Esper Chapter 5

 

 

Esper Chapter 5: Surface tension

 

Part 1

Nicolaus Thompson stared blankly at the clock on the office wall. As if to tease him, the clock’s hands ticked by slowly. The spiky haired computer technician’s desktop screen had turned off from lack of activity as he impatiently waited for the day to end, all the while making passive aggressive remarks about the clock in his head. Some of the other workers watched him with concern, but no one dared approach the often pessimistic and dismissive young man. Eventually, just before he was supposed to leave, Nicolaus gathered his belongings and made for the elevators.

(Can’t stand all of those people gawking at me.) He thought while rounding a corner in the office. Into his view came a meeting room, inside Nicolaus spotted Amala Singh sitting with a bunch of their co-workers. Clearly, the young woman wasn’t interested in whatever meeting was taking place. She plodded away on the keyboard of her laptop while the others jovially laughed and joked around the table. Nicolaus halted and sent a message over to Amala.

[What’s up? You don’t look too good.] The message read.

The notification springing up on her dashboard surprised Amala, as she shifted her gaze outside of the door to Nicolaus sitting with his back to the room, trying to be discreet. [I’ve got a meeting with the therapist after this…]

[It’s been three weeks! I thought they said we’d be done before then?]

[She wants to still see me.]

[Want me to wait for you?]

[Do we have practice after this?]

[I didn’t hear from Vernon today, but I’m pretty sure we do. I’ll wait for you at the bar, okay?]

[Yeah, sure…]

Nicolaus got up and walked over to the elevator. When it arrived the doors opened to reveal Vernon Marino. Nicolaus verbally showed displeasure and waved his hand as a way of showing he’d take the next one. Before the doors could close however, Vernon blocked them and said… “Just get on.” Nicolaus sighed and did so. The two sat in silence as they descended to the lobby. Once the elevator reached its destination Nicolaus quickly took the chance to walk away; as he did though, Vernon called out to him. “Don’t forget! I’ll see you later!” Vernon didn’t get a response as his less than friendly co-worker rushed out of the door.

Nicolaus jogged down the street, passing signs, construction vehicles and workers getting ready for an event. A large banner was being raised onto the front of the building that read ‘Howard makes us safe, Howard makes us strong, and Howard unites us under one banner’. (The presidential elect comes to town and the whole city has got to stop? What a pain in the a*s.) He made it to ‘Captain Louie’s Ale House’ and saw his friend, Katie Vang through the window. The chipper redheaded waitress noticed her spiny haired friend who’d she affectionately dubbed ‘Spike’. Nicolaus took a seat at one of the open tables waiting for Katie.

“Hey boss, I’m taking a break!” Katie yelled to the old barkeep behind the counter.

“Huh, break? You can’t be serious.” The old man’s response was less than enthusiastic.

“Pleaseeee…” She pleaded girlishly.

“Euggh…!” He groaned and started pouring another glass for some customers. Katie gleefully joined Nicolaus at the table.

“Are you sure this is okay?”

“Don’t worry, my boss is kind of tough, but I can win him over pretty easily.”

“No, I mean…I don’t want your boyfriend to show up and get the wrong idea.”

“Oh, don’t worry about him.” She smiled to reassure Nicolaus, who as usual blushed in response.

“Alright, I guess. Amala should be getting off from work right now. She said that she had to see the therapist first though.”

“Really?” She sneered. “So, Spike, how have things with you and Vernon been?”

“*Sigh*…” Nicolaus leaned in on his seat, trying to keep his voice low. “We’ve been practicing with our powers for 3 weeks now…I’m pretty sure you know how it’s going.”

“You two can’t be that bad off at work too.”

“It’s worse. You probably can imagine how he is now that he’s actually everyone’s boss. With Walter…gone…they decided to shake up the entire department. Which…now that I think about it explains why Amala’s been in so many meetings lately. She’s probably been promoted.”

“Hmm…” Katie stopped for a second then continued. “Anyway, I’ve been feeling that I’ve gotten a lot better at controlling my powers. I don’t get headaches anymore.” Getting to see Katie’s pleasant expression made Nicolaus feel a nice wave of comfort. He’d started growing accustomed to being around the young woman. All of the upbeat redhead’s odd idiosyncrasies created both a charming and soothing atmosphere when the two were alone. The only problem was not knowing much about the person, Katie Vang beyond her name and place of business, which left him feeling a distance between them that he wanted to close.

“Hey…uh…I know this is kind of out of nowhere, but are you from Arizona?”

“…” Katie was taken aback slightly by Nicolaus’s question. “No. I’m from Wisconsin.”

“Wisconsin? Why come all the way down here then?”

“…No real reason. Just traveling away from home.”

“Wanted to get out and see the world?”

“I guess so. Arizona is just kind of a stop on the big trip.”

“Right…well…what about growing up? Anything special about that?”

