“What’d you do to that guy?” Ethan asked from across the counter.
“I stood in front of the doors for too long and he bumped into me. He almost dropped some boxes, but he caught them just fine,” Alex explained. “Where’d all of these books come from? Don’t you have enough?”
“No, thankfully, reading is popular in this city. We got this new shipment from the west side of the island, and there is a lot of work ahead of us. We have to unpack, put them in our database, and shelve them,” Ethan replied.
Mr. Epoch caught sight of Alex’s arrival and walked around the long desk from the computer and placed his hand on Alex’s back in greeting.
“Good morning, lad,” Mr. Epoch said.
“Good morning, Mr. Epoch,” Alex replied. “You seem really busy. I only left a few hours ago.”
“Yes, but while you are here we could use your help. Please, come. Ethan, you too.”
Ethan placed a hand on the desk and leaped over the top of it, landing at Alex’s side. Mr. Epoch walked over to the farther end of the long desk where tall stacks of books covered the surface. He reached up and took a five-foot-tall stack of books and split it in half. He handed one to Alex and one to Ethan. They both huffed under the sudden weight of the stack.
“I need you two to shelve these books. They are already put into the system. We will take care of the unpacking and recording all of the other books, but we need you to put them away. Now shoo,” Mr. Epoch said as he placed his hands on the two speechless boys’ backs and pushed them into the endless maze of bookshelves, Argent walking between them.
Once they were inside, they exchanged glances with one another before setting to work, both on one side of the hallway. They placed the pile of books on the floor and grabbed a smaller stack from their piles. The small black cat prowled about the shelves as they worked. Ethan asked what breed it was, but Alex quickly dodged the question. Alex had taken care of four full stacks of books himself before he came across another book that belonged to a series that they already had. He had to find the series. When he finally found the series, it was at the top shelf of the bookcase. The ladder was all the way at the other end and was being used.
Alex waited patiently until the person was done and quickly retrieved the ladder. He dragged it across the case over to where he needed it. He put the book away and put a few others away that needed to go in the same area. A slight rattle shook the rungs of the ladder and Alex looked down, surprised.
“Relax, it’s just me,” Ethan said from beneath him as he slid a book into its slot.
“You scared me,” Alex sighed as he continued his work.
“Yes, I saw,” Ethan replied.
Silence stretched between them before Alex asked him another question.
“What else do you do?” Alex asked.
“What do you mean?” Ethan looked up at Alex curiously.
“When you aren’t in the store where do you go? Do you go out into the city and hang out with friends?”
“You’re the only friend I have. I’ve never been outside for fun. There’s also that problem with being a Pardictor. We aren’t exactly welcome among everyone else,” Ethan bowed his head and put away his last book before climbing back down the ladder. Alex quickly followed.
“What’s being a Pardictor got to do with it?” Alex asked.
“Never mind. It’s too much to explain,” said Ethan, who then walked to the pile of books and bent down to pick one up. Alex stood in front of him defiantly.
“I don’t care. I want to know.”
Ethan sighed, defeated.
“Fine. Pardictors can see the past and the present. If we touch someone, we can see their past and very rarely multiple possible futures. But since the future is never set for sure, it’s only one of infinite possibilities. People don’t want us to see what goes on in their lives. We’re rare as it is; they still think of us as filthy trash. There’s no use trying to hide our true abilities either.” Ethan paused, and looked up. Alex’s confusion read clear on his face, so Ethan continued. “All Pardictors have dull gray eyes, so we are easily recognized. Everyone thinks that Pardictors can only see pasts and possible futures if we touch another person, so they avoid us as if we were diseased. But it doesn’t matter, we could see it all without even coming close to someone if we really wanted to. However, no one knows that, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
Alex shook his head to that. “Don’t worry I won’t. That’s all so terrible… But I can almost understand their fear.” Alex leaned against the bookcase and crossed his arms solemnly.
