Author's Note: Yay, it's the chapter where all of you Ax fans are either going to love me or come after me with a bunch of meat cleavers. I hope it's not the meat cleavers. I just wanted to say the whole basketball thing is homage to the awesome fic Year of the Nothlit.
Oh, and don't worry, all will be explained. Don't kill me for this. **runs and hides from the Ax fans**
Please read the whole chapter. It may or may not clear your confusion, but it's a good idea.
Oh, and have fun figuring out the little stuffs in Ax's ID and Password. **sighs** I'm such a dork.
Chronicle One
"To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer." - Farmers' Almanac, 1978
Chapter Six
-Ax-
My name is Ax Isthil.
You don't have to tell me, I know my name is weird.
Maybe my parents were drug-smoking hippies. I don't know, though, because I've never met my parents.
For all intents and purposes, I am an orphan. Been hopping from foster home to foster home for as long as I can remember. It wouldn't be such a bad thing if I didn't have to start all over all the time. Like I was doing right now.
New state, new town, new school, new house, new foster parents. To tell the truth, I'm kind of sick of it all.
It was seven-thirty in the morning. Don't ask me how I know but I just did. It's been a talent of mine I've always had.
I felt the covers being yanked off my bed. I felt a slight breeze pass through my room and I wished that the evil cover-stealing entity would return the articles of warmth back to me, but I don't quite have that kind of luck.
"Get up before I set Champ on you." I peeked up, years of experience making my eyes still appear closed.
My new foster mother was looking down at me. She was dressed in a black-and-white checked suit, sunglasses and all. I guess she wanted to make a good impression on whatever school authorities she and I ran into.
She wasn't so bad, this one. I'd been living with her for about a week now and so far she'd treated me all right.
Of course, she let me get away with watching The Young and the Restless and Passions until three in the morning, unlike the Stevensons who worried about just what kind of boy watched Soap Operas, or the TV-hating Tompsons. That's part of why I liked Mrs. Smith, though there was something just plain likable about her. Don't take that to mean I have a crush or anything on her, though. Mrs. Smith's just a bit too old for me.
"Mrs. Smith, I don't want to go to school." I said, keeping my eyes shut tight as I pretended to stay asleep.
Mrs. Smith threw something soft at me. My school clothes, I think. Then, evil as she was, Mrs. Smith whistled.
It happened before I could even so much as hope to prevent it. Champ, Mrs. Smith's huge and annoying german shepard leapt up on to my stomach, jolting me awake from my fake sleep and sending Mrs. Smith into laughter she just managed to conceal behind her hand. I glared at her as Champ took it upon himself to lick my face.
"Get dressed and get downstairs." Mrs. Smith ordered as she walked out of the-guest-room-turned-boy's-room.
Then she turned to look at me with her hands on her hips. "And it's not Mrs. Smith. It's Loren to you, Ax." She said.
Loren closed the door behind her after that and left me to change. I scooted Champ off of me and the bed then retrieved the clothes that were now coated in the hairs of my dear canis familiaris friend.
I put on the blue shirt and blue jeans Loren had left for me as quick as I could. It might've had something to do with the fact that whatever was in the kitchen had an aroma that aroused my suspicions. Suspicions of waffles.
I held onto my sneakers with my right hand as I raced down the stairs to the warm, bright, and wonderful kitchen.
I suppose it could be said that I'm a pig. I myself prefer the term connoisseur, except without the hautiness.
You see, it's a quite a simple thing. I love food. Food, if you ask me, is the main reason for our human existence. Without food, would life be worth living? Think about it for a minute and I'm certain you'll agree with me here.
So it goes without saying that I was overjoyed to find that my nose had not deceived me and I found myself facing a plate of nice, fresh, hot waffles. There were three on the plate and I noticed Loren seemed to be making more.
By this time she'd caught onto my eating habits. I decided Loren could have the new waffles, though, if she liked. This would be enough for me. I walked around the kitchen and found a bottle of maple syrup on the counter. I also took the stick of butter Mrs. Smith left in the fridge. I'm very reassured she'll never miss it.
The microwave beeped and Loren pulled out a new plate of waffles with her mittened hand.
"Hey Ax, are those enough for you?" Mrs. Smith asked me. I looked up from my plate of waffles and nodded.
Loren smiled. "Good." She said. "You finish those, I'll finish my coffee and it's off to school we go." She added.
Loren started laughing at my groan of displeasure. It was ten minutes later that she dropped me off at my new school.
George Washington High School, California, New Jersey. I had no warning about what was to overcome me.
It wasn't any different from the other high schools I'd seen, except that this one looked a bit nicer.
The same kinds of kids roamed the halls. Geeks, jocks, preps, punks, and those occasional kids who either just plain didn't fit into any label nor had the mere audacity to define themselves even at high school age.
