Messiah – Chapter 1
With a jolt, Cody was sprung out of slumber land back into the land of the living, his arms flailing wildly as his body made an involuntary turn to the left, flipping him off the mattress and sending him crashing painfully onto the floor.
"Oww…" Cody groaned as he slowly picked himself up. Trying to shake his head clear, he stood firmly on his two feet and looked around him. Zack was still snoring loudly from the other side of the room, completely undisturbed by any noise Cody had made. Then again, there wasn't much that could wake Zack up from sleep.
What the hell was that dream? It had undeniably been one of the strangest that Cody's brain had concocted. Perhaps the most unexpected thing was that he still remembered it, as Cody didn't usually recall dreams after he had woken up. Already, however, it was starting to fade.
The cleanliness bug within Cody's system sudden took hold as he realized that his skin's surface, for some reason, was sticky with dried sweat. Trying to push down a repulsed shudder, Cody decided that his ideal place-to-be was the shower. The wooly carpet tickled his toes. Silently, he tiptoed out of the room and shut the door. He then realized something was amiss.
The air felt different. Lighter, somewhat.
Cody frowned to himself.
After stealing a glance at his sleep-talking mother on the pull-out couch (obviously having a good time with George Clooney), Cody crept to the bathroom and shut the door, locking it behind him. The floor was abnormally cold, the tiles nearly freezing to the touch. Cody started the warm water running in the bathtub. He then slipped off his clothes, smelly from being drenched by bucket loads of sweat. Before stepping into the tub, however, he turned to face the mirror.
He blinked.
He blinked again, thinking it was a trick of the light.
Stepping closer to the mirror, he brushed a hand across his head, flipping his fringe upwards. As he let the hair fall back in place, his original observation refused to change, his fringe now laughing at the bewildered expression on his face.
What the…
"Mom is going to kill you."
Cody groaned as he pulled at his fringe for the umpteenth time that morning. Resigned to the fact that it wasn't going to turn golden blond anytime soon, he settled with letting his arms fall to his sides and just staring at the bathroom mirror, trying his best to ignore the pesky doppelganger that pranced around beside him.
"You just know she's going to kill you. Dyeing your hair, Cody? Really?"
Cody turned to his brother who was standing behind him bemusedly with a cheeky grin on his face and growled, biting at his words as he struggled to enunciate the syllables that threatened to spill forth in a torrent of swear words that he refused to let himself utter.
"I told you, Zack…I did NOT dye my hair."
"Erm, hello?" Zack stepped closer to his brother and lifted a few of the strands of silver on his head to highlight his point. "Then how the hell do you explain this?"
Cody sighed. He had no idea.
"And what's with the color you picked? You could have picked chestnut, auburn, or any other color, but white? What the hell were you thinking? You're not grandma!"
Cody fought back the urge to thrust a fist into his brother's face.
"For the last time, Zack, I did NOT…"
"…dye your hair. Whatever. Good luck explaining how it got that way, then."
Zack then maddeningly ruffled Cody's hair and skipped towards the bathroom door.
"I'm going to meet Bob for breakfast. See ya."
Cody shook his head in exasperation as he watched his carefree twin bound out of the bathroom. A few seconds later, the sound of the front door opening and closing confirmed that he had just left the suite. Cody stepped forward to the mirror and placed both hands firmly on the sink, looking fixedly at himself yet again.
Finally he was alone, and could gather his thoughts.
Frustrated, he closed his eyes and tried to recall the contents of the dream from the previous night, which now didn't seem more than a foggy mist in his memory. A figure, clothed in white, stood alone in his mind and taunted him as he tried to squeeze out every ounce of the previous night's reverie, but to no avail. He could tell the dream was significant, but he had already forgotten.
The mind throws away the contents of a dream if it regards it to be useless information.
Resigned to the fact that there was no bringing back the late night chimera, he decided to refocus his attention to the more pressing matter at hand. Frowning at the undeniable dirty silver, he strained his mind for a reasonable explanation for his sudden change in hair color. In his mind he could only recall one.
It's possible for hair to turn white overnight due to fright or excessive stress, Cody recited in his head as he pulled out a long forgotten line from his memory bank. Whether the line was extracted from a book or the Internet, he could not remember. It didn't matter to him at this point. All he knew was that it was the only way he could explain to his mother, and to himself, why the phenomenon had occurred. He knitted his eyebrows together as he tried to recall an incident from the previous night that had caused him unrest. None came to mind, and he glared daggers at his reflection in the mirror.
