Chapter 1: The Terms of the Espiri

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Mercurious stood in the hallway mirror, practicing his human facial expressions and wondering if his reflection would follow him out the door. His reflection, known to him as Hermea, was a welcome companion, especially on nights like these—when he would need counsel and protection. Mercurious was a formidable opponent in his own right—a magician of sorts. His mind was his greatest asset, though equally brilliant as it was terrifying, even to him. He was skilled in many handcrafts: masonry, construction, auto mechanics, crochet (though he didn’t boast the latter at the pub), and could create and manipulate objects with an ease no one could understand nor master. His weapon of choice in battle was a sword; however, in these modern times he had found kinship with a silver, bone-handled .38 revolver. This wasn’t just any revolver—it was an enchanted gift and was his most prized possession. The silver revolver had an endless chamber of six silver bullets, which still required its spent shells be emptied before it could fire another round of six. This was a minor hiccup in its magical properties but Mercurious was famous for his quick fingers and agile hands and found it unnecessary to begrudge the earthbound gift’s enchantment. After all, the Earth has its own rules and limitations.

The clock on the wall ticked its minute hand and the internal clock inside Mercurious knew it was 9:15. He made one last twitch in his eyes to convey excitement, then displeasure. Hermea twitched her eyes accordingly and to his liking, so he spun away from the mirror to grab his keys. He had 15 minutes to travel to a 9:30 meeting with an undesirable fellow (by Hermea’s standards) named Mitch. But as Mercurious walked towards the door, Hermea did not follow. He continued out, thinking she would catch up eventually, but he sensed something was wrong. Mercurious and Hermea shared a bond that was not of this Earth. Hermea was his Espiri—bound to him from human birth. Though Hermea didn’t come out of a mother’s womb like Mercurious, she was formed when he took his first breath on the Earth’s material plane. Hermea was the external manifestation of his soul—a spirit guide. Every human has an Espiri; on some planes they are known as animal spirits or daemons, on other planes they are known as guardian angels or the inner voice. On the plane where Mercurious lives, Espiri are only visible to humans who have attained self-mastery—they’ve lived as a human on the Earth’s material plane for a minimum of 9 lifetimes. Espiri usually appear as tiny orbs of light or shadowy specters, however, Hermea was a fully formed human being, identical in appearance to Mercurious—a doppelganger. But Hermea also possessed non-human powers: some call it magic, some call it devilry. In actuality, Hermea was not bound to many of the Earth’s limitations such as gravity or decay—she was only bound to Mercurious in human form.

Hermea was also not bound to the will of Mercurious and decided to exercise her own will on this particular evening. She was prideful, restless, and prone to mischief on any given day, though she usually gave heed to the will of Mercurious. Tonight was different. Tonight she had the overwhelming impulse to alter his plans. She was tired of sharing his thoughts, tired of taking the backseat to conscience and higher mind, tired of resisting the Shadow Unconscious. She knew she was just as important to Mercurious as he was to her and tonight she would test her own strength. Hermea was not acting out of malevolence—she was merely curious about the limitations of their symbiotic relationship. Living on Earth, restricted to its rules, left her feeling rebellious. Even though she possessed magical abilities, she was not given full access to properties associated with other planes of existence. Perhaps, the most frustrating obstacle was her human body. The physical needs and desires were excruciating at times: always needing food, sleep, attention, intimacy, sex, excretion—Ugh! How unbearable to her spirit nature. It was time to make some rules of her own.

As Mercurious pulled out of the parking lot of their shared apartment in his leased Mini Cooper, he continued to glance in his rearview mirror to practice his eye movements. His mind was racing with all the probable outcomes of his meeting with Mitch. Still, he couldn’t shake the unusual silence from Hermea’s mind. Though she peered back at him through the rearview, she wasn’t bouncing ideas and problems back and forth, giving him advice, and suggesting new concepts as usual. He tried to summon her with a Visualization of Will technique: her hair, eyes, nose, the pores in her skin, her smell, voice, rhythmic heartbeat, breath, walk—all identical to his own—but she would not appear next to him. Finally, as he approached Gatekeeper Community Park, where he was scheduled to meet Mitch, Hermea’s voice filled the car.