The teachers I saw didn't seem any different, either. There were the power-hungry kind, the ones who were stuck with the job, those who tried to fit in with the kids, and the ones that gave a genuine care about their students.
"GWHS, Home of the Flying Eagles." Mrs. Smith said as the two of us surveyed the building from outside her car.
I blinked, surprised at the nostalgic tone in her voice. "Did you used to attend this school?" I asked her.
Mrs. Smith laughed, though at some of behavior of mine or the question itself, I don't know. "Yes, I did." She said.
A look of good old pride spread across Mrs. Smith's features. "I was a Fighting, Flying Eagle myself." She said.
I looked at Mrs. Smith. "You were?" I asked. Mrs. Smith nodded, her face still beaming with pride.
"Who knows, maybe you'll end up liking this place." Loren said. Her voice was full of teasing mirth.
"We'll see." I deadpanned. Loren just sighed and shook her head at me and led me to the principal's office.
The office, too, looked like any other principal's office I'd ever seen. To be honest, the office bothered me. It was almost as if the place was too ordinary, as if this school, or at least its principal, had something to hide.
I had to be imaging that. Loren and I sat in the chairs next to what I assumed was the principal's desk, Loren on the left and I on the right. We were waiting for about six minutes when the principal walked in. He was a skinny man who was going bald. Not threatening in any particular way, but something about him alarmed me.
"Sorry I'm so late." He said as he seated himself across from Mrs. Smith and I. "Paperwork, you know." He smiled.
"I'm Hendrick Chapman, and I take it that you're Ax Smith?" Chapman asked.
I fought against the shock I felt in my gut. It wasn't the first time I'd been mistaken for one of my foster parent's children, but I'd expected Chapman to know the difference. After all, it was only in a very strange world that Loren could be my relative. We didn't look a thing alike. She was your typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed thirty-something.
I was what you'd call a mix. From what I can tell, I look like my parents were of Caucasian and Hispanic descent.
Which is just a bit strange as it doesn't quite offer a good explanation for why my own eyes are blue.
Most people I've seen with that kind of a heritage have brown eyes. Not the dark blue eyes that I have.
"Isthil." I said to Chapman. "Ax Isthil."
Loren sent me an apologetic look for, I guess, Chapman's assumption. It was kind of comforting.
"Isthil?" Chapman repeated. He looked from me to Loren, his face plastered with confusion. "I'm so sorry."
"I just assumed that," Chapman was stopped by Loren's voice and her finger up in the air, motioning for silence.
"It's all right, sir." Loren said. "I'm Ax's foster mother."
"Foster mother?" Chapman repeated but then his face lit up with the light of understanding. "Oh! I remember now!"
Then Chapman smiled at me. His eyes were seeking forgiveness. "I apologize, Mr. Ishthil." Chapman said.
I smiled back. "Of course, I understand." I said. "You have so many students, after all." I added with a shrug.
For a split second I saw Mr. Chapman's face twitch.
I drew back from him, trying to convince myself that I was seeing things.
The twitch had stopped and Chapman was back to normal. "Yes, I do." He said with a mysterious smile on his face.
I took a deep breath. Had to appear calm before the enemy.
What am I thinking? I asked myself. What enemy? I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
Loren stood up and I felt a jolt of fear. I didn't want her to leave me here. She got up anyway.
Mrs. Smith shook Mr. Chapman's hand. A hard, firm shake on both sides. A gesture of trust that sent chills up my spine. I wanted to leave the office and go back. Go back to Loren's home and leave this school.
But Loren was the one leaving, not I.
I watched, feeling afraid and helpless as Loren stepped out of Chapman's office, off to live her life.
Chapman closed the door behind her, making just a soft sound. I came close to swallowing a lung.
Chapman snuck me a conspiratory kind of smile. It was then I had no doubts that something was wrong.
"Mr. Isthil, can I ask you for a favor?" Mr. Chapman asked. Wariness filling every limb of my body, I replied to him.
"Sure." I said, ignoring the fear I felt. "Sure, Mr. Chapman."
Chapman smiled, looking blissful beyond belief. "Very good." He said as he began walking towards me.
"Now, I won't even try to hide the fact that I know all about your skills, Ax." Chapman said, now circling around me like a cat slinking in search of a tasty, fat fish. I scowled at his words. I'd know what he meant by my "skills".
Every one of the officials at any of the schools I'd been to knew of what Chapman was calling my "skills."
It lay on my public record, open for every soul on the planet to see. I couldn't show my fear, though.
Honor was everything, in the end. "What do you want from me?" I asked.
"Just what I wanted to hear." Chapman said, placing his fingers back on his desk and facing me.
