Chapter 4: Truths, Track, and Not Looking Back

"And… Go!"

Mick took off running down the circular track that surrounded the football field, not bothering to look back as he passed the people that had originally flanked his sides. He grinned and allowed himself to slow down a bit, adjusting to a comfortable pace. However, it was only a moment before a gust of wind hit him and Mick watched as someone zoomed past him and down the track. Mick frowned at the runner and he sped up, trying desperately to catch up.

He groaned as he felt his lungs tighten and his limbs burn with the increased activity.

It was another minute before he finally crossed the finished line and he collapsed at the feet of the person that had passed him.

"Are you a mutant or something?" Mick managed to ask between heavy breaths. He looked up to find a smirking Isaac who offered a hand to Mick.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm human and you're just slow," he teased.

Mick sighed and he quickly wiped the sweat that covered his forehead with the bottom of his shirt. "I came in second, you know."

"Yes and after giving you a head start I still passed the finish line a minute before you," Isaac reminded him.

Mick laughed and nodded. "I'll give you that."

Isaac grinned and the two boys began to head to the locker room.

"How've you been?" Mick asked once they were down there. "None of us have seen you since you walked off two weeks ago."

Isaac paused for a moment before proceeding to change into his school uniform. "Umm, I've been around."

"Danielle stops by every now and then, so…" Mick trailed off and he watched as Isaac stiffened at the statement.

"I don't really have time. I mean, what's the point anyways? I haven't had any visions and I don't want any," Isaac replied.

Mick frowned and found his eyes drifting to the floor. "Have you talked to Nina or Amber? You could really help us figure out what's going on."

Isaac shook his head and closed his locker. "It's been two weeks and you're the first one I've talked to since then. I don't want to get involved in whatever it is you guys are planning."

"But we all have to discuss it at some point, don't we? I mean, aren't you curious?" Mick questioned.

Isaac shrugged and he grabbed his bag from the floor. "I don't know, mate. I guess getting strange powers from an Egyptian jewel isn't something I want to discuss."

The corners of Mick's lips twitched slightly and he returned his eyes to his locker.

"Look, you're a pretty cool guy and you seem to be the most normal of the bunch, so I'll give it to you straight. I don't want powers. I don't want mystery. My life is fine as it is."

Mick nodded and he forced a smile as he returned his eyes to Isaac. "No, I agree. It's best to just forget about it."

"Alright," Isaac returned the smile and patted Mick's shoulder before heading to the door. "I'll see you around Mick."

Mick watched as Isaac left the room. He sighed and closed his locker upon Isaac leaving before collecting his own things and heading to Anubis house.

(***)

"Alright," Amber clasped her hands together before looking over at her housemates. "I'm glad you all decided to make this house meeting."

She picked up a marker that rested on the coffee table and turned to the white erase board she had set up in front of the TV. "We discovered two weeks ago that Nina could heal, Isaac could see the future, and that I can freeze things. Anyone else have something to add to the list?"

The teens looked around, waiting for someone to speak up, before Eddie cautiously raised his hand.

"I set my bed on fire," he confessed.

"Umm," Amber didn't exactly know what to say, so she turned her back to him and added his power to the board. "Fire manipulation. Okay, anyone else?"

Jerome stood up suddenly and all eyes fell on him. "I think I have something, but I'm not sure."

"What happened?" Mara asked.

He cleared his throat and laced his fingers together. "It's not exactly like Isaac where he can see the future, but I can see two or three seconds before something happens and react quicker. It's like the world slows down for a moment, giving me an upper hand. I don't know. It could be nothing, but it feels like something."

"It's not nothing," Fabian confirmed. "Superhuman reflexes. That's what it's called. You react faster than the average human in certain situations because at times the world moves slower to you."

Jerome nodded and let out a deep breath. "Okay, I'm glad I got that off my chest."

After Jerome, it seemed that more people were comfortable sharing what had happened the past week and what abilities they appeared to have.

Patricia revealed that she accidentally sent a textbook flying at a teacher during class leading Fabian to conclude that she had telekinesis.

Mara spoke next and told the group that she was the reason the power had gone out a couple days earlier in the house after sparks from her hands hit one of the outlets in the bathroom. Turned out she had developed electric manipulation.

No one else could recall seeing any signs of abilities.

"Okay, so that leaves Alfie, Joy, Fabian, and Mick," Amber concluded once she finished writing down the new powers.

"Oh, and Danielle," Nina added. "We're going to talk to her later to see if anything has happened."

"So is that it?" Jerome asked. "We go back to waiting now?"

