Esper Chapter 4A Chapter by Angelo Kingston
Esper Chapter 4: Into Winter’s gray sky
Part 1 Katie Vang and Nicolaus
Thompson sat totally dumbfounded at the sight of Amala Singh, floating in
midair, levitating. She sat over forty feet in the sky engulfed in a purplish
mist, looking off into the distance towards the city of Trenton. Vernon Marino pulled
himself up from his recent fall to the dirt covered ground, knocking debris off
his once clean tracksuit. “Yo! Amala, they’re here!
Mind coming down for a second?” Vernon cupped his hands over his mouth and bellowed
upward to the petite, young Indian woman. She took notice of her name being
called, then gracefully descended, landing in the clearing with her stylish
black boots as the purple haze faded. Amala cleared her throat
and spoke. “Hello, Everyone.” She said with her winningest smile. “W-What on earth…” Before
Nicolaus could finish his sentence, Vernon paused the conversation by lifting
his hand as to stop him. “I know you’ve got questions,
but we’ve got to welcome the rest of our company first. Follow me!” With a
cheerful stride and glee filled expression Vernon silently read something on
his smartphone while walking the group to the front of his property. “Hey…uh, what was all of
that? How were you flying?” A fair question posed by Katie into Amala’s new
ability. It was met with her cutting those purple eyes toward the perky redhead
and then back without an answer. “That’s pretty rude.” Katie exclaimed. (Katie really isn’t good
at holding back what she thinks.) Nicolaus was aware of the young woman’s bad
habit of speaking her mind, even if it were to her own detriment. He expected
an animated response from Amala, but she didn’t react at all. Katie turned to her
spiky haired pessimistic ally, seeking some form of support. “Uh…Amala, come
on. Give us…something…” It was clear by the sigh
that she gave that Amala was uncomfortable in some way, but she still gave them
an answer. “Just wait. It’s better if we’re all together. That way, I won’t
have to explain this theory Vernon and I have been talking over twice.” “Theory?” “It seems like we all
have these…powers. I’m not sure about the details, but we all had those…dreams or
visions, may be more correct. I guess Vernon’s at the point where he wants to
test them.” Nicolaus and Katie were still clamoring for information but knew
that Amala wouldn’t offer any more. Upon reaching the front of Vernon’s
property they reunited with their two youngest members; Harper Wolf, the stubby
young Asian boy, and his much taller, lankier pal, Vergil Trask. The young men
both looked tired as they trudged up the hill. “Alright, everybody!
Follow me back to the woods!” Harper and Vergil groaned in unison, exhausted
from their walk. Enthusiastically, Vernon brought the group back to the
clearing. “So, as Katie and Nick’o have already seen, we’ve figured something
awesome out. Amala, if you would…?” Amala sighed and lifted her
arms whilst shutting her eyes. Gravel and dirt on the ground surrounding her
began to bounce and shake. After a few seconds the purple mist once again
engulfed her body. Harper and Vergil, who looked so tired less than a few
seconds beforehand were either speechless or totally elated as Amala began to
float upward. At first it was a few centimeters, then inches, then over six
feet in the air. “Holy s**t!!! That’s so
cool!!!” Harper exclaimed so loud that Nicolaus, who was standing next to him, had
to cover his ears. Vergil began to stutter; unable to compose himself enough to
even get a single word out. Amala continued to levitate
for a few more seconds until she took a deep breath and slowly lowered to the
ground. “Is that good enough, Vernon?” “Excellent!” As if the Cheshire
cat had replaced him, Vernon’s smiled a smile like no other. Hoping to finally get
some information about this new unknown ability, Nicolaus stepped forward with
his head full of questions. “This is just too insane. Where do I even start…” “It just happened while I
was walking to my room in my apartment. I missed a step and almost fell back down
the stairs, until this power kicked in. I just floated at first, but then after
messing with it a bit, I was able to completely levitate.” Amala explained. “We met up after the
doctor examined us, and she showed me this power. I decided that showing you
guys would be cooler than just telling you over the phone. Surprised, right?!