There was a smarmy smile on his face. I'd never seen someone smile so much.
"Now, I need you to look up info on these two kids. They've both had odd fainting episodes, and I would like it if you researched them for me." Chapman's eyes were gleaming. "Check their personal records and try to see if you can pry some info from them, or perhaps their friends. Make new friends, you know?" Chapman suggested.
"Why should I do what you're asking?" I hissed. I sounded much more secure than I felt, which was good.
"Because of this." Chapman said, his voice dangerous, his face inches from mine. "Because if you don't, I'll make certain I ruin what remains of your record, you parent-less bastard. Make it so you've no chance at college and you're living on the streets." He said.
I sank in my chair, accepting defeat. "Okay." I whispered. "What are their names?" I asked.
Chapman smirked at me. "Cassie Branch and Tobias Avan."
He helped me out of my seat and gave me a pat on the back as I went out the door. He smiled at me again before I left his office. He still had something to say to me, though. "I hope you enjoy GWHS." Chapman whispered.
Then I went out into the halls to do my duty.
I went through the first three periods like a zombie. Mr. Chapman's orders were ringing through my head, and I couldn't even attempt to forget them. No matter how desperate my desire was to do just that.
I'd gone through the usual ho-hum introduce myself to the class and be ogled at by kids with nothing better to do routine. It was that something that I was quite familiar with, to tell you the truth.
It wouldn't be such a hard thing if I didn't know that I'd end up moving to someplace else before I managed to form any lasting friendships. I have a few online friends but in my real, non-virtual life, I was alone. A one-man army.
After what Chapman was leading me to do, the possibility of gaining any friends looked even slimmer.
I in general, intimidated people. I knew the reason why but that didn't make me special.
Most people like me weren't well liked by others, to say the least. I had learned that lesson the hard way.
I was in the lunchroom just to buy myself a sandwich and then, upon inspecting the school map next to the front doors, I made my way to the library. To be more precise, I made my way to the computers.
In order to carry out the mission that Mr. Chapman had given me. I didn't even want to do it, to tell the truth.
I couldn't care less if a couple of kids had been fainting for no reason. It had nothing to do with me and I was against the idea of cracking into some kid's personal files. Which is surprising, considering my record.
I didn't want to end up on the street, though. I needed to go to college so that I could make something of myself.
I was certain Chapman hadn't been lying when he threatened he could mess up my record beyond any and all repair. There wasn't much he could destroy. That was all of what remained from my grade point average.
Nonetheless I found myself walking into the library before 11:05. Despite the fact I didn't even want to do this.
It's amazing what one little mistake can do to your whole life. I noticed a sign-in sheet on the librarian's desk.
I scribbled my name in rough, distracted cursive. I doubted it was legible to any human on the planet.
I went through the rows of books, through the groups of studying kids, like they were water. I slammed my backpack, which I hadn't even bothered to take off this whole day, next to me as I sat down in a chair.
All of the students at GWHS had a personal account in the school database. We would login with our student ID number and our password was a combination of our initials and our birthdate. I pulled out my ID card and typed.
Login: 082838
Password: ai021782
I was in. I glanced around me and found that this area of the library was secluded for the most part. Perfect.
I messed around inside the computer's C:\ drive and hacked away until I reached the student profiles.
For the record, the passwords were so easy to crack that it disturbs me. Any bored delinquent could've done what I just accomplished. I could but hope no bored delinquent would happen to find my profile.
I looked through the list of profiles until I found one familiar name. I opened up the file called "Avan".
Up popped a window. There were some basic stats, such as allergies and contact information.
There was also some other interesting information. It looked like this Tobias kid had no parents, he lived with an uncle. Kind of like me. I thought, but I tried not to dwell on it. I felt guilty enough as is.
I didn't find anything to suggest why Tobias would have had a blackout on any of his medical records.
There was a mention of his fainting episode, but it was listed as cause unknown. I almost stopped my info search, though, the moment I came across his picture. Something about it familiar, but I had no idea why.
I saved the profile to my own account and searched for the name "Branch".
Cassie Branch was a normal girl from everything I'd seen. Aside from an unexplained fainting episode, there was nothing unusual about her. Two living parents, no odd family arrangement. No scars on her record.
Her picture, too, frightened me with its familiarity. It felt even more familiar, I think, than Tobias's.
I also saved Cassie's profile to my account and decided to refresh the computer for good measure before I logged off. I glanced at my watch and noticed I had about five minutes of my lunch period left, so I began to wolf down my sandwich, glad that there could be no way for the librarian to ever see me eating in the library.
"You know, I wouldn't recommend that." Or perhaps the librarian had found me. I swallowed my hunk of sandwich.
I looked up to see not a librarian, but a regular high schooler. He was dressed in baggy clothes and his hair was a messy mop of dark blonde. I almost choked on my sandwich.