“We can’t be trusted. I can’t change that. No matter how much I would like to,” Ethan shrugged. “It doesn’t help that there have been more than a few Pardictors in the past who have used their powers for less than good things.”
“Well I trust you,” Alex assured him. “Tell you what, my friends and I will take you out of here! Before we leave, we’ll take you to the beach or something. It’ll be fun. We can get you sunglasses or something.”
“I look forward to that. But there’s something strange about you, Alex. I’ve tried to see your past before. I’m sorry, but I can’t help it,” Ethan confessed.
“What did you see?” Alex asked, leaning off the shelves, suddenly alarmed. His family had done so many things to him, many of which he didn’t want others to know about, especially this… kid. No matter how mature he may seem.
“Nothing. That’s the strange part. I can’t see anything. Your past, even possible futures are blocked off.”
“That’s a relief,” Alex said with a sigh as he relaxed his tense shoulders.
“What’s a relief?” Ethan asked.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Alex waved him off. “Do you know what time it is?”
“2:10. Why? Got another hot date?”
“Oh crap! I have to go! I have to meet my friends for lunch!” Alex took off down the aisle but stopped halfway. “One day I’ll bring my friends and we’ll take you for the time of your life! I promise you that!” With that, he took off down the aisle and out of the store.
Alex was the second to arrive after Mark so they sat at an outside table to wait for their friends. Jack was next to arrive with Brooke seconds behind him. Ten minutes passed, and still there was no sign of Nicole or David. After another five minutes, they were tired of waiting and made their way over to the arcade.
When they arrived, they found a large crowd of people in the very back of the building. Almost every customer had migrated in that general area. Some people were on the ground cheering while others stood on chairs or sat on top of the games, struggling to see something. Some people even floated in the air. They found David sitting on top of a Pacman game. Alex walked over to him and tapped him on the knee. David jumped at the sudden contact and tore his gaze away from whatever was in front of him.
“Don’t scare me like that!” David scolded them although he was smiling. “What’s up, guys? Get bored and come to join us?”
“No,” Alex said as he pulled up his sleeve and pointed at his bare wrist. “Someone hasn’t been keeping track of the time.”
“What do you mean?” David looked up at a clock on the wall in the back of the store to discover it was 2:30. “Now, would you look at that! I could have sworn we were here for only twenty minutes!”
“Well, you were wrong. Where’s Nicole?” Brooke asked.
“Over there!” David looked up and pointed toward the center of the crowd excitedly. “She’s been trying to defeat this dude that’s presumably” unbeatable”. She’s held up against him the longest out of anyone who’s tried, though. She’s ripping up that platform, man!”
Alex, Brooke, Jack, and Mark all turned their heads to follow David’s finger. They could just barely make out the screen of a Dance Dance Revolution game over the crowd. Alex climbed up the game next to David and
sat on the top of it in order to get a better view. Then he saw Nicole and another, taller boy dancing furiously next to one another.
Nicole was sweating like crazy. Her shirt was soaked and her hair was plastered against her forehead. The boy next to her was also sweating, but he did not look like he was straining himself as much as she was. You could tell she was getting tired but she was amazing! In astonishment and pride, they watched their amazingly talented friend.
Minutes passed that soon turned to an hour. After a quick break, another went by. Alex could see her muscles lagging and her movements slowing. She had managed to keep going for so long, it seemed impossible.
“Come on, Nicole, you can do it!” Alex shouted. It didn’t help. Only a minute later, Nicole collapsed to her knees in exhaustion. Her platform flashed red and Nathan was announced the winner. Nicole dragged her aching body off the platform and over to her waiting friends. A few strangers complimented her and she muttered her thanks.
“Oh my gosh! You were amazing! I didn’t know you could dance like that!” Brooke shouted.
“Yeah, it’s amazing how long you were able to keep going like that!” Mark exclaimed.
“I didn’t beat him, though.” Nicole kicked the game Alex was on angrily.
