Chapter 2: A Predator
I couldn't tell where I was. My vision was fuzzy, and not just because I couldn't find my glasses. It was mostly dark… because I was lost in a large shadow.
Towering above me was a massive, silhouetted creature with glowing golden eyes. It glared down upon me as I gazed into its eyes, silently pleading. A loud yet low growl escaped the dark creature's chest and it slowly raised its front leg.
My natural reaction would normally be to run, but I felt intensely weak, as if I just got the living crap beaten out of me. Whether or not that was true I wasn't sure of. I really had no idea what was going on.
It raised its foot over top of me. I couldn't do anything except close my eyes.
When the impact came, I found myself jerking up in terror, blinded by light.
After a few seconds of squinting and panting, I realized I was in bed. It was just a nightmare.
I pulled my glasses off my night stand, put them on and looked at the clock. It was a little after eight, which is pretty late considering I'm a morning person.
Still kind of drowsy from my strange nightmare, I laid down on my back, exhaling in a loud, toneless way. What was that all about… and just what was that thing? My dreams don't usually have meaning, so it could be just a regular old nightmare. I tried to shake it off.
Memories of what happened yesterday were still floating around in my brain. Other than that lunch period with Mutt, I still couldn't make any sense of it. Maybe that was part of the dream too. I sat up and looked over at my desk, spotting the bag of microwave popcorn on top of it.
Well, that definitely wasn't a dream.
Even still, I was in minor disbelief. Can you blame me? I was flying around the swimming hole! And for what? What was going on with me? Was I always destined to be some… some… popcorn fairy?
For now, it was best to keep this a secret between Mutt and me. I didn't dare tell Mom, Dad or even Jared about it. One wrong move and I'd end up as a science experiment.
I hopped up out of bed, threw my robe on, and strolled downstairs. Mom was already up, but I didn't say much to her except "Good morning." I just poured some cereal and milk into a bowl and sat down at my computer.
The rest of my morning went on as usual… which was honestly making me a bit unnerved. After all that excitement yesterday I was questioning if there was more to come. What if there was more to all this than just the popcorn and wings?
And that dream… did it have some kind of relevance to my situation?
I decided to go see Mutt. Maybe he would have some uplifting words. I tried calling him, but I got his voicemail. I hate leaving messages- it makes me feel empty when I just talk to a machine- but I left one anyway. Then I looked at the clock. It was almost eleven. Jared, the complete opposite of a morning person, wasn't up yet. Maybe Mutt was asleep too.
After about fifteen minutes he called me back, his voice still a little groggy. "Hey, what's up?"
"Not much," I replied casually. "I just felt like we should talk about something."
"Like what?"
"Well, could you meet me somewhere? There's a little spot out in the woods where we could talk in private."
"I guess. Just meet me in the cul-de-sac in five minutes."
"Can do. See ya then."
We hung up, and I went upstairs to get myself ready. As usual, my hair was a disaster, but I didn't feel like worrying too much about that. My mind was other places. Once I was dressed and ready, I walked out to the center of the cul-de-sac, looking around anxiously for Mutt.
He walked out of the house right next to Double-D's. That must've been his new home. I would have to remember that.
He ran right up to me. "Hey, Nat. What'cha wanna talk about?"
"Pretty much the same thing as yesterday. Follow me."
He looked a little disappointed as I led him into the woods. I don't know why; maybe he didn't want to go over this again. Either way, I wanted this sorted out, and Mutt was a part of it whether he liked it or not.
We finally walked into a wide-open space surrounded by trees on all sides. This is where the local Urban Rangers camp out, but I like to come here every once in a while.
Mutt observed the scenery with an admiring smile. Then, looking back at me, he said, "Okay, shoot."
I was feeling a little uneasy at that moment, but I managed to start talking. "I'm just… concerned. Neither of us know what's going on right now, there's no way we can figure this out on our own, and if anyone else finds out about this I'll become front-page news."
"In a good way or a bad way?"
I shot him a sideways glance. Like that needed an answer. Then I sighed. "As if puberty wasn't bad enough… how am I supposed to cope with this?"
