Regenesis (Book 1): Impact (8 page)

“Then
why don’t you?”

Wally
shook his head, “I don’t know…Probably because I don’t really know where I’d
want to go or what I’d want to do. The world’s a damn big place and pinpointing
where you want to live isn’t a simple thing.”

Ian
looked at Coop and asked, “What about you?”

Coop
only grinned. “Why would I want to leave? It’s so easy here.”

Wally
rolled his eyes, “You’ll be in for a real shock once everyone starts moving on
with their lives.”

Coop
laughed, “We’ll see.”

Ian
smiled and told his friends he would see them later and left for the school. He
walked into the main building and half expected to see a steady flow of
students bustling from class to class. It was deserted though, which gave an
alien feeling to the long and hollow corridors. He walked along silently while
he peered in the windows at the dark and empty rooms until he reached the
classroom where he had taken his final English course.

His
old teacher sat behind a desk and didn’t even notice Ian’s entrance. Victor
pored over notes in a copy of
Ordinary People
and notes in a separate
notebook. Ian finally cleared his throat to signal his presence.

Victor
looked up and grinned, “I didn’t take you for the sentimental type Ian.”

“You’d
be right normally, but I guess when your window of opportunity is closing you
generally want one last look.” Ian glanced at the floor and then back at his
old teacher. “I’m moving to London in a few weeks.”

He
looked at Ian and asked what made him want to relocate.

Ian
took a breath and shook his head, “I don’t know what I’m going to do if I stay
here,” he told him. “I just feel like I need to get out of here and move on
with my life before I’m stuck here forever.”

Victor
nodded, “I know how you feel. Does the idea of remaining here indefinitely
bother you?”

“Yes.”
Ian scowled, “It’s not like I hate it here, I just don’t want to end up here
forever. I’d rather be off in London and work at a dead end job knowing I made
it somewhere beyond Bothell Washington.”

Victor
chuckled and told him he felt the same way once. “That’s why I left for a year
when I was younger.”

“I
know, I read your book. But you never said why you came back.”

Victor
set his work aside and told him that the world he longed for was exactly the
same beyond Bothell. “I realized that no matter where I went, my life would
ultimately be the same mundane journey, just in another land. But the one
thing, the only thing that gave me reason to return was my family. Paul had
lost his job and hadn’t managed to find work for a while. Nick was too young to
step in and provide for the family, and I would have been ashamed to leave my
mother to work a full time job when I was fully capable of working in her
stead.  I knew that they needed me more than the world did, so I abandoned my
adventure and settled down, more or less.”

Ian
frowned, “I guess I never really considered any good reasons for staying…”

Victor
smiled, “Maybe you’ll find reasons to come back after you’ve left. Either way,
you’re not going to be able to appreciate here until you’re elsewhere.”

Ian
agreed. Victor told him he needed to leave for a meeting in Seattle and
gathered his things. They walked toward the main entrance to continue their
conversation, though they stopped when someone who walked through those double
doors neared them. The young man wore a black tee-shirt with Led Zeppelin printed
on it and a pair of blue jeans. He wore his brown hair short, had a tattoo of a
snake on his right forearm, and carried a silver Colt M1911 in his hand.

They
stopped. Victor frowned asked, confused, “Nick?”

Nick
took aim and shot Victor twice, once through the chest and a second time
through his stomach. He looked at Ian, slowly aimed the gun at him, and nearly
fired off another round when an administrator heard the shots and rushed out to
investigate. Nick turned his gun on the man, killed him, and by the time he
turned back to attack Ian, Ian had fled.

---*---

2:35 PM

Bothell, Washington

“Jordan?
It’s Rachel, just wondering where you are. I’m waiting for you at Stipek
Park…you said you’d meet me here, but I don’t see you. Call me, bye.” Rachel
hung up and let out a breath.

She
sat in the middle of the park on a sweltering day in black jeans and a black
and gray striped long sleeved shirt. Whatever possessed her to wear that sort
of outfit on that type of day was beyond her, and all Rachel knew was that she
desperately needed to consider the weather before she selected her outfit for
the day.

The
park she sat in was relatively small, though lively at the same time. On her
right was a basketball court where a small pickup game was held and next to
that was an area full of play equipment where children played under the
supervision of their parents. To the left of her was an open field where a
make-shift baseball game was going on. However, since the field was so near the
road the players tried to mind the street and avoid any interaction with the
passing cars. Twenty people played the game and another fifteen sat nearby and
watched.

Her
cell phone vibrated. She saw it was Jordan and answered, “Where are you?”

Jordan
apologized and told her he was all the way out in Wenatchee. “I completely
forgot about today and agreed to join some buds from school to make a run out
here for some supplies.”

Rachel
scowled and with a bitter sigh forgave him. “Just call me once you’re back so
we can do something, alright?”

“Sure.”
He hesitated a moment after realizing his error and asked whether there was
anything she wanted him to get her. “They’ve got premium stuff out here you
know. I can get pretty much whatever we need from this guy I know.”

She
told him she would manage and left their conversation there. Rachel hung up and
cursed under her breath. She stowed her phone in her pocket and sat glaring at
the ground.

“Pardon
me, but would you mind if I sat here with you?”

Rachel
glanced up at a young man who seemed roughly her age. He smiled and wore a dark
gray sweater, clean, iron pressed black slacks, and the young man had a deep
olive colored pack slung over his shoulder. His hair was well kept and medium
length.

