Neo Chronicles
Episode 35: Shadows in the Light
Table of Contents
Don't get me wrong, I'm a nice guy. I may not help old lady's cross the street or be the first to rush at to some damsel's aid, but at least I don't go out of my way to be mean with someone.
“Please?” Alexis has been followin' me since lunch. Thanks to that punk Noah, ol' girl here thinks I'm the only way she's gonna pass her math course.
Here I am, mindin' my own business, walkin' down the hall, an' she hasn't let up yet. I walk a lil' faster. She walks a lil' faster. I turn a corner. She turns a corner.
“No,” I say as I step into the men's restroom.
The toilet flushes, an' some kid steps out from a stall. I feel like throwin' up. Not because of the bomb he just dropped—I mean, yeah, the stench is enough to knock out a falcon mid-flight—but because he walks by three empty sinks an' doesn't even think to wash his hands before leavin'. Ain't got no home trainin'.
I mean, it's so easy. I walk in front of the sink, an' place my hands under the faucet. The water comes out of it. It's already mixed with soap. As I finish, the water shuts off, an' a paper towel automatically comes out of the nearby dispenser.
I can't stand nasty people.
As I step out of the restroom, Alexis—an' now RJ—are standin' there waitin' on me. I look at them. They look at me. RJ keeps it cool. Nothin' all out of the ordinary. He's got style, but he ain't all in his head about it. Just a pleasant, easy goin' typa dude. But Alexis is the complete opposite. She's like a stray puppy. Everything about her is so annoyingly an' innocently – I don't wanna say cute, but dang it, that's the only word that comes to mind.
I lead; they follow.
It's not like I don't understand where she's comin' from. Our teacher's terrible, but she tries to make up for it by bein' ultra strict. Who's never heard of partial credit in a math? Alexis, RJ, an' so many other students in the class, are just victims.
“Please?” So for her to look for a way out, to seek help, to find out how to beat the system – I guess it's admirable. It's just that she's annoying.
“No.” I try to put her down easy. Like I said, I'm a nice guy.
“C'mon Kai.” At least RJ is a little chill about it. He gets it. He seems to get me.
“Don't call me Kai.” That doesn't mean he's without faults of his own, though.
“Jamaaal!” Alexis is begging at this point. I sigh as I do my best to ignore her.
I know we both have the same algebra class together. I know they're just walkin' with me in the halls to get to the same place. I know that they mean well, but –
I turn around an' see her pathetic lookin' face. Her wimpy sour pout makes my stomach turn.
“I said no!”
– I just don't care.
We barely make it in the door when the tardy bell rings. Ms. Donald is insanely uptight when it comes to little things like that. Like I said before, she does everything she can to cover up how lousy a teacher she is.
I pass by her an' take my usual seat in the second row from the front. Lynn usually sits in front of me, but she's cuttin' this class, too. The slacker.
Just as I get used to the idea of havin' a free an' open view of the board, Alexis an' RJ, on a quest to be better students in this class—an' annoy me to death—decide to park it right in front of me. Oh well.
“Ms. Mackenzie, it seems we go through this everyday,” Ms. Donald calls out.
“Oh,” Alexis says as she takes off the hat from her head. “Sorry.”
“Thank you.”
See? Uptight.
She doesn't waste any time. She takes to the front of the room, writes “SOHCAHTOA” on the projected screen an' proceeds to take a very, very simple concept, and complicate it beyond recognition.
I see Alexis an' RJ's heads slump down lower an' lower with each passing second. I feel for 'em. I really do. Maybe I should offer tutoring lessons on the side. I'm sure I'd be able to make bank. Just lookin' around in this class, I can see that just about everyone looks the way Alexis an' RJ do. Their faces're collectively puzz'd.
I hear deep sighs. I see rolled eyes. I see heads down. I feel someone's heavy breath blowin' down my neck, an' it's disgusting.
I turn around an' give the guy a stern look.
“Sorry,” he says.
I changed my mind. All these lames can fail.
At this point, I'm tunin' in an' out of the lecture. One minute Ms. Donald's talkin' about the cats she keeps at home, the next, about trig. Then I start seein' some things. Odd things.
Maybe it's my mind daydreamin' from the boredom, but I find myself starin' at peoples' shadows. Take RJ, for instance. He's slouchin' all along his desk, head restin' on his outstretched arm. He's doin' his best to keep his focus on the lesson in front of him. The way the light hits—it's bright; it's fluorescent—you'd expect the shadow to be cast a certain way an' in a certain spot. There's more than one light in the class, so there might be other shadows, too. That's normal.
