"Justin are you alright?"
I panted hard. What had I just seen? Was that who I thought it was? Where-
A dog-sized critter tackled me and I grunted as sharp claws imbedded into my shirt. "Juzzin wus happenin?" Caedmon whispered frantically.
I opened my eyes slowly, realizing I was under the table in the cafeteria, in the company of fallen tator tots and smears of ketchup. A bunch of kids were peeking under the table cloth to stare at me. "You okay?" a few of them asked. "Why're you under the table?" I didn't bother to answer. My rib cage shuttered as I fought to breath. My throat felt swollen. I blinked hard, trying not to cry in front of everyone. What had I just seen? This had to be all in my head.
A familiar hand reached under the table. "Come on man," it was Merman coming to my rescue.
I stared at the hand for a moment before taking it and allowing him to pull me out. I sat down hard on the bench, squinting in the light. "Merman something's wrong with me," I mumbled to him as Caedmon snuggled into my shirt, trying to fit inside but he was getting a bit too big for that. I patted Caedmon's head absentmindedly as I tried to dodge the glances of all the other kids who were staring at me.
"Well you took a hard fall- it's understandable." Merman said, though his brows were lowered in concern.
"No- it's my shadow powers," I said, eyes haunted. "I can't control them anymore. After that movie- I passed out and I woke up in a small town in Alaska somewhere." I whispered.
His eyebrows raised. "Seriously? You sure you weren't dreaming?"
"Yes!" I whispered hoarsely, waving my arms in tight chopping motions towards the table. "I ran through the neighborhood in my underwear, then when a guy grabbed me, I popped into the shadow world. Then bam! I was back in bed. But I had mud between my legs where I had fallen down."
He was still looking at me skeptically.
"I'm serious! The nurses had the lights on me because they said I kept phasing!" I sputtered.
"Wow. Maybe it's because you hit your head- knocked your powers under control," he mumbled as he nibbled on a tator tot.
"There's something else I got to tell you. But not here," I said, looking around shiftily. One guy was still staring at me and when he found I noticed he looked fixedly down at his plate.
"Hey I'll get you some food," Merman said, putting his hand on my shoulder before patting it. "Sit tight." He stood up and walked to the cafeteria line.
Did he believe me? Or did he think I was crazy? My heart was still pounding behind my throat and I shifted uneasily on the bench.
"Hey."
I jumped and banged my knees on the table. Caedmon squeaked and hopped off my lap.
"Hey jumpy." Avery remarked, folding her arms and staring down at me. I expected to see that familiar smirk on her face, but instead she looked dead serious. "Are you alright?"
I tried a shaky smile and wanted to say 'yes' and play it cool but instead "No," came out in a tremulous voice.
Avery put down her plate next to mine. "What's wrong?" she asked, popping a potato chip into her mouth. "Other than falling from forty feet up and breaking everything in that skinny body of yours?"
"I.. uh.." I debated whether to tell her. She'd probably think I was crazy. But she was my personal trainer, and if there was one thing I needed, it was to control my powers. "My powers have been wack since I fell." I told her.
Surprisingly, she nodded. "It's been known to happen." She said grimly. "So don't think you're crazy. Hit your head hard enough, your powers will be going nuts for a few days. But it should clear up. What's happening?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Well for one, I woke up in a random city," I mumbled, petting Caedmon who was still frightened.
She spewed her food everywhere, her eyes huge. "WHAT?"
I waved a hand, gesturing for her to quiet down. "I keep phasing, apparently even in my sleep. The nurses had the lights on bright to keep me from disappearing on them."
She winced, knowing how much that hurt me.
I nodded grimly and sighed. "But I've never shadow traveled that far." I whispered.
"That's great," she said. "Your powers are greater than any of us thought. If you can just learn to handle the shadow world without Caedmon leading you, you could go anywhere."
I sighed and shook my head. "I told you. I can hardly see. Everything goes so fast... it's hard to concentrate."
