Event Horizon - Part 1
"In light of recent events," Officer Pérez's disembodied voice said as a blank screen faded into a layout of six picture frames, "an update of sensitive information and protocols for the case you've been assigned has been issued." As she listed off the legal names of the boys (Ben, Byron, Charlie, Drew, Jory, and Josh), pictures of them appeared on the screen and shrunk into place into each of the frames. "As you know, these six individual are the current suspects in our investigation of the Beverly Park incident. A detailed profile of each has been compiled for this presentation and we will be examining each figure in increasing order of interest to our operations. For the sake of time, I'll keep this brief. Additional materials will be provided for retention. If you have no questions to start, we'll begin."
After a quick pause, Officer Pérez continued as the picture of Jory expanded and the other pictures were replaced with a box of miscellaneous information—his full name, age, approximated height, etc. "Up first is Jordan, or as his friends call him, 'Jory'. According to public information, Jordan has been diagnosed with a high-functioning form of autism. Despite this, he is highly social and our general assessment is that he has very strong loyalties to the group." The information on the screen updated to another set. "This may pose a problem if he perceives us as a threat to his friends. That said, if we leave them alone, he should leave us alone, making him the least of our worries. Best not to complicate things by landing on his enemies list."
The image of Jory quickly shrank and the pictures of the other boys appeared again. Then, another image of the boys enlarged and similar information was displayed—this time, Drew.
"Second we have Andrew, also known as 'Drew' by his peers. However, you may know him as the one who's been making flexing motions at our agents."
A few snickers came from the crowd before Pérez spoke again.
"Be that as it may, in terms of threat level, we don't hold him that highly as an individual; his actions seem more comedic in nature than malicious and, besides giving us a minor upset to our communications, haven't amounted to anything detrimental." Again, the information on the screen updated. "However, bear in mind that while his actions may seem innocent, they do demonstrate a brazenness that may lead to more extreme antics with the others in the mix. If they decide to aid him in messing with us, who knows what they might do. Presently, our understanding of his investment with the group and vice versa is limited so the likelihood of this is unknown. Nevertheless, Command would like to stress that under no conditions should our operations be compromised over a series of pranks. We do have our reputation to consider as acting agents of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. Don't let him get to your head."
Again, the image on the screen shifted back to the original view and now Charlie's image enlarged.
"Next we have Charles, who normally goes by 'Charlie'," the Officer said. "At this time we don't have a lot of information on him besides what we can glean from his stint at the hospital...and even then our options are between a mental patient in the making or a highly duplicitous troublemaker. Luckily, his lack of involvement with the others thus far makes him seem more of a lone actor. Let's hope it stays that way. If he does start to cooperate more with the others, we'll probably have to consider him more of a threat. Stay on your toes with this one—there's no telling what he'll do."
Once more, the image changed out for another like before, this time featuring Byron's picture.
"Kicking off our top three figures of interest, we have Byron. From our initial observations, he seems to be the leading brain of the bunch. This means his word likely carries a lot of weight in the group and, judging by their tactics so far, warrants their respect. I can tell you first hand that he meant business from the word "go"; the kid had more questions for me than I did for him in our initial investigations and every phrase seemed delicately crafted to indirectly glean our jist of their situation. Without a doubt, he is our highest priority threat. If he decides their best option is to mobilize against us, the entire group very likely and aptly will. This must be avoided, if at all possible. As a matter of precaution, we've included a set of protocols for that situation in the additional materials you'll be provided. Study them well and be prepared for the worst."
Another change of the featured image later and Josh's picture took the fore.
"Our final two figures of interest will be the centerpieces of our strategy going forward. First is Joshua, "Josh" as his friends call him. As far as threats to our operations go, it's hard to pin him down. During initial investigations he didn't talk much, suggesting either that he doesn't have much to say, or he's smart enough to know to keep his mouth shut." The graphic changed to show several images of Josh's house, including an overhead view. "Regardless, it appears as though he's allowed the group to use his house as their primary base of operations, at least for now. Avoiding legal issues involving him and his family as we ramp up surveillance there is our next set of hurdles, and his placement here on this list reflects that. ...Which brings us to our chief figure of interest..."
Finally, the picture swapped out to Ben's image.