“Not really. Captain of the debate team, ran a little bit of track and was pretty average.”

“Doesn’t sound too average. Compared to me, you seem to have had an awesome time in school.”

“Maybe. Spike…what’s up with all the questions?”

“We’ve been hanging out for a bit now…and I don’t really know much about you, you know.”

Katie giggled. “Okay, Spike. I’ve got to get back to work. My boss is giving me a dirty look…in more ways than one. Hang around until we’re supposed to go and meet Vernon. I’ll get you some food too.”

“Thanks…” A little embarrassed, Nicolaus settled down. His obvious attempt at getting to know the girl he liked yielded some results. (God, I wish she didn’t have a boyfriend.) Even though he was rejected, Nicolaus was still sweet on Katie.

Nicolaus waited for Amala to finish with her therapy and for Katie to finish her shift, that way they could all go to Vernon’s together. As the young man waited alone his mind began to wander. Thus, began his new unhealthy obsession, checking for his name online and reading articles. Conspiracy theories and news articles concerning the incident at Newtonville rock were all over. Some reporters attempted to interview Nicolaus, but he’d turned them all down. Ever since the investigation had ended it was a source of constant annoyance. Someone leaked the identities of the survivors bringing about an onslaught of harassment. Day after day, over the course of three weeks, people would bother Nicolaus and the others’ in the streets, in their homes and even at work. Their questions were always about how they’d survived, what happened at the ridge, what they saw and how they felt afterwards. The problem with every question though was that they didn’t have an answer. To Nicolaus however, the fact that not a single question had to do with the missing officers was baffling.

Nicolaus started looking into the ongoing case of the ‘missing’ officers, Niles and Kevin. There hadn’t been much information posted about them. It was as if the two had simply vanished and no one even cared. News stations had all but stopped covering it and moved onto the upcoming elections or talked about construction in the city. Nicolaus had gotten so absorbed into his searching that he didn’t notice Katie had finished her shift. “Hey Spike, you ready?”

“Oh!” Nicolaus checked his phone and noticed that they’d need to be at Vernon’s house within the next 20 minutes to make it on time for their meeting. “…Hang on one sec…” He sent Amala a message asking if she was still in therapy. She confirmed that she was and wasn’t sure how much longer it would last. “I guess we’ll go without her.” Katie agreed and pulled Nicolaus in close.

“We won’t make it to Vernon’s if we walk or take the subway. How about we…you know…”

Nicolaus picked up on Katie’s insinuation. “Alright, let’s head for the back.” As perky as her hair was red, Katie happily waved goodbye to her boss and fellow coworkers as she exited through the back of the establishment with Nicolaus. Once the two were around back Nicolaus surveyed the alley to make sure they were alone. “We’re clear…” A soft warm sensation pushed against Nicolaus’s side suddenly. He turned and saw Katie pressing her chest into him. “W-Whoa, hang on!”

“Huh? I thought you wanted me to hold on tight, right? Unless…did you figure out another way yet?” Katie asked while wrapping her arms around the flustered young man.

“N-No…anyway, let’s go!” His telekinesis - the azure haze engulfed him and spread onto Katie. He returned the favor by wrapping his arm around Katie. The waitress and to float as well, being dragged up by Nicolaus. As the twosome drifted upward, Nicolaus peered down to make sure no one noticed them one last time. They made it just below the clouds as Katie pointed out where Vernon’s house was. With a deep breath Nicolaus began to fly with Katie in tow. They flew slowly at first but picked up speed and eventually were moving faster than a car. All the time Nicolaus thought in his head. (Stay calm. Focus! Focus!) The sensation of Katie gripping him tightly was a huge distraction.

Part 2

Nicolaus and Katie descended from the cold, cloudy sky into the woods near Vernon’s home. As they closed in on the property, the two looked around for Vernon, though he was nowhere to be seen. “Where the heck is he?” Nicolaus asked rhetorically but still received an answer from Katie.

“I bet he’s not too far off. Don’t freak out.” With their feet touching down in the dirt covered clearing, Nicolaus pulled out his phone and attempted to call his elusive co-worker. Not in the best mood, the young man paced around while running his fingers through his spiky hair, waiting for an answer. “Spike, look out!”

“Huh?” Fuming, Nicolaus hadn’t noticed the long pipe like object extending out of the woods. He crashed into it, forehead first, and fell to the ground. “Ow! Damnit! What was that?”

“S-Sorry Nick!” Vergil Trask, Harper Wolf as well as Vernon ran into view. “I didn’t m-mean to…”

“Don’t worry about it, Vergil…” Nicolaus just continued to lay on the ground, looking up at the glassy pipe like object that remained suspended in the air. “Seems like you’ve gotten better…that felt like running into an actual steel pipe.” The pipe defied gravity, remaining totally motionless as if floated. With its hazy gloss and misty interior, the object looked as if it were a smoke filled white version of Nicolaus’s telekinesis.