This boy was Tobias Avan.
Tobias sat down by the next computer and swiveled his chair around to face me. He pointed at my sandwich.
"If Mrs. Burnnet finds you eating that, you'll be dead before you can say sorry." Tobias told me.
"Ah." Was my reply as I swallowed down the last bit of my sandwich. I came close to choking myself but I didn't notice it, I admit. "Thanks for the tip." I said when the remains of the sandwich were down my esophagus.
Tobias smiled. "It's no problem." He said, then he turned a speculative eye at me. "You're Ax Isthil, aren't you?"
It was on instinct that I scooted my chair back, away from Tobias. "Yes, I am." I said. "How did you know?"
"Let's just say I have no life and leave it at that." Tobias said, a meek laugh escaping from his mouth.
I laughed back but I knew that Tobias could have had the fullest social life possible at our age and still have heard of me. After all, it was hard not to hear of an orphaned delinquent genius coming into your neighborhood, like it or not. It had been when I was ten, not long after I'd left the Owens. I'd always been very good with computers and I wanted to test my skills. It was an innocent thing, I'd meant no harm by it. I'd never expected it to work.
I had hacked into top-secret governmental files at ten years old. That was the event that killed my chance of ever getting a clean plate from the buffet, so to speak. Being labeled as a dangerous hacker is frowned upon.
"What are you here for?" I asked Tobias. Not a tactful question at all, but I wanted to know.
The look in Tobias's eyes bothered me. It intrigued and repelled me at the same time. "I want to talk." He said.
I blinked and found myself scooting my chair back to its original position, closer to Tobias. "Talk?" I asked.
"Yeah, if that's all right with you." Tobias said. "I have Algebra next period, so I can skip that. Our teacher's kind of senile. She doesn't notice the way half our class takes hour-long bathroom breaks."
"I have gym next period." I said, wondering what in the world was possessing me to tell Tobias this.
"Carl or Derricks?" Tobias asked. I noticed he shuddered a bit when he mentioned Carl, whoever that was.
"Derricks." I told the strange blonde boy in front of me. Tobias nodded, more to himself than to me.
"Okay." He said. "See you next period, then." The bell rang and the two of us took off in separate directions.
Tobias, I assumed, went to his Algebra class. I went to go look at the school map again so that I could find the gym. It also gave me something to do aside from dwelling over the guilt I felt for breaking into Tobias's profile.
However, I was still going to give Chapman my information.
Just so that everyone knows, I am not a large fan of gym. Though if it's because of the fact that I have to wear a shirt and shorts that were once white and are now an odd shade of yellow, or if it's because of my slight fear that a lot of the coaches are spending too much time looking at me, I'm not certain.
I got dressed quicker than I had for a long time. I know it sounds stupid, but I was eager to see if Tobias was here.
Coach Derricks seemed surprised when he saw me leave the locker room. I think it was because I was the first boy out of there. Some of the girls were already sitting on the benches on the right side of room, waiting for the class period to start. I saw no sign of Tobias. Coach Derricks raised an eyebrow at me. "They snap you out?"
I blinked, confused. "What do you mean?" I asked.
"Snap you out." Coach Derricks repeated. "You know, towels? When you snap them and hit people?" He added.
I think I understood what he was implying now. "No." I said. "They didn't touch me." I assured him.
Coach Derricks gave a sigh of relief. "That's good. Most of the guys in here are thugs, and they love nothing more than fresh meat to harass. Now, you're Isthil, right?" He asked me. I nodded back up at him.
"Okay." Coach Derricks said, taking a deep breath. "Can I please address you by your first name?" He asked.
It was, without a doubt, not the first time I'd been asked that by a coach. "Of course." I told Coach Derricks.
"That's a relief." Coach Derricks remarked. More kids were already filing into class, so I ran to be with them.
More like I stood about two feet apart from the crowd, but no one cares about the particulars. The bell rang.
Coach Derricks called roll. The whole class was here. Coach Derricks didn't take the trouble to introduce me to the class, which, after a whole day of introductions, I was very grateful for. Then Coach Derricks blew his whistle.
"Listen up, ladies and rats!" Coach Derricks shouted. "Today we shall be playing a game of basketball."
Coach Derrick was making certain all of his words came out slow and easy to understand, as if he was talking to a class full of babies. Judging from the grin on his face, though, I doubted Coach Derricks thought we were dumb.
"Do you all know what basketball is?" Coach Derricks asked, his voice full of fake enthusiasm.
"Coach, shut up already!" A short girl with brown hair shouted. "We all know how to play!"
Coach Derricks coughed. "Well, let me rephrase that. Everyone but Miss Brown will be playing today." He said.