Mutt averted his gaze and wrapped an arm around me. "I know this weird and all… and I know you must be stressed right now, but we can't assume the worst. We'll figure this out in no time."
Now I was getting kinda sweaty. "Dude, you're seriously burning up. Are you sure you're alright?"
He pulled his arm off of me. "Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry about it."
"How can I? I'm more worried about…"
"I know, I know! Don't freak out about this, Nat! You and I are the only ones who know about this, and I wouldn't dream of spilling the beans on you. All we have to do is some research, piecing together, and further study of your newfound abilities."
I scoffed. "Easier said than done."
"Yeah, I know. Where are we gonna find research material on this?" His tone quickly broke as laughter escaped his throat. I couldn't help but chuckle with him. Mutt makes me feel better.
But there was something else that needed to be addressed. "I uh… I also had a dream last night."
He looked at me with a silent gaze.
"I'm not sure if it has any relevance or if it was just a nightmare, but there was this… giant creature with golden eyes trying to kill me."
He shrugged. "Sounds like the basis for the average nightmare."
"You don't understand, Mutt. This felt real. I was in pain and… and whatever that thing was… I feel like I've seen it before… some way."
Mutt was silent. All was eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
Something wasn't right.
Meanwhile, Jimmy was sitting on a swing in the playground, humming a tuneless ditty. "I wonder when Sarah's gonna get here."
Jimmy is a strange boy. Mildly accident-prone and terrified of average boy antics, he hangs out with Ed's little sister, Sarah. Right now he was waiting for her to show up.
It was very quiet, not a sound other than his humming. He jumped slightly when he heard a low growl behind him. When he turned around, nothing was there. "Sarah…?"
He heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes on the other side of the fence. Every time a twig snapped, Jimmy cringed with fear. He lightly hopped off the swing and looked around. "Hello?"
There was another growl.
"Th-This isn't funny," Jimmy whimpered. "Whoever you are, you're in big trouble."
He nearly jumped out of his shoes when something clattered against the fence with a loud roar. He backed away, his eyes darting around, looking for whoever or whatever was doing this.
Then the fence was torn down completely. Jimmy stared in horror as the metal bars and netting fell to the ground with loud clangs. After the noise stopped, silence fell.
That's when he saw it.
From out of the bushes came a large creature with hazel-colored fur, red fans on its ears and tail, a long, red spike on each of its front legs, and glowing golden eyes. It growled at Jimmy, revealing razor-sharp teeth, and slowly approached him in a stalking position.
As anyone could guess, Jimmy ran screaming. But the beast was quickly on top of him. Finding himself pinned to the ground against his stomach, the boy grabbed onto the fallen fence as the creature tugged on his legs. He screamed, kicked and hollered, much to no avail.
He turned his head, his wide gaze locked on the beast's golden eyes.
"Sarah! Someone! Help me!"
I was sitting on a rock, deep in thought. By now I wasn't really in any shock, but I was still a little confused. The main question whirling around my head wasn't why this was happening, but why this was happening to me. People at school already viewed me as a freak, and now I had a reason to believe them.
I sighed and looked at Mutt, who was lying on the ground. "Mutt?"
He sat up. "Hmm?"
"About what you said yesterday, that this may be happening for a special reason, you really think this is some kind of asset?"
"Of course. You have to admit flying and stuff is pretty cool."
"Well maybe… i-if you say so."
He laid back down and I turned away slightly. Yes, flying is cool, but not when it could label you as…
My thoughts were interrupted when a sudden spark of distress came over me. I felt my vision heat up as random images flashed through my mind. I saw what looked like Jimmy in a panic and a pair of golden eyes… like in my dream. "Mutt…?"
"Yeah?"
"I think something's wrong."
"What do you mean?" His voice was lined with concern.
"I-I'm seeing images of Jimmy down at the playground… and something's attacking him."
"Wait…" He looked deep into my eyes. "Your eyes are bright blue again."
