by Joshua Chou
Nora stared at him.
“Sure,” Ethan replied. “What’s up?”
Nora kept her eyes trained on him. She hadn’t noticed what he was holding.
“So, uh, what do you think about what Iris said?” asked Nora.
“It sucks,” Ethan replied. “But it is what it is.”
“I mean after the slip-up with you-know-who. Think we can get the guy behind it all?”
Ethan eyed the shoulder slot where he could fit the arm into the Gundam’s body. He checked the directions just to be sure. The arm clicked into its designated socket. Ethan twisted it about to make sure the plastic limb could still move freely.
“I’d hope so,” he replied. “But you know how Iris has to keep a leash on me from now on.”
“But what about me?”
Ethan stared at his friend. “What about you?”
“Do you think I can hold my own?” Nora asked.
Ethan scratched his head. “Uh, sure? It’s not like you’re doing the heavy lifting.”
A long silence followed. Ethan stopped fiddling with the next piece to listen. Nora still said nothing. Ethan stopped tinkering to look at her.
She was devoid of that usual enthusiasm she had. Nora’s eyes were bleak and glazed over with frustration. Ethan thought it was that, or else it was unfocused anger.
It was at that moment that Ethan realized what he had done. Something died in Nora’s mind.
Nora stormed away without another word. Ethan watched her leave. He couldn’t bring it in himself to chase after her, or else her mood would only get worse.
Chapter 17 – Black Mist
Nora hadn’t said a word since yesterday.
Ethan found no chances to apologize. Nora avoided him like another Econ lecture. She darted around hallways to avoid him and stayed in her room to avoid seeing him.
Whatever the issue was, Ethan was driving himself mad thinking about how to solve a problem he couldn’t identify. He wondered if there was a bigger problem, but it could have been a great number of things.
Was she worried about pleasing Iris? he thought. Or was she worried about doing her job?
He had to stop mulling over the possibilities, however vague and uncountable those were.
People got upset, and Ethan knew that. But Nora was different. Getting this emotional wasn’t like her. Until he knew what the matter really was about, Ethan couldn’t relax.
Nora never did this before. She usually bounced back from any setback. It was usually Iris’ job to be the worried wreck, but not Nora.
Those thoughts plagued his mind on the walk back to EU’s campus. Not even the scenic sights or the putrid smells of Manhattan could distract Ethan much from what happened yesterday.
By the time Ethan arrived on campus, he forgot that he was even walking. It was like someone turned his brain off and forgot to cease the rest of his body from moving on its own.
Someone tapped Ethan’s shoulder. He snapped out of his trance and turned around. He half-expected it to be Nora.
Instead, Winston walked up to his side. “You okay, man?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ethan replied.
Winston eyeballed him closely. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
Ethan waited for Winston to start prying into his business. Instead, the other guy shook his head.
“I guess I’ll know when you want to bring it up,” he remarked. “We got a mandatory thing to attend, don’t we?”
That got Ethan to search the recesses of his memory. What was happening today? One thing came to mind.
“The meeting in the auditorium?” Ethan asked.
Winston pointed at his friend. “Bingo.”
***
Ethan tried to push his thoughts into the back of his mind. He could worry about Nora when he was alone.
Every student of all grades and groups were hustled into the auditorium. An elevated platform was set up before the seats with a wooden podium and microphone system set up.
Because the details of this meeting were sparse, the students of Elysium University did not know where this sudden meeting was going.
With any luck, it was a harmless school spirit speech. Despite that, Ethan found himself chewing the tip of his thumbnail.
He found himself sitting behind Nora and adjacent to Winston. As of late, the three seemed to habitually cluster, despite the awkward circumstances.
Nora didn’t look back. Ethan was too anxious to try making the first move.
Ethan turned to Winston. “What do you think they want?” he asked.
“Probably some ‘school spirit’ speech,” said Winston. “I hate sitting through these.”
He nodded. Ethan’s gaze was still fixed on Nora. “Couldn’t be worse than the freshman orientation.”
She turned around. “I heard somebody different was giving the speech today,” Nora noted coldly.
Ethan bit his bottom lip. Looking at her was beyond unpleasant. It was almost as unpleasant as seeing Iris give him a full scolding.
Nora meanwhile did not reveal any sign of empathy. Ethan hoped she would by now, but this wasn’t the time nor the place.
“It’s about damn time,” Winston said with a groan."I hated listening to the other dude.”
“Who’s speaking today?” asked Ethan.
“A graduating senior this year,” said Nora. “I heard she got top marks on her finals last year.”
“Good for her,” Winston remarked. “I can’t break past 3.0 on my GPA.”
“Maybe if you studied harder, you would,” Nora snapped.
Winston frowned. Ethan looked to her with a pout.
“Not cool,” he said.
Nora turned away without another word.
Winston nudged Ethan’s elbow. “The speaker’s probably some nerd with braces, I bet,” he said quieter.
As they spoke, the auditorium’s lights dimmed. The curtains parted just enough so a person could slip right through. All eyes turned to the front of their theater.
Their mystery speaker stepped out. She tested the sound system by tapping the microphone suspended in front of her. A volley of dull thuds rattled the auditorium, and all side conversations ceased.
