Discovery
(Nick's Point of View)
"Are you okay?
Speak to me!" I said to the child that was in pain. I knew he wasn't okay by
looking at him, and I had the thought to disobey my brother and use my power to
heal him. Problem was, I couldn't use my powers even as I tried. I must've
looked like a fool. I heard a deep, gravelly chuckle. The other kids scream and
I turned around to see the last thing I wanted to see in a lifetime. I forgot
that he resided in my mind.
Standing not even
three feet from me was the one demon that got me into this mess. He looked like
your typical demon: humanoid shape, horns, bat wings, claws for hands and feet,
glowing eyes, and a maniacal grin. He was also as tall as a two-story building.
He laughed harder when I turned to look at him. "How interesting. This kid is
getting weaker by the second, and there's not a thing you can do about it. Your
brother's persuasion skills are phenomenal, I must say. Maybe I should've
tempted him rather than you."
I felt my brother's
presence as he said this. I couldn't see him though. I kept growling, but I was
feeling more scared by the minute. I glanced around to look for Ghast, but he
was nowhere to be seen.
(Gary's Point of View)
I don't think I've
ever run so fast downstairs before in my life. I must've been taking them three
at a time in an effort to get to Nick as fast as I could. I had put Friz in
charge, ordering him to not let anyone leave the room. What have I done? I've
used my power for evil, so far as I could tell. I felt a fear I've never felt
before. I knew it was the link between Nick and me, and so I tried to use it to
my advantage. I was overhearing the conversation he and the demon were having,
so I stopped abruptly in the middle of a staircase and yelled to the air in
front of me, "Use your powers, already!" I slumped to the ground, unable to
concentrate in this state of panic I was in. What have I done? What have I
done? The sentence kept repeating in my head.
(Nick's Point of View)
I was just about
ready to concede to the demon that claimed he owned my soul until I heard four
words in my head in the form of my brother's voice. Suddenly, light burst from
my fists and I felt a warmth work its way throughout my body. In a vengeful
anger, I roared to the sky and got into a fighting stance, scowling at the
demon. He merely looked at me funny before I ran at him at surprising speed,
jumping up to reach his face, and was shocked to actually jump that high. I
punched him as hard as I could with my right hand, causing him to grunt and
stumble. I heard him growl as a hissing sound came from where I'd struck him.
The light had burned him tremendously, and it definitely hurt. "This is the
last time I let anyone talk to me that way!" I shouted at the demon.
"You insolent pest.
Don't you forget how deep in debt you are!" the demon roared, advancing on me.
I felt a power well up inside my chest, and I place my open palms in front of
me as light poured from them and formed a ball in my hands. When I thought it
was large enough, I spun and threw it towards the goliath of a demon. It shot
towards him at bullet speed and exploded as it struck him. At this point I was
aware of the child below me. The demon had fallen over from the shock, so I
rushed to help the child. I quickly healed his wounds and told him to run. He
happily obeyed. I then heard the vicious insults of the demon I was fighting. I
don't feel like I should repeat them here. He actually slipped into a demonic
language as his anger went beyond speaking English. The ground broke open and
an army of skeletons began crawling to the surface. "Next time you challenge a
GhoulCaller demon," the demon said, "Don't do it over the site of a bloody
battle!" My instincts and adrenaline were still in charge at this point, and I
unwillingly made a sword of light and began slashing at the skeletons. I got
through maybe five skeletons before the sword exploded and sent a pulse of
light in all directions. The other skeletons went back to the fissures in the
earth and the earth mended itself. I turned toward the demon with a burning
anger. I roared to the heavens again and the sunlight condensed and became
solid, vaporizing the demon utterly. When my eyesight adjusted and I stopped
seeing red, there was no sign of the demon save for a glowing spot in the
street. I was breathing heavily, and I had fallen to my knees. I then felt a
ticklish feeling in my chest and began to giggle. It turned into roaring laughter
as realization dawned on me.
