Chapter 4
He was torn awake by the sudden surge of psychic power. The boy jumped out of his bed and flung his window open. He studied the surrounding buildings, as if they could give him answers. Something had happened. He felt it. The chaos is closing in. But as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. It wasn't too far away, and making a quick decision, he snuck out of the small apartment and made his way to the roof access.
Shivering against the cold night wind, he once again studied the buildings around him. Seeing nothing, he closed his eyes and felt out for the Shard's power, reaching his mind's influence as he had done many times before. He felt it, it was faint, but there was something. And it wasn't exactly like the Shard either. It was different. Angrier. Darker.
Concern bled through his mind. There was another power at work here, more than the Shard, and it felt like something big was going to happen.
Then another thought occurred to him. If that pulse of energy was strong enough to awaken him like it had, was it strong enough to draw the attention of the ones they were hiding from? Is it even possible to track something after it has passed through the Hyper Vacuum?
Ugh. Too many unknowns. Best course of action would be to find the Shard as soon as possible. She'd know the answers to these questions.
Oo-oO
Casey Jones sauntered into class the following morning with his usual swagger. And check it out, he wasn't even late yet! Score one for Casey Jones. He mentally patted himself on the back as he scanned the class, looking for Red. He was surprised when he didn't find her in her usual place. It was a rare day indeed when Casey beat April to class, especially the morning one.
Huh, maybe she's taking the day off after the whole rock thing yesterday, Casey thought. He had yet to be informed about the late night fight, so he didn't feel too worried. Instead, he spotted that new skater kid. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Jay. From Canada.
"What up, didn't know you were in biology too." Casey greeted as he fell into the chair next to him and propped his feet up on his desk. The kid started at the sudden noise.
"Hey," Jay replied quietly. He seemed distracted, but Casey just shrugged. Not his business.
"You seen April today?" Casey asked.
The kid shook his head before zoning out again, staring out the window. Casey rolled his eyes at the kid and tagged him as a dreamer before turning to his own thoughts.
His first thoughts went to April, and he imagined her surprise when she saw he got to class before her. Maybe she would even be impressed by his puntu-, punctiv-, punctuality. Casey ginned to himself as he remembered the big word. Who knows, maybe being on time to class had its' advantages.
The few minutes before the class bell ticked by and April still hadn't show. Beside Casey, Jay was still staring out the window with a look of concentration. Casey was about to say something when the bell shrilled through the halls and the school day officially started.
The teacher started taking attendance when April finally showed up, or more like stumbled in. She had these slight rings under her eyes from a lack of sleep, she was wearing black in place of her trademark yellow T-shirt, and her hair was still down, emphasizing the new white streak that seemed to have gotten bigger over the course of the night, almost taking up half her head.
Casey noticed his neighbour finally snap out of whatever funk he was in, his eyes automatically locking onto April, an odd expression on his face that Casey couldn't read. He was about to comment when the teacher spoke.
"Miss. O'Neil, you're tardy," the teacher said, raising an eye brow.
"Yeah, yeah," April muttered before slouching into her seat a few rows in front of where Casey sat.
That was weird, Casey thought. It's not like April to be late, no matter the circumstances. Even after the whole alien invasion, April was rarely ever late. Was she getting sick? Or did that whole Rock thing take more out of her then he thought.
But Casey couldn't ask her about it just yet, seeing as how she wasn't beside him. He debated passing her a note, but with some of the other gossipers in this class, he didn't want to risk it. So, inwardly grumbling to himself, Casey flopped his head on his arms crossed on his desk and tried not to fall asleep too fast as the teacher began the day's lesson.
Oo-oO
"My lord, we have picked up activity from one of the Shard's of Light," a rather well kept man reported.
"You don't need to tell me. I can feel it," the responding voice was deep, raspy and quiet. Deep in the shadows cast by blocking out the light, the monster of a man gazed out into the dark, empty void that was space.
The well kept man bowed slightly before continuing. "We have traced the signal to the Third Dimension on a secluded, underdeveloped planet known locally as Earth in the year 2015."
"It's the yellowone," the monster declared. "The Shard lost in the Hyper Vacuum."
"You are certain, my lord?"
"Positive," the monster chuckled. "And what of the boy?"
"We have detected nothing of the Guardian. But after having fallen through such an anomaly as the Hyper Vacuum, who is to say the child even survived?"
"Oh he's alive. These brats are persistent, there's no way they would succumb that easily."
"As you say, my lord. What course of action should be undertaken?"
"Send out the Tagoos. I want an exact location and positive identification of the Shard. But no action is to be taken until the Guardian has been found. He hasn't retrieved the Shard yet, so he is not at full power. He will also be weakened by his little trip through the Hyper Vacuum. I want the boy first, bring him to me where he will not be able to interfere any longer."
