by David Barco
"No, we need to wait a while before we try that. I am sure they are a little extra observant the first couple of days," Jaylen responds, packing a pile of fries in his mouth.
"I agree with Jaylen. We need to be strategic about all of this. We have so many questions that need answers. We got to see if this blueprint works and if it does, then we got to find the secret rooms. We have this compass that we don't really know anything about. And we are pretty certain that crazy robe guy is someone that is here. Plus, on top of all that, we start our first-year classes tomorrow," Harrison says.
"Yeah and there’s another big question we need an answer to," JT says,
"What’s that?" Harrison asks.
"What type of cereal do they serve for breakfast?" JT responds, smiling big.
At that moment a loud bell goes off signaling them to the auditorium.
"Guess it's time to go listen to the Elder speak," Joseph says standing up and stretching his arms.
They throw their trash away and walk towards the auditorium. Students clog the hallway as they wait to enter in the big room. Two security agents walk towards Harrison.
"Grady, right?" one of the agents asks Harrison.
"Yes, sir," he responds, sweating.
"Elder Dirk has requested that you sit in the front at the assigned spot that is reserved just for you," he replies.
"Okay, yes sir," Harrison says looking at his friends who seem nervous.
He watches, as they are escorted to their seats. Walking down the long aisle, Harrison feels the eyes staring at him.
Why would the Elder make me sit at the front in a reserved spot?
An empty seat at the end of the aisle sticks out with a huge sign that says:
Reserved for Grady, Harrison.
Harrison sits and notices the person sitting next to him. It is the guy who was staring at him in the lunch line. Looking straight ahead, waiting for the Elder to come and speak, gentle whispers erupt throughout the auditorium. Finally looking over, the boy puts his hand out to shake his hand.
"My name is Tommy Drake, you must be Harrison Grady," he says, waiting for Harrison to shake his hand.
"How did you know my name?" Harrison asks shaking his hand looking surprised.
"Well, I know this is going to sound crazy but I kind of was given a sign of who you were," Tommy responds, smirking.
"Really what type of sign were you given?" Harrison responds.
"Ummm, that big sign right there that says your name," Tommy replies pointing to the sign on the floor.
"Oh yeah, duh, I should have known that," Harrison says.
Sebastian Darby walks to the podium.
"Hello students, I welcome you here to another school year, my name is Sebastian Darby and I am the Destine Elder's apprentice," he says.
His hands are behind his back and he is twirling his thumbs.
"I want to introduce tonight, our great leader, the Destine Elder of our great Destine nation and new Headmaster, Jovan Dirk."
Everyone stands to clap. The Destine Elder walks slowly to the podium. He grabs the podium and smiles gently to the students. He motions them to sit. As Harrison sits The Elder stares at him.
The auditorium goes silent. Harrison, anticipating hearing what the Elder is going to say, hears a static buzzing in his ear because it is so quiet.
"It is a great day for our great nation. Today, a new class of Kadens begins their journey to become elite warriors of the Destine people, while a new class of Gideons enter their final year of the Academy and are one year away from joining our elite warriors. Some of you may join the regular ranks of the elite warrior army, while some of you maybe will get the opportunity to join an elite task force, like the famous Red Hawks who protect and oversee the Ragnar Council. Maybe some of you will one day be strong and wise enough to be on the Council yourself. Or maybe the next Destine Elder is sitting in this room right now."
Harrison sees people in the front row looking around at each other.
"I want to wish you all a prosperous year of studies and training. I am personally excited to see all of you grow. When I look out, I see individuals who wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves. I see young men and women who believe they are destined to protect the Destine people and help keep peace amongst the other two great nations. The world is safer when the Destines have strong elite warriors. You all are the future. This year is a special year also. I wanted to share with all of you that this year makes the 150th year since the first Destine Elder created this great nation. In the spring we will be celebrating with a huge celebration. So, Kylers, you will be in charge of helping put a group together and planning a celebration. I ask your class to do this since the Gideons are going to be busy with their graduating exams. So tomorrow before classes start, we will be doing our annual first-day tradition, The First Spar which was initiated by the First Elder himself. Tomorrow we will be witnessing history in this famous tradition as a Kaden will be sparring against a Gideon."
Harrison looks around seeing the shock on everyone's faces except for Tommy next to him. Tommy smiles.
"I know what many of you are thinking. You are thinking that I lost my mind. Some of our best students to go through this school, even Douglas Grady never sparred in the traditional First Spar as a Kaden. I assure you I would never put a Kaden in danger if I didn't believe they could not handle themselves. I know Kadens will just be learning this year the basics of harnessing energy from their Power Flow, and I understand that Gideons has up to this point had three years of training. But this is a special case. The young Kaden who will be sparring tomorrow is already close to the Gideon's Power Flow control."
Gasps fill the room. Harrison views the amazement on all the students' faces.
"The student representing the Gideon's is the student who is first in class. That student is Clark Bell."
Bursting out in a round of applause, The Elder signals him to stand. In the distance towards the middle of the room a boy stands up tightening his ponytail and waving to the student body.
"And the Kaden who will be making history tomorrow is...Tommy Drake, the son of the Academy's Power Flow Instructor, Norman Drake."
