#2 - From the Depths: Part Two

[Stardrifter]

by
Stardrifter

#2 - From the Depths: Part Two

The hour is late. The moon is shining brightly in the sky. Jenna and Brian sit in silence atop the jagged rocks where the cliff meets the ocean. The rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the rocks would lull them into sleep, if not for their dire situation. The crash left all of their cell phones either lost or broken. With no way to call for help and the cliff leading back to the road too steep to climb, Arthur told them he'd be back with help before diving into the ocean.

"I'll be back," Arthur had told her, his voice calm and certain. "I promise."

Jenna keeps running that moment through her mind. Despite his reassuring demeanor, there was a look in his eyes that she can't remember seeing since they were kids. Fear. Fear of what? Of what Jenna saw? The crash was a blur, the images in her mind clouded by panic. Yet she knows what she saw at the end. Arthur, the boy she's known almost all her life, lifting the car out of the water and placing it safely on the rocks with his bare hands.

Spray from the waves hits Jenna in the face. She reaches up to wipe it away, growling in frustration. She wants to scream. She's soaked from head to toe, her clothes clinging and uncomfortable. Her head feels like its going to explode. Brian doesn't seem to have put together the fact that the car is on the rocks and not in the ocean. What few words he's spoken have betrayed a mind preoccupied by the fact that he drowned. It's easy to understand, but Brian's introspection has left her alone, unable to vent her frustration.

Finally, after what feels like hours, a light shines along the water. The sound of an engine can barely be heard over the waves. Jenna leaps up to look but is blinded when the light shines directly on her. The light turns and reveals a small boat. It's a ship Jenna would know anywhere. The Lightbringer. Tom Curry's boat.

"You kids all right?" Tom shouts from the wheel.

"We're alive," Jenna answers. She looks over at Arthur, standing like a statue next to his father, and he averts his eyes.

The trip back to the lighthouse is uneventful. Arthur takes the wheel as Tom checks on Jenna and Brian. Brian is uncharacteristically silent as Tom looks him over. "In my expert opinion, you are in fact alive," Tom jokes, attempting to lighten the mood. Brian offers a weak smirk. "Still, when we get back I should probably take you to the hospital, just in case."

Tom steps over to the other side of the boat where Jenna is sitting with a towel wrapt around her. He kneels down in front of her and places a fatherly hand on her shoulder. "How are you doing?"

"I don't know," she whispers, her eyes downcast.

"Are you hurt?" Tom lowers his head, attempting to look her in the eyes.

"No. But," Jenna looks over Tom's shoulder at Arthur's back. As if he can feel her gaze, he turns his head to look back. Their eyes meet briefly before he turns forward again. "It was pretty crazy."

She looks back at Tom, who offers her a warm smile. "I know," he whispers. "Try not to jump to any conclusions. Give him a chance to explain."

His words shock Jenna. The first feeling that bubbles to the surface is jealousy. If Tom knows about this, why doesn't she? After Tom walks away, Jenna rolls her eyes and shakes her head, realizing how stupid she's being. Of course his father would know before her. Jenna watches the two, wondering if she ever really knew either of them.

Once the boat is docked, the four walk up the hill toward the lighthouse. Jenna hangs back a few steps, watching Arthur as if he's a snake, coiled up and ready to strike any moment. When they reach the top, Tom and Brian walk toward his car. Jenna gives Brian a hug before he gets in.

"Do you want me to call your parents?" Tom asks Jenna. "Or you can come along and I can bring you home after the hospital."

Jenna turns to look at Arthur. They gaze in each others eyes. Worry and doubt still linger in her heart, yet despite it all, she sees the boy she loves in those eyes. "That's all right, Tom. I'll be fine."

Jenna and Arthur watch the car speed off down the dirt road. An uncomfortable silence surrounds them for a moment. Once the car is out of view, Jenna turns to Arthur. "So?"

"So?" Arthur echos, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Are you gonna explain how you swam to shore dragging the car behind you? Or how you lifted it up out of the water?"

Arthur laughs nervously. "Yeah um...why don't we go inside." He turns to head toward the house. Jenna scowls at the back of his head, but follows behind him. Once inside, Arthur heads into the kitchen and grabs a teapot from the cupboard. "Why don't you go get changed," he suggests as he goes about making them some hot chocolate.

"Will you stop stalling if I do?" Her words come out harsher than she wanted. "Sorry."

Arthur offers a weak smile. "Yeah. Just...go get cleaned up and I'll tell you everything. I promise."