The excuse, as weak as it was, would have to do.
Perhaps I'll actually get some dye later and recolor it.
Feeling slightly drained from the morning's surprise, Cody walked out of the bathroom and let out a large yawn, not entirely prepared to face the day.
"It actually looks pretty good, Cody."
Cody scoffed a little as he bit down on his ice cream cone, a melted chocolate amalgam of sugar and cream swirling slightly within its core as he continued munching on the walls of the ice cream's container. Max, a girl his age, walked beside him and chewed on her own vanilla ice cream cone.
"It looks disgusting. I'm just glad my mom accepted my explanation."
"What is the real reason for it anyway? Are you sure you didn't…sleep-dye it?"
Cody recalled the heated banter between his brother and himself earlier in the morning and winced.
"I'm pretty sure I didn't. I would have to have the dye to dye it with in the first place, and I didn't have any. I checked the entire suite this morning and didn't find any boxes of dye."
"So, do you think it's really..."
"Stress? It's the only thing I can chalk it up to, though it makes no sense."
"It's frightening though. If that could really happen to someone overnight…"
The conversation trailed off as the two pre-teens finished off their ice cream cones. Cody then recalled an incident in the recent past, he felt a twinge of guilt leap through him.
"Are you doing okay?"
Max turned her head and stared at him, confused.
"What?"
"The whole Zack dating thing." He winced as he saw her visibly tense up at his words. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, it's just that I still feel somewhat guilty for being part of the plan, and I haven't really had a chance to apologize yet…"
"Don't worry about it," Max cut Cody off. "It's been a few months, plus I've already forgiven Zack, so there's no hard feelings."
Cody sighed in relief.
"I'm glad. And here I was thinking things would be awkward between you guys…"
"Seriously Cody, things are fine between me and Zack."
"I know, I know, I'm just saying that…"
"Cody, it's fine."
"Yeah, I know. But seriously…"
Max growled as Cody, a novice at reading body language and expressions, failed to get the hint.
"Cody. Sense the tone."
Cody withered at Max's sudden show of aggressiveness. The tomboy had always frightened him somewhat, and he had clearly touched a nerve. He took an involuntary step back, watching as Max's angry features morphed back into nonchalance.
"It's really no big deal. Let's just…change the topic, okay?"
"Right."
The two friends continued chatting as they walked down the streets of Boston, most of the conversation encircling around Cody's new head of silvery white. In no time at all the pair found themselves in front of the nearby supermarket.
"I need to go pick up some hair dye. The least I could do is to cover up this ugly elderly hair."
"I'm telling you, Cody, it looks perfectly fine. I think it's…cute."
Cody felt a tiny rush of blood flooding into his cheeks, and quickly turned his head away so that Max wouldn't see it, trying to suppress the involuntary fluttering in his stomach.
Wow, the hair thing must have really shaken me up.
"I think I would prefer my old hair color, still. Do you want to help me pick out a proper color?"
"Aw, sorry Cody." Max sighed as she glanced down at her wristwatch. "But I promised my mom I would be home for lunch, and it's almost twelve."
"That's okay." Cody tried to ignore the sudden sinking feeling in his gut. "Catch you later, then?"
"Sure! See you!"
The two friends waved goodbye as Cody stepped into the supermarket, the rush of air from the air conditioning hitting him and cooling his slightly sweaty body. As he navigated his way along the aisles, he succumbed to the nagging thought at the back of his mind and wondered about the incident with Max just a few minutes ago.
What was that?
Cody had no idea, but was tempted to attribute it as one of the weird things that was happening to him today. The nagging feeling refused to recede, remaining at the back of his mind, much like the pesky figure, taunting him.
Finally, he arrived the hair products section. Glancing around nervously to ensure that none of his friends would see him in such a "womanly" aisle, Cody quickly scanned the shelves and read the labels on the innumerous boxes of hair dye.
"Chestnut, Auburn, Fire Red," Cody pushed down a shudder as he recalled a certain mistake he has made in the recent past involving hair dye. "Brunette, Ginger…aha! Blond!"
