12

Aiden was lying on his bed in his old room, lost in deep thought. The track workout they'd done today had taken a lot out of him, so he'd been completely wiped out by the time he'd gotten home. He hadn't had the strength to do any homework, so after taking a shower and eating dinner, he simply dragged himself into his room and took a nap. Aiden had woken up an hour later, saw that the clock said 8:03 pm, and wondered how his parents would react to this. They'd probably make him stay up all night trying to finish the assignments he had.

Of course, he would never find out the answer to that because his mom and dad were gone. It had been a couple weeks ago, but he still remembered it as if it were yesterday. The phone call from the military saying that their parents had been killed on a mission in Europe; the shock and silence that followed; his brother, Bill, going into his room, trying to comprehend the unbelievable news. Aiden hadn't given much of a reaction. But, deep down, he was heartbroken, scared, and alone. He stood there for about 15 minutes, attempting to make sense of it all, wondering how it was possible.

Eventually, his brother returned, and gave him a gesture for a hug, his arms welcoming Aiden in. He didn't hesitate and soon found himself crying silently into Bill's black T-Shirt, unsure of how, not too long ago, the two of them were laughing and joking around. Over the next week, relatives came over to offer condolences and to see if they needed any help with things at home. None of them lived near them; most were on the other side of the country. Yet, a few still had asked them if they had wanted to come live with them. Aiden was pretty sure the people in his family knew Bill was nearly 20 years old, but Bill told them anyway, that he could apply for Aiden's custody.

Which was what he'd done about a week ago, and after that they went on as normal. They both had also gone to therapy sessions in order to calm their restless feelings. Aiden had found it worked quite well for him, and slowly, but surely, he found the strength to move on. But, the progress Bill had made was still unknown to him…

A knock on his door brought him out of his train of thought, and he looked up to see Bill standing there in the doorway. He was dressed in a gray T-Shirt and faded blue jeans that he'd had for a few years. His dark hair was ruffled a little, and Aiden wondered if he had just woken up.

"How're you doing?" He asked in a low gruff voice.

"All right. School was boring as always. They made us do 400s at practice."

Bill managed a smile, something Aiden hadn't seen in days. "I remember doing those in my freshman year. They always sucked the energy out of me like you wouldn't believe. It's why I began focusing more on basketball." He came in and sat down on his bed.

"But, what were you doing just now?" Aiden asked. "You look like you rolled out of bed a few minutes ago."

He shrugged. "I've been up for a little longer than that. But you're right; I was sleeping."

That came as no surprise. Bill ended up sleeping for long periods of time in the recent days. He worked from home at whatever time they needed him, so there were times when he'd still be in bed when Aiden came home from track practice at 4:30. He met his gaze, and this time he noticed something in Bill's sky blue eyes that he'd never seen before. It was something that looked disturbed, but also resolved, like he knew what he would do later on. It scared him a little, but he didn't question it.

"You can take care of yourself okay, right?" Bill asked him in a serious tone that seemed out of touch with his character.

"Yeah, man," Aiden replied, sitting up. "Most of the time, you're knocked out by the time I get back, so I'm used to making dinner myself. I'm able to get rides from my friends to and from school, and I can get myself ready in the mornings. I'm good in that sense."

Bill nodded. "I figured you were. You're a tough kid, Aiden, and I'm proud to have you as my brother."

Aiden smiled slightly, and was about to reply, when his phone buzzed. He fished it out of his pocket to see a text from his friend, asking for help with something. He rolled his eyes as he put it back in its place.

"Who's that?" Bill asked.

"Just Evan. He wants me over." Aiden stood up, stretching. "I've got to go."

"You sure? It's starting to get dark out."

Aiden snickered. "His house is just a couple blocks away. I'll be fine." He walked out of the room. "See you later."

