Twenty-one Ray

Chapter 21

Ray

I lay in my bed, stomach down, flicking on and off my lamp on my bedside table, extremely bored. My phone vibrates somewhere in my room. Not wanting to get up, I roll off my bed and thump to the floor, then crawl around, looking for my phone. Finally, I find it under my bed, and I grab it, unlocking the touch screen. It's from Bry.

Hey, any of you wanna come over today? My parents are at work, training?

Sure, be over in ten?

Kk.

I stand up, put on my flip-flops, and head downstairs.

“Justin, I'm going to a friend's house!” I call to my brother, and walk out the door, grabbing my keys. I hope in my sky blue convertible bug and drive to Bry's house. When I get there, Nox, Ash, and Airborne are already there. The sky is clear, finally, two major storms in one week is sort of rare, there were huge waves on the second storm and the waves have finally calmed after three days.

“The others will be here soon.” Bry says when I walk up to them.

“Okay, so what are we doing today?” I ask, plopping down on the grass, criss-cross applesauce.

“Exactly that, meditating.” Nox says, gesturing to me.

“What? Why?” I ask.

“To learn control, Briar-Rose discovered you because you burst into light, right?”

“Yeah, and it still happens.”

“Well, Airborne still can't make a gentle breeze most of the time, so we're meditating for you two and anyone else who has issues.”

“I don't have issues!”

“Yes you do, you don't remember the party, but I sure do.” He mutters. Huh? I decide not to press for details, not in front of everyone, I'll wait until after training. A few silent minutes pass and the others arrive, we head into the backyard. Spread on the grass is three yoga mats.

“Okay, so everyone is going to sit on the mat with the person they can't live without,” we all look at each other like, well, if you all died, sure I'd be sad, but I'd move on... except Nox, who looks stiff and won't look at anything but the air right next to Bry's ear. “Wait, not what I meant,” Bry corrects herself, “Let me give an example, I am plants, without earth, there could be no plants, so Jasper and I will be on one mat. Air and Ash are together, and... sadly, light and darkness.” She says, knowing her meditation session is going to be frequently interrupted.

I sit down on the nearest mat and Nox turns stiffly to me and sits down.

“Okay,” His clear voice rings out, with no resemblance of the stony look on his face, he sounds exactly like his usual, sarcastic, pain-in-the-a*s self, “sit criss-cross on the mat, and fold your hands like this,” he holds up his hands. The thumbs tips are touching, the index fingers are folded against each other, the middle and ring fingers up and touching, and the pinkies folded down like the indexes. He gives us a few minutes to wrestle out hands into position.

“Now close your eyes and breathe deeply.” I hear the collective intake of breath and it makes me laugh, I can practically feel the annoyance emanating from Nox.

“Sorry, sorry.” I refold my pinkies (which seem to be very stubborn today) and close my eyes, trying to stop the giggles from bubbling to my lips.

“As I was saying, breathe in... breathe out... in... out...” He takes a breath with each word.

“Now focus on your element, what colors, words, feelings pop into your mind when you think it, picture it behind your eyelids... relax...” Bry says soothingly. Then all is quiet except for the singing of the birds and the occasional flutter of wings from a branch.

Light... I think to myself, waiting for the images to come, but nothing does. Shouldn't I have the easiest time meditating? Isn't meditation all about light and peace and stuff? I sigh exasperatedly and open my eyes. Nox's eyes snap open and flash with irritation. Then close again and he appears to return to a calm state.

Ten minutes pass and I am unsuccessful at achieving Nirvana or whatever.

“Okay, now hold hands with your partner.” Bry says, rousing everyone from the silence and the breathing, “Do not speak.” I roll my eyes and take Nox's hands, they're weirdly sweaty, it is hot out but... gross.

“Focus on your power again picture it engulfing your body, flooding it, then you might feel it, force it away.” Bry says. I nod, mostly to myself. “While doing this, look deep into your partner's soul, deep into their eyes, memorize them, while picturing what I said, okay? Go.”

I'm in a no nonsense mood, so when Nox refuses to look at the bridge of my nose instead of my eyes, I break the hold and smack him, then return without a word to the seemingly endless gaze into his black eyes.

Memorize them, okay. I focus extra hard on his eyes, while picturing light envelope me. Huh, hey aren't black, just really, really dark blue, like the night, spotted with shimmering flecks of gold, like stars. In my mind, the light has completely covered me, I'm just a meditating flash of light. Out of the corner of my eye I notice I actually am just a flash of light, but I don't dare take my eyes away from Nox's. The light engulfing me in my mind's eye is gone, but the real light? Not so much... Nox has an aura of black and grey, it surrounds him and “glows” from him, like my light, but... dark.

I start to hear the whispers of the others watching us, they must be done, but I continue staring into Nox's eyes. Everything is obscured by the black fog the surrounds his except his eyes, which continue to stand out, blinking every so often. Slowly, but surely, my light dims and his darkness fades. I sit back, blinking away the fog that settled over my eyes, blocking everything that wasn't Nox's eyes.

“You two were yin and yang for a second.” Air gasps.

“What do you mean?” Nox asks.

“Like, your clouds of whatever collided and turned into yin yang.” Jasper explains.

“Huh.” I grunt, unimpressed. “That's not really that weird.”

“Were either of you trying to make that happen?” Bry asks.

“No, why would I?” I say, and Nox just shakes his head.

