Chapter 2

As I walk out the classroom, I see Katie.

She's definitely taller than Matthew, maybe as tall as Shay, but nowhere close to my height. She usually has braids, at times she may leave her hair down. Today she did the later.

Katie came out of the room across/adjacent from the eighth grade math classroom, where I took my friends to the halls. I bet she came from the Engish/Social Studies room.

Behind her came Emily Armstrong.

I've known Emily since first grade. I think she had a crush on me since than. I dunno, I'm just a clueless guy, but from what I can piece together from my horrible memory storage, this one time when we headed out for recess, I was playing make-believe Sonic the Hedgehog with this other guy, and Emily asked me who she was going to be. I was Sonic. This other guy was Sonic's enemy, and apparently Sonic's enemy had a temper and was very competitive, even in make-believe games. I told Emily that she could be Amy, because that was the only female character I knew in Sonic. She told me that Sonic didn't care about Amy, and I told her that "I'm going to make sure he does".

I was in the same class as she was till second grade. Right before the year ended, my family had moved here, to Pullman Washington, and apparently, there's this nation wide law that states that you can't live in one state and go to school in another state, so I finished the semester there and in third grade, I had a brand new slate in a little Elementary school called Jefferson.

Now, up four years later in seventh grade, I saw Emily in my English block in Mr. Johnson's class. I gotta tell you, that old guy's talented, even if he's got Cerebral palsy. That means, he's crippled. But I swear, he is the most influential guy there is. "Perspective," he used to say. He used metaphors that actually made sense. His class may have been and English block, but secretly, he taught us about the perspectives of the Holocaust. Now that I look back on it, he taught us about perspective all year long. And that was it. He moved down to Coeur d'Alene, with his wife, but I'm glad for him. We got the best English teacher in his last year. At the beginning of the year, he told us that if he became a grumpy, cranky old guy, that he would quit. All year long he never got pissed at us or anything, but there he is, he's retired with a wife. For the first time. Anyways, I saw Emily for the first time in four years. During the course of the year, I would catch Emily glancing shy looks at me, then turning away. For two semesters, it was like that.

Than, at the end of the year, there was the seventh and eighth grade "fun night". Last year, we had all the inflatable structures, and Emily and I went on most of them together.

I'm only a guy, so I don't read emotions or feelings as well as girls. It's like they have a hidden talent, or superpower to do that.

Anyways, as soon as we walk out, we see the two girls, and first thing Katie asks is,

"Why is this happening?". Not what happened, because teach is dead. Not where it's happening. She's already there. But what shocked me was that she didn't ask how.

Maybe Katie wasn't that kind of geek nerd person, like I am.

"We're heading to my place," I said.

"Why?" Collin asked. He finally stuck his head out of his date's conversation. "Why your place? How can I trust you if I don't know where you live? Why not my place?"

"You may certainly go back to your house, but I find safety in numbers. I could probably host seven, maybe eight or nine if some double up with each other, but-"

"What he's saying is that he doesn't trust you," Keva said.

"I know what he's saying, but Matthew lives in Colton. You know where that is? That's eleven, maybe twelve miles from here. And I don't know about you, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to be walking all the way there in coyote country." My voice hadn't been raised. Shohom once said that my anger was cold, and that's what sometimes scared  friends about me.

"He could over to my house. I could host him for a few days off the rations I have." Collin spoke. his voice has an edge to it, moreso now than usual."

"Guys, we shouldn't be arguing over stupid things like this. Let's work together on this. I say we got to Emmanuel's house. I trust him. Besides, I won't have to live with my brothers and sister again." Shay said. My eyes told him thanks.

"Yeah, and Collin, even though you're a nice guy, I trust Emmanuel to cover me better than you." Matthew said. He was my friend since third grade, and I could trust him.

"Katie, who will you join?" Collin pressed. Keva whispered something in his ear, but Collin shook his head.

"I might go back to my house, but if I need anything from you guys, we should have some way of communication." I nodded, as if I understood. And I did.

"What about you, Emily?" Keva asked sincerely. I knew Emily was one of Keva's friends, so she might join  her.

"I might join you guys, but I think we might need more of our friends, as Emmanuel suggested," She said.

"Right," Collin said. "We'll need to find more of our friends. Emmanuel, I know you have a big network of friends, so more will be staying at your house."

"Not necessarily," I said. "I'm providing Matthew and Shay my house because I trust them in my household, but with some of them, not so much. I'll let them choose a house in my neighborhood,and hire them as guards somehow."

"You can't just let them take any house of their choice," Collin protested.

"Collin, the adults are gone. Dead. Something to do with gone." Keep your anger down, Emmanuel. "If they come back, they'll say that we're just kids, and they'll take over again. They won't punish us or anything."

"Yeah Emmanuel, but there are high schoolers in this world, you know." Collin protested.

"Actually, there aren't. I have contacts within that building, and none of them have called. They're dead, too." Collin's eyes became stormy gray. The air became denser, almost to the point that you could part it with your hands.

"You aren't the only anomaly on this world, Emmanuel." His voice no more than a whisper.

"I knew there was something strange with you, from the start," I countered.

"You think I never realized that bulge in your backpack, right? I knew you had that taser. You lied."

"As you me." I said, voice still calm. His arms burst into flames. I didn't as so much to flinch, but Keva stumbled backwards, while Collin and I circled each other. Matthew, Shay, Katie and Emily rushed to Keva, and they stood back as Collin and I continued to circle each other.

"You are the scum of the Earth, Emmanuel. Born on Earth Day, I see how that connects." Some kids had turned around the corner, and they started a measly crowd, opposite of the side our group was on. Some were chanting, 'fight, fight, fight!'. Others had recoiled at Collin's arms, and still others were saying, "hey guys! it's a freak fight!"

"Aww, how sweet, you remembered my birthday."

"What makes you think that fire won't go straight through you?"

"The fact that She's behind me,"

"Guys, stop." With those simple commands, Collin had stopped walking. I did, too. I turned to the source of the voice. It was Gabe.

Today he wore his green T-shirt. He's sort of fat, but not to the point of two hundred pounds. In fact, he's lighter than I am. But he's a lot shorter than me. And he's holding a red fire extinguisher.

"We don't need this, now Emmanuel, I would like you to put down the pistol in your hand, and Collin, I won't shoot you with this extinguisher if you put out those flames."

Than Collin stuck out his hand and threw a bolt of fire at me.