"Wouldn't it be wiser to dispose of the boy as soon as he's found?"
"Fool, that would only serve to alert the Light to their location. No, the boy will be kept alive until I have the Shard in my grasp. Then a suitable demise with be dealt to him."
"Yes, my lord." The well kept man backed out of the monster's chambers and activated his communication line. "Dispatch the Tagoos. Orders are to locate and capture the Guardian before procuring the Shard. Move out as soon as possible, their destination: New York City."
Oo-oO
"The human body is comprised of various systems that work in a delicate balance," the teacher lecture. "If any one of these factors isn't functioning properly, the whole unit can shut down."
April sighed and reluctantly opened her note book. Last night was rough. When she woke up, her headache was finally gone, but she couldn't seem to focus on anything. Her thoughts kept drifting from one thing to another. Her favorite yellow shirt was covered in white vomit-blood, so she grabbed the first thing her hand touched in her drawer. Her hair still fell around her shoulders because she couldn't stay focused on finding another elastic to replace the one that broke.
The walk to school had been almost maddening. In the alleys she passed, she would imagine glinting eyes of monsters that could be hiding. The rougher looking individuals would be given horrendous backstories full of anger and spite. The innocent bystanders would be incorporated into devastation accompanied by pain and suffering. April tried to shake these dark thoughts from her head, but it proved fruitless. Instead, she found a hint of amusement buried somewhere within these fantasies.
Now, here she was sitting in biology class, listening to the teacher go on about the human body while she imagined all the painful accidents that could occur with the proper use, or rather misuse, of her pencil sharpener. When her thoughts started to turn rather gruesome, she managed to snap herself out of it.
What is wrong with me today? April asked herself, rubbing her eyes and once again focusing on what the teacher was saying. Unfortunately, she chose the wrong moment to tune back in.
"Can anyone tell me what homeostasis is?" the teacher asked, looking out to assess how many students were actually paying attention. The teacher's gaze, naturally, fell on April who just so happened to be looking that way. "April?"
Oh crap, April felt the pressure build in her chest as she was called upon. Come on. You know this. I'm sure Donnie's said something about it at one point. What's homeostasis?
. . . Data Retrieved: Homeostasis is a term for the mechanisms by which a living body maintains their internal environment within a very narrow tolerance range. The body recognizes different forms of stress and responds to return the environment back to a state where systems function properly. Transmission Terminated.
What was that? The information flooded her brain and April realized that she wasn't sitting in her chair anymore. Looking around, she found the eyes of all her classmates on her, with looks of surprise. Wait, did I just say that out loud?!
"V-very good, Miss. O'Neil," the teacher stuttered, turning back to the board. "Take a seat. Like she said, homeostasis is . . ."
April sank back into her seat, ignoring the continued looks from some of the other students. Her headache seemed to have started up again.
But what was that? It's like one minute she was scrambling for an answer, then she just knew. It was like a computer screen that just uploaded text from the Internet, but then it was gone just as fast. If you asked her to repeat what it was she said, she wouldn't be able to do it.
April shook her head, trying to clear it. What she didn't notice, was that while all the other students went back to listening, or rather ignoring, the teacher, one person kept their intense gaze fixed on April O'Neil.
The teacher finished the lesson just as the bell rang. Casey watched in dismay as April packed up a notebook that looked like it had nothing written in it and raced out into the hall, one hand holding her head. She didn't stop to say 'hi', no little wave of acknowledgement, hell, she didn't even look over his way. Come on, he'd even beaten her to class!
"Is she alright?" Jay asked beside him, following his gaze. Casey was started out of his train of thought, and was surprised to see that Jay had initiated the conversation, as opposed to avoiding questions and saying as little as possible.
"She . . . had a rough day yesterday," Casey replied uneasily. "But she'll bounce back, she always does." He hoped she would.
"What happened?" Jay asked quietly. Casey met his piercing gaze and got an odd feeling, like there was more going on than he knew. Not wanting to give too much away, Casey scrambled for an answer.
"Uh . . . hairdresser! Yeah, the hairdresser messed up. Did ya see the white streak in her hair? She was kind of pissed about it, hasn't said much since." Casey was impressed with himself. He made it to class on time, and came up with a believable excuse, all in the same day! Casey Jones is on a role. Now let's see what this role can do for his friend.
"Hey, I'll catch you later," Casey called to the skater kid as he rushed to catch up with April, not giving Jay anytime to ask anymore questions.
Casey rounded a corner and scanned the crowd of teenagers, but saw no sign of the fiery red hair in the sea of bobbing heads. With a dejected sigh, he headed to his next class. Maybe he'll catch up with her in calculus.
Only April didn't show up to calculus. She was too busy exploring what she could do with this new found ability of hers. It happened a few other times in Biology, and again in History. She would think of a question, and the answer would pop into her head, like a robotic voice telling her what she was looking for.