Bill grunted, but Aiden didn't really think about their conversation as he left the house. But, after that, it seemed like the world had jumped through time, picking back up when he returned, 45 minutes later. Different scenes flashed by his vision: him looking around the house for Bill… eventually going to knock on his bedroom door… hearing no answer, but going inside anyway… finding him lying against his bed, a dark spot where his heart was…

And the gun that sat just out of reach from his hand, clearly having been used…

Aiden jolted awake, letting out a short scream, sitting up in his bed. He looked around the storage room bathed in yellow light from a bulb hanging from the ceiling, and laid back down, taking deep breaths.

"Aiden?" I asked groggily. "Are you okay?" I'd been startled awake by his cry, but was still half asleep.

He looked over at me, breathing heavily. "Yeah, I'm good." He looked pale and was sweating.

"I don't think so," I replied, sitting up. "This is the fourth time this has happened. What's going on?" I looked at him with concern; it wasn't natural that he kept reacting like this.

The look on his face said he wasn't in the mood to talk about it. Nonetheless, he shook his head and said, "It was just a nightmare."

I jumped on it immediately, my curiosity overblown. "Nightmare about what? Was it the same one you've been having? Did it have a dragon in it?"

Aiden looked at me incredulously. "Uh, no." He rested his forehead on his hand. "Kaitlyn was right. I couldn't let go of my past. She was right."

"What do you mean?" I questioned, alarmed that he said that. "What are you talking about?"

He took in another deep breath, let it out slowly, then came right out with it. "I had a dream about my brother." He lowered his voice. "His death."

I looked down at my blankets. "Oh, I didn't-"

"No, it's fine," he replied, attempting to sound reassuring, but I could tell he was still hurt by what he'd seen.

I glanced up to see him slide out of bed, Shifting a small box of nails, sitting on one of the shelves, into a glass of water. He took a drink as he walked over to where his laptop sat on a wooden table and turned it on. As I expected, he scrolled through the battle plans Ryan had him type out, skimming through the things we'd be carrying out. It was a new habit that Aiden had picked up on in the past day, checking the plans at least four times before we went to bed. He signed off and returned to his bed, and the X-shaped scar became visible under the light, still a deep red and as vivid as I had last seen it.

5 months ago after he'd gotten burned in the gym.

Throughout our endless days of training, the question of how he'd gotten it flowed through my mind several times. But I'd always be a little hesitant, seeing as it wasn't the most subtle of scratches. Now, though, I figured it would be best, since we were off to battle the next morning, and I wanted to get it out of my head.

"Hey, Aiden, can I ask you a couple of questions?"

He turned to look at me. "Of course, man. What's up?"

"I was wondering…" My brain scrambled to find a good way to phrase it. "Where did you get that scar on your chest? It looks like you got it in a sword fight when you were younger." I scolded myself for sounding so inconsiderate, but Aiden merely stared at me indifferently.

"Hm? Oh, this," he looked down at his muscular chest, and ran a hand across the jagged surface as if he was trying to wipe it away. But it made me wonder how someone could forget about a thing like that so easily. "Well, in a way, I was in a sword fight. I was just like you a few years ago. Near the top of my class. Eager. Determined."

I looked away, embarrassed. "I really don't think-"

"No, it's true," Aiden interrupted. "But my trainer got jealous of my improvement. He took it a little… personally. One night, we were arguing over something insignificant, and he Shifted a sword into his hand. After that, he lost it." Aiden was now wearing the same solemn expression that he had during my first week of training. "I felt a burning pain, lost consciousness for quite a while, and woke up in a hospital. They'd had me hooked up for a few days, but no amount of nurem was fixing the damage on the outside. The doctors were afraid of putting in stitches because they thought it might lead to more pain over time. But everything on the inside was healed except for the scars. That stayed. And probably until my final days." He shrugged. "It really doesn't bother me anymore."

"Who did this?" I wondered if he was referring to one of Brandon's Shifters. This was enough to make me want to tear them limb from limb.

Aiden waved his hand dismissively. "He's not around anymore. After the incident, the adults who trained us sent him away, banishing him from the Shifter's community. I know we don't talk about it much, but have you heard of the name 'Shade?'"