But what you wouldn't expect to see is those shadows movin' on their own. The light's not movin'. The people aren't movin'. RJ ain't movin', but all the shadows are.
The shadow under RJ's desk slides from under it an' makes its way to the right. It slides under other peoples' desks, meetin' up with other shadows, fusin' with them, gettin' bigger. The shadow under Alexis's desk makes its way to the left an' does the same thing.
They end up reachin' the wall an' climb up along it. Now they're stuck to the ceilin' movin' towards the light. As they pass by it, the light flickers an' dims.
Ms. Donald turns around an' naggingly says, “Whoever using their Trait to disrupt my class, please excuse yourself to the Principal's office.”
The lights stop flickering. The class stays quiet. Ms. Donald makes a “Hmph” sound, an' turns back to the board with her stylus in hand. The class goes on.
Is that what this was? Kids playin' with their ST's? I look around the class. Everyone looks like they did before. Bored, unamused, uninterested, barely stayin' awake. No one looks engaged in the lecture. No one looks engaged in anything. If someone is behind this, they're doin' a good job keepin' it under wraps.
A shadow makes its way on top of Ms. Donald's junky desk. Next thing you know, all the junk goes flyin' off in every direction. Books, papers, styluses, pencils, all of it, one by one, then all at once. Ms. Donald's blind, deaf self doesn't even notice it until the cup of coffee she had hits her in the back.
The class looks at her in shock an' awe.
Ms. Donald turns around. Her face is mad red. She looks like she's about to blow. It's like steam is comin' out of her ears. I think her eyes light up red, too.
“You!” She points to Alexis. “To the Principal's office!”
“But I didn't do anything!” Alexis squeals.
“Someone with telekinesis did, and I'm not going on until he or she fesses up!”
We all look at her like she's crazy. Then we look at each other like we're suspicious. Someone did just attack Ms. Donald. I saw the shadows move myself. Surely I'm not the only one. There's a dead silence.
“I'm waiting,” Ms. Donald says. With her arms crossed, an' her foot forcefully tappin' against the floor, she adds on, “Keep in mind, you are all responsible for this material whether I teach it or not!”
Still no response.
So we just sit here.
An' sit here.
The class is still silent. Ms. Donald looks like she's given up on the day.
This whole thing is stupid. If they all saw what I saw, then this wouldn't even be an issue. The shadows are still movin'! They're climbin' the walls! They're jumpin' from the ceilin'! I let out a frustrated sigh.
“Fine, it was me!” Alexis speaks up. Her head's held down.
“Really now?” Ms. Donald asks. “I expected more from you.”
“I thought it'd be funny.” Alexis's voice trails down even more. Quieter and quieter. It's obvious that she's lyin'.
Ms. Donald walks up to her desk an' looks down on her. “Well, I'll let you off with a warning this time, but one more outburst like that and I'll –”
It's happenin' again!
This shadow steps out from Ms. Donald herself. Its a figure of her! It morphs into some tall, slender, human-like thing. Steppin' out, stretchin' out, pullin' itself out from the wall an' floor it's attached to, it stands out like a real 3D person.
Honestly, I can't even call it a person. It's figure is so unreal. Its slender body's almost gas like. It's got no real human-like features. No face, no clothes, no expression. It's a—how do I put this—it's like a black ghost.
Then it opens its eyes: blood red, lookin' straight at me.
I can't be the only one who sees this. Ms. Donald doesn't notice the thing walk up next to her. She doesn't notice the thing stretch out its right arm. She doesn't see the arm morph into a long, slender, spike. But she does notice the spike ram through her head.
I leap from my seat an' rush to her side. Ms. Donald collapses on the floor. The class all gasps at once. Alexis an' RJ are there with me by her side.
“Ms. Donald!” Alexis cries out. There's no response.
Some other students are with us. We're all crowdin' over her motionless body.
RJ takes charge. “Everybody back up. Give her some breathin' room.”
“Is she dead?” someone calls out.
Alexis's eyes bulge out as she bites her lower lip. RJ looks at me, somehow hopin' I can give him a word to roll with. I shrug my arms an' look down at Ms. Donald.
“Shouldn't someone get the nurse?” someone else asks.
