because it would make me look busy just in case Ziora tried to talk to me. If it were any other day I would have been happy to find out her and Golden Boy had stopped their relationship.
I stared blankly down at the open book on the desk and glanced up when I heard someone take a seat next to me. It was Ziora. I smiled but dropped my eyes to read the same word over and over again on the page. I flipped the page from time to time to make it look legit. I could sense her looking at me. She probably thought that she had done something wrong. I would eventually tell her the truth regarding everything, but I still felt to raw. My feelings of anger and sadness were a potent combination. Class finally started. Ziora shifted her seat.
Throughout the class all I heard was droning. I couldn’t decipher one speech form another, not even Ziora’s. Coming to school, perhaps had been a bad idea. I couldn’t get my mind around that my father wasn’t alive, or how my mom was acting as if my life was in danger. What was up with that creepy ass figure in the court yard? The bell rang to rush me out of my thoughts. I quickly packed my book and left the class.
I decided I was going to give the computer teacher a coffee timeout. I entered the computer lab and no one was in there. Well, at least I didn’t have to smell stale coffee smacking my face when she spoke to me. I sat down and sighed. I turned on the computer, and, of course, hacked the firewall. I logged into my email, and there wasn’t a message saying I was in danger. It was an email from my dad…
-4-
I didn’t bother to read the subject line. I quickly ran the pointer to the email and clicked on it.
Son, if you are reading this it is too late for me. I am gone. All my life I have tried to protect you, so that you didn’t have to lead the life that I use to live. I didn’t want you to lead that life, but as I type this I can no longer protect you. I tried to protect you from so much. Probably too much. Right now this makes no sense to you, and you probably think I’ve lost my mind but I haven’t. Your life is in danger, and there is no time to waste. You will soon find out what I mean by everything in this email, but you need to trust me. You must go into hiding. They will come after you and try to kidnap you.
My eyes started to well up, but I continued on with the email.
Son, you are the key to preventing a war between your people. If you can’t do this the world is in trouble. I’m sorry that I wasn’t around, but I needed to do what I could to prevent this war, but it looks like I have failed. This cannot happen to you. You must succeed. Do not let my death be in vain.
The email ended. What in the world was going on here? Why would my father send that to me? And, what was he talking about my people? I rubbed my temples. I heard footsteps and a door click shut. Ziora came into the computer lab. This had to be the worse timing ever.
“Hey,” She smiled at me. She didn’t come close to me but lingered near the desk.
“Hey…” I responded back to her.
“You seem a little off today…” She started to say but then hesitated.
“Compared to what? You don’t really know me. You started speaking to me only a few days ago.” I said harshly. It wasn’t her. It was me. I wasn’t in the mood to talk especially now, with all this crazy crap going on. “I’m sorry…I’m just having a bad day.”
“I know…your behavior isn’t like your usual self; even if I have only known you a couple of days. You can talk to me. You know that right?” she said. I didn’t know that for sure if I could confide in her with my problems. I wanted to, but should I?
“What did you get on your final?” I didn’t want to confide in her just yet.
“A-“ she responded. “You know I just might need to pick your brain a little more so that I can actually get into a decent college after senior year.” She sat down now. I stared blankly at her. I heard what she was saying but it didn’t register. My mind was focused on something else. I just needed air maybe. I shouldn’t have come to school. My mom had been right. I attempted to say something but I looked like I was constipated. So, I just got up and left without warning. I felt bad leaving her in the computer lab all by herself, but I needed to be alone right now.
I stepped out into the court yard which was deserted due to finals week. Then across the way I saw the cloaked figure. I couldn’t distinguish if ‘it’ was a male or female. I really hope it was a guy because they were jacked up. A sense of dread welled inside me at the person just stood there looking at me.
“We finally meet,” The cloaked figure spoke in a raspy tone.
“Listen, all my homework has been submitted this year, so if this is the principals’ way of saying I have to take a final exam…well, hey I’m unprepared but why not?”