She shoved a tator tot in her mouth as a plate of food was slid in front of me. "Thanks Merman," I said. He nodded and sat down beside me.
"I've been thinking," Avery said, spreading her arms as if she was holding a table. "Maybe the shadow world is like an undersea current. You go in there and you're just pulled down the stream like a.. cork or something."
Well that's sort of what it felt like. I nodded, looking at her bright gold eyes.
"Maybe you just need to learn how to swim. Maybe it's not moving your arms and legs, but using your powers to slow the current of the shadow world. Understand?" she asked, looking at me.
"Yeah," I nodded slowly. "I guess I could try that." I went silent, thinking about it as I started to eat. I smiled as I saw Merman had grabbed yogurt for my little buddy. I opened it and offered the lid to him, which he quickly started to lap up. After I crumpled it up, he stood up on my lap, his hind paws on my legs and his fore paws on the table, digging his face into the yogurt. I laughed and shook my head but something was still bothering me. "Listen. Just a few minutes ago, I just started sinking into the ground. I wasn't concentrating and I sort of became a shadow. Like quicksand. And it didn't seem like even Caedmon could pull me out."
Avery frowned at that. "Caedmon should be able to pull you out from anything."
"Bad shadow pulling. I saw-" I clamped a hand over Caedmon's messy muzzle before he could finish.
"What? What does he mean bad shadow?" Avery asked.
"Yeah- why are you-" Merman frowned as I released Caedmon's muzzle.
"He just... makes up things," I laughed nervously. Caedmon's ears lowered and he made a pouty face. I told him mentally we weren't going to talk about the bad shadow man. But that also gave me a little hope. If it was the shadow guy that had pushed me into that strange place, he could have been making me hallucinate, right? Maybe that wasn't real...
"No he doesn't. What's going on that you aren't telling us?" Avery demanded. Merman stared at me.
I groaned. "You guys won't believe me," I mumbled.
"Try me," Avery said, inclining a brow. Her brows were such a bleached blonde they were almost invisible.
I exhaled. "Not. Here." I said tightly.
"Okay. We meet in the training room after laser tag- which I'm sorry to say you won't participate in, Justin," Avery said firmly.
"Okay," I sighed. "I guess I'll see you guys then." I said before getting back to my food. Not that I was hungry. All I could think of was those tanks, the scale, but most of all those orange eyes.
Even though I wasn't able to participate in the laser tag tournament I was able to watch everything that happened on a series of twelve televisions. It was more entertaining than a movie. Merman looked to be pretending to be in a war game, hiding behind walls and sometimes peeking out to look around and maybe shoot one or two people before dashing further into the fake town.
I wanted to sneak in and tell him that I saw the Ventus Rex group teaming up to snipe from the rooftops. But it was too late. He got hit. I looked around and watched an electric Rider shock the pee out of someone, shutting down the whole game. I whistled, glad that I wasn't him.
"Come on buddy. The games' over." I scooted the wheely chair back and looked around. "Buddy?"
Purple orbs lit up in the corner and he loped towards me before jumping up to have his forepaws rest on my knees. Then something warm and wet plopped onto my thigh. "Caed- what is that?" I grimaced as I realized it was a little gift. "Wonderful buddy but.. I'm not hungry right now," I said, picking it up by the tail. I looked around the controls room. The administrator lady had already left to take care of the shocker and shockee, so I was alone. I smirked to myself before slowly putting the mouse over her steaming coffee.
I shouldn't.
But I could.
Plop.
"Let's get out of here!" I whispered, barely hiding a laugh as I jumped to my feet. Caedmon sensed my excitement and he jumped in place by my feet, ready to run.
And run we did.