The short brown girl gaped at Coach Derricks in disbelief. I have to admit, I found it all very amusing.
"Now, I'm going to split you all up into two teams. Miss Brown, don't sit on the bench, I was joking." Derricks said.
Miss Brown, sulking like a kid denied a piece of candy, went back with the group. Coach Derricks then counted all of us off. I happened to land myself on team two. Whether it was intentional or not, I noticed most of the muscle-challenged students seemed to be in team two. It was right where I belonged.
Coach Derricks then went into the storage unit in the back of the room and returned with a beaten basketball.
The class had already gone into formation. Coach Derricks stepped into the middle of the court, in between a tall redheaded boy and a blue-haired girl. "When I throw this ball in the air, the game begins." Coach Derricks said.
We all followed the Coach's gaze as he noticed two boys at the open door of the gymnasium.
One of them I recognized in an instant. That one was Tobias Avan. The other was an unknown to me.
He was short and somewhat tanned. His hair was either black or a very dark brown, much like his eyes.
Seeing him, I had the same feeling I'd gotten when I saw Tobias and Cassie's pictures. It was as if I knew him.
Coach Derricks sighed and handed the basketball to the blue-haired girl. She looked at it, full of confusion.
"Do you think he wants me to play?" She whispered. The class all shrugged, none of us had any idea.
"What are you boys doing in here?" Coach Derricks asked. His voice was filled with irritated, rough steel.
Tobias was the one to offer an explanation. "We're in Mrs. Walsh's class. Is it okay if we watch the game?"
Coach Derricks sighed and looked over Tobias and the Unknown Kid. "I guess, as long you don't tell anyone."
Then he turned back to us, as Tobias and the other guy sat on the benches to watch. "Play!" Coach Derricks said.
The blue-haired girl threw the ball up in a panic. The redheaded boy caught it and threw it to a blonde girl.
The girl caught the ball and started running towards our team's basket.
Tobias and the Other Guy were talking. I could make out bits and pieces of their conversation, if just by a hair.
"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Other Guy asked.
"Because you and I are the only ones to remember the sixth kid, don't you remember?" Tobias inquired.
The Other Guy laughed. "We all remembered a sixth kid, you know. Not just me, and you, kind of."
Tobias sighed. He seemed exasperated. "I know you think I'm nuts but I swear I remember this guy."
My veins filled with ice as I watched the blonde girl transfer the ball to Miss Brown. They were talking about me.
"Doesn't he look familiar to you?" Tobias asked. I felt doubts crawling in my mind as I recalled that both of them had seemed familiar to me. We'd never met, though. Well, not the Other Guy and I, at least. Tobias didn't quite count anyway, since we just met in the library. That wasn't much of an introduction anyway. Even if, thanks to his personal record, there was a good chance I knew more about Tobias than the guy he was talking to.
I had gone stiff with shock. Miss Brown was zooming towards me, ball in her hands, ready to shoot.
"Hey, new guy!" All of team two screamed. That put me back in reality. I turned towards Miss Brown and I tapped her on the hands just a bit. It was enough to make her drop the ball. I grabbed it and threw it in the air.
The Other Guy gave his answer to Tobias. "No." He said. His voice was clipped and sharp.
I had a very distinct feeling that he was lying through his teeth. Much like, I feared, I might be lying to myself.
Tobias groaned. "You can't be serious." He said. Then the Other Guy just laughed. "He kind of looks like a girl."
I turned to glare at him. Tobias elbowed him. "Marco, I'm being serious, you prick!" Tobias shouted.
"So am I." Marco said. It was right then, right there, that I decided I did not like that guy.
I turned back to the game. Everyone on the court was gaping at me, even Coach Derricks.
"Ax, do you have any idea what you just did?" Coach Derricks asked, his voice coming out slow. Maybe scared.
"No." I said, feeling myself step back without knowing why. "What did I do?"
"You just got the ball in the basket, boy." Coach Derricks said, then inhaled. "From the other side of the court."
"Okay, a girl who can play b-ball." Marco added. I suppose Tobias elbowed him again because I heard a shout of pain, and I hope I didn't imagine it. As it was, I was a bit too absorbed in Coach's Derricks words to check.
Shooting from the other side of the court and getting the shot? That was something only pros could do, and lucky-beyond-belief-pros at that. Add that to the fact that, before this day, I'd never been very good at basketball.
"I did?" I asked, still in shock. Coach Derricks blew his whistle. "Class dismissed!" He shouted.
I'm not sure if he knew there was still thirty minutes of class left. The class didn't care anyway, they were all heading to the locker room. As for myself, I didn't move. Coach Derricks was staring at me like I was an alien.
"Ax, I don't think you know this, but I'm also the coach for Boys Varsity Basketball." Coach Derricks told me.
