Esper Chapter 3: Lost in thought

Part 1

Halted outside his own front door; Nicolaus Thompson prepared to enter the apartment. Dreading whatever secret his sister, Daniella withheld, left the pessimist thinking up dismal scenarios. (First, mental preparation. Deep breaths. Finally, clench your teeth and take the plunge…or not!) He paced back and forth on the landing for minutes, wondering what awaited him on the other side of that door! It continued for a bit until a rather tall, Hispanic man walked up to him.

“Excuse me sir, are you okay?” The man spoke with a thick accent.

“Uh…I’m fine.” Despite the misanthrope’s anti-social personality, recognizing other residents of his apartment complex was easy. (This guy looks like he has way too much money to even be here.) Thick black locks and eyebrows too, rugged jawline with a wide nose; the man was fit to be an action movie star! Dressed cleanly, in a gray khaki jacket, slim fitting brown pants and stylish loafers; Nicolaus, in comparison, became self-conscious of his own lazy appearance. Observing such a distinct man, Nicolaus concluded, he had never seen him before. “Sorry, you don’t live in this complex, right?”

“No, I’m visiting. You are Nicolaus?”

“Yes. Why…?”

“Yes! I could tell, the way you ball your fist up underneath your chin like… ‘The Thinker’ while pacing; Dani does the same thing.”

“Oh god…you’re Dani’s boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“Yes! You understood fast.”

The door to the apartment flew open! Dani leaned halfway out and locked eyes with her brother, and then the tall Hispanic man, who waved back with a smile. “Okay, so…this happened faster than I thought it would. Nick, Alonso, can we take this inside?” At the behest of a frowning young woman, both men entered the flat.

After taking a seat in the kitchen, Nicolaus sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and then spoke. “This can’t be the only thing you had to tell me. I know you Dani, and a boyfriend isn’t so problematic that you would hide it from Mom and Laurence. Get on with it!”

“…” For the first time in over a decade, Nicolaus witnessed his younger sister unable to retort!

“Dani, I can tell Nicolaus if you want.” Alonso chimed in.

“No! No…I’ll do it.” She took a deep breath and then exhaled. “I’m pregnant! Surprise…!”

“Ah…fuck!” Nicolaus exclaimed in response! “Why did you have to tell me this? I’m going to assume you want me to keep this a secret.”

“Yes, please!”

“Damnit! Agh…” All reservations out the window, frustrated; the pessimist furiously fussed with his hair again!

“Wow!” The suave and cool-headed Alonso said. “You two are so much alike.”

“Not now, Alonso.” Dani shushed.

“I’m even more confused than before. I’ve got so many questions. Why are you here? Why tell me? Is this guy the reason that you've not been home in so long? No offense, Alonso. Most of all, why in God’s name are you still smoking?!”

“Hang on, Nick. I did stop smoking! I just put a cigarette in my mouth by mistake now and again.”

“Okay, what about everything else?”

“I came here to check on you; that part is legit! The reason I’m telling you is… so maybe you can help us tell Mom and Laurence. Also, no; it’s not because of Alonso that I’ve been away all this time. That, I’ll get into later.”

Just then Nicolaus’s phone rang. Though it was an unknown number, he had a feeling it was the police. He closed himself off in bathroom and shut the door, leaving his sister and her soon to be baby-daddy alone. On the other side of the phone an officer spoke to him, requesting a meeting at the station as soon as possible. He agreed, hung up, then attempted to call Vernon. The call was forwarded to voice mail, so Nicolaus sent a text message instead. Once finished, he exited the bathroom and relayed the information with the two who he left waiting.

“I’ll drive you there!” Dani offered.

“No. I’m fine. I’ll be back soon.”

“No you don’t!” Dani got up, grasping at Nicolaus’s arm! “You’ve still got my keys, so I’m going to assume you’re going to try and take my car. That’s not happening again! Last time, I had no idea where you were all night! You want to go without taking a bus, then Alonso and I are going to drive you!”

“Why?”

“We need to pick up some things from the hardware store anyway. Alonso is really good with his hands and he’s really strong, right babe?”

“She is very nice, I’m average.” A modest reply from Alonso.

With a sigh, Nicolaus gave, in seeing that he was fighting a losing battle.