Jenna heads to Arthur's bedroom. She grabs a set of her pajamas out of his closet. Having had so many sleep overs since they were kids, she always left some clothes here just in case. She quickly changes into the thick, red and blue plaid pajamas and throws her clothes into Arthur's laundry basket. After a quick detour in the bathroom, she heads back into the kitchen to find Arthur at the kitchen table, two steaming cups of hot chocolate waiting.

Arthur clears his throat as she sits down. "Not sure where to start." He fidgets nervously, looking down at his cup to avoid her gaze.

"How did you do it?" she asks, taking a cautious sip of the hot chocolate.

"I don't know."

Jenna places the mug down. "You don't know?" Her tone is sarcastic.

"No. I mean..." Arthur sighs and leans forward. "One day it just started to happen. Back when I had my growth spurt. I just kept getting stronger and stronger. I don't know how or why?"

"How strong?"

"I don't know," Arthur says. Jenna lets out a loud sigh and rubs her eyes with her palms. Arthur suddenly feels defensive. "I really don't. I can lift anything at the gym with ease. I can lift a pickup truck, no problem. I don't know how much weight is too much. I haven't reached that point yet."

"This is insane," Jenna says. "How? What are you?" Arthur flinches, as if slapped in the face. "I didn't...I mean...Arthur I'm sorry. I just..." She reaches across the table and holds his hand.

Arthur welcomes the touch, holding her hand tightly. "I know. It's...I mean that's just it. I don't know what I am. Dad...you know I'm adopted. When all of this started, Dad told me he didn't just find me like he told the police. A strange man brought me to him, then disappeared. We don't know anything."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize." After a moment of silence, Jenna pulls her hand back and takes another sip of hot chocolate. "So that's it? You're some sort of Hercules and you don't know why?"

Arthur smirks. "Well there's a bit more than that." Jenna raises an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate. "I can run about fifty five miles an hour. I can swim even faster. Not much hurts me. We've had to forge my last couple physicals because needles can't puncture my skin. I can...breathe underwater."

"What?!"

Jenna's exclamation is so loud Arthur jumps back in his chair. "I can breathe underwater. I have...uh...gills..."

"Where?" Jenna starts staring at his neck.

Clearly uncomfortable, Arthur reaches up to his ear, pushes his hair back, and folds his left ear forward. Jenna jumps out of her seat and walks over to look. "Whoa," she whispers and reaches up to gently touch the gill. Arthur makes a noise and she snatches her hand back. "I'm sorry. Did it hurt?"

"Tickled." He lets go of his ear and turns in his seat toward her. "Does it freak you out?"

"I dunno. I mean, I've known you my whole life and..."

"I'm still the same person. Nothing's changed." Arthur's eyes are desperate.

"Yeah but, you've been keeping this from me for years. I thought you could trust me."

Arthur rises to his feet, trying to emphasize his point. "Jenna I trust you more than anyone. But...how could I tell you? I'm a freak. What if...."

Jenna places her hands on his shoulders. "Don't say that! You're not..." Jenna pauses for a second as she realizes she really means what she's saying. "You're not a freak. You're my best friend. I guess, I just wish you had told me. But I understand why you didn't."

"I wanted to."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Just Dad."

Jenna nods. It's still a lot to wrap her head around, and maybe it hasn't all sunk in, but she thinks she can deal with it. So Arthur is really strong and can breath underwater? It's not normal, but it's not horrible. She smiles and looks down at Arthur, "All right then. Anything else? Let's just get it all out there."

Arthur looks away. "One more thing. I can...uh. Well I can read thoughts. I..."

Jenna suddenly backs away, bumping into the kitchen counter. "You can read my thoughts?"

Seeing the horror on his friends face, Arthur quickly tries to explain. "Only surface thoughts. Only what you're thinking when you think it. And I don't invade anyone's privacy. Just because I can doesn't mean I do." She doesn't respond. "Jenna, I've never read your thoughts."

"Never?" she asks, her tone accusatory. "Really?"

Arthur takes a moment to decide what to admit. "Okay when we were thirteen..."

"OH MY GOD!" Jenna grabs the sides of her head and starts to walk away.

"It was five years ago!" Arthur shouts. He walks over and grabs Jenna's shoulders, trying to make her look at him so he can look in her eyes. "I don't even remember what I heard. When I first got the ability, I was reckless and stupid and didn't think about others. But I realized how invasive and wrong it was and I stopped. I swear."

"You don't remember anything?" Jenna whispers.

"Not a thing."

"And you haven't read my thoughts since?"

"Not once."

Jenna takes a deep breath and calms down. She gently pushes his hands off her shoulders and walks back over to the table. "Sorry," she mumbles.

"Don't be," he whispers.

"I think," Jenna starts in a soft, exhausted voice. "I'm going to bed. I need to sleep on this."