I shook my head.

"Well, he was my trainer. And the guy who assaulted me. I never saw him again after that day, but sometimes I kind of miss when we used to practice Shifting. He was a good guy while it lasted." Aiden went quiet for a few moments, having ended his discussion.

Something else was on my mind, and I opened my mouth to voice it, but Aiden began to speak again. "So, did you say you had another question?"

"Yes," I replied. "That tattoo on your arm. I've been wondering, what does it stand for? And why were you hiding it throughout my early training session?"

He looked down at the cobalt tinted image of a circle morphing into a triangle inked into his skin. "I was never concealing it on purpose. It just happened to appear that way. But this is the official logo of the Shifters. Long before you joined, new and current members were required to get a tattoo of it somewhere visible on themselves, like an arm or leg. Ryan and Alex have it too, as well as most of our Shifters. But they stopped doing it about a year ago, which is why you, Jam, and Lin don't wear it. The logo was also on shirts, shorts, and pants that they gave out to us too. It served as our uniform, almost similar to the military, just as our texts made it out to be. The others don't really show it anymore, as if it's not a part of us."

"Okay," I said, nodding. "But who's 'they'? The Shift leaders?"

He shook his head. "No. Aaron Clark. And a few others."

My breath caught. "Really?"

"Yeah," he turned to face me. "Remember, Aaron was the first person to come across Particles, learn their power, and experiment with it. He eventually taught a large group of adults, about 20 of them. They became the first Shifter leaders. Later, they began bringing kids who'd just started high school, to begin learning as well. That's where we come in."

I laid back down on my bed, the gears whirring in my mind. It was all starting to make sense now.

But Aiden wasn't finished. "However, it wasn't long before Aaron Clark realized how dangerous the ability is. The people he trained were getting hurt. Badly. So, he went to annihilate all the Shifters he'd gathered, trying to dispose of the threat. He was able to kill off all the adults. Luckily, the rest of us were able to escape, including Ryan, Alex, and I. There were about 30 of us in total. We were gone before he realized. Besides him, we were the only Shifters left, all kids. Any of the adults who knew about Shifting were long gone. I never saw Aaron after that, and I can't even begin to guess where he is now. But we can't let him find us. He'll destroy us without a second thought, in order to protect the world."

Aiden went quiet again and laid down as well. I could tell the burst of energy he'd had after waking up was subsiding. Then, another thought struck me. "Do you think that's why Brandon, Tyler, and Kaitlyn want to get rid of us? To save the world?"

"It's possible," he replied. "They could be carrying on his work, because they believe what he thought." Aiden suddenly seemed tensed up as if dwelling on some bad event that could happen.

"Are you… afraid?" I asked carefully.

Silence came for a moment before he responded. "Yes."

I looked at him with sympathy. "Don't be. We're going to get through this. Just as long as we know we're on the right side, they'll fall. Tomorrow."

He smiled faintly. "Thanks, man. I believe that we'll be able to beat them. It's been a long time in the coming, and that's exactly the mindset we need."

I couldn't help but smile too. "Well, being strong was something my dad taught me by serving in the Eastern Militia. I'm not going to stop now, when I'm with a ragtag group of teenagers who've become my closest friends."

"Got that right."

Aiden stopped talking after that, so I settled in and closed my eyes. I was more eager than ever to take our enemies out, and as long as we didn't give in, I knew that it was possible.

It took a long time for Aiden to fall asleep that night which was something rare to happen. Due to the condition that he had since birth, he could fall into a deep sleep almost immediately, and whenever the mood struck him. In fact, there had been one or two instances where his friends had to wake him up from dozing in school, mainly math class. Aiden had never really liked math class.