They all piled into Dani’s car and drove down towards the police station. On the way, Alonso and Dani sung along to a song on the radio. Ignoring them in favor of isolating himself, Nicolaus, as a modern-day hermit, loathed such an activity. When his sister began singing in Spanish, however, it caught his attention. (I guess all the time away really has taught her some new things.) It was a skill he’d never known she possessed. (Can’t treat her like the same brat from when we were kids anymore, huh. Have I changed at all since then, I wonder. Doubt it.)

“Hey Nick, what’s going on? You’re awfully quiet back there.” Dani turned all the way around in her seat to question her brooding brother. He’d unintentionally slumped down with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head.

“Just thinking back to when we were kids.”

“Ah, that explains why you’re dressing like an edgy teenager again.”

“What? Shut up.”

“You’re wearing that same black hoodie you’ve had since high school.” Dani referred to the hooded jacket Nicolaus grabbed before exiting the apartment, as the temperature had dropped significantly.

“I like this hoodie! Also, it’s not the same one. You don’t remember, but you borrowed it from my closet back in your senior year when I had already left for college. Then you texted me and told me that you lost it at a concert.”

“Haha…was that what happened?”

“Yes. That’s what happened.” The hoodie Nicolaus wore was black with red trimmings and the image of a red silhouetted skeleton.

“Well, you’re an adult now. You shouldn’t be wearing that anyway.”

“Screw off! I’ll wear whatever I want. I don’t care what people think.” Upon reaching the police station Nicolaus immediately noticed the friendly waitress, Katie Vang walking through the front door. Quickly ducking out of his ‘favorite’ hoodie, Nicolaus left it behind in the car.

“Hey, you’re forgetting something!”

“D-Don’t worry about. I’m not actually that cold.” Despite grandstanding, the thin red tee-shirt Nicolaus wore wasn’t enough for the sub sixty-degree temperature. He rushed into the station leaving Dani chuckling in the passenger seat.

“You and your brother have a nice relationship.”

“Being apart so long made things… whatever, let’s hurry before the store closes, Alonso!”

Part 2

People frantically scurried about the station! A rather long and imposing line at the front stretched across the entrance way. From criminals being arrested to the average-joe in need of help, the sea of people crashing, bumping into and dashing by Nicolaus, choked him with unease! A few officers hurried past not giving him a chance to ask anything, only furthering the young man’s frustration. With no assistance from the staff, officers, or other civilians, Nicolaus pessimistically slumped his shoulders and stood in the middle of the chaos, totally lost.

“Kid! You, over there!” An old police officer called out! “Come here!” The man wrapped his arm around Nicolaus’s neck and whisked away from the crowd!

“Did I do something wrong?”

“What? No. You don’t remember me?” The spiky haired misanthrope quizzically tilted his head. The disheveled and graying white officer exaggeratedly sighed at the young man’s obvious confusion. “Tobias Bennet, I’m the detective from the hospital!” It hit Nicolaus suddenly! The officer did in fact leave his name, but upon hearing people from the incident were dying, every subsequent detail went over his head.

“Sorry, after you…delivered the news, I kind of blanked out at the hospital.”

“Don’t apologize! It’s my fault for not being on my game back then. Raquel would’ve gotten on me for forgetting to lead with my name. Anyway, you’re trying to find out where to go, right? Follow me. You’re scheduled to meet with me and my partner.” Detective Bennet led Nicolaus through the station. Tobias Bennet, despite having the features of a man in his fifties possessed none of the mannerisms associated with said age. His posture was good; he didn’t grumble when speaking and was generally pleasant. “Alright kid, wait here. We’ve got one of your friends in there.” An unfamiliar woman’s stern voice escaped just as the door shut. The old Detective left his nervous guest seated outside of the interrogation room.

After sending a text message to the group about waiting to meet with the police, Nicolaus looked around for Katie. He hadn’t seen her since entering the station, so he assumed she was getting interrogated. Time passed, then door opened, and Katie exited! Laying eyes on Nicolaus brought a smile to her face. “Spike, thank God! I thought they were just bringing me in.”

“What did they say to you?” Before Katie could reply, a young woman around their age interjected!

“Mr. Thompson, you can talk with her later. If you would…this way, please.” She physically pulled Nicolaus away from Katie leaving his question unanswered. He was sat down at a table in the interrogation room. It was at that point Nicolaus’s anxiety roared back to life!