She
couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you dying out here wearing all of that today?
It’s nearly ninety-five degrees out.”

He
smirked, “I could ask you the same thing.” She gave her permission and he
joined her on the wooden bench. The young man then asked if she was a student
at the local high school. “You see, I’m an exchange student and I’m trying to
become acquainted with as many possible familiar faces as I can.”

“Where
are you from?”     

“Romania.”

“Uhh…where
is that?” she asked, embarrassed.

He
only smiled, “It is in Europe, north of Greece and west of the Black Sea.”

“So
do you speak Romanian then?”

“Yes,
however I was raised bilingual so I should not have any problems talking to
anyone, aside from my accent that is.”

“It’s
hardly noticeable.”

“Well
thank you.”

“Have
you registered for your classes yet?” she asked.

“No,
your principal told me that I would register on the twenty-fourth of August.”

“Oh.
Well, who are you staying with? Maybe I know them.”

“It’s
actually a rotational stay, so I move around every few months…and I have to
admit that I do not remember their names,” he admitted.

“Don’t
worry, it’s not that important to me. I was just wondering if I knew them.”

A
cool wind blew over them and with it a calm. Rachel began to relax as she saw
her newfound friend relax as well. He began to recline in his seat and became
less rigid than he was at the start of their conversation. It made her smile to
think that she might actually intimidate or unnerve him.

She
asked him, “What kind of classes are you interested in taking?”

“English
for sure,” he said. “I am not really interested in math or science, but I think
I might take a writing or a literature course.” He paused a moment before he
inquired, “What classes would you recommend?”          

Rachel
told him what she planned on taking “I’m taking an advanced art class, which
allows us to focus on whatever medium we want. Are you into art?”

“Err…if
you mean do I like art, then yes. Do you think I might be accepted into that
course?”

She
shrugged, “If you’re decent then probably. Do you paint, sketch, or sculpt?”

“I
have done all of those at one time or another, however my preferred method is
painting.” He paused for a moment to retrieve a small leather bound book. He
showed her a few pictures of a small village with a castle in the background
that he had sketched.

She
was shocked at his skill and the level of detail in his work. “Hell, this is
fantastic. Why don’t you draw more? You’re really good.”

“I
simply enjoy painting more. The ability to breathe emotion, life, and mood into
canvas is simply more exhilarating that way, to me at least,” he explained.
“When I paint I feel like I am able to show everyone what truly exists
throughout the earth. Through painting I can better express what is dwelling
within myself as well.”

“Okay…”
Rachel said, unable to precisely grasp his meaning.

Droplets
of rain fell from the abruptly dark heavens. Rachel was startled to find the
sudden change. “When did that happen?” she asked openly.

The
boy looked up to discover a dark blanket of clouds which covered the heavens.
“I have no idea…is this common here?” he asked, concerned.

She
shook her head, “Not at this time of year. Not to mention how quick that
was…that’s just weird.”

Rain
poured down and doused them both. The young man retrieved his book from her,
returned it to its place within his bag, and removed a small black umbrella
which he used to shield her from the rain.

“Thanks…”

He
handed it to her and said, “I must be going, but please take that with you,”

“No,
don’t worry, I’ll be fine. You can have it back,” she returned it to him, and
folded her arms in an attempt to avoid shaking.

“Are
you certain you do not want it?”

“Yeah,”
she looked over her shoulder, “I only live a few minutes from here, so I’ll be
fine.”

The
boy held it over her head, “Take it. You will need it more than I will, and please
do not try and return it to me again.”

She
bit her lip, and asked, “You’re sure it’s alright?”

The
boy only nodded and smiled, “I will be going now, but I hope we can talk again
soon.” He left without another word as a thick fog began to accumulate around
the park. Rachel watched the young Romanian leave and soon found herself trying
to follow after him. She only walked a few feet before she realized what she
was doing. Rachel fidgeted in place momentarily before she pursued the
stranger. Once she reached the street at the end of the park she peered through
the mist to find nothing but shadows, mist, and rain. The mysterious figure she
lost in the fog could not be found.

---*---

3:37 PM

Lynnwood, Washington

Nick
sat on his bed with his back against the wall. The rain crashed into his window
and afforded him some form of comfort. He listened to
The Battle of Evermore
through an old stereo he kept on his desk, something his brother once tried to
throw out but Nick wouldn’t allow him to discard. The right speaker didn’t work
at all, but Nick didn’t care so long as he could listen to something to drowned
out the world whenever he needed some relief.

He
fished his cell phone out of his jeans pocket to check the time before he got
up and left his room. Nick walked into the kitchen to grab a black garbage sack
and then he headed into the living room where his stepfather slept. An old
western movie Nick didn’t recognize played while he cleaned up the discarded
microwave dinner containers, the beer bottles, Paul’s dozens of cigarette butts
and the accompanying ash, and also dirty plates and other kitchenware. Nick
took the garbage out into their garage and set it inside the appropriate green
bin. A strong and sudden gust of wind smashed into the garage door and startled
Nick. He took a minute to regain his nerves and finally returned inside. The
blast roused Paul, who rose from his chair and headed past Nick toward the
bathroom. Nick kept his eyes low as they passed. He retreated into his room and
turned his music down.

Paul
signaled his leave from the bathroom with the flush of the toilet and proceeded
to wander into the kitchen. Nick listened quietly for Paul to open the fridge
and retrieve a beer, but the doorbell interrupted the ritual. Paul answered the
door and Nick crept out of his room to eavesdrop.