No, I hadn't known that, Coach Derricks was right. "Um, you are?" I asked. Coach Derricks nodded.
"I'd like it if you showed up at practice tomorrow. It'll start at 4:30." Coach Derricks said.
"Okay." I said before I even so much as thought about what in the world I was agreeing into. "I'll be there."
Coach Derricks smiled. "Good." He said. "Go ahead and get dressed, then go talk to your buddies over there."
He was pointing at Tobias and Marco. I thought of telling Coach Derricks that they weren't friends of mine, but that just brought forth too many complications. Call me crazy but I didn't want to explain why they'd come to see me.
I changed back into my regular clothes about as quick as I'd changed out of them earlier. Most of the kids were now lazing about the gym, gossiping and talking, doing their homework, or shooting hoops.
Tobias and Marco both stood up and without a single word, I followed them into the hall.
As irony would have it, the hall happened to be very bright. Not dark and full of gloom, as the situation was.
Both Marco and Tobias looked down the halls for any sign of people. The hall was empty, besides the three of us.
Satisfied, Marco and Tobias walked down to the end of the hall, about as far from the gym as they could get.
It was Marco who spoke first. "What do you remember?" He whispered. I guess my confusion showed, because then Marco turned to Tobias and laughed. "You sure he's one of us?" Marco asked. "Doesn't look like it."
Tobias looked at me, frowning. "It's possible that he hasn't remembered anything yet." He said.
I felt an enormous feeling sweep over me and carry me away. The feeling I felt was fear. A fear of the truth.
"What haven't I remembered?" I asked Tobias and Marco, challenging them both to give me an answer.
Marco threw his hands up in the air, a plea to his innocence. "Don't ask me, I'm humoring the crazy man." He said.
Tobias glared at Marco and then took a step toward me. I could tell he was trying to disarm me, trying to calm me down. The odd thing was that, unlike with Chapman's attempts at this goal, Tobias was succeeding.
"It's like this." Tobias said, still edging towards me. "Marco and I, along with three other kids, Cassie Branch, Rachel Berenson, and Jake Berenson; have been having odd flashbacks." Tobias sighed as he continued.
"These flashbacks, we're not sure what they're of. In mine, these weird bladed aliens were chasing me. Marco here claims that in his flashback, all six of us were animals. Rachel remembers herself being a cat, and I as a bird. Jake's flashback is about his brother Tom. We think there's something up with him." Tobias said.
I think it was a miracle I didn't start screaming at them. It was crazy talk! I mean this in the least stuck-up way possible, but I'm a genius and I'd never heard of incidents were people turned into animals. Yes, there was more than a scientific possibility there is life on other planets, but none of it has ever visited our dear Planet Earth.
The thing was that, even as I denied the possibility of one single word that had come from Tobias's lips was true, some part of me was fighting that belief. Some part of me was trying to tell me that my logic was wrong this time.
I knew, deep in my heart, Tobias was not lying to me. He did have flashbacks, and they were real events. Or at the very least, they had been real events. However, I could not, I would not, believe that.
"I know Cassie Branch." I halfway lied. Reading through her profile had given me quite a bit of info about her.
Tobias was looking at me, surprised by my comment. I continued on speaking now that I had his attention.
"Cassie," I said. "Is not the kind of girl to believe in aliens and start going on a wild goose chase."
"Yeah, well, I'm not a goose-chasing man myself." Marco said, his voice sharp and cold. "But here I am."
He walked about up to me until we were but a few inches apart. "Believe it or not, I know the feeling." He said.
"You don't want to believe a word of what he's saying, do you?" Marco asked. I didn't give him an answer.
He kept on with the cross-examination anyway. "You're frightened. Scared to death that it's all true."
"Well, guess what?" Marco asked. "So are the rest of us, but we're not going to run from the truth."
I took a step forward. If it weren't for the fact that the gym was less than ten feet away from us, I might've hit him.
His allegation, combined with Chapman's manipulation, was about the limit of what I could take.
Perhaps because part of me couldn't deny that he, too, was right. And it was the last thing I would ever admit.
"I never did mention what Cassie's flashback was." Tobias said, his voice quiet. We both looked at him.
I was beyond grateful that Tobias had interrupted. I didn't need another mark on my record, after all.
"She remembered all of us, except you, Ax, at the construction site. The one near the mall. You might've seen it. Cassie thinks that's where most of us met. She says that she," Tobias then paused and gulped.
Tobias's voice came out on the verge of tears for some reason. "She saw him."
I think I stopped breathing. I know I must've turned to run, because Tobias had taken a hold of my arm.
He was concerned, I could see it in his eyes. I didn't care. I didn't want to see it. "You're crazy." I hissed.
"Ax--" Tobais started, but I pulled my arm out of his grip, sending him into stunned silence.