“We must come to an agreement,” she said.

“Can’t this wait?” Mercurious asked. “You know I’ve been planning this meeting for two weeks.”

“We must come to an agreement, now,” she repeated. The heaviness of her voice was enough for him to realize that avoidance was impossible.

“I know what you want, Hermea, and I can’t allow it. You don’t realize the power of the Shadow, my Shadow—it’s not the same here on Earth.”

“Don’t try to tell me about something you’re afraid to try. Haven’t I proven my abilities? Don’t you remember that I’ve lived as the Shadow in previous incarnations?”

“How many times do I have to tell you—there are different rules and laws…”

“Don’t talk to me about rules! It’s bad enough I’m expected to appear at your command! Just let me take control this once. This guy Mitch is not what you think he is…”

“He’s human. That’s all there is to know.”

“And so are you!” she boomed, as the car trembled and engine hiccupped.

Mercurious slowed the car and looked for a place to park, as he knew Mitch was waiting on the bench near the broken lamppost, just as they’d agreed.

“Hermea, there will be many more opportunities to…”

But before he could finish, Hermea was walking towards the park entrance.

“Shit!”

He scrambled out of the vehicle and felt his heart rate raise rapidly, no doubt Hermea’s doing to cause his human body to react emotionally rather than rationally, giving her more power. He didn’t call to her, however, as Mitch would not be able to see her. Mitch did not have a visible Espiri, so Mercurious knew he wouldn’t be alarmed by the appearance of his twin. As Mercurious approached the broken lamppost, he watched as Hermea walked through Mitch and stood directly behind him. Mitch gave no sign of awareness that his body was intruded upon and gave a small nod of acknowledgment to Mercurious, while holding out his hand.

“Glad you showed up, Magnus. I had a feeling you’d be late, though,” he smiled nervously as they shook hands.

Mercurious was always caught off guard by the use of his human name. His real name was Mercurious Magus but had adopted the name “Magnus” after one too many puzzled inquiries into the nature of “Mercurious”. Hermea resented his willingness to conform to the rules of Earth names as well.

“You know my clock is always set to casual,” Magnus replied.

Mitch offered a cigarette, which Magnus refused, as usual. Cigarettes bothered him immensely though he tried his best not to show it. He couldn’t understand how humans could choose to fill their lungs and airways with smoke, as the breath is the most sacred element of human survival.

“So, what is this ‘artifact’ you’re so excited about? Do you really think it’s worth a mil?” Magnus executed his practiced eye movements to convey his excitement to Mitch.

Mitch grinned and reached for his messenger bag. As he moved, Hermea moved with him, a look of fear flashing across her face. Magnus felt his heart race again and within moments realized he was not in control of his body.

“Where the hell did you get that? Who gave it to you? There ‘s no way you could’ve received this without treachery!”

Magnus could feel the rage inside of Hermea pulsing through his body and felt his hand reaching for the silver .38 revolver.

Mitch froze and dropped his bag, surprised at his companion’s reaction. Mitch and Magnus were “friends” in the human sense that Mitch knew. They met at Gatekeeper Community College and started a small business soon afterwards, refurbishing computer parts and providing technical support to PC and Mac users. They’d shared dreams and even women on many occasions—talked about future plans of raising families. But this shared history was all but forgotten, once the object in Mitch’s hand was revealed to Magnus—an object Hermea knew all too well and that Magnus had only heard tales of from his father as a child. Without hesitation, Magnus drew his revolver and fired six silver bullets into Mitch’s defenseless, scared body. At once, Hermea appeared at his side, while Magnus could only watch as his friend fell to the ground. The agony of betrayal fixed upon Mitch’s face was an agony neither Magnus nor Hermea was prepared to endure. Magnus had broken his soul promise—he had murdered another human being, a friend, a person with no real fault besides his own curiosity of an object unknown to him and the naïve impulse to share his mysteriously coveted prize with another.

