9
I felt a sense of deja vu as a knock came from my door. I was lying on my bed, facing the wall, feeling tired and stressed. I didn't even want to acknowledge whoever wanted to come in, but I managed a, "Hello?"
The door opened, and for a second, I thought it was Ryan. But when the deep voice asked, "You good?" I realized it was Alex. Ever since the raid on the school, we hadn't talked much, so it came as a surprise to me. I rolled over to look at him. From my position, he looked even taller than he really was.
"Doing all right. I just never expected Brydon to take his own life like that. It really disturbs me."
He nodded. "I understand. Just know that we're here for you. Talking about it can help."
I suddenly wanted to prevent the situation from turning into something I wasn't prepared for, so I changed the subject. "Do you need me for something?"
"Yeah. We're going to start a training session. Ryan told me to get you."
Truthfully, I didn't want to do any fighting today. My mind needed more time to clear. Nonetheless, I slid off my bed and followed Alex to the area where everyone else was waiting. Maybe Shifting would distract me from the pain and fear that wove through me so often. Ryan was already talking to a group of about six guys, discussing strategy, but by the time I reached them, he was already done. He turned to look at us, flashed me a grin, and whispered, "Don't let them get you."
I felt confused for a second, then saw one of them take out a small black sphere. My eyes widened, recognizing it immediately. It was a small shocker that caused the body to become numb and limp. Hesitancy filled my brain before I shook it off to refocus. This exercise wasn't unlike most of them I've had, where I was outnumbered. It was time to show these people what I could really do.
Three of the Shifters moved first, charging at me with their Particle swords drawn. I smiled. There was one ability that Aiden had taught me, which I'd never used until now. I angled my hand toward a nearby vending machine and Shifted it into my hand as my own Particle sword. Then I concentrated on it's structure, remodeling it into something different. Gripping my double-bladed Particle sword, I spun it around, turning in a circle as I went, instantly blocking two of them, and engaging the third head on. He had clearly not expected me to do that, and started hacking and slashing almost randomly. I pressed on, countering every move he made, though my strikes were a little choppy as well. It'd been a while since I used a weapon like this, and it was harder than I thought.
I sensed a presence behind me and ducked, narrowly avoiding a jab aimed for the back of my shoulder. Then I realized that it wasn't a sword that had almost hit me, but the electric shocker. However, the guy I'd been fighting didn't move out of the way in time, and it sank into his arm. His mouth gaped open, then he fell to the ground like a rock. I turned to face the assailant, and blocked a swing from his Particle sword, which I noticed was glowing a purplish color. It seemed to be a much more powerful weapon than mine, standing out against the stark yellow.
I couldn't quite remember the way Aiden had shown me how to increase the strength in Particle weapons, which was a problem, since the guy was starting to break through my defenses. Since I didn't have much of an alternative, I decided to put my newfound abilities to use. On his next attempted strike, I parried, but didn't let go, and pushed back against his sword, trying to keep it in a steady position. Despite my best efforts, he was slowly beginning to push back, forcing my sword toward my face in sparks of gold and purple. Footsteps behind me indicated the others were closing in behind me.
If this plan didn't work, then I pretty much lost this match. I took in a strained breath, and decided to go for it. I concentrated on his sword, and tried to Shift it, while simultaneously clearing out my head until I was thinking of nothing. Sure enough, his Particle sword dissipated into individual Particles that evaporated and disappeared. His face changed into a shocked expression, but I only saw it for a second before turning to face the other five guys. The next five minutes were composed of a lot of striking, blocking, and hitting at whatever they threw at me. I parried against two swords, deflected an axe strike, and dodged out of the way of a falling vending machine.
It was after a sword strike that barely missed my ear that I realized I was wearing myself out and getting sweaty. It caught me off guard and confused me, since it'd been happening less and less since I was advancing all those months ago. But now, I could clearly feel my strength trickling out of me like water leaving a drain. Then I lost my mental footing and my double-bladed Particle sword dissipated into nothing. I fell to my knees, out of breath, unable to continue. Or stop one of the guys from shoving a shocker onto my shoulder. I jolted suddenly, and fell to the ground, no feeling in my arms, legs, or anywhere else.
Ryan eventually helped me up and brought me over to the nearest table. He was stronger than I thought, and it was embarrassing to have him half carry me, but I didn't feel like complaining.
"Dude what happened?" He asked, once I had enough feeling to sit up straight. "You just sort of… collapsed."
I grunted. "I just got so tired for some reason. It's been something I've noticed throughout all my training sessions here." I looked him in the eye. "Somehow, I've lost much of my ability to Shift, but I don't know why."
"I don't either," he replied. "But we're going to have to fix that. We can't have you dropping out when we face them." Ryan walked off to talk to Alex, who'd just finished a match of his own.
Them. That's the whole reason we're doing this, isn't it? Because they want to take us out, and possibly do something worse. And we had to get better with our own skills to stand a chance against them.
Brandon, Tyler, and Kaitlyn.
Without warning, my mind flashed back to our last night at the school, where Aiden had faced off against both Tyler and Kaitlyn, with the hopes of destroying them. I never had the chance to help him, since Tyler took me down with what I now knew to be a Taser. The feeling of pain it'd brought me was still fresh in my head all these months later.
The feelings of weakness…
That's when it hit me. The white dots traveling up those filaments attached to me. My strength diminishing along with it...