Cool, right?!” The others all blankly stared at Vernon as he was acting like a child
who’d gotten a hold of some cool new toy. “Okay…” Running his hand
through his hair, Nicolaus collected his thoughts. “Look, this is nice and all,
but we’ve got a lot to talk about-” “Before that!” Harper
shouted cutting Nicolaus off. “Come on Nick! You can’t tell me that you don’t
want to learn how to fly!” “What makes you think we
can all fly?” “Well, Vernon can.” Katie
spoke up. “Spike, we’ve been worrying about things for the past few weeks.
Don’t you think we could use a little distraction? A little fun?” The normally
perky redhead pleaded with Nicolaus. He gave in almost immediately with a sigh and
wave of the hand. “Yes!” “Alright, listen up, I’ll
explain the theory…or you know the theory that Amala explained to me.” The
always assertive Vernon took charge and walked over to one of the many trees
near him. “Alright! First, you’ll want to grab hold of a tree, trust me on
that. My back is still sore from the fall. Anyway, take a deep breath and close
your eyes.” The enthusiastic young Italian-American man really got into the
explanation. The others listened closely, despite Vernon’s apparent giddiness
being a bit off-putting. “Now…this part is where things get a bit abstract, so
pay attention. You’re going to use your mind to move a part of your body that
doesn’t exist.” “What?” Confusion
overcame the whole group at Vernon’s description. It was Nicolaus who attempted
to get a more concrete explanation. “You can’t be…” Before he finished, the
memory of using the odd mist to attack the police officer reminded him of how
he felt back then. It wasn’t dissimilar to the concept that Vernon was trying
to push, that being, moving and more so feeling with a body part that doesn’t
really exist. “Never mind, continue.” Amala jumped in, taking
her boss’s spotlight. “It’s simple and at the same time a little difficult to
explain. You need some semblance of imagination to make this work. Close your
eyes and I’ll try and make a visual with you.” The gaggle of young people followed
Amala’s orders, frustrating Vernon a bit as he’d lost control. “Imagine…steam,
exiting your body. That steam is a long trail leading upwards, you have total control
of it. It’s like another arm. No matter where it’s coming from…make it wrap
around your body. Engulf your body as if you were to be covered in a thick
coding of…let’s say honey.” “Honey?” “Quiet Nicolaus! Stay
focused.” That chastising of Nicolaus made Vernon snicker openly. “Move it
slowly…over every part of your body…on every limb. Now…once you’ve got that
done, I want you to use it to lift your body…do it as if you were lifting a
baby bird…don’t squeeze! Remember, this is your body.” Sighing, Nicolaus
completely gave up on making the method work. “Amala, I don’t get this. It’s
not working.” Minutes went by and no one was able to make the abstract concept
work. “Maybe I’m not
communicating this right…” Amala pondered aloud. “Worked fine for me.”
Vernon chimed in. “Hmm….” The young man schemed. He slowly approached Nicolaus
from behind, unbeknownst to his co-worker and wrapped his arms around the other
young man’s waist, tightly. “V-Vernon what the hell-”
Before he could even properly react, Vernon took off floating upward in the air
with a translucent burgundy mist enveloping him. “AHHHH!!” Terrified and
flailing about, Nicolaus screamed and bucked trying to break Vernon’s vice like
grip. “Best stop moving! I
don’t know how steady I am or how much weight I can support.” “Vernon, put him down,
now! What are you doing!?” Amala yelled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got an
idea.” As the eager man hoisted his co-worker farther and farther up Nicolaus’s
stomach sank. “Chill out, I’ve got you. Just don’t move. Alright, I’m going to
drop him. Get ready, just in case Amala!” “What!?” Everyone reacted
in shock as Vernon released his hold on Nicolaus, who plummeted toward the
ground. Just as Amala got ready to leap to Nicolaus’s aid, the blue mist began
to envelop him. The young man began to slow just short of the ground and landed
with a very light thud. “See!?” Vernon exclaimed.
To everyone’s astonishment, the experiment was a success! But Nicolaus was both
astounded and clearly livid. “Are you f*****g
insane!?” The young man jumped to his feet and screamed at Vernon, legs shaking.
