The Created

Chapter 7: The Wizard of Koroh

KYE

If the time between breakfast and lunch was bad, the time between lunch and dinner is absolute torture, especially owing to the fact that lunch was cut short. If crazy stuff like this is going to keep occurring, then Connor and I need a double-room so that we can talk it through between meals. I can't stand sitting here alone.

I'm lying on my bed, restless and bored, shifting positions frequently and yet unable to get comfortable. Shadow seems to feel the same way; he keeps walking all on top of me, sprinting from one side of the room to the next, scratching at the walls, sniffing weird places, and generally driving me absolutely bonkers. Gotta love him, though. He's stuck in the room too. I feel his pain.

After a while, Shadow takes particular interest in the bookshelf.

I watch as he clambers onto the second shelf and starts gnawing on the spine of a book, his sharp teeth leaving minuscule scratches on the cover. He eventually, with great effort and a stubborn persistence that only cats possess, dislodges the book and sends it clattering to the floor.

The cover reads: The Wizard of Koroh.

Shadow hunches his shoulders, then shakes his butt playfully and pounces down on top of it, like catching a long-awaited prey. I raise myself out of bed and pry the book from his claws, placing it on the desk.

He immediately springs gracefully and silently onto the desktop, determined to finish his attack.

"What has gotten into you?" I murmur with a chuckle.

I walk to the bookcase and start pulling out volumes and reading their titles, before tossing them aside to the floor or else setting them atop the bookshelf. Wonder and Bloodlust. Treegrums: Burmstrock's Natives. A Love Lost to Fire (and its sequel: A Heart Lost to Desire).

I finally settle down with a copy of The Death of Dogsmire. I'm still having a tough time of it, but reading is helping to slow my brain down. I can hear Shadow still chomping away, and the soft buzz of the lamp. It's not long before I drift into a light sleep.

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I wake to the sound of my door being unlocked, but it's not time for dinner. I sit up and see the outline of a man in the doorway. I'm too groggy to be afraid.

"Hello, Kye," a man with carrot-orange hair is saying. "How are you feeling?"

I just stare at him.

"Do you remember me?" he asks, almost hopefully.

"Uhhh..." I try to think, but I can't place his thin, freckled face.

"That's okay. I didn't expect you to.... My name is Brevyn. I work for Mr. Killoran."

I sit still. "And...why are you in my room?" What if he's coming to take me for another experiment? I try to relax, but my muscles tense instead.

Brevyn looks uneasy. "We're—uh—checking on all of the—uh—guests here to make sure that everyone is okay. Standard protocol."

"Right." I roll my eyes. (Apparently, I get sassy when I'm tired.) "I'm not the bad guy in this situation." (Holy crap.)

Brevyn stutters. "Uh...um...well, you might...be able to help us." He steps into the room and closes the door, taking a seat at my desk chair. "Do you know anything about what happened? Any information that could help us?"

His use of the word 'help' is a mistake. I'm not going to do anything to help these people.

"No," I say flatly.

Brevyn takes me in for a moment with his eyes.

"Okay, well...that's fine. We hadn't expected you to."

I note how much it sounds like he's stalling for time.

"You've been reading I see?" Brevyn raises an eyebrow.

"Barely," I mutter.

"What have you been reading?" he inquires.

Why should you care? I want to say. But I don't.

"Have you read The Wizard of Koroh?" he continues. "It's one of my favorites."

For the first time since Brevyn entered, I crack a smile, albeit a mischievous one.

"I haven't," I say, "but Shadow seems to be enjoying it."

I nod my head toward Shadow on the desk, and Brevyn gasps.

"No!" he cries as he wrenches the book away from Shadow. Shadow hisses. "No, don't let him chew this up!"

I stare at Brevyn, wide-eyed.

He goes pale.

"Um...it's just a really great story, that's all." Brevyn clears his throat. "You should...you should read it some time."

Shadow's eyes follow the book as Brevyn replaces it on the shelf. "Well, I'll leave you alone now. I'm sure you want some peace and quiet, and I still have others to check on."

He walks to the door, pauses, looks at me, opens his mouth to say something, doesn't, closes it thoughtfully, opens it again, says 'see you around', and then walks out, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.

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What do you guys think so far? Things are starting to get more intense ;) Comment your thoughts below.

I have a project coming up soon that I might need your help with, but I'll get you more info soon (might post it as a separate story on Wattpad), or you can message me about it! You can also sign up for email updates on kyleparkerclark.com and I'll send an email with details about the project.

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Chapters Eight and Nine will be released: Tomorrow; June 24, 2019