Yipee! Part 2's finally uploaded! Please take note that there is no religious dicrimination to be found here, or homosexuality, or Julie-bashing, for that matter. Poor Julie. Why doesn't everyone leave her alone?
And in some time or another, I'm gonna draw Jennifer and her wolf form and post it on deviantArt. There's already a banner which I used as a sig. on another website, featuring the team and Jennifer's head. Looks more like a theatre ticket, though.
Have fun reading the story! And many thanks to Starwing Bravo, my faithful reader and online Christian Fanfiction buddy, who gave the suggestion for the title of Part 2.
Chapter I – Hopes Returned
"What did you do?!"
"I told you, boy, there's no point asking me again and aga-
"What did that machine do?!" Kevin yelled, holding the man by his shirt. The ferocity of his anger was enough for his arm to lift the man up.
"I don't know what you're-
"Don't lie to me!" He grabbed the man with both hands and slammed him against the Camaro's side.
"Kevin, stop!"
"But if he's got answers-
"If he does, he won't be able to tell us if he's pinned against the car." Gwen looked at him intensely, and he was forced to look away. Reluctantly, he put the Merger down, but kept the fabric of his shirt clenched tightly.
Gwen turned towards the man. "Now, if you don't mind, we'd like some answers. What does that machine do?"
The man frowned. He looked like someone who had seen too much in too short a time, which was exactly what had happened. His brown hair was a mess, but his jacket, like the rest, was clean and well-cut, giving the appearance of a serious guy on a mission. (Just imagine Nick Fury, lol)The three of them had managed to corner him as he was trying futilely to run from the scene. He had almost made it out of the woods when Kevin had caught up with him and grabbed his jacket.
"This machine utilizes energy from the given source, normally a living creature, and takes it," he began hesitantly. "But if the energy present is not from that creature, but elsewhere, it takes that energy instead, which was probably what the Merger intended."
Ben looked perplexed. "But why did he need that energy? Why was it in the pendant? And what about Albedo? How did he get here?"
"I do not know of this Albedo, just that he is ally to the Merger!" the man snapped, irritated by the barrage of questions. "The Merger never explained his purpose to us mere servants; it was extremely confidential!"
"That's enough, Ben," Gwen interrupted, before the man lost his patience. "Kevin, what do you think?"
The half-Osmosian shrugged. "If he's telling the truth, it's not enough." He released the man, who looked quite relieved at this. "Go. And don't let me see your face again." The man looked at him suspiciously, as though thinking it a trick, then turned and left.
Kevin sat down angrily on the car hood, arms crossed. "This doesn't make any sense."
"Still, we can find out more if we look around," Gwen suggested. "Maybe I can find something on my laptop."
Ben looked down thoughtfully. "Why would the Merger take Jennifer's necklace, though? I mean, sure it looks valuable, but I doubt that's the reason."
Kevin thought hard, picturing the pendant in his head. It looked very familiar…
Kevin got up. "Hold on," he said. "I think I might've seen something like it somewhere. Give me a sec."
Going to the back of his car, Kevin began to rummage through the items. He had collected a lot of alien tech during their adventures, some useful, some completely worthless. But he didn't pay any attention to those. He searched, and finally found what he was looking for.
"A small box? That's what you were looking for?" Ben asked.
"It's not just a box," Kevin growled, annoyed. "I kept whatever I found that was valuable or special. I think I've got it here…" he looked through the items; a cylindrical metal tube with the top rimmed with red, a shard of Taydenite (he didn't want to remember that experience though), an empty gold locket. He finally came across it; a thin shard of glass, reflecting blue and purple light.
"Jen's pendant looked like this. I found it a long time ago, I don't remember where. If we can some information outta this thing, it'll help."
"Give me that." Gwen said. Kevin looked at her curiously, but did as she asked. Gwen placed it on her palm and concentrated. Her eyes glowed pink as she searched the shard for any manna. She found Kevin's, no doubt about that, but also others.
"That's odd." Gwen remarked. "There are traces of other manna here. But it's too faint for me to pinpoint anything specific. I know it's not human, but that's about it."
Ben sighed. "Not much there. You think if we asked Azmuth about it he'd know? It's a little far-fetched, but anything's possible."
"We could try."
Kevin's eyebrows suddenly rose, and he looked at them both. "What if…..what if I asked Jen? She might know something –
"Kevin, Jen's gone. She's ran into the forest somewhere. And even if I flew, finding her here would be almost impossible."
"Not if I can track her." Gwen walked forward, looking around. "Her manna should be everywhere here, given all that commotion." Her eyes glowed again, then faded after a while. She gave a small smile. "Bingo," she said. "North-east from here, near a river."
"But who'll go?" Ben thought out loud. "Someone has to persuade her to come back, and if possible, give answers."
Gwen looked at Kevin, and he nodded. "I'll go," he decided. He got up from the car hood.
"You? Why you? It'll be much easier for me to find her," Ben said, showing them the Omnitrix.
But Kevin shook his head. "No, not you. I'm the only one who knows how she really feels. She's alone. And scared." He looked down. "And......because she's my sister."
Ben looked at him in surprise, but Gwen just nodded. "Are you sure?" Ben asked in surprise; his voice had failed to mask his shock.
Kevin shrugged. "Maybe," he said. "That's another reason I want to go. She may not know, but it's worth finding out, isn't it?" he turned his head back to face them.
Gwen put a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful," she said worriedly. "Don't worry about me," Kevin cajoled. "I'm tougher than I look." Ben raised an eyebrow. "Nah, you're not," he chuckled. "But take care. And good luck!" Ben added with a grin.