Tommy stands up beside him.
He is the Kaden who can control his Power Flow like that? That is crazy.
Minimal hand claps fill the room.
"Now, rest up and be ready for your first day tomorrow. May you all prosper this year in wisdom and strength," the Elder says, stepping away from the podium.
Instantly, the registration lady, Emily Bolton, steps to the podium as the place fills with many conversations, making a loud muffing noise.
"Okay, everyone is required to head to your rooms when you leave here. Have a great night," she says as everyone stands in unison.
Slowly standing up, Harrison gets up after Tommy.
"Well, good luck tomorrow, I guess," Harrison says, rubbing the back of his head.
"Thanks, I am excited. This is the first time I get to use my energy attacks in a fight with someone other than my dad. That gets kind of old just hanging out with your dad," Tommy says giggling softly.
"Yeah, I could imagine," Harrison replies glancing at the ground. "See you tomorrow."
"Okay, see you then," Tommy says as Harrison walks away.
Harrison walks to his room. When he arrives, the door is slightly open.
JT must have been in front of that crazy crowd to get here so fast.
He enters and notices the darkness overwhelming his room.
"JT, you in here?" Harrison says stepping on something that feels like paper. Picking it up he cuts the light on to see what is on it.
His eyes grow wide, losing his breath as he gazes at the paper. The paper looks like it is a copy of the original things on the page. He begins reading:
Dear Adam,
I am proud of you, not just as a brother-in-law but as a friend. Elder Dirk has informed me that I am going to be the captain of the new task force he is putting
together, the Silver Falcons. As you finish your last year at the Academy, study, and train hard and I promise you, you have a reserved spot on the Silver Falcons.
Douglas Grady
He begins reading the next note.
Dear Adam,
I can't believe it's been two years since you graduated from the Academy. I am sorry that I haven't been able to get up with you. I have been slammed with missions, and this past month we have been training for a secret mission. I can't even tell Francis Anyways, your reserved spot is still there, and I wanted to tell you that it sounds like I may need some more help on this next mission. If you want, you can join the Silver Falcons for my next upcoming mission.
Douglas Grady
Falling onto his bed, his back slams on the mattress that feels like rocks. Turning the paper around, big red letters cover the top.
THESE WERE TAKEN THE NIGHT HE LEFT FOR THE SILENT MISSION
Shooting his eyes to pictures at the bottom of the page. Harrison quits breathing as soon as he sees them. In the first picture, he sees his dad taking his Destine Academy Alumni shirt off on the front porch and putting on his battle gear. The next picture shows him meeting his uncle Adam at the end of the street with his battle gear on.
JT walks in. Harrison sits up.
"I got to show you this," Harrison says.
Chapter 11
Making History
Tucking in his navy-blue shirt, Harrison waits for JT to get out of the bathroom.
"Are you ready to head to breakfast yet?" Harrison says, through the door.
JT walks out grimacing.
"Yeah, yeah I am ready. I just can't stand this stupid shirt being tucked in. I can't believe we got four years of this crap," JT says, tugging at his shirt.
They head out the door. Jaylen and Joseph are waiting for them in the hallway.
"It's about time. We can't keep getting to the cafeteria late for every meal," Joseph says.
"Well, I almost overslept since we got to bed late. I mean we were up half the night looking at that note that was left in our room," JT replies as they walk to the cafeteria.
Approaching the cafeteria, they get right into line. Suddenly, JT, sprints off to the back of the room as if he was being chased by dogs.
"You got to be kidding me. Look at all this cereal," JT runs up and down the cereal line admiring all the different types of cereal. "There has to be at least seventy-five different types here."
Shaking his head, Harrison grabs a bowl of blueberry oatmeal and a ripe banana. He sits at a table next to a window that looks out over a huge field where people are preparing for the First Spar. His friends sit down. JT smiles and places four bowls of different kinds of cereal on the table.
"This place just got a little bit cooler to me," JT says.
"So, after sleeping on it, have you been able to wrap your head around that note?" Jaylen asks Harrison.
Harrison picks through his food.
"It just forms more questions. I feel like this whole thing is just going to present me with more questions than answers," Harrison replies.
"I just want to know who went in your room and laid it there, and how the heck did they get those notes and pictures if they are real," Jaylen says.
"That's what I think is key. How do you even know if they are trustworthy? Anybody can write a note and say it's someone else's handwriting. And the pictures could have been from any time. I am sure your dad took his shirt off more than once on the porch and met your uncle more than once," Joseph says.
"Yeah, the problem is I never saw my dad's handwriting before, so I have no way of really telling if it's fake or not," Harrison responds, spinning his spoon in his oatmeal.
"Maybe the Academy has something with your dad's handwriting on it. I mean it seems like he is an idol since he was the strongest and smartest Destine warrior to graduate from here," JT says, eating his third bowl of cereal.
"Yeah, that would help us find out. Next problem though, how do we find something he wrote?" Joseph asks.
"Good question," Harrison replies.
"Another thing. If the notes and pictures are real and your uncle did, in fact, go on the Silent Mission with them, then how did he never go missing and why would all the reports say that all the Silver Falcons went missing? Jaylen says.
