Daren sat on the ground with his back towards the wall of the see-through cell that he and Krystal were in. After Kevin picked up Daren and Krystal up from the school, they immediately went straight to the lab. During the drive and the walk through the building, Daren couldn't keep his mouth shut by making threats, and going on about he's going to tell the school about how he was just abducted. Krystal, on the other hand, was silent and complying with everything. She already knew what was going to happen. She knew she could've just told Daren what was going to happen by using her mind, but she figured that he was already angry, and telling him would have just made it worse.
"Why are we in here? It's been thirty minutes since I've seen anyone around." Daren asked as he had his eyes closed.
"Just be patient. My father and Daniel should be back at any moment."
"You didn't answer my question. Why are we in here? Is this your normal routine, you're dad picking you up for school and then locking you up?"
"No, it's not normal, but considering the recent events that have taken place, it's apparently necessary."
Daren opened his eyes. "What events?" Krystal hesitated for a moment; she didn't want to tell Daren that she involuntarily turned into a Xenomorph and went rampant through the building. Krystal didn't realize that thinking about the moment caused pictures in her mind to develop of the moment, pictures that Daren could see just by peeking into her mind…which he did. "You know what, it was better when I didn't know." Daren closed his eyes once again.
"Wait, what? I didn't tell you."
"You didn't have to. We can see what's in each other's head, remember?"
"Oh…right. Please, just keep that to yourself."
"Who am I going to tell? It's not like anyone would believe me anyway…well maybe the previous guys you've had "experiences" with."
Krystal noticed Daren put some type of emphasis on the word experiences. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, I'm just saying, I can now understand why those guys went nuts."
Krystal took what Daren said as an insult and she took it to heart. She hung her head low and walked to the opposite corner of the cell. Daren saw this and started to kick himself in the ass for what he just unwittingly did. He didn't mean to hurt or insult her, but that's how it came out. He stood up, as to walk over to her, but the door to the lab opened and in walked Kevin and Daniel.
Kevin and Daniel walked up to the cell wall. Daren did the same thing, while Krystal stayed in the corner of the cell. "Can you tell me what the hell's going on? I'd like to know." Kevin smiled at Daren and looked at Daniel and then nodded. Daniel walked away and to his desk. Kevin looked toward Daren. "Mr. King, it seems that you have befriended my daughter. I must say, that bit of news seems to excite me. My little Krystal isn't known for having friends. I'm sure you're aware of that since you both attend the same school."
"This is my first year at MLK High. Whatever type of reputation Krystal has, I have no idea about."
"I'm thinking you're lying. Actually, I know you're lying, and may I say you lie very well. Have you thought about what you want to do when you graduate? I'm sure Yutari can use a charming, up and coming, young man like you."
"What, someone who can lie?"
"In our industry we call it politics." Kevin smiles. "As I was saying, for the last thirty minutes or so we've been monitoring you and Krystal, watching you, listening to your conversation. Apparently, you can see into each other's mind, and not to mention that you know about Krystal's little secret."
Daren begins jokingly laughing as to play it off. "I don't know what you mean man. Do you really expect me to believe that someone can read someone else's mind? It was just a figure of speech."
"Yes…of course it was." Kevin walks away and walks next to Daniel. "So what are you picking up on Mr. King?" Kevin asks.
Daniel smiles. "Whatever that kid Daren is, it's crazy, just as crazy as Krystal's second brain pattern. This new technology that you were able to pick up is amazing. I've been able to do full brain and body scans of both Krystal and Daren while they're in the cell. They don't even know it, but for the last thirty minutes, we've been analyzing them."
"So Mr. King may be "crazy" but is there anything that makes him special…Krystal special? There has to be a reason for the two of them to spark a friendship."
"Seriously Kevin, Krystal is a very beautiful girl, a junior. I'd place my money on Daren's trying to get laid, and wouldn't put it past Krystal trying to get the same thing."
"Do you remember the last three young men that tried to get close to Krystal for that reason? What happened to them?"
Daniel remembers and the metaphoric light bulb turns on. "Oh…those guys we had to make disappear. Now I remember. How are those guys doing?"
"I don't see any reason to keep track. Do you?"
"No not really."
"Good, now tell me what Daren's brain scan picked up."
"Right." Daniel went back to the computer. "Well since you're amazing deductive skills found out that both Krystal and Daren have telepathic abilities, which is awesome beyond belief, Daren's brain scans legitimize that theory. On top of that, Krystal has a second brain wave that we can conclude belongs to the Xenomorph inside her."
"Why the Xenomorph? Can't it be the Yautja in her since its hybrid DNA?"
"Yes, but Daren's brain waves are totally different and have a unique signature to it. I'm comfortable in saying that Krystal's brain is Alien, and Daren's waves are Predator."