“Yes!” RJ states. Then the lights start flickerin' again. I look up to the ceiling an' notice the shadows are movin' there. I look out at the rest of the class an' see that the shadows are movin' about everywhere now. As for the one who did this, he looks directly at me then evaporates or some ish.
A short while later, everyone hears some commotion comin' from outside. Me an' RJ walk to the door an' see a squad of folks dressed in dark blue EMT uniforms rushin' down the halls.
“Ms. Donald! Are you okay?” We hear Alexis ask from behind.
It looks like Ms. Donald's awake. She's holdin' her head with her eyes closed. “I-I-I think I'm fine. Don't know what came over me.”
I do.
It's those shadows. Whoever or whatever's behind them isn't playin' around.
I hear the EMT people shout orders at people. They're crowded around the class across the hall. I see the students make a hole. Noah's with them. I think that's his history class. I see the stretcher go in. There's a lot of chatter goin' on. With all the commotion over Ms. Donald goin' on behind me, I can't make out what they're sayin' across the hall.
I make eye contact with Noah as he looks away from the body ridin' the stretcher that comes out. It's Mr. Watson. He ain't movin'. He looks dead. RJ an' Alexis walk up behind me an' get a look at the scene. Alexis tries her best to suppress a squeal.
Noah motions to me with his arm. I nod my head at him. He wants us to meet up after class.
“Come along. Our class isn't over yet. Go back to your seats.” Ms. Donald slowly makes her way back onto her feet. She makes her way over to her desk an' picks up a computer tablet. After pressin' some buttons on it, it beeps. “Now I've just shared with you the latest homework assignment. There are still thirty minutes left in class. I expect you all to use the time to make a dent in these problems. If you have any questions, please ask.”
She then takes a seat an' holds her head again.
We all slowly make our way back to our seats. Our tablets that we've been takin' notes with have a light that blinks on the side. The assignment shows up on it. More trig. I sigh in the face of trig. Then I look up. The shadow painted on the wall in front of me looks back.
/*
So after class, I see Noah in front of his locker. He holds his head, looks up to the ceiling, groans, an' fidgetly moves around. In his own lil' world, not knowin' or carin' about what's goin' on around him. The clang of him slammin' his locker door shut hits my ear. “Damn it!” Then the clang of him kickin' the locker beneath his adds to the assault.
“Noah!” I say as I walk up behind.
His attention snaps back. “What?” He barks.
“Well excuse me.”
He sighs. His eyes shift back an' forth as he strokes his chin. “Don't you get it, Kai?” He steps away as he drags his hand over his face. “They're here!”
“Who is?”
He glares at me. His whole body looks like it's shakin'. He clenches his fist together. I see a faint mist appear around him. The air gets colder. I can feel the moisture touch my skin. My glasses begin to fog. I'm thinkin' the dude's about to try an' start somethin' with me. “I know you saw them!”
I give him a hard look. I tense up. I ain't flinchin'; I ain't blinkin'. The warmth that surrounds my clenched fist is ready to ignite into somethin' at a moment's notice. I don't know what's gotten into Noah, but if decides to flip his ish, he sho' ain't gonna pull nothin' over on me.
He turns—his mouth turned down, his nose scrunched up, his eyebrow raised—an' says, “Demons, Kai. The demons are here.” He says it in a low tone, which catches me by surprise. I relax a bit an' step back, lookin' up at the ceiling as I slump up against this locker.
Then everything finally clicks in place. The shadows, the weirdness, Ms. Donald an' Mr. Watson gettin' hurt. Of course it's the demons. Dang it. I don't know why I didn't get it earlier. It was different when we were fightin' them on the other side of the world, but for them to be right here, in our own house –
“Yeah,” Noah says. “Exactly.”
“How come we're the only ones who can see 'em?” I ask.
“I dunno. Maybe it's because we've been messin' around with 'em already. Maybe somethin' Lynn did. Maybe Hiro's training.”
“So what do we do?”
“We need to get rid of 'em.”
I look off to the side. The people passin' us by haven't a clue. I check their shadows just to see if they're actin' right. The demons are hidin' in plain sight. Any one at any time could come out an' raise Hell.
“Right,” I say.
“So that means tracking them down.” Noah folds his arms. I see him look to the floor, too. I imagine the same thing about the shadows is on his mind, too.
“Okay.”
“Or maybe not.”
“What?”
