Howard tapped his foot on the ground repeatedly. They should have been here by now. He wondered if he'd been pranked.
1 day earlier, as Howard was walking from English to math Sam and Astrid had cornered him.
"We need your help Howard" Sam had said, with a wild look in his eyes.
"Wha-"
Sam had never talked, so much as looked at Howard before. In fact the only thing Howard knew about Sam was that he'd taken over that bus once. He had kind of forgotten Sam went to school with him in the first place. And Astrid, Astrid the Genius— one person Howard certainly didn't expect to ever be interested in talking with him.
He quickly recovered from his initial surprise, seeing the opportunity.
"What's up Sammy?"
Sam shifted on his feet, "Listen- something is gonna happen soon in the FAY— eh our town. Okay? Something bad, and we need you on our side when it does. We can't have history repeat itself."
Howard would have laughed had he not caught the nervous expression on Sam and Astrid's faces. It sounded like something out of a movie. Still, he wasn't sure why Sam decided it was his help that he needed all of sudden, and not someone else's like Quinn.
"And what's this bad thing going to be?" Howard said, drawling out the word "bad"
"A- uh" Sam really didn't know how to relay the message to Howard without sounding like a maniac. He glanced at Astrid. Luckily, she took over.
"A laser-like wall is going to come up encasing the area known as Perdido Beach, the island near it, and Coates Academy up on the hill. Within this fallout area all adults, or specifically everyone over the age of 15 is going to disappear, leaving only us kids behind". Astrid stopped, letting Howard take it all in.
Howard had half a smile on his face "wow, didn't know the world would be ending like that huh. He licked his lips and tried reading both their faces. Their faces remained solemn, not hiding laughter like he expected.
"Well, well and uh in this "bubble" what happens to us?" He smirked.
"That's where the problems start" Sam said, now more confident, "See there's a lot of bad people both here and up at Coates. They all have it out for each other. Bad people Howard, not just bullies like Orc, but actual psychopaths"
"Hold up, what are you saying about my man Orc?" Howard intervened. His expression relayed his offense at Sam's statement.
"You know what I mean Howard" Sam continued "But believe me there are way worse people and they're going to hurt us and everyone else."
"Yeah I get it Sammy, you got some trouble with some other people, so what do you want from me?"
"No!" Sam almost yelled "You don't understand, people are going to get hurt, people will die."
Howard pointed his chin in the air, and started moving away. "Yeah yeah you're scaring me real bad Sam"
"Stop", Astrid stood in front of Howard "I know it's hard to believe us, but it will happen. Anyway we're not asking something from you now. We're asking for you to be on our side when the time comes, to prevent the bad things from happening."
Howard tensed, he didn't like the odds of him being backed into the wall by both Astrid and Sam.
"What do you mean be on your side? And how would that benefit me exactly?"
Astrid nodded to Sam, who said "Look those bad people as I mentioned, they don't just have it out for me and Astrid, they will turn on you too. So the plan it to stop them from gaining power, that way they're not as dangerous."
Howard nodded, understanding but skeptical, "and how would we do that Sammy?"
Sam looked off to the side before continuing, "We're gonna need to separate two guys from the rest of the people, perhaps throw them in jail or tie them down somewhere"
Howard raised his eyebrows "Getting a little bloodthirsty Sammy? That's quite the evil plan you've got there"
Astrid chimed in "I know it sound harsh, but it's the only method to keep these evil people uh in check"
Howard laughed "Oh boy should I be scared of you two? You're making quite the statements.
Sam huffed an angry breath, he was becoming quite irritated with Howard, but Astrid stayed patient.
"I know how it sounds Howard" said Astrid "but all we're asking is that you don't join them, you stay with us. It would be best for everyone. Now the fallout or the bubble is going to appear in exactly 1 day, and then you'll actually believe us. But for now, all we want is your word."
Howard thought this over. Sam could see the wheels spinning in his head.
"Astrid what makes you think these bad people can actually hurt us. From how it sounds we're not going to be the only ones in this magic bubble?"
"Orc isn't going to be able to save you, Howard" hissed Sam.
Howard's flashed a tinge of anger.