Snatching the desired product off the shelf, Cody practically ran to the counter and checked out the item. Stepping out of the supermarket, he realized that he was only a few blocks away from the Tipton. Eager to get his original hair color back, he walked briskly on the way back where he came from. A few passer-bys flashed him curious looks as he walked past them, which he tried his best to ignore.
He couldn't really blame them. It's not every day you see a kid with white hair.
As he walked along the familiar streets, he glanced down at the box and studied the instructions written on it, quietly mouthing out the words to himself as he walked.
"Allow your hair to dry naturally instead of blow-drying it…"
A sudden eruption of sound, one that shook the very ground he stood on, broke him out of his trance. Instinctively swinging his head to the left, his eyes met the startling sight of red-orange flame emerging from the windows of a nearby apartment block, licking the air threateningly as it quickly exhausted the nearby air's oxygen content. The side of the building was scorched black by the flames, and the rumbling in Cody's ears was slowly replaced by blood-curdling screams emerging from within the building. Already a black cloud was emerging the mother fire, enveloping the nearby buildings and sending Cody's senses into overdrive as he finally took a whiff of the black smoke.
He dropped the box on the ground.
Oh hell…
The front desk of the Boston Tipton was overwhelmed by the swarm of guests who had emerged from their rooms at the sound of the explosion from two blocks away. Mr Moseby, the hotel manager, was trying his best to field all the questions from the concerned guests.
"I assure you, Ladies and Gentlemen, that the Fire Department has been called and they will be arriving at the scene in a few moments to put out the fire."
A worried lady, dressed in a bathrobe, voiced her concerns.
"Are we safe here? I heard the fire isn't far away. Would it spread to the hotel?"
Upon hearing her words, loud chattering broke out amongst the guests seated in the lobby.
"I assure you all that the Boston Fire Department is extremely efficient." Mr Moseby stepped into the middle of the newly formed crowd and raised his hands for attention. "You are all perfectly safe here. Rest assured that there is nothing to worry about."
Seemingly satisfied but still apprehensive, the gaggle of guests started to make their way back up to their rooms. Mr Moseby straightened his tie as he silently patted himself on the back for managing the potential crisis situation well. It was clear that his years of experience in the hospitality industry have not gone to waste. Right before he managed to step back behind the Front Desk, he heard a loud call from behind him.
"Mr Moseby!"
Turning around, he was surprised to see the hotel's lounge singer, who was looking especially worried.
"Carey? It's noon, why are you here so early?"
"Mr Moseby, have you seen Zack and Cody?"
"Thank Heavens no." Mr Moseby gave a scoff as he recalled the shenanigans that the twins have gotten into over the past year at his hotel. "I haven't seen the Twins Terrors at all this morning, though if I were to venture a guess I would say they are busy getting into trouble somewhere, hopefully far, far, far away from my hotel." He ended the sentence with a wide smile, which was almost immediately wiped clear from the expression that Carey was giving him.
"It isn't funny, Mr Moseby. They both went out a couple of hours ago, I haven't heard from them, and I heard from a couple walking along our floor that there was a fire close to the hotel."
Mr Moseby winced as he realized that Carey was worried for her sons, and cursed himself for being insensitive. Speaking calmly, he responded to Carey's urgent question.
"A fire broke out about two blocks away about ten minutes ago-"
"Oh my God!"
"-but it shouldn't be anything to worry about! The last I've heard if that the fire department is already on the case and are right in the midst of fighting the fire. Besides," he rested a hand on Carey's shoulder for comfort. "As much as I'd hate to admit it, Zack and Cody are intelligent kids. I really doubt they'd be in any danger, or anywhere close to the fire."
"I suppose you're right…" Sitting down on one of the lobby's couches, Carey calmed her anxious breathing. "I just wish there was someway I could be sure that…"
She then nearly leapt from her seat as a ringing sound emerged from her pocket. Drawing out the mobile phone, she then smacked herself on her forehead.
"Of course! I was so worried about them that I forgot I got them new cell phones a week ago!"
"There you go, Carey." Mr Moseby smiled. "There's nothing to worry about. Just give both of them a call and you'll see that they're perfectly fine."
"It's Zack." Carey breathed a sigh of relief as she read the caller I.D. on the cell phone display. Hastily pushing the receive call button, she slammed the phone to her ear.
"Hello? Sweetie, is that you?"
"Hi Mom. Just wanted to call and ask, cause Bob's mom is making spaghetti. Could I stay at Bob's for lunch?"