"I'm free." I
whispered to myself. I heard my brother call my name and I shouted louder, "Gary,
I'm free!" I looked around to see a worried expression on my brother's face. It
melted after he realized what I'd said. He hugged me.
"Thank God that you're
okay." He said.
I chuckled. "It's
definitely because of Him that I am, isn't it?" I replied. I looked around to
see the terrified faces of the children I was playing with as well as the
ashamed face of Ghastillo. He was showing obviously shame for not helping. Or
maybe it was because his bladder had betrayed him. He saw that I noticed and
blushed. I saw him disappear into the shadows.
"Where's Ghastillo?"
Gary asked. I explained and he nodded. I then saw the kid I had healed approach
me. I stood up. He was probably two years younger than I. He had blonde hair
and fair skin and was wearing a red t-shirt and blue jean shorts. He was
barefoot like the rest of the kids.
"That was awesome!"
he said. "Thank you so much for helping me!"
"Glad to help, but
I have to go now." I said, feeling and urge in my bladder. I needed to go.
Badly. I was thankful that Gary calling me by my name and vice versa wasn't
questioned. I looked at my brother, trying to get the message through.
Thankfully, he got it and we left the street to go back into the inn.
(Gary's Point of View)
Nick and I were on
our way to the stairs until the manager confronted me.
"What the hell, Mr.
Robinson? Are you trying to make it the hardest thing in the world to keep you
hidden?" She growled. I told Nick to go to our room as I talked with the
manager. I tried my best not to use my persuasion.
"It's not my fault
my brother's demons literally caught up with him." I said in defense. "Besides,
it's cool. He helped someone. I'm more worried about getting the attention of
Pinnacle anyway."
"Why do you not
want to get noticed by them?" she asked. I racked my brain for an answer, and
my hand found its way to scratching the back of my head.
"You know, I'm not
entirely sure. See, where I'm from I've heard some pretty nasty things about
Pinnacle." I explained, dancing around the subject.
"Where are you
from?" the rabbit inquired.
"I can't actually
tell you that. Don't ask." I fed my power into those last two words. I
desperately needed her not to pursue the topic. At this point I was just
helping her become aware of my influential voice. My silver tongue proved to be
a bane at times, and the last thing I needed is for others to be aware of it.
Come to think of it, I should probably tell Friz about it. Also, I need a
weapon for self-defense. I asked the manager about my room number and that I
needed to leave, and she let me go after telling me. I raced up the four
flights between the lobby and the second floor before finding Nick in the
corner, crying. "What's wrong, Bud?" I asked.
"I wet myself." He whispered
through his tears.
"Well you can't exactly
use that much power without expecting your body to rethink its priorities." I
explained. "You were so focused on feeding every muscle in your arms, throat,
and chest into your power that your brain seemed to not think it was necessary
to keep your bladder from emptying itself. It happens, you know." I picked him
up without waiting for a response to carry him up the remaining flights. I
decided to engage a conversation about our empathy link. "By the way, Nick. Our
brains our linked."
"What's that
supposed to mean?" Nick sniffled. I couldn't help but notice how cute he looked
in my arms, blushing from his accident.
"It means that
whenever I recall a memory, like that fishing day we had, you remember it
simultaneously. I also helped you remember our day of staying up way past your
bedtime. It's interesting, really, and I feel all the pain you're in, as well."
I explained.
"Really?" Nick
asked in a childish tone. I chuckled at this.
"Yes, really. If
you get thrown into a wall, I feel the impact." I elaborated.
"Sorry about all
the pain I went through in the arena, then." Nick said with a chuckle. He was
joking around. That was good. The last thing I wanted my eleven-year-old
brother to be was serious at this point. He was too young to throw away his
childhood. I wanted him to keep his childish mind as long as he wanted. We
reached our room at this point, and I went in using the key. Inside was a
peculiar sight...