"Benjamin, or Ben for short. Out of all the members of this group, Benjamin seems to be somewhat of a fish out of water: he is temperamentally and behaviorally benign, seemingly unprepared for their current situation, and—perhaps most importantly—cooperative with authority figures. It is our belief that if we were to attempt flipping one of the suspects to become an informant for us, Benjamin would be the only viable candidate. Of course, this plan is contingent on his investment in the group. For now, we'll be observing the situation to see if strains in their relationships develop." Ben's picture shrank as well, the ending slide having all of their pictures at once. "During that time, we'll be preparing to start intercepting their communications, as well as any contact they might have with possible third parties. Our number one priority is to figure out what connections they have, if any, to known criminal quantities. Until that's settled, we stay committed to guarding them from any external threats, just like any other members of the public."
Suddenly the lights flipped on. Officer Pérez stood before a small group of individuals by a large screen TV displaying the ending slide of her presentation. As the screen turned off, she moved front and center and addressed the audience.
"Before we move on to our updated protocols, does anyone have any questions?"
One of the officers raised their hand, Pérez pointing at them to give them the go ahead.
"You mentioned something about spying on Joshua's residence more. I get that we don't have a way to view the place conveniently, but what exactly are we hoping to find there? It doesn't seem like anyone else would be able to get in there without us noticing since it's such a closed space."
"Yes, it's highly unlikely that they're meeting someone in secret there," Pérez stated. "However, multiple trips back there over the past twelve hours by different members has us wondering. We think something happened or is happening there that's more than just general meetings. Finding out what might give us clues on other parts of the investigation. For example: we still don't really know what happened in the forest and they're not exactly willing to tell us. For all we know, what we find may prove their innocence or guilt by itself."
Satisfied by the answer, the officer nodded. Then, another rose their hand.
"I have a question. If you're looking for an informant, why not Jordan? If he cares about his friends so much, posing as trying to clear their names might get him to play along."
Officer Pérez shook her head. "Our Task Force Director pitched that idea as soon as he heard that too. Take it from me personally: it won't happen, unfortunately. During initial investigations, Jordan was only barely willing to cooperate with officers, citing a general distrust of the police, and was near-obsessive with the health of his friends after their hospitalization. It's highly doubtful he'd be willing to mislead his friends, which rules him out as a potential mole completely."
The second officer shrugged, conceding the point. Pérez scanned the others in the group. Seeing no other questions, she readied herself for the next portion.
"Let's move on to the protocols, then. The first addition was already conveyed by Command, but I'll be reiterating it here: personal interaction with suspects is prohibited even in the case that suspects initiate contact. Additionally, in the case that they force contact and your identity is compromised, you must refer them to Command. We'll keep a special line open just in case."
"You really think they would try doing that," one of the officers in the crowd asked incredulously.
"In a worst case scenario, yes," Pérez said. "Their strategic skills are more sophisticated than an average group of teenagers. And if they really are just a bunch of kids who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, ending up in combat similar to what we found in the park may prompt them to seek our help."
"How do you know their actions so far aren't just a fluke?"
"During the interview process after the Beverly Park incident, all of them had the same story of memory loss but one—you might remember that as the werewolf story. We've recently established that they had already contacted each other in every case before we were able to meet with any of them. Our guess is that they lined up their stories during that time and used the concern they had for one another's health as a cover. If so, that's pretty slick, if you ask me."
"Then why would they have one give us a bogus story," a different officer asked.
"It could be to throw us off. But I wouldn't be surprised if that part was improvised. They are organized, but not without their idiosyncrasies. Sometimes they'll act out of concert. ...Which brings us to our second and final change of protocol: now that we've established members of the group have active transportation, individual flight risks have become an issue. At the moment, we don't think any of them would make or organize this kind of move, but that status may change at any time. Heightened precautions should be taken during travel. Your station location and routing assignments will be changing somewhat to account for that. Before you leave, we have some materials for you to review for each of your specific assignments. With this package, you'll receive the additional information I promised."
Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Agent Smith appeared, holding a number of manilla folders. Pérez acknowledged his presence with a nod and turned back to the group.
"This ends the briefing. If you have further questions regarding your assignments, take it up with your superiors. Updated information will be given to you in presentations such as this one from this point forward. ...And one last piece of advice: while these boys may seem like ordinary high schoolers, they're still under investigation for sedition conspiracy. Do not underestimate them under any circumstances. They will exploit that. ...You're dismissed."
