Powered Personnel: The Big Startup

by K. A. Maxwell

  “I slept a little. It was nice. Do I have to have fun right now?”

  “Yes. The test is next, and that isn't going to be fun.”

  “It won't be that bad, I hope.”

  “I hate tests.”

  “Tests can be fun, if you put your mind to it.”

  Oakley frowned, gagged, and spun around, walking backwards. “I'll make this game a test of fun then.”

  The two joined three other kids, who stood in front of a tree that towered over three hundred feet in the air, well above the school building. Its branches spread out like a giant umbrella over the kids, reaching out wide. About a third of the way up, large fruit bunches, each the size of melons, hung well above them.

  “The one who eats the fruits wins!” Oakley declared.

  Another Silvan girl, Vera, with auburn hair and brown eyes, frowned. “But we can't rise that high.” she said.

  “Who says?” said Oakley “Have you even tried, Vera?”

  “But we're not allowed to rise that high without a teacher,” said Vera.

  A Silvan boy with blonde hair and golden eyes folded his arms. His name was Cedar. “But picking fruits isn't a bad thing, right?” he said.

  Everyone looked up to the bunches of fruits. They sure looked delicious and there was no way anyone could eat one of those with a normal sized bite. A giant sized bite, however...

  Oakley laughed. “You guys didn't get enough sun this morning or something?”

  “It's not that.” said a Silvan boy named Elm, brown-haired, brown eyed. “Every year when the jillfruit tree bears fruit, no one eats it because it's so high up. We have to wait until the harvest season to have some.”

  “Or make our parents buy them, but they say we can't afford it.” added Cedar.

  “That's even more reason to try to reach one,” said Oakley.

  That seemed to make sense to Chloe. She looked at her other friends, who kept their gaze on the prize. Oakley stepped in front of the group and pointed up at the fruit.

  “But if you guys don't want to play, you can watch me win.”

  With that, Oakey's body tensed and rose up higher.

  “Hey! No fair!” said Cedar, and he rose up. Elm and Vera followed suit. Chloe stood back as her friends reached adult height and kept going, with Oakley in the lead. Chloe looked around the field, wincing as other kids pointed towards their growing group as each of her friends raced to try to get the relatively low hanging fruit. Chloe rubbed the back of her neck, unsure what to do with the attention she and her friends were getting. Looking back up, Vera had already stopped slightly above twice her size while Elm's rise had slowed. Oakley and Cedar reached a couple of stories high before Cedar slowed down. Most Silvan kids never went past fifteen feet, and it was still a long shot to get to the fruit which hung far high above them. But Oakley kept going.

  “I'll win.” She took a deep breath before tensing up again. At the same time she bumped into Cedar and he landed with a thump on the ground, narrowly missing both Vera and Elm.

  “Ouch! You're not playing fair, Oakley,” said Elm.

  “Sure I am. I'm already the biggest and soon I will reach the fruit and win them all, Ha ha ha!” she said and added a mock evil laugh.

  “But you can't reach that high. It's not possible.”

  Oakley beamed with confidence and kept going, shifting her gaze to Chloe who still stood at her normal height. “You're not going to try Chloe? You said you'd take my test. Don't back down. If you don't hurry up, you're not getting any.”

  Chloe eyed the jillfruit again, and her stomach growled. She stepped forward.

  “You mean you won't share them?” she asked, voice raised.

  Oakley laughed. “It's winner takes everything and if you can't beat me, I'll eat them all. You get nothing.”

  Cedar stood back up. “You won't win, you won't get big enough to eat—” He stood back, Oakley still rising higher. She was now at a size only adults reached while giant: around 40 feet tall now and almost half-way up to the fruits.

  “No way. How did you do that?” asked Cedar.

  By now, a crowd of other school kids gathered around them to watch and cheer on Oakley.

  Oakley looked down at Chloe, grinned and stuck her tongue out.

  Chloe snorted. Warmth flushed through her cheeks and then her body. The energy within her boomed and demanded to be let out and challenge her rival. When Chloe stepped forward in front of Elm and Vera, she was already eye level with them. The crowd went silent for a moment, as Chloe's height instantly matched Cedar's. Then the kids cheered again and chanted Chloe's and Oakley's names.

