Welcome to Gaia! ::

OOOOOOOHHHHHHH CRAAAAAAAP.

Okay, peoples who are actually reading this (heh. heh. by which i mean Maple), the next chapters are going to require some time on my part, because I had forgotten about the freaky coding on this site. Because there are many, many places with italics and bold, it's going to take a while to change everything. I apologize ahead of time.
*bows to non-existant readers*


I don't know what to rate this, so a word of warning....this story involves the slightly graphic death of a minor character, but it really isn't that bad.
There is also than a little more than a little angst, so know it now and either deal with it or don't read it. ninja
Last disclaimer....this, shockingly enough for me, MIGHT contain some shonen-ai (sp..I don't read it, I don't know the exact spelling) in the very distant future, when you might well have lost interest in this.

And now, to the story.

“Erik, I thought you were excited about this trip.” The blond haired boy walking beside Wes didn’t look at him as he raised his brows. “Okay, so excited is a little exaggeration, but you wanted to go, didn’t you?”
Erik nodded.
“We’re going to miss our ride if we don’t hurry, and we missed the last one. Our grades ... okay, my grade.” He amended at Erik’s blank stare. “Anyway, my grade can’t take another miss this big.”
“It’s a good thing we missed that one.”
“Huh?”
“You wouldn’t have liked getting the twenty-odd shots."
"That chemical explosion wouldn't have happened if we hadn’t tried to catch up with them."
"So?"
"What kind of a retort is that?"
"You want to catch the van, right?"
"Of course!"
"Then stop arguing."
"The only time you ever try to stop an argument is if you're wrong. Which proves me right." Erik turned left.
"Fine, but I'm getting in the van."
Wes stopped and followed Erik with his eyes.
He had almost missed the street they needed to turn on to get to the van.
Wes ran to catch up with Erik, who was slipping through two rows of disgruntled teens to get to his seat. Having found it, he slumped down and stared at the seat back in front of him.
Wes leaned forward and yelled to his friend.
"Hey - Erik! How is that challenge going for you?" Erik blinked and looked over his shoulder at his friends. "Earth to Erik, are you conscious?"
"I finished it."
"What did they say?"
"I didn't turn it in." The van bounced wildly as it got onto the highway.
"Why not? Did your boss take it away from you again?"
"No."
"Well then why can't you turn it in? You're a genius, man."
"I finished early and got bored."
"Why didn't you just turn it in?" Erik shrugged. "So you finish it in half the time allotted and you don't even turn it in?"
"Yes."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I am confirming your question." Wes rolled his eyes.
"Thanks." Erik faced forward again and continued to stare at the back of his seat. At least he might get to talk to some of the scientists.
Of course, even if he could they were likely to consider him as much of a kid as everyone else. He had just turned eighteen, but was half-way through his second year of college. Because he was supposed to be in his senior year in high school, his classmates considered him a child. Tanya was turning twenty soon, but still didn't know how young he was. Not that he minded. Even though she would mean well, she would think he was an adorable child, and he had less patience for that than for the Asian girl's abnormal amounts of energy and enthusiasm…about everything.
Wes was almost a year older than Erik. He had gravitated towards the younger teen since they were both younger than the rest, but had only succeeded in confusing and annoying Erik for a few months. But now in December, nearly at the end of their second semester together, the older boy had started to grow on Erik. He didn't return every attempt at conversation with a glare, and his few verbal responses had ceased to be scathing. Now, however, Erik was not in the mood to talk about anything, much less his project. Wes wanted to see if something had changed five minutes later, despite Erik's unmoving gaze, and tried to resume the conversation.
"Can I see it?" Erik turned and blinked at him, coming out of his thoughts.
"See what?"
"Whatever you turned it into." Erik stared blankly at Wes for a few seconds before registering the older boy's words.
"Who said I turned it into something?" Seeing Wes's expression he answered. "No."
"Why not?"
"It isn't done."
"You're never satisfied with anything you build." Erik was saved from having to answer as they pulled up to their destination.
It was a research lab, a think tank for half a dozen of the best scientists from different areas of study to put their ideas together with some of the best technology there was. It housed everything from astrophysics to zoology, and was the largest campus laboratory in the country.
Their professor was waiting at the front with a dozen or so kids. "You're late." The twenty year old driver Jake jabbed his finger in the direction of Erik, Wes and Tanya.
"Erik and Wes decided to-"
"I don't care. You're lucky that they haven't let us in yet, or you wouldn't be coming." Jake cast a glare at the two.
"Yes, sir." But the teacher had already started talking to the class.
"Please do not speak unless invited to ask or answer a question. Remember you are representing our university, so be respectful and give us a good name. Don't touch anything, don't take anything - don't even breathe without making sure you won't knock something over. And don't forget that there is a double-spaced, six page, Times New Roman essay due on this trip on Monday." A chorus of dismay came from the assembled students. "Oh, didn't I tell you about that?"
"No!"
"Fine, you'll get the topic after the tour, and I'll extend the deadline until curfew, Monday." The resulting groan of twenty or so college students was overshadowed by the opening of the front doors. A slight, African American woman greeted them.


~:~ CHAPTER BREAK ~:~

"I apologize for the delay." She said disinterestedly. "Please come in. Any and all recording and communication devices must be left off and in our secure cubbies here at the front along with all weapons and liquor, where you may pick up them up at the end of your tour." She continued to give an obviously memorized speech. As she did so, a range of tones, beeps, and buzzes filled the room as various devices were turned off. By the end, virtually everyone had a cubby. Wes looked around excitedly, thrilled to be there. Even Erik seemed vaguely interested.
It didn't take long for that to change. They were going through each lab individually, and Erik had no interest in any of them. He mindlessly took mental notes and walked along with Wes. It was too bad they had to stay with the group. Of course, security and all. Why did they bother with tours if there was this much concern over it? He was getting really tired of stopping every few minutes and almost running into the guy in front of him. He snuck a quick glance at his friend and almost laughed.
Wes was dying to cut off the ponytail that swung in front of him. It was very irritating and hit his face when he didn't stop in time when they looked at some stupid invention or experiment. He wished he hadn't given up the small pocketknife he always carried with him. The sixth time it hit his face he reached up to grab it with an evil look on his face.
Erik sighed and grabbed Wes's hand before it reached the girl's ponytail. "Let's trade spots."
Wes agreed thankfully. A few minutes and they were into the next lab. Wes looked at his watch. There was still another hour and another lab after this one. At least they were only seeing four and not all of them. He jerked to a stop as the girl in front of him did. Erik scrunched his face up. He hadn't stopped in time and had gotten whacked in the middle of the backswing of the evil ponytail. He glared at it and Wes laughed. The glare was turned to him and Wes tried to stifle his laughter. The girl in front of Erik swung her head around to tell Wes to shut up. The ponytail hit Erik again. She turned her head back and Erik stepped backward quickly. Wes thought his lungs were going to rupture with all the laughter he was holding in. Erik glowered. Wes grinned at him and tried to keep his lungs intact.
Erik quickly discovered that this new lab was slightly more interesting than the others. He was actually interested at most of the stops. Wes didn't seem surprised, muttering something about nanotechnology and idiot geniuses.
Once again the group halted. Erik froze but couldn't avoid the wicked ponytail. Wes smothered his amusement at the obvious look of indignation on the boy's face and turned to look over Erik's shoulder at the next article of interest. It happened to be a large piece of paper pasted to the wall with designs and formulas written all over it, and Erik looked at it for more than two seconds before getting bored again. Wes tried to listen to the monotone of the woman leading the tour, but they were in the back and the sound refused to carry in the sound-proof environment. Wes sighed and waited impatiently for the group to continue its movement.
Eventually it did, of course, but Erik was still staring at the wall, incredulity covering his features. Wes pulled on his shirt sleeve in an attempt to get the boy's attention, but Erik shrugged him off. Slightly anxious now, Wes pulled at his shoulder. A guard was going to come any time now, he just knew it. The group was about to leave the lab. Erik pushed his hand off and took a step closer to the wall. He traced one of the patterns with his hand and muttered something under his breath. Wes tried to see what he was looking at, but saw nothing. And the group was gone. "Erik, hurry up! The group is gone!" He tried to pull him away from it. Erik spun around with a distracted but irate expression to berate Wes. Then his face went pale and still. Wes felt his breath catch. Security. He whirled around.
It was a sharp looking man in a lab coat. "I think you've fallen behind." The two boys stared at him. The sharp looking man was also towering above them at about seven feet. "Yeah, I get that a lot. I won't call security, but you two better to catch up with your group very quickly, or your teacher might not be so merciful. Wes nodded dumbly and pulled Erik, who was just about to ask something, towards the door.
The hallway looked more intimidating than they remembered when they were alone. Erik looked around for the next door. "What lab is next?"
"I don't know! I was too busy trying to get you to get moving!" Erik sighed irritably and stalked to the next door.
"Lab fourteen. Think this is it?" Wes was fuming.
"I don't know! I didn't think that they were this far ahead! We're in SO much trouble. I bet the doors are locked." Erik frowned. Wes was right. They would get in more trouble than he cared to think about. Wes was tugging on the door. Locked, as he had suspected. Erik dug into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a bottle of Ibuprophen. He unscrewed the lid but hesitated.
"Let me try." Wes stepped out of the way in exasperation.
"It isn't like pulling harder will just make it open." Erik tried anyway. Nothing happened. He gave the door a kick and pulled harder. It opened. Wes glared at him. "Okay, maybe it will." Erik tossed an Ibuprophen into his mouth and walked in after Wes.


~:~ CHAPTER BREAK~:~

Something was very, very wrong with this place. There were no technicians anywhere, and unlike the numerous partitions and rooms in the other wings, this lab was one huge room dominated by a bank of monitors on the ceiling.
"I don't think that we're supposed to be here."
"You're absolutely right. This lab is supposed to be off limits to tours." A larger man with a large, bald, pale head popped out from a huge pile of precariously stacked folders and paper.
"We got a little side-tracked and fell behind. We'll just catch up to them. Sorry for disturbing you."
"Don't be sorry. You must have fallen behind a while ago to end up here, so I'll just page them."
"No-that's alright. Mr. Kane will be furious."
"Okay, then. Just be careful…where you step…" A heap of paper fell down on top of Wes, causing him to stumble backwards into Erik, who pushed a machine behind him about the size of a CD player sitting precariously on a little table. Beams of light erupted from the machine. Erik watched as one shot past him and into Wes, who was regaining his balance. The doctor pounced on the thing before too many more escaped. This time Wes hit the ground. Erik scrambled over to Wes, who wasn't moving. His eyes were wide and, although he would deny it later, very concerned. Not only had a strange looking machine hit Wes with a mysterious beam of light, but Wes's head had made direct contact with the linoleum floor.
"What did your machine do to him??"
"This is the first prototype…I can’t tell anything for sure-"
"What is it supposed to do?" He nearly hissed the question at the man.
"It is supposed to increase the activity of the section of the brain that manipulates energy."
"You gave him energy manipulation?!"
"As I said, it is experimental."
"Is it reversible?"
"I-"
"What was that?" Wes opened his eyes to see a slightly blurred face. Erik handed him his glasses and he looked around.
Papers all over the place. And a machine on the ground that wasn't before.
"Does someone want to tell me what just happened?"
"This guy left out a machine that might or might not make you able to manipulate energy.” Erik ignored the doctor’s attempts to protest. “How do you feel? Are you okay?"
"What?” Wes sat up. "I don't feel any different."
"It might just raise your I.Q. a few points." The doctor offered timidly.
"Wait, so…energy manipulation?” Erik nodded to him impatiently.
"Does it cause any brain damage if it doesn't work?" Erik stood to his full five foot nine inch height, something he rarely did, in an effort to intimidate answers out of the doctor. He backed up a step.
"I haven't gotten past the data phase yet." Wes carefully got to his feet as Erik interrogated the doctor.
"You haven't even tried it yet?"
"In theory-"
"I can't believe this! You have no idea what this thing could do to him, do you?"
"I should run some tests."
Wes interjected with some alarm. "No way, dude!" He stumbled to the door.
"If he's the worse for this, you're in trouble." Erik spat over his shoulder as he turned to follow the older boy out.
"This lab was off-limits to begin with." They left the Lab and slammed the door. After a moment of hesitation, they decided to just try and find their group.
They found it when the door they were walking towards opened.
"Oh. Professor Kane. Hi." The bewildered professor asked, wondering how the two had gotten ahead of him when he watching that no one did just that.
"Erik? Wes? Where did you two come from?"
"Restroom." Wes answered hastily. "I needed to go but…my sense of direction…is a little like a smashed fruit. So I asked Erik to keep me from getting lost." Mr. Kane glowered at the two but simply gestured to the back of the line. Only his eyes betrayed his confusion at their lack of escort. Why weren’t they in some sort of trouble for that?
"Let someone know you're leaving next time."
"Yes, sir." They rejoined the group and glanced at each other. They would talk later, out of shot of the cameras and audio devices.
The van dropped everyone off at the main campus. People splintered off, going in different directions. Erik and Wes watched groups of two and three head off to different buildings, some going to the dorms. They still had classes.
"I have to run over to Calculus 2 straight from gym. You don't have anything, do you?"
"We have Calc together Fridays." Wes looked at Erik in surprise.
"That's right! That works out well. Save me a seat again?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks." Erik nodded.