"You're crazy, both of you!" I shouted. "I don't know what you think, but you expect me to believe that a bunch of kids are having flashbacks with aliens in them? That they're fainting for no reason?" I accused.
I saw a flicker of surprise in Marco's eyes as I mentioned the fainting, but I ignored it and went on with my ranting.
"You're expecting me, a certified genius, thank you very much, to expect that all of this is real?" I asked.
"Yes." Tobias said, his voice almost mute. I think that's when I started running from them.
Running from the truth that I couldn't even yet grasp, even if I had wanted to. It was all too much.
The day went on like most of the morning had, introduction, pretend to pay attention in class, then leave.
To my utmost horror, I found that Marco was in my Algebra class. And thanks to the fact that the seating arrangement was in alphabetical order, we were also sitting next to each other.
I believe his words, upon this event, were "Oh dear god, why me?" I share the sentiments.
We spoke nothing of what had happened in the hallway. I have a feeling that we wouldn't have even if I hadn't ran.
Loren drove me to her home. I lied and told her I'd had a wonderful day, and I mentioned the invitation to afternoon practice that Coach Derricks had given me. Loren agreed to take me, and also took me to a seafood joint to celebrate. I have to admit, I hadn't expected that. Loren was being much nicer to me than most parents I'd had.
I'm not sure what the problem with me is, but every single family I've ever had doesn't like me. Not meaning to boast or anything, but maybe it's because I'm a genius. I remember when one of my first families, the Owens, took me in for IQ tests after I built myself a computer out of various kitchen appliances. I never got the test results and the Owens had decided they just could not take care of me. Not that I was all that bothered by it, the Owens were pretty much huge snobs and their real kids were brats. It's more or less been the same with each family since.
It was nice to have a nice foster family for a change. In particular after everything that had happened today.
Loren also bought me a basketball to practice with, and a small net to put in my room.
I was dribbling the ball, and I took my shot when something outside the window caught my eye.
It was a shooting star.
Flash!
I turned my stalk eyes away from the battle, towards the blue planet's dead moon. It was there that I saw it.
A black shape against the gray-white light of the moon. The shape of a twisted battle-ax.
Blade Ship...A Visser's Blade Ship! I whispered.
Our fighters, they were all away. Our Dome ship had massive weapons, but the Blade ship was fast and maneuverable. Too fast!
For the warriors on the battle bride, there had been no choice. They had to separate the dome in order to fight.
I felt a grinding, crunching sensation as the dome was released to drift free. Then, there was the silence.
The all-consuming silence as the dome floated free.
In a slow movement, the rest of my ship rotated into sight. Without the dome, it resembled a long stick, with the huge bulge of engines on the far end, and the smaller bulge of the Battle Bridge in the middle.
The Blade Ship fired!
NO! I screamed.
Dracon beams, their light bright as a sun, ran throughout space. Again and again the ship kept firing.
There was an explosion of light, a silent explosion like that of a sun going nova.
The ship, my ship, blew up into its separate atoms. In a huge flash of light, a hundred Andalite warriors died.
The last thing I saw was the ball going through the net as I passed out on the carpet.
Dear Ladies and Two-Headed Mammals =P (Reviewer Response)
Angelofcloud9 - I'm glad you liked it! And, um, thanks again on the compliment. Gah, I need to get back to writing my own original stuff. I have all these ideas, but they don't seem to work when I write them. I'm thinking of doing a love story between a girl vampire and the boy vamp-hunter sent after her at the moment. Which is odd because I'm not very big into the whole vampire thing. So it's either that or try another sci-fi story. I like doing those. Gonna shut up about that now, since it's just a bit off-topic. Gahhh, and thanks for your offer. As for the R/M/T thing, you guess right. Well, for the most part. At this point, the bird is jumping to conclusions, but in the future? **whistles innocently** And I shall write more!
Neri - Rach and Tobias with a bunch of kids and arguing over TV shows? Um...maybe. It's a possibility. I think I should keep my mouth shut on where I'm going with R/T, though. Augh! Dude! I totally forgot about him! Don't worry, he should show up in Tobi's next chap...and I have no idea what happened to him in the books. Does anybody know?
Stormwing - Whoa, double review! Cool, now my fic looks more popular than it really is. =P Okay, I guess the chapter didn't totally suck and this one was a lot easier to write. Well, kinda. I had to get a grip on Ax's character and that was a little hard. And I think that Cassie should be next, the Ellimist won't be showing his ugly mug 'til the end of this first part. Nope, there isn't a Harry Potter character in this one, but there is a Buffy character. Is that okay?