Carey smiled at the conformation that one of her sons was safe. Though she had plans to cook their lunch, for once she was not offended at the disregard her sons had for her cooking.
"Sure, honey. Actually, do you think you could stay over at Bob's place for the afternoon? There's been a fire a few blocks away, there are police and firefighters all over the place and I don't want you caught in the middle of it."
Carey heard her son gasp from the other end of the line.
"A fire? Is everyone okay? How's Cody?"
Despite the fear still pounding in her chest, Carey was pleased to some extent that Zack was worried about Cody. Despite Zack's constant teasing and picking on his little brother, the twins have been practically inseparable since birth, and Zack could reveal a surprisingly high regard for his little brother's welfare when danger was imminent.
"I haven't contacted him yet, Zack. Don't worry, I'll send you a message once I'm sure he's safe."
"Okay mum."
Carey hung up the phone and started tapping her other son's number on the phone, mouthing to Mr Moseby that Zack was safe. Pushing the phone to her ear, she listened to the beeping emitted from the receiver and prayed that Cody would pick up.
Utter chaos.
The fire department, having underestimated the severity of the gas explosion, had not brought in sufficient manpower to handle the situation. As the flame rose endlessly and inched closer towards a sky now masked with a layer of black smoke, the firefighters radioed in to headquarters for backup and tried their best efforts to prevent the fire from spreading.
A barrier had been placed up around the building to prevent civilians from getting to close to the danger zone, the barrier ordered to be placed up by the fire chief in fear that further explosions could follow after the initial blast from additional gas leaks. Behind the barriers were hoards of concerned passer-bys and hysterical family members, some who screamed the names of their loved ones and some who stared in horror at the calamity that was unfolding before their eyes.
Meters away from the blast zone, a ringing sound faintly rose from the ground, unnoticed by all who passed by the area. The mobile device buzzed endlessly, waiting for its master to give it due attention, but failed in its task, cutting off its rings and vibrations after a minute of desperation. Seconds later it reattempted its appeal for attention and failed yet again.
Backup had come.
The ground shook with vibrations yet again as two fire engines rolled their way into the blast zone. Desperate to assist with rescue efforts, the driver drove at top speed, not spotting the insignificant device on the ground and inadvertently rolling over it with the vehicle's wheels, the device shattering into a million pieces as it was crushed between the vehicle driven by the city's saviors and the cold hard ground.
"He's not picking up!"
Carey's maternal instincts were now on overdrive as she tried repeatedly to contact her younger son, but to no avail. Mr Moseby was now at her side attempting to calm her, with Maddie on the other side rubbing the singer's shoulders to comfort her. She spoke up.
"Carey, I'm sure Cody is fine."
"How could you know that?"
"Carey, I've known Cody for quite a while, and he's a smart kid! His phone is probably in silent mode and he can't hear it, or perhaps it's out of battery. You need to calm down."
"That's right, Carey," the hotel manager chimed in. "I bet Cody is perfectly safe right now. He's probably in the library, or playing with his friends. He's perfectly safe."
Mr Moseby didn't know how wrong he was.
Cody didn't know what had possessed him to leap into possibly the most precarious situation he would ever experience in his life, but something in his subconscious took over during a moment of hesitation and drove him into the scorched building without any form of safety equipment. All he recalled was the beckoning of a figure and the cries of the people trapped within the building, calling to him like a siren's cry in an absurd moment of surrealism. He had ignored the yells of the firefighters who had spotted him and dashed through the front door of the building.
Partially blinded by the bellowing smoke that threatened to suffocate him, his body screamed for him to turn around and save himself before it was too late. However, he no longer found himself in control, an invisible force thrusting into him a seemingly groundless determination and driving him endlessly forward. The heat was blistering.
He didn't even know why he was in the building.
As he pushed forward, a large wooden bar from the ceiling above finally gave way under the intense flames, falling from above and landing in front of the front door, blocking direct access in or out of the structurally unsound building.
He was trapped.
Author's Note – Pretty dramatic first chapter, isn't this? I realized it was boring for me to describe every little detail and instead I directly stepped into danger in the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
More little details of the Messiah issue will be revealed as I continue writing. The next chapter might not come for a while due to schoolwork, so do be patient.
Reviews greatly appreciated.
~SUITELIFEFAN