~:~ CHAPTER BREAK ~:~

Two and a half hours later, Erik headed into Calc with his overstuffed bag.
"Why are you always so early?" The professor was an old man everyone was convinced was insane.
"Yes." He took a seat in the middle, towards the right. He had noticed that the old man had a habit of teaching towards the left and completely ignoring the other side, except for the back. He liked to pick on the whole of the last three rows.
He had time, so he checked his email. He sighed. Where did all these spam people get his email address? He started deleting each one.
"Why do you even bother checking your email? I'm the only one who ever emails you. You never get any mail, either." Wes slammed a heavy bag down on the desk beside Erik's and sat down. "In fact, I've never seen any evidence that you know anyone outside of here." Erik shrugged. "Do you even have parents?"
"What makes it your business?"
"Well, you never get letters or emails from them, you never leave campus with the exception of trips like today, and they never come to see you."
"I repeat, what makes it your business?"
"So you haven't communicated with your parents in six months?"
"How do you know I don't leave campus when you're gone?"
"Thanksgiving break? Weekends? In between fall and spring semesters?"
"Yes."
"I'm the one who cleans up here. When I come back there are paper plates and pop cans everywhere. You work here over every break. In between, you have a job over at that diner." Erik glared.
"Did it occur to you that I might be on bad terms with my parents?"
"You would occasionally make contact."
"Did you want to see what I made for the contest?" Wes crossed his arms.
"Don't change the subject."
"But I brought it with me." He sat down quickly. Anything Erik made for a hobby was interesting.
"Okay, I give."
Erik pulled on a pair of thin gloves from his bag and took out a box.
"What's with the gloves?" Erik ignored him and opened the box. Inside was a sphere about the size of one of those Chinese jingle balls that are supposed to be therapeutic. He pulled it out of its foam cushioning carefully, almost holding his breath. He cradled it in his hands and held it for Wes to see.
"What does it do?"
"Watch."
"But-" Erik glared. Wes took the hint and shut up.
Erik set it down in the lid, which was also foam cushioned. He pulled out another box from his bag. Inside this one was what looked like another box, but when he picked it up, showed itself to be something like a monitor screen with a keyboard built in.
"It only has one frequency. It was difficult, but I adjusted the sphere to operate on the same frequency. I can't open the connection without a trigger, although it is supposed to be able to operate by voice command. It will eventually."
"So what does it do?"
"Watch." He pushed a button on the keyboard and it made a small sound before a light came on in the screen, lighting it up. A blinking line was in the top left hand corner of the screen. It was a small screen. Most of the room was being taken up by a keyboard with ten slightly raised keys with penned black symbols.
He pressed two of them and the sphere started to roll around the box top. Wes reached for it, thinking that it was falling. "Don't touch it." Erik snapped. Wes blinked.
"Sorry." Erik pressed three buttons and it started changing. It formed a long rope-like shape.
"Do you have a CD?"
"What? Oh, yeah." He groped inside his bag for his CD player and kept his eyes fixed on the morphing ball. He opened it and put the CD data side up on the desk. Erik carefully moved one end of the rope over to the disk.
"Don't. Move." He put the other end in the hollow under his friend's ear. Erik pressed another button on the box and the CD started spinning under the rope. Wes's eyes opened wide.
"I can hear the music." He whispered, awed.
"Yeah. I originally designed it to respond to thoughts, but after a few days it wasn't working right, so I gave up." Wes blinked.
"Why are you so impatient?" People started to trickle in, and Erik put the whole ensemble back.
"How'd you get here so early?"
"There was a problem with the clock. He ended class ten minutes early."
"That works." Erik looked around and leaned closer to Wes. "Anything?"
"No. Maybe it didn't affect me."
"Hopefully."
"I've been trying to lift stuff since we left the Labs. Nothing."
"Good."
"What do you mean?" Erik shrugged. Wes imagined that he could see the walls around Erik go up again.

"We should post our schedules somewhere so that we know where the other is. I have a hard enough time remembering my own, more less yours." Wes announced as he slammed the door behind him.
"Maybe later." Erik was rummaging through the drawers. "Do you know where my Ibuprophen is?"
"Yeah, in your bag. Outside pocket, probably." Erik grabbed it and shook it as Wes was trying to find a pen that worked.
"I really need to get another bottle."
"Yeah. Headache?"
"Yeah." He dumped out five and took them all.
"You've been getting a lot of those lately."
"I'm aware of that." He shook the rapidly emptying bottle at Wes, who sighed and fell into his bed with a notebook, a textbook, and a pen. Erik wondered dimly if the boy used his desk more than once a week.
"Maybe you should get to a doctor and have it checked out."
"Me and what money?"
"Ask your parents. I'm sure they'll pitch in." Erik shrugged and squeezed his eyes shut, massaging his temples. "Suit yourself." He opened his eyes and sighed.
“Hey, what was with you today in class? Arguing with a professor over a piece of math?”
“He was wrong.”
“It was a proven formula!”
“The data we were working with proved it otherwise.”
“We know that- well, you know that and I believe you – but you can’t just tell a professor he’s wrong. He’s the one with the power to flunk you.”
“I couldn’t just let it go. It’s an important formula.”
“You didn’t have to get so worked up about it.” Erik flipped open his laptop.
“I wasn’t trying to, trust me.”
“You don’t get upset that easily.” Erik rolled his eyes and opened a document. Of course Erik already knew. Why did Wes feel the need to say things like that?
“This paper has to get done." He started typing. Fifteen minutes later he stood up and sighed angrily. Wes looked up.
"Can’t concentrate and not getting anything done, right? Walk around the campus a little."
"It's dark."
"So? It's winter. There’s only like seven hours each day when it’s not dark."
"You know how the administrators are about just walking around in the dark."
"It is getting pretty violent around here at night." Wes said in agreement. "Then work on something you like to. Like that sphere."
"Good idea." Erik got it out and started pushing what looked like random buttons on the mini-computer. A half hour later he got back onto the laptop and pounded out his essay in twenty-five minutes. An hour later, he was trudging through his Calc.
"Hey, I'm going to finish this stuff over the weekend. I'm driving out to see my parents early." Wes rolled into bed and was snoring within minutes. Erik smiled to himself and turned on the desk light before turning off the main one.

Erik glared at the alarm clock beside him. It was flashing and making a rather loud celebration of the insanely early hour. And he didn't even have any right to smash it. It wasn't his. Wes got very upset the last time Erik had turned off his alarm clock for him.
"Wes. You either need to shut that thing up, or I'm going to do it for you. And I won't fix it this time." His response was a groan and the glowing 3:30 blurring into a streak that flew across the room and slammed into the wall directly above Erik's head.
"I'm still not fixing it." Wes sat up quickly and stared.
There was silence.
The older boy got up, walked to the trashcan, and emptied the limited contents of his stomach. Erik was poking at the remains of Wes's third alarm clock.
"Obviously that little ability of yours works on the subconscious."
"Aren't you missing something?" Erik frowned and shook the emptying painkiller bottle.
"Other than Ibuprophen?"
"How about that this isn't exactly normal! Doesn’t it seem weird how that thing is now in pieces?" Erik dumped the remaining four pills into his hand and swallowed them all.
"You did throw this thing pretty hard. It is now a plural thing. That ray affected you, obviously." He set three more pieces from his bed on the ground and stared sadly at the bottle.
"But it flew across the room! By itself!" Erik shook his head and swung his feet out of bed.
"I noticed." He threw a screw into the trash. "Well, since I'm up I'm going to take a shower while they're empty. Try not to destroy my alarm clock while I'm gone." Wes stared.
"You're joking??"
"Why, is wanting a shower funny?" Erik grabbed his clothes and shower bag.

*sighs* Okay, so it didn't get any shorter. I was trying, but this is one of those parts ya just can't cut up. *shrugs* Anyway, here's the next bit. Again, pay no mind to the chapter breaks, they mean little to nothing.

Erik decided that his next project would be some sort of a field around his bed to keep Wes away from it. “Yes?”
“You slept late today. You’re always up before me. Or you just don’t sleep or something, I don’t know.”
“Have you ever heard the phrase 'personal space'?"
“I thought maybe you’re sick or something. I just wanted to check.”
“You seem to be completely oblivious to its existence.”
“What is it with you? I’m just trying to help.”
“Don’t.”
“Why not?”
“Just stop it. What time is it?”
“8:30.” Erik stared.
“Why didn’t you get me up?”
“Why would I? I know you didn't get to bed before three.”
“Because I have class in a half hour!” He pushed Wes out of his way and jumped up.
"It's the first day of break." Erik stared in disbelief and changed the topic.
“Why are you up?"
"I just woke up early. What time did you get to bed last night?"
"Let it go." Erik gathered clothes and showering items and Wes held his hands up in a gesture of surrender.
"I was just wondering. I thought I heard the door open late." Erik closed his eyes. He wanted to tell him that the door had opened, and that the psycho doctor had barged into the room and their lives.
"So you're monitoring where I go, too?"
"So you did go out." His eyes snapped open, the only indication of his incredulous reaction to Wes's interpretation. Oh well. Let him believe what he would. The less he knew the safer he would be.
"It isn't any of your business whether I did or not. Leave me alone."
"Why are you so hostile?" Erik ignored him and left for the shower. How was Rossinger messing with his friend's mind? He obviously was influencing Wes's feelings towards his sickness.
How did Erik know Rossinger wasn't messing with his mind, too? He closed his eyes again.
The only thing to do was what the doctor wanted. He just had to pretend. Maybe then he could help Wes. Or was the doctor making him think that? Erik shook his head. He would constantly be questioning himself if he kept wondering that.
The shower didn't have a line, and Erik was able to slip in without a wait.