“I was thinking you just
needed a little push, like before at the ridge. Also, that’s how Amala’s power
first activated, so…” With a smug smile of success, Vernon drifted back down to
the ground. Nicolaus got ready to punch his co-worker, however Amala pushed by
him and slapped the young man right across the cheek. “What kind of idiot are
you!? He could’ve been killed!!” Amala’s normally solemn demeanor was totally
broken. Everyone was surprised, even Amala who blushed and looked away; shocked
at her own outburst. “…Sorry.” Vernon stood stunned with
his hand to his face. After swallowing his pride and some anger, the young man
apologized. “…I’m sorry.” It was an earnest apology. “Nick’o, I’m sorry.” “Well…” The awkward
pressure to forgive someone can be difficult for most. Nicolaus didn’t want to
accept the apology, but everyone looked at him awaiting a response. “At least
it worked.” It felt like the air had been sucked out of the entire clearing. “Can…we try? You know,
just a little less dropping.” Harper, whether it be from wanting to break the
tension or pure ignorance, spoke up. It worked by giving everyone something
else to cling onto for the minute. Part 2 It looked more like the
ground was slowly drifting away as opposed to being able to fly, Nicolaus
thought to himself. He was floating, dumbfounded and rather scared as he
continued to move upward. “Hey Spike!” Katie called out to him from below. “How
does it feel up there?” She, as well as Harper and Vergil all remained on the
ground, unable to take flight themselves. “It’s…weird. It feels
like I’m being pulled up by my back…or something.” (It’s like before. Even
though there’s no actual body part, I can feel some sort of weight. Like…my mind
is being weighed down, maybe. This mist - it’s like the mist is a part of me; it
feels like an outer layer of skin.) Nicolaus didn’t want to admit it, but
Vernon was right with his earlier example. Amala and Vernon, who were also
airborne alongside Nicolaus compared the mist around his body to theirs. His was
a strong, translucent azure blue; Vernon’s mist was burgundy and Amala’s was a
deep mauve. “Hey Amala, Vernon, why are these mists different colors?” “No idea.” Amala replied.
“Could be as simple as we’re just different people, so they’re different.” “Hm…before, Amala
mentioned that you move it like you would another arm. Remember last night that
you said you felt weight when you used the mist? How about we give that
experiment with the tree another go?” Vernon pointed at one of the many
saplings littering the woods. With a nod, Nicolaus tried to focus. “Everybody be careful!
I…can feel something.” (This is different…this feeling. I can feel the weight
of something moving on my body.) The blue haze surrounding Nicolaus began
slowly reaching toward the ground. “It’s working!” An amazing sight, as the
mist advanced onward. A slight migraine began to erupt in the young man’s head,
but he persevered. He was as excited as the others at this revelation and he
wanted to see what could be done. The haze wrapped around a small, slightly
wilted tree. “I…feel…something…it’s heavy!” The young man focused intensely,
his head now beginning to roar in pain. “Nicolaus! Stop!” Amala
called out, but Nicolaus pushed on unabated. “Not yet!” “Nick’o relax! Your nose
is bleeding!” Even Vernon warned, with genuine concern in his voice. “No! Al…most…there!!”
Nicolaus grabbed his own wrist as if he were lifting an extremely heavy
dumbbell. With an exaggerated thrust the blue mist tore the tree from the
ground and tossed it upward past all the flying members of the party and beyond
the clouds. “S…s…ee…” Nicolaus said as he lost consciousness, blood oozing from
his nose as he plummeted back toward the earth. “Nicolaus!” Amala flew rapidly
after her co-worker, grabbing him just short of hitting the ground. “Nicolaus!
Nicolaus! Say something! Hey!” She screamed in fear hoping for a response. “Look out!” A cry came
from above the two. Amala looked up and saw the tree from before falling back
down, barreling toward them. She quickly flew backward to avoid being hit. It
wasn’t until Amala had already cleared herself and the barely conscious
Nicolaus of danger, that she noticed Harper, Vergil and Katie were still in the
falling tree’s path. Amala didn’t have the
frame of mind at the time to do anything, and simply fell to the ground clutching
Nicolaus tight in her arms. The tree crashed into the ground kicking up dirt
and debris everywhere. “Oh s**t…” Amala said in shock. “Katie, Vergil, Harper!” Vernon
yelled out, frantically diving into the dirt cloud. As the dust cleared what
looked like black mannequin faces emerged. “What!?” The shock of seeing the
creatures caused Vernon to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Black
mannequins, as dark as night, no light reflecting off of them laid awkwardly
posed, piled into a spire. Their hands extended, pushing the tree up from the
ground. The disturbing things’ each had single blue, very human like eyes
staring blankly ahead. Off to the side of the
pile sat Harper and Vergil looking confused and scared. “Vernon, o-over here!”
