by S.A. Waters
“Stand back,” Dylan warned me; and I obeyed. Dylan summoned an old crowbar from across the alley. I forgot he had telekinesis. Then he threw the crowbar at the wall. At first it didn’t do anything, and I was unimpressed. However I ate my words when Dylan then used his lighting powers on the spot where the crowbar hit. I was stunned. The lightning was a cobalt blue with a tint of gold, and was big and powerful, yet almost silent. When the lightning ceased, a few pieces of paper fell right in front of him. Dylan picked them up with his mouth, and then walked out of the alley as if shooting lighting and dogs throwing crowbars at walls is normal. He’s crazy.
Dylan dropped the papers at my feet. I picked them up and examined them. In my hands were my birth certificate, social security card, and some money. I stood there in shock. What did he just do?
“What was that?” I asked Dylan.
“While on Earth, I still have my powers. Even as a guardian. So using my powers I summoned your papers from Mystic.” He explained through thought. “So I just got your birth certificate, social security number, and two hundred bucks. You’re welcome. Katy isn’t paying you, so this should pay for some stuff. Enrollment at Oliver High School is fifty dollars. Plus school supplies.”
“Wow. Thanks Dylan. Wait, where does it say the enrollment fee on the form?”
“It doesn’t.There was a sign next to the table that read ‘Registration is fifty dollars.’ Maybe you would’ve realized that if you weren’t so busy getting into fights and stuff.”
“Hey, hey, hey, hold on a second. He started it!”
“Don’t care. Now come on and let’s get you enrolled.”
And with that, I put on my backpack and we headed off back to Oliver High School. Again.
At the high school, the same lady as yesterday was sitting at the table for the senior registration. There was no one in line today. In fact there weren’t many people in the gym at all. Dylan and I made our way to the table. The lady looked at me at me and then at Dylan. “All pets must be on a leash please.” She said. I apologized and took out the leash from my backpack and put it on Dylan. I could hear him sigh; I kicked his heels letting him know to suck it up and deal with it. The woman nodded and asked for my name again.
“Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese.” I said proudly.
“Oh, yes,” She responded. “Mr. Breese I do remember you. Do you have your application completely filled out?”
“Yes.” I handed her the application, birth certificate, and the fifty dollars cash. She looked at me impressed. Like I was the only senior who turned in everything right.
“Thank you, Mr. Breese. Orientation is on August 24. Here is your birth certificate back. Have a nice day.”
“Thank you.”
As soon as I left the school, I took the leash off Dylan. He scowled at me and nipped my foot. “Stop it!” I scolded him. “Stop complaining and get used to society!” Dylan glared at me but remained silent. I read his mind. “Geez. The nerve of some people. He doesn’t know what it’s like to be limited and tied up like a zoo animal.” I was a little shocked, but I understood. “I’m sorry. I get it.” I apologized. Dylan gave me a vague grin.
“Now where are we going?” Dylan thought, this time to me.
“I guess we can go find another place to stay.” I replied.
“I like the park. What time is it?”
“Four o’clock. I guess we could stay in the park until we find something more permanent. Tomorrow we could go get my driver’s license. The test shouldn’t be too hard. Do you want to go get dinner?”
“Sure. By the way, we need to go to the dry cleaners soon. We only gave you clothes to last you a week.”
“Got it. We can go in a few days. Speaking of cleaning, what about our shower situation?”
“Don’t know. We’ll look around.”
“Okay. So dinner, then park. Ready for tomorrow?”
“Yep. While you get your license, I’ll scout the town for some shower facilities and better places to stay.”
“Sounds good. Now let’s find a place to eat. I’m starving."
Chapter 12
The next day after work at the diner, Dylan and I went looking for the DMV so I could take my driver’s test. We found it a lot quicker than we thought, so Dylan told me to get in line and he was going to go find a better place to rest.
I walked in the DMV; the line was huge. I sighed and looked around. Towards the middle of the line, I saw Nate Samson from the school registration. I checked again to make sure he wasn’t with his step brother, Tommy. He wasn’t-good.