"I don't need- How can you be so sure? You up to challenge Orc?"
Sam challenged Howard back, "No, you're missing the point here. I know for a fact Orc will lose against a boy called Drake. I know this because I lived it. This has all happened before Howard, and it all went wrong! I know your fate and it isn't a good one."
Howard laughed, "You know my fate? What movie have I stepped into?"
Astrid sighed, this wasn't going anywhere, and she doubted Howard would believe them from one conversation.
"Look Howard, let's just wait until it happens, okay?" She said, "Just know that siding with the trio from Coates — you"ll find out soon who they are — is what gets you hurt in the first place. So when the time comes, find us and we'll figure out a way to stop them"
Howard looked in bewilderment from Astrid to Sam, not willing to take them seriously, he scoffed, "Yeah sure, whatever"
Astrid shook her head, and Sam looked away.
Howard walked down the hallway, glancing back one more time in disbelief.
And now here he stood, in a true bubble, without any adults. He'd known what was happening from his previous conversation, but couldn't believe it. And more so, he was furthermore confused by how Astrid and Sam knew of this beforehand.
Door in the gym he was standing in opened, and a boy walked in.
Howard called out "Sam?"
Sam nodded and behind him came Astrid.
"Not so crazy now, are we Howard?" Sam smirked, petting his own ego.
"Yeah yeah you were right dude, but how did you know?" Replied Howard nervously.
Astrid began "The truth is we have lived this before Howard. All of this has happened, yet somehow we came back to the beginning. And believe me things ended badly last time Howard, so this is our chance to fix it."
Howard stared at her "Fix it? As in leave the magic bubble?"
Sam frowned, "No we don't know how to do that. But we can stop people from killing each other."
Howard bit his lip, he was getting irritated with all of these elusive statements.
"Right the bad people will come and kill everyone or something like that? Can you be a bit more straightforward Sam?"
Sam huffed, and arched his shoulder "Fine, here's the whole story Howard. In about a day or so my brother, Caine, is going to come marching down from Coates with his girlfriend Diana and his pet psycho Drake. Along with him he'll bring more Coates kids, at least the ones that haven't been encased in cement" Sam fought his facial expression from changing when he said the last part. "He'll act all nice at first, but then he'll show his true self and try to kill me and Astrid, all while letting Drake and the rest of his cronies beat-up just about anyone."
Howard thought this over, and jokingly said "Sounds like two scary guys huh"
Sam interrupted, "Yeah well they're pretty scary. See Caine, he's got this power through which he can levitate objects and such, so he's pretty much unstoppable. And Drake - we'll he's willing to go any lengths when hurting people, plus he's the best fighter I've seen."
Howard's eyes narrowed to slits, "Wait power? You're saying this Caine guy has telekenises? Now you guys are just pranking ."
Astrid stared at Howard, "We're not attempting to make a prank Howard, think about our whole situation here. We're in a bubble, and everyone over the age of 15 has disappeared. Don't you think kids having powers is possible as well?"
Howard did think it was possible, but he did not want blindly follow what Astrid and Sam told him. He stared off into space, thinking.
Astrid continued, "Look, we would wait for you to find out for yourself, but I'm afraid that's where the trouble starts. Caine first demonstrated, or actually in this timeline, will demonstrate his power when you and Orc challenge his authority. He's going to hurt Cookie, and the point of our little get-together here is to stop the bloodshed before it occurs."
Howard's attention was caught by the mention of Orc, "so me and Orc will challenge this guy huh?" He seemed at ease at the thought.
"Yes" sam replied "And you'll lose"
Howard's satisfaction was wiped off his face. Doubt replaced it, "How so? Clearly you're not all familiar with Orc, Sam."
"I am Howard, believe me, they do fight, one-on-one, and Drake will always win"
Howard smug look didn't resurface. "So basically we need to get rid of these guys huh? Say me and Orc help you, who's charge after they're gone?"
Sam's face grew an expressions of annoyance. Ah-ha thought Howard "You? Are you going to be our King, Sammy? And me and Orc do all the work for you? I don't think so"
"No, we can form a council and such, but that's all irrelevant until Drake and Caine are not running free."