(Dammit. My stomach is doing flips! Do they know about what happened last night? Are they going to question me? That would make sense since they wouldn’t let me talk to Katie. They don’t want us to corroborate our stories!) His mind continued to race until Officer Bennet entered the room flanked by the female officer from before. Her physical build betrayed the common female cop stereotype; neither tall nor appearing muscular. In her all-burgundy pants suit with black boots and neatly cut shoulder length black curls; the woman looked more like a normal girl to Nicolaus’s than an investigator. Eyes so gray they almost shimmered silver contrasted with her light brown skin, and lush lips sat perfectly below a slender nose. (The universe is just throwing good looking people in my face. This has gotta’ be some kind of sign…sign that the world likes making fun of me for being average.)

“I’m Raquel Childs - Detective Raquel Childs. I believe you know my partner, Tobias Bennet…” The lady detective introduced herself as she took a seat alongside her much older partner.

“He knows my name, Raquel.” Tobias said with a smile.

“Well, thank goodness for that. One part of being a detective is being thorough. Forgetting to give out your name would be a huge mistake.” Her pointed words cut deep into the aging detective, causing him to choke on his coffee.

“Um…” Nicolaus drew the conversation back in his direction. “Can I ask why I was brought in?”

“Right, well…here’s the thing…we’ve finished our initial investigations at the site of the incident, yesterday.”

“Oh…” Nicolaus’s heart kicked the inside of his chest! (What do I say? I can’t think of anything! Should I just come clean? No, no, no! If they had anything on me, they’d be way more in my face about it.) Any expertise on police procedure Nicolaus touted came solely from television.

“We were told that you and your friends from the incident are being cleared to return to work and school.”

“Oh…oh?! Oh! Okay! Hahaha!” Nicolaus started laughing uncontrollably! Both detectives looked at each other, confused about that unexpectedly odd reaction. The often-pessimistic Nicolaus’s grim outlook melted away with all the tension throughout his body in the form of laughter.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes! I’m fine! I’m totally fine!” He continued to laugh.

“Uh, okay. We’re sorry to have…frightened you? We’re just very busy right now, so this is the only room we could bring you to.”

“Why are you busy? Is something going on?”

“That’s police business. I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. Here, take this.” Detective Childs pushed a small business card across the table, on it were written directions. “These are directions to a clinic nearby. It’s recommended that you go there today. If you drop by, the doctor will clear you to go back to work as soon as possible, after a checkup.”

“T-Thanks.” Nicolaus was holding his stomach from cramps caused by laughing off the stress that had built. “Um…that’s all, right? I can go?”

“Yup, that’s all kid. We actually need to see the other kids too.” Detective Bennet said, getting up from his seat. They opened the door and let Nicolaus exit.

On his way out, Nicolaus took notice of the young chubby Asian boy, Harper Wolf, seemingly lost alongside of an unknown man in the precinct lobby. “Hey Nick! What’s going on, man?” Harper quickly broke from the man, leaving him alone.

“Nothing to worry about. They just want us to go to the doctor’s and then they’ll let us go back to work and school.” They spoke in a hushed tone to avoid any possible eavesdroppers.

“Well, I…heard someone talking about the officers.”

“Huh?” Color drained from Nicolaus’s face all at once. “What do you mean?”

“I was listening to some people talking on the way in, and I heard that the two officers from last night…are fucking AWOL.”

“What?”

“They said something about ‘Kevin’ and ‘Niles’ missing.”

“…” Speechless. It was inconceivable that the bodies weren’t found. Once again, the feeling of impending doom crept its way into Nicolaus’s mind.

Officer Bennet walked up and placed his hand on Nicolaus’s shoulder snapping him back to reality! “What are you still doing here, kid? You should get going before it gets too late. As for you…”

“Harper Wolf, sir!”

“You come with me. Hmm…?” Officer Bennet’s attention was drawn to the mysterious, good-looking man who’d accompanied Harper. “Uh…are you Harper Wolf’s guardian?”

“I’m actually his father. My name is Calvin Wolf.” Calvin Wolf, a slender, tall, handsome white man, dressed in a brown suit, wearing designer glasses. The idea of that being Harper’s father baffled Nicolaus and Tobias. “If it’s okay, I’d like to join him.” He spoke in a tranquil, yet confident tone.