Lisa-Ann - ...will fix typos...don't want brats upon me...actually, mwahaha! You think brats frighten me? I have a six year old sister! =P Gah, what's up with the formatting? If you mean the way the titles have this odd habit of being centered and then not centered, well, I don't know why that is. My current belief is that my copy of Word is possessed. Glad you liked Tobias!
Lavenderangel - Woohoo, I hooked somebody! By the way, is there something wrong with me if I find your idea of flashback-stricken married Cassie intriguing? I don't mind long reviews if you don't mind long replies. So, here we go! Foremost, Tap-Tap is just a nickname. I was kind of too lazy to come up with a real name for the guy. And for the record, you are the only person so far to notice that Andy and Tap-Tap are yeerks. Good for you! Glad you like Cassie fic, she is still kind of this story's main character. Ah, yes, and everybody is of sophomore age. Thanks for reminding me, though, since I was going to write them as freshman at first -- I need to change all that stuff to sophmore junk. As for the bio project, yeah, they'd probably be doing something advanced. The only thing is that I got the crappy Biology class where we did no labs, so I thought it'd be safer to write about something I did in seventh-grade than to try and fake that I know a single thing about, say, dissecting a cat. As for Rachel and Melissa, well, we'll see. Jake has a changed home life, yes. And there should be plenty of J/C down the road, even if they take longer to develop than R/T will. And Jake crying? There'll be that, too. I hate to say it, but there will be a triangle -- for the first part of the fic, anyway. I myself am not such a huge R/M fan, either, but on the bright side...he won't like her the whole fic and the two will end up very good friends. At this point, though, Tobias is just jumping to conclusions. Poor baby. And I've kind of had my share of experience writing Marco's POV. Tobias's flashback is from Book #1, the scene where everyone is trying to outrun the Hork-Bajir at the construction site. As for the early-series flashbacks, yes, they're on purpose. Mostly because most of the books I have are early series. Um, don't worry about your tact, I'm not offended and thank you. Glad someone liked the nurse! Oh, and the "new kid" was Ax. You were the only person to catch that, bravo!
Alikat - Sorry you missed Marco, and now you know how they found Ax! ...so to speak, anyway.
Oedipal Kat - Don't worry about the nitpicks, I need to be kept on my toes. Thanks, actually, I need to go fix most of that. Note to self: Check after-effects of evil spellchecker. I should have the mistakes fixed by Monday, thank you! Very, very glad you like the fic and I hope it doesn't end up dissapointing!
Puar Briefs - Speaking of DBZ, I love Gohan. =P Woohoo, I have the right to use the name Avan! **cheers** Yeah, I suppose these chaps do come out quick enough...but I could be quicker. I'm kind of lazy about them. Oh, and Tobias will be thinking quite a bit about aliens. As will Ax, as a matter of fact. I like your idea of the Rachel/Marco flashback. Could I use it? Oh, and I hope you liked Ax's chapter...and as for my home life, yeah, I try not to pay that much attention to it. Besides, I've got a group of loving, supportive friends, so it balances out. Yay. Ooh, morphing powers...
Moon*wolf - Glad you like, and it will be T/R. But I'm not saying anything else about that. Woohoo, I'm on a favorites list! I think this requires a celebration. =P **gives Moon*wolf a bag of Rachel and Tobias plushies**
2146875465468 - I'm glad you liked the Elfangor reference, and there'll be plenty 'o angst when Tobias remembers his daddy.
HoneyB - Okay, the chapter didn't suck. I think I'll have to stop saying that now, 'cuz you guys are all gonna kill me. Thanks for correcting me! I have to go make Jordan thirteen now. And being obbsessed w/Animorphs is a good thing!
Freak Apple - Whoa, pixie stix! Gimme some! Glad you liked the chapter, and interesting theory about Ax. Hmmm...oh my god! I just realized he didn't have any cinnabuns this chapter! I'm gonna have to make him eat a ton next time!
Doctor Strangelove - Did ya catch this Buffy ref in this chap? Go like you some Tobias, Tobias is good. And the R/M thing...is good, and in progress. And once again, I admit defeat and admit this chap didn't suck. Oh, and Ax is here! Yay! Yeah, Marco's life is going to be hard enough, no need to add another Controller parent. Gah, "Check Mate". I liked it, but it scared me. Almost as your fic. **glares** I'm all in favor of Jake getting his testicles ripped out by wolves now, BTW. Wow, I just thought of something very sad...what if you'd thrown in a scene with the REAL Ax, afterwards, as a wolf and Jake happened to leave a lingering scent, and...you know what? I need to stop hitting the Willow/Oz sites, even if they have an odd ability to inspire M/A fics. As for "The Pack", keep in mind I'm still catching up in the eps! Though "The Pack" creeps me out more than it scares me...I mean, kids eating their principal is never going to be a pretty thing. Unless it's Chapman.