"That must have been the longest shower you have ever taken."
"And now I want to go and take another one. Would you stop?"
"Stop what? I wasn't even asking you a question!" Wes was right, and Erik knew it. There was, however, no way he was going to admit it. Directly, at least. He turned in the limited space and sat down at his desk. "Why do you always ignore me?"
"I'm going to show you something." Wes sighed and dragged the chair from his desk to Erik's and sat on it backwards. Erik pulled up a file labeled "Chaos Theory." Wes watched skeptically.
"I don't really have any interest in the Chaos Theory right now. I'll wait for it to come up in class." Erik ignored him and waited for it to load. There were no passwords until he went to open up one specific file named "digital refractions." The pass code for this was about twenty five stars long. Wes tried to remember what the sequence was, but they seemed to be completely random. He frowned a little and waited for the screen to come up. When it did, Erik smiled proudly. Wes frowned deeper. "What is it?"
"A cure."
"A cure? For what?" Erik didn't answer, but scrolled through. It wasn't everything from the floppy, but it was enough to have something to go off of again. Wes's eyes flew over the screen. Erik slowly scrolled down and allowed Wes to peruse it.
Five minutes later, Wes looked up from the screen and stared at Erik. "This is what you've been putting so much time into every night. There's a small problem that I see with it though."
Erik blinked slowly at Wes and started closing down windows. "Where did you get these figures from? You would need a test subject of some kind."
Erik froze. There was a knock at the door. "Tanya no doubt. Erik? You okay?" Erik nodded curtly and went to the peephole in the door. Tanya indeed. He opened the door and the very hyper Asian girl flew in. Her hair had several streaks of red in it.
"HELLO FRIENDS!" She threw her arms around the both of them, and Erik stiffened. "Happiness to your first day of vacation!" Wes laughed and pushed her off. Erik blinked and frowned.
"Our first day? You still have classes?"
"Yes, but tomorrow I shall join you in this glad time of being without class!" Wes grinned.
"Tanya, I don't know how you do it. Most people would be bummed about having to still go to school so close to Christmas."
"What is it to be bummed?"
“It fits that you wouldn’t know what it means – you’ve never experienced it."
"It's the same thing as being down, or sad, or glum." Erik answered as he shut the lid of the computer.
"Oh! I am not liking this word."
"Can't blame you there, really." ::Erik, can you hear me?:: Erik turned to look at Wes. Wes was staring at him. He nodded very slightly. Tanya was going on about how she was going to get over to Japan for Christmas with her family. ::Hey, this is kind of cool! I can talk to you in class and we won't be sent out! Do you think we should tell Tanya about this psychic thing? ::
Erik shook his head furiously. Tanya stopped talking about how her family was of the few Christian families in their neighborhood, and they always spent their favorite holiday together. "Are you okie dokie?" Wes was glaring at his slip-up and Tanya was staring.
"Yes, I'm fine. My hair needs to dry faster."
"Okie dokie!" She went on as if she had never stopped talking.
~Why not? You can probably respond on this, you know.~ Erik blinked.
~She doesn't need to know.~
~Hey, it works! Cool. I think she does. She's our friend.~
~She's your little girlfriend, not mine, and I don't want to involve any more people in this.~
~What do you mean?~ Erik blinked. He had worded his explanation badly.
~This crazy telepathic stuff.~
~No-about her being my girlfriend. She doesn't like me like that. But she is kind of cute…Hey, that problem I found in your 'cure' progress...could you please answer me? You took notes as if you had a test subject.~
~I did.~
~Who?~
Erik's mind raced. Yes, who indeed.
~That wouldn't be fair to my test subject.~
~No, I suppose not. What do you say we get out of here and find a spot to practice? I need to work on my skills.~ He sighed. No way of getting out of this one.
~Sure. You deal with it, though. I'm just coming to keep you from exposing yourself…or destroying anything.~
~Great.~ Wes had Tanya headed to the mall within two minutes. "We should try out that reverse thing on the machine." Wes didn't know that it didn't work. And Erik couldn't have known without Rossinger having been there.
"Fine." Erik nabbed the machine from its refuge in the ceiling. He aimed and carefully, obviously, pressed the button that was supposed to activate it, but nothing happened. Wes sighed at hearing the news.
"Maybe you were right about the doctor." Erik frowned. What could he say? He didn't want Wes to trust the doctor, but the last thing Wes knew, Erik was all about trusting the guy.
"Are you suggesting you could have been wrong?"
"No, that would be you who refuses to admit that he was wrong."
"You're always trying to get into my head. Stop it."
"Hey, now there's an idea. I could get into your head!"
"No! You wouldn't be any better than him!" Erik shut his mouth, but he knew how reality worked. He couldn't shut his mouth on what he'd already said.
"What does that mean? When did he try and get into your head? No, why did he try?" Erik couldn't think of anything. Nothing was coming to mind - no clever cover-up sprung to attention, ready to be sent into battle. "Erik, would you please just tell me what's going on?"
"The last time I checked, minds were private property."
"I'll do it."
"Just let this go. Trust me on this one, please." Wes squinted at him.
"I might be able to help. Is it a girl?"
"What!?" Erik stared, dumbfounded, at the older boy in front of him.
"Okay, or not. I won't help. Is it Tanya?" Erik's eyes stayed on his friend, completely bewildered.
"How did you - what happened to a logical world?" He snapped out of his shock. Maybe it would be best if he believed that it was a girl. How he got that out of the numerous clues, he couldn't guess.
"Okay, not Tanya, then."
"Fine, yes, you got me. It's a girl." Wes blinked.
"Okay, so it isn't a girl." Erik spun and let out something between a scream and a growl.
"What will it take to make you stop!?"
"Answers."
"You can't have - I can't -! Leave it be!" He dove for the perceived sanctuary of his bed and jammed his MP3 players' headphoned over his ears, effectively blocking all noise.
He was ashamed of himself. He prided himself on his self-discipline and here he was losing it, giving things away. He closed his eyes and tried to drown in the music.
Wes did not try and peel the earphones off his head, did not try and shake him down like a cat stuck in a tree, and did not try and shout above the music. After a while Erik let his body relax a little and hummed along with the music.
He depended on it to get him through everything, he always had.
The pounding of a bass drum and an electric guitar rocked him into a sweet state of semi-consciousness. There was nothing but the music, the heavy, pounding music that in a paradox of music and mind calmed him. He breathed quietly and slowly. His heart rate slowed to a gentle patter, and his chest ceased its angered retaliation. Slowly, he wandered into sleep, oblivious to the chaos in his own mind.

~:~ CHAPTER BREAK~:~

Erik woke on his own. It was the first time in a while, and he reveled in the comparative peacefulness of the moment. Then reality set in. He was going to have to deal with Wes. He lingered a few more seconds in the safety behind his eyelids before he sighed and opened his eyes. "Wes?" There wasn't an answer. "Wes?" He asked a little louder.
"Yes?" Great, he was sulking. Erik propped himself up on his side.
"I wanted to…" He wanted to apologize, that's what, but how should he say it? "Last night…I was…" This wasn't working. What should he do? A little voice inside him told him to run and get away from the whole freaking thing. Instead, he braced himself. "I'm sorry." Then he put his headphones back on after finding them under his pillow and blared the music again. He squished his eyes shut and tried to just breathe. He knew he was being ridiculous. He was acting like a child. But what was he supposed to do?
He sighed. He knew he couldn't stay there all day, and with the music on he couldn't tell if or when Wes left. So the only option was to take off the headphones and face Wes.
Slowly the message got to his fingers that the barrier against the world needed to be removed, and the music was stopped and put aside. He slid out of bed and froze. "Shower." He was out of the room without looking at the teenager in the chair at the desk. So much for facing him.
No line again. There were some advantages to going to a college where the vast majority of the students were gone over winter break. He slipped into the shower, the only person within eye or ear shot. Two minutes later the door opened. Erik sighed. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
"Erik?" Erik closed his eyes and debated whether or not to answer. His decision was made for him when he dropped the shampoo on his foot and cursed. "It's Wes. You don't have to say anything; I'm just here to tell you that I won't pry any more. And that I'm sorry, too. Enjoy your shower." The door closed again.
Erik stood for several minutes with the shampoo bottle stationary in his hand. Wes was giving up? Erik didn't have to listen for trick questions anymore. Why was he giving up? He had never listened to him before.
Why should he care? As long as he wasn't asking questions.

"I don't have to work until tomorrow." Erik dropped his bag on the bed. "Do you want to go to a movie?"
"You don't want to study?"
"No."
"You don't want to work on your "cure"?"
"Don't push it."
"I'd love to go. But the last non-chick-flick movie started a couple minutes ago." Erik looked at the clock for the first time since he had gotten up.
"Oh." The clock read 8:00 pm. "Oh."
"Yeah, oh. Obviously your body agrees with me. You need more sleep."
"Not anymore. I just spent 16 of the last 18 hours sleeping, do you realize that?"
"It happens to the best of us."
"So much wasted time. I've got to get back to work."
"The 'cure'. You really think you need to make that? It really isn't all that bad." Erik ignored him. "Right then. I'll do my homework." Erik opened the necessary applications and started.
They were gone. Erased. He tried quickly to find them, but there was nothing. He closed his eyes, surprised to find them burning slightly. Tears? He blinked them away and shoved the swelling anger and frustration away.
He probably should say something to Wes, but it wouldn't do any good, anyway. There was just too much tension between them since that first trip to the laboratory. Telling him what he wanted to know was probably the only way to break it, but then there would be a whole new set of problems. He didn't have any options. Moreover, he was totally losing his control.
This scared him more than anything. Above all, he could not afford to lose control. Let them call him cold, aloof, uncaring. It didn't matter. So yes, it did hurt him, but what could he do? He wasn't good at connecting with people even without this.
He really should say something. Anything. Wes would start to hate him.
Wouldn’t that be the best thing, though? Wes wouldn’t have gotten in this in the first place if you hadn’t fallen behind. Once again, it’s your fault.
But he’s already infected. I can’t just abandon him.
But you didn’t get any help either, Ery. What’s the difference?
He sighed.
There is no difference, and look what’s become of me.
Save yourself.
He had to say something. If not for himself, than for Wes, who was sick and didn't know it - wouldn't know it unless Erik could save him. Or was that mind manipulation on the part of that crazy doctor?
Not that again.
Say something, Erik.
"So…Wes." After a couple of seconds of silence during which Erik was trying to think of something to say, Wes tried to prod him along.
"Erik."
"What's your homework on?"
"The exact same thing as yours." Well that was a brilliant question.
"Right. Don't you have a little sister?"
"Yeah. Elixabeth. Why?"
"How is she?"
"She's fine."
"Great." Erik stared furiously at his computer screen. It was great for everything but conversational skills. Usually, Wes talked and Erik either listened or pretended to listen. Occasionally he responded, but he never tried to initiate conversation, and had no idea what he was doing. "So…um…what version are you running on your computer?"
"The one you set up for me."
"Oh yeah."
"Why all the questions?"
"I'm just trying to make conversation." Wes swiveled his chair around and stared blankly at Erik, who continued to watch his blank screen intently.
"You don't make conversation."
"Have you noticed the awkwardness?"
"The point is that there has to be a reason."
"I haven't really been a good friend, and I think it's time I try." Wes's blank stare turned into an incredulous expression.
"This isn't like you."
"I can't be friendly?"
"No! Well, yes, but you don't: you're as anti-social as they come!"
"Not anymore." Wes watched him and chewed on his lip for a moment before speaking.
"Fine. You want to be a better friend? You'll support my gift." Erik’s heart sank.
"What?"
"If you really want to be a better friend, then you'll support my gift. I'm not asking you to tell me what's the deal with you and what you aren't telling me, I just want you to not hate what I have." Erik blinked.
"I don't hate it."
"You do! You have this look of contempt when I use it, like it's….like it's dirty or something." Erik tore his eyes from the fascinating block pattern of the screen saver and rested them on Wes.
"It is. Can't you see how it will take over you, destroy you?"
"Where is your logic in this?"
"My logic? It's your logic that's gone out the window. You make less sense than you did at the beginning of the year!"
"Why do you hate this so much? Is it because I have something that you don't? Because I'm better at something?" Erik suddenly became very still, and his voice lowered to a deadly sounding whisper.
"Don't ever suggest that I want the sickness." Wes opened his mouth to say something, his face red with anger, but stopped. A look, like the look a child gets upon understanding that one and one really does make two, took its place on his face.
"Erik, I know I promised, but…your test subject…and wanting to find a cure so badly…and you had been working on that a long time before I got this…Erik-"
"Don't." Erik's face was pale. "Just…don't." He reached into a drawer behind him and pulled out an Ibuprophen bottle without a look. How could he have let this happen? It couldn't have happened, it couldn't be happening.
Failure, failure…
No. Wes couldn't know it. It wasn't true.
"Say what, Erik?"
If he didn't say it, it wasn't true. He didn't know. This wasn't happening. His heart pounded in his chest and he took a pill from the container and grabbed the water bottle on the desk.
You couldn’t keep it from him, Ery.
"What exactly am I going to say that you are so afraid of?" Wes stared at the pill in the other boy's hand and it floated up. Erik went to grab it but it was pulled out of his reach. He went for the bottle but that was gone, too. He stopped trying and looked at Wes.
Do you know what happens when you don’t do what you’re supposed to?
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"I just want answers."
"I don't want to give them."
"I don't think that's true. I think you do want to give them, but you don't want me to know."
"Stop pretending you understand."
"But I think I do. Partially, anyway."
"No."
"Yes. You have the same gift I do. And for some reason, you don't want me to know."
"You're wrong." Erik was starting to shake. He really needed that pill.
Do you know what happens, Ery?
"Those nanites couldn’t have become super electric conductors. I knew that at the time. You needed a test subject and a reason to have research on that subject. People don't just randomly spend so much time on something this obscure. Give me another, more logical explanation, and I'll go for it."
Erik stared at him and tried desperately to think up a reasonable excuse. He closed his eyes and tried to think straight. He tried to get something other than his old doubts and the incessant need for those pills through his sluggish head.
"You're wrong. You're not right."
That will convince him, Ery. Brilliant retaliation. Do you know what happens?
"You're shaking." Wes was looking more concerned than pressing now, and he let the pill drift back into Erik's hand. He swallowed it quickly with a big swig of water while Wes got a hold of the painkiller bottle. "What are these?" Erik jumped for them.
"That's my Ibuprophen. Give it back!" Wes ignored him and stared intently at it. Then he sniffed it, and finally licked one carefully.
"I don't know what you're taking, but it definitely isn't Ibuprophen. Are you into some kind of drugs?"
Ery...
"Give them to me." He didn't understand. He needed them. And whatever he had just taken was Ibuprophen. Real, honest to God Ibuprophen. He needed that bottle. His head was going to explode and then he would have to clean it up because Wes would be dead - no, it was the other way around, wasn't it? "Give me the pills, Wes. Please, give them to me. I need them. Just one, at least. Please."
"What are they? I'll get you through this, Erik. No one will ever have to know. Just calm down." Erik shook his head but regretted it. His head has pounding. He was running out of time. He needed to get the desk - no, the pills. He needed to get the pills from Wes and swallow them. One thought at a time Erik. Just breathe and get the pills.
"Give them to me. They aren't drugs. It's medicine."
"You're addicted." Think, Erik. Say something.
"Fine, but give me one last dose so I can think about this with you logically. I need them." Wes paused. Erik took a deep breath.
You hope for salvation? Ery..
"You need to get off them. I'll help you. Withdraw is hard, but you can make it through." Erik shook his head. No, no, he needed more time. He shoved at the walls of pain. No! He needed more time to get the pills, just another minute.
Do you know what happens?
"They're not illegal drugs, and I'm not misusing them. It's regular medication. Please, just one pill. I need six right now, but I can make it on one. Please, Wes, I'll tell you everything. Please,” Erik begged, “I'm not ready to die yet." Wes blinked at him. He sighed and shook his head slightly.
You know what happens, Ery, when you misbehave.
"You're going cold turkey."
You get punished.
Erik screamed in his head. His eyes exploded in light. He knew from experience that he was still standing exactly as before, but the inside of his eyelids seemed to be streaked with neon colors that screamed at him. "But if you'll tell me everything, I guess you can start after … how many did you say? Six? You can do with three. That should be enough to get you coherent, instead of babbling about bright ribbons." Wes's voice was getting muffled, and Erik knew it was too late anyway. He was going to die. He had misbehaved for the last time.