“Are you going to just lay there or…?” Harper inquired sarcastically.

As Nicolaus pulled himself to his feet, he locked eyes with Vernon. They both audibly scoffed, turning away. “Where’s Amala?”

“She’s in counseling again.”

“Still!? Why’s she still going?”

“We had a pretty…traumatic experience…” The awkward back and forth between Vernon and Nicolaus made everyone scared they’d start an argument at any second. Whilst sneering, Nicolaus noticed Vernon’s suit. The young Italian American man had changed from his work attire into an expensive looking set. “Going somewhere after this…?”

Vernon sighed. “Let’s just get back to practicing.” He trailed off while mumbling something under his breath. Nicolaus flipped off Vernon behind his back.

Vergil walked over to Nicolaus with a halfhearted smile. “I-I really a-am sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, man.” He said with a warm smile. Nicolaus had grown to like Vergil over their time together.

“Yo, Nick! Did you watch the video I sent you? Great, right?” However, he’d started becoming more and more annoyed with Harper. Nicolaus didn’t think that the young man meant any harm, but he was rather incessant with his badgering on certain topics.

“The one about the girl in China with telekinesis? Yeah…really informative!” (I didn’t even make it to that point in the video. It was just some dudes reacting to nonsense theories about the government.)

“And trust me, you can’t just quit half way through, you’ve got to get past the reactions and then it’ll show the footage properly.”

“Huh…Oh, okay. I-I’ll watch it when I get home.” Nicolaus humbly replied.

“Don’t worry about it. Verg, come on.” Harper grabbed Vergil by the arm and dragged him along. Nicolaus’s phone began to buzz. He checked it thinking it would be Amala, but it was a message from his sister’s boyfriend, Alonso.

[Hello Nicolas, Dani was asking when you’d be home tonight. I’ll be making dinner, is there anything you’d like?]

(I like Alonso, but he never gets my name right. Nikolas, Nicolas and Nickolas…it’s Ni-Co-Laus…then again everyone just seems to get it wrong.) His own personal brand of pessimism, Nicolaus began texting, but stopped. [I’ll be home by…] (I’ll just let him know what to make. I’ve got business to handle when all this ‘training’ is done.) Nicolaus sent the message and joined his fellow ‘survivors’.

Part 3

“Alright! Come on Nick’o, push as hard as you can!” Vernon shouted up to Nicolaus as he levitated in the air. Nicolaus was attempting to use his telekinesis to push away a large wall like object created by Vergil. The glassy white monolith reached from the ground upward, sprouting toward the sky. Despite its creator having had just made the object, at the time, he was busy trying to make a ball roughly as tall as himself.

“It’s…really hard to maintain two things…” Vergil focused so hard on keeping both objects solid that a vain surfaced in his forehead.

“Why…am I…doing this again?” Nicolaus asked, clearly nearing his limit as the stream of mist slowly began to weaken.

“Stress testing. We need to know how strong each of our powers are, what they can do and to make sure we’ve got full control over them at all times.” His confident demeanor exuding, Vernon floated up behind Nicolaus. “You, me and Amala all have the same power, I.E. telekinesis. Katie can create those…black mannequins. We didn’t even know until a few days ago that Vergil had powers. So, now we’re waiting to see if Harper’s powers awaken.”

“…” Nicolaus gave up on moving the wall with a deep sigh. “You can take it down now, Vergil.” He drifted back to the ground alongside Vernon just as Vergil finished his experiment.

“L-Look! I d-did it!” The wall that Vergil had created faded away as he turned around revealing a small glassy white orb the size of a basketball.

“Oh! You finished?” Nicolaus said as he walked up and placed his hand on the ball. “Hang on…it’s soft!”

“Really?” Vernon began inspecting the object as well. “You’re right. Let me see this!” Vernon took the ball and lifted it in the air. “It’s so light, almost like air.” He then dropped it expecting the sphere to bounce back, but it hit the ground and stayed. “…Guess it’s not a ball then.” He then looked off into the distance. “Haven’t seen Katie in a bit…I’ll be back. Keep at it, Vergil.” The ever-bossy man walked off in search of Katie.

“I-I think I c-can make it more l-like a ball though.” Vergil said with a little bit of determination in his eyes. The young man picked back up the orb and began melding it again but stopped as his nose began to bleed.

“Alright, you’re pushing yourself too far. Stop.” Nicolaus pulled Vergil’s hands away from the sphere causing it to fade like smoke. It was evident that Vergil wasn’t going to quit. “You’re really good at this stuff. You’re treating it like anime training or something.”

“N-No!” That compliment caused Vergil’s normally pale face to become bright red. “I d-don’t watch a-anime!”

“…You’re wearing an anime shirt right now.” Nicolaus pointed out the shirt that Vergil wore that depicted a school girl with blonde pigtails holding an oversized sword. “Don’t worry, man. I watch some myself…although I haven’t had much time lately…”

“R-Really? What do y-you watch?”