Soon as I got to the room, I shut the door after Caedmon trotted in after me, laughing my head off. "Haha..ha... I wish I could see her face," I said, sliding down the door as he pawed at my legs in excitement. I stroked his scaly neck and spine with a happy sigh. Suddenly he stiffened and his lips pulled back in a snarl. I frowned before looking up to see crouched in the shadow of the couch was a guy with short black hair and bright purple eyes. Handsome, yet frightening because he wasn't in the mirror. His finger slid over his lips.
Caed growled and his back arched, wings spreading to make himself appear larger. The purple mist once again started to writhe around his neck and swishing tail.
"Cady- no, just let me talk darn it," the guy whispered.
I grabbed Caedmon and held him back. "Okay then. Talk." I said frostily.
"You can't tell them about me," he said, his brows pinching in worry. "That'll compromise.. everything."
"Compromise what? You have a mission or something? Who do you work for?" I demanded.
He waved his hand. "You'll know soon enough. All you need to know is I'm a friend. I'm the one who pulled you back after you sleep-phased to Anchorage."
"Well friends tell each other secrets don't they? And friends actually know each other. That's pretty important." I snapped.
"I know I'm sorry." He sighed. "But I'm not exactly welcome around here."
"And why would that be?" I demanded.
"Because I found out the truth about this place," he retorted. I didn't know I could look so menacing when I glared. "Listen kid," he said, looking around shiftily. I heard footsteps of my friends. He started looking desperate. "You want answers- I'll give you some. Long as you don't say a peep about me. I'm not supposed to even be talking to you."
The door knob twisted and I stepped forwards to allow my friends to come inside.
"Why were you leaning against the door?" Avery asked, raising a brow at the sight of angry Caedmon wiggling in my arms. Merman walked in behind her
"No reason," I waved a hand, plopping down on my tattered blue bean bag. Caedmon crawled off me to sniff at the spot where my double had been seconds before.
"Okay.." Avery plopped onto the chair so that her long white legs cradled the back support. "So spit it out, shadow boy."
Merman nodded in agreement and sat down in the hot pink bean bag, the palm of his hand resting on his knee.
"Well...." I weighed my options. Telling my friends what I know, or knowing more later. Well.. maybe I could just wait until the other guy gave me more intel later and share that with them then. "Today when my... shadow powers were going crazy... I went somewhere. It had.. these people in tubes. Wires sticking out of their heads. And.. dragon scales..." Now that I was thinking about it I could remember things in jars. "Jars of stuff.. it was the creepiest thing I've ever seen."
Avery looked shocked and Merman looked suspicious. "You sure you weren't.."
"He knows what he's saying," Avery snapped. I was surprised that Avery would jump to my rescue. She leaned forwards. "Maybe this is an enemy base you discovered." She said. "You better tell General-"
"That's the thing. Someone came in soon as I popped up in there and I swear- it was him," I said. "No one else could yell like that."
Avery looked stunned. "No- that can't be true. There's got to be an explanation for that. He has Mardu, he'd never be with- with the enemy."
"What's the enemy?" I asked, glancing at Merman's shocked face.
Avery sighed. "Anyone who's the enemy of the United States, doofus."
"I have a feeling that's not what you were meaning when you said that statement." I said, running a finger over the purple hued gas swirling around Caedmon's neck. It felt like fake smoke.
She sighed. "Okay, there's another sector but you have to promise not to speak a word of it to anyone," she said sternly. "Got it?"
"Yes ma'am," Merman said and I nodded eagerly in agreement.
She let out a long sigh before leaning back. "Okay. They are an old group, dating back to the Vikings. Call themselves Mjolnir, which is-"
"Thor's hammer," I couldn't help but pipe up.
"Well.. yeah." She looked a little shocked that I knew that.
"Avengers," I explained with a shrug.
"Oh.." she said although she clearly seemed to not know. Seriously, what kind of hole did this girl live in? I guess military boot camp counts as a 'hole'. Haha. Wow I really need to grow up. "Well anyway, they are a group of 'hunters' devoted to hunting down dragons. That's why Mardu has a perimeter set up around this place-we set foot out there and our dragons are easy game."
