Aegis: Catalyst Grove (7 page)

Damien just stared at Graham.
 
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?
 
We all got stuff we deal with amigo.
 
We’re orphans.
 
We could write books.”

Graham sighed.
 
“You wouldn’t believe me even if you wanted to.”
 

Graham thought of his parents being attacked by the black smoke.
 
He could hear their yelling, and his screams.
 
He could see the intense light flash all around them, then darkness.
 
I killed them. What if I was the one who-
 
Just then, something caught Graham’s eye.
 
He looked through his binoculars to see a man standing in the entrance of the alley between Collin’s Cafe and the jewelry store next door.
 
He was leaning against the building with his legs crossed and though the shadows concealed his face, it was obvious that he was looking right at Graham.
 
The man stood there like a statue watching the two of them perched up there like two little birds in a nest.

Dropping his binoculars, Graham immediately darted towards the ladder.
 

“Hey, where are you going?!” yelled Damien.
 

Graham made no effort to reply.
 
He just continued down the stairs assuming Damien would follow.
 
Damien chased after Graham, slinging his legs over the ledge to the first rung of the ladder.
 

“Wait up man!” Damien yelled.
 

Graham did not wait.
 
His adrenaline would not let him.
 
Not bothering to look for on-coming traffic, Graham ran out right in the middle of the street as screeching tires and loud blasts of car horns echoed through the street.
 

“HEY!
 
Watch out kid!
 
Ya wanna get killed or somethin?!” yelled the driver.

Graham fell back onto the uneven cobblestone road in reaction to the car.
 
Damien rushed out and took Graham by the arm to pull him back onto his feet.
 

“I gotcha.
Vamos
.”
 
The two ran up to the edge of the patio and frantically looked towards the alley, but no one was there.
 
The man was gone.
 

“What did you see?!” asked Damien.

 
“I saw Cavaness!
 
It had to have been him.
 
He was standing right there!
 
Damien, he was looking right at us.”
 

“I didn’t see anyone.
 
Are you sure you saw someone there?”
 

“Why would I make something like that up?
 
He was right there Damien.
 
Right there!”
 

Graham pointed to the vacant alleyway.
 
Crowds of people gathered and stared at the two kids, still in shock that one of them was nearly run over.
 
Graham paid no attention to the people in the patio staring at him, nor the people walking past.
 
He was focused on one thing, and one thing only.
 
Cavaness.

The two boys looked all around desperately looking for any sign of him.
 
Graham ran down the street a little ways past the Cafe, hoping to see something.
 
Damien ran the opposite way also looking for anyone who matched the description.
 
Graham’s head was on a swivel so much that it almost made him nauseated.
 
He decided to go back to Damien and regroup.
 

Turning back towards the Cafe, Graham kept looking behind him, just in case he missed something.
 
He took a few more steps until he hit something hard and fell to the ground.
 
Looking up at the object he just ran into, he saw a man in a long, tweed jacket starring at him.
 
Graham’s blood went cold.
 
It was all he could do to keep from panicking as a large hand reached out towards him.
 

“Easy there little man. Are you alright?
 
Here, let me lend you a hand.”
 
The stranger took one hand out of his jacket pocket, while keeping his other hand on top of his walking cane.

Graham was hesitant to take the stranger’s hand, but reluctantly accepted.
 
With a quick jerk, the man pulled Graham to his feet.
 

“Cavaness?”
 
Graham said with an unsteady voice.
 

The man smiled.
 
“Goodness no.
 
I am much too small to be Cavaness.
 
My name is Silas.”

Graham looked him over.
 
Long coat; walking cane.
 
Wait a minute, is this the guy from-

“You were in the field the other day staring at me, weren’t you.”

The stranger brushed off his hand against his jacket.
 
He leaded in close so that only Graham could hear what he was about to say.
 
“Admittedly yes. I don’t mean to come off as rude, but one cannot help but stare at a boy that creates small quakes, surrounded by light and hovering objects.”

Graham’s heart leaped into his throat.
 
He must have looked like a fool to Silas with his eyes wide like a deer in headlights.

Silas kept his warm smile.
 
He didn’t appear alarmed at all with what he had seen.
 
To the contrary, he actually seemed accustomed to it.
 
Maybe he knew something, or maybe it was because he had such a sophisticated tone to his voice that he seemed more knowledgable than he really was.

“You know, fits of anger coupled with boundless curiosity can produce a whole host of odd, unexplainable reactions.”

“How do you know I am angry, or that I have questions?”

“My dear boy, everyone has questions.
 
I have never met a person yet who had it all together.
 
Trust me, as a professor of psychology, I have seen it all, well, almost.
 
I haven’t yet seen such a young person with your type of, how should I say……unique circumstances.
 
As for the anger…well…the slamming of your fist is a good indicator.
 
I cannot claim to know your specific circumstances, however I can help with the other, more unexplainable problems.
 
You are not the only one out there who can create these unknown forces and surges.
 
I know because I have worked with others much like yourself.”
 

Graham was speechless.
 
Someone knew.
 
This Silas guy knew, but he wasn’t afraid.
 
Maybe he could do something.
 
He was kind and inviting enough.
 
But he does not know about my parents.
 