"So the way the two can communicate is the Yautja in Krystal."
"That's what I'm thinking, but how did Daren get Pred DNA in him?"
"That's the next thing we need to figure out."
Just then, Daren's phone, which was sitting on the table next to the computer, began to ring. Kevin looked at the caller ID and read "Mouse". Daren heard his phone going off and began asking for it. "Hey, can I have my phone back? It's probably someone important." Kevin picked up the phone and brought it up to the cell. "It doesn't seem like a call from someone named Mouse is an important call."
"Actually, it is. Mouse is a friend of mine and I wasn't able to talk to him after school since I was so elegantly abducted after lunch." Daren replies.
Kevin takes a second and opens the small door that allows for transfer of objects in the wall of the cell and gave him the phone. "I don't want you trying to call anyone else. You need to trust me Mr. King, you're safe, and nothing bad is going to happen to you. For the safety of my daughter, I'm going to need your complete cooperation."
Daren nodded his head as he grabbed his phone an answered it. "Yeah Mouse?"
"Hey Daren where the hell are you, you have a show tonight and I thought we were going to scope the place out before our next class."
"I kind of got side tracked. How's the place look?"
"It's an abandoned shoe factory from the early 1900's, what do you expect it to be like?"
"Listen, I'm not sure how long I'll be tied up for. I'm going to need you to get everything ready."
"What? Dude, I can't get a rave going on my own."
"You don't have to. Word has been going around about it the whole week. All I need from you is to get my gear down there and get my shit set up."
"Where are you?"
"I can't really say right now."
"Oh…you're with Krystal aren't you?"
Daren looked back at Krystal, who was still in the corner staring blankly at the wall. "Yeah, kinda, but it'll be a while till we're…finished doing what we're doing."
"So you're banging the girl you were having dreams of making out with. That's my Daren." Mouse laughed. "I'll leave you to your business and I'll see you later on tonight."
Mouse hung up. Daren thought about Mouse's last sentence before looking over at Kevin. "Is it cool if I keep my phone?"
"If you don't do anything dumb…of course you can." Kevin went back to his work.
Daren didn't realize that what had happened between he and Krystal, regarding thoughts, had just happened again. Krystal was staring at the wall, but she was mildly focusing on Daren's phone conversation, and when he and Mouse were talking about Daren's dream, she got the pictures of Daren's dream that was in synch with the very dream she had. She began to put the pieces together and fully understand that she and Daren did experience the same exact dream and it was due to their connection. Even though the fact that she now fully knew that the connection of their minds can still be linked even when they are nowhere near each other, she was stuck on the fact that Daren was in fact dreaming of being with her.
Daren walked up to her and knelt down. Hey didn't know that Krystal was inside his head grabbing some secrets. "Hey, whenever we get out of here, would you want to give me a ride somewhere?"
"Are you talking about the abandoned building where you're having your show?"
"Yeah I am…wait, I didn't…oh right, the reading minds part. I keep forgetting." Daren shakes his head. "Would you be able to do that for me?"
"Yes of course I can. I would love to help you out." Krystal smiles as she looks Daren in the eyes, something she rarely does.
Daren pauses. "Well, maybe you don't just have to drop me off. Maybe you can stay."
"I think I would like that even more."
Hours had passed and the sun was going down. The night was beginning to start and that meant that the rave was only a few hours away from starting. Krystal just pulled up to the building with Daren. The both of them walked out of the car and entered the, visually dormant, building. Little to their own knowledge, someone was on a rooftop a few buildings away, watching them, following them, and planning.
The mystery girl from the lunch room stood on the edge looking down at Daren and Krystal. Her long, black, braided hair gently hovered in the wind. An all-white braid fell over her face, almost melting into the pale complexion of her skin, and resting on a respirator mask that painters would wear. Her attire showed signs to the normal person that she was going to attend the rave to enjoy the music, the companionship, and the atmosphere. To her, she was going to attend for a different reason.
A man stood behind her, in the shadows of the oncoming night. "Why must you waste your time with those two? Do you really think that girl has anything to offer us?"
The unknown girl turned and faced the shadow. "There's quite a lot more going on than one would think." She responded with her very thick British accent that was slightly muffled by the mask.
"I'm guessing this potential you see is something that you've only been blessed with. The rest of the clan fails to comprehend this divine notion that you have."
"I choose to count it as a complete loss on the clan's part to not realize the possibilities that are in front of us."
The two stand in silence for a few moments before the shadow breaks the silence. "So is this it, Annalisa, is this where you're going to use your one and only chance to speak freely with the Elders?"
"Yes, and to tell you this, this will not be the only time I speak freely with the Elders, for they will see what I see, and bestow upon my rightful place."