Vernon got back up and ran over to the boys as the tree slowly rolled down the
mass of mannequins and hit the ground. “Where’s Katie? Katie!!”
Just then the sound of glass cracking came from behind the young man. The
mannequins began breaking, and then suddenly shattered like glass, fading away
like they were never there. Beneath the pile, Katie’s unconscious body lay.
Vernon ran up and checked on her. “Thank God, she’s breathing. What the f**k
was all that…?” Part 3 Time ticked by as Vernon
brought Nicolaus and Katie some medical supplies. Nicolaus was busy trying to
stop his nose from bleeding while Katie laid on the couch with her forearm
covering her eyes. “I feel like s**t…” Katie
said in a very downtrodden way. “Tell me what happened again.” “…I don’t know. I
guess…you used some kind of power.” A shaky and all be it unsure answer from
Vernon was all that could be given at first. “It was ultra-weird!”
Harper spoke up. “I saw you put your arms up and then out of nowhere a bunch of
clones came out of you, but they weren’t clones, they looked kind of like you,
but they were completely black! I mean, like beyond black, super black.” “…Can we all do that?”
Vernon started trying to make clones himself, but Nicolaus stopped him. “Vernon can you bring up
your mist really quick?” Vernon obliged and covered himself in the haze once
again. Nicolaus reached his hand forward into the mist and held it there for a
second. “Hmm…Amala, can you do it now?” Without explaining himself Nicolaus
then went over to Amala who also brought up her mist. He once again stuck his
hand in the haze and then nodded. “I noticed it before I was completely out.
When Amala grabbed me it felt really warm, like an oven. Amala’s mist is
different from yours Vernon, and I’m guessing mine too, not just in color, but
in what it does. Maybe…we all have different powers.” “I knew it!” Harper said
jumping to his feet. “I’ve been thinking about it, but now I know for sure
then!” “What have you been
thinking about?” “Oh…uh…just that you guys
must have telekinesis!” “…Telekinesis? You mean
like the power to move things with our minds?” Nicolaus asked as he fell back
onto the couch from getting lightheaded. “Yeah! I mean, it makes
sense! You were able to lift that tree up out of the ground!” “Then, why is mine…warm?”
Amala made her mist disperse. “No idea. Vernon, how
about you try using your mist - er, telekinesis…to grab something small. Like
the remote, grab the remote off the table.” A small television remote sat on
Vernon’s living room table. Vernon didn’t say it aloud, but he was really
excited to try the power out. “So, Nick’o, you tried
thinking about it like a hand or…what?” With a simple wave of the hand as a
lackluster confirmation, Vernon focused making a small sliver of the burgundy
haze reach out and grip the remote. “I’ve got it!” Vernon’s elation quickly
changed when the mist pushed down on the remote and cracked the table’s glass
surface. Vernon stopped immediately by dispersing his mist. “Well…guess I need
more practice.” “This means the three of
us have similar power then. I still wonder why my mist is warm.” Amala said
pondering. “I wonder why you didn’t
help us…” Katie said aloud. “Huh?” Everyone went
silent. “You saved Spike but
didn’t even bother with us.” “I-It wasn’t on purpose.