There's a pause. He looks up at the ceiling, searchin' for somethin'. Inspiration? Just starin' up there. I check the ceilin' myself to make sure there ain't no shadow thing. There ain't. Come on Noah, say somethin'. I slightly move in place. Nothin' big. It's just nerves. I'm still tryna process this whole thing.
“Maybe we need to find the source. Find the Hellgate,” he finally says.
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Have you seen Lynn? She would be helpful with this.”
I shake my head. “No, she's been missin' all day. I think she's sick.”
“Do you have her number? We kinda need her right now. She's the one with magic. She's the one with knowledge. We gotta get to her. That's priority numbah one!”
“But what about the demons? We can't just ignore them.”
“Of course not. Any along the way, we take out. At any cost. We can do this. Remember what we've learned. It's about the spirit. About the ki.”
“More of that Hirohito nonsense?”
“C'mon Kai, this is serious.”
“Fine, fine. I get it. One last thing, though. How do we do this without gettin' suspended?”
“Whaddaya mean?” He's dumbfounded. More dumb than founded in this case.
“I mean,” Can't believe I gotta spell it out for him. “If we're the only ones who can even see the demons, then if we go out shootin' fire an' ice at 'em – ”
“It'll be like we're just usin' our powers for no reason, which is a big no-no in school. Okay, I gotcha. Darn it. Okay. Darn it. Darn it, darn it, darn it!” He moans, coverin' his face with both of his hands. “We'll just have ta bite the bullet!”
“What?”
“Try ta keep it under wraps, but if you see a demon on the verge of killin' someone, rules or no rules, we gotta stop 'em.”
A huge gust of wind rushes by us. The lockers clang. Our clothes flap. The air hits us. Noah an' I have the same thing in mind as we exchange glances. Our eyes look to the floor, to the walls, to any surface we can find to see if the shadows are actin' up again.
Then the wind rushes back, comin' from the other direction. It happens so fast, we hardly got time to blink. An' before we know it, we're lookin' at the guy who got us into this mess in the first place. The most stupidest, idiotic person I've ever met in my life. Noah included.
“There you are!” the guy says. That guy. Surprised he's even in school today. Chris Walker. “Did you know there was demons out here?”
Episode 35: Shadows in the Light
Table of Contents
Don't get me wrong, I'm a nice guy. I may not help old lady's cross the street or be the first to rush at to some damsel's aid, but at least I don't go out of my way to be mean with someone.
“Please?” Alexis has been followin' me since lunch. Thanks to that punk Noah, ol' girl here thinks I'm the only way she's gonna pass her math course.
Here I am, mindin' my own business, walkin' down the hall, an' she hasn't let up yet. I walk a lil' faster. She walks a lil' faster. I turn a corner. She turns a corner.
“No,” I say as I step into the men's restroom.
The toilet flushes, an' some kid steps out from a stall. I feel like throwin' up. Not because of the bomb he just dropped—I mean, yeah, the stench is enough to knock out a falcon mid-flight—but because he walks by three empty sinks an' doesn't even think to wash his hands before leavin'. Ain't got no home trainin'.
I mean, it's so easy. I walk in front of the sink, an' place my hands under the faucet. The water comes out of it. It's already mixed with soap. As I finish, the water shuts off, an' a paper towel automatically comes out of the nearby dispenser.
I can't stand nasty people.
As I step out of the restroom, Alexis—an' now RJ—are standin' there waitin' on me. I look at them. They look at me. RJ keeps it cool. Nothin' all out of the ordinary. He's got style, but he ain't all in his head about it. Just a pleasant, easy goin' typa dude. But Alexis is the complete opposite. She's like a stray puppy. Everything about her is so annoyingly an' innocently – I don't wanna say cute, but dang it, that's the only word that comes to mind.
I lead; they follow.
It's not like I don't understand where she's comin' from. Our teacher's terrible, but she tries to make up for it by bein' ultra strict. Who's never heard of partial credit in a math? Alexis, RJ, an' so many other students in the class, are just victims.
“Please?” So for her to look for a way out, to seek help, to find out how to beat the system – I guess it's admirable. It's just that she's annoying.
“No.” I try to put her down easy. Like I said, I'm a nice guy.
“C'mon Kai.” At least RJ is a little chill about it. He gets it. He seems to get me.
“Don't call me Kai.” That doesn't mean he's without faults of his own, though.