"So How to Train your Dragon is a true story," Merman whispered. I could swear there was hearts in his eyes. He probably couldn't wait to tell Larissa.
"Every fairy tale has a sliver of some truth in it," Avery rolled his eyes.
I wasn't buying it. "I think that sounds like a tall tale Mardu told you to get you to stay in the boundaries. Sounds stupid."
"How about you go out of bounds after midnight and see if I'm right?" she shot back like an actual seven year old.
"Already did. Made it to Anchorage actually," I said with a cross look.
She paused and stiffened. "Right. We need to do something about you shadow travelling during the night."
"I stay up- watch until he get better." Caedmon was the first to volunteer. He then started nomming on my shoelaces.
"That's probably going to be our best option until you get a hold of yourself again." Avery exhaled. "Which leads me to my next proposition. Meditation."
"Okay... I'm going to head out." Merman excused himself, slowly standing up. "Got to swim with 'Rissa. See ya."
"Bye."
I waved as he walked out.
The next few hours Avery concentrated on getting me to meditate. Which was basically just sitting there, listening to your heart beat, and getting all emotion out of your body.
"Perfect." She said finally. "Open your eyes."
When I did, I found an ugly mask leering inches from my face, jutting teeth and blind white eyes staring unblinkingly. I didn't know it was a mask at first so I yelped and found myself sinking back into shadow world. "Get 'im Caed," Avery said, pulling the mask back and throwing it behind a chair. Caedmon, the bold little fireman, came to my rescue with ultimate seriousness in his violet eyes. He turned into shadow, grabbed me, and yanked me back into the real world, where I panted on a bean bag.
"Good job Caed," she said, presenting him with a little cat treat. To my surprise he ate it and licked off her fingers before chirping happily. "English," she said sternly to him, knowing he could already speak.
"Tank you!" he carefully enunciated.
"You got him trained better than a police dog," I said dryly, wiping my forehead.
"It's called positive reinforcement. And he's going to be the one saving your butt twenty four seven until you're well, so I suggest you treat him pretty nicely," she said, crouching down to pet him. "That's crazy that he has a little... smoke mane or something," she said, trying to see it but it was gone now. "I've only seen something like that one a sun dragon."
"It is pretty cool." I agreed with a sigh. "So does that conclude our lessons?"
"Yes," she sighed, looking at the time. "But remember, try not to feel emotion too much. That's what makes you phase."
"I can pull it off, Vulcan style." I said sarcastically, doing the tradition 'V' Vulcan symbol.
"What?" she looked confused.
"You never heard of Star- nevermind," I shook my head.
She shrugged and put on her backpack. "Tomorrow we start training on how to use knives in combat. I'll see you there."
I gulped as I picked up Caedmon. "Okay.." Finally we start combat training...
That night, for the first time in a while, I didn't have any visits from shadow me. I did keep waking up to Caedmon pulling me back onto my bed from shadow world through the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
General Landin was at his wit's end.
Someone had been down there. He knew it. He had heard them, seen them throw that scale. No one should be down there. There's no way anyone had been down there. The security was as high and tight as the Pentagon. It should be impossible. He grabbed a napkin and wiped his forehead free of that cold sweat as he plopped down in his leather office chair. "Mardu..."
"Yes Rothai," Mardu materialized in front of the lamp in the office, his hands behind his back and his eyes full of concern for his Rider.
"Check-check all the students whereabouts at exactly thirteen hundred hours," he said, scooting closer to the desk.
Mardu nodded and typed into the computer quickly. A hologram whirred into existence, showing all the levels on the base like layers on the cake. Little different colored lights meandered about like lightning bugs. "I want to see the... the Holding Room," he said hoarsely. "Show me the Holding Room."
"Bobby, we can't monitor down there. Unless you would like me to pull up surveillance pictures," Mardu said helpfully, his fingers gliding over the keyboard.