I was just thinking about getting to Nicolaus at the time!” “…Yeah, okay…” Katie
rolled over onto her side and started massaging her temples. “It’s true!” Amala
yelled. “Come on you two, that’s
enough.” Vernon tried to help the group regain composure. Vergil’s phone started
ringing. When the young man looked at it, his normally pale complexion got even
more ghostly. “U-Uh, Harper…” Vergil leaned over to his best friend and showed
him the screen. “Seriously? Alright,
let’s go…I guess.” With a prominent sigh, Harper pulled out his phone and
started calling for a ride. “What’s wrong?” Vernon
inquired. “Vergil has to go home,
and my parents know I’m with him, so if I don’t go too then we’ll get in
trouble.” Harper finished with his phone. “Alright, the car should be here any
minute. Looks like this is all for the night.” “Wait! Don’t you two want
to figure out your powers?” Vergil nodded, but Harper
raised his hand to stop him. “Nah. Any later and we’ll not make it home on
time. Come on, Vergil.” The young boy and his friend walked toward the door. “I’ll walk you guys out.”
Vernon said. He walked with the young boys to where the driver was supposed to
pick them up. After they were safely in the car, he bid them farewell and
reentered his home. “…So…is this going to be another impromptu sleepover?” He
asked jokingly. “Hopefully not.” Nicolaus
said as he sat back up. “I wanted to discuss this with the other guys here but
now we’ll just have to go without them.” “Can’t it wait?” “…I really want to get
this out of the way.” He urged. Nicolaus briefly explained the day’s events. He
spoke about the doctor’s visit, the missing bodies of the police officers and
general confusion as to what was next for them. “What you’re saying boils
down to is that you’ve brought us more questions and no answers.” Vernon said
in a slightly smug tone, upsetting Nicolaus. “I mean…” Vernon cut deep
with his response but was right. “No matter how bad the police in Trenton are,
they don’t suck enough to miss dead bodies! All of this just doesn’t sit right
with me. Where did the bodies go?” “Maybe…a bear or coyote
came along.” This casual shut down by Vernon agitated Nicolaus enough to make
him snap back. “Will you take this
seriously?! Why’s this s**t have be to a joke and fun for you!?” “Excuse me!?” Vernon
stood up, making Nicolaus feel he was being both metaphorically and literally
looked down on, so he also got to his feet. “Maybe you’re too busy pouting and
brooding to realize, but I am taking this seriously. Very seriously! I’m trying
to keep everything together. I’ve got to account for everyone, and everything.” “No one asked you to!
You’re just trying to take charge for no reason and if you haven’t noticed, it
didn’t work out that well before, when you nearly killed me!” “I’m trying to take charge
because no one else will!” “Enough infighting! Holy
s**t!” Katie got up off the couch and pushed the two men apart, who were so close
to bumping heads that they looked like a pair of animals squaring off. “What
the hell are you two even fighting about? This dick measuring has got to stop!” “…” Nicolaus looked away
realizing that he was being petty. Not even arguing about how things were being
done, but more about Vernon being in charge felt childish to him. “…Whatever. I
just want to know what the hell is going on. We don’t even know the extent of
these…‘powers’ for God’s sake! First, we were having the same dreams, then we
could throw people around with telekinesis, and now we can fly, and Katie can
make these weird mannequins? I mean, s**t guys! Six people, six damn people
died, but we survived! Carl…Carl and Walter died!! Aren’t you all freaked
out?!” “…” Amala got up from the
couch and raised her hand getting everyone’s attention, then nonchalantly
stated… “I killed someone yesterday.” Everyone was shocked at how casually she
admitted to that. “I’ve been thinking about that nonstop since it happened. Someone
pointed a gun at me, called me some racist stuff, said they were going to kill
me and somehow…somehow…I killed - no, destroyed him. I haven’t stopped thinking
about it for a second. My mind is buzzing with constant images of a man’s body
folding, and contorting, and snapping, and breaking, twisting, and popping, and
tearing - do you see what I’m getting at?!” Amala’s eyes began to redden and
puff. She was holding back tears as she opened up to the group. Nicolaus thought
back to their car ride from earlier that day. Treating the events as if he were
the only one affected was a selfish move in his mind, especially after promising
that Amala could talk to him about any problems she was having. “…I’m sorry…” “…Me too…” Both men
lowered their heads in shame. “Spike…Vernon, we’re all
dealing with this. I-I can’t stop thinking about…having a person’s body
destroyed in front of me and having all that gore blasted onto me!” The usually
perky waitress’s pale hands shook like the legs of a new born deer. “I know you
two are having a hard time, but we all are!” “…” Nicolaus opened his
mouth with the thought of responding, but immediately realized that there was
nothing he could say in his own defense. Heavy tension filled the room.