Howard's smirk was back, "Yeah, yeah I got it, catch the bag guys. I'll join your side for now Sammy, but don't think your first in command here."
Sam shrewd his eyes, and stared at Howard, who shrewd his own eyes back.
Astrid broke the tension, "Alright so Howard you're with us, that's good to know. Let Orc and the rest of your crew know, we'll need all the manpower we can get. Meet us at the principal's office in 10"
Howard cast his gaze off Sam, "In 10? Hold up, I still need to explain this to everyone else. We're not all perfectly up to date on the future like you Astrid." he said with a tinge of annoyance.
"Then tell them on the way here" said Sam, "Caine isn't going to wait to come down the hill till we have a plan in place." He asserted it when he said, which Howard caught. A look appeared on Sam's face that Howard didn't think he'd see on Sam. He wondered how bad things were about to get.
In the principal's office stood Sam's armada. Him, Astrid, Quinn, and Edilio were the obvious choices. Quinn was there in support, unsure and nervous. Edilio also knew what was to happen in the future. Standing slightly apart from them were Howard, Orc, Cookie, Chaz, and Panda. Apart from Howard and Panda, Sam didn't think Howard's crew really understood what was going on. Oh well, he thought, he's got to work with what he's got. He's running out of time after all.
"So" Sam started "Soon Caine is going to come down the hill, and as you know, attempt to take over. There's a couple of things you should know about Caine. One, he's got powers. Telekinesis, specifically" he glanced at Orc and Chaz whose eyebrows furrowed when he mentioned the word "telekinesis", he decided to add "it's when you can move objects around with your mind, and people– you can slam people into walls and such"
This earned him a couple of snickers, they didn't believe him. Great, Sam thought, how was he supposed to fix the future if people refused to believe him about the future.
"Perhaps you should demonstrate your own abilities" said Astrid. "It would certainly put things into perspective." She eyed him innocently.
"It would." replied Sam, but it would also make him a threat in the eyes of the others. Whatever, they needed to know what they were up against.
He walked toward the far end of the office, the wall that faced the empty hallway. Turning around he said "Just don't freak out". Then he fired a blast of light from each hand at the wall.
There were audible gasps, and it seems Quinn even jumped when this occurred, as the wall crumpled from the force.
Sam turned to the group, he had all of their attention now for sure. Yeah, all of them were watching his hands, he noticed. Only Astrid was relaxed, staring at him admiringly. That gave him confidence.
"You see what I mean? Powers–"
Howard interrupted "Did you just fire lasers from your hands? Wow, Sammy, that's not– you didn't mention you could do that earlier"
Quinn added "Yeah brah what was that? How long have you been able to do that?"
Sam smiled, now they were getting it. ""Yes I did just fire lasers from my hands, Howard" he relished his own words for a second, "And I've been able to do this for a while now Quinn, but that's besides the point. The point is I'm not the only one. There a lots of uh–"
"Mutants" Astrid offered.
"Yes mutants" Sam said, "that have many different powers. Now I'm pretty high on the power scale, but most people are lower, and can't do as damaging things as I can. That being said back to Caine, Caine is—" he stopped wondering if he should tell truth about Caine's superior power level. Looking at Howard and Orc he decided against it. "-Just as powerful as me, except he can use telekinesis instead of lasers. So I'm warning you now, he will be quite the opponent"
No one in the room spoke, they were all still fixated on the broken wall. This hadn't gone as Sam had pictured it.
Astrid chimed in "Caine needs to be stopped, because he will use his powers against us, to try to take over Perdido Beach. Our second problem will be Drake, he doesn't have a power, but he can easily beat anyone in a fight, so multiple people will need to take him down."
"Wait wait, so I get that Caine will be trying to take over with his power and all, but what about you Sam? Why should we be all trusting with you?" said Howard. Orc nodded in agreement.
"Because Howard, I'm here. I'm talking to you, and I'm giving you the heads-up on whats to happen. I'm giving all of you the heads-up on what's to happen" He looked around the room. "I trust you guys, some maybe more than others, but together we're able to stop them. There is no siding with them, but we can work together. They truly are psychotic, you just haven't seen them act like so. There's nothing Caine wouldn't do – including murder– to receive power."