Arthur sighs but doesn't object. He wonders if he's lost his best friend this night. "Okay. Good night."

Jenna heads down the hall toward the bedroom. She doesn't look back. "Good night."

****

The morning sun shines through the window and onto Jenna's face, waking her from her dreamless sleep. Arthur's room is quiet and peaceful. She spends a couple minutes just staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about anything as the cloudiness of sleep fades from her mind. Her eyes wander about the room. She hasn't been in many teenage boy's rooms, but she imagines Arthur's is pretty typical: an unorganized mess filled with football stuff and video games. One thing she appreciates is while clothes and things are cluttered all about, it's not dirty.

She reaches up to wipe the crust from her eyes before finally sitting up. Beside the bed, asleep in a sleeping bag on the floor, lies Arthur. Before today, she would likely have gazed down at his sleeping form and wished she was in his arms. Today, she's no longer sure what to think.

The smell of french toast begins to fill the room, causing her stomach to rumble. Trying not to wake Arthur up, Jenna creeps out of bed and into the hallway. Along the way, she tries to pat her hair down into something manageable. When she reaches the kitchen, she finds Tom already dressed and at the stove.

"Gooood morning," Tom calls out, his tone chipper for such an early hour. "Hungry?"

"Mmmorning," Jenna mumbles back. She shuffles over to the table and plops down into a chair. Tom quickly walks over and puts a plate with french toast and sausage in front of her. A quick step to the fridge and he comes back to place a glass of orange juice next to her plate.

Before she can muster the strength to dig into her plate, Tom sits across from her with his own and a cup of coffee. "How are you doing?"

"I'm not sure." Jenna spears one of the breakfast sausages on her fork and nibbles it slightly. "Last night was pretty crazy. I'm still trying to process it all."

"I'm sure. Between the crash and-"

"Arthur," she finishes for him.

Tom finishes chewing a bite before asking, "Did he tell you everything?"

"I sure hope so," Jenna chuckles sarcastically. "The strength, the breathing underwater, the...mind reading."

Tom can hear the worry in her voice. "You're freaked out?"

Jenna sits back in her chair and stares out the window at the ocean. "Yeah. I don't know how you deal with it."

Tom chugs the remains of his coffee and gets up to pour another cup. "It wasn't easy at first, I won't lie. I wasn't sure what to think when this all first started, but in the end he's my son and I love him. That was enough to get past the changes." Tom finishes mixing his coffee and sits back down. "And sure, at first the telepathy was an issue. He did spend some time abusing it. Cheating on tests, making fun of people. It was hard to discipline a boy who can read every thought that runs through your head. But he pretty quickly learned the hurt he was causing. The violation. He stopped reading people's thoughts and I believe him."

Jenna continues to look out the window. "I want to believe him."

"You should," Tom tells her as he opens up the morning paper. "After all, he has no idea how you feel about him," Tom states matter-of-factly.

"WHAT?!"

Tom smiles at Jenna, enjoying the fact that he surprised her. "You think your parents and I haven't noticed? Frankly, we all expected you two to start dating years ago. But Arthur doesn't seem to have a clue."

Staring down at her plate, Jenna turns bright red and pushes her food around with her fork, embarrassed. It's right then that Arthur comes stumbling into the room, dressed in a tank top and boxers, his blond hair going in all directions. "What's with all the yelling?"

Jenna, still too embarrassed to speak, shrinks back into her chair like a turtle trying to hide in it's shell. Tom, trying to cover for her, laughs out loud. "I was just telling her about the time you walked right into the women's changing room at Target."

"Ah Daaad," Arthur whines, walking over to the fridge as Jenna giggles.

"Almost like that," Tom laughs and points at Arthur. "He was just a shade or two darker red."

"Ha ha," Arthur mocks, sitting down at the table with a large bowl, a carton of milk, and a box of Fruity Pebbles. "Very funny."

"You know I made breakfast," Tom says from behind the paper.

"Yeah that's okay," Arthur says while stuffing a spoonful of cereal in his mouth. "Cefeal ish gud."

Tom shakes his head and Jenna laughs. Arthur looks up and offers a wide, cereal filled smile, causing Jenna's laughing to turn into a fit and Tom to reach over and smack Arthur in the side of the head. After shoving a couple more spoonfuls in his mouth, Arthur finally asks, "So how is Brian?"

"Oh God," Jenna says, ashamed she completely forgot about her friend. "Yeah, is he okay?"

"He's fine," Tom assures them. "The doctor said there's no permanent damage. They decided to hold him overnight for observation."

Jenna looks over at the microwave. Eight thirty-two. "We should go see him. Can you give us a ride?"