Passing by a bulletin board full about chemistry, she found the weirdest word on the board.
What is an aliphatic hydrocarbon?
. . . Data Retrieved: An aliphatic hydrocarbon in an organic molecule that contains no aromatic rings. Transmission Terminated.
Spying a spot of green gunk on one of the walls. What is that spot?
. . . Data Retrieved: Substance analyzed. Chemical components include glycoproteins, lipids, salts, nitrogen and carbon. Conclusion, substance is a form of mucus developed in various life forms biological systems as a filter to prevent foreign particles from entering into the body. In local term, substance is identified as . . . snot. Transmission Terminated.
Quickly stepping away from the green spot on the wall, April smiled to herself. With each 'search' that she made, her headache seemed to flare momentarily.
This must be a side-effect from the reaction with the, what did Mikey call it, Shock Rock. April mused. It's like it boosted my psychic abilities, and the headaches are just activating it. Hopefully they'll go away as I get used to it.
Another display caught her attention. The anthropology department just set up a display case showing the different weapons that cavemen used: spearheads, axe hands, arrow heads. April briefly thought about the weapons that she's been fighting against. Swords, ninja stars, chains, morning stars, the list continued on for ever. She thought of how the battles she'd fought in had been mostly against robots, as if the human element of the whole ordeal had been cut out entirely. There was no flesh to cut, no blood to spill, no lives to tak—
The bell sounded for the end on class, making April jump. She realized that she had been wandering around the halls the entire period.
What was I just thinking? April asked as her head started to pound. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to search so many things.
Oo-oO
"What happened April?" Casey asked in the lunch room. "You totally ditched class! You never ditch class."
"Sorry, Casey," April apologized, "but something happened."
"Last night?"
"Well, yes, something did happen last night but that's not what I mean."
"You're not making any sense Red."
"Then shut up and just listen for once," April snapped.
"Woah," Casey held his hands up in front of him, "sorry. You sure you're feeling alright?"
"Would you stop asking that? It's starting to get really annoying."
"Alright, just calm down. Now, what happened?"
"Ugh. Nothing, just never mind," April stood up from the table, leaving behind a tray of food that she barely touched.
"Hey, where're you going?" Casey asked incredulously as she turned to leave, but she didn't answer, she just walked away, the light catching the white streak that only seemed to be getting bigger.
"Something wrong?" A quiet voice asked behind Casey. He turned to see Jay, the new kid, watching April leave with those calculating blue eyes.
"I don't know, man," Casey replied shaking his head. "She's been a little off since last night."
"Something tells me there's more to it than a botched perm," eyes turning back to Casey.
"Something like that," Casey sighed. "It's all that stupid rock's fault."
"Rock?" Jay asked.
"Naw, it's nothing." Casey brushed him off, scolding himself for letting that slip. It wouldn't be fair to get the kid involved in their crap. "Hey, I'll catch you later. I'm gonna go try and find out what's up."
Oo-oO
The boy watched the girl leave the lunchroom, and her friend soon followed. The girl was definitely giving off the Shard's power, or at least some of it. At least he though it was the Shard's. There was something different about it, like the night before, this was darker than what he was used to.
The pure signal he'd gotten from the Shard the previous day had yet to resurface and the boy was starting to get a little worried. Something must have happened. Maybe that girl had stolen the Shard's power? That would certainly explain why she was giving off these signals. But the Shard wouldn't be so foolish as to choose a host without him there to oversee the process . . . right? And what are the odds that there would even be a human who's compatible with the Shard's power anyway.
A feeling of foreboding worked its way into the boy's mind and he groaned inwardly. But if the Shard had transferred to this girl, then why hadn't the Shard made contact? He was close by, and he thought he was being rather obvious in sending out his mental waves, signaling who he was. Why wasn't the Shard responding?
There are too many unknowns in the equation, and it was about time he started finding some facts.
A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know, no real action in this chapter. It's more of a transition from one scene to the next. But worry not, there shall be blood (metaphorically) in the next chap. Oh, and seeing how it's Saturday and I've only gotten done like, four or so chapters, it doesn't really look like I'll be making my goal to finish this story before classes start. :'( I'm dying on the inside as well. But not to fear! I think I was just stuck on some parts, and Figment is on my side. The chapters will be rolling out, and I plan on having chapter 5 for sure finished tonight (don't know if I'll post it tonight), and possible a chap 6 in the making. Hey, look at that, this is turning into another one of those ridiculously long author's notes, you know, the ones that everybody hates. I wonder if anyone will even read this far or if they'll get board when they read that it's just me complaining about not making by deadline. But hey, if you did get to this point in the A/N, wow. Just wow. I don't even know what to say except, if you did read all of this, let me know my typing 'You can never trust a fart' as a review. You will forever have my respect, and you'll even get a shout out in the next chapter!