She was a female upperclassman with a small folder in hand was making her way to the front of the stage. She had a mature physical build and an aura that seemed to beg for attention.
The only feature about her that Ethan found strange was her hair. She had a tuft of green hair that seemed to glow while absorbing the stage lights around her.
Nobody seemed to mind the hair. In fact, everyone in the room seemed too mesmerized by her presence to care.
She set her folder down and opened it to view its contents. She took a glance around the room while giving a fetching smile. Ethan almost felt his heart leap when she glanced in his general direction.
“Good morning, EU,” she said. Her voice was normal enough, but the way she carried herself seemed hypnotizing. “My name is Sophie.
“The future; something we avoid thinking too hard about. A year from now you’ll probably be at a party. Next month cramming for an exam. But what about afterwards? And what does the new girl have to say about it?”
Something was off. It might have been just him, but Ethan didn’t feel any substance in the speech past the objective to boost school spirit.
Deep under that disguise, there was a child scared helpless standing in front of so many people. Sophie kept the fear masked with a smile and continued with the speech. She continued to give a spirited talk about looking forward to the coming year and other words laced with enthusiasm.
Yet Ethan could smell the fear from where he was sitting. He could also see something that the rest of the auditorium could not.
Black mist.
The speech ended before the trio knew it. Sophie finished her speech, and the whole auditorium stood up and gave their cheer. Ethan ended up joining the crowd and applauding as well.
“That was pretty good,” W
inston remarked.
Ethan pointed to the ground at Sophie’s feet. “Did you guys see that?”
Winston glanced at the stage. He squinted to see what the matter was. A few familiar wisps of black haze evaporated off the ground where Sophie stood. She seemed to form a ring around her feet with the stuff.
Nora did not turn back. But based on the way her head was turned, she definitely saw the mist as well.
“We should hurry,” Nora remarked.
Their meeting didn’t end there. Sophie walked off the stage and the headmaster took her place. From there the worst of school speeches took center stage.
Soon he engaged in his own speech to occupy most of the assembly time. The whole auditorium settled down and all the excitement died. Every student of EM Academy diminished in energy and watched the stage in boredom.
Nora tried to leave. She muttered a few apologies under her breath as she brushed past a few students. Once she was in the seat aisle, she quickly left and chased after Sophie.
Ethan pulled Winston’s upper arm. His other hand was reaching for a cell phone. “Come on!”
The boys quickly left the auditorium. Nora was long ahead of them, but they could catch up if they walked fast enough. Ethan speed dialed Iris. She picked up quickly.
“We found another host for a Wraith,” said Ethan.
The sound of ruffling papers filled Ethan’s ear. “And you’re sure about this?” asked Iris.
“Yeah,” said Ethan. He was still on call. “The Wraith’s in an early stage.”
“I’ll be right there,” said Iris. “Don’t engage.”
They left the building. Nora was barely out of sight. By happenstance, a wave of outgoing students was walking in the opposite direction. This was a class leaving from their last period, and they were in Ethan’s way.
In the distance was Sophie, their speaker. She hadn’t noticed any of them yet. The black mist still clung to the ground where she walked.
From the looks of it, she was trying to leave as quickly as possible. Nora was already en route to catch up with their Wraith victim.
“We’re going to lose Sophie!” said Winston.
He almost walked forward to fight the flow of incoming foot traffic. Ethan stopped him.
“She knows what she’s doing,” said Ethan. He pointed to a narrow gap in the sidewalk. “Come this way.”
He led Winston down a different direction. This way they could avoid the incoming traffic. By then Nora was already running for Sophie. Ethan had little time to catch up.
Yet he had a feeling he’d seen this before. Was this how he looked when Nora tried to stop him from chasing Hector?
Winston was watching this time. He didn’t know it yet, but he might witness Nora make the same mistakes that Ethan did.
This won’t end like last time, Ethan reminded himself. It can’t end like it did back then.
***
Nora didn’t want to miss this chance.
Since the auditorium’s students were still attending the speech, she had no trouble leaving the premises. A few prying eyes of guards at the front door watched her leave. She flashed an A.X.E.L. badge in her pocket to excuse herself faster.
If her knowledge served her, Sophie’s only exit out to the streets was through a doorway at the back of the school building. If Nora was correct, Sophie would leave this way.
A set of doors swung wide open behind her. Nora looked back. Ethan and Winston emerged, and the former had a phone in hand. He was definitely calling Iris.
Nora had no time to wait for them. She looked about and spotted Sophie emerging from the back exit. The speaker wore a thick luxurious coat and held a phone to her ear.
From the look of her worried expression, Sophie was in the middle of an important call. Nora could catch up to her unnoticed.
This was her chance. Nora approached. She had a hand on the talisman in her pocket.
She made a hastened pace to catch up. As she did, she caught Sophie say the last few words of her call.
“Yeah,” said Sophie. Her enthusiasm was entirely gone now. “Yeah, it went fine. No, t here weren’t any problems with the hook… Yes, I’ll do better next time.”