"What?" The flashing images were irritating me, so I closed my eyes and shook my head. When I opened them, they were gone.
"Okay, now they're normal."
"Are you saying my eyes were the same shade as they were yesterday?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying!"
I tried to piece this together. The flashing images, my eyes lighting up… "Maybe my powers also include precognition."
"I don't know what that means."
"It means maybe I'm seeing future events!"
"If that's true, then someone's in trouble!" He grabbed my wrist, hoisted me up, and took off in a sprint.
"Mutt, wait!" He didn't stop. "Even if Jimmy was in trouble, what makes you think I can help him?"
"You're kidding, right? You have powers, Nat! You said so yourself! If you don't save this Jimmy kid, then who will?"
"His friend Sarah, maybe!"
"Sarah doesn't have powers! Now go get some popcorn and meet me at the playground!" He pushed me forward once we were at my house and took off towards the playground.
Frustrated, I brushed myself off and quickly walked inside. I had no idea how or why Mutt expected me to save Jimmy, or if he was in any trouble at all. Either way, there really was no arguing with Mutt, so I grabbed a popcorn kernel, stuck it in my pocket, and made my way to the lane near the playground.
Sure enough, I found Mutt staring wide-eyed as a large creature tried to maul little Jimmy. "Holy crap!" I shouted and skidded to a halt. "You actually expect me to fight that thing?"
"You're probably the only one who can! That little shrimp doesn't stand a chance!"
"B-But Mutt… I'm a pacifist! I don't have any fight in me!"
He turned and looked at me with fierce determination in his green eyes. "Having courage is no different, and I know you've got plenty of that."
Once again, I was no match for Mutt's willpower. I sighed loudly. "I'll try."
"Good enough for me."
I feigned a smile. At least he wasn't quoting Yoda.
With nothing to lose, I popped the kernel, ate it and threw my jacket off, letting the energy flow through me as my sky blue wings unfolded. As disturbed as I was by this whole experience, I had to admit that the sheer power was invigorating.
My goal was clear: take down whatever the thing attacking Jimmy was without him realizing it was me. I knew that meant I'd have to stay in constant motion, but it was better than being discovered and/or humiliated.
So I hesitantly lifted myself off the ground, took a deep breath, and shot myself forward at an unimaginable speed. As I flew past the creature, I slammed my fist into the side of its head, sending it down on its back.
I was a bit surprised to see such an effective hit… coming from me. Either I was flying faster than I thought, I didn't know my own strength, or all of the above. Whatever the case, it was working, so I turned and readied myself to hit it again.
My energy built up in my clenched fist. I could feel it heating up, ready to burst out. I swung another punch, but before I could even touch the beast, a sudden blast of fiery blue energy shot out of my hand, launching it across the playground and into the swing set with a yelp. Pieces of popcorn scattered everywhere.
Shocked, I flew up high enough so that Jimmy couldn't make out any of my distinct features- I could tell he was awe-struck- and stared at my hands. "This is new." I focused energy into my hands again, causing them to light up with blue fire. Muffled in with the crackling and warping was the sound of popcorn popping. When I released it, several popcorn pieces fell to the ground.
Jimmy and I watched as they fell, then we quickly looked back at the creature as it stood up, shook itself off, and let out a loud roar that sounded like a mix between a wolf howl, a dinosaur screech, and a high-pitched ring. Jimmy covered his ears and squealed with terror.
As I stared into the glowing eyes of my enemy, I felt a rush of terror, denial, confusion, but most of all… intoxication. Never before have I felt this kind of power, and for the second time, I accepted it, welcomed it. Mutt was right. I had a special gift, and I knew what I had to use it for.
"Let's see if I can do that again."
Faster than a speeding bullet (cliché, I know), I shot down towards the beast and fired another blast of popcorn energy. Then I delivered hit after hit with the flames wrapping my fists. It took each one pretty hard, and with each blow, black and gold sparks seemed to shatter off of its fur.
Filled with rage, it jumped on me and pinned me down. I was instantly alert, worried Jimmy might see me, so I quickly kicked it off and over my head. Either it was lighter than I thought… or I really did have enhanced strength. At this point, nothing surprised me.