“That’s fine. Come on, we’re busy, so we’ve got to get this done quickly! Take care, kid!” Officer Bennet bid farewell as he led Harper and his father through the station.

Exiting the building, Nicolaus sat on a nearby bench while pondering his next move. (…So, they didn’t find them… What does that mean? Did they even look for them? Something just isn’t right here.) So wrapped up in thought, Nicolaus didn’t notice the person sitting beside him trying to get his attention. (Could Harper have lied about calling the police? Even if he did, the police should’ve found them by tracking the patrol car. Or those two officers should have reported following us to the ridge. Nothing is adding up!) Once again Nicolaus started running his fingers through his spiky black hair! (I’ve still got to go and get this checkup done, but before that I’m going to text the others.) Upon pulling his cell phone out Nicolaus noticed that Katie was calling him. It made him shutter a bit, but he answered with a relaxed ‘Hello’ all the same, only to be greeted with a ‘Hello’ at the same exact time. A sudden tap at the shoulder caused the befuddled young man to turn and see Katie, leaning in close with her face barely an inch away from him! “Woah!”

That exaggerated reaction made Katie laugh hysterically! “Hahaha! Sp-Spike, that was great! Haha…”

Nicolaus wasn’t happy, in fact, he was embarrassed. He tried to play it off coolly. “O-Oh, Katie. You surprised me. Heh.” Trying to brush away nonexistent bangs from his face made Katie only laugh harder!

“Pfft!! Stop, stop! You’re killing me!”

“That wasn’t the plan…” Mortified, the young computer technician tried to get back to a vertical base as he’d fallen from his seat. “At least you’re in a good mood. I’ve got something to tell you.” After explaining what had happened to the two officers, Katie let loose a big sigh and slumped down on the bench.

“That’s good though. I don’t see any problem.”

“It’s a huge problem! We’ll keep talking, but for now we should move. Getting too in-depth out in front of the police station would be a bad idea.”

“Right!”

Part 3

Through a bustling downtown Trenton, Katie and Nicolaus walked towards the small doctor's office known as ‘The Anderson family’s Clinic’. It was sandwiched in between a much larger condominium and general store. Nicolaus texted Dani, telling her that he’d be busy for a while and she shouldn’t worry.

“Who ya’ texting?” The plucky, young red head inquired.

“Uh - oh, just…my sister. She’s in town.”

“You have a sister? Must be nice. I’m an only child. Are you older or younger?”

“Older; by three years.”

“Really? Hmm…” Katie rubbed her chin quizzically.

“What, you don’t believe me?”

“Nope! You seem more like the stereotypical little brother. You’re shy - a bit of a loner, very sarcastic, pretty dorky…”

“Is this just a thing that all women do with me?” He retorted under his breath. “Okay, okay, okay! Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.” Nicolaus reached out for the door to the clinic, but then it suddenly swung open just short of swiping his nose! Over a head and shoulders taller, a lanky, balding, older black man, stared down onto the two.

“May I…help you?” His deep voice and unflinching lifeless gaze sent a chill up Nicolaus’s spine.

“U-Uh…” Katie stammered, backing behind her companion.

“We’re here because the police told us…uh…” Before Nicolaus could finish his sentence, the man halted the conversation by raising his massive hand.

“…This way.” He turned about-face and walked into the building. A quick nod from Katie signaled to Nicolaus she was ready to follow him inside.

The two youngsters entered and were greeted with a surprise! The front lobby was unexpectedly pleasant! Toys for children, warm and inviting lighting, spotless walls and floors, even the receptionist was a joyful looking man who waved to them.

“…” Neither Nicolaus nor Katie could think of anything to say. The clinic’s interior clashed with the old man’s exterior, they expect something more akin to a torture chamber!

“Oh, Doctor!” The receptionist called out to the large man who’d led Katie and Nicolaus inside. “Your Daughter called. She said that the next patients are on their way over.”

“…I see. Thank you.” The apparent doctor reached his long arms behind the counter and grabbed a face mask and white cap. “…My name is…Doctor Daryl Childs…now then. Please follow me once again. Which one of you…is going first?”

Nicolaus extended a gentlemanly offer, allowing Katie to go first. “Ladies first.”