Oy....this next part....annoying as hell. I don't like it, but it has to be in the story, so I can't really get rid of it, but I can't figure out how to fix it!

The courtyard was more of a rundown trash collector. It was originally a place for students to sit together while they ate or studied, but someone in the planning process had failed to realize one small problem. One of the buildings it was located behind was the science center, and every few days it emitted a mysterious nasty-smelling smoke that had kept everyone away for the year and a half he had been releasing energy in it. It had one way in and out, probably another planning error since the students all seemed to prefer their outdoor gathering places to be open.
Erik carefully looked out of this arch to assure himself that there were no nearby students. There never were, since the entrance was somewhat difficult to locate now. It had already been built to not stand out from the science and apartment buildings next to it, but the arch had also been obscured by the vines that smothered their faces.
Having reassured himself of his safety, he sat down on one of the many dilapidated benches and fished out a bottle of some common painkiller. Carefully, almost hesitatingly, he shook out one small, yellow pill. He stared sadly at it before popping it into his mouth and quickly grabbing a cup from the littered ground.
He could feel the energy rising and tried not to fight it. Fighting it would not help the situation; he was here to release it. There was no need to contain it now. He tried to breathe steadily, but he could feel the panic tightening his chest. He knew that he was starting to sweat slightly. He hands were clenching. He checked his grip quickly, before the old styrofaom cup split.
Slowly he brought himself back under control and let the energy flow. The previously dry cup began to condensate on the insides. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly. This was the fastest way to rid himself of the strange, foreign energy that he had no wish of, but it was also the most difficult. Two atoms hydrogen, one atom oxygen. He pulled the necessary components from the air as quickly as possible. He could feel the energy going down and he sighed in relief - the dirty energy was leaving him.
It wouldn't last a terribly long time, in fact he would be back in a day or two, but it was an enormous relief not to have to worry about it flooding the banks of his control. He opened his eyes and watched with unblinking eyes as the layer of water on the bottom of the cup slowly rose.
He frowned as he realized that the air around him was getting sparse on oxygen. He couldn't remember that ever happening before. His level of energy was about a quarter full - too much for his taste (he liked it gone), but empty enough for comfort. It would do.
The walk back to the dorm took a half hour. Erik sighed. It had taken much longer than usual, but he was walking very slowly. Unable to think of a good reason, he blamed it on Wes and his own reluctance to see him again. Why was he so nervous? Erik shook his head and searched his pockets for the key to the dorm. He swore quietly. Great.
The door swung open. "Forget something?" His keys were tossed to him. He caught them and stepped inside.
"Thanks. Eleven-thirty and you wait up for me."
"That's what friends are for."
Erik's eye twitched. "That's cliché."
Wes laughed. "Yeah, it is. Whoops."
--------------end of annoying as hell part--------------------------
Erik scooped up his laptop and rolled into bed. He leaned over and groped through the drawer on his bedside table that Wes called a bedside stool because it was the only size that would fit the small area. Wes raised an eyebrow when Erik's hand came out with a jar candle. "You kept that? I assumed you had re-gifted it to Tanya. My mom will be touched." Erik had gotten the lid off and was fishing around in the drawer again. "Do you even own a lighter? Or are you looking for matches? I think I might have some…"
Wes blinked as Erik's hand emerged again, this time with a nail file. "Erik…I know that we're going on different paths here, but come man…scented jar candles…nail files…you're scaring me." Erik completely ignored him and started cutting through a thin layer of wax around the top edge. That gone, a thin circumference of nothing between the wax and the glass became visible. Wes couldn't see it, but scooted closer as Erik flipped the entire thing and caught the top half of the candle in his hand. It was a clean slice through with a small indent in the center.
Erik relocated the decapitated portion of the candle to the bedcover and thumped the bottom of the jar. A flash drive tumbled into his hand. Wes stared as Erik guided it into the computer on the spread and sighed as files popped up to be opened. He put everything back and propped the laptop up onto his slightly raised knees. "Okay, so…not gay?" Erik's face revealed undisguised shock.
"No!"
"Okay. I just saw the nail file-"
"I get it. It's fine."
“I never really thought-“
“Wes, relax.”
"So's that the cure?"
"No. It's just the scraps of it. I still have to piece it together, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Hey, didn't you have that on a floppy before?" Erik's eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
"Where'd that go?"
"I'm using this one now."
"You don't like floppies anymore? I figured that if you went through the trouble of finding a laptop that takes floppies you would continue to use one."
"I'm not."
"Can I have it?"
"No. Why?"
"I don't know. I could help."
"You wouldn't, though. You hate the thought of what I'm doing as much as I hate what you're doing." Wes grinned and laughed.
"That's true. You know, you really should stop working on that. You just make yourself more resistant to what I'm trying to tell you."
"Yes."
"I know that you don't want to hear it, but you need to. This isn't really all bad. It's kind of nice, actually. Really nice. See, watch this." Erik's screen went blank. He blinked and tried to open his files back up. "I don't want you working on that."
Wes stopped talking as Erik swore loudly. The younger boy turned a glower onto Wes and quickly got out of the bed.
"Erik, calm down. You don't need a cure."
"You've been erasing them."
"Yes, but really, you don't -"
"It was you. I don't believe it." Erik's nearly snarling expression suddenly dropped into a dead calm mask. This seemed to scare Wes more than the anger.
"Please just calm down." Erik was, in fact, trying to do just that. He had just released massive amounts of energy and he didn't want to waste that time or the effort. But Wes was a traitor, and he had to have been that way for a while. No one's mind turned that quickly. It just didn’t happen.
Wes all but forgotten, Erik stalked past the cowering older boy and out of the room.

Erik's gaze stayed fixed to the street in front of him as he traced the path engraved into his mind, following the shadow in front of him. It got longer and more stretched out until it faded from existence momentarily, only to reappear in back of him. He watched the ground a few feet in front of him, waiting for it to reappear. It did so, seconds later, by his quickening pace and slowly grew, soon overtaking him again. Then his eyes lifted off the streetlight-manipulated shadow and set on the door.
How dare he?
The hinges and locks disappeared, and the doors fell open. An alarm was silenced a fraction of a second after it had started its vengeful wail. He stormed in and flew down the steps. He slowed in front of a door he remembered far too well for his peace of mind before it simply melted.
"Rossinger!" He roared into the darkness of the lab. He stormed into the room as lights flickered on. "Don't you dare pretend to not be in here, or I will make this very, very painful." The man walked calmly from the steps leading to the lower floors.
"Taking a walk so early in the morning, Ery? You never know who will be out this close to midnight."
"What did you do to him?" Rossinger's now-familiar smirk appeared on his face.
"Nothing, I simply helped him get where he was going a little faster."
"You had no right."
"You should watch that temper of yours, Ery. It tends to get you into trouble. Don't you know?" Erik gritted his teeth.
"Stop calling me that." Rossinger feigned surprise and confusion.
"I thought you liked that name….Ery." Erik's tightened jaw twitched.
"I came here to get Wes back."
"Wes is back at your dorm."
"Yes, but that's not him. You screwed with his mind and did God knows what to him. You can claim you only nudged him all you want."
"You're still stuck on the disease thing, then."
"Disease thing?! It destroyed Wes! It nearly killed me!"
"I thought you said I destroyed Wes."
"He was strong enough to fight it! I could have-" Rossinger's voice softened as if he was talking to an eight year old.
"Could have done what? Saved him? You couldn't save anyone." Erik's eyes snapped up to meet his, blazing. Rossinger's face shifted into quickly stifled shock.
"I want Wes back. Fix him. Now."
"I can't do that."
"You will."
"I can't-"
"NOW!" Erik's power flared and the doctor slammed into the wall behind him. His eyes widened in astonishment before he dropped to the ground, landing on his feet.
Ery…
"It seems that you have once again lost control of your energy. I really can help you with that Ery. Just listen to me." Erik's fingers twitched.
"If you won't help then him tell me how to." Rossinger's breathing hitched momentarily, and confusion briefly flickered across his face before his breathing regulated.
Ery…
"Or what? You'll continue to pin me to the wall and choke me?" An easy laugh filled the laboratory. "Really now child, anger might fuel your energy levels but it loosens your control, enabling me to effectively negate these…" he gestured vaguely, in search of the right analogy, "…penlights. It's far more different than properly focusing it and shooting it …" Erik raised other hand and Rossinger's voiced choked to a halt. The boy's face was the picture of calm, the doctor's utter disbelief.
"I learn quickly. Don't ever underestimate me.” Erik’s voice turned into a hiss. “Now. Fix him." After a few seconds of silence Erik's calm facade broke and Rossinger smashed into the wall again. He stayed pinned to the wall, and Erik stalked forward, rage evident upon his features. "I said fix him!"
"Ery -"
"Do it!"
"No."
"I swear to you -"
"Erik?" Wes was standing in the doorway. "What -"
He’s involved again. Because of you.
"Stay out of this." Erik snarled the words, glaring at the doctor. "Now!"
"There's no chance of that happe-" His somewhat smug retort was cut off by an un-muffled scream. His arm hung at a strange angle. Still, though, he smirked while he recovered his breath. "Are you enjoying this, Ery?"
"Fix him."
"Does this give you a wonderful satisfaction?"
Inflicting pain?
Shut up.
"Fix him!"
"It probably felt like this last time, too."
Did it, Ery?
Shut up!
"Stop babbling and fix him!" Erik's voice was coming out strained but he didn’t care.
"Erik stop it!" Wes's cry from the doorway was ignored.
"How long ago was it, Ery? Years, yes. How many?"
Since the last, Ery. How many?
Shut up!
Eight years.
No!
"Do it!" Rossinger's voice became choked but he still managed to smirk.
“Is this as good or is it missing something?”
"Erik! Stop this! What are you doing?"
Is eight years enough time, Ery?
Shut up!
"I'm saving you Wes!" Erik's hand twitched and Rossinger slid closer to the ceiling. The man gasped as a finger dropped to the ground beneath them. "Now! Tell me!"
"I bet you passed out from sheer pleasure at what you -"
You did it, Ery. Because of you, they’re dead.
"FIX US NOW!" Rossinger stopped talking and his grin spread.
"But Ery, you're just as you should be. You can be no other way."
"FIX HIM!"
"There's no cure -"
"FIX HIM!"
"-because neither of you are sick."
Wouldn’t that be nice? It’s so sad you can’t be fixed, Ery.
Shut up!
"DO IT!"
"Erik stop!" Wes panicked voice made little impression onto the atmosphere.
"There's nothing to fix, Ery."
Because you can’t be fixed.
“EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP! You - help him!”
"No."
And you can’t save Wes.
Oh god...
"DO IT!"
"Erik!"
Because of you, he’s like this.
"NOW!"
“Ery, Ery, you should know…” Rossinger laughed loudly. Then time stopped.
Blood ran from his nose and ears and dripped with thick heavy splats onto the floor. His body slid slowly to the floor, down the wall slower than Erik thought possible. He stared as every detail of the man's face was burned into his memory - the mouth, twisted into a triumphant grin; the eyes, glazed but staring; and the blood covering the lower half of his face.
Erik hit the floor in time with the body. On his knees he stared at his hands and the body before him. "Oh, God." He took small, quick breaths and stared. "Oh, God. Oh my God. Oh God. Oh God."
Monster.
No. This isn’t right.
Monster…
No. I couldn't have done this. No.
"E…rik?"
You can’t be saved, Erik. Look at what you’ve done. You’re a monster.
"No, no, no, no."
"Erik…he’s…dead.”
“No, I can’t kill him!”
You did, though. Killed him. Lots of blood and pain. Just the way…
“He’s dead.” Wes stared at the spot in shock, trying to come up with something relatively intelligent to say. “He’s dead.”
Dead, Ery. You killed him, Ery. Murderer. Monster…
“He can’t be dead.” His head spun. He had just… “No!” He shook his head violently, as if to shake out the memory. Wes took a few halting steps towards them but came no closer.
This is all you can do.
No…
Everyone you go near.
No…
Will you deny the truth?
Erik seemed to collapse into himself as he curled himself into a ball on the floor.
“Monster.” Wes’s face hardened and he strode over to Erik, nothing halting to his movements, only a furious, assured stride. “Monster.” Wes reached him and forced him to his feet by the shirt. A sob escaped him.
“Stop it!”
“It’s true.”
“It’s not.”
“I killed him, Wes. It’s a concrete truth. There is nothing debatable about it.”
Wes closed his eyes. “Don’t say you’re a monster.”
“You’re thinking it.”
“No. I don’t think you’re a monster. I think that you didn’t mean to kill him.”
“You don’t think I’m a monster.” But it was spoken somewhere between a question and a statement, and was more of an admission of confusion than either of them.
“Erik,” Wes had carefully softened his voice, “It’s okay. I know you. You would never hurt anyone without either a very good reason or unless it was an accident. I think that either would apply here. You felt that I was in danger, did you not?” Erik nodded to the ground.
Wes closed his eyes briefly again before speaking reluctantly. “Something’s…wrong…with my head, I think. My thoughts kept getting all jumbled and mixed up…I think I got some really important things wrong, but…when Rossinger died…they started to come back together…I think that now…they all make sense.” There was a full five second pause where neither spoke. “I’m sorry.” Erik nearly collapsed again, but Wes held him up. “I need you to pull yourself together though, okay?”
“He’s dead. Everyone dies.”
“That’s right. Everyone dies at some point.”
“Everyone around me…sooner.” Wes blinked.
“That’s a little extreme for one death.” Erik shook his head at the ground.
“Not one.” Wes’s heart sank. What had Erik done, exactly? A vision of the whole world in the same state as Rossinger flashed before his eyes before he stomped it out and scolded himself.
“Not one?”
“Others. Many now.” Oh God…what had he done?
“Many?”
Many.
“Many.” There was no clarification from his words or his eyes, which were still looking at the ground at Wes’s feet.
“Erik, tell me what you’re talking about.”
You only did what you could. What a monster is best at, Ery.
“I killed them.” Erik’s breathing started to speed up. “I killed them.”
“What ‘them’?”
Ery…
“Them. All of them. I killed them.” Wes realized that if this kept up the boy was going to hyperventilate, so he did the only thing he could think of that could snap him out of it. He slapped him.