"Yeah, I know. Why would my uncle not tell my mom about this? It just doesn't make sense right now. We got to figure this out, or it's going to drive me crazy," Harrison says.
The bell rings.
"Guess it's time to see that Tommy person get wrecked by that Clark guy," JT slurps the milk out of the last bowl. "Poor guy.”
◆◆◆
The stadium is full as they try to find a seat. Four seats open up in the middle section. Harrison squints, gazing down at the field and sees Tommy and Clark at opposite ends of the field with the Elder in the middle. They both are wearing the Academy's black gym shorts.
The orange shirt Tommy has on sticks out better compared to the plain white shirt Clark has on. Gripping the microphone, the Elder pats the top of it making the stadium instantly go silent.
"What an honor it is to continue this tradition. The rules are simple. The first one to get hit by an energy attack loses. Once the official declares it a hit then the match stops. The two participants understand the rules as the official has already talked to them. Good luck to both of you," the Elder says.
Moving off the field, he stops halfway, smacking himself in his head.
"I almost forgot, we need an energy field around the fighting area, or it could get really bad," the Elder says.
He lifts his right arm stretching towards the sky with his palm up. A small yellow energy ball hovers above his hand. He pushes it up quickly, shooting it into the air. It explodes into a large yellow energy net. It creates a barrier between the field and the seats.
The official calls for Tommy and Clark to take some steps closer. Motioning to see if they are both ready, they both nod.
"First Spar now!" the official says, jumping out of their way.
They both run towards one another. Clark throws a punch. Tommy pushes it up and flips backward invading it. Squatting low, Tommy is waiting for Clark to attack. Clark seems embarrassed as the student body is amazed at what they see from Tommy.
Clark runs at Tommy unleashing various punches and kicks. One finally connects, hitting Tommy in his face. He soars immediately into the energy wall. His body crashes into it.
Focusing quickly, Tommy's feet shine purple with energy covering them. He begins to run up the energy wall. Clark stands in the middle of the field watching. Running halfway up the wall, Tommy stops and stares at Clark who is now crouching slightly and beginning to power up for an energy move.
Clark is screaming as he is trying to bring his power out. The blue energy is circling him as it covers him. The crowd is in shock that Clark is about to unleash that powerful of a move on Tommy. Harrison hears people talking in front of him.
"I can't believe Clark is about to unleash his Brutal Ray Blast on this kid," one says.
"Yeah the kid is impressive to already be this far along, but this move is so crazy," the other replies.
Tommy begins to slightly crouch, screaming and powering up, standing on the wall. Purple energy starts to circle and cover his body. Suddenly, Clark forming a large blue energy ball in his hand launches it at Tommy.
"Brutal Ray Blast," he screams as the energy ball becomes a large blue energy beam coming towards Tommy. Tommy bends his legs and pushes off the wall flying to the beam holding a purple energy ball spinning quickly in both hands.
"Omega Supersonic Blast" he screams.
Splitting Clark's beam, Tommy pushes the energy ball into his chest. Tommy lets go of it pushing Clark into the ground bouncing off of it.
The crowd is silent.
"Tommy Drake is the winner," the official announces.
The place roars in applause.
"You all may head to class now," the official says.<
br />
Harrison glances at JT.
"Remind me not to mess with him," JT says as they stand up and head to class.
◆◆◆
Staring towards the first hut, Harrison notices an older man bouncing up and down on his toes continually with his arms behind his back, cheerfully shouting at each student walking by.
"Good morning...Hello, Good morning!"
Every couple of moments, he scratches his shaggy gray beard and the top of his bald head that is sprouting various little gray hairs. on the back of his head.
Approaching his classroom, the excitement beams from his face with each bounce.
"Good morning young men!" the old man says to Harrison, JT, Jaylen, and Joseph. "History 1, room sixteen. If that is what you are looking for, you are in the right place. Just go in and take a seat."
Stepping in, the fruity smell of pineapples and bananas overwhelms Harrison's nose. Holding his nose, trying to stop the smell from entering in anymore, it makes his eyes squint gradually blurring the posters overtaking the walls around the classroom.
As soon as he sits, the guy from outside rushes into the classroom. Walking quickly with his robe on, he gets to the front of the room. Just gazing at the class for a couple moments, he suddenly hurls the robe off of him and on to his cluttered desk.
"I can't stand those robes while teaching, so I like to teach in what makes me comfortable," Mr. Lloyd says.
He brushes the wrinkles out of his flamboyant, short sleeve button up Hawaiian shirt and dingy khaki shorts. Giggles start to fill the room.
"And if you tell the administration or any other teacher, I teach in this, you will be history," Mr. Lloyd says.
The giggles stop instantly.
"Well, speaking of History, welcome to History 1. My name is Buford Lloyd and you may call me Mr. Lloyd. I will be your history teacher for the next four years," Mr. Lloyd says as he puts a miniature podium in front of him.
Tapping the board behind him, the board lights up with notes on it.
"Alrighty, go ahead and get some paper out, and please try to keep up," Mr. Lloyd says.