Chapter 2
Taylor, Fio's closest friend, was shoved into a locker full of dumpster stuff. They pushed their way into the nurses office. "She needs an ambulance and immediate decontamination," Fio told the nurse. "I know you probably can't do the second one but please call an ambulance." The door, which had just finished closing after being slammed open, cracked against the wall again as it was opened with just a touch too much force. A man stood there, slightly above average height, black hair already showing gray, and piercing ice blue eyes. James looked around the room frantically until his eyes fell on Fio.
"Alec, what the fuck happened? Also, I blame you."
"First of all, fair," Fio said, abruptly looking at the door. "Also, that's not my name anymore. And we are in the presence of someone not in the know," Fio said, gesturing to the Nurse. "You have your memories from The Before and The Current, correct?" Fio said, pulling James outside of the office.
"Yeah I do," James said quietly, rolling his eyes at the pulling. "Apparently that was enough to kick off my Second Trigger. So I can pull some crazy shit now." James paused for a moment as something Fio said registered. "Wait what's your name now?"
"Fionn/Fio Murphy. What about you? I don't interact much with upperclassmen."
"One sec." James pulled out his wallet, grabbing his license to double check. "Okay cool I was right. It's still James. Lucky me, I guess." James pulled his phone out to see that he was in a call with the authorities. "Oh. Thanks Sheila." Text popped up over the caller ID. You're welcome. James took the brief reprieve to look around the, thankfully empty, hallway. "So what now Fionn? Keep the status quo, or say fuck the plot?"
"Fuck the plot." Fio said. "But we should talk about this after we get Taylor to the hospital. Also you have been replaced in Best Friend status." James clutched his heart, staggering back like he'd been hit.
"Your words, they wound me. Oh how can I ever trust again?" He kept up the act for a couple more seconds before smirking and standing back up. "Fuck the plot? Cool. How do you feel about cold-blooded, premeditated, good-old-fashioned homicide? Cause I have- and I shit you not, this is real- a list of names that I want to put a line through." As he said this, his smirk turned malevolent as he pulled a piece of paper from his wallet.
"Name the names and we will see how badly we can fuck this up, my real self is on the way and I should be here by the time the ambulance arrives."
"Wait a sec. What do you mean 'real self'?"
"You will see," Fio said, "Honestly I can't wait to see the look on your face. But yeah this is an android I can control for the purposes of attending school." James raised an eyebrow.
"Android. Huh. I should be surprised, but considering you threw a locker door at me… Yeah." James gestured to the door leading to the nurses office. "Shall we?"
"First, not at you. I didn't even know you were there. And second I suppose we should make sure the nurse knows what happened." Fio said as they headed back into the nurses office. They each took a seat near Taylor. Fio sat next to her while James sat on the bed next to the nurse. He started to explain what he had seen, with Fio chiming in when needed. After they had finished, James started typing into his phone.
"Should be another five minutes until everyone gets here, Fio."
"Cool cool, uh...Aegeon is here to escort the victim to the hospital."
"Who the hell is Aegeon," James muttered to himself. A few tense minutes of silence passed until the door opened once more, much gentler than the previous two times. Mrs. Hardin stood quickly as Fionn Murphy, better known as Aegeon, walked into the room.
"Aegeon! I didn't know you were coming," Mrs. Hardin said.
"I am here to make sure she gets to the hospital safely, as I believe this was a targeted attempt at murder or a brutal assault at the least." Aegeon said to the nurse. "I also listen in on the police scanner in my spare time, and I was nearby. I need to do my official duty and question witnesses, so if you will step into the hall with me." Aegeon said, gesturing at James. James shrugged and got up, making eye contact with Fionn. As they walk into the hall Aegeon said, "This is being recorded as a witness testimony if that is alright? So can you give me the rundown on what happened?" James shrugged again.
"Sure so long as nothing I say gets used against me in court. I know my rights." He then proceeded to tell Aegeon everything he saw, minus his blackout. By the time he was done he looked a little more calm. "And that's about when you got here. If you want I recorded the whole thing. I could send you a copy of the video."
"That would be great," Aegeon said, listing an email for the video. "Also I have something that I feel belongs with you." They then handed James a spiral or drill shaped key. "I sometimes think the things I make have a will of their own on who they choose to be beholden to." James' eyes lit up in recognition as he took the Core Drill. He wordlessly nodded and put it in his pocket. He then pulled out his phone and sent the recording he took to the email Aegeon gave him.
"Do you need me for anything else or can I leave? It's been a long day already and I want to sleep."
"No, you are free to go. Be aware that this school is going to be closed for the foreseeable future during an investigation." James nodded and started walking away, lazily waving a hand over his shoulder.