“Jamaaal!” Alexis is begging at this point. I sigh as I do my best to ignore her.
I know we both have the same algebra class together. I know they're just walkin' with me in the halls to get to the same place. I know that they mean well, but –
I turn around an' see her pathetic lookin' face. Her wimpy sour pout makes my stomach turn.
“I said no!”
– I just don't care.
We barely make it in the door when the tardy bell rings. Ms. Donald is insanely uptight when it comes to little things like that. Like I said before, she does everything she can to cover up how lousy a teacher she is.
I pass by her an' take my usual seat in the second row from the front. Lynn usually sits in front of me, but she's cuttin' this class, too. The slacker.
Just as I get used to the idea of havin' a free an' open view of the board, Alexis an' RJ, on a quest to be better students in this class—an' annoy me to death—decide to park it right in front of me. Oh well.
“Ms. Mackenzie, it seems we go through this everyday,” Ms. Donald calls out.
“Oh,” Alexis says as she takes off the hat from her head. “Sorry.”
“Thank you.”
See? Uptight.
She doesn't waste any time. She takes to the front of the room, writes “SOHCAHTOA” on the projected screen an' proceeds to take a very, very simple concept, and complicate it beyond recognition.
I see Alexis an' RJ's heads slump down lower an' lower with each passing second. I feel for 'em. I really do. Maybe I should offer tutoring lessons on the side. I'm sure I'd be able to make bank. Just lookin' around in this class, I can see that just about everyone looks the way Alexis an' RJ do. Their faces're collectively puzz'd.
I hear deep sighs. I see rolled eyes. I see heads down. I feel someone's heavy breath blowin' down my neck, an' it's disgusting.
I turn around an' give the guy a stern look.
“Sorry,” he says.
I changed my mind. All these lames can fail.
At this point, I'm tunin' in an' out of the lecture. One minute Ms. Donald's talkin' about the cats she keeps at home, the next, about trig. Then I start seein' some things. Odd things.
Maybe it's my mind daydreamin' from the boredom, but I find myself starin' at peoples' shadows. Take RJ, for instance. He's slouchin' all along his desk, head restin' on his outstretched arm. He's doin' his best to keep his focus on the lesson in front of him. The way the light hits—it's bright; it's fluorescent—you'd expect the shadow to be cast a certain way an' in a certain spot. There's more than one light in the class, so there might be other shadows, too. That's normal.
But what you wouldn't expect to see is those shadows movin' on their own. The light's not movin'. The people aren't movin'. RJ ain't movin', but all the shadows are.
The shadow under RJ's desk slides from under it an' makes its way to the right. It slides under other peoples' desks, meetin' up with other shadows, fusin' with them, gettin' bigger. The shadow under Alexis's desk makes its way to the left an' does the same thing.
They end up reachin' the wall an' climb up along it. Now they're stuck to the ceilin' movin' towards the light. As they pass by it, the light flickers an' dims.
Ms. Donald turns around an' naggingly says, “Whoever using their Trait to disrupt my class, please excuse yourself to the Principal's office.”
The lights stop flickering. The class stays quiet. Ms. Donald makes a “Hmph” sound, an' turns back to the board with her stylus in hand. The class goes on.
Is that what this was? Kids playin' with their ST's? I look around the class. Everyone looks like they did before. Bored, unamused, uninterested, barely stayin' awake. No one looks engaged in the lecture. No one looks engaged in anything. If someone is behind this, they're doin' a good job keepin' it under wraps.
A shadow makes its way on top of Ms. Donald's junky desk. Next thing you know, all the junk goes flyin' off in every direction. Books, papers, styluses, pencils, all of it, one by one, then all at once. Ms. Donald's blind, deaf self doesn't even notice it until the cup of coffee she had hits her in the back.
The class looks at her in shock an' awe.
Ms. Donald turns around. Her face is mad red. She looks like she's about to blow. It's like steam is comin' out of her ears. I think her eyes light up red, too.
“You!” She points to Alexis. “To the Principal's office!”
“But I didn't do anything!” Alexis squeals.
“Someone with telekinesis did, and I'm not going on until he or she fesses up!”
We all look at her like she's crazy. Then we look at each other like we're suspicious. Someone did just attack Ms. Donald. I saw the shadows move myself. Surely I'm not the only one. There's a dead silence.