~:~ CHAPTER BREAK~:~

“I almost killed you.” Wes started, and jerked his gaze back. Erik sounded…scared. Strange.
“You didn’t, though.”
“I could have. I almost did. Oh God…I’m sorry, Wes. I could-“
“But you didn’t. Are you okay now?” Erik looked at Rossinger, and at his hands and the bottle in them.
“Why didn’t you stop me?”
“Because-“
“Why did you tell me to kill you?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t do it. To both questions. I knew you wouldn’t be able to kill me.” Erik’s voice barely came out. It was more of a barely audible whisper.
“How?”
“You’re a good person, and my best friend. I have confidence in you.” Erik closed his eyes.
“I can’t do good. Look at this,” he gestured to Rossinger’s body, “and you know what I did to my parents, and I killed so many people just because they told me to, and I killed twelve of them to escape. I can-“
“Shut up.” Erik blinked at him. “I thought we had already been over this. You aren’t back there, you are here with me.”
“I’m evil. I’m incapable of doing good. There’s-“
“Shut up! Erik, I swear I’m going to hit you and let you stay in your miserable little prison if you don’t stop this! You’re being ridiculous, now snap out of it.” Erik stared at him and then looked back down to the body without replying.
“I need to clean this up.” Wes sighed but knew he was right. He would fix Erik’s little complex later.
“Right. So…fingerprints. You leave any here?” He remembered leaning on the doorway when he had first come in. He had touched the wall and the floor in at least two dozen places. Erik shot a look at him that Wes couldn’t read.
“I need to clean this up. Stay out of the way.” Erik closed his eyes. The body disappeared. The blood disappeared. “Any fingerprints and dropped DNA have been eradicated.”
“Oh. That’s…great.” He shuddered, imagining how many times his friend had had reason to clean this type of mess up.
“Is your mind okay now?”
“Yeah, I think so. No more misplaced notions of superiority. Just over those pesky humans.” Erik’s eyes widened and then shut, dejected. “Relax, man, it’s just a joke. We’re no better than anyone else.” Erik looked up and nodded before heading out of the lab. Wes jumped and quickly went to catch up. “Wait up! Where are we going?”
“I’m nearly out of pills. I need to get some more.”
“More?”
“Many more.”
“You don’t want to learn to control it then?”
“I can’t. I want to be rid of it.”
“Be rid of it?” Erik glared at him. “You talk strangely.” The mass of metal on the floor melted and reformed into the door.
“Which side do you want to be on when this door shuts?” Wes hurried out of the room. “No insult meant, man. So I’m guessing we aren’t going to find those pills in the school pharmacy.”
“No.” After they had left the complex without a word from Erik, Wes sighed. “Are you telling me where we’re going?”
“You’re going to your parents’ house for Christmas.”
“I’m going with you.”
“No.”
“Erik, you still don’t trust me?”
“It has nothing to do with that.”
“Erik…”
“I need to contact them first, anyway. It’s going to take time. I probably won’t be able to get my pills until after Christmas anyway. Unless they already have them prepped, which is highly unlikely.” Wes’s face brightened.
“Great!” Erik blinked but said nothing that betrayed his surprise over Wes’s enthusiasm.
“Then you can come with me and have Christmas with my family!”
“What?” Erik asked, disbelieving. Had he not just tried to kill him?
“It’ll be fun.”
It will be fun. You like to destroy people.
“I-“
“Great, it’s decided!”
If you go you’ll destroy them. Fun, Ery. All because of you.
I hate myself for those.
Is that sufficient recompense?
“No, it’s not decided! I am not going to intrude into your family’s life.”
“You won’t be intruding.”
“I don’t have a ton of control over my energy right now.”
“Erik, when’s the last time you have an actual family Christmas?” Erik crossed his arms.
“That’s beside the point.”
“But this is perfect! By the time Christmas is over that week you specified will be over and you can go pick up the pills.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“What’s your other option? Lock yourself in the dorm room?”
“It’s safest.”
“Look, I’ll tell my parents not to touch you under any circumstances.” Erik thought a moment.
“I could die.”
“Don’t get angry.”
“Because that works so well on an ordinary basis. But it isn’t just that. Any extreme emotion will do it. Anger, fear, excitement, anything.”
“We’ll be careful.” Erik sighed.
“I try to be careful. I’m no good at it, which is why I have the pills.”
“Why don’t you just expend the excess?” Erik blinked and spoke slowly. What was so difficult about this to understand?
“Because it is dirty.”
“You have to expend the excess sometime, don’t you?”
“Yes, but that is to purge myself of it. That is not using it.”
“Then just do that more often.” Erik closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
“Try to understand this, Wes. I lack the ability to control my energy. You have that ability. Without a control, energy goes wherever it can, like water. So when someone touches me, without the pills it will go into them, and I could only hope that it is a small enough amount that it will not hurt them. If I have more energy than body mass, like that water filling up a glass, then it will do whatever. Things might blow up or combust or any number of things.”
“Okay…so…is that the only reason you don’t want to go?”
Don’t get comfortable, Ery. It only hurts more when they die.
“Yes, but I’m not going. Why would you put your family in danger?”
“Because I trust you.”
You can’t be trusted.
“It isn’t something I can control, Wes.”
“Just save your pills until you really need them. And besides…” Wes grinned and pulled out a bottle. “You have a few more than you thought.”
“I didn’t lose those?”
“Nope. You should have said something. I hope these are harmless for me.”
“Yeah, they’ll just completely bind your abnormal energy for four hours. Well, they help me control mine for about that long, so…”
“Oh good, because I took some a day or two back...” Erik rolled his eyes and snatched the bottle from him. “So you’re going then. Great!”
How intelligent Ery. Now you’re trapped.
Maybe.
“No.” Wes glared.
“I thought that your energy was the only reason you weren’t going.” Erik stared at him, then looked in the bottle.
Trapped. Now you’ll put him in even more danger. He’ll get hurt because of you.
“There’s a good twenty-five pills in here. I have about five with me and five back at the dorm.” He took out the other bottle and shook one from it. “And now I have four with me.” Balancing carefully, he dumped the remaining four into the fuller bottle.
“Great!”
“Yeah…thirty-four pills for the next week and possibly half.”
“That’s not enough?” Erik frowned.
“I use six a day at the bare minimum.”
“That’s if you stay up half the night like you usually do. You’re going to be getting a good eight hour a night sleep with me.”
Erik sighed.
Can you sleep for eight hours, Ery? Can you bear with your conscience that long?
“Fine. Four, then. That’s eight and a half days. I think.” He paused a moment before nodding. “Yeah. And that’s the bare minimum. I get excited at all, I need to take another one. That takes another four hours off my time every pill. Four pills is one day.”
“Then it’s settled. You’re coming with me.” Erik sighed again.
He won’t let you off that easily. You have to hurt him a little now to save him later.
I can trust him.
Can you trust you?
“All right. Just through Christmas, and then I’m leaving, got it?”
“Okay, that’s fine. But you’ll go?” A pause.
You can’t save yourself, Ery.
No, I know that.
“Yeah, I’ll go.”
But Wes...maybe, maybe, he can.