“Last thing I watched is a season old now. It was ‘Reborn in another world as a gas station attendant’, and it was alright…or at least I thought it was alright.”

“Y-Yeah, I loved t-that one! T-The story in it was p-pretty unique.” Vergil’s attitude made a total 180 as he became very interested in talking with Nicolaus.

“Come on, dude. You’re talking anime again?” Harper appeared almost out of nowhere wrapping his arm around Vergil’s neck. “You can tell him how much more interested in the ecchi you were!” He jeered.

“C-Come on, man! Y-You weren’t even lis-stening to our conversation, you were b-busy talking to Lefty on the p-phone!” The boys argued as Nicolaus lost interest.

“Hey!” A call came from above. It was Amala who drifted into the clearing from the sky using her telekinesis.

“Yo! What took so long?” Nicolaus walked away from the bickering teens. “Everything okay?”

Amala had a serious expression as she landed, allowing the mauve mist to disperse. “…I’m fine.” The young woman looked past Nicolaus at Vergil and Harper who continued arguing. “Give me a second Nicolaus.” She walked past him and up to the boys. “Harper, we never finished what we-”

“Oh! Amala! Good to see you. Vernon wanted to talk to you! Yo, Vernon!” Harper hollered. Vernon walked into view with Katie, looking disheveled. “Yo, Amala’s here now.”

“Yeah, thanks. You can go lay down if you want.” Vernon pushed Katie to go and rest. Her vibrant red hair sat all over her head with sweat droplets crowding her forehead.

“I’m fine.” She said in a flat response.

“Okay, don’t say I didn’t offer. Now then, Amala where have you been? You can’t just ignore these practice sessions.” The demeaning tone Vernon took, unintentionally or not, got under Amala’s skin.

She stopped herself from blowing up in her retort and simply kept her gaze toward the ground. “Sorry.”

“You know why we’re doing this, right?”

“Testing our limits. To know what we can do and to make sure we’ve got total control over our powers…”

“Right! Exactly! You learned that we could fly by mistake, Katie learned about her powers by mistake, you and Nicolaus learned about your telekinesis by mistake! We can’t keep doing that. We cannot keep playing around with our powers and making mistakes.”

“…Sorry.”

“I think she gets it.” Nicolaus spoke up in Amala’s defense.

Despite clearly wanting to continue his chastising, Vernon stopped then looked at his phone to check the time. “…Right. Well, if you guys get it. I guess we should call it a night. It’s almost eight and I know Harper and Vergil have to get home. You two want me to fly you?

“Definitely! Any later and I may get some trouble from my mom.” The two boys began speaking with Vernon as Katie pulled Nicolaus to the side.

“Hey Spike, I’m not feeling great. Mind dropping me off at the train station downtown?” She smiled at Nicolaus who simply turned his head and blushed.

“Sure, no problem.”

“Honestly…” Amala said under her breath.

“Just one second.” Nicolaus said as he stepped away from Katie to speak with Amala more privately. “I don’t want to overstep my bounds here, but is everything okay with you? Why are you still seeing the counselor?”

“She said…I need a bit of attention is all…”

“Does it have to do with ‘dancing’?” Nicolaus said with air quotes.

“I swear…I hate that you remember that.”

“It was a pretty big deal when it happened. That was the last time we had one of those…mind trips… also you never explained what dancing swan lake was all about, so…”

“Don’t worry about that. In fact, do me a favor. Forget all of it. I need to talk with Harper before he leaves.” Amala walked back up to Harper as he conversed with Vernon. “Harper, listen…I just need to know something.”

“Right! You’ve been trying to ask me for a while now, right?” His upbeat demeaner surprised Amala. He’d often been a bit off putting when interfacing with her.

“Your-” Just then Vergil interrupted.

“M-My dad will get r-really mad if I-I don’t hurry h-home!” A stammered shriek came from the boy’s mouth. “I-I didn’t m-mean to y-yell…sorry.” It was uncharacteristic for Vergil to speak up like that.

“Don’t worry about it. Amala, this can wait until later, can’t it?” Vernon took control of the conversation.

“What!? No! I-I need to-!” The young Indian woman became very frantic.

“Relax, we can talk next time.” Harper said as he placed his hand on Vernon’s shoulder. “Come on. We need to hurry, for Vergil.” Vernon nodded.

“If it’s so important, just message him later.” The burgundy haze enveloped Vernon. Then he moved it onto both Vergil and Harper and began floating up into the air. “By the way, Nick’O, I expect that you’ll be able to do this soon too. Although, I’m pretty sure you like getting all up close and personal with Katie, so…hahaha!” Nicolaus gave Vernon the finger as he flew away with the boy’s in tow.

“Piece of s**t…also, he was joking Katie! Really!” Nicolaus immediately went on the defensive. (I really can’t lift other people safely yet…but if I get to grab a hold of Katie, then I’m not complaining either.)

