Hey! I know it's been a long while, but life has been absolutely crazy. And now, here is chapter four! I'm very pleased with this, though it's boring in the beginning, it picks up speed. And for chapter five, just give me a few days to brainstorm and I'll start writing.
Enjoy!
I brought Kori to the only safe place I could think of-
Garfield's house.
Different
Chapter 4: The Extent of the Powers
I knocked on the Logan's door, trying to support Kori and reach the doorbell at the same time. Fortunately, Jo answered. A very confused look flitted over her face, but she let us in nonetheless.
Probably because Kori looked like she was about to collapse where she was standing.
"Geez," Jo said, casting a worried glance at Kori, "Get in."
"Thank you." Kori mumbled, somewhere between half conscious and barely living.
And she probably was, considering she forgot to add "new friend" at the end of the sentence.
Jo rushed ahead and cleared off the couch, knocking various papers and such off of it. "Sit." She commanded, and Kori obeyed. "And you are…?"
"Koriand'r, though you may call me Kori. Tell me, new friend, what is your name and favorite color?" Kori looked up at Jo interest, as though seeing her for the first time.
Jo backed away slowly, hands in front of her as if to protect herself from a seemingly rabid dog, and looked at me as if to say "Is she for real?"
"Riiiight." Jo said, "I'm going to get Gar, maybe he knows you." I could hear her mutter under her breath something about getting Kori medication.
I vaguely wondered what had gotten into me, with the whole "rescuing" people and standing up to Terra and her cult. This past two days had been quite the experience.
"Raven?" Gar called as he walked into the living room, "And Kori? What're you guys doing here?"
Jo had followed him, and she retorted, "They're sitting on the couch."
Gar rolled his eyes, so I answered, "I'm on another rescue mission."
"Rescue mission?" Jo asked, her eyebrows arching up.
"Yes. I have a saving-people thing."
"I knew it." Jo smirked. I could see it written all over her face.
"What?" Gar sighed, "Do you know?"
Jo replied with "You were her first victim she had to save."
Either this girl was psychic, or she just has a way of knowing things.
Gar grinned and said, "How'd you guess?"
Before Jo could answer, I reminded them that we had a certain person sitting on the couch who was in desperate need of some Tylenol. Gar laughed at his inability to remember things, and Jo laughed at his inability to make it to the stairs without falling over his own feet.
Once Gar was out of earshot, the first thing out of Jo's mouth was: "It was Terra, wasn't it?"
I'm defiantly going with the psychic option.
I nodded.
"Knew that bitch couldn't be trusted." Jo suddenly interjected with, "I just had this feeling that there was way more beneath that lovey-dovey surface."
"You read her well," I complimented, "All she is to me is a bitch, too."
Jo rolled her eyes, "And you've got Malchior in your school. I feel immensely sorry for you. His younger brother- Rorek- is in my grade. And he insists on asking me out every single day."
"Apparently Malchior taught him a lot."
Jo laughed, as Gar returned with the Tylenol, an apprehensive look on his face.
"Raven, run." He whispered.
I stood up, and asked, "Why?"
There was a sudden delighted scream, and a certain Becca launched herself at me, latched onto my legs, and looked up into my face.
Then she started talking.
"Hey Raven! You're here! Are you gonna stay for dinner again? Who's that on the couch? Is she sick? She sure looks sick. Hey, there was this kid at school today who got sick and threw up all over his desk and the janitor had to come in…"
Jo looked at me with pity. "You're on your own." She said, stood up and left.
"…And later on yesterday after you left Mom asked why you were here and Gar said you were gonna help him with his homework and Mom said that was nice of her and then Gar said…"
I looked at Gar helplessly as I tried to detangle myself from her grasp. I finally managed to pry myself from her arms, while she kept babbling about Jo and her headphones and her bandana, which she decided not to wear anymore.
"Really?" I asked, feigning interest, "Why don't you… uh… go…" I trailed off, my idea evaporating before I could get it all out.
"Why don't go you get your snack?" Gar finished. Becca seemed to lighten up, because she ran off to do as she was told.
"Looks like you're well liked around here." Gar mentioned nonchalantly, as if this was a big joke.
Which apparently to him it was.
Only twenty minutes had gone by, and we'd found out that Kori contracted the stomach virus- lotsa fun. Due to her "fragile condition", she needed plenty of fluids and rest, according to pre- med Angelo.
And to which Jo remarked: "Yeah, she'll be getting hydrated all right, but she'll be throwing up everything that goes down."
Kori had gotten a ride home with someone named "Galfore", an uncle, we all assumed. And by the time he'd gotten here, Kori was asleep on the couch, out cold.
I had, unexpectedly, been invited for another dinner at the Logan household. It was mainly leftovers from the night before, and some very good chicken courtesy of Mrs. Logan's "famous" family recipe. Later, Jo and I finished our game of Scrabble (which she won- to her surprise).