I went up to him. “Nate!” I said. He turned around and saw me.
“Hey,” He said. “Carter, right?”
“Yes. Hey, do you mind if I wait in line here with you? I would probably kill myself if I had to start from the back.” I whispered this time.
“Go ahead. The last thing we need is another suicide.”
“So why are you here?”
“To get my picture retaken for my driver’s license. What about you?”
“I’m here to actually take the test. To get my license.”
“Are you serious? You are seventeen and don’t have a license?”
“Yeah. My parents didn’t want me to get it last year because of the move.”
“I see.”
“Can I see your driver’s license?”
“What?”
“Your license. You said you were here to get your picture retaken. So let me see the old one.”
“Alright, fine. But don’t laugh.” Nate pulled out his driver’s license and sighed. He was right. The picture looked like he had rolled out of bed with a hangover. Nate had long hair in the picture instead of short and clean cut. He was wearing a maroon button up shirt, and the buttons were uneven. He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he might have been frowning. I smirked, but managed to stifle a laugh.
“What happened?” I asked him, chuckling.
“I have no idea. I do recall that Tommy, my step brother remember, had put maple syrup in my shampoo. So my hair was sticky when I woke up. I don’t know about the rest.”
“Dude, that’s awful, but funny. He got in trouble, right?”
“Sort of. His mom doesn’t really punish him, and my dad is afraid that Tommy won’t like him if he does. Tommy just had his phone taken away for the rest of the day and he couldn’t go skateboarding at the park. He snuck out and went anyway though.”
“That’s so stupid.”
“Yeah. I know. So where’s your dog?” Nate changed the subject.
“At home, shockingly.” Nate laughed, and we talked for another two hours until we got to the front, and Nate left to get his picture taken. One lady at the register took me out in the back to take my test. It wasn’t too hard, because I had taken it before in my last life and passed. The lady was impressed with my super ninja driving skills. Now it was time for the written test, the one I didn’t do so well on last time. However, I passed, and I was told to come back in a week to get my license. Yes! In my last life I had been anxiously waiting to get it. I remember Kody would rub it in our faces that he had been the first of our clique to get his license. It was so annoying, I wanted to take his license and snap it in half.
I went outside the DMV to wait for Dylan. I looked around, and saw my old friends walking around the area. All of them; James, Drew, Kody, and Dakota. They were laughing. However, they seemed alert and overly attentive to their surroundings. For my case, I guess, I couldn’t take it anymore, I got up and walked over to them. “Hey, I’m Carter.” I said so abruptly. James snickered a bit. “Sorry, it’s just you guys seem so familiar I just had to say hi.”
“Oh yeah,” James said. “You were that dude we asked where the bathroom was. So it looks like you do talk.”
“James, be nice.” Dakota stopped him. “I’m Dakota. That’s James, the dark haired one is Kody, and the ginger over there is Drew.”
“Nice to meet you.” I spoke agai
n, finally getting to speak one on one with Dakota. “Are you guys all seniors?”
“Yep. Oliver High School. You too?”
“Yeah. Sorry again for just randomly coming up to you.”
“Don’t worry about it, uummm, Camryn?”
“Carter. Maybe we’ll have the same classes.”
“Hope so. You seem cool. But if you are going to get a chance of being in a class with Drew, you have to be super smart. If you want a class with James, you better be really stupid.”
“I can hear you,” James growled. Dakota smirked. I heard a bark across the street. It was Dylan sprinting over to me, looking quite concerned. Or as concerned as a dog can look.
“This is my dog, Dylan.” I said to them, picking Dylan up.
“Where was he? He just came to you like that.” Drew asked.
“He was over there by that bench,” I lied, and I started getting twitchy. “I called him over by patting my leg.”
“Oh, okay then. He’s a cute dog. Siberian husky, looks about seven months in age, and seems as though he’s been running for a while.”
“Wow. You are really smart. Danika was right.” I said, purposely messing up Dakota’s name.
“Dakota,” She corrected, and I nodded apologetically to her.
“We have to go,” Dylan thought.
