“So the wizard thing”…I just let the question linger in the air.
“From when the world first learned of our existence we were called wizards. Merlin the Magnificent was the first known Wizard. He carried a staff but only because he had one leg. The wands and other crap you see on the movies are fiction. Each wizard only has one thing they can do that’s supernatural, though most lose it by the time they are twenty.”
“I thought everyone lost their powers by 25? That’s what the principal told me.”
“Well that’s not entirely true; some people have powers that are physical in nature, like being 12 feet tall or growing six arms. Those powers stay with you for life. Before you ask, no there are no people 12 feet tall anymore.”
“So Bro, what exactly happens in this place? I don’t understand why vampires and everyone else hides out. Why not use your abilities to get rich, that’s what I would do, make a lot of money.”
“Well the wizards tried that a lot of different times, each ended in disaster. The latest time was in Salem, and I am sure you heard of what happened there. How would you feel if you think the only reason somebody was making it was because they had an extreme unfair advantage over you, like using a motorcycle in a foot race?”
“Hell Bro I would be mad as hell, that’s not fair!”
“The world doesn’t think so either. Wizards are easy to pick out because we can’t resist showing off. Werewolves on the other hand are a secretive bunch. Currently they are hunted not primarily by the world at large, but because they prey on wizards they find, often kidnapping their victims while still young.”
“Hold up Ronnie, that’s what I don’t get, why in the hell would any of you not want a bunch of chicks lining up to sleep with you? Between me and you, I can’t wait to lose my virginity!”
“Cory I keep forgetting you are new, there are two ways a wizard loses their powers, the first one you already know of, turning 25.”
“Okay Bro so what is the second one?” I replied.
“Having sex. Every wizard you see here is a virgin. Of that 199 wizards, only 25 or so are male. We are a female driven society, the wizards, all of the werewolves and most of the vampires are all female too. That’s the reason wizards do not like werewolves, the nastier you are to them, the less likely you are to lose your powers. That and when they do conceive, the werewolves most likely have no use for you, it never would be about love, just business.”
“So just like that you lose your powers!” I asked, thinking this whole scenario sucked. While I did not have any powers I knew about, if I gained some I certainly would like to keep them and get some money to help my folks out.
“Well not just like that, you would steadily lose your powers over the course of about two weeks. When we turn 24 that’s when the decline begins normally, so you pick your poison, two weeks and then nothing, or a year.”
“What happens when all of your powers are gone?”
“Well it depends on the person, to keep our secrets many of us are forced into taking government jobs, like judges, lawyers, cops or something similar. The not particularly smart end up in the military on Delta Force or Seal Team 6. Those are the only technically ‘Non’ powered people allowed in here or to know about this place with one exception. While we work for the President, we do so indirectly. Ever wonder what the vice president really does? He orders us around to kill or capture targets or simply wreak havoc somewhere. The President has deniability is word of us ever gets out. Occasionally it does though and we have to change our name. We were originally known as Area 51, a name given to us by FDR until the debacle in Roswell. Since I have been here we have went through two names, the Illuminati and my favorite the New World Order. Currently we just call ourselves the school.”
“Okay so what is your super power, why are you a wizard?” I asked curiously.
Suddenly Ronnie looked at me. His skin began to darken and his face became fuzzy. Not fuzzy as in hairy but fuzzy as in you really couldn’t make out any of his features. Suddenly I was looking at a copy of myself. Well truthfully his hair stayed the same and he still had the same height and build, but other than that I was looking at myself. After looking at the shock I had on my face he changed back to normal. This was the first time I had ever witnessed the supernatural with my own eyes that I could not come up with an explanation for.
“Dude, that was awesome!” I said excitedly, “You could be anybody you wanted and get pretty much any chick you wanted!”
“I would never use it for that” he blushed continuing “It’s not all that cool, I don’t think it would get me on Alpha or Bravo team.”
“What is Alpha or Bravo team?”