~:~ CHAPTER BREAK~:~

“Are you sure you don’t want to take anything else?” Wes was looking skeptically at the single small suitcase in the trunk.
“What else do I need?”
“A few more clothes?”
“You’re not taking one at all.”
“I live where we’re going.” He laughed. “You’re a little odd.”
Erik laughed harshly. “You finally noticed.”
“You do have a sense of humor!” He slammed the trunk down, and they looked at each other. “So…who’s driving?”
“You. Not only am I a terrible driver, but it’s your truck.”
“Who said I’m a good driver?” Nonetheless, the driver door shut a half second later. Erik rolled his eyes and got in the truck.
“Are you at least a safe driver?”
“I think so.”
“Pill count, Wes. Please keep the speeds down?” Wes grumbled a little.
“Yeah, yeah, no higher than eighty-five...” He started up the truck and laughed at the nervous look on Erik’s face. “Lighten up, man. It was a joke.”
“Joke. Got it.”
The truck pulled into the road with a bump and picked up speed as they turned onto the main road. Erik pulled on another huge sweatshirt. Wes glanced at him.
“The heat will come on a little while. It just needs to heat up a little.” Erik shrugged. “I can’t believe how cold it is, though. The thermometer said it was twenty degrees below, I think.”
“That’s Celsius.” Wes blinked and merged onto the highway.
“Right. Obviously. By the way, would you happen to know what that is in Fahrenheit?” Erik shook his head, then remembered that Wes was driving.
“No. But I don’t think it’s negative, or if it is not very far below. Zero degrees Celsius is thirty-two Fahrenheit, after all.”
“Oh. That’s smart.” There was an uncomfortable silence as both tried desperately to come up with some topic of conversation. They had barely even gotten on the road and they had already talked about the weather.
“So, Wes, what’s your family like?”
“Oh, they’re great. I talk about them a lot, don’t I?”
“Yeah, but I don’t really know much about them. How old is your sister Elixabeth?”
“She’s fifteen now. She’ll probably totally fall in love with you. She does with every guy that comes around.”
“Oh…” There was another long pause. “What are your parents like?”
“Oh, they’re pretty average. Mom’s a salesperson; Dad’s the editor for some small newspaper. They make a little more than average, but they’re modest.”
“I just realized that I have no idea where you live. Are we even staying in-state?”
“Yes! It’s just an hour down the road.”
“That’s convenient. Part of the requirements in college choosing?”
“No, it just happened.”
“Nice.”
The pair spent the next forty-five minutes in short, sporadic bits of conversation that consisted of Wes avoiding Erik’s past and Erik trying desperately trying to remember any type of conversation ability he had once had.
To both teens’ relief they pulled into the driveway. The last silence was too long and uncomfortable, and the whole ride had been filled with many “maybe this is a bad idea”s from Erik and a few random times when Wes broke into Christmas carols to break the silence.
Wes opened the trunk and Erik grabbed his bag. “Come on, Erik. Let’s go inside and say hi.” He locked the truck doors and flipped to the house key. Hearing the click, he pushed the door open and stepped inside, holding the door for Erik to catch. “MOM! DAD! I’M HOME AND I GOT ERIK TO COME WITH ME!”
There was a loud thumping on the steps and a huge dog bounded down, skipping the last few steps from the sound of it. “Barley!” The German Shepherd – Husky mix tackled Wes, who started laughing hysterically and trying to talk to Erik at the same time. “This is my dog, Barley. Don’t ask about his name, it’s a very long story.” His attempt to nod seriously was thwarted by the dog licking his face half off, and more laughter. Erik nodded and clutched his bag. “MOM! DAD!” He yelled as he pushed the dog off. “Take your shoes off and come in. Make yourself at home, relax.”
Erik put his shoes next to Wes’s and looked around. Pictures were scattered all around the room, showing scenes of Wes and his family in different groups engaged in different activities. Erik went to get a better look at one as Wes walked around, looking for his parents. “Be right back, Erik.” He called as he ran up the steps.
The picture that had caught his attention was Wes’s parents trying to coax a laughing, seven year-old old Wes down from a tree. They looked caught somewhere between worry and amusement, and Wes was clearly enjoying the attention. A small child, obviously the three year-old Elixabeth, was standing nearby with a thumb in her mouth and some sort of stuffed animal with long limbs in the other hand.
You’ll never have that. Because of you, they’re gone.
Is this what my family might have looked like by now? Pictures of happy and funny moments dropped around the house, a dog, coming home on the weekends to visit my parents?
If you hadn’t destroyed it.
I know.
You don’t deserve this.
Wes doesn’t deserve to have putting him in danger all the time.
Wes came back down the steps, interrupting his brooding. Probably for the best, he thought. “They’re out. Come on, I’ll show you the guest room.” Erik followed the older boy through the house, taking in every detail he could. This is a family house. This is what it looked like.
Don’t get comfortable. Monsters don’t get this.
I know.
Wes stopped abruptly at a door and blinked a few times when he opened it.
“It…looks like we already have company. No problem. You’ll sleep in my room.” He winced. “Um…actually, I’ll just take your bag…we can settle you in later, ‘kay?” Erik nodded confusedly. Wes smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. “Uh…see…I’m not as neat as I am at the dorm here. Actually I’m a bit of a slob, and it’s best not to really look around when in my room. Or step. Or breathe. Actually, it’s probably best not to go in. Don’t worry though, I’ll clean it up.”
Erik shrugged.
“Back to not talking, huh? Okay, but you’d better be polite to my parents. Don’t worry, they’ll love you.” Erik tried to smile.
That’s what you should be worried about, Ery.
“So do you want to watch T.V. or play video games or get something to eat or take a look outside?”
Erik shrugged.
“I can sort of understand not talking much around new people, but it’s just me.”
“Whatever you want.”
“You’re the guest.” Erik sighed.
“Outside then.”
“You’re never hungry. Have you ever even played a video game?” Erik shook his head in response. Wes copied the action as he pointed to the back of the house.
“Okay. The back door is over here. You saw the upstairs bathroom and the downstairs one is over there by the front door.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “And unless Dad’s suddenly gotten handy, don’t use the hot water in that one unless you want your skin scorched off.” Erik nodded quickly.
Barley suddenly appeared again and went for Erik this time, who backed up quickly. Wes laughed and intercepted the huge dog. “Don’t forget you’re a big dog, Barley. Big means intimidating. You can’t just rush up to new people.” The dog had the decency to look chastised before rushing over to Erik anyway as soon as Wes took his hands off him. “Just tell him to sit.” Erik looked with wide eyes at the monstrous animal.
“…sit.”
“With some authority! Geez, Erik, I know you’ve seen a dog before.”
“This thing's a freaking horse!”
“Barley SIT!” The dog skidded to a halt and stopped a few inches in front of Erik, who just backed away. “Come on, just ignore him. He’ll get used to you. He’s just happy to see you.” Erik stepped around the dog, who turned to follow him with wide, deep eyes. “No, Barley. Bad dog. No guilt looks.” Erik could have sworn the dog grinned, ruining the look. Creepy dog.
“He’s cool. So this is our backyard.” It looked relatively small. A fence was in the back, with a gate that led nowhere obvious. Erik figured it wasn’t used, since it was grown over with bush. “Ha, and this is the surprise. Check this out.” He walked over to the gate and turned left. He pushed at the bush around it and the fence swung open. Erik grinned.
“Cool.” Wes mirrored his grin and stepped through. Erik followed and they found themselves in a thick patch of trees.
“It leads right into this forested area behind the houses on this street. I used to come here all the time, and I thought you might like it.”
“It’s great.” Erik was about to walk further in when he heard voices. Wes frowned.
“There shouldn’t be anyone in here…it’s all fenced off.”
“And us?”
“That’s different. Let’s check it out.” Erik rolled his eyes and followed the brazen boy. The voices got a little louder, and the increase in sound was obviously not because of lessened proximity. They crouched down for some unspoken reason and crept as quietly as they could to the people.
There was a cleared area surrounded by a particularly thick batch of trees. Erik and Wes stood by a gap in them and tried to sort out what was going on.

“To the base.” Erik pulled on the edge of his jacket.
“The base.”
“Yes. Come on.” She walked behind a tree and didn’t come back out the other side. Wes stared at the structure as Erik walked over to inspect it. He could see no door. Wes went to join him.
Then they jumped back, Wes nearly falling on his pants. “You boys coming?” The nonchalant tone was betrayed by the mischievous tilt of her smile. Erik grinned at the opening in the tree. It was a severely rough door that meandered around pieces of bark. The removed section slid back up into the tree to reveal the opening to a very skinny, very dark tunnel. Wes wondered briefly how his dad had gotten down it.
“How…”
“We have several very gifted people who specialize in plant energy. They did this. Isn’t it great?” She grinned again and slipped down the hole. Erik and Wes looked at each other. Erik shrugged and followed Dee, and Wes, after a slight hesitation that included a shudder, followed slowly.
“Have I ever mentioned that I hate small spaces.” Erik didn’t say anything, but Dee replied.
“I do too. This doesn’t last very long. I’m already at the bottom, just waiting for you. They really didn’t need to put in a ladder, just a cushy landing pad. It would be more fun, too. But of course I can’t tell them that.” Erik reached the bottom as she finished talking.
“Come on Wes, you’re just about there.”
When Wes reached the bottom his eyes were closed tightly. He looked around and breathed in relief.
The place they had reached was small, but it was larger and brighter than the tunnel. There was another tunnel, but it was horizontal and had some strange lamps that lit up as Dee walked past them.
“You’ll have to tell me how to do that.”
“Sure. Just bend the energy to light.”
“What?”
“Bend it. To the light form.”
“Dee, I remind you that I had no formal training in this.”
“Right, right. You’ll learn later, then.” After a few minutes Wes decided to ask what he knew Erik also must want to know.
“So…are we there yet?” Erik smiled at him, and Dee shook her head in amusement.
“No, we aren’t there yet. Almost, though. Just a few more minutes.”
“Is this like blindfolding us?”
“No, this is like a shortcu-“
“Ah!” Wes screamed loudly, causing the other two to swing around and run back to him. He was standing in the middle of the tunnel, frozen in place with a horrible scream coming from him. Dee didn’t even slow on her way towards him, and just pushed him backwards. Then she stared at him as he shook on the floor. Erik knelt down but shouted at Dee.
“What the hell was that!?”
“That was a shield of sorts. Though why it went off on him I don’t know. It only works on people without the ability to bend energy.”
“Wes, bend something.” Weakly, Wes moved his fingers. Erik’s glasses slid down and nearly fell off his nose. He caught them and glared at Wes.
“Well there isn’t much to use around here.”
“When I said bend something I didn’t mean my easily breakable glasses.”
“Well he can bend perfectly fine. I don’t know why.”
“Could it have something to do with the fact that he was Created?” Dee frowned thoughtfully, but before she could answer, Wes’s knees hit the floor. He glared at the ground.
“A little help, please?”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Dee helped him to stand, and he rested on Erik. He didn’t fall this time.
“Don’t worry about it. What’s this about me being Created being the problem?”
“I guess it’s possible. The shield doesn’t work on anyone who has the right code in their genes.
“People either have the gift or they don’t. It’s like a door that only lets right-handed people get through. The left-handed people wouldn’t get in, but only because they used their left hands, not because they didn’t use their right hands. You just happen to be the only ambidextrous kid…ever.”
“By the way, you need a different analogy. That one’s confusing.”
“No it’s not.” Wes glared at Erik.
“So how do I get through?”
“I shut it down.”
“It’s that easy?”
“Yeah.” Dee held her hands into what looked to Wes and Erik like thin air. They glanced at each other as she closed her eyes and started muttering to herself.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just unfamiliar with this one. I’m trying to get a feel for it. Now be quiet.” She seemed to be feeling around in the air, then created a narrow rectangle with her hand. “Think you can get through that?” Wes looked dubiously at the woman.
“It’s…air.”
“Exactly.”
“I think there’s a door in whatever hurt you, Wes.” Erik said gently.
“Uh…yeah. Right. Hey, Dee…I can’t see it. Do you realize that?”
“I can’t see it either, Dee.” Erik volunteered.
“Just feel for it.”
“I don’t want to feel it!”
“I meant sense it.”
“I can’t!” Erik ran a hand through his hair.
“So use the energy in the air directly around it and change a thin layer into light. Like the lamps.” Dee smiled proudly at him.
“Just as smart as ever. Great idea.” The air began to glow in front of them. Erik looked at the wall of light and walked over to the doorway. He stepped through.
“It should be big enough for you, Wes.”
“Yeah well you have girly shoulders. I’ve got man shoulders.”
“So turn to the side if you have to.” Wes shook his head and walked slowly to the door.
“You’re never any fun. Why don’t you usually respond to my taunts?” He looked in quickly, then stepped through, unharmed. Then he sighed. “Do I have to go through this again on the way out?”
“No.” Wes put his hands up in a melodramatic praise.
“Thank God.”
Then he stumbled into the wall.
“Save the drama queen act for when you’re not struggling to keep balanced.”
“It’s the wall’s fault.” Erik shook his head and dragged him after Dee.
She stopped at a wall right after a turn.
“I’m assuming that this is another shield.”
“Actually, Erik, I have no idea what it’s doing here. It shouldn’t be here. But it has to be relatively recent because Mary and Robert were just here.”
“Speaking of them, how did they get past the shield back there?”
“They went the other way.”
“There was no other way!”
“You don’t look closely enough.” Wes huffed and went up to the wall.
“It looks like just another wall. Like a dead end.”
“See if you can go through it.”
“It’s a wall.”
“And that last shield was air, Wes. Just try it.” He tried to put a hand in it, but nothing happened. “Wes.” Erik prodded him. Wes rolled his eyes and walked theatrically into the wall. He bounced back off.
“Well? Happy?” Dee smiled.
“Yes.” They turned their attention to the woman who had one hand on the wall and the other on Wes’s arm. “This one only prevents energy-benders from passing through it.”
“Well, Wes, it looks like you’re screwed either way!”
“Thanks, Erik. But don’t forget that you can’t get through either.”
“You love reminding me of this curse, don’t you?” Erik ground out.
“I’m just trying to keep you grounded in reality.”
“Dee, how long is it going to take you to disable that?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure who made it, but I’m familiar with the energy patterns, so it’s only a matter of time before I figure it out.”
“How long?” Dee sighed.
“Anywhere from five minutes to a half hour.” Erik lowered his voice to a low whisper.
“Okay.” Erik looked back at Wes and pulled on the hem of his jacket. “I wanted to apologize for earlier. Back in the lab, I mean.”
“What?” Erik sighed and pulled them away from Dee.
“I scared you half to death, I know. Because I was too afraid to face what I had done. I worried you unnecessarily.”
“Erik…” Wes said as he sighed. Erik interrupted him.
“Wes, listen. I was wrong. I could feel myself slipping after…afterwards, and I didn’t do anything to prevent it. As a result we could have gotten caught, and I don’t…think that I could handle…you being caught by them.” Erik tightened his jaw.
Dee carefully kept her back turned. She had figured out who it was that had made it, and now it was a simple matter of disassembling the well-known patterns.
But the air was practically with Erik’s poorly hidden fear. Even though she hadn’t actually seen the people with Erik other than chasing him, the time with them had obviously taught him not to show any concern for anyone.
So she dawdled at the wall and focused on learning how to make on of this new sort of shield.
“Erik, it’s okay, you don’t have to-“
“I do. Maybe part of my problem is that I won’t let anyone try help. So I’m going to trust you, and trust myself to keep you safe.” He took a very deep breath and let it out, eyes shut.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Wes. You never let my icy demeanor throw you. You’ve always just kept trying to be a friend to me and I kept…well, pushing you as far back as humanly possible. I ignored you, rarely responding to anything you did or said. I’m just…afraid. I seem to always be afraid of something. I’m scared that something will happen to you. And I don’t think I could handle it.” Wes stood still for a fraction of a second after he was done. Then he grinned with supreme confidence.
“I’ll be fine, Erik. I’m me!” His face turned serious and he put his hands into his pockets. “It means a lot Erik. And don’t worry, I get it. What you’re doing, I mean.” He shrugged and pushed his hands deeper into his pockets. “Thanks for putting yourself out there for me.” Erik smiled slowly and shrugged.
“Yeah. But no more chick-flick moments like this, okay?”
“Hey, you’re the one who started being all open and stuff, not me!” Erik laughed weakly and shrugged. Dee spun around with a triumphant yell.
“Ha! Got it!”
“That was fast.” Dee smirked.
“I’m just that good.” She winked and blew out an imaginary gun. Then she turned her grin on Erik, ruffled his hair, and walked off. Erik blinked. Wes shook his head. They walked after the strange woman.