David jumped down from the arcade game and grasped Nicole’s shoulders. He spun her around and pointed at Nathan, who was now leaning against the red bar and panting heavily, wiping sweat from his forehead and fanning himself with his shirt collar.
“Do you see him?” David asked, smiling broadly. Nicole nodded. “You may not have won, but you still put up a fight. You saw how he was winning within five minutes against all the other players without breaking a sweat. Yet, you managed to go for hours without stopping while making him actually work hard. You may not have beat him but you did give him a challenge.”
Nicole stared at David. “That was quite the speech there, David,” she laughed.
“Sorry. I got excited,” said David as he stepped away from her and rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.
“I’ll have you know that speech of yours worked well. Thanks, David,” Nicole squeezed David’s shoulder and smiled in thanks. David smiled back at her. Nicole’s eyes widened and she stared out at the glass doors and the night air outside for a second before returning her attention back to her friends.
“It’s night-time?” Nicole shouted. “That’s impossible! How long have I been dancing?” Nicole furrowed her brows in shock.
“About five hours,” Jack said.
“Yeah. You were very determined to beat that boy. Iit also means you’ve kept us from lunch. Can we go eat now?” Mark spoke up.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know how long it’d been. I could use some fresh air. Let’s go,” said Nicole and they followed her out the door.
A cool night breeze greeted them as they walked out. Nicole was grateful for the cool air against her sweating body. They had only made it past one block before they heard someone shouting.
“Hey! Hey, you! Wait up, will ya?” A voice called behind them. They all turned to see Nathan, the boy Nicole had danced against, running up to them. When he caught up to them, he had a smile spread across his face. “Thanks for waiting,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” Nicole asked.
“Nothing. I just wanted to say, you weren’t all that bad! I’ve never met anyone who could hold their own against me for so long. I mean, you wouldn’t have beaten me anyway. I’ve been dancing like that since I could fly. I just wanted to tell you that. Great job,” Nathan explained.
“You weren’t so bad yourself,” Nicole smirked. Nathan chuckled a bit at that.
Alex stood next to Jack and could feel him tense. Alex looked up at him to see him looking warily off to their left, out into the street.
“Well I ought to get back,” said Nathan. He began to turn around but another voice off to the side caught their attention.
“Get into the alley. Now,” a hoarse voice commanded. A figure stepped out of the shadows of the street and into the light of a street lamp. They wore a black hoodie with the hood over their face completely. Their hand was outstretched toward them and it glowed an eerie yellow.
FORTY-FOUR
"Who are you?” Nathan asked. He didn’t sound the slightest bit scared.
“I said, get into the alley! All of you! NOW!” As the figure shouted the last word, a bright yellow spark flew out of his fingertips and collided with the street lamp. The glass and bulb broke, shattering all over the pavement. Jack nodded silently to them and they all backed into the alley slowly.
“Are we being mugged?” David whispered.
Mark couldn’t suppress a nervous laugh. He doubted this person wanted their money. And if he did, he chose some incredibly broke people to mug.
“Stop laughing! Hurry up!” The figure followed them in, keeping his glowing hand trained on them all the while. Once they were between the two buildings and away from the streets the figure lowered his hood with his free hand, revealing the same boy Nathan had battled and defeated before Nicole came into the picture.
“Bryan?” Nathan asked, having recognized the boy. “What are you doing?”
“You humiliated me in front of my friends! I was supposed to win! But I didn’t and now they left me. I have no one now!” Bryan shouted.
“Those are some really sucky friends you have there,” Nathan said calmly.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. Because you are going to pay!” Bryan brought up his other hand, and it turned into an electrifying yellow too. His palms were facing them and he smiled wickedly. Alex and his friends’ eyes widened in surprise. “Maybe they’ll come back if they find out I finally beat you!”
“Man, you really think that? They won’t come back. They will be too busy running away from a killer,” Nathan slowly began to walk toward Bryan.