She didn’t want to go with the frightening man but relented quickly. “Fine…” She said while pouting at Nicolaus, who turned his head with a mischievous smirk. Off to the back they walked towards an office that was just out of sight, around a corner.

The receptionist made a phone call on the clinch’s line, giving Nicolaus a minute to use his cellphone and call Vernon. Despite them being on much better terms, phoning Vernon was still, for Nicolaus, stomach churning. No answer; thus the young man left a voice mail message and then sent a text to everyone in the group updating them on the situation. Finished, he sat down and just watched the television in the front lobby, patiently waiting.

A news program reminded Nicolaus of the ‘missing’ cops. “Hey, buddy!” The receptionist finished with his call and turned to Nicolaus. “A-Anything interesting happen in the world today? I’m kind of out of the loop.” The anti-social computer technician was horrible at pretending to be calm, and worse at inconspicuously acquiring information.

“No, I don’t remember anything big. Oh, wait! The president said he’d be coming to town again soon!”

“Really? That’s it?”

“Yup! Why?”

“Oh…nothing, nothing at all!” Nicolaus started fussing with his hair. (This is messed up. We’re so in the dark right now! I still have no idea of how to control that power from before; we don’t know why the others died, and now those police officers’ bodies are missing! Maybe getting a checkup is a good thing. If there’s anything wrong with me, then the doctor should be able to find it! I hope.)

The waiting continued for around a half an hour. Once the examination was finished, Katie was led out of the office by the Doctor. The young lady didn’t appear upset to Nicolaus, easing his shot nerves.

She walked over to talk. “Seems like some regular old tests, nothing to worry about.” Katie kept her voice low to avoid being heard.

“Good. I’ll be right back, but if you want, you can leave without me.” Nicolaus said, half-smiling as he followed the doctor to an exceedingly unremarkable examination room.

“…Okay, young man…” Doctor Childs closed the door behind them, offering Nicolaus a seat on the examination bed.

“Nicolaus! Uh…sir.”

“…Right…” He replied flipping through papers on a clipboard. “…Nicolaus…Thompson. I see that you’ve had no serious…health issues before, correct?”

“Yeah, always been pretty healthy. Aside from breaking my left arm when I was a teenager.”

“Do you…workout…?”

“Not as much as I probably should. Heheh…!”

“…I see. Are you…sexually active?”

“Haha, well…you know…” The unchanging expression on the Doctor’s face made defeated Nicolaus’s bluster. “N-No…”

“…Have you ever…been?”

“Yes! Yes, that much is true!” Nicolaus jumped at the opportunity to answer that question! “Uh…I mean, Yes. I have.”

“…Ok…”

(Man…this guy is impossible to read!) Though Nicolaus wasn’t good at reading people.

“…Here. Get changed into this…and I’ll be right back.” Nicolaus was handed a hospital gown as the doctor exited. While changing clothes, the text notification tone resounded from his phone.

Said message came from Vernon. It read: [We need to meet up at my place ASAP! I’ve got something huge to show you guys!]

(It’s probably not anything good.) Nicolaus dreaded.

A message came across from Harper saying: [Just tell us what it is now, dude!]

Vernon replied with: [Can’t! It’s something that needs to be seen, not told!]

Katie joined in with: a (>_<) emoticon. Which made Nicolaus chuckle.

(That girl is way too cute!)

The Doctor peeked his head into the room to find the swooning Nicolaus still unchanged.

“Uh…hang on, sorry!”

“…” Doctor Childs said nothing and simply waited quietly outside of the room. Nicolaus finished and the Doctor returned. He ran through all the normal tests. Checking his pulse, looking at tonsils, getting urine, a swab from his mouth, getting blood, etcetera. “…You seem to be fine. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary with my initial diagnosis. Once we get the tests back from the lab…we’ll have a much better picture, but for now…you seem just fine.”

Nicolaus let out a sigh of relief. In a way, that was the best news he’d received in what felt like an eternity! “Guess I can go then, right?”

“Just one last thing before you leave…” Nicolaus had already started putting on his clothes until the doctor spoke again. “Have you been…feeling different since the event – sorry I meant incident.”

“What do you mean by ‘different’?”

“Any…changes in diet, or needs, or have you started to feel sluggish, or more tense?”

