The Power of the Young: Dawn of an Era

by Opal Jones

  Chapter 4

  May 4th-5th, 2034

  At about midnight, Sara woke up with no clear reason. There were no terrible nightmares she could recall and no strange noises either. Some strange impulse had woke her up. That same feeling drove her to walk outside of her room, and down to- Matt's room? Hmm...

  But she knew that the something inside her had a good reason to go to Matt: the room seemed to be exploding from the inside. Rattles and bangs and booms and cries were ringing around. Sara could hear Matt inside, but she didn't call to him, because it sounded like someone was already with him.

  The one that sounded the most like Matt cried, “Stop it! You can't get me out of here now. Just let me go!”

  The second voice, well, sounded almost demonic, and a lot less friendly when it literally growled, “You let yourself be locked in. And you and I both know that you can't stay in here forever. Unless you hold up your end, your brother's doomed group of rebels will die with you.”

  “Don't talk about my brother!”

  More banging was heard, and it took all of Sara's strength not to barge into the room and see who was torturing Matt. But she continued to listen to them.

  “Oh, so you're sensitive?” the second voice asked, “That's good to know. Now, let’s see, what else to talk about. It’s been so long since we've seen each other.”

  “For good reason.” Matt managed, for he was in tremendous pain from his enemy.

  “And what about Los Angeles, hm? Poor little Matt; let so many people slip through his grip. I'm sure that Reagan would be just dying to hear your excuse for that one.”

  “Shut up!”

  Sara choked back a sob, but slipped out a whisper, “Matt?”

  Both voices stopped, and someone banged against the door, knocking Sara back.

  “Matt, are you in there?” she asked, her voice rising in distress.

  Matt's voice was the first, “Sara, don't come in here!”

  Then, the demonic one, “No, let me out! Don't let me get killed!”

  “Sara listen to me, get Eli. Just don't let me out.”

  “Yes, get Eli to open the door. Perfect idea.”

  “Keep out of this.”

  More scuffling, and Sara had no choice but to dart upstairs to Eli's room. She banged on the door.

  “Eli! Eli! Open up, Eli! Do you hear me? It’s an emergency! Open the door!”

  He finally opened the door, and looked like he had just seen a ghost.

  “What?”

  “It’s Matt. Something's really wrong. He's in big trouble. Common.”

  Then mention of Matt snapped Eli into high-gear. They ran down to Matt's room and listened again.

  “You know Eli won't let me out. Just get away from me!”

  “Oh, you naïve little tyke. Just ask them; he's getting the key out right now!”

  Eli froze, because that strange voice was on the nose. Sara looked at him, wondering if he was going to let him out.

  He looked at Sara, “Matt told me that under no circumstances to let him out. We have to wait.”

  “For how long?”

  Eli shook his head. “Could be all night. Now, it’s just a waiting game.”

  And so, through the night, Sara and Eli sat in front of the door and waited. Just like he had promised, no matter how much that second voice begged, the key never left Eli's palm.

  When the sun finally rose, the second voice died down, until no sound could be heard. Eli took the key, and put it into the lock. With a quick twist, he turned key and opened the door.

  What had once been an organized room was now in turmoil. Photos were ripped and thrown to the floor. The stage had dent in it, and the map was missing most of Western Europe.

  Matt was against the stage, holding his head in his hands.

  Sara's mouth dropped. “Oh my God, Matt-”

  “What happened?” Eli finished.

  Matt shook his head. He looked up at the two, but couldn't explain. How could he if he didn't even remember clearly what happened?

  “Sara,” Matt said, “I'll talk to you later. Right now, it just needs to be between me and Eli.”

  She nodded, closed the door, and waited outside.

  Eli shook his head. “God, how did this happen? Sara woke me up at around midnight, and then it sounded like you had a psychic in the room trying to kill you! What's going on? And I want the truth.”

  Matt nodded grimly. “Fine. But this doesn't leave the room. It’s between you and me only.”

  “Got it.” Eli braced himself for a hell of an explanation.

  “Okay, after what happened in L.A, and you might've noticed, I wasn't really the same.”

  Eli acted like he had never noticed.

  “Still, I would've done anything to get Reagan and the others back. Soon, I was just flat-out desperate. That was about the time that it came to me.”

  “Wait, what came to you?” Eli asked, becoming alarmed at what his friend was telling him.

  “You won't believe this, but it was a wisp of red smoke. It said it was from a distant city, and it could help me. It told me that it could guarantee victory for us... But I was wrong. So very wrong...”

  Eli felt his heart race.

  “That one wisp of smoke, it- it takes hold of me somehow. At night, I can't think. I'm not even in control of my thoughts, let alone my actions.”

  Matt looked up at Eli. “You wanted to know why I needed to be locked in last night? Why it sounded like there was someone in here with me? Or why people from this organization have vanished without a trace?” He pointed to himself. “The answer's right here, Eli. I'm the reason Jason, Willow, and so many more are dead. Yeah, they're dead Eli. You've befriended a killer.”

  Matt stood up and leaned against the wall face-first.

  “God, I'm a freaking murderer...”

  Eli was stunned. His closest friend, the only person he could call a member of his family, was dealing with the Smoke?

  Matt turned back to Eli. “I owe it to you, Eli, because if you hadn't locked me in, or if you had unlocked the door last night, someone would've died. It might've been Sara, Jackie, Maddie, heck; it might even have been you. But I wouldn't know until it was too late.

  “I would wake up in the field with blood on my hands, Eli. The bodies would be buried somewhere, and I would be the reason why. When I woke up at sunrise, I would run back to my room and rinse off. Then it'd be like it never happened...”

  Outside the room, Sara could only hear the muffled speech of Matt. Eli had been strangely quiet. Whatever had happened last night, it wasn't good.

  Matt continued, suddenly unable to stop, “Do you know how many times I've tried to fight it? Every time I try though, it never works. It teases me, mocks me, tears me apart! I don't know how I live with myself after all that I've done to myself and to all you guys and if only-”

  “Stop!” Eli cried. His eyes were wide and his chest hurt. “Just, stop. I need a minute to think.”

  With that, he rushed out of the room and past Sara.

  She then walked back into the room. Matt was sweating, and he was shaking.

  “Matt,” Sara said gently, “You don't need to tell me what happened last night. Just tell me this; why-”

  Sara froze. Her heart seemed to stop, and she felt a cold chill crawl up her spine.

  “She didn't kill him.” she muttered.

  “What?” Matt asked.

  Sara looked at Matt in terror. “Jackie didn't kill the coyote that followed me: she only wounded it. Look!”

  She pointed at the window, and Matt felt the terror she showed.

  At the edge of the window, the now still coyote lay. It was finally dead, after sub- succumbing to its wounds. But it had lived long enough to fulfill its duty. He had seen the base, and the leader.

  The animal died to confirm the Smoke's idea. Though the Smoke existed in the Luxor, it would be able to live in new places. All thanks to Matt, the light-haired teenager.