Meanwhile, the black mist was doing something else. More of it rose from Sophie’s feet and crawled along her back. It became a myriapod bug that hung around Sophie’s head.
Nora grimaced upon looking at it. This was Sophie’s Wraith, and it already had a hold on its host.
The Wraith whispered something into Sophie’s ear, yet the girl never noticed.
Nora eavesdropped and caught one phrase from the Wraith’s mouth: “fake it.”
“Love you, dad,” Sophie said with fake bravado. “See you later.”
Sophie hung up. Nora finally caught up. She waved her hand and called out, “Excuse me!”
They finally made eye contact. Sophie turned and made a reflexive smile. The Wraith stopped whispering into its host’s ear and looked at Nora with curiosity.
Nora smiled back. The best way to approach was to look as calm as possible. If the Wraith was spooked, it would force a transformation.
She still remembered Hector’s transformation. This time would be different.
Nora had to remain calm and continue her advance. She would not fail this exorcism.
“Are you Sophie?” she asked. “Like from last year’s Micro Biology class?”
There was a new sparkle in Sophie’s eyes. She now had a sense of recognition in her gaze. It was enough to keep the Wraith at bay.
“Oh?” said Sophie. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Nora widened her smile. “So it’s not every day I get to meet someone that’s part of a student council. Did you say you were the new Council Rep?”
“I did,” Sophie replied. “Thanks for noticing.”
The Wraith on her shoulder writhed in place. It whispered further into Sophie’s ear. Nora dared not look at it directly, or else it would panic.
Instead, she kept tabs on the unholy myriapod through her peripheral vision. Nora’s eyes zeroed in on Sophie to keep her in focus.
“Did you know I drafted that speech yesterday?” asked Sophie. “You wouldn’t believe how late I have to stay up to finish it.”
Nora nodded. “Almost like writing a term paper, right? The smallest mistake could be as big as a—”
“—A mold culture under the sink,” Sophie noted. Her eyes were smiling now, so this was genuine excitement. “That was from Micro Biology. Mr. Bloom’s class, right?”
Nora smiled and laughed. Sophie laughed with her. Now Nora was in arm’s reach of Sophie. With one motion, the A.X.E.L. intern could have the paper talisman pressed against her forehead.
“And I think you’ll make a great Council Rep,” said Nora. She had one hand on the purifying note in her pocket.
Sophie looked at her phone for the time. “Well thank you. But I don’t think I can stay much longer.”
She began to move away.
“Ok, but I’ve got one last question,” said Nora. “I noticed you were pretty fidgety behind the podium. Are you okay?”
That got her to stop moving away from Nora. Sophie kept her smiling façade up, but her eyes were full of anxiety.
“The perks of having ADHD. Am I right?”
“But are you really okay?”
Nora stepped closer. She prepared to reach out with the talisman. Sophie backed away. One hand clutched the inner pocket of her long coat.
“I’m fine.”
It was an instant, but Nora spotted something in that split second Sophie’s coat was open: a pill bottle.
“Are you sure? There’s more than one kind of medication—”
“I said I’m fine!” Sophie snapped.
Nora backed off.
When she was mildly friendly before, she was vehemently defensive now."We’re done here,” Sophie spat.
“Have a nice day.”
Nora stared at her target walk away. The unused t
alisman was feeling colder in her pocket. Sophie turned sharply and make as much distance between him and Nora as she could.
Iris’ warning was more than a cautionary premonition now. It was happening to Sophie, and Nora failed.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed Nora’s shoulder. She turned around. It was Iris standing behind her.
“Ir—”
“Shush!”
She did. Iris and Nora turned to see if Sophie heard them. Their target was a long distance away now. Now it was safe for Iris to chew Nora out.
“You ran off without telling me!” said Iris. “Did you forget what happened with Hector?”
A scuffling of footsteps approached them. Ethan and Winston finally caught up to their teammates. The latter darted his eyes between the others, anticipating what could go horribly wrong in a few seconds.
“Stupid mistakes like that could compromise that girl’s safety!”
“Iris,” said Ethan. “The situation was under control, wasn’t it?”
Iris pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you start!”
Winston raised a hand sheepishly. “Guys?” he asked. “How are we gonna slap the sticky note on her?”
Iris let go of Nora’s shoulder. After that, Nora could still feel four sharp fingernails digging into her skin. She dared not say anything to further infuriate her senior.
“We do this by the books,” said Iris. She pulled out her phone. “Interrogation in an hour.”
Chapter 18 – Hook, LIne, and Sinker
Winston became unusually pale at the sound of Iris’ suggestion.
Not that he knew how A.X.E.L. handled interrogations. But Ethan couldn’t help the feeling of dread as well. Since she said that, the boys were careful to not cross Iris either.
Their field leader was sullen. More so than usual. Iris called them into an empty classroom to coordinate the upcoming interrogation with more detail.
She locked the door on the way in and began contacting everyone who needed to know.
This wasn’t like the situation with Hector. Ethan knew that they had to put the city on high alert for a Wraith run amok. This time their target was not yet transformed. They had to handle it methodically and efficiently.
At least Iris’ way of handling it efficiently, Ethan reminded himself.