10
I threw the controller I was holding down on the couch in anger, only making it issue a soft thump. Jam had found out how to get one of the TV's working, so the three of us were in his bedroom section playing more video games. This one was Super Smash Bros., another one I was bad at. We'd done five rounds so far, and, no matter what character I chose, I'd always end up losing. Lin and Jam would continually become locked in a heated battle, which Jam usually won, until the last match. In it, Lin just managed to beat him with a lucky shot.
"I tell you, I'm never going to get good at this," I mumbled.
"Sure you will," Jam replied with an exhilarated grin. "You just need to keep practicing." He pressed a button, and the iconic loading screen appeared. "Who's down for another?"
Lin nodded eagerly, a manic smile on her face. I rolled my eyes, but was about to agree when I heard a deep voice from behind us.
"Yo, Jam. You're not messing with my high score, are you?"
"Of course not, Alex," he called back, winking at the two of us. "Just sharpening my skills, as usual."
"Really?" Alex walked into the pale yellow glow of the overhead lights. "Well, it's probably time to pack it up. It's 10:15."
Jam turned to look up at him. "Is it actually?"
"Yeah, you'd better get ready for bed. Ryan's got something planned for you."
"Like, what?" Lin asked. I could tell she didn't like the sound of that.
Alex grinned roguishly, almost like a predator sizing up his prey. "You'll soon find out. All I can say is that it'll have destructive consequences."
"Destructive- wait, you mean we'll be Shape Destroying?" Lin asked, but he'd already walked away.
She looked at us apprehensively. "I think we're going to be Shape Destroying."
Ever since the incident at the school, Jam and Lin had been experimenting with their powers and it hadn't taken them long to find out they had the same ability I did. When I saw that they'd discovered it as well, I was a little disappointed, to be honest. For a couple of days, I'd assumed that it was only Aiden, Alex, and I who had it on our side. But I was also relieved as well. Being a Shape Destroyer gave you an uneven balance of power that I wasn't entirely comfortable with.
"I'm sure we'll handle it fine," Jam replied, standing up and stretching.
"I don't think so," I replied, downcast. "I think my powers are beginning to weaken."
They looked at me, confused. "What do you mean?" Lin wondered.
"When Tyler hit me with that Taser, I think he stole some of my Particles," I explained. "My Shifting powers haven't been the same."
They both went quiet for a moment, thinking about what I'd said. Then, Jam spoke. "Will you get them back?"
I looked down. "I have no idea. To me, the only way to return to my full potential is by defeating them." I didn't have to clarify; Jam and Lin knew exactly who I was talking about.
"Wouldn't it make sense to only go after Tyler?" Lin asked skeptically. "He's the one who took them."
"Maybe," I replied. "But I can tell they have something sinister in store for us. We can't let him, Kaitlyn, or Brandon walk free."
"Agreed," Jam said, which raised my spirits a little. "Well, let's take things one step at a time. We've got a big training session tomorrow if what Alex said is true. And everything he says is almost always true. You two better get ready and go to bed. There's a bathroom down the hall which should have everything you need. And yes, it's separated between boys and girls." He smirked.
"Thanks, Jam," Lin said, giving him a playful shove. "But, do you mind if I sleep here tonight? I don't want to be rude, but my room is all the way on the other side of the mall, and-"
"Actually, I've been waiting for you to ask that all these months. Of course! It just so happens that there's an At Home section a few isles down. You can find a mattress, blankets, and some pillows somewhere in there."
She nodded with a smile, looked down the dark hallway, and disappeared in a burst of Particles.
"Are you sleeping over too, Jason?" He asked eagerly.
"Yeah, I can. My room's downstairs in a storage closet. This is a nice change in scenery."
Jam laughed. "I should come check it out, see how messy it must be." He smirked again. I realized that it was a habit he would have trouble breaking.
"At least it's somewhat of a tighter area," I responded nonchalantly. "This is way too spacious."
"I'm fine with that," Jam replied, sprawling down on a cot a few feet from the couch. Claustrophobia is my weakness."
"I had no idea," I said, rolling my eyes.
Lin reappeared, at that moment, carrying two white mattresses, a couple of blankets, and two pillows. She lost her grip she had on everything as soon as she materialized, and it all fell to the floor.
"Whoops, sorry," she said, reaching down to grab it all. I went over to help.
"You didn't have to bring an extra set," I told her, though grateful anyways. "Thanks."