The group of officers shuffled to gather their things and made their way to the door when they were prepared. Smith handed each of them a folder on their way out and soon only he and Officer Pérez remained. Pérez sighed and sat down on a table in the room as her superior approached her.
"That's the last batch of them," Smith said. "Good work, Officer."
Pérez leaned back, sighing to herself. "Are you sure I'm an officer of the law? I feel more like someone's lackey…"
"We may not see eye-to-eye on your assignments, but I value your attention to detail, Pérez," the Agent said with a smirk. "There's no one else I would trust more to catch everyone up on the details of the case. Besides, cobbling together this Task Force last minute and organizing their movements almost twenty-four-seven has had my hands full. If it weren't for the rotation, there's no way we would've been able to keep eyes on the suspects and update our units. Thanks to you, I get to sleep at some point."
"Happy to help," Pérez said with a tinge of annoyance, averting her gaze. "So? What now?"
"Now we wait and see what our enemies have in mind."
"Think they'll make their move soon," Pérez asked while stretching.
"Tough to say. But I do know that whenever it happens, we'll need to be at our best. ...I noticed that you've been working overtime every day since the incident. I think you deserve a break. How about you take the rest of the night off?"
Pérez shot Smith an unappreciative glance. "So that was your angle with these presentations. I'm starting to get the impression that you just don't want me around."
Smith laughed in return and motioned for the two of them to walk toward the door. As they did, he continued. "You're a hard worker, Pérez. I don't regret my decision to have you join my unit. But I do have to wonder why it is you're so intent on being involved in the dirty work."
"I take my job very seriously," Pérez said, checking her watch. "...And it appears that I still have two more hours until I'm off the clock."
"Then maybe I should put this into language you can get behind," Smith said as he opened the door and stood out of the way to give Pérez the cue to go first. "Take the night off, Pérez. That's an order."
"I figured you'd say something like that," Pérez sighed, putting a hand to her face.
"Is that a refusal to comply, Officer," Smith asked with a devious grin.
"No, you don't have to tell me twice," Pérez said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking out the door. Smith watched her as she strode a few yards down the hall and stopped. Then, she turned slightly, and glared at Smith with a serious expression. "Just promise me that if things turn hot you contact me immediately. I still think those boys are innocent and I don't want them getting hurt—not on my watch."
The two stood in silence for a moment until Smith replied with a nod, "I will."
Pérez gave Smith a quizzical look, surprised by his response. Then, she turned again, more relaxed now, and headed off down the hall. "I'll be holding you to that."
Another moment of silence later, Smith yelled after her: "And by 'take the night off', I don't mean work on the profiles of their acquaintances at home, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah," Pérez said with her back turned as she waved him off and continued toward the exit.
"First strike! Gained the lead."
Karl smirked in satisfaction, leaning back comfortably in his leather recliner as his fingers tapped away at the controller he held. Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, to which he maneuvered his character to cover so he could check his phone without getting killed. On the screen, the name "Ben Ervin" showed up as the caller ID. Karl tapped his phone to answer and rested it between his face and his shoulder as he settled in to get back into the fray.
"What's up?"
"Hey," Ervin's voice came over the speaker, "is this a good ti—are you playing Halo?"
"Yeah," Karl said enthusiastically. "Wanna join?!"
"Maybe later... Actually, I wanted to ask you about something."
"Fire away," Karl said as he planted a rocket straight into another player's face.
"Alright, I know this might sound crazy, but...did you notice anything...weird about Ben and Byron when we talked with them yesterday?"
"Whaddya mean?"
"Like, is it just me or were they acting kinda...suspicious?"
"Huh? What makes you say that?"
"I dunno. It just...sort of seemed like they were dodging questions, I guess. I mean, you saw the way they looked at each other when we asked them about what they did over break, right? And then there's the last thing Byron said to Ben. It just seemed...kind of unusual."
"Yeeeeeah," Karl trailed off as he assassinated another player, "I think this might just be a 'you thing'."
"Oh. Alright, I guess if you say so..."
"Now I'm starting to think you're acting weird! What the hell even brought this on, anyway?"
"Well… Okay, over the weekend, I heard this story on the news about some incident that happened at Beverly Park. It sounded kind of serious so I decided to look into it a bit more and it turns out that some reports said that 'several high schoolers were hospitalized'. I was thinking that that could've even been people from our school. Hit a little too close to home, you know what I mean?"
