SIDE C | CHAPTER 2

Andrew Cress

April 30th, 2032

Andrew did not sleep well the night his two companions left for England. His mind felt more relaxed after talking with Iris, Sarah, and Jen, but there was an underlying sense of dread that nestled its way deep into his heart. And no simple prodding would remove it so easily.

He dreamt of subtle chaos—barely noticeable destruction. A rot that ate away under the surface until all foundation would crumble underneath. He worried about the Queen. Something was so blatantly wrong about her but he barely knew anything about her—not even her name. She merely signed their first communication with a pair of initials.

He felt guilty that he wasn't out there leading the charge, but he knew the real reason why he stayed behind. The biggest reason for staying was the orb. What remained of John Rein and Jack Adata's body after their deaths—John used all of his remaining energy to encase the Radical-9 explosion into a physical container that glowed with menacing greens and blacks.

There was no telling the destruction that would plague this world if that container were to release its contents. Life as they knew it would end—there was enough Radical-9 in the both of them to level the country. That much was understood between the three of them who made the decision to protect the orb with their lives.

But the others didn't know one more thing about the orb…it was leaking. There was no surface damage to the orb—it had looked as crystal clear as it had on the day it was formed three years ago, but he could feel the Radical-9 spilling out. He figured...there was probably half a year before it emptied completely.

The question of the hour was where do we put the Radical-9 that's escaping out? How do we stop it from contaminating the people around us? At first Andrew didn't have the answers to these questions, but then one was made abundantly clear to him.

Andrew still had Radical-9 coursing through his blood. He still had every ability that he gained through its poison in the last eleven years, but he hadn't once thought on how Radical-9 attracted itself like a magnet. And then he remembered just how John had kept their explosion from killing everyone. Jack had telekinesis, just like Andrew had formed three years ago. John used Jack's abilities to suppress the explosion, and Andrew then had the idea he may be able to do something similar.

So Andrew let the orb leak into his own body—acting like a vacuum for any stray Radical-9. He had been practicing creating an invisible barrier around himself using his telekinesis—to no avail at first. But as time progressed he got better at it, and could then do it perfectly.

There were a few drawbacks, however. It took a lot of energy to continuously project a field around his body to prevent Radical-9 leaks from his own body and he could not keep the field up when he was asleep or otherwise unconscious. He also could not make physical contact with anybody. There wasn't any feasible way to keep his field present while touching someone else. Any sort of contact was a risk.

This was also why he hadn't kept up contact with Jen. Andrew understood the eventual fate of someone who would take in so much Radical-9. I...am fated to die. It was a hard truth to grasp, but he did. He knew that at some point—and some point very soon—he would succumb to the effects of the Radical-9 poisoning.

When I die I'm going to spread out as much Radical-9 as John and Jack did...no...I'm going to spread even more. I can't be around any sort of society when that happens. I need to find a way to fix this problem.

Andrew lied awake from his night terror. Still his thoughts drifted back to his condition and his close friends. Jen. Sarah. Iris. Jake. Matt. They were right. Andrew knew he couldn't just seclude himself and hide away to die. This wasn't a problem he could solve by himself. He needed his friends.

There was a sound at his door. Andrew lived alone and never invited people over so a personal visit from anyone was rare. Especially at...eleven at night. Andrew drowsily stood up and made his way to the front door. He opened the door and found not a person standing on his porch, but a package. Confused, Andrew grabbed the present in his hands and held it up, squinting to read the writing on the face:

To President Andrew Cress

He took it inside and sat down in his living room. A small lamp sat in the corner of the room sadly trying to illuminate the room. He's been in this house for three years, but it barely felt like home. Nothing really ever felt like home anymore. Not without Lindsey. Not without Gavin. Not without Jay. He slipped his fingers underneath the crease of the paper and tore it open. Inside was a box with a letter tied on top with some twine. He undid the letter and opened it up.

Dear Mr. President,

I understand you are not the sole leader of our country, but it feels right to call you such after your glamorous exploits during the Radical-9 Incident. Please do not confuse my calling you this as any devaluing of your cohorts' ability to lead our country. I understand they are away currently on official business, hence my calling you our President.

