Chapter 2) Assailant and New Friend

6:27AM

'Jeez, it's cold out here,' I continued walking to school, even though I didn't even want to go in the first place. I didn't understand it, but this morning had left a sense of caution and suspicion embedded deeply into my mind. By no means was I a cautious person, but I did have an extremely keen sense when it came to danger, and my instincts right now were screaming. As a kid, I once reacted to an earthquake faster than my pet lab at the time had even noticed it. My doctor compares me to a more keen sensed canine, specifically, for my ridiculous sense of hearing and overall primal instinct to danger.

I always prepared for school long before I should have because I disliked the looks the students gave me. They always looked at me with looks of scorn and disrespect, which proved too many of them have too much confidence in their lackluster looks and personalities. In comparison to even the bulkiest of the freshmen, I could still be considered a giant.

My height is a staggering 6'2", which made me one of the tallest in the school. As for my physical build, I kept myself busy doing activities almost all the time, so my physique was the envy of some of my classmates. Beyond that, I have an average face in my own opinion. The only unique facial characteristic I could think of were my eyes. As grey as some of the darkest storm clouds with amber rays radiating from my pupils. If not for my social anxiety, I would have ended up being a bit popular.

I remember back when I was in the 5th grade , I was completely avoided by my colleagues. In my eyes, all of them walked in greyscale, with no faces, as if in a picture book that wasn't finished. I met the first person to have color in my world, Nick, my best friend, in the middle of January. My life changed from then on, all because of him. As I made my way to school, a few thoughts crossed my mind, carrying a torrent of worry and questions.

'What was I dreaming about last night? Why do I feel so much danger emanating from the school building? Why can't I remember my dream?'

As these questions continued to arise, I suddenly felt as though I were being watched. Quickly, I surveyed my surroundings with the limited light I had from the street lamp. I couldn't make out any figures lurking in the early morning shadows, but even with my eyesight, the predator stayed unseen.

I knew things were about to get hectic, so I began my calming technique. I inhaled deeply through my nostrils, and exhaled through the mouth, while also keeping my eyelids tightly shut. I knew I was performing the common technique that martial artists use in order to calm myself and relinquish unnecessary thoughts, a state of mind commonly called Zen. Zen also refers to the art of a calm mind and a perfect harmony between oneself and the earth around them. In movies or shows, this allows a person to detect any irregularities within his or her immediate surroundings, which was about 1 foot past arm's length, in order to almost instantly respond to an attack.

The difference between other people and me, however, was that my primal senses made my zone larger than any other human. This enables me to perceive movement around 20-30 feet from my body. I nicknamed my zone the "Grid". I almost immediately "saw" the person roughly 16 feet behind me through the "Grid" and readied into a fighting stance to ward off my assailant.

The man, surprised to see I had noticed him, quickly regained his wits and rushed me. I sidestepped the assailant and shifted my stance to one of Judo, where I grabbed hold of the attacker and threw him to the side, but the enemy had done the job he had been tasked with. I hadn't noticed that when I made physical contact with the mystery attacker, the man's hidden tattoos had come to life, crept across his arm, and attached themselves to my left and right upper arms.

As I approached this man, the man seemed to start disappearing out of thin air.

The man said one thing before his departure:

"You'd better learn how to use them quickly, or you'll face a great disaster in your future."

With that, he faded out of existence.

'What was that all about? Freaking psycho.'

In the place where the man had previously been lying flat, was a small black ring. As I inspected it, I thought that it was made of some black crystal material, but with a bit of light from the street lamp, I could more or less see that there were carvings engraved in it. I considered leaving it there, but decided against it, because I felt that this ring was somewhat interesting.

I pocketed the ring and started a light jog to finish my walk to school, although the memory of what the man said was still fresh in my memory.

'Disaster huh? We'll see about that.'

With that thought, I made the final few steps towards the school's main entrance, completely forgetting my sense of foreboding about the school.

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The first few periods of the school day flew by, and by the end of second period, I still couldn't figure out why that man had said that to me this morning.

"You'd better learn how to use them quickly, or you will face a great disaster in your future."

I was beginning to get really frustrated over it when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Dude, what'cha glaring about man?"

Nick said as I got the scowl off my face. He had been my friend since the fourth grade, and knew me better than most, so I considered him the best that I could get. He was by far the most friendly with me, even though I generally carry a foul mood around wherever I go; he seemed to wash it away without any effort. He was truly one of a kind in this generation. That, I was certain of.