Howard thought this over, and nodded his head to signify understanding.
"So, tell us Sam, how do we win this one?" he said.
Astrid joined in, "Okay well to destroy Caine's plan for take over, we need to stop him and Drake. The rest will fall in line once the one they're afraid of is gone"
Sam nodded in agreement.
Astrid continued "They'll come down the hill, and Caine will put on a show about how he's here to help us and so on and so forth, he'll then ask to meet with our leaders and talk about how everything's going to work according to his new plan. Then he'll retreat with Drake and Diana. This is where we'll execute the plan. First getting Drake alone, multiple of us should be enough to overpower him. Then, in the confusion we get Caine." she smiled triumphly. The crowd response was not the same.
Quinn inquired, "What do you mean we'll grab him? And put him where exactly"
Howard scoffed "Why wait all this time? Why not strike and get him whilst he's coming down from Coates?"
Panda nodded, "yeah why hide in the shadows like cowards?"
"Because" Sam said, a little too angrily, "the less he knows, the better of a position that we're in. Caine is very manipulative, and also paranoid. If he thinks something's off–which he will if we just come up to him and decide to act–he will retaliate quicker, and the whole plan will be toast."
Edilio spoke for the first time, "Sam's right on that one, Caine doesn't take chances, and neither can we. We need to operate from the shadows, it's not a cowardly move, it gives us an advantage."
Everyone except for Howard, nodded heads at the thought.
Edilio continued, "once we grab them, we can tie them up and bring them back to Coates to put them in uh – jail".
Sam grasped the idea, he himself hadn't thought through what they would do with Caine, but currently there were a lot of angry and scared kids with hands encased in cement more than willing to guard Caine, he agreed with Edilio. "Yes that's what we'll do send him to jail, along with Drake" he hissed the word "apart from each other of course."
The room seemed to understand Sam now. He explained how they were going to grab Caine and Drake, and how to do it without being discovered. It was mostly in the same way that Caine had onced gotten Sam, knocked out with a baseball bat by Drake and Orc, tied up and having a bag put over his head.
After they laid out the plan, everyone went to get what they needed. Sam stayed behind with Astrid and Quinn. Quinn looked nervous.
"I don't know brah, like doesn't this just seem wrong to you? Like brah you're taking about some gang activities with the kidnapping and stuff."
"Listen Quinn, I know it sounds harsh, but it's not even half as bad as what they have done. Quinn, they killed people! they tortured and murdered them. And they did bad things to us, yes us Quinn."
"Did..uh did they attack me?" Quinn asked, though sickened by the thought.
Sam eyes turned sad, but his expression remained neutral, "Yes Quinn, Drake does hurt you, he roughs you up."
Quinn's nervousness disappeared for just a second, and an anger flashed in him. Sam liked it.
"Well, guess this is revenge huh?" Quinn said with a menacing look, though his tone was still shaky.
"Yeah brah" Sam replied, "We're taking revenge".
Astrid sighed and looked out into the empty hallway. It felt like the calm before the storm.
Howard heard the commotion outside the hardware store, and instantly knew what it was about. Kids were speaking of cars coming down from Coates.
"Well well looks like Sam was right after all" he said to no one in particular.
He grabbed a wooden bat, before exchanging it for a metal one. Howard wasn't sure why he needed the bats, not like he would be doing the fighting. But he could hand one to Orc. At the thought, Howard felt strong almost like Orc was an extension of himself, made himself scary. Even though he really knew that people were scared of Orc, not him.
Panda came running into the store.
"They're really here Howard. There's cars coming down from the hill!" he said, still panting from running.
"Yeah I know" Howard shot back.
"Sam says we gots to go to our places. For like the operation ya know?"
Howard gritted his teeth at the mention of Sam, "Sam says, Sam says, sounds a lot like Sam is telling us what to do."
Panda's expression twisted a little, but he didn't feel the matter needed to be talked about.
"It's just for now Howard, they know about the future"
Howard grabbed some ductape and placed it into his backpack.
"Doesn't put them in charge." he replied.
He headed out the store followed by Panda.