“It was great meeting you guys. I have to go, but I work at Angi’s Homestyle Cafe from nine until three everyday if you guys want to stop by sometime.”
“Sure,” Dakota said. “See you later, Carter.”
“Bye guys.” When they were gone I jumped up happily. I haven’t spoken to my girlfriend in months. That felt amazing. James still had that intimidating sense about him, Drew was still super smart, and Kody. Kody hadn’t said a word. Hopefully they’ll come to the cafe while I’m at work. It would be great to talk to them again. I forgot how much I had missed them.
When I had finished mentally celebrating, I turned to Dylan so he could tell me his discoveries.
“Still no place to stay yet. We’re sleeping in the park again. However there is a dry cleaners on Garth Street. And they have showers available at the local pool. So in the mornings every two days just hop in there. But I have some news for you.”
“That’s great! So what’s the news?”
“I saw them.”
“Who?”
“The Pacts. Austin DeLuca and Timothy Swanson.”
“What? That’s crazy!”
“Keep your voice down! We have to get to work now. Play time is over. You can socialize when we get DeLuca and Swanson dead.”
“Where did you see them? I’m going to kill them as soon as I lay my eyes on them.”
“Not just yet. We need to get information from them so we can figure out where Alpha Maximus’s location is. It may not even be on Earth, but if anyone will know, it would be the Pacts.”
“I like that idea better. But how?”
“We must talk about this somewhere more in secret. People will start to wonder about a teenager talking to his dog.” I opened my mouth to speak, but then looked around and realized Dylan was right. I was getting a lot of awkward stares from bystanders. I nodded at Dylan as we headed to the alley in which Dylan had gotten my birth certificate.
“Listen, Carter,” Dylan said to me. “I’m not going to be here much longer. I have to leave when you start school. You have to start getting your head in the game. Flunk school, get detentions, I don’t care. Just get some information about those Pacts. I am going to help you find a better place to stay, and give you some supplies. But that is it. I can only do so much on Earth.”
“What? Okay. Remember it’s only my third day here.”
“Third day or eighty-fourth day. Doesn’t matter. You have a job. Your friends? They don’t exist. That Nate dude and Katy? They don’t exist either. Don’t touch anyone. Got it?”
“Yes. So what am I supposed to do now?”
“We get dinner at the diner and then head over to the dry cleaners. Keep your eye out.”
“Alright.” Dylan was right. It was time to get serious.
Chapter 13
Summer passed without another sighting of Austin and Timothy. Within those few weeks, however, of being on Earth, Dylan and I had found a new place to stay; and Katy started paying me to work.
The new place was about a mile outside of town. It was an old, really beat up, barn that was almost completely empty, not counting the mice. It looked as though it hadn’t been touched in years. The barn had about three rooms. One was where I can assume the horses lived in, another was probably where the cows and pigs were kept, and the last was probably used for storage and chickens. Dylan and I managed to get most of the mice out and clean up the hay floors, which we eventually found were made of wood. With the money I made working with Katy, I bought a blow up air mattress and a few blankets to use as a bed. It didn’t look too bad.
It was now August 27; three days left until school started. That morning, Dylan came to me, and he didn’t look so great.
“Carter,” He said, not making eye contact. “Remember a few weeks ago I told you that I would have to leave soon.”
“Let me guess, you’re leaving today?” I responded. His tone didn’t make it too hard for me to tell what was happening. And I read his mind.
“Did you read my mind?”
“Yeah. You didn’t seem very happy when you woke up today, so yeah I wanted to see what was up.”
“Thanks for your concern. But yes, I’m leaving here today very soon.’
“When will I see you again?”
“When you die. Now, Star, Eli, and I have a gift for you.” Dylan trotted away and pulled out a satchel mailbag. It was tan with a dark brown leather strap. On the front was engraved, CARTER-ADRIAN NICHOLAS BREESE. Kind of like the engraving on my bedroom door in Mystic. I picked up the mailbag, only focusing on its beauty.