Okay guys. About three chapters randomly vanished from my story. Needless to say, this is bad. I remember writing that bit, too. So I have to find it. That's why this installment is so insanely short....

Also, a better last sentence for this part would be greatly appreciated. It was the first part that was cut off....

Alright. I have a specific request on this one. Jason used to be Rebecca before I got bored with her and switched her out for Jason. So if Jason randomly becomes a 'she', please let me know. I've gone through those sections, but I'm very liable to miss something.
Also, this is a very, very, very long post. Very loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong. So if you didn't catch it, it's going to take a while to read this one.
Also, this is nearly all I have so far, because I'm working on the version that I'm submitting for a scholarship. That also means updates will now be coming much more slowly. And if I thought that anyone actually minded, I would be apolozing thoroughly. Fortunately for me.... sweatdrop
Anyway, finally, to the story.

As it turned out, Dee’s house was actually a renovated warehouse, she said, that had been built midway through the twentieth century. When Wes asked if she had helped built it she glared at him so sharply that he blushed and mumbled an apology. She had bought it three years ago for a quarter million and was still working on getting it totally fixed up.
The tin roof was noisy on rainy days but provided a sense of calm that made up for the deafening racket. The floor never creaked but was covered in all sorts of area mats and rugs and pieces of carpet because it was freezing.
Erik took all this in with amusement, noting once how like her it was. Entering the kitchen he commented on how unused it had to be. Dee turned slowly to face him as he continued to talk.
“Maybe at last she’s past burned pasta and canned vegetables. I mean the microwave looks like it hasn’t exploded yet and the oven looks intact from any new attempts-“
“Erik.”
“Yes, Dee?”
“I was in college.”
“I could cook better than you. I was a ten year-old boy.”
“I was only using these appliances because you refused to eat anything that I had bended into edibility.”
“Edibility? Is that even a word?”
“Of course it is!”
“Says the girl who can’t cook.”
“You take that back.”
“But it’s a fact. I can’t undo truth.”
“Yeah?” Erik and Dee crossed their arms and stuck their tongues out at each other. Wes and Jason stared at the two with a cross between horror and confusion on their faces.
“Does Erik do this to everyone?”
“I’ve never seen him do anything like this. Ever. I’m guessing that Dee never…” Jason shook his head as he trailed off.
“Well at least I can clean!”
“Hey! I keep my dorm clean enough!” Wes snapped out of his stupor to rebut this claim with indignation.
“You do not! I’m the one who keeps it clean!”
“Ha, see! You’re a slob!” Erik crossed his arms.
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
“Am not!”
“Are too!”
“Am – AH!!” Without warning Erik found himself begin pushed to the ground. He freed his arms from each other and landed with a thud, laughing. The other two watched, now somewhat wary.
“Did she really just tackle him?”
“Is she tickling him?”
“ARE TOO!”
“AM NOT!” They backed away and Jason pulled out her phone.
“I’m considering calling in quarantine.”
“Do you think they’ve been infected with something?”
“Or maybe possessed?”
“With all the weirdness this week I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Dee got to his sides to tickle and he laughed all the harder.
“I give, I give!” After a moment while he tried to push her off he yelled. “I SAID I GIVE!” She finally stopped, but neither could stop laughing.
“Can speed be airborne?”
“Speed?”
“The drug.”
“I don’t know, but I’m thinking it’s a possibility.”
Dee and Erik were trying to stop laughing long enough to stand. Wes rolled his eyes. This was ridiculous. If it was anything like a drug, they would have been affected too. And besides…
“I’m hungry.” Wes announced. They stared at him and started laughing hysterically again. “What? I’m a growing boy!”
“No you’re not.” Erik managed to choke out. “You’re a bottomless pit.” They stopped laughing and realized that their sides hurt.
“How do you two afford all the food you must put away?”
“Us? Erik hardly eats anything. I don’t know how he’s more than skin and bones. For weeks he’s lived off of those pills and coffee.” Dee turned a frown on him.
“Erik? That sounds so unlike him. When you were with me you ate all the time, anything you could.”
“They didn’t feed me much, and you didn’t know me that long, Dee. Besides, I don’t ever remember being hungry here.” Dee blinked, tilted her head, and nodded a little.
“Did it occur to you that maybe that’s because you were always eating? I guess my food wasn’t all that bad, huh?”
“Hello, still hungry here.” They all looked at Wes, who was looking pitiful and rubbing his stomach.
“He does looks like a stick.”
“That’s because he has an insane metabolism.”
“Still hungry!” Dee sighed.
“Rummage around in the fridge, there’s always something in there.” He grinned and raced to it. He frowned upon seeing its contents. “There’s nothing in here.” Dee frowned, too, and went to look. Her voice clearly conveyed her confusion.
“What do you mean? Sure, some of it is bad, but there’s plenty of what’s left.”
“You mean of the tofu.”
“Yes.”
“There’s no real food in here, though.”
“There’s tofu and celery and - did you just call tofu fake food?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not fake food, it’s perfectly real.”
“Dee’s a vegetarian.” Erik offered.
“Gee, thanks Erik. Couldn’t you have told me that before we went on this little adventure?”
“You’re the one who’s hungry. How was I supposed to know?”
“But tofu is real food." Dee insisted as she cut into the conversation.
“No, it’s squishy and spongy and gross.”
“It’s nutritious and it isn’t always squishy. You can get the firm kind which isn’t at all squishy.”
“Can we just pick something?” Erik inserted.
“But it doesn’t even taste like anything! It isn’t really food.”
“I suppose you don’t eat celery, either.”
“Guys, I’m actually getting hungry.”
“I happen to love celery, thank you, but that’s real food, anyway.”
“And what makes that real food when tofu isn’t?” Erik sighed.
“Whatever. I’m getting something for myself.” Having said that, he walked past them and pulled a slice of pizza from behind a stack of tofu packages. He shook the clear plastic wrapped pizza at Dee. “Is this still good?” She blushed and Wes stared, eyes following the package.
“Yeah,” Wes made to take it from Erik but he moved towards the microwave. Wes growled and tried to take it from Erik, who simply kept the pizza away from him, otherwise ignoring him. “but its not really mine. I mean I didn’t order it. I mean Rebecca and the girls were over and they wanted pizza and I just got stuck with-“
“It’s okay, Dee, chill. I know it’s veg.” Wes, who was considering tackling Erik for the pizza, froze.
“It’s vegetarian?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” He looked blank for a moment.
“Um…Wes? What’s wrong?”
“She…destroyed it. The American pizza has been defiled and demeated, all because some crazy old woman doesn’t eat real food.”
“Crazy old woman? Who’re you calling old, buddy?” Wes found himself the victim of said crazy old woman’s glare, and not liking it.
“Eriiiik! She’s using her bending on me!”
“I am not!”
“Are too! My stomach is all queasy!” Erik laughed as he turned on the microwave.
“That’s just the effect her nasty glare has on people, Wes. It has nothing to do with bending.” He turned to look at Dee. “Where does the word bending come from, anyway? Is it something your group made up? I’ve never heard the word before I met you.”
“No, that’s the term we all use. We don’t know why, we all just somehow know it.”
“I didn’t.” Erik said as he shrugged.
“I didn’t, either.” Wes pouted.
“You both had unusual circumstances.” They contemplated that. Wes watched uneasily as Erik became increasingly more withdrawn into himself. He needed to get him out before it became too difficult.
“You know, I’m still hungry here! I NEED SUBSTANENCE!” Erik sighed and went to get his pizza from the microwave.
“Dee, can I get a plate and a box of those cheese crackers?”
“Cheeze-its? Goldfish? Why?”
“For Wes. He wants food.” Dee’s eyes lit on fire as she turned her glare on Wes again.
“You call that junk real food and tofu not?” Wes nodded eagerly.
“Yes! Goldfish! Food!” Displeased that her glare went unnoticed in favor of Wes’s stomach, she pouted until a plate and a box of some cheese-flavored crackers floated over.
Dee stalked over to the counter and got a bowl out from beneath the sink as the fridge opened and tofu and various vegetables floated out. She angrily chopped up the vegetables on the cutting board rolled up inside the bowl, and paid no attention to the newly chopped vegetables as they floated over to and dropped into the bowl. Wes watched with fascination as he ate what he considered his meal.
Erik stared at the microwave as it counted down from sixty.
They would be waiting for him. His captors, his jailors waited like a panel of judges to pass his sentence: how many deaths he would cause, how many years he had to devote to their cause, how many experiments would be run on him each night, how much more pain. He would have to give his payment in whichever ways they chose for his eight years.
He repressed a shudder. They knew he was coming.
They liked breaking him, seeing him turn more into an animal each day. Everything and everyone he had ever gotten attached to they had taken away to make him more subservient, twisting him into a cowering dog.
Wes. They would try to take him. He couldn’t let them do that, could he? But there wasn’t really anything he could do. He was trapped and cornered and unable to do good anyway, so how could he possibly save Wes from them? They were all powerful, unstoppable. Trying to do anything against them was equivalent to treason.
But he did still try, didn’t he? He would occasionally try to do some scrap of good. He would try, every now and then when he had the strength to withstand their punishment.
“Are you going to get that out or not?” Wes was staring at the microwave. Erik shook his head to clear the confusing thoughts circling there. Wes mistook the gesture and went to grab the pizza.
“But since you don’t like vegetarian pizza, I guess I have to eat it myself.” Wes glared as Erik smirked and took his pizza slice.
Dee looked up from the soup she had finished and was pouring into bowls for herself and Rebecca.
“Okay, as soon as everyone is done, we’re going down to the garage and leaving. Unless you all prefer to walk the twenty miles into the city.” Wes stared in disbelief until he realized that the woman was joking.
“You’re weird.”
“I know.”
“Are they expecting us?”
“No.” Dee responded.
Only Ery.
“Erik, they probably won’t even recognize you.” Erik blinked. How did she do that?
“They will.”
“How?” She asked skeptically. “These are different guys who have never seen you before.” Erik closed his eyes and finished his pizza. He took off his jacket and pulled up his right sleeve as he spoke.
“Everything belonging to the organization has a tag that identifies it as their property. It also includes a mini GPS tag that allows them to find them wherever they might be.”
“But they didn’t find you.”
“At first they did, because I didn’t know how to remove it from under my skin.” His sleeve now fully pulled up revealed a completely healed scar about the size of a half dollar, and nearly as round, on the inside of his arm. Wes stared at it.
“I never saw that before.”
“I hid it well.”
“Even coming from the shower, with nothing on your arms…”
“Did you ever notice how I either held the bag in the same way every day or had my hands in my pockets? It always covered this part of my arm.”
“I remember that hole.” Dee said thoughtfully.
“Yes. I was running from them and needed a way to get it out of my arm. I couldn’t seem to find a sharp enough knife that I could pry out the chip with. I found the ingredients to make a very strong acid that wouldn’t get into my bloodstream and kill me and poured it so that it got to the chip and through it. Then I ran my arm under water for five minutes even after it stopped burning.
“It also made it bleed insanely and at that point they found me again anyway, so I couldn’t even wrap it. I ran but one was a lot smarter. He trapped me. They broke a few bones and I killed them all, but one managed to report the situation and my location. I ran again and they found me again. Dee spotted me that time and took me in. So, no, they’re not about to forget me. I’m the only thing they haven’t found. They find everything else quickly.”
“Lots of people have scars.”
“Not like this, not here.” He sighed and pulled his sleeve back down. “What’s so important that we have to get it back, Dee? I haven’t missed anything so far. It can’t be that important. I’m not going back. I worked too hard to get away from them. I won’t risk myself or Wes.”
“It’s my choice whether I want to risk myself or not.”
“Haven’t we been through this?”
“It’s not worth it. I have no interest in rubbing their noses in my freedom, as you put it. Wes would be in danger, too. He’s not going either.”
“Yes, I am.”
“None of you can stop them. And no, Wes, you aren’t.”
“I’m a lot more experienced than you were, Erik. You were young and scared and inexperienced, none of which apply to me.”