“I trust you, Spike.” Katie typed something into her cell phone and then grabbed Nicolaus’s hand. “Ready?”

As a response to her smile Nicolaus broke out an awkward smile. “T-Totally! Um…Amala, are you…” Before the normally pessimistic Nicolaus could finish his question Amala had already started floating away. “Hey, Amala!”

“…” She just looked down to him with a disappointed face. “Later…” Amala flew off into the distance.

“What’s with her?”

Nicolaus grabbed Katie around the waist and they flew downtown. “I wish I knew.”

Part 4

8:12 PM

After arriving in downtown Trenton Arizona, Nicolaus found a safe and secluded location to land and part with Katie. “Are you sure you just want me to leave you here?” It was an alley near the center of the city. Many people walking around were either totally drunk or out partying.

“Yeah. It’s fine. I’ve got something to do not too far from here. I’ll talk to you later.” Katie sped off fixing her hair along the way.

“See you! Give me a call if…you need anything…” Nicolaus murmured as she rounded the corner leaving earshot quickly.

Katie rushed down the street. The redhead was in great shape, helping her weave and dodge in between other pedestrians with ease, all while not even breaking a sweat. Her great physique was something she strived to achieve and maintain for an important goal. Everything she did was for her dream. No matter how much the young woman had to suffer, she’d do so, to get what she wanted. “Made it!” Katie entered the back of a building and rushed down the hall past a myriad of posters and advertisement, entering a room with many half naked women changing into various flamboyant outfits.

“Vang, where were you!? We’re going on in twenty minutes! Hurry up and get ready!” One of the older women, caked in makeup with her clothes still dangling, unfashioned berated Katie. The redhead simply brushed her off and walked into a solo dressing room; locking the door behind as she entered. “B***h. Just because Matthew made her the star…”

Katie heard that even beyond the door. Cruel and petty remarks such as that didn’t bother the young lass, because in her mind she was above them anyway. Pulling up her seat, Katie sat down in front of a large dresser mirror, and with the flick of her wrist, summoned two black mannequins out of thin air. Rhythmically they began taking the makeup that Katie had brought, applying it to her face. Not missing a beat or making a mistake, the mannequins work was expertly done. After her makeup was applied the cool-headed young woman immediately stood up and walked away from the dolls.

The redheaded waitress pulled her long hair back into a bun and placed a blonde wig on over her bright red locks; she then removed her clothes and changed into a long white dress that reached all the way to the floor. “Lovely.” Katie said while gazing upon her own form in another mirror with satisfaction. She looked back at the dolls however, disgusted. The mannequins continued to stand at the chair that Katie sat in, applying makeup to nothing as if she were still there. “So, they really can only commit to a single command. I’ll get better at it, one of these days.” She snapped her fingers and the black mannequins shattered into nothingness.

Katie exited the room with all of the other women still changing. “What…how!?” The older woman asked, totally befuddled.

“Hmm…” Katie placed her finger on her chin. “Maybe…youthful energy.” A smug retort elicited the exact response Katie wanted as the older woman glared ferociously. She walked from the dressing room, head held high. When Katie’s eyes drifted down the hall, she noticed a man walking toward her. Despite his thinning hairline and short stature, Katie exchanged a pleasant smile with the man as his hand stroked her face. She came in and kissed him, deeply.

“Make me proud, Kate.” He said.

“Of course, Matthew. Don’t I always?”

Music began to swell in the distance, meaning it was time to begin. Gracefully, the lead actress, the centerfold of the entire production that evening glided down the hall, Katie walked with the intent of making it an unforgettable night for the patrons. She took the stage of the opera house, and thus the play began. The story unfolded for the next few hours, but the people were enraptured. The male lead stood with incredible stage presence like no other. The entire room felt as if it were made solely to house his endless charisma. As Katie took the stage herself, she moved with elegance, her mind and body poised. She practiced relentlessly, knowing that everything she worked for was finally being given a chance to be showcased.

The show came to a close and the crowd erupted into applause. As the curtain drew shut, Katie looked up and saw who she truly cared about, the top reviewer in all of the industry. “We did it!” Some of her fellow actors cheered. “That was our best show!” They happily began hugging each other and cheering. Katie walked by them headed toward her dressing room. On the way back, she noticed the leading man. She thought back to the kiss they’d shared on stage, then noticed him kissing someone, his boyfriend. The young woman wiped her lips vigorously.

After changing into her normal street clothes, Katie went about leaving the building. Matthew stopped her and pulled his lead actress in for a kiss, but it was blocked by the palm of her hand. “Later. What did you hear from the critic?”

Matthew looked away. “It…was a great show. Best of the year. He said that, he’d continue to recommend it for the next year of performances.”

“I don’t care about the show. It’s always been good. What did he say about me?”