While it was down, I shot another large blast, to which it yelped, then roared at me. I lifted myself off the ground again and flew upwards, taking a moment to calm down. My endorphins were giving me a headache.
I just now noticed that Jimmy had taken shelter beneath the slide. Based on the angle of depression between me and the slide, he couldn't see me.
…Which meant I really did have nothing to lose.
The power heated up, flowing within and around me. The flames surrounded my hands, and popcorn rapidly popped in the heat.
I couldn't help but shout out the popular internet phrase, "IMMA FIRIN MA LAZER!" when, with all the strength I could muster up, I fired a giant blue wave down upon the creature. Through my narrowed eyes, I could see it trying to fight back, trying to hang onto its will to live.
With an agonized cry, the creature exploded in a burst of black and gold sparks, blue fire, and popcorn. As the flames died down, the sparkling dust was somehow absorbed into the ground.
I panted, reflecting the crisis I just endured. I really just single-handedly took down some strange life-form with powers I didn't even know I had two days ago! How was this possible?
Jimmy timidly peeked out from beneath the slide, breathing in loud gasps. As he turned his head up to look at me, I quickly took off towards the cul-de-sac.
"Wait! Wait!" he called from behind me. I tried to push his squeaky voice out of my thoughts.
As the boy watched his hero fly away, he took a quick look around the playground. The fallen fence, the broken swing set, the charred grass, the scattered popcorn, and his own wounds; all evidence of the traumatizing experience he witnessed.
He picked a piece of popcorn up, studying it with curiosity. "Who was that?"
I didn't stop until I was in my backyard, where Mutt was already waiting for me. I flew strait into his arms with pants and chuckles. "Did you see that?"
He hugged me tight. "You were amazing!"
"That was so insane!"
"I know!" He looked at me with wide, excited eyes. "How'd you do that?"
"W-Well…" I held my hands up. "I just focus my energy and fury into one, channel it into my hands and…" The flames reappeared.
"Wow. Doesn't that hurt?"
"Nope. It's actually an incredible feeling. And that's not all." The fire dissolved, and popcorn fell into my cupped hands.
"Sweetcakes!" Mutt picked up one of the pieces and went to eat it.
"No, no, wait…!" I had no idea what was in this popcorn, but I was sure it must've been lethal if it was enough to kill that beast.
I was too late. Mutt stuck it in his mouth while I stared at him, terror frozen on my face. He swallowed it blankly.
Nothing happened.
Now I was really confused. "It's just… ordinary popcorn?"
He shrugged. "I guess."
"I-I don't get it!" I dropped my handful, to which Mutt quickly cupped his hands beneath me and caught half of it. "How could I have destroyed that thing with just plain old popcorn?"
"Plus the blue fire," Mutt threw in as he ate another piece.
"Maybe…" I squeaked with frustration. "None of this makes any sense! What was that thing… and how was I able to beat it?"
He stuck the rest of the popcorn in his mouth and spoke, muffled. "I'unno, ut datz hut were onna hiyure ou." He swallowed. "If you beat it, maybe that thing was what you were given your powers for."
I shrugged and looked at the ground, letting my wings vanish.
He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know this will all make sense in no time."
I smiled at him. "I think you're right."
"I know I'm right. The important thing is to stay calm and focused. I've got your back on this."
Unable to hold it in anymore, I wrapped my arms around his warm body. "Thanks, Mutt. Thanks for helping me through this."
"No problem-o."
Here, at this moment, as I embraced this boy I just met yesterday, I somehow felt stronger than I ever have before, even more than I felt during the fight. Mutt gave me strength, and I knew I could trust him to help me through this dramatic change.
Something else came to mind. "Hey, should I be concerned that Jimmy may or may not have found out that was me back there?"
"Now's not the time to worry," he responded sincerely.
As usual, Mutt was right. With that, I led him inside, both of us ready to look into this phenomenon. Whatever was going on, we knew it would soon become clear.