Nicolaus felt sorry about how insensitive he was being and thought it may be
best to just leave for the night. On his way toward the front door however,
Vernon grabbed the now disheartened and slightly humbled young man by the
shoulder and stopped him. “Wait.” He pulled
Nicolaus back into the living room. “You are such a drama queen, man.” Vernon
walked to the kitchen and brought out a bottle of Vodka. “Everyone, sit down.
Let’s just get it all out, let’s just get all our s**t out on the table.” Pulling
the previously broken living room table into the center of the room, he sat
down and gestured for everyone else to join him. “What is this? Some kind
of peer pressure?” Despite his pessimism, Nicolaus sat down at the table.
“Fine. If we’re going to do this, then let’s do it right.” Katie took a seat next
to him and Amala sat down at the table as well. “Let’s try and keep this civil
though.” Vernon pointed the bottle at Nicolaus and reluctantly, he took the
first drink. “Agh! Holy hell! That’s strong.” “Is it? I haven’t even
had any. It was a gift from…from Walter.” That sour note halted the
conversation until Vernon grabbed back the bottle and took a swig himself.
“Wow!” Katie reached for the bottle and Vernon quickly yanked it away. “It is
pretty strong…” “Come on, dude. Hand it
over.” He relented by handing the Vodka over as she downed some without
hesitation. “Wow! That is really, really strong. Don’t know how much more of
that I can take.” The spunky lass passed the bottle over to Amala next. She
sighed, then took some of her dress to wipe the lip of the bottle and took a
big gulp. “Buhha!” Amala was barely
able to keep it down, being totally choked up. Katie snickered under her
breath. “W-What is this stuff? Aren’t e-expensive drinks supposed to taste
good?” “Alright, everyone had a
sip. So, can we start now?” Nicolaus got back on subject. Vernon handed him the
bottle and he took another unenthusiastic sip. “We should get to know
each other better first. It’s a technique I learned in management training.” “This is going to go
great!” Nicolaus said sarcastically with a heavy roll of the eyes. Part 4 (This needs to stop
happening…) The strong hangover and cold hardwood floor being far from
comfortable, offered little support throughout the long night to Nicolaus as he
pushed himself upright. It was the second time in two days that he’d slept in
the house of a person he wouldn’t consider a friend, or barely even a co-worker.
Looking over to the couch he saw Amala curled up in a blanket. Vernon was
snoring, completely asleep with his back leaned against the couch. Light
footsteps heading towards the door caught Nicolaus’s attention. It was Katie,
trying to sneak out. She looked back, giving Nicolaus a smile, a wink and
holding her finger to her lips to signify he should remain quiet. The bright
red hair of the young woman disappeared as she closed the front door behind
her, leaving without waking the others. (Guess she has some stuff she needs to
handle. Whatever…I’m to messed up to stop her.) Nicolaus’s bad hangover
started setting in again, so he laid back down on the floor for a few more
minutes until he heard groaning come from the couch. Vernon sat up and kicked
over the two empty bottles that were next to him. He noticed that his not so
friendly acquaintance was also awake. They stared at each other for a second,
both scowling as they tried to remember if their night of drinking caused
either of them to say anything unsavory to or about the other. “Nick’O…I’ll just come
out and say it. If I said anything messed up, my bad.” Surprisingly humble,
Nicolaus thought of Vernon’s statement as being less than genuine. (Probably another tactic
he learned in management training. ‘Immediately seize the moral high ground’.)