“Sh-shouldn’t you had asked that earlier?” The sudden additional questioning worried the anxiety riddle young man.

“…I apologize. Now, have you felt different…?”

“…No…”

“…I see…”

Nicolaus and the Doctor locked eyes for what felt like minutes. Neither blinking nor averting their gazes. This went on for a few seconds in fact, until the Doctor let out a hefty yawn. Nicolaus stumbled at the sudden relief of tension in the room.

“Alright…you can leave now. I’ve still got…another two patients.”

“Right.” Nicolaus left the room, relieved and somehow still tense. Upon returning to the front room, he was shocked to see Katie waiting for him. “Oh!”

“What? Did you really think I’d leave without you?”

“I mean; you know…kind of.”

“Wow, jerk!” She said playfully while giving Nicolaus a light shove. “Did you see Vernon’s message?”

“Yeah; guess we know our next stop.”

“Sucks though…I don’t have a car. Are we…going to take the train…?”

“I guess so.”

“That’s really far though…and I’m in heels too.” Nicolaus looked down seeing Katie’s black strap heels.

(I can’t get Dani to just drive us there. I need to keep this on a need to know basis.) Nicolaus pondered for a second until Katie forced her phone into his face, displaying a taxi service. “Guess that’s the only choice.”

“Cool! I’ll order it…oh damn. I don’t have an account. Do you?” Flashing an innocent smile.

“Uh…no.”

“Geez!” Katie sighed. “Guess I could call Antonio.”

Nicolaus shuttered at the thought of having to ride in the same car as the girl he’d been turned down by and her boyfriend. “D-Don’t worry about it. Here, hand me your phone! I’ll make one really quick and then we can go!” Nicolaus snatched Katie’s phone and rapidly filled out all the needed information, even paid! “See; quick!”

“Oh ho…I’d expect no less from a computer guy. Oh, you paid?”

“Well, yeah!”

“Aw…I feel bad.”

“No, no, no! It’s a man’s place! Hehehe…” Nicolaus laughed while puffing out his chest.

“Hahaha!”

Part 4

Nicolaus would’ve taken the taxi’s passenger seat, if not for their intimidating driver. Beside Katie in the backseat, the two closely watched their shaved headed, tattooed, worn leather jacket wearing, driver existing totally at odds with his profile picture on the app! Nicolaus, akin to a frightened sheep, cowered deeper into his seat; Katie however, appeared unfazed.

With the radio blaring loud rock music, any conversation in the backseat was shielded from eavesdropping. “Hey, Spike, what do you think Vernon wants to talk about?” Katie whispered, eliciting a stifled yelp as her breath tickled Nicolaus’s ear.

“I’ve got no idea, really…heheh…” Nicolaus scooched aside, averting his gaze from Katie’s moderately low-cut shirt presenting sizeable cleavage. The redhead’s pale skin had freckles, Nicolaus knew that, but he became keenly aware of them extending down onto her breasts as well. (Just back up a little, please! This is why I wanted to sit up front! Everything from her looks, her attitude and even her scent are pleasant. I’ve got to keep myself under control. Fuck, why is she so much my type?!) Unable to back further into the car door, Nicolaus conceded to simply ignoring the woman’s charm.

“I guess we’ll have to wait until we get there.”

“You two together?” The driver asked, lowering the volume of the radio and with a voice more menacing than his looks.

“Oh no, we’re just friends.” Even though Nicolaus knew that already his feelings weren’t spared the impact of having Katie stated it so bluntly.

“I see. Just wondering, because you two seem close.”

“Really? We’ve only known each other for a little while now. Chemistry, maybe?” Katie giggled.

“You don’t see people get that close that fast now-a-days.”

“I just really enjoy teasing him, which helps. Everybody has that one special person.”

“Me and my boyfriend were the same way when we first met!” The biker looking car driver’s openness to express himself amazed Nicolaus.

“Ah…” Katie fell into an odd momentary silence, and then continued. “I already have a boyfriend. Though; Spike here is a good guy. I appreciate him more than he probably knows.” Nicolaus wasn’t used to being the center of attention, so he started planning a dramatic escape in which he’d leap from the car!

“We’ve almost reached your destination!” The driver pointed out as the ridge near Vernon’s house came into view.

“Okay, you can drop us here!” Katie said while gathering her things.