Right, now back to the topic of my letter. It's come to my recent understanding that you and the other leaders of the United States have come into contact with an object of great importance and danger. I fear naming the origin of this object just in case this letter is intercepted, but I am certain you are aware of exactly which item I am speaking of. I hope that you realize exactly what kind of dangers lurk ahead by keeping such a dangerous item as it currently is.

I would like to organize a meeting with you to discuss this item further and offer my assistance in neutralizing its potential dangers. I am sure that this is a prospect that is of interest to you.

Finally, do not worry about the method this letter was sent to you. I can explain everything when we talk. And feel free to tell your friends about this communication—I do not want you to feel like you have to choose between secrecy and safety. I am only interested in keeping the dangerous item as danger-free as possible.

If this is acceptable, I shall be free to meet tomorrow around noon at the pavilion on Laixley Street. I trust you can find it yourself. If you don't show up I shall take that as your answer and shall cease communications, but I sincerely hope you do show up. I have a feeling you want to as well, so in that case I shall see you tomorrow.

Oh, also, the included package is a...test of your skills. I apologize, but I must be sure of your ability before we meet.

The letter wasn't signed. Andrew had no idea who could have sent it. Andrew took the box and opened it slowly. Andrew saw a flashing red light as he pulled off the top. Inside was a small mechanical device no bigger than a baseball. Attached to it was a post-it note that only had four words written on it.

I am a twin.

The device exploded. Andrew yelled and the field around his body immediately clamped onto the explosion like two overlapping hands. It fell to the ground and hardened as a reddish-orange orb that looked just like the orb. Andrew was breathing deeply as he waited for it to explode and end everything...but it didn't. It just sat there in his house. What the fuck kind of test...but he knew just what it was. Somehow the sender of this letter knew exactly who Andrew was and what he could do. Somehow this person also knew about the orb. That news was concerning, but it wasn't the most concerning thing.

I am a twin.

That simple phrase threw his mind into overdrive. And instantly he feared he knew where that twin was. "I understand they are away currently on official business..." that line from the letter instantly flashed through his mind. There was no other reason why whoever sent this letter had to mention Matt and Jake. This is their test—truly. They've given me multiple time sensitive tasks at once to juggle and they want to see if I can handle it. On paper this would be fine...but if he was right, that bomb's twin was currently on the plane Matt and Jake were on right now.

I have to let them know. I instantly leaped across the room and slammed the bedroom door open and grabbed my phone. I dialed Jake's number and pressed it up to my ear. As it rang I went back to the living room to scoop up the orb in my hands—thankfully the explosion from this would be much smaller than that of the orb, so he could probably find a safe location just out of town where it'd only be a noise disturbance more than anything.

The phone continued to ring in his ears until he heard Jake's voicemail come up. Cursing, Andrew hung up and dialed Jen's number. Voicemail. As he was searching up Matt's number his phone vibrated. Jen was calling him back.

~...~

Jen's phone started ringing late at night. She normally goes to sleep earlier than most around her—10pm was usually her cutoff for the night, but if she was ever talking to Jake that time was usually extended.

It's Jake, all right, but she's not as excited as she usually is to pick up the line. There's a hesitation—a weight on her hand holding it down. She took in a deep breath and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Is this a good time to talk?"

"...yeah."

"I'm sorry, Jen. I'm sorry how things turned out before I left. The last thing I wanted was to upset you."

"..."

"I...I need to tell you something."

"I know, Jake. You don't have to say it. I've known all along...I guess I just never believed it—or didn't want to believe it."

There's a sound on the other line like him holding back a sad sound. "I really should say it, you're the first person I want to tell. I'm...I think I'm gay...or at least bi. I have to do a lot of soul searching to see where my feelings truly lie, but—" Jake never got to finish his thought. A loud sound tore through the air and rang in her ears.

"Jake….? Hello?"

Her phone started vibrating—she saw Andy was trying to call. Ugh, gimme one sec.

"Are you there? What was that noise?!

The line cut. Her hands were shaking and she immediately dialed Andy's number. Even before she heard him pick up she was talking, "Andy I think something's wrong with Jake..."

"I know."