“Same…” The pessimist countered and then held his mouth as he felt vomit build
up in his throat. The also hungover but
clearly less so Vernon took notice of his co-worker’s face taking a sickly
color. “Bathroom’s upstairs, first door on the left.” Nicolaus got up at that
and ran for the restroom. After barely making it to
the bathroom, Nicolaus’s stomach felt a bit better. When the spiky haired youth
finished washing his hands he walked out into the hallway and noticed some pictures
of what seemed to be a much younger Vernon and his mother. The pictures
depicted the Italian-American man through the years growing up. Holding a
baseball trophy with a team of other children surrounding him, snowboarding
with his mother, graduating from high school with a valedictorian sash on, and
even in front of his house, hugging his much older mother. There was only a
single photo of what appeared to be Vernon’s father. It showed what looked like
him as a newborn, his mother having had just given birth and his father leaning
over into frame looking happy. As Nicolaus walked down
the stairs he was pushed aside, nearly being thrown off the steps by Amala as
she ran to the bathroom holding her mouth shut. Vernon chuckled and called out
to Nicolaus. “Guess you two aren’t hard drinkers, huh?” He replied with a
simple shake of the head. “Know where Katie went?” “Uh…yeah, I saw her leave
this morning. She looked fine, so don’t worry too much. More importantly we
should report to work ASAP, right?” Nicolaus checked his phone and noticed that
it was already eleven in the morning. “It’s not like we have to
go back immediately, but you’re right. I’ll E-Mail them for myself. In the
meantime, do you want me to call a taxi for you?” The kindness that he was
being shown, again surprised Nicolaus. “Before any of that, let
me check on Amala.” As he said that, the little Indian woman walked out of the
bathroom. Her normally vibrant brown skin had lost a lot of its luster, and her
formally tied up hair hung draped over her face. “Hey, you up to share a ride
back to…” Amala raised her hand to
stop Nicolaus just short of finishing his question. “Y-Yes…whatever…okay?”
Still clearly not feeling well she sat down on the stairs. Everyone gathered up
their things and a car drove up to the road that ran nearest to Vernon’s house.
Amala and Nicolaus filed into the car as Vernon walked back up to his house. It
took Nicolaus a second, but he realized it was the same driver that’d driven
him and Katie up to the house originally. “Hey buddy, how ya’
doing?” He called to Nicolaus in the backseat. “…Alright I guess. Would
you mind keeping the radio down? We were drinking pretty hard last night.” “Sure, sure, no problem. New
friend?” “Yeah…I guess.” Amala had
fallen asleep in the car. The driver took notice and kept his voice down with
his next question. “There a reason you
ditched the one from before?” “Mind…your own…business…”
Those were Nicolaus’s last words as he also drifted off to sleep. Abruptly stopping the car
at its first destination unintentionally woke the groggy young man in the back
seat. “Sorry pal. Didn’t mean to wake you up like that.” The skinhead looking
chauffeur called to the back. Even though it felt like a few seconds, the car
had been driving for nearly thirty minutes as it reached Amala’s apartment.
Nicolaus felt a small weight pressing on his shoulder. It was the still
sleeping Amala. With a nudge, her eyes sprung open. Embarrassed at her
unflattering appearance, she pushed away from Nicolaus fast enough to hit the
back of her head on the car door window. “My bad…” Amala stated,
getting out of the car and rushing for the door to her apartment. Suddenly, she
stopped on a dime and turned around to the car door she’d left open. “Here.”
Amala said as she attempted to hand Nicolaus some money from her bag. “Don’t worry about it.”
He replied. “Just take it, okay?”
Amala shoved the money into her carpooling co-worker’s hands and then left. Laying
back in the seat, Nicolaus began to rest again as the driver brought him back
to his apartment. When he reached the
destination, Nicolaus bid a farewell as the driver yelled out to him from the
car. “Don’t forget the rating, kiddo! Also, that young lady was pretty nice
too! Good job!” The young pessimist lost his already shaky composure and
stumbled as he walked up the stairs to the second floor of the complex. As soon as the door to
his place opened the young man was greeted by the smell of food being cooked on
the stove. The strong and savory aroma filled the entire flat. His sister’s
boyfriend, the suave and friendly Alonso greeted him on the way in. As for his
sister, she laid stretched out across the couch. “Dani, you will make an
excellent mother.” Nicolaus’s obvious sarcasm made Alonso laugh as he invited his
soon-to-be in-law to sit down for breakfast.
End of Chapter 4 © 2020 Angelo Kingston |
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Added on January 9, 2019 Last Updated on February 2, 2020 Tags: Esper, super powers, psychic powers, action, drama, comedy, romance AuthorAngelo KingstonPhiladelphia, PAAboutI'd like to hear what people think as much as possible, so please feel free to comment. I will finish every single novel I start! more..Writing
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