“…”

“Come on, spill!”

“…Mediocre.”

“…” Katie’s eyes widened in disbelief. “F**k…”

Part 5

8:20 PM

Vernon floated down into a cul-de-sac, bringing the boys Harper and Vergil down alongside him still cloaked the burgundy haze of his telekinesis. It was just late enough so that people weren’t out and about. “Alright guys, catch you later. Call me if anything happens. That goes especially for you Harper. If your powers activate, call me, immediately. Got it?”

“I gotcha’.” Harper waved his hand as Vergil bid Vernon farewell. Vernon flew up and off toward the city. “…Hey, Verg…want to spend the night?”

“N-No…I have t-to check on m-my sister.” Vergil began walking to his house which sat parallel to Harper’s on the street. It was a rather old home, looking like it needed to be painted and have the lawn cut. It was apparent that the mail hadn’t been touched as it sat on the front step. Vergil picked it all up and scurried inside.

Harper walked to his house and unlocked the door. As he walked in, an older Asian woman, appearing to be in her early forties approached him. “Mom, before you start, I know you’re proud of me and yada yada yada. Thanks, but did anyone call for me? I’m expecting a call.”

“Well, you don’t need to be so rude. Start doing good at school and now you think you’re a big man, huh?”

“Guess no one called yet, then. I’ll see you later.” Harper walked away from his mother in a rush toward his room.

“Wait, Harper!”

“Yvette, relax…he’s a young man. He’s probably waiting for some girl to call.” A soft voice came from the living room. It was Harper’s father; Calvin Wolf. He sat in a large comfy chair adjusting the setting on a music player. “Come and join me, dear. I’ve found a nice piece earlier and I’m sure you’d love it.” Calvin extended his hand and brought Yvette in as she sat down on his lap.

“…” Harper looked over to his parents feeling a bit uncomfortable with how they were openly showing affection. As the music began to play a thought popped into his head. “Hey Dad…”

“Yes?”

“…Do you know a girl named…” Harper stopped. As gross as he thought his parents were, he enjoyed seeing them happy. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“Wait, Harper.” The orchestra played loudly.

“I’m pretty sure I missed my call, so I’m going to call them back later. Good night.” The boy rushed to his room, shutting the door behind him. He pulled up his seat and got on the computer. After a few minutes of browsing the internet he stopped and looked out the window toward Vergil’s house.

At the same time Vergil was cleaning up a mess on the kitchen floor. A short, young girl with hair as white and a complexion as pale as his own, walked up to young man as he finished. “Sorry, Vergil. I was trying to make dinner…” She apologized. The inside of the kitchen was barren. A simple stove, refrigerator and table placed off to the side made the room look and feel cold.

“D-Don’t worry. I should h-have made you s-something for dinner earlier.” Vergil got up and started cooking food on the stove. The young girl - his little sister looked on, still slightly embarrassed. “I’ll make some p-porkchops.”

“Cool, I love your porkchops.” She didn’t actually, but she loved her brother, so she’d eat what was made for her. The young girl pulled up a chair and sat at the kitchen table waiting for the food to finish. She pulled out her smart phone and brought something up on screen. “Look Vergil, we built a rocket today in class!” A video played of her and her classmates building an elaborate model rocket. She’d drawn a shark face on the top and laughed with a giddy enthusiasm. The rocket shot upward with incredible speed as all the students cheered. “Impressive, right?”

“You made most of i-it, right W-Wilhelmina?”

“Yup!”

“You’re s-so good with s-stuff l-like that. You’ll be a g-great engineer. Now i-if only you could c-cook.”

“Hey! I’ll figure it out some day! Cooking isn’t exactly a science…” Wilhelmina’s face got red as she was teased.

“It actually i-is a science.” Vergil chuckled.

*Bam* A door from the second-floor slammed shut. Down the stairs walked a groggy looking older man. His unkempt gray beard and bedhead showed someone who’d just woken up. He sat down at the table across from Wilhelmina and leaned back in the chair. The man hadn’t even bothered to get fully dressed as he wore his boxers and a wifebeater stained with alcohol. “…What are you making?” His gruff voice cracked as he began coughing.

“P-Porkchops.” Vergil responded meekly.

“Alright…Wilhelmina how’s school?”

“Okay.” Wilhelmina looked away as she hid her phone.

“Don’t give me one-word answers.”

“Sorry!”

“And don’t yell. I just got up. So…how was school?”

“…Good…I mean, I’ve been doing good! My grades are good…”

“Good. Vergil, how about you?”

“I’m okay. I got a s-seventy-five on my last test.”

“…That’s barely passing, isn’t it?”

“…Y-yeah…sorry.”

“Do better next time. Also, stop stuttering. People will think you’re retarded. And you’re not, right?”

“N-No, sir.”

“Wilhelmina…you aren’t dating yet, right?”

“No! Of course not, Dad.”