“Well that's why it's weird.” Bry says in a “that's final” tone. Nox and I still sit on the mat, but I relax, leaning back on my hands, my long, blonde hair brushing my arms, while Nox sits straight as an arrow.

“Anyway, so I was bored and I was looking through my book shelf for something to read, and I found this.” She holds out a navy leather, very old looking journal. The nearest to her is Ash, and he takes it, opening it to the first page.

“It's all in Latin.” He says, closing the book like its useless.

“Look again.” She whispers, smiling like she knows a secret. Ash looks down and opens the book again. “It's not doing any- oh. Why couldn't I do this in class?”

“What? Do what?” I ask, leaning forward in interest.

“Read it.”

“But... it's in Latin...”

“Yeah!” He looks up smiling.

“Let me try.” Jasper takes the book and scans the page, his brow furrowing in frustration, then a look of shock. “Whoa.” I hold out my hands next and look a the symbols on the page. Some look similar to our alphabet, while others are completely foreign. Then the lines start to swim and change into English.

“I am dying, sickness has struck the village, I am the last to die. Soon, Malum and his Fire Children shall eat our infested remains.” This phrase catches my eye, but before I can read on, Air holds out her hands for the journal. I hand it to her. I tun on a light in my finger and point it in Nox's eye.

“Hey! Watch it!” He says, holding up his hands to block his face. I laugh and make the light bigger he laughs and rolls away.

“Nox your turn.” Air holds out the book. I pause mid laugh and turn off the light. Nox freezes, seems to realize we were practically just playing, and gets up to take the book. After about a minute he says, “Oh, that's cool.”

“Isn't it?” Bry says, taking the book. “I'm going to read it, find out anything I can. But for now... food?” Bry gets up, “Come on, Oreos!” We all scramble to our feet, except for Nox, who yet again, probably hasn't eaten them. We all sit at her table and she gets out six glasses, a gallon of milk, and a package of double stuff oreos. She sets down the glasses and the package then goes back for the milk, by the time she comes back, only four oreos are left for her, and Ash has already shoved two into his mouth whole at the same time. I take one of the cookies off the cream and lick the cream, then stick the top back on and dunk it into my milk.

Everyone looks at me weird.

“What? You don't eat them like that?” I ask, dropping the cookie into the milk. It sinks. “Ah, crap! I put my hand in the cup but it just gets stuck. I put my chin into my other hand and stare at the milk, slowly turning brown from the cookie. “Well that's just great.” I un- stick my hand from the glass and fish out my oreo, it turns to mush but I manage to lick every last bit off my fingers. Someone clears their throat uncomfortably. Ash and Air chatter, but I don't think Ash is paying much attention, he's trying to keep everyone from noticing the milk spreading all over the floor, pieces of cookie floating in it.

Ash and Air leave a few minutes later, carefully stepping around the puddle and dashing out. Jasper leaves a few minutes after them. Nox doesn't seem to want to go and I have nothing better to do, so I stay and clean.

“Would you two mind cleaning...” She gestures wildly to the table, “..this up?”

I nod and she tosses us some sponges and paper towels while goes outside and folds the heavy yoga mats.

“So, did you 'memorize my eyes'?” I ask in a mocking tone.

“Yes.” He answers, no mockery in his voice, ripping a new paper towel.

“Prove it.” I laugh.

“Okay,” he pauses and rolls up his sleeves so they don't get milky, revealing well tanned, muscly forearms, “well, they're brown.”

“Uh huh.”

“And they seem to radiate the sun, like you have mini-suns behind your eyes just shining through all happy and light and ugh. They have flecks of silver in them, a weird combination and they glitter in your mini sunlight eye thing. Your eyelashes are really, really long and golden. You pupils widen when you concentrate. Your eyes are b-” He coughs. “Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“So what about you?” He questions, scrubbing furiously at a piece of cookie stuck to the tile floor.

“Well, your eyes actually aren't black, just really, really, really dark blue, like the sky. With flecks of gold in them, like the stars. I can't see your pupils though, but I can see your secrets, when are you plotting to do away with us all?” I ask.

“I- I don't know. I'm waiting for the other two, Wren and Marina. Wren is someone I just know about and Marina was in a car crash, her parents died, and I found her sketchbook, and for some reason I could tell she was one of us.”

“Oh, I've heard of Wren, he was the lead singer of the band at Michaela's party.”

“The party!” His head snaps up, a sudden smile dancing on his face. “How much do you remember of the party?”

“Well,” my face turns red, “not much...”

“I didn't think so, do you remember projectile vomiting all over my face? And then laughing?”

“Oh my gosh! Really?” I laugh. I stand up, the floor is finally clean. I notice outside Bry struggles to drag the yoga mats. “I'm going to go help her then I'm leaving, good luck on your plans of killing us all!”

Author's Note

please I really need help on technique and stuff, dialogue, details... all that jazz.

Reviews

[Amanda]

The font size change kind of confused me but i dealt with it. ON to the next chapter!

[helix88]

I'm not really sure what the story is about but the dialogues and style are okay.

[Sylvana]

You said hope instead of hop in the beginning of the chapter with the car thing. That was the only mistake I noticed.
I love the description you put into this one, the part where Ray noticed Nox's eyes weren't black. I find your dialogue believable.
Ah, oreos. Last time I saw them I didn't get one because my guy friends shoved them all in their mouths before I had a chance. xD
Chapter well done~

[MandaBear]

you are an amazing writer. i wish i could tell a story as well as you do. great job girl!