“Come quietly and there will be no problems.” How cliché and bizarre…time to go. Only my legs didn’t want to cooperate with me, so I stood still instead of running. Then I saw the mans’ arms starting to glow red through his shirt. Was I seeing things?
“Wow, cool special effects.” I choked out; my legs were still not wanting to run. Suddenly Ziora showed up.
“Leave him be,” She commanded. Wow, now a girl fighting my battles for me? Great. Then I noticed her arms glowing green. What was going on here?
“Oh, Ziora. You betray me. I suspected this, that is why I decided to come and do the job myself.
“You will not hurt him. You would have to go through me.” She asserted. Where did this tough girl come from? Didn’t know whether to find this sexy or intimidating.
“I’m pretty sure your arms shouldn’t be lighting up like that! You need a nurse,” I sputtered franticly.
“Bryce, this isn’t the time.” Wow, she just shut me up.
“Ziora, move out of the way. You are no match for me,” the man threatened. I couldn’t see his face, but, by the way he stood, I could sense he was an intimidating figure. The glowing red arms didn’t help either. “I will not leave here until I have…Bryce.”
“Zelter, I will not let you have him!” She proclaimed. Wow…she did care. My legs started to cooperate with my brain but only to work in reverse. I stumbled backwards. The red glow began to pulsate ominously.
“So be it. I thought you would be my little solider. We could have ruled together but…” The man lifted both his arms and shot a blazing fireball at me. Instinct which I didn’t know where it came from, had me jumping out of the way. The fireball blazed as it made contact with the ground.
“Oh crap!!!” I leapt up from where I’d landed only to have another fireball come at me. I dodged it, and it hit a tree behind me.
“Leave him alone.” I heard Ziora say as I got up and started running again, but the man somehow blocked my path before I’d gotten very far.
“If you keep this up we can never be friends,” I looked around to see where Ziora was only to see her getting up weakly. Damn, what was I to do?
“Oh, I think we’ll become great friends,” The man snarled.
“Not with social skills like that,” I retorted. Ziora staggered in front of me.
“We have to get out of here,” She whispered.
“I had that idea long before you did,” I remarked and began to move backwards. Then the man shot another flame at us, but this time it looked like it came from a flamethrower. I dove to the ground and expected to feel the fire at any moment…only I didn’t. When I looked up, Ziora had an eerie blue and white bubble surrounding us: the fire was dancing around it but couldn’t penetrate it. Well, at least not yet.
“I can’t hold this much longer.” Ziora said through gritted teeth. I watched as her face strained with effort.
“Let them go!” Another voice was shouting. The fire disappeared, and Ziora nearly collapsed as she released the force field.
“Bryce, Ziora. Run!” The voice commanded. So familiar… then I finally noticed that it was my mom.
“Mom, what…”
“Bryce, go!” She was shouting as she stare
d down the hooded man.
“You actually think you, a pesky human, can stop me?”
“We have to go, and now,” Ziora pulled on my arm.
“No! I’m not leaving her!” I ran towards my mom.
“Bryce, don’t…” Ziora tried to stop me, but she couldn’t. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the man make another attempt at me with a fireball. Ziora quickly zapped it down with a giant green flame of her own, but the whole thing was a little too close to me, and the collisions of both fireballs sent me flying into a large tree.
“Bryce!” my mom cried out. There was a small cut on my hand where I tried to brace myself, and I’d hit my head pretty hard.
“I guess my life really is in danger, huh?”
“Give him to me, and I will let you live.” The man proclaimed. Ziora rushed to my side.
“We have to get out of here. We can’t let him get to you.”
“I’m pretty sure he already has.” I groaned. Then the bell rang to let out class. Wow, saved by the bell.
“We will finish this later,” the man growled before he ran off. Kids started to fill in the courtyard. No one seemed to be freaking out from the blazing fire then I noticed there was no fire.
“I put them out. Didn’t want people questioning,” Ziora said with a shrug.
“I didn’t see you do that.”
“Well, you were hardly functioning at top capacity.”
“Yeah, well…wait!” I turned my attention to my mother. “Mom! What