As the small, incomplete soul of Mitch drifted upwards and disappeared into the night, Magnus stood unbelieving as Hermea bent over Mitch’s body to retrieve the shiny, ticking object that had fallen from Mitch’s hand. She knew she was the only one who could touch the object without a trace, without eyes seeing, without awakening the conscience of the object’s true owner.

“Hermea, is that…Is that His?”

“Yes, it’s His Chronometer.”

Continue to Chapter 2: Mutiny at Gatekeeper High >

Chapter 3: Principal Punis (continued)

< Back to the beginning of Chapter 3: Principal Punis

The daughter of Octavious Zed, technology innovator and creator of zCommunications, Urania Zed spent much of her high school years in material comfort. While in 9^th grade, her father’s hard work and comparative genius in the computing industry gave rise to the invention of the zedWork or Znetwork, an extension of the worldwide web in which all man-made machines were connected to the same organic force that could communicate along multiple frequencies to their human owners. Once paired with a device—be it a phone, computer, car, or home appliance—a person could issue it commands and even serve as an energy source. There was also a way for the device to communicate its needs, such as recommendations for best use, proper maintenance, and even lifestyle habits for optimal energy interdependency—the latter being the main reason why it was so popular among government agencies, environmental groups, and of course, the technocratic elite. Even more controversial, at least in the eyes of Portia Punis, was that the technology was available and functional for humans without Espiri. And that Octavious himself did not have an Espiri, nor did his daughter, Urania, or his wife, Marjoram.

Dr. Punis didn’t hate people without Espiri—otherwise known as Noviles—she just considered them a bit underdeveloped. “There is no substitute for mastery,” preached Principal Punis. She refused to accept the idea that a Novile could integrate its higher and lower natures in a disciplined manner. She watched the Novile students in her school—day in and day out—in truth, they were relatively harmless. But then there was Urania Zed. Portia Punis would never admit to being frightened of the girl because, honestly, what power did Noviles have in the grand scheme of things? Her family was materially wealthy but they were still looked down upon by those who followed the traditions of the Astrol—those who possessed Espiri, as well as spiritual, physical, and mental mastery. However, Urania possessed something else—something Principal Punis couldn’t quite understand which made her uneasy and suspicious. Urania had a way of changing things…and people. On her first day as a freshman at Gatekeeper High, Urania Zed had crippled a boy—turned him into a dunce during a seemingly innocent game of “mindreader”. Of course, Principal Punis couldn’t prove that Urania had done it, but she knew.

Pulling into the parking lot of Gatekeeper High, Dr. Punis crushed out her second Marlboro Red. She could see an ambulance and two police cars by the entrance to the gym. She turned off the engine and organized her thoughts—suppressing her Espiri into a tiny black ball that hovered by her right ear. Then she smoothed her hair, grabbed a mint and her wallet from her purse, took the keys out of the ignition and climbed out of her car. She left her VozPhone in the car on purpose—she didn’t trust it. She refused to use a zPhone like most did—but she had a fear that she’d be more vulnerable if any device was with her. As she made her way towards the entrance, she noticed many of the students standing around looking bewildered. “Go inside, please,” she commanded. As they quickly shuffled through the doors, Principal Punis couldn’t help but relish the flashes of worry and submission on their faces.

The hallway outside of the gymnasium buzzed with lowered voices. The medics were tending to Jeremy Pische, now lying on a stretcher, who managed to survive the incident with bruises and a sprained thumb. As Dr. Punis scanned the hall for Barnabas Byblos, she spotted Dianat Hunt and Urania Zed huddled on one of the benches. Her stomach jumped—the sight of Urania put Dr. Punis on edge. She had to fight to keep her Espiri constricted and dense. She was also alarmed at how closely Dianat’s Espiri seemed to be interacting with Urania—almost as if they were all in deep discussion. Before she could plan her interruption, however, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Portia Punis? I’m Officer Weatherly.”