“I'm waiting,” Ms. Donald says. With her arms crossed, an' her foot forcefully tappin' against the floor, she adds on, “Keep in mind, you are all responsible for this material whether I teach it or not!”
Still no response.
So we just sit here.
An' sit here.
The class is still silent. Ms. Donald looks like she's given up on the day.
This whole thing is stupid. If they all saw what I saw, then this wouldn't even be an issue. The shadows are still movin'! They're climbin' the walls! They're jumpin' from the ceilin'! I let out a frustrated sigh.
“Fine, it was me!” Alexis speaks up. Her head's held down.
“Really now?” Ms. Donald asks. “I expected more from you.”
“I thought it'd be funny.” Alexis's voice trails down even more. Quieter and quieter. It's obvious that she's lyin'.
Ms. Donald walks up to her desk an' looks down on her. “Well, I'll let you off with a warning this time, but one more outburst like that and I'll –”
It's happenin' again!
This shadow steps out from Ms. Donald herself. Its a figure of her! It morphs into some tall, slender, human-like thing. Steppin' out, stretchin' out, pullin' itself out from the wall an' floor it's attached to, it stands out like a real 3D person.
Honestly, I can't even call it a person. It's figure is so unreal. Its slender body's almost gas like. It's got no real human-like features. No face, no clothes, no expression. It's a—how do I put this—it's like a black ghost.
Then it opens its eyes: blood red, lookin' straight at me.
I can't be the only one who sees this. Ms. Donald doesn't notice the thing walk up next to her. She doesn't notice the thing stretch out its right arm. She doesn't see the arm morph into a long, slender, spike. But she does notice the spike ram through her head.
I leap from my seat an' rush to her side. Ms. Donald collapses on the floor. The class all gasps at once. Alexis an' RJ are there with me by her side.
“Ms. Donald!” Alexis cries out. There's no response.
Some other students are with us. We're all crowdin' over her motionless body.
RJ takes charge. “Everybody back up. Give her some breathin' room.”
“Is she dead?” someone calls out.
Alexis's eyes bulge out as she bites her lower lip. RJ looks at me, somehow hopin' I can give him a word to roll with. I shrug my arms an' look down at Ms. Donald.
“Shouldn't someone get the nurse?” someone else asks.
“Yes!” RJ states. Then the lights start flickerin' again. I look up to the ceiling an' notice the shadows are movin' there. I look out at the rest of the class an' see that the shadows are movin' about everywhere now. As for the one who did this, he looks directly at me then evaporates or some ish.
A short while later, everyone hears some commotion comin' from outside. Me an' RJ walk to the door an' see a squad of folks dressed in dark blue EMT uniforms rushin' down the halls.
“Ms. Donald! Are you okay?” We hear Alexis ask from behind.
It looks like Ms. Donald's awake. She's holdin' her head with her eyes closed. “I-I-I think I'm fine. Don't know what came over me.”
I do.
It's those shadows. Whoever or whatever's behind them isn't playin' around.
I hear the EMT people shout orders at people. They're crowded around the class across the hall. I see the students make a hole. Noah's with them. I think that's his history class. I see the stretcher go in. There's a lot of chatter goin' on. With all the commotion over Ms. Donald goin' on behind me, I can't make out what they're sayin' across the hall.
I make eye contact with Noah as he looks away from the body ridin' the stretcher that comes out. It's Mr. Watson. He ain't movin'. He looks dead. RJ an' Alexis walk up behind me an' get a look at the scene. Alexis tries her best to suppress a squeal.
Noah motions to me with his arm. I nod my head at him. He wants us to meet up after class.
“Come along. Our class isn't over yet. Go back to your seats.” Ms. Donald slowly makes her way back onto her feet. She makes her way over to her desk an' picks up a computer tablet. After pressin' some buttons on it, it beeps. “Now I've just shared with you the latest homework assignment. There are still thirty minutes left in class. I expect you all to use the time to make a dent in these problems. If you have any questions, please ask.”
She then takes a seat an' holds her head again.
We all slowly make our way back to our seats. Our tablets that we've been takin' notes with have a light that blinks on the side. The assignment shows up on it. More trig. I sigh in the face of trig. Then I look up. The shadow painted on the wall in front of me looks back.
/*
So after class, I see Noah in front of his locker. He holds his head, looks up to the ceiling, groans, an' fidgetly moves around. In his own lil' world, not knowin' or carin' about what's goin' on around him. The clang of him slammin' his locker door shut hits my ear. “Damn it!” Then the clang of him kickin' the locker beneath his adds to the assault.
