DOOM DAYS ✓

Chapter 40: Energy Drain

Energy Drain: the ability to leech off the energy of a person, object, creature or any existing energy source.

The three kids sits on the couch in Hayley's studio apartment, chowing down on the Subway sandwiches that she bought them. Tyler had healed them up, their injuries gone except for razor thin scars on that would soon leave with time.

Josh has his head on Tyler's shoulder, and he has his free hand on Josh's thigh, gently scratching at his knee. Tiana is devouring her sandwich like she hasn't eaten in years, sharp teeth tearing through the meatball sub she'd ordered. Hayley stands with her back against the kitchen sink counter, taking small corner bites.

"Did we pass?" Tiana asks, looking up with a mouthful of bread.

Hayley takes a swig from her bottle of cranberry flavored vodka. "You almost killed us. Of course you passed."

"That was a trick, turning all the shadow into energy," Tyler says, stealing Josh's Sprite. "You should use it again sometime."

Josh snatches it back after he drinks from it, making a face. "Since when do you guys straight up try to hurt us? It's always been just sparring before, even if Tyler got a little too rough sometimes."

"Because Alley Cat is not gonna just spar." Hayley's eyes go steely when she speaks. "He's going for the throat, your throats in particular, and I'm not taking advantage of that any further. You're going to be ready to take him on by the time he starts his attack."

"How're we gonna know? We haven't been able to figure out how to tap into that mental connection," Tiana says.

"I'll figure something out. If I could get just a piece of the stone, maybe we could fina a way to do it remotely."

Tyler tilts his head and points to Tiana. "You have time powers."

"As I have for a while now," she responds.

"And you have space powers." He moves his finger to Josh, who nods. "So, why don't we just rewind time back to when he connected with us and bend space to get the stone?"

"That's a great idea, except for the fact that the closest I can get to time manipulation is being able to see the past," Tiana drawls, taking a massive bite and devouring the rest of her sandwich.

"And all I can do is teleport," Josh adds.

"Well, shit."

Hayley claps her hands, already finished with her sub. "Then that's what we'll work on. Time and space manipulation."

"How?" Tiana snorts. "It's not that easy."

"We'll figure it out."

"Not even we know how it works, and they're our powers."

"We might not know, but Brendon does," Tyler says. "He wrote like ten books about them."

Josh and Tiana exchange eager looks.

"When do we start?"

—

Josh carries a copy of every book Brendon has written or written for. Tiana has an equally arm-breaking stack in her arms, as she was in charge of getting any other book that may of the other scientists from the explosion wrote just in case.

The two release their haul onto Josh's dining table, the slam waking up Tyler, who's somehow fallen asleep. He jumps, eyeing them sleepily.

"You got them all?" He asks, reaching for the half empty Rockstar on the opposite side of the table.

Josh snatches up the can and throws it towards the trash can, somehow making it in. "Every copy."

"Why'd you do that?" He whines. "I need that."

"When's the last time you slept?"

"Uh... when did I come over to your place?"

That was two weeks ago. "Ty, you need sleep," Josh chides.

"No, I don't." Tyler sits up sluggishly and heads to the fridge like a zombie, swaying from side to side.

"Yes, you do."

Josh has no idea how he fought him so violently the day before when he was so sleep deprived. It must be all the caffeine. He sighs and teleports between Tyler and his new liquid addiction, closing the door he'd started to open.

"I will force you to sleep if I have to," he says.

"I'll just kick your ass, Angel." Tyler says the nickname with a new level of teasing, something that started happening recently, only after their mutual confessions.

They haven't discussed what's blossoming between them since that night. Nothing has changed between Josh and Tyler, but there's something different in the way they speak. Tyler touches him more often, little shoulder bumps or omg fingers tapping his knees.

As tempted as Josh is to resolve it, either through dating or staying friends, he's afraid that Tyler doesn't like him as much as Josh likes him. And if he addresses their feelings, maybe it'll ruin what's already between them.

Tyler looks up at him- Josh finally passed him height wise- and his eyes go from hostile to half-lidded, the way Tiana's used to before she'd pass out. His tan disappears, leaving a sick pale white in his skin. He drops his raised arms to his sides and starts to tilts forward.

Josh catches him, Tyler's face smushed against his chest, and wraps an arm around his waist to hold him up. He looks over his shoulder at Tiana who's going through the books.

"Can you help me out?" He asks.

She looks confused when she sees them and walks into the kitchen, helping Josh carry Tyler to the couch. He lies his friend over the cushions, sweat already breaking out across his forehead.

"What happened? Did he just pass out?" Tiana asks.

"Yeah. I guess it's because he hasn't slept," Josh says.

Tiana yawns, furrowing her brows as she did so. "Do you feel super tired?"

Josh shakes his head. "I'm fine. Why?"

"I dunno, just felt kinda dizzy for a second there. Anyways, I found something in one of Ryan Ross's scientific journals about the chaos theory..."