“It doesn’t matter, they’re too powerful.” Wes shrugged.
“I don’t care how powerful they are. I’m going.”
“You should stay.”
“You should go.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“You won’t.”
“So you’re not even going to try to protect me?”
“Of course I am. By not letting you go. We’ll be safer if you don’t go.”
“I want to go. I want to spit in their faces.” Erik’s face paled. They would hurt him even more if he did that.
“No.”
“Whatever. Rebecca, are you done with your fake food?”
“It’s real-“
“Oh good. Let’s go get those weapons so we can leave, then.” Erik frowned and leaned against the counter as Wes made sure it was okay for Erik to stay there. He didn’t want to go back – he couldn’t go back, could he? It simply wasn’t an option. No, Wes would simply have to be made to stay.
“You aren’t going.”
“What?” Erik didn’t repeat himself. He had heard him just fine and would answer. “Erik, we just had this discussion.”
“I’m not asking.” Wes frowned. This wasn’t going right at all. Erik was supposed to be so concerned that we went along for the sole purpose of protecting Wes. Obviously he had assumed wrong.
“Neither am I. Since when have I needed your permission to go somewhere?”
“You need it for this.” Wes sighed and continued his plan anyway.
“Whatever, man.” Wes took a step towards Dee and Rebecca and froze.
“That wasn’t a request. You’re not going.”
“Hey! What’s your problem!” Dee watched with fascination, shaking her head to stop Rebecca when she moved to intervene.
“You don’t seem to understand.”
“No, I don’t. The way I see it, this is my life.”
“My way is better.”
“What the hell, Erik? Isn’t this what you didn’t want to do with your abilities? I thought you were against using them.”
“For bad purposes.”
“And who are you to determine what’s good and what’s not? Are you God, Erik? Are you the organization?” For a moment, as the hold Erik had on him tightened, he wondered if he had gone too far. Then the hold released and he could move. Thank God.
“No. I’m not fit for anything that’s good and so can’t know what is and isn’t right.” Wes shook his head.
“Can’t do right? As in can’t do good?” At Erik’s nod, he continued. “What’s that mean?”
“You know what it means.”
“Yes, but I’m pretty sure now that you don’t.”
“Everyone around me gets hurt or worse.”
“What? Look, I don’t know- “
“My parents, the people I killed to escape, nearly Dee, Rossinger, and almost you right after that!”
“Damn it, Erik, I am so tired of your impossible opinion of yourself. Look, your parents were accidents, the people there were necessary, you didn’t kill Dee, and besides that you were a kid and were scared.”
“And Rossinger and you?”
“Rossinger was an evil git you were protecting me from.”
“You weren’t really in danger.”
“I was. He twisted my mind and had my believing things I never would believe under ordinary circumstances. And I put you in danger.” Wes ran a hand through his hair.
“Look, I know you can do good. All the times you’ve helped me – what, you didn’t think I noticed my forgotten textbook mysteriously appear in time for my next class? – and always being so cold and distant to protect everyone around you? Mistaken as the last notion was, it was all for good intent.”
“Even the devil can do good things every now and then.”
“For his own personal gain. The good you do is for the good of others and not yourself.” Seeing Erik’s face blank and uncomprehending, he switched to a different tactic. “Do you want to be evil?”
“What? No, of course not!”
“Do you want to do good, and be good?”
“Yes, but-“
“Then you are good.”
“Wes, that’s like saying that because a little boy wants to be a professional ball player that he will be.”
“That’s different.”
“Not where it’s important.”
“Especially where it’s important! Good is a part of who and what a person is. Sure, you’ve done some ugly stuff, but who hasn’t? Are you so much better than us that you have to be perfect to be considered good?” Erik shook his head to try to stop the thoughts swirling in his head. To his dismay it seemed to serve only to mix them up more.
Wes made sense. His logic was there, but it was stand-alone logic. It didn’t fit with the rest of what he knew.
You’re evil. No good person ever kills another.
I was trying to protect Wes from Rossinger.
But that was only at first, Ery, and you know this.
I was going to scare Rossinger into leaving Wes alone.
But then you got pulled into it, Ery, and that added anger caused you to lose control to your evil.
I’m not…
You are. And that makes you worthless, said the voice inside of him.
No, I’m worth something - Wes said so.
Flawed, it insisted. Who wants to take in what is broken? Who would take more than a little time – but Wes is sharing his Christmas.
And you’re ruining it for him. Here he is, away from his family.
No...
He’ll get caught and tortured, just because of you.
No. He won’t. Dee…we’ll protect him.
What can you do? You can’t do good.
But I was protecting Wes!
At first. But killing him was for you.
Oh God, no…
Worthless, said the voice inside of him.
But Wes said…
Flawed.
Christmas though. Wes is…
You ruin everything.
It’s not true, no, not true.
He’ll he caught by them because of you.
Shut up…shut UP!
Erik tried again to clear his thoughts. His circular arguments with himself weren’t doing any good, as usual. Even when they varied in topic, they were always a circle between what he knew and what he wanted to believe was true, like what Wes had said. He knew it couldn’t be true, that he was good, but he did so want to believe it.
Are you that much better than them that you think you have a right to be around them, being as dirty as you are? You’re like a flee-ridden dog at a fancy party. An ant at a picnic that no one wants but has no choice but to put up with.
‘Are you so much better than us that you have to be perfect to be considered good?’
Why couldn’t his thoughts just shut up? He didn’t want to think about this, and it was giving him a headache that didn’t really hurt but was somehow still managing to be a headache.
“You’d better get going.” Wes stared, unbelieving.
“What?”
“It might take a while to get down there, right?”
“You’re not going?”
“There’s no point.”
“Of course there’s a point! To protect me.”
“Why are you going?”
“To protect you.” Erik threw his arms in the air at this.
“That doesn’t even make any sense! I’m not going!”
“I figure that if you go you’ll walk out unharmed and be a million times better. You’ll be safe from yourself and you’re already safe from them.” Erik stood slowly.
“What?”
“They’re not going to find you. I figured that if they hadn’t already they wouldn’t now, and that tracking device is out. Or did you mean the part before that?”
Erik’s thoughts were too confused to allow him to answer in the moment Wes waited, so he just stood there looking dumbfounded. “I’ve heard you pound your fist, or your head, into the shower wall so hard I’m surprised the tiles don’t crack. You keep the heat up so high that the place is completely steamed up when I walk in a few minutes later to go use the bathroom. Your skin is as red as a lobster when you walk into the dorm, and your washrag only stops steaming after you’ve been in the room for at least a minute.
“I’m not an idiot, Erik. I know that the lab knives aren’t sharp enough to cut as deeply as some of those things you call scratches. I don’t know exactly why you hurt yourself like this, but I know it has something to do with the organization.”
He hates you. You see it, don’t you? Disgust.
No…he doesn’t hate me. He’s just worried, I think.
Disgusted.
A little. Mostly worried.
“So why don’t you just end it?”
Disgusted, Ery. Because you’re filth.
“Why not just send yourself to a different hell? Can it actually be worse than this?” Erik stared blankly at him even as his emotions ran crazily.
See, even he understands what I’m saying. Why can’t you fully accept this? You think anyone wants to put up with you? Ha!
Maybe yes. Maybe that’s right.
What ever happened to when you were smart and just took what I said?
“Because I’m weak . I don’t end it because…I’m too weak.”
“To die? Dying sounds like the coward’s way out. It looks harder to face those lies you have in you and easier to just let go.”
He’s trying to confuse you, Ery. Like you need any help.
“It would be easier to die, yes, but those lies you are talking about are the only truths I have. But you still make sense and I find myself in this circle and it’s just too hard to think about it!”
“That’s what you have friends for!”
“I can’t have any!”
“You have me.” Wes went to drag him away from the counter. Erik pulled his arm away.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I want to help.”
“Don’t touch me!” He felt frantically for his bottle.
“Let me help.” Erik shook his head wildly, though whether as Wes’s offer or the thoughts running around in his head he didn’t know. “Why won’t you let me?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“For me to listen to you, to help you understand what are lies and what aren’t?”
“Yes!”
“Why?”
“Wait, no. Yes, it is.”
“Why is it too dangerous?”
“I don’t know! Where is that damn bottle!?”
“Erik, I want to help you.”
“No.”
“You need someone to help you, and I’m here for that.”
“Stop saying that!”
“I really think you should go.”
“No.”
“Are you hot? Live?”
“Why do you think I’m trying to find my pills!”
“I’m going to touch your hand.” Erik tried to drop further back, but ended up bumping into the counter as Wes closed in.
“That’s suicide, Wes.”
“Have you ever touched a bender who was expecting it?”
“No, Wes, this is just-“
“I think I can handle it.”
“And you’re saying I’m the one who needs help! Anyone who even bumped me while I was hot died!” Dee frowned. So far she had kept herself and Rebecca out of this, but this was just dangerous beyond reason. Wes could die, and Erik would be completely crushed. “Please…just let me get my pills. They must be in my jacket.”
“Let me try.”
“Trying and failing will only get you killed.”
“I want to help you.”
“By dying?!”
“No, by showing you that I can handle whatever you can throw at me.”
“You don’t have to risk death to prove that!”
“Then what do I have to do?”
“I don’t know!”
“Then this is the only way. Give me your hand.”
“That’s not an argument.” Wes sighed.
“Fine. By the way, I have your pills. Here.” He pulled the bottle from his own pocket and stretched out his hand towards Erik. Relieved, he went to take it.
As Dee went to shout out a warning and run over to them, Wes reached up with his other hand and clasped Erik’s.
By the time Dee reached them they were both on the ground. Erik’s face was buried in his arms and Dee suspected that the shaking was a result of crying. Of grieving.
Monster.
Not deserving of life.
“Oh, God. Please, no.” A quick glance at Wes revealed that he was dead. He was steaming and still and Erik was a mourning wreck.
Whose life do you mourn, Ery?
His…and mine.
You have no life, Ery. You never did.
I know.
I don’t deserve to live.
Then Erik’s breathing stopped.
Wes had just groaned.
“Oy…what a headache. I guess I wasn’t as prepared as I thought.” Dee and Rebecca had the energy to be astounded. Erik just stared at him, almost numbly. “You had more energy spilling over than I thought. I told you to have some faith in me.”
“How…”
“I just absorbed it. Well, I took some and…well, Dee no longer has a faulty air conditioner.”
“It’s December.” Erik pointed out dimly.
“Yeah, but still. I had to put it somewhere. Even if she does use bending to keep herself cool, it could still be helpful.”
“You’re….alive.” Wes sat up and rubbed the back of his head.
“Yep. I thought you trusted me?” Dee went to help Wes up the floor but gasped.
“You’re hot!” Wes let a slow smile spread across his face.
“Why thank you, but you’re a little too old for me.” Dee didn’t bother with a glare and instead frowned with concern.
“No, I mean your skin. It’s almost to hot to touch.”
“More was transferred into heat energy than I had meant to. I guess that’s just because it’s its default form.”
“This isn’t healthy. It can’t be good for you.”
“Can I bend it away from myself?” Dee blinked at him.
“Just push the energy away from you. It’s pretty simple. But put it somewhere like the oven, would you?” Wes nodded and closed his eyes.
Dee put her hand to his head when he opened his eyes again. “Nice job.”
“So Erik. Have I proven myself?”
He nearly died trying to prove himself to you.
But it was his choice.
If you had made it clear that you did trust him, this wouldn’t have happened.
He’s okay…
And if he hadn’t been? Your fault, Ery.
“Don’t ever do that again, Wes. I trusted you before…I never wanted you to do that!”
“I wanted to. Do you trust me now?”
“Yes.”
But you can’t trust yourself, Ery. Never trust yourself.
Because it would have been my fault.
“Don’t do that again, please. Swear you will never take that chance again.”
“But I know what I’m doing now.”
“Swear it, please.” Wes thought for a moment.
“No.” Erik slowly got up from the floor. Wes followed easily. “I might have to do it again.”
“Why?” Wes shrugged.
“I don’t know yet.”
Dee gestured to the door. “We need to get going. Who’s going and who isn’t?” Wes looked to Erik who sighed and walked towards Dee.
“Good. Now let’s kick some bad guy butt!” Wes pumped his fist in the air.
“Wes, we aren’t going to be kicking ‘bad guy butt.’ We are going to trade, remember.”
“Are you ever going to tell us what we’re trading for?”
“Yes.” There was a second of expectant silence.
“Okay…when?”
“Later.” Erik sighed. Dee sounded like him, and it was infuriating.