"What is this Scooby-Doo bullshit," Karl asked incredulously. "Are you saying you think they were involved in whatever happened over there?"
"I can't prove anything, but it would explain why they acted that way. The question is why they would try to hide that from us."
"Wouldn't the better question be how they could've been the ones hospitalized? That usually involves major injury, right? And that park crap went down the weekend before school started, yeah? We saw them recently and they didn't look hurt to me. Unless you saw something I didn't?"
"Uhh...no, I didn't. That's actually a really good point. But...I dunno, I just got this intuition that they're hiding something. Like I said, I can't prove it, but there's hints of something going on with them, don't you think?"
"Mehhhh, even that might be going too far. But if you're really set on looking into it, you could always just ask them what's going on. Knowing them, if it's nothing major they'd be more than willing to talk about it."
"I suppose that's true. But if they are hiding something, wouldn't they lie?"
"Then bring up the story to try and get a reaction! I don't know... Honestly, I think you're overthinking this. Maybe other Ben's just going through something at the moment."
"That is also a possibility," Ervin mused. "Alright, I'll do what you suggested. Thanks for hearing me out."
"Sure… So are you gonna join my game or what?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. See you in a bit."
"Yep."
Ervin hung up and powered on his Xbox 360, still thinking about their conversation. "Maybe I am overthinking this…"
In a darkened house, a light flashed from under a doorway as muffled sounds of (obviously fake) thunder echoed from beneath the door. The flashing increased in rapidity in time with the thunder and when it reached a peak, all that could be heard was Charlie's muted scream, "IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!"
Pérez took a large swig of beer and exhaled in frustration as she lazily placed the glass back on the countertop before her. She sat at a row of empty chairs at a pub, the bartender standing nearby while wiping a glass out with a cloth. Slumping forward in her chair and burying her head in her arms, she sighed heavily. "Damn Smith."
"Sounds like my replacement's been giving you trouble."
Pérez looked up only to see her old partner, Officer Williams.
"This seat taken?" he said with a raised eyebrow while pointing at the seat next to her.
"No, not at all."
Williams pulled out the seat and sat next to Pérez. The bartender came to take his order and he pointed at his fellow officer with a thumb. "I'll have what she's having."
The bartender affirmed his order and went to work. Meanwhile, the two officers settled in.
"So much for getting on my case about smoking. Here you are drowning your sorrows."
"I'm not getting drunk," Pérez snapped back. "I know my limits." She smiled playfully. "And besides, a little alcohol won't kill me, unlike your habit."
"Eh, keeps my nerves from flaring up," Williams said as the bartender finally gave him his drink. He thanked him quickly and took a swig of his own (to which he recoiled a bit at the taste and looked at the brand).
"How are things back at the station," Pérez asked.
"It's about as you'd probably expect: Ramsey's running around like his head's been cut off so everyone has to pick up the slack you left. I can see why he relied on you so much: unlike him, you have a knack for organization."
Pérez laughed. "Yeah, that sounds right. And you? Have you settled in to your new place yet?"
"Took care of all that the day I got here. I have some acquaintances in the area who were more than willing to help me out."
"Oh really? They sound like more than acquaintances to me."
"...I wouldn't exactly call them friends. But they've helped me out in a pinch before."
"Lucky you," Pérez said spitefully.
"I take it your new assignment isn't treating you well, then?"
"No, the job itself is fine. It's my boss that's giving me a headache." Pérez took another swig.
"Oh yeah? What's he like?"
"He's a passive-aggressive jerk," Pérez exclaimed, slamming her hands on the countertop. She picked up her drink and tipped it in her previous partner's direction as she spoke. "Honestly, though, I can't complain about his work ethic or his understanding of what to do—at least he's on top of things—but just the way he does it gets under my skin." She took another swig.
"So that's why you're here? To let off some steam?"
"No! I'm here because he ordered me to punch out early!"
Williams snorted. "You're drinking over mandatory time off? Wow, and I thought I was a loser."
"With the nature of what we're investigating, I'm sure you can understand why I'm not thrilled to leave the case alone for any period of time," Pérez said, glaring at Williams through her peripherals.