  Oakley boomed a laugh. “I'll still win.” She grunted and tensed her body in a way that made her look like one of those professional wrestlers on TV. It sped up her rise.

  The shift in speed pressured Chloe and drove fear that she would be denied the jillfruit. Her stomach growled again and the desire to use her jaws to snatch victory away from Oakley grew. If this was a test like any other, she had to do her best. It was at that point, she let her energy within free and it granted her overwhelming strength, which almost made her clamp down, but this time, hearing Oakley's boasts motivated her. She ignored those boundaries, just this once. The air rushed past her face as the jillfruit rapidly approached. Chloe leaned forward just as Oakley's face came into view, closing in on what now looked like a bunch of grapes to them. Both of their mouths opened wide, ready to devour their prize.

  “Mine!” their voices boomed.

  Chloe leaned forward and surged ahead, her upper body slammed against Oakley's. The push took the green-blonde-haired girl off balance and she fell over. The other kids scattered before a loud boom rocked the area.

  Meanwhile, as the jillfruits entered Chloe's open mouth and she gobbled them. They were exactly how she remembered it, sweet with a lot of juice within. Her stomach begged for more, and Chloe munched on the other bunches.

  “Chloe Ceres!” shouted a voice.

  Gulp. That last bunch of jillfruit went down her throat a lot slower and rough. Chloe looked down at Mrs. Krabtree's crossed-arms; she looked very irritated, while at about Chloe's and Oakley's waist level.

  Chloe looked down at herself and gasped. It was only now she noticed how large she actually became and stumbled back. Each booming step left a crater and made her normal size schoolmates scatter in terror.

  “Stop moving, you monster,” shouted Mrs. Krabtree. “Shrink back down right now.”

  Mrs. Krabtree's scold sent a chill and a shiver through Chloe's body. That chill turned into a brief burst of heat, causing Chloe to rise even higher. Her shoulder pressed and snapped off one of the fruit branches and it fell down. The giant jillfruits bunches exploded on impact, sending wet bits and pieces flying and landed on some of the kids along with the teacher's clothes, leaving yellow stains.

  “Chloe!” shouted Mrs. Krabtree.

  “I—I'm trying,” cried Chloe. She placed her arms around her body, hugging herself, and pressing in, physically trying to compress her energy. Chloe's growth slowed, then stopped, and she shrank slightly. She winced and pushed down harder, but within, it pushed back. Chloe's heart raced, and her body stopped shrinking. She still towered over everyone else and shivered.

  Another teacher, Mrs. Flogrove, ran up next to Mrs. Krabtree and rose until she reached a few feet taller than her. Mrs. Flogrove was the teacher who taught the rise skill class.

  “Chloe, listen to me very carefully,” said Mrs. Flogrove. “I want you to breathe in and out, just like in class. Slowly, and focus on taking hold of your energy like a ball.”

  She did. At first the power in her still rebelled and pressed out, but she kept it contained.

  “Good! Now press down on the ball, compress it. Keep holding down on it. Don't let it loose.”

  Chloe tried, and at first it pressed out, but soon it calmed and stabilized. The thumping in her chest slowed and her body relaxed and receded more.

  “That's it Chloe, keep going.�
� She turned towards Oakley. “Are you okay, Oakley?”

  Oakley sat up. She nodded.

  “Can you shrink too?”

  Oakley closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and exhaled. Her body began to reduce itself, but she shrunk in waves, stop and go, stop and go. Both Chloe and Oakley reduced to about half their sizes and still remained slightly taller than their giant teachers.

  “My goodness,” gasped Mrs. Krabtree. “I've never seen anything like this.” She tried to brush away the mess of the fruits from her dress, but the stains remained. She snarled.

  “Calm down. This was an accident. It seems we have a dual extreme case of energy sensitivity,” said Mrs. Flogrove.

  “I don't care what they have. They could have crushed the others. Look at this mess. This is why we do not allow students to rise past eight feet without supervision.”