Dr. Punis bristled at the use of her first name. “Dr. Punis, please. And your first name, Officer Weatherly?”

“Beatrice. Beatrice Weatherly.” The women shook steel-plated hands and regarded each other cautiously.

“Well, Dr. Punis, we’ve taken statements from all who were present and no one seems to be able to remember or understand how or why this happened. The only witness who was able to shed any light on the situation is Barnabas Byblos and even he is unclear on specific details.”

“What about the phones?” snapped Dr. Punis. “Mr. Byblos should have confiscated all electronic devices before the exam. I’m sure you can take them into evidence?”

“I’m afraid the phones and hallway cameras are of no use to us, Dr. Punis. They seem to have gone offline just before the incident began—the zNetwork access point in the school is down as well. Of course, we are in contact with the local service provider and will keep you updated on what we learn.”

“I find it impossible that no one here will take responsibility…” began Dr. Punis. But before she could finish, she heard hushed laughter across the hall. She spun around and made a beeline for Urania and Dianat, still engaged in what she could only imagine was a conspiracy against her authority.

“Ms. Zed, please explain why you attempted to leave with your phone after Mr. Byblos had collected it. Officer Weatherly, I’m sure you are aware that Ms. Zed took her phone before exiting the classroom.”

Urania flared her nostrils in indignation but Dianat spoke first, “Principal Punis, Urania grabbed it out of instinct—she’s worried that something has happened to…”

“Mr. Hunt, I am not concerned with any excuses as to why she broke the rules of a testing area. For all we know, she was trying to cheat her way out of the exam. It wouldn’t be the first time Ms. Zed has caused a disruption in order to cover up her lack of preparedness.”

Mr. Byblos, hearing raised voices, emerged from the testing room and rushed over to intervene, “No, Portia, I don’t think…”

“Quiet, Byblos. You never could control your students.” Dr. Punis could feel her Espiri crystallize into a round mass the size of a golf ball. It glowed black as coal by her right ear. “Urania, your games won’t work and you will not be able to hide behind your father for this…”

Urania leapt off of the bench and shoved her face within an inch of the Principal. “You can’t accuse me of anything.” And before anyone could stop her, she grabbed at the ball hovering at Dr. Punis’ ear and hurled it across the hall.

Dr. Punis let our a shriek of terror and wrapped her hand around the front of Urania’s throat before collapsing to the ground, pulling the girl down with her. Officer Weatherly quickly responded, pulling Urania free of the Principal’s grasp. No one said a thing other than a few hushed gasps and the a shuddering whimper from one of the students. Dr. Punis lay on the ground, her breathing shallow, her Espiri back where it belonged but now just a quivering puff of smoke. Officer Weatherly motioned to one of the medics to help calm the Principal down—she’d be fine after a small dose of saline solution. Then, she helped Urania off of the floor, and quietly motioned, “Ms. Zed, please come with me. Officer Windsome, you can take over from here. Make sure everyone gets home safely.”

Dianat watched as Urania and Officer Weatherly walked out of the building. Barnabas Byblos sighed, “Well, I guess the phones and cameras didn’t catch that either.”

Stay tuned for Chapter 4! Go Back to the beginning of Chapter 3: Principal Punis or view the list of Chapters.

Chapter 3: Principal Punis

< Back to Chapter 2: Mutiny at Gatekeeper High

Principal Portia Punis, PhD, raced down Gatekeeper Boulevard, her Saturn Vue reaching 56mph as she caught the yellow light at the intersection. She felt her stomach jump as she realized she was still in a 55mph speed zone. ‘Oh my heavens!’ she thought, scanning for a hidden police car. As she applied her foot to the brake pedal, she instinctively reached for her handbag in the passenger seat. What she needed was a Marlboro Red to put things into perspective. “Kids today,” she said aloud, “they don’t know right from left.” Five days of the week, she made sure the students of Gatekeeper High knew which direction was which and how to get there. But today—today was Saturday. Her day. The Lord had his day on Sunday. Saturday was for Portia Punis and Portia Punis alone. She had errands to run, clothes to wash, mouths to cook for, and a husband to scold. Being summoned to Gatekeeper High School on a Saturday was something that up until this point she had avoided with the strictest adherence. She must uphold her boundaries.