"Yeah, I can imagine. More than you think," Willaims said, taking a sip. He then held the bottle near his mouth, staring at it for a moment, then put the bottle down and lowered his voice. "How's the case going, by the way?"
"You know I can't answer that," Pérez chastised in a whisper, shaking her head.
"Just good or not is fine with me. I don't need the details."
"Again, I'm not obliged to answer that. Although I'm surprised you'd even ask to begin with. A deadbeat like you wouldn't seem like the type to get invested in a case."
Williams nodded slowly. "That is kind of uncharacteristic of me, I guess. It's just...that case has trouble written all over it. I wouldn't be surprised if it spilled out into other areas with the FBI involved. Who knows: maybe there's some grand conspiracy afoot they're trying to stomp out."
"Yeah, wouldn't that be something," Pérez said nonchalauntly, taking a small sip from her beer.
"I'm joking," Williams said. "Besides, you're not one to believe in conspiracies, remember? 'Only if it's the last viable interpretation', right?"
Pérez smiled softly to herself. "Yeah, right…" She shook her head and looked back at her former partner with a gleam in her eyes. "Okay, enough about me. What I really want to know is what you're doing here."
"Who me? No reason in particular," Williams said as he downed another swig.
"Ooo?" Pérez cooed. "Are you sure about that? Or maybe you're hiding your true reason." She stopped and turned toward him, speaking excitedly. "...Don't tell me...you're playing the field?"
"Absolutely not. I've sworn off love since high school."
"Awww, c'mooon! Why?!"
"Too much of a hassle."
"Ooooh, boooo! Where's your sense of adventure?!"
"I've had enough adventure for one life."
"But you're still so young! How can you say that!? I bet you haven't even given it an honest shot! It's not so bad... Here: I'll even help set you up with someone right now!"
"Please, as if a random girl would be attracted to a deadbeat like me."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Pérez said, her eyes scanning the room for a potential target.
"And why's that?"
"You know what they say: women love a man in uniform."
Williams chuckled and took another gulp of his drink. "Seriously, would please stop acting like my mother?"
Bzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzt.
Both of the officers tensed and instinctively checked their pockets. Williams, realizing that it wasn't his own, relaxed again. Pérez, on the other hand, pulled her phone out of her pocket completely and tapped something on the screen.
"Well, that's my timer," she said reluctantly. "If I'm to get a good amount of sleep tonight, I'll have to get out of here."
"Punctual even to the point of sleep. Are you sure you're even human?"
"Absolutely. What else would I be," Pérez asked as she paid her bill and left a tip.
"I could offer a guess, but you're in a hurry so I'll spare you the trouble."
"Oh, how considerate," Pérez said dryly.
As Pérez finished organizer herself for heading out, she took one last look at where she sat to check for any missed items.
"That should do it. Well, it's been fun. ...Thanks for the company, by the way. Honestly, I feel a lot better now."
"Sure," Williams said nonchalauntly. "Just don't get dependent on it."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Pérez said, turning to leave. But before she could take a full step, Williams spoke again.
"...Although, if, on the off chance I'm available when you're being forced to rest, I wouldn't mind doing this again. Just give me a call."
Pérez turned and gazed at Williams who still hadn't turned around to watch her leave. Then, she smirked softly. "You know, you're surprisingly more caring of others that I thought you were."
"I wouldn't be an officer of the law if I didn't care even a little bit," Williams said without turning and taking another drink.
Pérez put her hand on her hip and smiled at her interlocutor. Then she shook her head and turned face to leave. "Alright, I'll see you around then."
"Yeah, see you around."
A cell phone alarm blared as Jory awoke him from his comfortable slumber. Turning over in his bed, he hid his head beneath his pillows, groaning loudly to drown out the alarm's incessant noise. After a moment, he begrudgingly accepted his fate and moved to finally stop the alarm and prepared himself to get out of bed.
"Ugh...why the fuck do they make us wake up so early," Jory mumbled to himself. "Jesus, the sun's barely even up yet..."
After he finished complaining to himself, Jory got started with his standard morning routine: shave, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, get all of his school stuff together, begin hell. After giving himself a clean shave, he stepped into the warm embrace of a steamy shower. He closed his eyes, starting to lather shampoo into his hair. Soon images of that night came back into his mind: the gleeful, terrifying smile on the Wolfman's face, all of his friends getting taken out one by one, and the wash of helplessness over his body…
He hit his fist against the tiled wall of the shower, breathing shakily with his eyes wide open.