“Noah!” I say as I walk up behind.
His attention snaps back. “What?” He barks.
“Well excuse me.”
He sighs. His eyes shift back an' forth as he strokes his chin. “Don't you get it, Kai?” He steps away as he drags his hand over his face. “They're here!”
“Who is?”
He glares at me. His whole body looks like it's shakin'. He clenches his fist together. I see a faint mist appear around him. The air gets colder. I can feel the moisture touch my skin. My glasses begin to fog. I'm thinkin' the dude's about to try an' start somethin' with me. “I know you saw them!”
I give him a hard look. I tense up. I ain't flinchin'; I ain't blinkin'. The warmth that surrounds my clenched fist is ready to ignite into somethin' at a moment's notice. I don't know what's gotten into Noah, but if decides to flip his ish, he sho' ain't gonna pull nothin' over on me.
He turns—his mouth turned down, his nose scrunched up, his eyebrow raised—an' says, “Demons, Kai. The demons are here.” He says it in a low tone, which catches me by surprise. I relax a bit an' step back, lookin' up at the ceiling as I slump up against this locker.
Then everything finally clicks in place. The shadows, the weirdness, Ms. Donald an' Mr. Watson gettin' hurt. Of course it's the demons. Dang it. I don't know why I didn't get it earlier. It was different when we were fightin' them on the other side of the world, but for them to be right here, in our own house –
“Yeah,” Noah says. “Exactly.”
“How come we're the only ones who can see 'em?” I ask.
“I dunno. Maybe it's because we've been messin' around with 'em already. Maybe somethin' Lynn did. Maybe Hiro's training.”
“So what do we do?”
“We need to get rid of 'em.”
I look off to the side. The people passin' us by haven't a clue. I check their shadows just to see if they're actin' right. The demons are hidin' in plain sight. Any one at any time could come out an' raise Hell.
“Right,” I say.
“So that means tracking them down.” Noah folds his arms. I see him look to the floor, too. I imagine the same thing about the shadows is on his mind, too.
“Okay.”
“Or maybe not.”
“What?”
There's a pause. He looks up at the ceiling, searchin' for somethin'. Inspiration? Just starin' up there. I check the ceilin' myself to make sure there ain't no shadow thing. There ain't. Come on Noah, say somethin'. I slightly move in place. Nothin' big. It's just nerves. I'm still tryna process this whole thing.
“Maybe we need to find the source. Find the Hellgate,” he finally says.
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Have you seen Lynn? She would be helpful with this.”
I shake my head. “No, she's been missin' all day. I think she's sick.”
“Do you have her number? We kinda need her right now. She's the one with magic. She's the one with knowledge. We gotta get to her. That's priority numbah one!”
“But what about the demons? We can't just ignore them.”
“Of course not. Any along the way, we take out. At any cost. We can do this. Remember what we've learned. It's about the spirit. About the ki.”
“More of that Hirohito nonsense?”
“C'mon Kai, this is serious.”
“Fine, fine. I get it. One last thing, though. How do we do this without gettin' suspended?”
“Whaddaya mean?” He's dumbfounded. More dumb than founded in this case.
“I mean,” Can't believe I gotta spell it out for him. “If we're the only ones who can even see the demons, then if we go out shootin' fire an' ice at 'em – ”
“It'll be like we're just usin' our powers for no reason, which is a big no-no in school. Okay, I gotcha. Darn it. Okay. Darn it. Darn it, darn it, darn it!” He moans, coverin' his face with both of his hands. “We'll just have ta bite the bullet!”
“What?”
“Try ta keep it under wraps, but if you see a demon on the verge of killin' someone, rules or no rules, we gotta stop 'em.”
A huge gust of wind rushes by us. The lockers clang. Our clothes flap. The air hits us. Noah an' I have the same thing in mind as we exchange glances. Our eyes look to the floor, to the walls, to any surface we can find to see if the shadows are actin' up again.
Then the wind rushes back, comin' from the other direction. It happens so fast, we hardly got time to blink. An' before we know it, we're lookin' at the guy who got us into this mess in the first place. The most stupidest, idiotic person I've ever met in my life. Noah included.
“There you are!” the guy says. That guy. Surprised he's even in school today. Chris Walker. “Did you know there was demons out here?”