My eyes widened, then narrowed into a determined frown. Tyler had stolen Particles within me and, by doing so, lowered my Shifting powers and my physical strength. Kaitlyn had done the same thing to Aiden, stealing his Particles too.
That was the last straw. These people had taken the lives of countless Shifters, my mom, Aiden, and our own Particles. My resolve solidified like water freezing into ice. It would soon be time to take them out once and for all.
"What do you mean he's gone?" Kaitlyn cried out in annoyance.
"Exactly what I mean," Brandon replied grimly. "We went to the storage closet to interrogate him and he just wasn't there. Disappeared, vanished, you get the drift."
"How could he have gotten out?" She asked. "The door was locked and it was too dark to see anything. How did he-?"
"Aiden used an advanced Shifting technique," Brandon interrupted. "He knows how to disappear and reappear into places that he can't see. But only by having a clear picture of the destination in his mind."
"Probably should've given him a soda bottle for the bathroom," she grumbled.
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. If we know his true powers, he'll get back to their base within a day at most. No way he'll die out there."
Kaitlyn scowled. Their only prisoner managed to outsmart them, and now they had no way of knowing their plans. A sneak attack could come any time when they were least prepared. Her grip tightened around the water bottle that she was holding, which was only a quarter full. She squeezed it tighter and tighter, causing it to make crackling noises until it burst into Particles and dissipated. She was a Shape Destroyer too, alongside Brandon, Tyler, and Aiden. Recently it was discovered that Jason was one as well, which would cause problems later on. However, that was something they had planned for, and it wouldn't be much longer before their secret weapon would be put to use.
"So, what do we do now?" Kaitlyn wondered. "We don't know where they're hiding out. How can we figure out what they're doing?"
As if in response, the door to the room they were in opened, and Aaron Clark came in. He smiled at Kaitlyn, then turned to Brandon, all business, holding a Photo-brand tablet.
"We located another," he said, handing it to him. "Thought I should run it by you to see if he could be of any use."
Brandon took the tablet, looking confused. "Another what?"
For some reason, it pleased Kaitlyn that Brandon wasn't as all-knowing as he made himself to be. Having information that no one else knew was a thing he liked to hold over their heads.
"Another Shifter."
Brandon looked unconvinced as he looked down at the screen. Then his eyes widened and his arms tensed.
"Can't be," he whispered softly.
"It is," Aaron Clark replied. "He's been hiding nearby and watching, carefully, everything that had happened since they banished him. I sensed it every time, but there was no reason to oppose it because he was never a threat. But they don't know he's still out there. Maybe we can use him to our advantage."
Brandon looked hesitant. While Kaitlyn was doing a good job of keeping a straight face, she was loving his mental breakdown.
"Are you sure we can trust him? You know what he's capable of, how strong he really is. We're dealing with forces that we've never seen. And don't forget what he did to Aiden-"
"It was just a suggestion," Aaron interrupted calmly. "But if we're going to do this, we'll have to stay on top of things. He could potentially help us in getting this world into the right direction." He turned around and walked out.
Kaitlyn watched him fondly, then turned back to Brandon. He stared at the blinking red dot, on top of the map of the country, on the screen for what seemed like hours. It was only about a mile or so from their base, which scared him a little. The amount of spying that this guy could've done was more than Brandon imagined if he knew where they were. Then, something else came into his mind, something that Aaron Clark had said: Ryan and his Shifters didn't know he was still around. He looked up from the tablet and turned to Kaitlyn. She knew that look on his face; the one that said he had the upper hand. The one that said he knew something important. The one that said you'd better run away or it was going to get ugly.
She merely raised an eyebrow.
"Go get Tyler," Brandon said. "I've got an idea."
"I hope we don't run out of food in this mall," Lin said apprehensively. "The look of old hot dogs is not pleasing."
"Old hot dogs?" Jam asked, almost excitedly. "Where?"
"In the- you're so disgusting," Lin cried out, recoiling.
"Well," what about water?" I chimed in. "You can't survive without that for a few days."
"All right, fine." What if we run out of nourishment?"
"We're not staying here for much longer," I replied. "We're invading their base in a couple of days, so don't go crazy about the food."
"Can't wait," she sighed, throwing her head back. "Like will be so easy when this whole war, or whatever, is finished."
"Well, for now, we have to make the most of it," Jam said as we reached the area he and Alex had been using as their room. It was an electronics section filled with rows of old games, movies, TV's, and displays for phones and tablets.
"I'm still annoyed that you found the best store here," I complained, smiling.
Jam shrugged. "No one else wanted to go this far, so Alex and I were like, 'why now?'"
"Because you'll create competition," I said slyly, reaching out to punch him playfully in the arm.
He dodged swiftly. "Better be careful, or I'll have to pierce you with my Particle sword," he said with a dangerous grin.
I was about to come up with a good reply, when I remembered how weak I'd become during the training session. There was a very real possibility that a Shifter with Jam's level of experience could take me out if they played their cards right. The smile evaporated from my face and I sighed deeply, wondering if, and how, I could get my full potential back. The only way seemed to be to defeat the enemies that stood in our way: Brandon, Tyler, and Kaitlyn. But that arose the lingering question: would I be strong enough to take out Brandon, Tyler, and Kaitlyn?