I was completely useless...I was right there and I couldn't do a fucking thing…!
He shook the thoughts out of his head, quickly turning the shower off, drying off, and dressing himself in his usual T-shirt, shorts and white socks attire as he went down to make breakfast. The pan sizzled as two strips of bacon cooked on the front burner. Jory stared through the food as it fried, his mind drifting off once again. He kept thinking back to that night, over and over again, recollecting the same moments again and again.
"I couldn't have done anything else," he whispered to himself. "Even if the gun wasn't jammed, it wouldn't have done any good. I can't beat him like this...I need power. I need my powers. When in the fuck is it gonna be my turn? ...If I even get a turn. No—I can't think like that. That's EXACTLY what he'd want. I swear I'm going to burn that motherfucker to ashes and make him regret ever fucking with me and my friends!"
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
The continuing high pitched alert broke Jory out of his trance. He looked around in panic to find the source: the smoke detector picked up the fact that his bacon was burning. He cursed, turning the fan on above the stove and waved a small towel in front of the smoke detector as it finally ceased. Jory continued cursing quietly to himself as he reached over the pan to turn down the heat on the stove, only for his arm to be met with a grease splatter.
"HOT DIGGITY SHIIII….mmmmMMMGH!"
Jory used the same towel from before to wipe the grease from his arm, expecting a searing pain to follow...that never came. After turning the heat off, he looked at the spot the grease hit.
"What the fuck…? I know that splatter hit me. That gets my skin red at the very least. What the hell is…?"
He looked at the stovetop again, still hot as indicated by the red light on his oven.
"I'm gonna regret this… Fuck it, I've done worse things."
He slowly, hesitantly reached his index finger over the stovetop, feeling the heat from it but not as much as he would normally expect. He winced, closing his eyes as he tapped the stovetop. Nothing. He tapped it a few more times, then placed his whole hand on the top. Nothing still.
"Is this thing even on…?"
Jory's eyes lit up as a hypothesis formed in his head: he ran his hand underneath the kitchen faucet, gathering cold water on his palm. He then dripped some of it on the stovetop—the liquid instantly fizzing and evaporating on contact. One moment later he placed his wet palm directly on the burner. He heard the sizzling of the water evaporating off of his hand...with no burn left behind! He looked at his hand, staring in amazement, and then the most delighted smile overtook his face.
"I have powers…! I have powers! YES! FINA—" Jory stopped himself short, looking around to make sure none of his family members were listening. "Immunity to heat...holy shit, that could be so many awesome things! Oh my God… What if I—am I actually a—?! I think I am a—"
Jory, curtailing his excitement, caught a glimpse of the kitchen clock: about twenty minutes until his first class. He quickly snapped back to reality, grabbing the burnt bacon off of the pan, getting his backpack and running out the door—pushing himself as fast as he could to tell his friends the incredible news.
Jory got to the final crosswalk, tapping his foot impatiently while waiting for the signal to change. Eventually the light turned and he sprinted for the last stretch of sidewalk to school. At rocket pace he made his way into the school, bumping into a few students along the way and quickly apologizing without stopping. Soon he found his way to the hangout corner behind the library. The first person he saw at location was Josh and as Jory approached him, Josh shot him a funny look.
"JOSHJOSHJOSH," Jory huffed excitedly as he fumbled to stop. "IT FINALLY HAPPENED—!"
"What happened," a different voice from Josh's asked Jory from behind.
Jory froze and turned face to see Ervin and Karl in the alcove behind the outlet to the back doors of the library. Josh heavily fought the urge to slam his palm into his face. Karl and Ervin looked on at Jory quizzically.
"I...uh," Jory said, stalling for an excuse. "Shoot, give me a second. I got so excited that I think I lost my train of thought."
"How that FUCK do you manage THAT," Karl exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
"Eat dick," Jory said, pointing at him. Then he posed to ponder to himself. "Let me think… Oh! So I have this friend who lives across the country that I met online. Her name's Cara. I've known her since the end of elementary school, but we've never actually met in person. I just got news this morning that I'm finally going to be able to meet her!"
"Oh, that is really exciting," Ervin said. "Do you know when yet?"