“Those are our field teams, they get to go out and do missions. Only the very best get that job though. Alpha team is basically the strongest wizards we have, they are normally used when we need a small team to carry out a mission where the government thinks it is unwise to send in a larger group. Remember what I said about wreaking havoc? Alpha can sneak in and destroy a lot of stuff and sneak out before the enemy even realizes they are in a fight. Bravo team is normally built around a guy who for some reason was a bad fit for Alpha and the rest of the group is picked to highlight their leader’s strengths and cover the weaknesses. Bravo is normally Alpha’s back up but their main mission is assassinations and snatch and grabs.”
“Well, if you don’t think your power is cool, then who is the strongest guy here?”
“That would be Speed”, he said quickly. “She is blindingly fast, not comic book fast, but fast enough to hit you before you knew you were in a fight. She can take any object and make it a deadly projectile. She can’t keep up her speed for long though, but she has been known to break the sound barrier. She is also the leader of the Alpha team.”
“Your leader is a girl?!?” I said still unbelieving.
“Of course she is, I just told you most wizards are women.”
“Why aren’t they called witches or sorceresses?”
“Because they just aren’t, you are all over the place Cory with these questions. Just one thing at a time, let’s go meet everyone else. Just watch out for Nick and that stupid group of his.”
“Who is Nick?”
“Nick is probably going to be the next Alpha Team leader, if not Alpha Team, definitely the next Bravo team leader.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because with the exception of Speed, Nick has taken out pretty much everyone he has ever faced in one on one combat.”
This was a little worrisome. On one hand I wanted to reinvent myself while I was here, I wouldn’t be the poor dark kid anymore. I could handle myself in a scrap, but who knew how big this Nick kid was and the fact he was a bully. The fact I was hanging around Ronnie who from first impressions I am sure wasn’t Mr. Popularity I was probably doomed. If I had some powers I really hope they came soon. I thought about this long and hard as I followed Ronnie through the couple of streets that made up what I figured was the human neighborhood. I didn’t see anybody out when suddenly Ronnie stopped and in front of us stood the most beautiful pair of drop dead Asian twins known to man.
“Cory I would like you to meet Aimee and Ivy.” Ronnie said as he introduced us. I was still floored. They both had long dark hair although they wore it different. Ivy wore hers in two long braids.
Aimee just had her hair all the way down, no accessories or style needed. As I was staring at Aimee suddenly Ivy spoke up.
“I doubt she would consider making out with you, I don’t think it matters whether she thinks you are ugly or not. And I for one would never join in, that is just gross.” Ivy finished speaking, leaving me horrified.
“Huh?” I said, wondering how the hell she knew.
“I can read minds” she replied.
“No you can’t that’s impossible!” I said trying to fight off my embarrassment.
“Right now you are thinking about me naked.” Ivy said.
Damn I had better think o
f something quick, I just tried to shift the conversation off of me.
“Then what is Ronnie thinking Miss Smarty Pants.”
“That is easy”, she replied continuing “He is thinking about you naked.”
Holy crap. It all made sense now, why he seemed so shy. He wanted to get a piece of this. I looked at Ronnie and he looked like he could crawl in a ball and die. I figured he was just as embarrassed as I was, there was no need to make him more ashamed. Still I didn’t swing that way and I would just have to make that clear later.
“You are lying, none of us was thinking that stuff, you were just trying to fool your sister.” I said trying my best to play it off.
“Was she lying?” Aimee looked at me and spoke.
“No, I was thinking about how she would look naked.” I replied wondering why in the heck I just said that.
“So you were thinking about us in that way.” Aimee asked me.
“Yes I was” I answered trying my best to figure out why in the heck I was answering her questions.
“Just stop it!” I screamed. I know she was doing something to me I just didn’t know what. They started whispering and giggling.
“Cory”, Ronnie crawled out of his shell and started speaking. “I am sure you realize that Ivy can read minds and Aimee acts as a truth serum once she gets eye contact with you.”