“Good, you’re eleven. What about you, Vergil? You’re seventeen, right?

“No…not y-yet.”

“Really? You take after me which means you’re good looking, so I don’t get why you don’t have a girl yet. You gay or something?”

“No…”

“Alright, just checking…just checking. The food done yet?”

The awkwardness of the night continued like that for another hour. All the while Vergil thought to himself. (I hate this! I hate this! I hate this!)

Harper spoke to himself as he sat in his room staring up at the ceiling blankly. “Vergil must be having another s****y night…”

Part 6

8:33 PM

Vernon hastily descended into the middle of downtown Trenton, looking for the least crowded area possible. Unfortunately, that ended up being an alleyway behind a bar. The minute he landed, grumbling noises came from behind a dumpster, almost causing him to have a heart attack. It turned out to be a homeless person rolling over on their makeshift bed. Vernon crept up to the man, making sure he was asleep. With that confirmed, Vernon breathed a sigh of relief and dropped a five-dollar bill on the man’s jacket. Quickly, running down the street pushing past other pedestrians and nearly tripping over a dog as he checked his phone, Vernon rushed to his destination. “She’s going to be pissed.” The signal at a crosswalk warned him to halt his sprint. “Come on, damnit!” He reacted uncharacteristically as the normally relaxed man began cursing while fiddling with his suit. “Is that…her? She looks pissed…”

Vernon spied the light brown skin and black curls of the woman he was intending to meet. He finally came up to her, totally out of breath from dashing the whole way. “Late…why do I even bother?” She placed her palm on her brow.

“Because you like me so much, Raquel. Come on, you know it’s true.” Raquel Childs, the detective from the incident looked at Vernon with contempt.

“I could just leave if you want to be a moron by yourself.” No hint of joking in her voice, Vernon quickly picked up on how serious Raquel was.

“No! I was kidding! I’m sorry!” He apologized.

“*Sigh*…For now, let’s head to the restaurant.”

“I see you fell for it then? All according to plan. Even though I told you we were heading to that place on the corner, you still dressed up, which is perfect. Looking great, by the way.” Vernon pointed out that Raquel’s black high heel boots and matching skirt and top looked nice on her.

“Surprising me AND kissing up? Mister Marino, you’re really on a roll! Fine, I’ll forgive you; if the place we’re going is actually good.” Raquel finally broke the stern expression she held since Vernon came up by smiling.

“We’re going to le jardin vide!” With an exaggerated flick of the wrist, Vernon revealed the location of their date.

“Whoa!” Raquel whistled. “Third date and you’re taking me to that expensive French Restaurant everyone is going on about? …Actually, am I underdressed?” The off duty police officer started feeling self-conscious about her clothes.

“Bah! You look great! For real, you look great.” Vernon sincerely said that to Raquel.

“You’re so corny, dude!” Blushing, Raquel playfully shoved him. Vernon and Raquel walked to the restaurant and spent the evening enjoying each other’s company.

Part 7

8:38 PM

At the tail end of winter, icy winds still hung around Newtonville rock. The fact that it was night only made the desolate air of the ridge feel heavier. After the investigation had concluded no one was permitted to even walk around the small area. The media spent every night since the incident trying to dig up stories by searching the woods and interviewing the survivors. Police ran dogs and forensic scientists around the site for weeks, but nothing turned up. The Newtonville lights, as they’d been dubbed by locals, hadn’t occurred since the incident. No major information had been picked up in weeks…and that infuriated Nicolaus Thompson most of all.

The young man levitated above Newtonville rock, hidden amongst the clouds. For weeks, Nicolaus had been looking into the incident after the others seemed to have lost interest. Whatever gave him and the others’ powers, and what caused the ‘disappearance’ of the officers Niles and Kevin were connected, if only in the young man’s mind. He descended and paced around the dirt covered ground. After looking over the edge of the cliff, then walking back through the small wooded area, Nicolaus noted the trees that he and Vernon had torn into from the run in with the police.

Again, Nicolaus walked back to the cliff’s edge and looked down, surveying the side of the formation. From that height, it looked as if it’d be impossible for someone to survive such a fall. He stormed back into the woods, then repeated the process over and over. Eventually, the young man sat down on the cold ground, typing something into his phone. It read: [Nothing’s changed.] He began fussing with his hair. “Nothing’s changed again…nothing…nothing!” He exploded. Phone raised in the air and ready to slam it into the dirt, Nicolaus stopped when he noticed his telekinesis had activated. The azure haze moved about fanatically. Shaking with anger…and fear, Nicolaus attempted to calm down, but failed. “I…” On the verge of tears, the normally pessimistic and aloof Nicolaus Thompson fell to his knees. “I killed an innocent man…I’m a murderer…I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry, Kevin Greene! You were…someone’s father…and because of me…! I…took someone’s Dad away from them! I don’t deserve to live! F**k!” Nicolaus was scared to even punch the ground near himself, as he feared what the telekinesis would do. “I don’t even know what’s going on! Why am I alive…Carl, Walter…Kevin…those kids…they all died and I’m…here. Dad…what should I do?” Tears streaming down his face, the answer he wanted wasn’t coming.

