing tough defense. Brittany almost scored from