“You could have told me that way earlier before I made a fool of myself. How can you stand hanging around them if they know whatever you are thinking and you can’t hide anything from them.”
“They are my only friends Cory, I don’t need to hide anything from them.” Ronnie stated.
I just shook my head. I had just made a fool of myself in front of two hot girls who probably think I am a pervert, but I guess it didn’t matter anyway since we couldn’t do anything to each other anyway.
“I don’t think you are a pervert Cory, you are just a normal guy” Ivy said.
“Stop reading my mind! Not cool man, not cool!” I said starting to get angry.
“She can’t help it Cory”, Ronnie said “Do you wanna see where you are going to be staying?”
I did want to see where I was staying. On my way there I did nothing but sing silly songs to myself over and over. I figured if she was listening in I would sing nothing but those annoying songs that got stuck in your head. I didn’t trust myself to talk with Aimee around and I didn’t trust myself to think when Ivy was there.
“Cory can you please stop with the songs? You are giving me a headache!” Ivy started screaming after about five minutes of listening to radio Cory.
“I can’t help it either Ivy, I don’t want you in my private thoughts so I am keeping my mind preoccupied.” I told her smugly.
Suddenly she just turned towards me, grabbed my face and planted a huge kiss on me. No there was unfortunately, no tongue involved but still this was my first kiss! I was totally speechless for the rest of our walk thinking back to myself did that just happen? I am figuring she did that just to keep my mind off of singing “Barbie Girl” but damn it worked. We had just stopped in front of a building and Ronnie opened the door for me.
“Well this is it Cory, your new home. All wizards live here, just find an empty room and it’s yours.” Ronnie told me.
All I could keep thinking about was if Barbie Girl got me a kiss, what would Gangnam Style get me? Ivy started shaking her head laughing.
“In your dreams Cory, go take a shower” Ivy said as she and Aimee disappeared into a stairwell.
I found myself an empty room, well more like a studio apartment and settled into it quite nicely still not believing the day I had and it wasn’t even 5 ‘o clock. I wanted to call my parents but this place had no phone. I was tired anyway and slowly drifted off to sleep while sitting on a couch.
CHAPTER 8
Ladies and Gentlemen, the POTUS
I awoke later that evening with a loud bang on the door. It took me a moment to remember my surroundings since I still couldn’t believe I was here. I answered the door to find Ronnie there waiting for me.
“Hey Cory, I thought I would stop by and let you know what’s going on tomorrow.”
I was surprised to see him. I didn’t have any friends but I didn’t want him to think I was into him or anything. Ronnie was still an okay guy and I figured he would at least keep me out of trouble while I was here but I wanted to make sure he knew that I didn’t march to same beat he did. Turns out I didn’t even have to bring it up.
“Relax Cory, Ivy told me you are not gay and was a little weirded out when you found out I was gay. I respect that, contrary to popular belief that gay people are perverted predators.”
“Well you were picturing me naked,” I said seriously.
“And you were picturing the twins naked, it doesn’t make me a pervert, it makes me a normal teenage boy.”
“Good point, so what brings you over here?”
“I wanted you to know what to expect tomorrow.” Ronnie replied. “In the hall closets you can find spare uniforms. You stand out as is because you are not wearing a uniform and you are too young to be in the military so people will mark you as the new guy.”
“They already are going to mark me as the new guy because I just showed up here.”
“Well other than the uniform, we exercise every day to keep our stamina up. Tomorrow morning we start at five. Make it on time or you will be repeating the workout in the evenings every day for a month. Well I gotta go, I will meet you here tomorrow at 4:45.” With that Ronnie left.