"What else is there to do?" Fabian shrugged.

"Are you sure that phone number doesn't work?" Eddie questioned.

Nina nodded. "The number has been disconnected."

He sighed and the teens sat in silence once more, the too familiar feeling of defeat filling them once again.

"What if," Alfie began, sending all eyes to him. "What if people have more than one ability?"

"We have enough on our plates dealing with one, okay?" Patricia pointed out. "We don't need to start worrying about another."

Alfie frowned, but he didn't object as he slumped back into his seat.

At that moment, the door to Anubis house opened and in came Mick, sweaty and tired from football practice.

"Where have you been?" Amber asked.

"Practice," Mick replied as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Why?"

"We had a house meeting about our powers. Discover anything yet?" Nina asked.

Mick shook his head as he took a sip from his water bottle. "Nope. As far as I can tell, I'm still the same old Mick Campbell."

Amber sighed and looked over at her housemates. "Meeting adjourned."

Everyone began to leave the room until it was only Amber, Nina, Fabian, and Mick left.

"I talked to Isaac," he revealed after taking a seat on the sofa.

"What did he say?" Nina asked.

Mick shrugged. "What do you think? He wants nothing to do with this."

Nina groaned and threw one of the markers across the room. "He was the one that started this!"

"Breathe, Nina," Amber told her best friend. "Just calm down."

"I'm fine," she insisted as she stepped away from her. "I'm just frustrated is all."

"The situation will get better, okay?" Fabian tried to assure her.

Nina shook her head. "You can't promise that. Danielle has tried everything and he just won't listen to reason. She's done trying to convince him. I just, I wish he would at least hear us out."

"Well," Amber spoke up and they all turned to her. "Maybe he won't hear us out, but he does seem to be talking to Mick. What if Mick tried out for the track team? He could get closer to Isaac and befriend him. Maybe he can even convince him to come here and help us figure this all out."

"But is there even a this to figure out? We have powers. Why does there have to be a mystery attached to that?" Mick wondered.

"Because it's not every day that Nina is shot at and we receive unsigned letters in the mail," Fabian pointed out.

Mick sighed before nodding. "You're right. I'll talk to Isaac. I'll do what I can."

"While you do that we'll see if we can find out where the letter was sent from," Nina told him. "We're going to figure this out guys. I won't let any of us get hurt."

The group nodded before leaving the room and going off to perform their assigned tasks.

(***)

Mick spotted Isaac by the track an hour after he left Anubis house. He let out a deep breath and bent down to tie his laces before jogging over to Isaac.

"Hey," he greeted.

Isaac turned to him, clipboard in hand, and smiled. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I'm trying out for the team," Mick answered.

Isaac tried to contain a snort as he picked up one of the numbers from the bench and handed it to him. "Okay."

"What? You don't think I can do it?" Mick asked.

Isaac shrugged. "Maybe, but after what I saw earlier I have my doubts."

"I was only a minute behind," he countered.

"Doesn't matter," Isaac told him. "I gave you a head start and you still didn't beat me. When it comes to track, a second, let alone a minute, is everything."

Mick frowned at his words and Isaac cleared his throat. "But who knows? Maybe you'll surprise me."

Mick perked up at the statement before placing the number on his chest and getting in line with the rest of the people trying out.

(***)

"Anything?" Amber asked.

Fabian shook his head as he threw the book he had had in his hands across the room. "Nothing. Nina?"

Nina sighed and closed her laptop. "I'm drawing blanks here guys. I just, I don't know how we can do this."

"Maybe an extra set of hands could help,"

The three turned to the door to find Danielle leaning against it.

"We'll take all the help we can get," Nina nodded.

Danielle smiled, exposing her dimples in the process, before stepping into the messy room and getting to work.

(***)

"Alright, everyone great job today. The roster will be posted tomorrow outside the gym. You can check then to see if you made the team. You're free to go," Isaac smiled at the people around him before turning away and walking to the bench.

"How'd I do?" Mick asked.

Isaac laughed and turned to face the boy. "I was surprised. You didn't suck."

"Well I do have to run for football," Mick pointed out.

Isaac nodded. "True, but you'll find out tomorrow if you made the team."

"Not even a hint?" Mick asked.

Isaac shook his head. "Sorry,"

"Alright," Mick shrugged. "I'm a patient guy."

"Is that why you're hovering?" Isaac countered.

Mick's smile dropped and he took a small step back. "No, I just think it's weird."

"What is?"

"You're so different from when I met you in Peru," he told him.