"Oh, it totally wasn't a pain in the butt juggling it all just long enough to Shift back," Lin said sarcastically. Then she smiled deviously to my surprised expression. "Just kidding, you're welcome. Anyway, I'm going to get ready." She stood up and walked down to the girl's room.
I went to go to the boy's room, then stopped and looked back at Jam.
"You go," he said. "I got ready an hour ago. Old routine, I guess."
I shrugged, and walked down the hall into the bathroom, which I was happy to see, was cleaner than I thought it would be. Taking a deep breath, I focused on a paper towel hanging from the dispenser, and it Shifted into the clothes I wore for bed. I made sure to have my hands underneath it so they wouldn't fall into the trash. I did the same thing for my toothbrush and toothpaste, checking to see how my strength reacted. I saw no noticeable change, so I figured it was only large amounts of Shifting that made it dwindle. It took only 10 minutes to brush and get dressed, but even then I still got back a minute after Lin. It didn't concern me much, and I began to set up my makeshift bed. Alex returned after we'd all settled in. However, Lin didn't seem to want to ask him about what he'd said before.
"Are they staying?" He asked Jam.
"Yeah," Jam replied. "Most likely just for tonight, since we're moving two days from tomorrow."
Alex nodded, letting out a loud open mouth yawn. "See you guys tomorrow."
I grunted, then rolled over to face Jam and Lin. After a moment of stark silence, I spoke.
"So, Jam," I whispered.
"What?" He hissed back.
"Why do you go to bed so early?"
"So, I'm already asleep when Alex comes," he replied.
"But what's wrong with that?" I asked.
And then we heard it. A guttural sound coming from behind a shelf of movies that was almost like a low growl. My eyes widened because it came out a little louder than I thought, but then I knew what it was. It was distracting though. Lin actually sat up with a gasp, but calmed down when she recognized it too.
"Oh," I said.
"Yep," Jam replied with an amused smile. "He snores. The funny thing is that after all these years he still doesn't know and I still haven't told him. I've gotten used to it sometimes."
Jam and Lin layed back down and most likely tried to go to sleep. I shook my head, then covered one ear, while pressing my other one into the pillow, and closed my eyes.
Tyler was pacing back and forth, an annoyed scowl on his face. Somehow, it'd been Brandon's brilliant idea to have him go recruit this new Shifter they'd found near their base. Even though he wasn't so new after all. When Tyler got his first glimpse of him, he'd seen that Brandon had been right; this guy used to be a Shifter who'd trained Aiden before that horrible incident. It was strange enough to find him still out there, seemingly living on his own. But, Tyler hadn't been too happy that Brandon had chosen him to go talk to him. He should've known Tyler never really had the best relations with him. But, no, Brandon had to continue overseeing the training going on at the base, and Kaitlyn had to go handle the abritions of Jason and Aiden, which had only left Tyler open.
He had to admit, though, that those doppelgangers were getting powerful, nearly as much as himself and Kaitlyn, which was saying something. He found it pretty ingenious that someone could make a double of themselves simply by zapping themselves with a Taser and using their Particles. But, it didn't come without a cost. Once activated, not only did the Taser steal a certain amount of Particles from the victim, it also reduced their strength as long as it remained attached to them. It wasn't something that should be messed around with; Aaron Clark had invented, and designed, them specifically for a balance of power. They were for any Shifter who became too strong with their abilities. But, the product of a Taser was dangerous in its own way…
The sound of the door opening snapped Tyler out of his thoughts. He turned around to see Brandon and Kaitlyn enter the office section he'd been standing in.
"Nice of you two to finally show up," he said with a dry laugh. "It feels like I've been waiting for an hour."
Brandon shrugged, and leaned against the wall. "We're here now. What's his word?"
"He's agreed to join us and do what you asked. He'll make the trip tomorrow night and get as much intel as he can on their plans."
"Well, he must be lying, because I told him to sneak into their base today," Brandon replied.
Tyler felt his anger start to bubble like molten lava; he hated it when Brandon was in this mood. "He said that he knows what he's doing by going through with it this way, so maybe try cutting him some slack."
Brandon scowled and began to walk toward him. Kaitlyn, who hadn't said anything since they arrived, now went into action, stepping in between them.
"Calm down, guys. You're not helping if you start a brawl right now, even if I'd love to see one." She looked back and forth between them before her gaze stopped on Brandon. She was acutely aware that they both had the power to tear down the entire building if they felt the urge. "I don't see anything wrong with waiting another day. Besides there's nothing that could fracture our plans. They're bullet proof."
"Let's hope so," he replied warily. "If they find a way to prevent what we have to do, not only would it be bad for us, but for the entire world."