  Mrs. Krabtree placed her hands on her hips, and for some odd reason she looked down at Chloe and Oakley's feet, only to realize that their faces were actually higher and had to crane her neck up.

  “Ahem. What do you two have to say for yourselves?” asked Mrs. Krabtree.

  Chloe kept quiet and glanced at Oakley, whose shoulders drooped, and looked right back at Chloe. But then Oakley spoke up.

  “We just wanted to try our best in a game I made.”

  Mrs. Krabtree scoffed. “There was no need to try that as hard as you did. That was far too much.”

  Oakley opened her mouth again “But, teacher,” she looked at Chloe. “Look at what we did, we—”

  Mrs. Krabtree raised her index finger and her eyebrows rose, which was her signature “Do not speak,” signal. “What you did was make a huge mess. But, what's done is done. I'll fetch the cleaning staff to help with this mess. Mrs. Flogrove, mind taking them to see Mr. Rods?”

  Chloe sniffed and tears ran down her eyes. Mr. Rods was the principal of the school and she never had to go to his office before. How much trouble was she in?

  Mrs. Flogrove chuckled. “I don't think they'll be able to fit inside anytime soon. He'll have to come outside to see them instead.”

  By afternoon, Chloe and Oakley still weren't able to fit indoors, even though they were at a much more manageable height of around a couple stories. They both sat at the side of the school, leaning against the wall.

  “At least we skipped the test, for a while,” said Oakley.

  Chloe kept quiet with arms folded.

  Oakley made a pained expression. “I'm sorry.”

  Chloe frowned and turned away from Oakley. They were both awaiting their fates while their parents spoke with the principal.

  “I thought it would be fun to see how far we could go. But we got to have fun, you know, and I helped. We're really good at rising up. Maybe even better than the grown-ups. And, you won. Isn't that great?”

  Chloe bit her lip and eyed the mashed melons, broken branches and cracked craters left by their brief competition. She tilted her head down. “But, I don't want to be a monster.”

  Present day. GVU Campus, Building 770 basement.

  A moment passed before Chloe raised her head from her lap and opened her eyes. As her vision cleared, she could make out an orange bulky-looking orc in a security uniform as Melinda laid on the floor. She groaned as the orc crouched low, sliding his arms under her.

  Chloe froze again. She held her breath and looked around. The metal boxes looked smaller, but there was less space to move. The orc security officer snorted and turned, carrying Melinda with one arm, and walked to the door. Chloe tried to slide herself down, but she grew and her back hit the wall. It sent a thump through the room and dust sprinkled from the ceiling.

  The guard stopped for a moment before snorting and leaving, pushing the door in behind him. Chloe pressed her feet down and used vibration vision to follow the Guard as he walked up the stairs. Then the sound of the stairway door opened and shut.

  Another minute would pass before Chloe at long last let out a breath that blew away the entire basement army of dust bunnies, leaving the space in a haze of snowy dust flakes. She stretched herself out and sat up and covered her eyes, fought down sobs, wiped away tears and shook her head. She screwed up. Melinda, to her credit, kept Chloe safe even when she was like this. She sat up and almost shifted to stand, but had to crawl to move around the space. The opening between the aisles lined with electrical boxes was too narrow, with only one exit.

  She kept on all fours, closed her eyes and tried to take a hold of the raging energy within. Another sob escaped her lips, and that grip on her energy slipped and grew. The electrical boxes groaned as her thighs pressed against them and her head grazed the ceiling, followed by her back. The pressure of her power within begged her to scream, cry, and lash out. Chloe shook her head and pushed back against those feelings and that energy down harder, like she always had to do. She kept breathing in and out, in and out, and soon, it relented and deflated. When she reopened her eyes, the room was once again spacious enough to move. With one good shove, she got the door open. Just before she stepped out into the hall, she planted her feet and used her vibration vision to check for nearby guards and got no foot shaped feedback. Once she cracked the door to the hall and made sure the coast was clear, she slipped out.