Over and over in her mind, she replayed the details of the phone call from Barnabas Byblos. With each analysis of the situation she became more and more agitated. Oh, she’d get to calling the parents of each and every student who skipped out on the SAT. Obviously, their so-called guardians needed a lesson on adolescent behavioral adjustment. It’s one thing for young upstarts to stage a protest but a whole other thing to walk out of a scheduled exam. And the SAT, no less. These kids had no respect or ambition for their own futures or for the elderly population that inevitably lay at their mercy once their generation would inherit control. Though, at this moment, it was the usual suspects that required Dr. Punis to drag extra long and hard on her Marlboro: Urania Zed, troublemaker; Jeremy Pische, victim; Dianat Hunt, rescuer. Even Byblos, the tattletale. He was always the first to call, always on the scene, ready to report the latest news, gossip, scandal, or in this case “tragedy”. Pffft. To Principal Punis, a tragedy meant a body count. This situation was merely about a boy who couldn’t keep up and suffered the consequences. It was a wonder how he became captain of the Lacrosse team. His older brother, Chase, was the previous captain; all Jeremy did was ride his coattails after Chase went off to college. Chase had led the Gatekeepers Lacrosse team to victory as a fierce competitor; Jeremy had become the team martyr, always getting injured and forcing others to compensate for his weakness. Sure, some could say he was the team’s inspiration—the team’s “cause”. But Portia Punis had seen too many instances of undeserving people living off the fruits of others labor. Urania Zed was no exception.

The daughter of Octavious Zed, technology innovator and creator of zCommunications, Urania Zed spent much of her formative years in relative material comfort. Her father’s hard work and comparative genius in the computing industry gave rise to the invention of the zedWork or Znetwork, an extension of the worldwide web in which all man-made machines were connected to the same organic force that could communicate along multiple frequencies to their human owners.

Continue reading Chapter 3: Principal Punis >

Chapter 2: Mutiny at Gatekeeper High

<Back to Chapter 1: The Terms of the Espiri

The hallways of Gatekeeper Senior High School were one of many memories Urania Zed wouldn’t be eager to recall after May graduation. On any normal day, Urania could walk down those halls and forget where she was—today, however, was the Saturday she had registered to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The dreaded SAT that determined a teenager’s future economic success and life fulfillment. Urania could take tests like the best of them but today she was off her game. Her Friday was hijacked by nervous energy—an anxiousness that wouldn’t subside, even after running her usual 3-mile course, meditating for one hour on the word “STOP,” and Valerian root tea before bedtime. Her lavender eye pillow had even failed to help her sleep as she tossed and turned all night with visions of a twin pair of androgynous thieves.

As if lack of sleep wasn’t enough to derail her concentration, she also hadn’t heard from her boyfriend Mitchell since Friday evening after he told her he was negotiating a deal that would “change their lives forever.” Mitchell usually sent her zMS messages or zMail chats at all hours of the day and night because he knew she couldn’t go long without communicating or connecting to another person. She was even sure that they shared a special connection and could see, hear, and feel each other’s energies, thoughts, and desires. Sometimes if she concentrated hard enough, she could feel his breath on her skin and he would call her or text her and say, “I felt you.” Urania had started reading books about soulmates and past lives to help get a handle on what she was sure was a fateful connection.

The fact that Mitchell hadn’t sent a message to wish her luck this morning was a sign that something had changed. Urania thought perhaps his negotiation didn’t work out and he was ashamed to tell her so, but that wasn’t likely. Mitchell was not shamed easily—he just didn’t slow down or pause long enough to consider his actions, nor to reflect on past events.