I did not get a good night’s sleep at all. It could be because of my late nap, or it could be I was nervous about meeting everyone. When the time I was supposed to meet Ronnie came around, I was already out in front of my door. He came down from the hallway from a door at the far end. I guess that was where he lived. As he was walking towards me, the twins came from downstairs. I instantly thought about them reading my mind so I just kept singing the ABC song to myself. I didn’t want to be obnoxious, but I didn’t want her in my head either. I really didn’t want to lose focus on my ABC’s, as it kept me from thinking about other things. If Ivy noticed my ABC song she sure didn’t mention it to me. We left the building we lived in a walked down the street towards the big park that was at the center of everything I was guessing, since I didn’t get a chance to properly explore. Once we made our way to the park, I saw a big group of people hanging out, all wearing different colors of the same jogging suit I was wearing.
I noticed Khatara first, which was easy because she was so tall. She had on a red suit and all the girls around her did also. They were all quite tall and muscular, though none were as big as Khatara. They also were all quite hairy just like Khatara but still I couldn’t imagine any man kicking them out of bed. One of her group though was noticeably shorter than the rest and not quite as muscular. She wasn’t out of shape, but she was the Richard Limmons to their Ronald Swartzenogger. I was guessing that whole group she was around was all werewolves. I started to wave at her but Aimee quickly snatched my hand out of the air. Khatara saw me and waved back. She also saw Aimee grab me and shot Aimee a pretty icy glare.
“What are you doing Cory?” Aimee asked.
“I am just saying hi to a friend.” I replied.
“You just got here, you don’t have any friends yet, certainly not a werewolf. They are only out to take advantage of you. Leave them alone, they only care for themselves and their stupid pack. We don’t have enough male wizards as it is without them trying their best to make it harder.”
Yeah she wanted my body and was just acting jealous. I was thinking she just wanted to lay me down and… I never got to finish that thought. Ivy came out of nowhere a delivered a pretty good slap to my face. She didn’t look mad after she did it either, she actually looked sort of proud of herself. She didn’t say anything and I certainly wasn’t going to let anyone in on what I was thinking. Not that any of it mattered, since her sister rolled her eyes and Ronnie started laughing, so I am guessing the
y knew I wasn’t having innocent thoughts. As I was recovering from my attack, I saw a group come up from the vampire part of town.
As they came into view I noticed they were all either albino, or very light skinned. I could make out they were all different races based on their features, but they were all still quite white. They did not look anything like movie vampires. They just all looked like a bunch of pale teenage chicks.
“Where are the guys Vampires at?” I whispered to Ronnie.
“They never come to school.” He replied. “I think there are three of them down here somewhere. I have never seen one, but I hear the girls keep them locked away.”
“Okay, but why are they so pale?”
“They can’t make melanin anymore Cory,” Ivy replied. “I don’t have to tell you to stay away from them.”
“Why are Vampires okay to hang around, but the werewolves are off limits.” I asked.
“Because the vampires are snobs, so they wouldn’t hang around you. More importantly they are poisonous” Aimee added.
“Whoa note to self, stay away from vampires” I replied.
As the vampires came into the park I noticed Cranberry was not with them. They vampires assembled all looked to be fairly young, definitely within five years older and younger than I was. I also noticed that there weren’t any adults or anyone who could pass as an adult in the park. Even the were wolves with their hulking size still had baby faces. I also noticed that although I was told we had military here, I didn’t see anyone who could pass as a Soldier. As it started to get nearer to 5 am more and more wizards started gathering in the park. I remember hearing that there were 199 wizards on the planet, but the group assembled here had to be no more than 30 or 40 by rough estimate. A woman wearing nothing but a basketball uniform walked up and everyone got into a formation I didn’t know. Luckily Ronnie pulled me to the side and helped me find a place. As we settled in the woman in the basketball jersey started to speak.
“Alright class, no normal PT today. Sonar has been stepping up his attacks and we just found out he was behind two more murders. Today we are playing president. Since we have a new student today I figure he can be the president. Half of you have to try to assassinate him, the other half has to protect. Now wizards if your powers are highly destructive, please refrain from using them on each other. I want realistic training but we are not trying to kill anybody.”
The Spawn of Hate Page 4