“Dylan,” I muttered with a smile. “It’s stunning. I know I sound like a girl but it’s true. Thank you. Come on, give me a hug.” Dylan rolled his eyes but trotted into my arms. I was going to miss having him with me. I turned around to put the bag on a haystack we kept. When I turned back, Dylan was out of site. “Dylan?” I called out. No reply. He was gone. He was gone so fast, and now I was left alone. Who’s going to remind me to stay on task? Who is going to keep me company everyday? I sighed and put the mailbag on my shoulders. I had to get some air.
It usually takes me about fifteen minutes or so to walk into town from the barn. Today, I walked a little slower. It saddened me to see Dylan go so abruptly. At night, it got really creepy, and the only thing that helped me sleep was that Dylan would be there to protect me. Not anymore. I’m on my own now.
9:00 am sharp I showed up at Angi’s Homestyle Cade for work. I put on my new yellow-collared shirt, and my paper hat.
“Carter,” Katy greeted me with some concern in her voice. I think she knew that I was upset. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” I lied. “I’m okay.”
“Where’s Dylan?”
“He was hit by a truck.” I lied again, this time my eyes got a little teary.
“Oh my gosh. Carter, I’m so sorry. Do you want to take work off today with full pay?”
“Are you sure?”
“I loved Dylan just as much as you did. It’s the least I can do.Wow. I can’t believe it. He made work more fun, and even the customers liked him.”
“I guess so. Thanks, Katy.”
“It’s no problem. Oh, before you go, I have your schedule for school here. It came yesterday. And here’s breakfast.”
“Thanks. Bye Katy.”
“Bye, Carter.” I grabbed my stuff from her hands and put it in my mailbag; I managed a vague smile, still not making eye contact.
I decided to head over to the park where I had slept before. Sitting on the swing set, I pulled out the pancakes Katy had given me and ate them. I was looking around when a kid, no old
er than six, came up to me.
“Excuse me?” He asked me pleadingly. “Can I use this swing?”
“Say please!” I heard a woman, probably his mother, shout.
“Please?” I smiled and nodded, taking my food over to a bench. “Thank you!” He said excitedly as he leaped into the swing as if it was a Christmas present. “You’re welcome,” I said to him. He was a cute kid.
As I sat on the bench and looked around, I noticed two men in hoodies. It was like, eighty-five degrees outside, why would they be wearing such heavy jackets? It was time to stop grieving and get something done. I’m here for a purpose. I put my pancakes down and climbed a tree so I could spy on them without being noticed. That training back in Mystic really helped me climb it fast; it was a pretty tall tree. I read one of their minds.
It is so hot out here. I hope we find that bastard soon so we can come out of hiding. I know he’s here. I can feel it.
I stopped in my tracks. Those men had to be the Pacts. I channeled my energy to the other’s mind.
I’m so hungry. I hope Austin is too. Woah that girl is so hot.
I was less impressed, in fact, I laughed a little bit. However my enjoyment was short lived. So the taller one was Austin DeLuca, and the other one was Timothy Swanson. Got it. Then I heard the drone of a bee near me, and as I tried to swat it, I lost my balance and felt myself falling. When I hit the ground, I rubbed my head, got up, and started to laugh. Whoops. Thank God for my durability powers. It comes in handy. Looking around the park, I got stares from the kids and parents. I looked around again, this time for Austin and Timothy. They were gone. I swore loudly, and then apologized to the parents. I ran over to the parking lot to see if they were there. Nope; shoot.
August 30. The first day of school. I woke up at 7:30 am. School started at 8:30. I really didn’t want to go, but it’s something to keep me busy I guess, and I couldn’t act suspicious. I put on some somewhat clean clothes and grabbed a comb I had gotten earlier. I styled my hair with the help of some broken glass I used as a mirror, brushed my teeth with a toothbrush I had bought as well, grabbed my bag and was walking into town by 7:45. I still had plenty of time to stop off and get breakfast from Katy, who agreed to let me work weekends only.
On the way to school I realized that I hadn’t even looked at my schedule. When I pulled it out of my bag, there was a note and lock attached to it.