Everything was ahead of him, endless opportunities to pursue… It was driving her mad that she couldn’t sense his presence or where he was at that moment. Her texts were unanswered, her thoughts unfettered; unreciprocated. She visualized her finger unrolling one of Mitchell’s Palomino-colored, curly locks of hair—course to the eye but soft to the touch. His long face, dark oval eyes and aquiline nose slowly appeared into Urania’s mind and she silently called to him, “Mitchell Swift, reveal yourself to me.” But no sooner had she issued the thought, her mind was jogged back to the present as the door to a classroom swung open and Dianat Hunt jumped into her path.

“Urania, are you trying to miss the SAT? C’mon, they’re handing out the Scantron and pencils!” He grabbed her hand, pulled her into the classroom, and addressed the proctor, “Urania Zed is present, Mr. Byblos.”

Mr. Byblos regarded Urania for a moment, then asked, “Ms. Zed, please surrender any electronic devices other than a calculator, and place them in the basket, please. You can retrieve them after the test is finished.” As he spoke, Urania noticed his tiny white orb flicker in annoyance above his head.

Urania reached for her zPhone and proceeded to place it in the basket but paused, “Mr. Byblos, I didn’t bring my calculator. I thought I could use the calculator on my phone…”

“That is not permitted, Ms. Zed.” The white orb above Mr. Byblos’ head flickered again and Urania heard a voice saying, “She must leave. She is unprepared and disrupting the group.”

“Please Mr. Byblos, don’t make me leave. I’m sorry for disrupting…” Urania pleaded. And she tossed her zPhone into the basket with the other devices. The basket assumed a bluish haze as they emitted their own energy force.

“I have a calculator you can use, Urania,” Dianat cut in, calculator in hand. “I knew you’d need one.”

Mr. Byblos’ mouth twitched and the alarmed look in his eyes receded. He didn’t know how Urania had heard his inner voice, as she did not appear to have a visible Espiri as did he and Dianat. His patience was wearing thin and he figured the girl must be decent if someone so learned and respected such as Dianat was caring for her so diligently.

“Mr. Hunt, Ms. Zed, please take your seats.”

Urania sat towards the back of the room and picked up her No.2 pencil. As Mr. Byblos began passing out test booklets, a disturbing image flashed into Urania’s head. The black eyes of the androgynous twin thieves penetrated her thoughts and, just as quickly, were gone. Urania had to fight the impulse to run out of the room—her stomach began to turn and for a moment, she thought she’d vomit on her desk. ‘I can’t do this right now. I’m not prepared for this test. Mitchell is in trouble.’

“Open your test booklets to the first page. I will read the instructions aloud,” Mr. Byblos began.

A flash of anger arose deep in Urania’s heart. She did not need to be here for some ridiculous exam. Why should she have to bend to the rules of the school? She knew she was smart and could perform tasks that many her age could not. Even if she wasn’t formally trained in computer science or information management, she could learn with the proper resources. Urania felt her face flush with defiance. ‘I could do Mr. Byblos’ job better than he can. I could run this whole school!’

“You may now turn the page…” Mr. Byblos continued.

Then, something strange happened. The girl in the seat to Urania’s left slammed her pencil down. Her face was like stone and her eyes burned with intensity. She stood up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Urania looked around the room and to her surprise, the other students were closing their test booklets, slamming them on the ground or throwing them at Mr. Byblos.

“I have better things to do than take this stupid exam. I have to work and make money to help my family!” yelled Zachary Capricornius.

“My mother is in the hospital. Her chemotherapy started today. Who made the rule to have this test on a Saturday?” exclaimed Sonia Cancertan.

“What gives you the right…”

“Who gave you the authority…”

“Why don’t you take it…”

The students were mutinous—Mr. Byblos was frozen at the front of the room. Urania couldn’t believe how closely her classmates were mirroring her inner state of rebellion and anger. Only Dianat was sitting quietly in his seat, staring at Urania. His Espiri formed a white crescent moon shape and was growing larger. Urania heard a tiny voice, as a dark-skinned specter of a woman appeared in front of her.

“Urania, you must control your temper. Mr. Byblos is in danger. Leave the room now and they will follow,” the dark woman instructed.