"Yeah- show me those," Landin said, feeling rather queasy. He ran his fingers down his beard.
Mardu would have tried to comfort him, but he realized now was not the time. A night vision surveillance camera came up with the image of the Holding Room, the men and women floating peacefully in their tanks, the large table full of jars and scales. The blue lights shone brightly as white glare and he leaned closer, peering at the corner. "It was there- right there," he said, pointing to the corner of the room. He saw himself open the door and step inside. "Movement! Zoom in!" General Landin barked, pointing frantically to the darkened body and frightened expression. Mardu nodded and immediately narrowed in on the scene, revealing someone on the ground, apparently hiding from Landin's presence. "Who is that?" Landin sputtered, sending a spray of spit in the air as he poked his finger right into the hologram person's chest.
"I can run a facial scan," Mardu said. "But I'm doubtful it will turn up with anything. He's surprisingly dark, even for the night vision cameras."
"You mean he's dark skinned?" Landin demanded.
"No... I mean he's.... I'm not sure but he's just not showing up well." Mardu murmured as he closed in on the figure until the face appeared grainy. Two bright spheres revealed that this was indeed a Rider.
"What color are his eyes!" Landin demanded.
"I'm sorry, sir," Mardu said, looking at his keyboard. "But night vision can't pick up colors like that."
"I want a whole new security system installed, that's an order!" Landin barked. Mardu offered him a Kleenex with his long golden tail. Landin took it gratefully and dabbed his forehead again. "I want new cameras, and motion sensors in there pronto."
"Yes sir," Mardu said smartly, making mental note to tell that to the others later. He waited as the green bar slowly rose by the face. Finally it came up with NO MATCH in tantalizingly bright green letters.
Landin looked a bit faint. "Better not be Tyler," he mumbled under his breath. "Mardu-let's rule out the students. Run a check to make sure they were all present at that time."
Mardu nodded and typed on the keyboard so fast that the spacebar almost went flying into space. "Got it sir. Two hundred seventy nine expected. Two hundred seventy.. eight present." He said, eyes widening.
"Who wasn't present!?" Landin yelled and stood up quickly.
Mardu gulped as he came up with the answer. "Justin, sir."
"Justin.. the only one who could go through the defenses..." Landin said softly.
"General, sir," Mardu protested.
"Don't call me that, Mardu." General Landin snapped.
"Bobby," Mardu amended. "He's been popping off the grid since he fell. Even in his sleep."
"And let me guess. He just happened to pop up in the MOST TOP KEPT SECRET IN THIS WHOLE (@&#$( PLACE?" Landin yelled before panting. "Who knows where he's been. He could be the ruin of our whole... thing we've got here." He sputtered and fisted his hands in his short hair.
Mardu could sense how tense he was getting and his brows pinched. "Stonewall will be here in just eight days to retrieve him," he said, putting a reassuring hand on General Landin's shoulder. "We just need to keep an eye on him until then."
Landin shook his head, biting his lower lip. "Mardu- we can't keep an eye on him. That's the problem. Whenever he goes on his little excursions, we can't track him. And I've been expressly forbidden by General Smith to disable his powers." He sighed. "He doesn't know what we're dealing with here. I don't know what I'm dealing with."
"We still have a chance," Mardu said. "Once Stonewall whips him into shape, he could be used for any number of things."
"We're going to have to send him to the Wolves." Landin said grimly.
"The Wolves? Bobby, you know what the Wolves will do to him," Mardu said, his gold eyes widening. "You pulled strings to help Tyler evade them- can't we do the same for Justin?"
"Tyler tried to get into my files," Landin shook his head. "Justin has not only been found with my files, but he's broken into the Hold. We can't have that. Who knows how many students he's told already. Or how much he knows."
"Bobby-"
"You know I don't take any pleasure in this either, Mardu," Landin said. "But he's got to go." With a wave of his hand, the hologram was gone. And secretly, in the shade of the desk, a certain shadow grinned devilishly.