But, now whenever he closed his eyes, the image of his brother's dead body with his face unnaturally calm and resigned, would appear in the darkness, as if imprinted on the insides of his eyelids. He'd look at it for a moment before feeling his throat clog and his breath go shallow, forcing him to reopen them to escape the horrible memory. Noticing that his vision was a little blurry, he'd wipe his eyes. Eventually, his mind began to feel more at ease and allowed him some rest, and he was enveloped in a heavy sleep as usual, not to wake up until morning. It was for this reason that he didn't sense the presence of a figure standing outside the door of the storage closet. He opened it slowly, preventing it from creaking, and looked around.

The room was full of several shelves housing various objects from books to electronics. The only light came from a bulb on the ceiling, dim enough as to not cause disturbance while sleeping. It didn't matter, though. The figure was searching for something, an advantage that Brandon had sent him to find. Brandon knew that Ryan always liked to be prepared, have things mapped out, and to store information to reference later. It only made sense that he'd have their battle plans written out. He instantly caught sight of Aiden's laptop, glowing a dull silver color in the light, and it seemed worth checking out. After all, nearly everything was digital nowadays. It was a likely place to store the information Brandon was looking for.

He took a deep, yet quiet, breath, and moved his hand in a sideways motion. The laptop burst into Particles and began to flow toward his outstretched hand. The soft whooshing sound that accompanied the act of Shifting felt louder than it actually was, and he was afraid that it would wake the other guys in the room.

But, of course, there wasn't much to worry about. Aiden was always a deep sleeper upon going to bed, so the small sound simply caused him to stir and roll over, facing the wall. The other kid, whom the figure didn't recognize, remained still, not reacting in one way or another. He couldn't believe his luck that this was happening. Finding them hadn't been the hard part. Back when he was training Aiden, he'd put an advanced GPS tag on the back of his phone, one that could shrink into a size that couldn't be easily seen. It was even fireproof, waterproof, and shock resistant, which he was glad he added after hearing what had happened in the gym 5 months ago.

Since his banishment, he'd stayed close to the Shifters, but not too close that he'd be sensed, watching them train and moving when they moved. It wasn't until a few days earlier that he'd been called on for action. After the attack that Brandon had orchestrated that night, he'd lost track of where Ryan's Shifters had gone, and had somehow ended up close to the base where Brandon had been. After being recruited by Tyler, he was given an assignment almost immediately.

He felt the cool, smooth surface of the computer materialize in his hand, and felt his arm buckle, unprepared for its weight. He caught it with his other hand, before it would've crashed on the floor and caused a disturbance. He steadied himself, heart racing, nerves shot. He couldn't make a mistake, since it would lead to a fight he might not be able to win. That wasn't an option at this stage of the game.

He booted it on, making sure to turn down the brightness to its lowest setting, barely enough to illuminate his face, and began searching the files. At first, it took longer than he expected; Aiden had dozens of documents and random things scattered around his CPU. After about 5 minutes of going through his computer, he found a folder labeled only with the date of the previous day. His heart began beating faster as he opened it up, first with hesitation, then with excitement as he saw it contained a word document and image files with everything he was looking for.

Taking out a flash drive from his pocket, the figure went straight to work, plugging it in and copying the entire folder to put it in it. The process took only a minute at most, and when he was done, he removed the drive and shut down the laptop. It'd been a good thing that he still remembered Aiden's password all these years after finding it written on a slip of paper in his backpack. He concentrated on the laptop again, and it burst into Particles, reappearing in the same spot where it had sat for most of the night. By the time they figured out what he'd done, it would be too late, and their army would perish.

The figure smiled to himself, which went unseen in the shadows where he stood. Oh, Aiden, you always were the one who saved everything for later. Have it preserved in some place. That turned out to be your biggest mistake.

With that he closed the door, which made a small sound when it reached the wall, and left the mall complex, leaving everything as it was before he arrived. He was aware that he could've taken them all out with little difficulty, and ended the entire conflict that resided in this broken world. But, he knew that that was something he wasn't really capable of. As much as he despised Ryan and his Shifters, he didn't have the will or the courage to just kill them. But, whether he knew it or not, that choice would impact him for a long time afterwards.