Steel: The Transformation

Chapter 2

"What are you thinking of?" he studied my face for a second before returning his eyes to the road.

"Nothing really. Just how happy you make me."

He smiled at my reply, "Will going to European History class make you just as happy?"

I rolled my eyes, "Maybe not..."

As Jackson navigated the busy university parking lot, I glanced across it. Students were milling about, standing in small clusters and talking to each other. It seemed that wherever you looked in this town there was always students hanging about. Maybe this was one of the drawbacks of having a well respected university...

"Are you ready for class?"

I looked up at Jackson and answered his question with a little smile. As I was grabbing my handbag from the backseat of the car, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Guess who's back?"

As soon as I heard his voice I instantly felt a smile spread across my lips,"Jake!"

I jumped into his arms and welcomed his big hug. He swung me around in the air for a moment before letting my feet place themselves back on the ground.

Jake cleared his throat, "I know you won't be happy about this but I'm still not back for good."

I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"I'm just back for the day, then I'll be gone for a few weeks again," he explained.

Jackson, who had been standing to one side turned to my friend and asked the question I was not able to formulate, "So why are you back today then?"

"Well, I just need to check in and grab a few things. I need some more things for the research we are doing in the mountains..."

"Oh, okay." Jackson looked like he was trying to find Jake's research project fascinating but I could see through him, he really could not care less about it.

Jake turned to me, there was a glint of playfulness in his eyes, "Jackson, since you have Cleo all to yourself most of the time... Today I'll just have to steal her away from you."

He looped his arm through mine and proceeded to drag me towards the grand front doors of the university.

~*~

"So how has everything been here?" Jake asked as he was bouncing a ball against one of the steps of the amphitheater, outside of the university grounds.

"It's good. But I've missed having you around." I was scanning the white marble steps and the few leaves that had drifted across them.

When Jake was gone, I always felt lonelier. He had been my first friend here and as much as I was proud of his new research project, looking into different values in the soil, it still bothered me that it took him away from university so much.

"How about I buy you some coffee to make up for being such a bad absent friend." He smiled at me and I couldn't help but to return the smile.

"That doesn't sound like a half bad idea." I stretched out my legs and was just about to step down from the marble step, when I felt a leaf underneath my foot.

I could feel how I was losing control and I could vaguely hear Jake screaming something inaudible in the background. I could feel myself falling, without really being able to register what had happened I was suddenly standing on one of the marble steps a little bit further down the amphitheater.

Jack was rushing down to me with a worried look in his face, "Are you okay?"

I took a second to evaluate my body, nothing seemed to hurt. "I guess so. What happened?"

Jake looked at me, stunned.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing. You were falling forwards and then suddenly, you pushed your arms against one of the step and leapt. You got yourself to your feet with this huge jump down to this one," Jake tapped his foot lightly against the marble step that we both stood on.

"I guess it was just a lucky flux," I smiled reassuringly at Jake.

But I knew deep down that what had happened was something different. I had always been clumsy and I would never have been able to bounce back from a fall in such a controlled fashion.

"Come on, let's go get you that coffee." Jake looped his arm in mine and we slowly walked down the last few steps of the amphitheater.

I could not help but to feel intrigued about what had happened, it was something with the way that my body had bounced back from the fall... It was almost as if it was acting on its own instincts.

~*~

I was startled out of my light slumber by a loud crackling noise. For a moment, I thought the noise was part of my usual repertoire of nightmares. But this couldn't be it, it was not a noise I recognised and I was too awake. I scanned the room, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. The darkness wrapped itself around my bedroom in the most natural way. I shuddered as I heard that same crackling noise again, it was very clear and something about it frightened me. I was lecturing myself in my head, telling myself it was childish to be afraid. I slipped my legs out from under the covers and onto the floor. I kept listening for the noise, when I heard it for the third time I could distinctly pinpoint that it came from outside. I walked over to the window and peered out into the darkness. The back garden of my house was calm, I could only make out the darker spots of the bushes across the lawn and the few trees meeting the larger woods at the back edge of the garden. I stood still for a long moment, quiet and anticipating the noise.

Something inside me told me that I would not hear it again tonight, but that the source of the noise had been in the edge of the woods. I felt a chill creep up my spine. Why did I suddenly know so much just by instinct? And how could I hear a sound that was so far away?

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! You are amazing. Please let me know what you thought in the comments - I really appreciate the feedback.

Did you enjoy getting to know Cleo better? What did you think of Jackson and Jake?

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Song: Mapei - Don't Wait (Kingdom Remix)