The students began chanting, “NO TEST, NO RULES!” They were ripping Scantrons and stomping pencils and booklets.

“Urania, leave now!” The dark figure commanded, fading in front of her.

Urania stood up and raced to the front of room to grab her zPhone and to warn Mr. Byblos to run for it. Dianat moved with her and the dark lady joined his side.

“Go!” the dark lady cried.

Urania watched as the dark specter shifted into Dianat’s body and he formed a wall between Mr. Byblos and the mob of angry students. She bolted out of the classroom and instantly the students followed close behind. The anger she had felt now turned to panic and she sprinted down the hallway hoping to find a door to the outside where she could stop and collect her thoughts. Sonia Cancertan was on Urania’s heels, followed by nineteen other kids stampeding down the corridor.

As Urania spotted an exit, her zPhone rang and startled her. She went to answer, hoping it was Mitchell finally returning her messages but she tripped and stumbled, trying to regain her balance. Sonia shoved her out of the way, causing Urania to panic and fall to the ground. ‘Oh no, what if I get trampled by my classmates,’ she thought. No sooner after her thought was formed, Sonia screamed, sparking an eruption of screams from the pack of students coming down the hall. By this point, the commotion had reached the other testing rooms and full panic had spread. Students bolted out of the classrooms screaming and Urania tried to pick herself up from the floor but another student who was screaming and pushing others out of the way pushed her to the ground. She lost a grip on her zPhone and it was kicked from her hands. Jeremy Pische, a Junior and captain of the Gatekeeper Lacrosse Team, slipped on the skidding phone and fell with a thud. His head smacked onto the concrete floor, only a few feet away from the corner where Urania had managed to shelter herself from being trampled. Jeremy was not so lucky. Sneaker, loafer, flip-flop, wedge heel—all manner of teenage footwear found a place on Jeremy’s head, neck, torso, legs. Had it not been for Dianat, who lunged to create an invisible force field around Jeremy’s body, he would have been crushed to death.

A hush fell over the east wing of Gatekeeper High as the last of the students fled the building. Dianat, covered by a crescent-shaped orb of light, was whispering into Jeremy’s ear. Urania couldn’t hear what he was saying but his presence provided her a wave of calm. She stood up and scanned the area for her phone—she had to find out if the missed call was Mitchell. She thought she’s spotted it next to the garbage can and moved towards what she thought was a small, green, blinking message light.

“You’ll be disappointed,” Dianat said quietly, not looking up from Jeremy’s body.

Still, Urania advanced across the hall towards the trashcan, anxious to recover the mystery behind the flashing green light. But as she bent over to pick it up, she noticed the screen was broken—her zPhone was ruined. The touchscreen, advertised as indestructible, proved otherwise. Footsteps crept up behind her, she turned, ready to feel Dianat’s arms comforting her, but instead she met the eyes of Mr. Byblos. His shirt was stained with blood and Urania noticed his left shoulder had been assaulted by what she could only assume was a sharp blade. He was holding the basket of phones, which Urania could now see were all broken, the same as hers.

“Place your phone in the basket, Miss Zed,” he whispered as his orb pulsed rhythmically and taunted, “I knew she was trouble. She caused the disruption.”

Urania was silent—she knew she was to blame. She continued to hold Mr. Byblos in her sight, as she was not one to back down easily when confronted. However, she did not sense anger in his eyes. He looked at her with a hint of amusement as she surrendered her phone to lay amongst the other remains in the zPhone junkyard.

“Principal Punis has been informed of this tragedy. She’ll be arriving shortly as I assume she would like to question all of us. The ambulance is also on its way for Mr. Pische, unless, Dianat, I should call the coroner?” Mr. Byblos inquired.

“I can hear you,” a voice mumbled from the floor.

“Ah, Jeremy, I will inform Coach Powers that you’ll be warming the bench at Thursday’s game, then,” quipped Mr. Byblos.

And with that, he walked off, whistling the Gatekeeper High Fight Song.

Continue to Chapter 3: Principal Punis >