Isaac stiffened at the observation before setting down the clipboard that was in his hand. "Yeah, to be honest that day is a blur. I don't remember meeting you. I don't remember acting isolated or unresponsive. All I remember is this need to find that cave and those jewels. It was like I was consumed by this desire. I don't know. I'm probably making no sense."

"No," Mick shook his head. "It makes sense. I mean, you knew exactly how to find those jewels. Maybe there's a reason."

"I was sort of lying earlier. I am curious," Isaac revealed. "I want to know more, but I'm scared of what will happen. I mean, we're already stuck like this. What if things get worse?"

"That's why we have to figure this out. We have to become aware of the situation to fix everything," Mick replied.

Isaac nodded and picked up his gym bag. "Okay, I understand. I'll help however you guys want as long as I'm not put in danger."

Mick grinned and began to lead Isaac to Anubis house. "You won't regret this."

Isaac sighed. "Let's hope."

(***)

Upon entering Anubis house, Isaac and Mick were met by the defeated looking Nina, Fabian, Amber, and Danielle.

"Isaac!" Danielle shot up from her seat upon seeing her friend. "You came."

Isaac nodded and stepped into the living area. "I have some questions I want to answer too, so I figured I'd stop by."

Nina smiled at the teen before sending a silent thank you to Mick. He returned the gesture to her before focusing on the whole group.

"Any progress?" he asked.

Amber shook her head and closed the book in her hand. "None whatsoever."

"All we have is this stupid letter," Fabian sighed as he held up the envelope.

"Umm," Isaac set his gym bag down. "I may be able to help."

"How?" Nina questioned.

"Turns out that along with precognition, I have retrocognition," he revealed. "I discovered it the other day during practice."

"What's retrocognition?" Amber asked.

"It's the opposite of precognition," Mick spoke up. "It means he can see events of the past."

"How did you know that?" Fabian wondered.

Mick shrugged and frowned. "I, I don't know. I just do."

Fabian's brow furrowed at his response, but he refused to pry as he approached Isaac. "How does it work?"

"I don't know," the boy admitted. "Last time, it just came to me randomly. An image from the year 1986 of our school at the track finals appeared in my head during practice."

"Could touching the envelope maybe cause that?" Nina guessed.

Isaac shrugged. "We could try."

Fabian handed Isaac the envelope and the teen held it tightly in his hands and stared at it.

After a couple minutes of nothing, Amber sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "This is pointless. Nothing is going to-,"

At that moment, Isaac suddenly took a large intake of breath and fell to his knees. His head hung back and his eyes moved rapidly behind his eyelids for a few seconds before he fell forward and gasped for air.

"What happened?" Mick asked.

Isaac could barely speak so he made a motion with his hands and Mick immediately picked up the notepad and pen on the table before handing it to him. As soon as the objects were in his hands, Isaac began to run the pen across the page quickly, completely consumed by the task. After a couple minutes, he suddenly stopped and tried to steady his breathing.

"Are you okay?" Nina asked as she knelt beside him.

Isaac nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "I saw this burst of color. I don't know. I tried my best."

He handed Nina the notepad and she gasped. "It's a fireplace. There's a piece of paper burning in it. I think it's an address. Wow, everything is so detailed. Can you draw?"

"Stick figures," Isaac replied.

"Well then you ought to look at this," Amber scoffed as she pointed to his sketch.

Isaac did as told and he was surprised to see a detailed picture of a fireplace with flames consuming a crumpled note. "Wow. I can't believe I did that."

"Okay, so what now? We aren't going to go there, are we?" Fabian asked.

Nina let out a deep breath. "We have to. This is all we have to go on."

"And what if someone ends up getting shot again?" he pointed out.

"Nina can heal and Isaac can see the future. They're probably the best option," Mick informed him.

"Someone else should go just in case," Fabian replied.

"Not you if that's what you're suggesting," Amber told him. "We don't know your power. It could be completely useless."

"Then who?" he asked.

"What about me?" Amber suggested. "I have an offensive power."

"No," Nina shook her head. "We can't risk being seen using powers. We need someone who can help us keep things quick and straight."

Danielle raised a hand at that. "What about Jerome? He has superhuman reflexes."

"That's a good point," Mick nodded.

"Okay," Nina agreed. "Jerome it is. We'll go to the address and see if we can find a clue of sorts."

"What if someone's there?" Amber asked.

Nina shrugged. "We'll be fine, okay? If anything, we'll turn back right away."

"Be careful," Danielle told Isaac as he began to head to the door.