An odd cry from off in the distance surprised Nicolaus, making him jump to his feet. The sound came from beyond the brush. He cautiously traversed the woods until the young man happened upon a deer with its leg stuck in a hole. Nicolaus thought nothing of it but decided to help the poor creature.

“Don’t worry, I’ll save you.” Nicolaus lifted his hand and inched his telekinesis onto the creature, enveloping it in blue haze. “Okay…relax…” Nicolaus attempted to gradually move the deer upward, out of its predicament. He raised his hand steadily, but the weight of his arm was far greater than he’d expected. He was unable to lift the deer. Frustrated, he tried again and failed, angering the already distraught young man. The deer continued to writhe about, seeming totally helpless. With gusto and deep breath, Nicolaus tugged the animal and nearly sent it flying. The deer screamed out as it ran away. “S-Sorry…hmm?” Nicolaus felt bad about frightening the deer, but he noticed the remnants of his telekinesis, before it fully dispersed, was changing colors. “Huh? That’s new.” He brought his telekinesis back up again and it was the regular azure blue. He pushed it over to the hole and it changed to a deep mauve, then burgundy and then the mist rapidly began to plume into white orbs as a strange static sound accompanied it. “Wha!?”

Part 8

2:47 AM

The headlights of a luxury car barely penetrated the dark and foggy night as it zoomed around hairpin turns on a riverfront. An old man, with intensely thinning hair spoke on the phone to an associate as he drove. “Absolutely not! Even if he wants in done by next week, I refuse to hire contractors…I don’t care if it’s cheap! We’ve been working on this for a month now, I for one…” So wrapped up in his conversation, the man didn’t notice the small figure standing in the middle of the road until it was too late.

Next thing he knew, the older man was regaining consciousness, looking at the hood of his vehicle being submerged in the embankment that ran into a deep river. Blood dripped from his head and his legs were in excruciating pain, more than likely broken, he was trapped in the car seat as he failed at pulling his seat belt undone. “H-Help! Someone!!” He hollered. With the old man slowly realizing the gravitas of the situation, he made for his phone, however it was nowhere to be seen. “S**t…” Tugging at his seat belt with all his strength it seemed hopeless as the buckle refused budge, but footsteps approaching caused him to stop. “Is someone out there!? Help, please! I’m stuck…call an ambulance! My legs may be broken…!” The person came into view and his hopes were immediately dashed.

In through the passenger side broken window stood a small figure with their face obscured by a scarf and wearing a hoodie. The person said nothing but simply raised their hand. An almost pinkish smoke exuded from the figure’s body, wrapping around the front of the car. The vehicle began to move forward, as if the bumper was being tugged. “…” The figure remained quiet; its purple eyes glaring emotionlessly at the man’s horror filled expression.

“What the f**k is going on!? Stop! Stop! Wait, please!” He begged while pawing at his seatbelt until the car suddenly halted.

“…You understand then? I have all the power here…you lowlife piece of s**t.”

“What do you want?”

“Omar Redmond…I have some questions and you will answer them to the best of your abilities, or…” The car moved again.

“Okay! Please stop!” The car halted. “What do you want to know, anything!”

“First off, I have your phone, so don’t try anything stupid. Second…Arnold Patrick, Keith Lawless, Howard Tanner and Liam Joffe…do these names mean anything to you?”

“…No.”

The car shot forward, barely keeping contact with the ground as it began to sink in the waterway. “Don’t lie!”

“Sorry! I’m sorry! I do know them, I do, I do! Please don’t kill me!” Omar pleaded, his face twisted as he cried.

“Shut up! Next question…are they clients of yours?”

“Clients? I don’t know what you mean…I own a lot of businesses…”

“You know what the f**k I’m talking about.”

“T-They’re not clients! They’re…closer to business partners…”

“So, it’s true then. Ok…last question, then you can go. Password to your phone. What is it?”

“It’s…Professional but with a zero for the o and a one for the l…”

The figure pulled up the phone and entered the password. “Looks like you told the truth on that one pretty easily.”

“C-can I go now?”

“…Yes…go to hell…you piece of s**t.” The car quickly tipped forward into the water and began to sink fast.

“W-Wait! S-s-some-one…please…help me!!! Some…” His begging cut short, the man known as Omar Redmond drowned in his car.

“…” The figure’s eyes remained unflinching as they watched the man’s iron tombs sink to the bottom of the embankment, his scream subsiding. They pulled off their hood with a fountain of black hair bursting forth. Her purple eyes and unblemished brown skin now out on full display; Amala Singh watched silently and emotionlessly as the man before her slowly died.

End of Chapter 5