Everything was quite good today, with the exception of Malchior… and Terra… and Amanda…
Okay, so the day wasn't technically the greatest, but the Logan's, like yesterday, really made my day worth something other than getting up in the morning and sleeping at night. The family welcomed me with such sincerity that I have never seen, and they made me feel…accepted.
And I liked that feeling. I didn't want to lose it.
Not to mention I liked Mrs. Logan's cooking, too.
Dinner had been leftovers from last night, and some chicken that Mrs. Logan cooked at the last minute Again, (food wise) she had outdone herself. Jo and Gar had had another food spat, again broken up by Angelo. And you'd never guess what Gar had for dinner: tofu. Again.
I woke up the next morning with the alarm ringing in my ear. I found that I was actually looking forward to seeing Kori and Gar, and possibly Vic. I liked seeing the antics of Gar telling horrible jokes, and Kori slathering on mustard on her sandwich, and the weirdness of it all was that I didn't care. With the exception of Gar's horrible jokes.
Algebra with Mr. Mod, my Britain- obsessed teacher, is something that not every person should go through. It's like this: you forget your homework, you recite Britain's national anthem. And, if you keep forgetting it, a three page report will have to be done on one of Britain's "distinguished places". Not my cup of tea.
Fortunately, only three periods after Algebra is lunch, the time that every person in their right mind looks forward to. Kori had made it to school today, though she was mustard less. Instead, she had a wonderful gray/green/purple/blue blob of… something that didn't look edible called, "The Pudding of Happiness". When she offered me at taste I turned it down, wanting to keep my happiness and health intact. Gar had- surprise! - tofu! The real shocker was that Vic had abandoned his football jock friend's table for our table of misfits.
But, unbeknownst to us, he was a meat lover. This posed some problems for Gar.
Gar gasped as Vic unleashed his meat lover's lunch.
"You- you-" Gar stammered, "eat MEAT!"
Vic looked up at him with a mouthful of pork and said (or at least attempted to) "So?"
"It's unethical!" Gar insisted, his voice rising an octave or two. "Those poor, poor animals."
Kori cocked her head and said "Pork is mostly pigs, is it not?"
Gar looked disgusted. "It still was alive at one point."
Vic merely shrugged and continued shoveling meat products into his mouth.
I could rename the table: The Table of Misfits with Extremely Different Culinary Perks.
It all went well until Vic caught sight of Gar's choice of lunch.
Vic gagged and almost swallowed a bone. "What is that?"
Gar looked up and replied, "Tofu. The vegan's choice of a meal."
"Have you ever heard of a salad?"
"HEY! I take offense to that!"
"No one asked you!"
"Cut it!" I suddenly interrupted. "Let's eat in peace like civilized human beings." The combination of the sentence and my death glare shut them up for a total of two minutes.
"How can you even eat that stuff? It's like, all squiggly and… and… funny colored."
"Tofu is actually very nutritious. That stuff called meat isn't too healthy for you. It can cause clogged arteries."
"And tofu can… Look funny!"
"That was a pathetic insult!"
"Tree hugger!"
"Football freak!"
"Grass Stain!"
"Murderer!"
"ENOUGH!" I thundered, "Will you all just SHUT UP!"
All conversation at the table (and about half the lunch room) abruptly stopped.
"We are going to eat," I told them in a calm, even voice, "In peace. There will be no more insulting today, as I have had enough of you two trading sad excuses for insults and instigating each other. So shut up and let Kori and I eat."
Both of them stared blankly back at me, completely speechless. Mission accomplished.
I walked home instead of going to the library today. I assumed that my father wasn't home again, seen as he hasn't been home early for the last few days. I probably had around two or three hours to myself. I walked home with Gar again, seen as we lived close. Thankfully, he lived closer to the school than me so I could let myself in by myself.
But I knew something was wrong the minute I turned onto my street. My father's car was in the driveway. Swallowing my rising fear, a street light flickered above my head. I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
I relaxed for a second. My father wasn't alone. Then, my fear skyrocketed, and I recognized the visitor. He was my father's apprentice and coworker. He was to be known as "Mr. Slade".
You could say that he wore an off-black color suit, and his orange colored hair sent shivers through me. Half his face was shadowed, giving him a forbidding appearance.
"Hello, Raven." He greeted me. I glared at him in reply.
"Say hello Raven." My father instructed in a booming voice.
"Hello, Raven." I hissed through gritted teeth.
Slade chuckled, a truly frightening sound. "You have quite a sense of humor."
"Whatever." I muttered, heading up the stairs.
Once in my room, I turned around and locked the door. Taking extra precautions, I dragged a trunk with all of the books I never read in front of the door. Then, to drown out the sound of the two laughing downstairs, I immediately dragged out my headphones, selected a disc, and began playing Evanescence.