Kevin smiled, then turned and began walking north-east. He stopped at the trees. "Thanks guys. For your support. See if Azmuth has anything to say about that shard. It might be important. I'll be back soon." With that, he turned and ran into the trees and beyond.
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Jennifer sat on a tall rock above a wide river, her head between her legs. She hadn't cried, but she almost wanted to.
For the first time she remembered in her life, she didn't feel like a wolf. She felt blind in the darkness in which she could normally see, and deaf the in absence of sounds and smells she could sense. It made her feel empty inside. She felt alone, and afraid.
She shifted her position slightly, and a dull thud emerged from her bag beside her. She frowned, and opened it, to see what had fallen. As she was running deeper into the forest, away from that place, she had dashed to the secret grove, where she kept most of her possessions, and grabbed the bag from a hollow, well-hidden tree trunk.
Now she searched through the contents; tinder pouch, strike-fire, a few pieces of green willow bark, and a slate knife she had made in case of an emergency. There was a fur cloak, too; she had found a dead bear one day, probably killed or died from starvation, and it felt like a waste to leave the fur after she had demolished nearly everything else.
Pushing that aside, she finally found what had made the thudding sound; her Bible. She picked up the thick black tome and studied the weathered cover, holding the book in a gentle, reverent sort of way. She lifted the cover. The old pages were yellow and well thumbed, a result of her voraciously repeated reading. She had loved to read it on lonely nights; the verses had brought her comfort and a sense of peace.
She flitted through the pages until she came across her favourite book - Proverbs. Finding the right chapter, she began to read. The words of the powerful and wise ruler, King Solomon, slowly eased her mind, and after taking a deep breath, she felt much better.
As she was turning the pages again, something caught her eye. Psalm 37. She raised an eyebrow, then started to read the passage. "Do not fret because of evil men..."
Out of nowhere, the verse came upon her, awakening her senses like a slap to the felt as though King David had written this psalm, knowing that she would one day come across it in a time of need. "Trust in the Lord and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him." (Psalm 37:3-5, 7a)
She closed her eyes, exhaling deeply as she realized the cause of her distress. God had known she would need it. God had been watching over her. In her sorrow she had pushed Him away, ignoring Him, not listening. Her trust in Him was what kept her going, and the source of her motivation to do what was right. Without Him, she couldn't do anything.
She looked downwards, watching the river pace by slowly, belying its strong current. The river never ceased in its course, always moving. It was eternal, as was God.
As she turned her head to observe the forest, she realized that her knowledge as a wolf had never completely abandoned her. She smelt a faint, sweetish smell, which she knew was the pine trees ahead of her. Her ears picked up the twittering call of a bird flying directly overhead, which told her it was a redstart. And the sharp scent in the air told her there would be a storm soon.
She may not be able to smell, hear, or see in the dark as well as she used to, but her knowledge of the forest remained as clear as it did before. It would not let her down. He wouldn't.
A drop of water fell on her head, and she looked up to see raindrops starting to emerge. Swiftly, she jumped down the rock onto the ground, searching around for any signs of caves. She squinted through the steadily growing cascade of water, towards the north, and saw a couple of promising black dots. She shouldered her bag and ran towards it.
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Kevin ran through the tall trees, shielding his head as raindrops fell heavily on him. The rain had to start at a time like this.
Grumbling, he saw what looked like caves towards the north, it was hard to see through the dense rain pouring crazily down.
Never mind about that. He continued to run, passing by a raging river, with a couple of tall rocks a little ways from the bank. The pine trees gave hardly any shelter from the torrent.
By the time he reached the rocky hillside, he was shivering. Single-layered clothes didn't do much to keep out the cold. At least they had long sleeves. He ran towards the nearest cave and ducked inside.
The cave was dark, but surprisingly less cold than out. He hoped there wasn't any sort of big animal around here. He'd just have to fling it out of the cave with his arms if it attacked.
As he went deeper, he noticed that there was a faint orange glow on the walls that grew brighter with every step. He stuck his right arm out to absorb the rock wall, just in case. He also realized it was getting warmer, not just because of the rock layer on his whole body.
He finally rounded a bend and came across with…a fire. Kevin was almost surprised by what it was, and that there wasn't any creature or alien standing there.
To his right was a medium-sized pack, with the contents slightly scattered around. A few pieces of bark, and a rough, round rock with so many scratches on the top that there was a fairly big groove there. A thick black book lay neatly on a rock, the pages open and glinting in the firelight.
Suddenly, he caught a flicker of movement at his left side. He spun around, arms raised defensively. A shadow darted quickly to the side, behind a rock. Of course. The fire wasn't just here for any reason. Someone would have had to make it.
"Hey!" Kevin called out, trying to goad it to come out, or even attack. There was no response.
"Come out! I know you're there!" Kevin yelled, causing the figure to shrink back slightly in fear. A pair of eyes glinted. It was hard to see its features because of the shadow the fire was creating, but he made out dark hair, and what looked like clothes.
The figure paused for a moment, then slowly edged out from behind the rock pillar, its head lowered warily. Kevin thought that gesture was familiar.
Like a wolf…
He stepped back a little as the figure slowly emerged. It finally stopped and rose to its full height, about 5'3'. The fire flickered, and the light shifted, revealing a dark-haired, teenage girl looking up at him, squinting at him.
"…Kevin?"
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Thankfully, the chapters are starting to look a lot longer now. Next chapter to be up some time soon (I think.)
Now here's something funny my dad came up with a few days ago. Y'know what a pachyderm is? It's actually an elephant, but he said it was a dermatologist from the Indian sub-continent. And I couldn't stop laughing. No racism inteneded in the joke.