The teen nodded. "Don't worry. We'll be back."

(***)

"Are you getting any bad vibes?" Jerome asked from the passenger seat.

Isaac shook his head. "That's not how it works."

"Oh," he shrugged. "I thought it was like some sort of danger sense."

"Nope. It's more of just knowing the past and the future with something as simple as touch," Isaac corrected.

Jerome nodded and glanced out the window. "I think this is it. Maybe we should pull over here, Nina. We shouldn't get too close."

"Alright," she agreed and quickly parked the car at the corner of the street in front of a chain linked fence.

"Once again, we've driven to a sketchy place," Isaac frowned as he scanned the area.

"Yeah, even I don't need powers to know we shouldn't be here," Jerome pointed out. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Nina let out a deep breath and glanced at the structure in front of them. "We need answers. I need answers."

"Then let's go,"

The three teens searched the perimeter until they found an opening in the fence. They slipped through and began walking towards what looked like an abandoned parking garage.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Jerome asked.

Nina nodded. "I'm positive."

"But it's deserted," Isaac observed. "What are we going to find here?"

Nina took one more look around the property until her eyes landed on a small wooden house just behind the parking structure.

"What do you think is in there?" she asked.

"Only one way to find out," Jerome shrugged.

Isaac frowned and shook his head. "I don't like this, guys."

"We have to keep moving, Isaac," Nina told him, ignoring his concern.

He sighed and followed the two Anubis residents to the small house. Upon reaching the home, it was clear that no one had lived there in quite a while. They pushed open the rotting wood door and stepped through the entrance.

"There's nothing here," Jerome stated as he looked at the cobweb covered walls and floors.

"Actually," Isaac bent down and removed a layer of dust from the floor revealing a latch. "It looks like an entrance to a cellar."

"Should we head down there?" Jerome wondered.

"We didn't come this far for nothing," Nina nodded and watched as Isaac lifted the hidden panel and revealed a glass staircase.

"It looks new," he told them as he descended into the room.

The cellar was unlike the rest of the house. A large white desk sat at the corner of the room with letters and paper strewn across its surface. A tall wooden bookcase stood beside it, completely filled with an assortment of literature. Across from it were two white arm chairs and a marble coffee table. On the coffee table rested a partially closed laptop and a cassette player.

Isaac hesitated for a moment before stepping onto the hardwood floors and walking over to the desk.

"Seems kind of odd to have an office with no windows," Jerome commented as he stared at the white walls.

"I think they were going for security," Isaac replied as he rummaged through the papers. "All the names have been scratched off the letters."

"What do they say?" Nina asked.

"Umm," Isaac let his eyes run across a couple of the letters before looking back up at Nina. "It's not in English. I think it's been encrypted."

He handed the stack of letters to Nina and she shook her head upon observing them. "We should take these with us."

"Won't someone notice they're gone?" he questioned.

Nina shrugged and walked over to the laptop. "It's worth the risk."

"What do you think this is for?" Isaac asked as he picked up the cassette player. "There's something in here."

"I don't know, but we should prob-," Before Nina could finish her thought, the sound of a car driving on gravel filled the room.

"We have to go now," Jerome stated as he ran up the stairs.

Nina and Isaac followed the blond out and the three quickly left the small house.

"How are we going to get back to the car?" Isaac asked.

"I don't think we can," she answered, her eyes having landed on the grey car that had pulled up beside theirs.

Jerome pointed at the vehicle as one of the doors opened. "Someone's getting out of the car,"

"Come on," Isaac rushed to the parking structure and Nina and Jerome chased after him. They raced up the stairs until they were on the third level.

"Why did we come up here?" Jerome asked.

"We have a better view," Isaac replied as he watched a man in a black suit walk to the house they were just in.

"He looks familiar," Nina furrowed her brow and leaned over the railing.

"That's because he teaches at our school," Isaac informed her. "That's Mr. Yamata. He was our chaperone for the Peru trip."

"What is he doing here?" Jerome asked.

Isaac sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know, but I think we should get out of here now."

Nina nodded in agreement and they began to head to the staircase before a loud bang rang in the air.

"Isaac!"

Isaac suddenly fell to the ground, his arm clutching his side. Nina dropped to her knees and she pushed Isaac's arm aside as she looked to see if he had been hurt.

"What happened?" Jerome asked, his eyes wide and wild. "What was that?"

Nina gulped, her eyes not leaving Isaac as she said, "he was shot."

AN: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I will be posting the next one soon so stay tuned. If you liked, please favorite, subscribe, and leave a review.

-Karina