Now I will tell you what I've done for you…
Once the sound of Amy Lee and guitars filled my ears, I began to relax slightly. Pulling out a notebook, I began writing down some poetry that had been circling in my head all day.
I envy the candle that shines so bright
I envy the lantern that shines through the night
I envy the darkness that consumes all who cry
I envy the savoir whom all lost long for
Envy, rage and jealousy destroy innocent lives
The dangerous feelings coursing through your spine
The hatred and anger that envelops us all
But I'm still the one that takes the fall…
Emotions spilled out of me like water flowing over a cup. Everything that I was feeling went unto the paper, and by the time I was finished I had almost filled out two sides of the paper. My hand aching, I closed my eyes and didn't wake up until later that night.
I woke up around nine. Stomach rumbling, I headed downstairs, wary of my father passed out on the couch. His snores vibrated through the walls and rivaled the sound of the refrigerator. Out of the cabinet, I dug out another package of herbal tea. Then, finding the soup I made last week, I heated that up while I waited for the water to boil.
My hands curled around a steaming cup, I slowly sipped the chicken soup, reminding me of Mrs. Logan's dinner from last night. I closed my eyes in pleasure, remembering the savory taste of the meat.
I placed my soup down before the tea kettle had a change to whistle loudly. After preparing the cup of herbal tea, I brought it over to where I was sitting at the table. Setting it down, as it was too hot to drink from, I picked up my soup cup and found a paper sticking to it.
I was about to pull it off when I saw my name printed on it.
To Slade:
You'll be pleased to know that Raven is nearing her sixteenth birthday, in two months. She is growing increasingly rebellious and my methods keep getting stricter. I believe once she has grown up she'll will make a huge asset to our company. No one will cross us after she is instated in a powerful role. We may go nationwide. She could bring this country to its knees.
She is nearing her full potential with her telekinesis. I do not believe that she knows her full extent of her powers, let alone her ability. I know she has them, as objects react to her anger and other strong emotions. I think that they will grow great in power in the next month. Her sixteenth birthday awaits us. We shall show her our expectations of her.
Trigon Roth.
I put the letter down, my hands shaking and appetite completely ruined. What did he mean, "full extent of my powers"? And the "expectations of her"? What expectations? My fear had risen again, and the light flickered overhead. That's when it hit me:
Things reacted to my emotions.
And how could I bring the country to its knees? Did he mean that I'd topple the government, destroy all that the working people worked hard to build? And the full extent of my powers? What did all of this mean?
The light overhead popped and blew out, leaving me in darkness.
Reviewer responses:
MOOgoestheCHICKEN: here's the update. And yes, most flames amuse me.
Eva: I'm glad to know that this didn't disappoint you! And I love AU's too!
Amethyst Amber: Flames are stupid. And Assassin's Girl kicks arse! I love Mori!
technogirl: thankies!
Yaa: Love the compliments. Keep 'em coming!
soaring-bright-flame: In the next chapter, they sort of will become more threatening… just wait.
gothic kid 13: I love it too. Glad to know that you do, too!
Sangofanatic: Here's the update! Sorry it isn't so soon, but C'est la vie!
True-Geek99: Thanks very much. People who love my stories make me feel all fuzzy inside… :)
Steve-Racer: No, I didn't see it… though a few weeks later I did see her kiss Cy (it was crazy). And omg, you gave me some ideas! And confidence!
The Last: God, I LOVE your stories. And I'm glad you just keep reviewing!
demonspawn666: I love your story, "Those Eyes", and I can't wait till you update!
BeAsT bOy AnD rAveN 4eva: I've finished! Thanks- you're the only person who told me "take your time!" XD
LadyMaundrell: Thanks, and I've updated!
Black-Rose: Actually, I really had no idea that I was introducing them one by one. Now, I think that it's a great idea, that their bonds get stronger through hard times, and lunch time!
dana13: love ya!
DarkChild5: Here's the update!
Erin: Everyone love the Logan's. They'll come back, don't you worry.
They-Call-Me-Orange: Love your penname. Thanks for liking my writing style!
TheDarkestAngel: HERE THEY COME! Read Bring Me To Life, and its continuation, She Will Be Loved. And also Mountain. Everyone loved my first Rob/Star.
Blue Lantern: When are YOU gonna update? Your story's great, too.
JC: Thanks!
Darkest Midnight: Updated as you requested. Neat penname too.
WandaCarla: My story has a personality! YAY! Here's the update, I love this story too!
Martson: Okay, I know I've kind of been delaying Robin, but the next chapter is his debut. Star will be –literally- falling for him!
I have an announcement to make. The next chapter will introduce something called "The Different Consultant Committee", or DCC. These five people will help me make decisions I can't make in Different. Not only that, but in the Bonus Chapter (which will be posted one week after the final chapter) they'll get to talk about various things in Different. If you're interested, tell me so! Not to mention you'll get to be a character.
REVIEW!