“Shut up! You don’t know anything!” Bryan snapped his wrists so that his fingertips were pointed at Nathan. Electricity from his hands shot out at Nathan. Alex leapt into action; he ran into Nathan and knocked him onto the ground before the electricity could hit him.
“Ahhhhhh! Leave us alone! This is between us! Stay out of this!” Bryan screamed in frustration and shot another bolt of electricity at Mark and the others. There was nothing they could do. It was too fast. They braced for the impact. But instead of hitting them it formed a barrier around them, locking them in a thin electric cage.
Jack immediately melted into a Shadow and slid beneath the ring of electricity. His ‘“-Shadow-” self crawled against the wall of the alley and behind Bryan. The teen didn’t notice. But Alex did. He stood up in front of Nathan and stared at Bryan.
“You can’t kill anyone and you know it,” Alex said calmly.
“Shut up! Yes I can!” Bryan fired another bolt but it landed on the ground, more than a few feet from its target. His body was shaking.
“You can’t. You could have killed them with one strike. One strike would be all it took and they’d fry,” Alex gestured to his trapped friends. “Instead, you chose to spare their lives and merely trap them,” said Alex. Alex moved aside so Bryan could see Nathan, lying on the ground. “You don’t want to kill this kid. You can walk away, Bryan. This whole incident will have never happened.”
Bryan continued to shake but his expression hardened. He looked from Alex to Nathan and then back to the electric cage. He broke out into an evil smile once again. “I’ll prove you wrong,” Bryan pointed his hand toward the cage and began to curl his fingers inward. Simultaneously, the cage around the others began to close in on them. Dangerous electric sparks licked at their skin.
They all leapt off the ground. Ignoring Jack’s warning for them not to fly, they flew up. There was an opening at the very top of the tall cage. Bryan cursed and jerked his hand. Slowly, the opening at the top began to close. They all pushed up as fast as they could
go and flew out just as the cage closed in on itself. A loud boom rang through the alley as one final bolt of electricity disappeared, and the only trace left behind was a large, round scorch mark embedded into the pavement.
Bryan moved to shoot them again, but when he was distracted, the Shadow form of Jack formed behind the teen, looming over him. He barely had enough time to turn around before he was engulfed in shadow.
The alley was silent. Only the sound of distant music and chatter of people echoed in the distance. The silence was finally broken when Bryan’s limp body tumbled out of the Shadow and onto the ground. Jack formed into his normal, solid self and stood inches away from the boy.
“Is he dead?” David asked, breaking the silence. His voice cracked.
“No. He is only unconscious and will remain so for a number of hours,” Jack replied. He turned to Nathan. “I suggest you leave before he wakes.”
“Is he… normal?” Nathan asked.
“What do you mean by ‘normal’?” Brooke asked.
Nathan stood up and walked over to the unconscious body. The teen’s chest slowly rose up and down as he breathed. Nathan bent over him and pulled his shirt collar down, revealing his neck. He then moved on to both of his wrists and ankles. When he was done, he stood up and sighed.
“What did you just do?” Mark asked.
“I know it’s cruel to think this, but I was hoping the Domesticators have gotten him. Then that would mean he at least had no idea what he was doing. Sadly, he did know. And he was fully prepared to do it,” Nathan explained.
“What are the ‘Domesticators’?” Alex asked.
Nathan stared at Alex in shock. “Did you seriously just ask me that?”
Alex nodded.
“The Domesticators is some kind of organization. They have found a way to control others with some collar and jewels and have been stealing away people from the city for God knows what. That’s really all I know about them. But for some reason we haven’t had many attacks lately. Personally, I think they’ve moved on,” Nathan whispered the last part. He bent down and picked Bryan up, placing his arm over his shoulder, and stood up. He turned and began to walk out of the alley. “But you didn’t hear that from me!”
The Abnormals: Book One Page 31