With a bit of an edged tone, I replied, "It's nothing I got to worry you about man, honest."

He immediately looked at me with a serious expression, which was rare for him.

"Dude, what happened? Cause now I have to know."

So I told him what happened, and he went from having a serious expression to one of pure concern.

"Man, that is some serious stuff. I've got nothin to offer you, but I can say this, be careful now. That was a bad omen if I've ever heard one."

The bell rang for the period to end just then, so Nick and I made our way to our third period class; in the meantime, we discussed what the man had meant when he said "learn to use them." As we walked to class, I noticed a black bird perched on a branch outside, although the second I made eye contact, it flew away, leaving a few black feathers falling to the floor below in disarray. I rubbed the ring in my pocket with my thumb, feeling the engravings along its outer edge.

'I still haven't told him about this yet. I don't know what to say. I avoided talking about the weird disappearance and the ring for a reason. No one would believe something as peculiar as that.'

I pulled my hand out from my pocket as I walked into the room of my next class. That's when it happened. The second I took a step into the room, my danger instincts spiked extremely high and I felt a wave of some unknown force wash over me. I grabbed Nick and the next nearest person and threw us all into the hallway. The classroom erupted into a sea of fire as dark as midnight and I felt sorrow as I heard the screams of the people that had been too far for me to have saved behind the wall of furious destruction.

Nick and the person I had grabbed got to their feet, with looks of both awe and utter confusion as they looked at the classroom they had been just about to step into. Then they both looked at me, as I tried to figure out what had just transpired.

'You'd better learn how to use them quickly, or you will face a great disaster in your future.'

The man's words rang in my mind, and it appeared as though Nick had just thought the same thing, because when I looked in his eyes, he showed an expression of pure hatred and understanding.

The person I had grabbed took this moment to announce her presence:

"What the hell just happened here? And why did both of you just share a look as if either of you have the answer to this?"

She continued ranting about what went on but I was too focused on what was going on within my pocket. The ring had started to grow extremely cold, but it also felt as though it were pulsating with life. It was like the ring had absorbed energy and was now awakening. I reached into my pocket and pulled the ring out, and as I wondered what was going on with my body, I put the ring on my right ring finger. Involuntarily, my arm raised and I watched as the black flames started to move, but it wasn't moving away from me, but towards me, as if drawn to the ring. At that moment, the ring started to glow with a blue aura and watched as the ring devoured the flames and continued to radiate a blue hue until, finally, all the flames were gone, and we were able to see inside the room.

What we saw was not what we expected at all. All the screams had died down and all the people inside seemed to be unconscious. Over the course of the next few moments, Nick, the girl, and I woke the people up. What was puzzling was that all of them did not recall being in an inferno of black flames only moments before.

The three of us stepped outside of the room and discussed what had just happened. When we were done, the girl decided that was the perfect time to announce her name.

"My name is Tricia, Tricia Woods."

With that statement out in the open, Nick and I both said our own names as well.

"Nicholas Bruno, though you can just call me Nick."

"Jason Grey.. Jason is fine though.."

An awkward pause followed for a moment.

"So do you guys want to explain what just happened, or are you just going to leave me in the dark?" She asked.

Nick and I both shared a silent conversation with our eyes.

'Should we tell her about it? I mean she might as well know considering she just got involved because of my panic grab at the nearest people. She deserves to know.'

From the way Nick looked in my eyes, I could tell what he was thinking.

'Sure I guess. Why don't we inform a complete stranger on our theory as to how this just happened? You know what I'm saying, don't you?'

I thought about for a few moments, before going against what Nick was advising anyway.

"We think that a person I met this morning did this. We have no proof but we are confident in this because he had specifically told me that if I didn't learn how to use some items that I have no idea about, that I would face a great disaster in the future."

I watched Nick face palm with a strength so fierce his ancestors could have felt it. I let her digest what I just said, and then started to check down the halls in case a hall monitor came by. What I had dreaded hearing however, was said just seconds after though.

"How did you get rid of those black flames back there Jason?"

Tricia asked with a look of both curiosity and suspicion.

"I don't know how I did it. I just did. Early this morning, when the guy disappeared, he had left a ring behind. I picked it up and brought it here, but when the fire broke out, my body moved on its own. The ring has power, that much is obvious, but I don't even know how to use it."