Kaitlyn chuckled. "I think you worry too much." Then she took Tyler by the hand and led him out of the room. The two guys shared one final look at each other before Tyler was gone.
Brandon glanced out one of the windows, where the broken, empty world lay outside, coated in sunlight. He knew that the timer was ticking down until they had to face Ryan and his Shifters. He could only wish that his own team would be able to face them, if they went down in the fight.
My senses fired on my muscles, and I ducked the Particle sword that swung behind me, aiming to slice through my head. I was only met with another sword that Alex had started to bring down on me. I raised mine to block it, but after a few minutes, his eyebrow twitched, and my sword dissolved into nothing. Unfortunately, I couldn't move fast enough, and his blade came down on my neck mercilessly. It didn't cut through the skin, though, because of my white headband, but the force of it still knocked me to the ground. I rolled over to see him standing over me, sword pointed at my heart. I didn't even have the strength to get up, so I laid there on the floor, breathing heavily.
I was starting to feel the same way I did after I got out of the hospital during training workout: weak, easily beaten. It was aggravating, and I was sick of it. Lin and Jam had done a good job holding everyone else off, despite the constant Shape Destroying. That had mostly been from Alex; now that we knew the truth, he seemed less inclined to hold back. Jam offered me a hand up, and I took it gratefully.
"Come on, man. That's the third time," he said with his characteristic Jam smirk. "It's like you didn't get enough sleep."
"You know why; I have to get my strength back from them," I replied, wiping sweat off my forehead. I looked up at Alex. "I thought you'd take that into consideration."
He shrugged. "Sorry, man. You've got to find a way to work around it."
"There is," I said. "Destroying them."
"I'm not sure if it works that way. I'll talk to Ryan, see what we can do." He walked off.
Like I need his opinion, I thought bitterly, then shook my head. "It really is like being in the military."
Lin laughed. "It's not that bad. I doubt that they get the same meals we do."
"What's with you and food?" I asked, not being able to resist cracking a smile.
"To that note, I'm feeling a little hungry," Jam said. "Let's get something from that vending machine."
We looked over to where he was pointing.
"Didn't Ryan tell us not to-" Lin started, but Jam was already walking over to it.
By the time we'd caught up to him, he'd already Shifted the glass away and was rooting through the snacks it had. He pulled out a bag of Cheez-Its.
"Do these have an expiration date?" Jam asked us.
I shrugged. "Try it."
He opened the pack, put a few in his mouth, and chewed. After a moment, I spoke up. "So, how are they?"
"A little stale," he replied, his mouth full. "But good. I think they've been sealed tight all these years."
"Like that wasn't obvious," I snickered, taking a bag of Goldfish.
I was just about to tear into it when I heard a voice call us.
"Guys, we've got a surprise for you. Get over here!"
I put the bag down, surprised. Ryan almost never sounded this excited and gleeful before. Something big must've happened.
"If it's more Shape Destroying, I don't want it!" I yelled back, winking at Jam and Lin.
"It's not. But, just come on!"
I rolled my eyes and began making my way towards his voice. They followed. As we rounded the corner, my mind began running through the possible things that Ryan would want to show us. None of it seemed reasonable, until we found them in a side hallway, and I realized the one thing I had missed. With all the training we'd been doing, I had barely given it a single thought. But now, as I stopped in my tracks, jaw open and eyes wide, I could tell Jam and Lin were just shocked as I was by what we were seeing. Because this person had gotten captured by them. I'd seen Kaitlyn escape with him.
Except there was no mistaking his light-brown hair, his red and golden eyes, or his confident smile. My mouth finally found the strength to form words.
"A-Aiden?"
He nodded and his smile widened. "Yeah, it's me."
I walked up to him almost in a trance, completely in awe of who I was seeing. Then he spread out his hands, and I came in for a full man hug. I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, and had to force myself not to cry. Now that he was back, I felt like I'd regained some piece of my life again.
"I missed you so much," I said quietly, though loud enough for everyone to hear.
He tightened his grip slightly, which I knew was his way of saying the same thing. Finally, after a moment, we both stepped back, allowing Jam and Lin to greet him as well, with a fistbump and another hug respectively. Ryan and Alex had been standing to the side, watching the exchange with solemn expressions on their faces. I noticed, however, that Ryan finally looked at ease for the first time since coming back from the school. Aiden's return had definitely brought back warmth in this cold world. But, now that the gang was back, it was time to prepare for the battle that was drawing ever so closer like a wolf sneaking up on its prey.