Chapter Eight
--Evan--
Evan couldn't sleep. He supposed it was insomnia; he'd endured it more in recent weeks. He would attempt to still his thoughts and force sleep upon his mind, but he would soon drift in his course. Eventually the alarm rang, and he sat up and out of his queen-sized bed.
He had a while before the school began, and he needed to prepare. He meticulously clothed himself in the school uniform before proceeding to pack his bookbag for his first day at Siojaton High.
As he set various writing utensils in the front pouch of the backpack, his actions brought back memories of high school.
He'd been petitioned, received his GD and initial powers back in the seventh grade, and in the following five years through high school, he had made himself an outcast through his perceived strangeness and aversion to social contact.
Now he was nineteen, and passing himself off as a seventeen-year-old junior to find the other kids in Siojaton who would be petitioned. It was fortunate that the local elementary/middle school and high school had been built relatively close together; he could keep an eye out for anything unusual among the high-schoolers while scanning the area for any potentials like Ienji.
No, not like Ienji, he thought. I'll get to them first. I can't allow any more mistakes. Ienji's premature link-forging must have been a miscalculation, but now I'm not going to take any chances. Anywhere.
He finished packing the last of his things; along with the basic school supplies, he had left his wires and other miscellaneous 'work' items, in case it became necessary. With these things in his thoughts, he donned his grey jacket and headed out the door.
--Ienji--
When Ienji woke up, the events of the previous day passed through his mind.
Crashing his bicycle into the other's bicycle, finishing his ride to the local library in his job as a page, feeling the strange connection take place and watching in a haze as he found himself able to subconsciously materialized the digital device--and then, after a moment or a millenium of this 'petitioning', the encounter with that same rider in the library.... in his mind he once more felt the force of the two digital devices as he had been thrown against the wall, along with the rider.... the strange after-feeling, the awkward introduction, the phone call the rider, Evan, had made.... and the conversation, where Ienji had been told of his status as a 'chosen child' and the existence of these two worlds, the digital world and the real world.... the after-feeling that had continued through the night, as the rain had fallen....
He sat up instinctively, still half-asleep, and the reached to flip off his alarm. It was a morning ritual every Siojaton High student was familiar with. As he made his bed and began to dress, he pondered yesterday's happenings analytically. Was it possible it had all been a dream? The idea of two worlds and some sort of metaphysical activity was against everything he'd been taught to believe could be possible, but somehow, he knew it was real. It felt real.
He paused, half-dressed, and attempted to materialized the ghost digital device, like he remembered practicing several times the previous night. He focused his thoughts, and immediately the contraption appeared on the palm of his hand, transparent and luminescent.
Ienji blinked, and held the focus in the back of his mind as he examined the strange device. It had shown itself more easily than in his previous attempts, and the materialization had felt more natural--more comfortable, even.
He released his focus on the digital device; it disappeared, and he resumed his school preparations.
Ten minutes later, he was out of his bedroom and into the living room/kitchen area, where he poured himself a light bowl of breakfast cereal. He noticed that the door to his mother's room was ajar; she must have come home late last night, or early this morning.
Ienji made his way out the door, backpack slung over his shoulder, a few minutes before eight o'clock.
--Evan--
Evan couldn't sleep. He supposed it was insomnia; he'd endured it more in recent weeks. He would attempt to still his thoughts and force sleep upon his mind, but he would soon drift in his course. Eventually the alarm rang, and he sat up and out of his queen-sized bed.
He had a while before the school began, and he needed to prepare. He meticulously clothed himself in the school uniform before proceeding to pack his bookbag for his first day at Siojaton High.
As he set various writing utensils in the front pouch of the backpack, his actions brought back memories of high school.
He'd been petitioned, received his GD and initial powers back in the seventh grade, and in the following five years through high school, he had made himself an outcast through his perceived strangeness and aversion to social contact.
Now he was nineteen, and passing himself off as a seventeen-year-old junior to find the other kids in Siojaton who would be petitioned. It was fortunate that the local elementary/middle school and high school had been built relatively close together; he could keep an eye out for anything unusual among the high-schoolers while scanning the area for any potentials like Ienji.
No, not like Ienji, he thought. I'll get to them first. I can't allow any more mistakes. Ienji's premature link-forging must have been a miscalculation, but now I'm not going to take any chances. Anywhere.
He finished packing the last of his things; along with the basic school supplies, he had left his wires and other miscellaneous 'work' items, in case it became necessary. With these things in his thoughts, he donned his grey jacket and headed out the door.
--Ienji--
When Ienji woke up, the events of the previous day passed through his mind.
Crashing his bicycle into the other's bicycle, finishing his ride to the local library in his job as a page, feeling the strange connection take place and watching in a haze as he found himself able to subconsciously materialized the digital device--and then, after a moment or a millenium of this 'petitioning', the encounter with that same rider in the library.... in his mind he once more felt the force of the two digital devices as he had been thrown against the wall, along with the rider.... the strange after-feeling, the awkward introduction, the phone call the rider, Evan, had made.... and the conversation, where Ienji had been told of his status as a 'chosen child' and the existence of these two worlds, the digital world and the real world.... the after-feeling that had continued through the night, as the rain had fallen....
He sat up instinctively, still half-asleep, and the reached to flip off his alarm. It was a morning ritual every Siojaton High student was familiar with. As he made his bed and began to dress, he pondered yesterday's happenings analytically. Was it possible it had all been a dream? The idea of two worlds and some sort of metaphysical activity was against everything he'd been taught to believe could be possible, but somehow, he knew it was real. It felt real.
He paused, half-dressed, and attempted to materialized the ghost digital device, like he remembered practicing several times the previous night. He focused his thoughts, and immediately the contraption appeared on the palm of his hand, transparent and luminescent.
Ienji blinked, and held the focus in the back of his mind as he examined the strange device. It had shown itself more easily than in his previous attempts, and the materialization had felt more natural--more comfortable, even.
He released his focus on the digital device; it disappeared, and he resumed his school preparations.
Ten minutes later, he was out of his bedroom and into the living room/kitchen area, where he poured himself a light bowl of breakfast cereal. He noticed that the door to his mother's room was ajar; she must have come home late last night, or early this morning.
Ienji made his way out the door, backpack slung over his shoulder, a few minutes before eight o'clock.