"Uhhh, no, not yet. But I do know it's happening at some point in the next year," Jory said, turning to Josh. "I know I've talked about her before to Josh so I figured I would share the news." He winked in a way the others couldn't see.
"Noted," Josh said, nodding as if to affirm the message.
"Hey, come to think of it," Ervin said as Jory positioned to see all three of his peers. "I haven't actually seen you much since school started."
"Actually, I don't think we've seen you AT ALL now that I think about it," Karl said.
"Oh yeah, that's true. How've you been, dude?"
"I mean, you know how it goes," Jory said unenthusiastically. "School always starts kinda shit for me—classes are a pain in the ass, getting up early sucks dick through a straw, and having to deal with people I don't like five times a day, blah blah blah. But it's actually been going good so far."
"Not too shabby," Ervin said. "Let's hope that keeps up."
"Absolutely. ...How about you guys? What've you been up to?"
"Oh, nothing really," Karl said. "There's not exactly much going on yet, to be honest."
"Yeah," Ervin said. "It's basically all just going through the motions with school at the moment."
"Yeah, figures," a voice said behind Jory. Jory whirled around only to meet the other Ben. "Hi," the newest Ben to the area said innocently while slightly waving with one hand.
"Jesus dude," Jory said, getting over his surprise, "we need to put a bell on you."
"Why? I'm not your pet," Ben said disdainfully. "Besides, if anyone needs a warning for their presence, it's you: I just saw you practically run over someone on my way here. What was that about?"
"Wha—? Oh! Right. Sorry. I was just so excited I wasn't thinking straight."
"What could you possibly be so excited about that—" Ben stopped short when he saw Josh giving him a look from the corner of his eye. "O-Oh! Did it finally happen?"
"Yeah," Jory said wholeheartedly. "A long-time dream of mine just came true…" Jory shook the thoughts out of his head. "Anyway, has anyone seen the others? I wanted to go and tell them about the news before first hour started."
"Nope," Karl exclaimed. "Everyone is missing!"
"I haven't seen anyone else either," Ervin said.
"I know where Byron is," Josh said, getting up and preparing to shoulder his backpack. "I can take you to him."
"Oh, sweet. Works for me. Ben, you comin' too?"
Ben looked at Karl and Ervin. "...Actually, I think I'll stick around here."
Josh shrugged. "Suit yourself. We'll see you after school. Probably."
"Yeah, see ya!"
"Also, good to see you guys again." Jory said, addressing Karl and Ervin. "We'll have more chances to talk another time."
"Yup, I'll see you around," Karl said.
"Later," Ervin followed up.
Josh led Jory down the hall and out of sight of the others. Once out of sight, he looked over at Jory and spoke quietly to him with a tinge of annoyance in his tone.
"Do you know how close you were to fucking it all up for us?"
"I get it, okay? I'm sorry," Jory whispered forcefully. "I just got carried away."
"Well could you do your best from now on to not get carried away?"
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Jesus…"
"When we get to Byron, then you can tell us what you wanna tell us. Quietly."
"Right."
A few moments earlier, Ben, Ervin and Karl, being left to talk amongst themselves, began to do just that.
"Jeez," Ervin said, "did you see how fast Jory busted in? ...Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen him that excited about anything."
Karl hummed in affirmation. "You'd think he discovered that he had superpowers or something."
Ben cringed slightly, trying not to let it show. "...That would be something special. Buuut I'm not so sure having superpowers would be something to get excited about."
Karl raised his voice to signal his utter disbelief. "What're ya talking about, ya pansy?! Having superpowers would be awesome! Think of the possibilities!"
"I'd have to agree with Karl on this one," Ervin said. "Although, I think its usefulness to a specific person would depend on what power you have. Like what if you were paralyzed from the waist down and you got super speed? Kind of a waste at that point."
"Then you learn to run with your hands! Like a REAL man!"
"Pfft," Ben sputtered. "Okay, I mean, sure, we can all imagine how convenient it would be, but couldn't something like that also just as easily misfire and hurt someone?"
"I suppose that's true," Ervin said. "Although, if our fictional representations of it are any indication, then it's just like any other skill; shouldn't be too much of an issue if you practice enough and use a controlled environment."
"Uh-huh," Karl confirmed. "And not only that: most superpowers by design don't have any way to harm the user either. So as long as you master the fundamentals, you're in the clear!"
