Deon was calmer now. The stress was evaporating, rising up much like the steam as he stood under the shower. Safe, but deep in his thoughts.
It was a heavy morning. Confusion and panic, but Deon had much clarity now. Thanks to Sidra handling the authorities and pulling as many connections as possible, the officers had long since fled the premises, and Deon had a short while to relax and organize his thoughts before he was asked to leave with her for the orientation at the academy.
For a situation that had gotten the authorities involved, Deon had somehow completely evaded any sort of detection — or even a flag from the Grid. With quite some certainty, he could say a scan had probably been run, and that scan had returned some non-suspicious, falsified, sanitized result, warranting such an easy resolution to the situation.
It was now evident to Deon that his "condition," as he would like to call it, could not be detected… as long as he was careful. And careful he would be — for there wouldn't be any girls waiting for him in prison.
"Well, that's enough of that train of thought," Deon muttered, his voice low as the shower slowed to a halt.
"You right?" Sidra stood right outside the bathroom as Deon made his way out, leaned against the wooden pillars to the left. Arms crossed, posture tense. In uniform and ready for the academy.
A perplexed look, tinged with concern, sat on her face, mixed with a slight hint of irritation and loathing, hindering her ability to formulate structured sentences.
"Yes, I, Deon, am well," Deon replied quickly.
Most of his embarrassment well hidden beneath his poker face, one which would likely remain throughout the day. It was the first time in his life he had found that facial muscles, too, could be fatigued.
Sidra knew well that Deon was hiding something from her, but it wouldn't be his first time, and certainly not his last. Having dealt with his antics for far too long, she had learned better than to waste energy prying.
"Are you sure?" she asked with a loud exhale and a pained look, her hand massaging her face.
"Absolutely," Deon assured her, giving a thumbs-up — or whatever that gesture amounted to — accompanied by the same blank face.
Prepared and excited, Deon walked out of the house, stepping over the broken door that still lay near the entrance. The hallway was splendid as usual, with orchids on both sides every few steps, along with the red carpet spread across it, seemingly untouched by the army that had marched across it earlier.
The trip down the elevator was silent. Sidra and Deon were too familiar for silence to be awkward between them. And silent it was.
A slightly bothersome thing to Deon — because the voices had followed suit.
"Is this a morning thing?" For a second, Deon wondered.
With nothing else to fill his mind while Sidra doomscrolled on her phone, he continued his thought experiments.
"Maybe it's a night thing…" he continued, lost in thought, mindlessly droning behind Sidra as she left the elevator for the limo. "But then, if it's a night thing… is it a ghost? Am I being haunted, then?"
"And exactly what do ghosts seek of me?" it continued.
Landscapes changed. Deon faced the windows but saw no farther than the glass and the little dew it held. The scenery went from the grey of towers to the green of distant grass. The highway and the bridges spanned almost endlessly — a product of great planning. Durable and efficient. Only on these roadways of Vrath could you glimpse beyond the city walls and the green.
Although the sight was fleeting. Occasional. Irregular.
"Wait… could it be? Is it my ability? Did I awaken an ability to speak with ghosts?… No… that wouldn't explain why I'm not on GRID servers. But it's not like we understand ghosts very much… Whoa, maybe it's due to a Volatile Anomaly Attunement. Yes, it might very well be related to my peculiarity. Hmm. There have been cases of peculiarities being strengthened or modified… mmmm."
{"What is he doing?"} a female voice echoed within the limo, crisp and curious, emerging from the phone speaker.
The caller squinted, shifted her head from side to side, as though changing her angle would somehow improve the camera's view or angle.
Sidra held the device up, the camera facing Deon, her eyes narrowed in fascination along with her buddy. The soft glow of the screen illuminated the right side of her face as she watched him. Seated across from him, adjacent, leaned towards the opposing door.
"I don't… know," she whispered, her mouth very close to the microphone, with a tone full of wonder.
On the other end, the caller leaned closer to their own device, the faint rustle of fabric and the soft tap of fingers audible. Her face eating up more pixels on Sidra's screen.
{"Oh my… Is he?… Thinking?"}
"Huh…" She continued voicing her slow agreement. "I think so…" Sidra murmured, furrowing her brows.
For an uncomfortable span of moments, both assumed silence, studying Deon as though he were a rare specimen in captivity. A new phenomenon yet to be discovered.
{"By the wisdom of Ra,"} the caller breathed, her voice laced with fascination.
"By the graces of Thoth, he really is," Sidra replied, her tone edged with disbelief.
{"What do you think bit him?!"}
"He was in the pod for an abnormally long time…" Sidra corrected, her eyes and camera still fixed on Deon.
{"Merci. What do the reports say?"}
"We might have actually lost him…" Sidra said, emphasizing *actually*, her voice dropping, implying he'd been replaced. The original, lost to time, never to crawl out of the pod.
{"Odds?"} came another curious inquiry. A tone of much intrigue.
"No, not right. What self-respecting entity would act like he does…?" Sidra self-corrected, shaking her head slightly.
{"Well, some scriptures speak of spiritual beings called Ka. Maybe mourning the other one that died?"}
Sidra's expression shifted, her brow furrowing deeper.
"Well, he was screaming, 'It's inside of me! Get it out!' just this morning."
{"Hot Wheels again?"} the caller teased, gasping for air amidst her chuckles, with much amusement in her voice.
"Surprisingly, no… nothing. Like a nightmare, maybe? But a bit much for that…"
The limo slowed slightly as it approached a checkpoint, the soft hiss of the brakes barely audible.
{"Look at him—so lost in thought while we talk about him… on speaker!"}
"A clone, you think?" Sidra suggested, no longer concerned with keeping a low tone.
{"A mimic!"} the caller exclaimed, loud, with excitement still rising.
"No, spirit!" Sidra countered.
{"Yes, eidolons."}
"Maybe a god in disguise…" Sidra mused, her gaze never leaving Deon.
{"Pff—"}
"Pff—"
{"Haha."}
"Ha-ha."
A good minute of laughter followed, the sounds not loud, but not ones that would slip anyone's notice—unless that person was Deon, engrossed in deep contemplation.
"A stretch," Sidra admitted, shaking her head.
{"A definite stretch. Flattering, actually."}
"Undeserved."
{"Undeserved,"} both said in unison, their voices overlapping perfectly.
The limo came to a gentle stop, the engine fading into silence. Outside, the faint chatter of other students and the distant hum of the academy grounds could be heard.
"All right, I think we're there. Later, bye-bye," Sidra said, switching to the front camera and waving her off.
{"Bye. Take good care of my stupid brother for me."}
"Alright… Hey, Deon, let's go," Sidra barked, vying for his attention as though he might be her slave.
Like a man hard of hearing, Deon gave no response.
"Hey, Deon, let's go. Chop-chop, we've arrived," she continued, louder this time.
Much like a man hard of hearing and deep in sleep, there was still no response.
"Ugh… DEON, YOU DUMASS!" she practically yelled at him, though she was still mindful of their public surroundings and careful not to be loud enough to attract attention.
Much like a man hard of hearing, deep in sleep, and who had recently entered a comatose state, there was no response.
"Oh, hey, Deon, look. Are those hot, single second-years waving at you?"
"UwUga!"
Deon snapped to his senses like a dead body thrown into rigor mortis—but attentive and hella sharp. Within milliseconds, he assessed that there were no babes waving at him.
"That was mean," he murmured.
"Let's go," she said, stepping out as the light flooded in.
As Deon stepped out, he took the first step toward achieving his dreams.
The Hunters' Academy stood before him in all its glory.
To Be Continued==>