  Chloe managed to shift in between the couple of parked trucks at the back of the building and crawled under the landing dock, where her skin prickled from the heat coming from the asphalt. She got relief once she made contact with dirt and blended inside a tall patch of grass. Oddly enough, she felt like she'd fit in with them, soaking in the sunlight while the wind brushed the tops of their crowns. After crawling for a few minutes, she took refuge and sat against the wall of another building. Her focus on fleeing shifted back to more rational thinking. All she could remember was when Melinda told Chloe to hide before the door opened. The next moment, she remembered her energy building up again and had to keep herself in tight and quiet. By the time she came to, there was a zap, and then the security guard took an unconscious Melinda away.

  At that point, she'd been bigger and stronger than him and could have pounded away. But with all of that electrical equipment and with so little room, what could she do?

  Something in her dress pocket shook. She shoved her hand in and pulled out her cell. Its screen displayed "Adam Lyndon." She answered it.

  "Hello?"

  "Chloe? Thank goodness! You're okay," Adam's voice squealed.

  "I'm fine." Chloe's voice lowered. "But, Melinda, she kept me hidden and I couldn't…" Tears gleamed in Chloe's eyes again.

  "What happened to Melinda?" asked Adam.

  "They got her. I couldn't help her, Adam, I froze, and I couldn't help her," Chloe sobbed.

  "Please don't panic, Ms. Ceres," a third voice said. She had a professional tone in her voice.

  "Who's this?"

  "Call me Central. You are on a call with an operator from GVU's Central Security Command. Mr. Lyndon told me of a situation involving other security officers. Are you able to help us identify them?"

  Chloe sniffed, and her face stiffened.

  "Ms. Ceres? Are you still there?"

  "I'm fine."

  "Chloe?" said Adam.

  Chloe's throat tensed, and she fought down another sob. "I said fine, really."

  She coughed and cleared her throat. She told the story of seeing several of the recruits and Lieutenant-Commander Ebony being rolled away in carts by other security people. She tried giving a description of the ones she saw, especially of the orange-skinned orc.

  "Please hold one moment. I'm transferring you to a conference line," said Central, and then a click went through the phone. A few seconds later, another click, and more murmurs, taps, and typing sounds joined the line.

  "This is Captain Nicholas Neeks of GVU Central Security Command. Who do I have on the secure line?"

  "Ensign Emma Wayan, Central Command Communications Operator."

  "Lieutenant-Commander Mariona Ruths, Campus Security Chief of Staff."

>   "Pamela Fiametta, Chief Financial Officer."

  "Adam Lyndon, Senior Tech Support Agent."

  No one else spoke.

  "Any others?" said Neeks.

  Chloe sniffed and cleared her throat. "Chloe Ceres, Director, Macmor Products," she said.

  "Who?" asked Neeks.

  "She just started today, Captain," said Adam.

  "Ms. Ceres, welcome to GVU although I'm sorry it isn't under better circumstances." said Neeks. "Status report."

  "Sir," started Ruths. "Lock down on all high-value assets is in progress and I have teams assisting in accounting for the on-duty officers on campus. There's an advanced team en route to block off and scout the area. I have evacuation teams standing by."

  "Are there any more reports of rogue security personnel?"

  "No reports yet, sir. I have ordered the remaining guards on duty to remain stationed in place and raised campus alert status to yellow. We should get back a field report shortly from Commander Gramm."

  "It was my fault that Melinda got kidnapped," said Chloe.

  "Ms. Ceres," said Neeks, his voice lightened. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure we can get her out. Melinda's one tough cookie, I can assure you that."

  "Ms. Ceres," said Ruths. "About Lieutenant-Commander Ebony, how did she look at the time you saw her?"

  "She looked like she was half transformed," replied Chloe. "Her skin looked like it was in between brown and green. She was conscious but she couldn't move."

  "Are you absolutely sure it was her?" said Neeks.

  "Yes, she was paralyzed."

  "I see,” said Neeks. “That would explain the tremors we detected. If she was in the middle of transforming, what could have possibly been strong enough to stop it?"

  "I'm far more surprised, sir, that she attempted a transformation while on campus. We're very lucky there wasn't any more damage, here or in the entire city," said Ruths with a stern voice.

  “Agreed,” said Neeks.

  "Sir, incoming call from building 770 on the direct reserved line," said Central.

  "Put it through,"

  "Connected."