"Sure," Tom answers while clearing his dishes off the table. "But you better hurry and get ready."

"Great," Jenna exclaims, jumping up and rushing toward the bedroom to get ready. "C'mon Arthur!"

Arthur breathes a heavy sigh through his Fruity Pebble filled mouth, his shoulders slumping, as he leaves a half filled bowl of cereal in order to get ready.

****

The sunlight is bright and harsh as Dr. Simon Jones wanders the streets of downtown Amnesty Bay. He raises his hand to shield his eyes from the intense glare of the sun. His head is now completely bald, even his eyebrows and eyelashes are gone. His face and hands are covered in filth and his once white labcoat has numerous stains.

The walk into town had been mostly uneventful, other than the car that almost hit him. The strange sights and sounds all around him are confusing and fascinating all at the same time. He feels like he recognizes things and yet has never seen them before either. The strange patterns he sees everywhere he knows are called letters, which form words, yet the concept seems foreign to him.

A large shape speeds by. He turns to watch it go, the large red vehicle he knows is called a truck. His feet keep moving despite his turn, causing him to walk backwards into someone.

"Hey!" a rotund, red bearded man yells. "Watch where you're going!"

Simon turns around and stares at the man, a confused look on his face. His eyes take in the blue clothing and the bag hanging from the man's shoulder. "Mailman!"

The mailman gives Simon a hard look through squinting eyes. "Okay, asshole. Move along before I call the cops for public drunkenness."

The mailman turns and heads toward a small shop but Simon rushes in front of him. "This world! This world...you call it Earth? I know this. I shouldn't, but I do."

"Get a life," the mailman growls. He steps to the side, trying to get around Simon, but Simon just mirrors his steps. "Fucking move, asshole!"

The mailman puts his hands on Simon's shoulder and pushes him aside. Simon stumbles and falls down on the sidewalk. The mailman's anger suddenly turns to worry, not intending to be so rough. Worry quickly turns to fear when he looks up to see a young, hipster couple staring at them. The couple rushes over to Simon.

"Are you okay?" the pretty young blond woman asks, kneeling down to check on him.

Simon looks up at the mailman. His feelings are transparent on his face, quickly changing from shock and confusion to anger. His brow furrows and he stares at the mailman, who starts screaming. He grabs the sides of his head and blood begins to drip down from his eyes and nose.

The young man rushes over to check on the mailman. At a loss for what's going on, he looks over at Simon and sees the hate in his eyes. "You're doing this! Stop it!" The young man starts to walk toward Simon, whose eyes quickly snap toward him. A wave of invisible force slams into the young man, sending him flying into the street. A passing car swerves, trying not to hit the airborne pedestrian, and slams into a parked car on the other side of the street.

"Jeff!" the blond woman shrieks. Simon quickly turns his eyes to her. Reacting on instinct to the danger, she slams her left fist into Simon's face, hitting him square on his left eye. The mailman stops convulsing on the ground, Simon's concentration interrupted. The blond woman falls back onto her hands, pushing the ground with her feet in a frantic attempt to get away.

<STUPID HUMANS! I HATE YOU!>

Everyone grabs their heads in pain as Simon's thoughts scream in their minds. Simon jumps up and looks down at the blond woman at his feet. She starts screaming in pain. Jeff, bruised but otherwise okay, jumps to his feet and rushes at Simon, only to hit an invisible wall. He stumbles over but quickly returns to his feet, pounding his fists against the invisible barrier.

Simon's attention turns as a passing police cruiser rolls to a stop. It distracts Simon enough that the blond woman regains some control. She kicks hard, landing a blow directly in Simon's crotch. He doubles over and falls to his knees. The wind is knocked out of him at this pain he's never felt before. Jeff, finally able to reach him, tackles Simon and begins pounding his fists into Simon's face.

The police officer exits his car, not sure what's happening. Seeing Jeff assaulting Simon, he rushes over to subdue him. He wraps his arm around Jeff's chest and pulls him off, throwing him to the ground. As Jeff stands up to continue the assault, the officer raises his weapon. "Down on the ground now!"

"You don't understand!" Jeff shouts.

"He was trying to kill me!" The blond woman shouts at the same time.

"Shut up!" the officer yells, trying to take control of the situation. "Down on the ground with your hands on your head! Now!" Jeff finally does as he's told. The officer reaches up and activates the radio on his shoulder. "I need a backup at 167 Tolles Street. And an ambulance."

The officer keeps his gun trained on Jeff while he kneels down to check on Simon. He feels Simon's neck for a pulse and finds him alive but unconscious. "Hold on buddy. We'll get you to the hospital."

-To Be Continued-