"I...guess that's true," Ben said a bit more assuredly. "Although, even assuming that superpowers are possible, if we're going by the logic of fictional representations then getting them would have to involve some kind of extraordinary event. That's pretty unlikely given where we live."
"Yeah, nothing exciting happens around here," Karl exclaimed. "We might as well rename this place to 'Snoozeville'!"
"Oh, actually," Ervin said, "something did happen recently that's out of the ordinary: just this last weekend it was reported that a number of high schoolers were hanging out at Beverly Park and they ended up being hospitalized. But as far as I can tell, none of the stories list how or why. Did you hear anything about that, Ben?"
Ben tensed up, trying his hardest not to let anything on. "Uhhh—"
"Yo yoooo! What's good?!" a familiar chipper tone cut through the conversation. The others turned to see Brandon waltzing up to them. Ben fought the urge to sigh in relief as Brandon offered him a high five and he took it.
"Sup, dude," Ervin asked.
"Ahhh ya know, life 'n' stuff—balanced breakfasts and all that. The usual." Brandon settled into the space as he followed up: "Whatchu guys talkin' 'bout?"
"Mysteries and superpowers and shit," Karl said enthusiastically, to which Ben stifled a nervous laugh.
"Mhm," Ervin affirmed, "apparently something went down at Beverly Park over the weekend and a bunch of high schoolers were hospitalized. Know anything about it?"
"Oh, yeah," Brandon said, "I heard about that. But I don't know any of the details. How about you, Ben? You hear about it?"
"No," Ben said as matter-of-factly as he could, "that's the first I've heard about that being in the news…"
"Eh, oh well," Brandon shrugged. "So what's that got to do with superpowers?"
"Oh," Karl began, "we were talking about how when people get superpowers in fiction something crazy and dangerous usually happens to them. But given how superpowers are impossible, whatever happened was probably just something reckless and stupid."
"Ahhh, I see, I see. Yeah, that makes sense," Brandon said. "Though, if it were the case, I think going through something like that would be worth it. Havin' superpowers would be dope, yo."
"I know, right!?" Karl looked over at Ben. "See!? You're the only one who thinks it would suck!"
Ben perked up at this thought and pondered it while the others continued the conversation.
"Hey, here's a question," Ervin said, "if you couldhave one superpower—any one—what would it be?"
"Shiiiit," Karl said, "that's such a hard question! There's so many great options!"
"Actually, though. It just seems like making a choice on that would be impossible. I'd be like 'ehhh, what if I pick one and then realize later that something else would be better? This is hard...'"
"Really, bro," Brandon asked incredulously, "I know exactly what power I would want: ki manipulation."
"Awwww, of course you'd go for that Dragon Ball bullshit," Karl exclaimed.
"Yeah, I dunno," Ervin said. "That seems a little bit like cheating."
Brandon crossed his arms and gave a confident smirk. "Hey, you never said it couldn't be an anime superpower. Besides, all the best superpowers are basically just a bunch of superpowers rolled into one."
"But that's so lazy," Karl whined. "You could just be like 'I want omnipotence' and then you're literally God and can do anything! No man should have that much power!"
"Nah, I wouldn't go for that. Then it'd be too easy. Prolly go to my head too."
"What about you, Ben," Ervin said snapping Ben out of his thoughts. "What kind of power would you want?"
"...I'm...actually not sure," Ben said in realization.
Suddenly, the five minute bell rang, and students began to maneuver through the halls. The four boys also started to get their stuff together for the beginning of classes, Brandon being first to be ready.
"Speakin' of too easy: cooking class is comin' up. I'll see y'all later."
"Yeah, ditto," Ervin said.
"Same here," Karl said. "We should all get together this weekend—celebrate getting through the first week."
"I'm down for that," Brandon said, walking backwards for a moment before turning around and waving. "Later, yanks!"
Ben, Karl and Ervin also finished packing up and, after saying their own goodbyes, went their separate ways. Ben eventually reached his first class of the day and sat down in a seat by a window to a courtyard. Pulling out a notebook and a folder, he organized his work space and opened the notebook, the conversation from before still fresh in his mind. Then he wrote: "what kind of superpower do I want?" in the margins of the page. After tapping the pencil on the page a few times, Ben started doodling after the prompt, a faint smile developing as he did.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Second to last part until the fireworks happen. Next part due late March. Stay tuned!