If he knew what I did…

Just then, Graham felt Damien’s hand on his shoulder.
 

“
¿Eres bien?
”
 
Damien kept his hand on Graham’s shoulder for a few moments as he looked around them for anyone who looked like Cavaness, completely oblivious to the man speaking to Graham.
 
A few more moments went by before Damien’s grip grew stronger and stronger, until it felt like a vise tightening around Graham’s shoulder.
 

Graham winced.
 
“Oww. I’m fine.
 
No need to break it off.
 
What’s with you?”
 

Graham looked over at Damien and saw that his face was pale as he stared into the distance.
 

“Damien, hey Damien!”
 

Graham waved his hand in front of Damien’s face to get his attention.
 
Damien did not blink.
 
All he could do was slowly raise his hand and point.
 
Graham quickly looked in the direction Damien’s finger was pointing and saw a tall thin boy sitting at the last table at the edge of the patio.
 
He was hunched over with arms crossed.
 
His elbows were resting on the table and his head was tilted, looking at them.
 
It was hard to see his face with the hood pulled over his head like that, but they knew who he was.

“Chase,” Graham whispered.
 
“CHASE!”
 

He looked quickly back around to address Silas, but he was gone.
 
Evidently, his focus on Chase made Silas leave.
 
He wanted to keep talking to Silas, but he didn’t have a moment to think.
 
Chase was right there in front of them.
 
Graham removed Damien’s vise grip from his shoulder and began running towards him.
 

“Hey Chase!
 
I’ve been looking for you!”
 

Graham felt as though a huge weight was removed from his soul.
 
As his heart pounded in excitement, his hands waived in the air in a desperate attempt to get Chase’s attention.
 

“You don’t know who I am , but- hey!
 
Where are you going?
 
STOP!
 
I just want to talk!”

Graham and Damien bolted down the road, but Chase was faster.
 
He leapt from his chair like a cat, knocking it to the ground as he took off down the street.
 

“Oh no you don’t!” Graham yelled.
 

Chase continued to run.
 
As he approached a small wall, he leaped, placing his hands on top of the wall and tucked his knees underneath him, clearing it with minimal effort.
 
Now close to another store, he took a few more strides and jumped, placing one foot on the front of the building, then as if using the building as a launching pad, he propelled himself to the adjacent wall, grabbing the top edge.
 
He pulled himself to the top and stood up, looking back at Graham and Damien as if to taunt their inability to keep up.

“HEY!
 
I JUST WANT TO TALK!!!!!!” yelled Graham, but before he could finish, Chase jumped from the wall to the roof of the next store and continued running.
 
“Come on Damien!
 
We will have to chase him from down here.”
 

As an all-star soccer athlete, Damien blew past Graham with ease.
 
“You are the one who is going to have to keep up, amigo.”
 

All Graham could see as Damien passed him was the smirk on his face.
 
He needed that.
 
Damien always had a way to lift his spirits.
 
The two had been friends for so long, they just instinctively knew what would make the other one feel better.
 

The two continued down the street, keeping their eyes locked on Chase as he ran along the top of the buildings, jumping from roof to roof.
 
Chase took a sharp left, and so did they.
 
Next, they turned the corner down the alley and continued their pursuit.
 
Chase jumped from the rooftop, down to a smaller roof covering the back door of the building.
 
With a single pounce, he leapt from the small roof down to the cobblestone road in front of Damien, letting his momentum take him in to a forward roll, then right back onto his feet, not missing a single stride.
 

“Is this guy part cat or something?!” Damien said, in-between breaths.
 

“I dunno,” replied Graham, straining to speak at all in-between his labored breaths.
 

Glad to see Chase back on their level, they picked up their pace.
 
A small black railing stood at the end of the alley.
 
Chase placed his hands on the top and effortlessly swung both legs over top.
 
Fifteen paces later, both Damien and Graham made their way over the railing, but with much more effort being required.
 

After taking a right behind the next building, Damien and Graham looked all around for any sign of Chase, but was gone.
 
He was nowhere to be seen.
 

“CHAAAAASE!” yelled Graham.
 

“Why the running, man?
 
We just want to talk to you!” yelled Damien.
 

After yelling Chase’s name a few more times, both of them hunched over with their hands on their knees panting as if they had just finished a marathon.
 
Big beads of sweat dripped from their foreheads as their chests moved in and out.

“Hey, surely that little sprint didn’t get the best of you two.”
 

Graham and Damien quickly jerked their heads up and saw Chase three stories up on the fire escape platform with his arms crossed and leaning on the railing.
 
His hood still hung over his head, but this time they could see the grin on his face.
 

“Damien, I thought you were suppose to be the star athlete.”
 
Before he said his next word, he ran in a blur down all three stories and stopped right in front of Graham.
 

“And Graham, well, I have been waiting to meet you for some time now.”
 

Graham just stared at Chase scrunching his brow and tilting his head slightly to the side like a dog would do when you make strange noises.
 

“How do you know our names?”

With a serious expression, Chase looked into Graham’s eyes.
 
“I know pretty much everything about you, Graham.
 
I have watched you as you sit in your perch at Wellington every Saturday.
 
I know how you sneak around Greenwood listening in on conversations that are not your business, and I know you carry struggles which you keep buried deep down inside.”