“Here?” The driver called back to his two passengers. “You guys sure you don’t want me to take you farther up? I can, it’s no problem.”

“No, she’s right. This is fine.” They both exited the car. Nicolaus turned back and thanked the driver. “Thanks man, we appreciate it. I’ve never used the app before, but I’ll make sure to give you a good review!”

“Really? That’s always good to hear…” The driver gestured for Nicolaus to come in close. “Listen buddy, may want to keep her close. She seems like a good girl. Don’t give up, trust me!” He then gave Nicolaus a thumbs’ up as he drove off down the road.

(Everyone wants to be in my business.) Nicolaus sighed then joined up with Katie who’d already started walking up towards Vernon’s home. “Now I’m getting nervous.”

“Same. You don’t think that something really bad happened, do you?”

“Even glass half empty, as I am, I’m pretty sure if it were bad, Vernon’s would’ve told us beforehand.”

“That’s good. My nerves can’t handle too much more. Even with this time off, all I’ve been doing was jogging every chance I got, trying and get my mind off…you know.”

“Is that helping any?”

“A little, but…after…that…” Katie looked off in the distance.

(She must be thinking about having that officer blown up on her.) Nicolaus surmised. “You and Amala probably had it the hardest among us. With all the shit that’s been happening you’ve been dealing with it pretty well.”

“I’ve got my ways of coping.”

“Which are?”

“That’s a lady’s secret. Can’t tell you. You mentioned that girl, Amala, right? I thought you two weren’t very friendly.”

“We’ve just been talking a little lately.”

“Hmm…” Katie turned back to Nicolaus. “Guess I was a second priority in terms of being checked on.”

“Huh? No!” Nicolaus was confused at Katie’s remark. (Is she…jealous?) A spark of interest flared up in the misanthrope’s mind. “It’s just that we ended up together by chance yesterday. Things have been totally out of my control since then.”

“That’s fine. I'll believe you.”

“C-Cool…” He breathed a sigh of relief. (I thought she had a boyfriend. Does this mean…I’ve still got a chance? No, wait. No! No! There’s no way a schlub like me would catch Katie’s eye over her boyfriend.) Pessimism kept his hopes from getting too high; however, Nicolaus remembered their driver’s words from earlier, and couldn’t help but smile. Finally reaching Vernon’s home, Nicolaus rang the doorbell. No one answered, so he hit it again.

Katie looked up to the windows on the second floor but couldn’t see anyone. “Spike, are you sure he’s still here?”

“He said to come by. I’ll give him a call.” The young man pulled out his phone and attempted to call his co-worker. “Hello?” He said into the phone’s receiver as it connected, a bit annoyed.

“You’re here?” Was nonchalantly, said nonchalantly by Vernon.

“Yeah. I’m here with Katie, waiting outside of your place. Where are you?” Nicolaus changed the call to speakerphone so Katie could hear.

“Don’t worry, I can see you from up here!”

“Up where?” Nicolaus looked up at the second floor, as did Katie.

“Where is he? I don’t see him!” Katie strained to see but couldn’t find their illusive acquaintance.

“Alright, this is getting really annoying. Where the hell are you?” Patience waning, Nicolaus was getting more irritated by what he perceived as Vernon being difficult.

“Relax! Just…turn around. Wh-whoa!” Just as he said that, both Katie and Nicolaus turned around to see Vernon fall to the ground with a thud! “Ow!”

“Oh my God! Are you alright?” Katie ran over to check and see if the often-cocky man had bruised anything other than his ego.

“What the hell, Vernon? Were you waiting up in a tree just to scare us?” Though Nicolaus made this statement he quickly realized there were no trees close enough for Vernon to crash land at the point that he did. “Hang on…where were you?”

“Heheh…ow! I’m not that good yet. I guess I was asking for trouble by straying too far from my crutch. Though…she’s great, already got it mastered!” Vernon pointed up, directing Nicolaus and Katie’s view toward the sky. Both were awestruck at what they were witnessing.

Over one hundred feet in the air, surrounded by nothing but the winter’s gray sky and murky clouds, a single, small figure levitated. The figure’s long black hair and unblemished brown skin distinguished themselves in the bleak skyline, but not nearly as much as the wafting purple haze emanating from the young woman…from Amala Singh, who was flying.

End of Chapter 3