CHAPTER 12

Certain things just happen in between

Pike came down the double-staircase of Central. He wasn’t a morning person, so his perpetually tired eyes were even more so. He may have dozed off once or twice during Econ 201, but in an auditorium-sized lecture room of more than fifty people, he doubted the professor even noticed. Or maybe he just didn’t care. University students were mature enough to understand the importance of paying attention in class, right?

Econ was his only class for the day, so he wasn’t in a particular rush to get anywhere. He was looking forward to a quick nap back in his room—which would likely turn into a not-so-quick nap once he was in bed. Then maybe he would catch some alone time in the art building or High Tower until Mindie inevitably found him.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, his attention wandered over to the digital bulletin board next to the Leaderboard. It looked like Erika and Crystal were taking stock of potential chaos-related news.

“Look at this.” Crystal pointed to one of the posts. “Two guys ended up in the clinic last night.”

Erika scanned the report. “Found passed out on the sidewalk, but not due to alcohol impairment… Sounds like their energy was drained, so that’s definitely a Shade. Hope they’ll be okay.”

“Of course, it’s a Shade; someone even snapped a picture of it.”

“What form is that? Is it like, Medusa or something? Anyway, it doesn’t look like it caused any more trouble since last night.”

“It may be hiding in human form again. Look, the Department says they have a list of suspects they’re investigating.”

“Wait, Shades can turn back into their human form—even without us getting rid of their chaos?” Erika looked at her incredulously.

“That kind of thing is common knowledge among us luminescents,” Crystal replied bluntly. “This is also the reason why I rank above you on the Leaderboard.”

“You little…” Although a vein pulsed irritably in her forehead, Erika decided to let the provocation go. “Anyway, if that’s the case I honestly don’t have any faith that the Lumi Department will find it. It’s not like anyone will openly admit to being a Shade. Twenty bucks says it’ll stay at large.”

She then sighed with an air of melodrama as she turned away from the board “And Ryan’s still not back from his away game. Does the basketball team always stay two nights when they’re away? The soccer team doesn’t. We come back as soon as the game’s done.”

Crystal held up her phone. “He messaged me saying the bus broke down earlier, so they won’t be back until tomorrow.”

“When did you two exchange phone numbers?!” She also wondered why she didn’t get a message too.

“It’s only natural that I keep in touch with my future husband.”

“There you go again with that future husband stuff…” Erika gave a more genuinely exasperated sigh as she began to make her way towards the exit. “I was hoping to team up with him. The more it goes around draining people’s energy, the bigger a problem it’ll be.”

Crystal followed after her. “I didn’t realize you were so scared of a Shade becoming stronger.”

“I’m not concerned about how strong it is! The issue here is that it’s going around targeting people! I swear, sometimes you…”

They moved out of earshot from Pike, who had been standing beside them unnoticed the whole time. He skimmed over the report.

Erika had a point. The issue wasn’t the strength of the Shade. It was a concern if a Shade decided to prey on people’s energy. Most of the chaotic menaces caused a ruckus by means of structural damage—throwing fits, breaking things around town, and generally scaring people away. A Star usually stepped in before they could become a serious threat. In the rare case a Shade fled a confrontation with a Star and looked for ways to recover its energy, only then could it be expected to feed on others.

Incidents like this one on the bulletin board were rarer, thank goodness. The two victims had nothing more serious than a bad case of exhaustion and muddled memory. But if this were left unchecked, the Shade might drain more than its fair share of energy per victim. There was a possibility that several more people would end up exhausted to an extreme degree, or even comatose.

When he used to spend more time at Mindie’s house, Pike would sometimes overhear conversations between Chiaki and Ciara about their fieldwork. He had heard of occasions where a Shade reverted to its normal host body. It made it harder for Stars to identify and subdue them.

He frowned thoughtfully. Mindie would want to know about this.

=-=-=

“Mindie, what happened to you?!”

“Mom happened to me…”

Ciara gaped openly at her little sister as she took a seat beside her in the cafeteria. She was more bruises than skin from her training session earlier that morning. After being unceremoniously ejected from her luminescent state (and given a brief respite), Mindie underwent another relentless half-hour of physical training before her mother showed enough mercy to say they were done for the day.

“Should’ve figured.” Ciara sighed, raising a forkful of scrambled eggs to her mouth. “Reminds me of my own training days. I can’t remember how many times she sent me within an inch of being put in the ground.”

“You too, huh.”

Ciara took her time chewing on her food, a thought forming as she sent the mouthful of eggs down the hatch. “Well, if she’s giving you hell while training you, that’s probably a good thing. Mom hasn’t had a whole lot of her old fire in a while.”

Mindie groaned and slumped over the table, stretching her arms outwards and pushing her mostly empty breakfast plate forward. “But I might die before finishing the Tour at Number One. Think I can ask her to tone it down a tiny bit next time?”

“Have you tried shaping your luminescence?”

Still sprawled out over the table, Mindie rolled her head to the side and gave Ciara a questioning look.

“You know. Like how I can form a sword with mine. It comes in handy when you need more than your fists. Sure, it might mean you reduce the time you have in luminescence. But concentrating your energy into shaping a weapon also means you’ll be able to deal with chaotic energy more quickly. With proper training, you won’t even notice the difference.”

Now, that was an idea. Thinking back on her bout with Chiaki this morning, Mindie wondered if things might’ve gone differently if she could form a sword out of her luminescent energy too—something fashioned for defending and striking that would also give her a bit more range than her fists and feet.

She drew her arms back and folded them beneath her chin as she mulled it over. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? Wait, hadn’t she? She couldn’t remember.

“Mom might not be inclined to go easier on you when you’re training with her. Buuut you can prep yourself.” Ciara reached over and pulled Mindie’s breakfast place back within range. Then, she took a heaping scoop of her own scrambled eggs and dumped it on hers with a confident grin. “Here. And try my suggestion out too. Even something simple could help you a lot.”

Mindie flashed her big sister a tired grin. “You’re the best, Nee-chan.”

=-=-=

Sam was having nightmares. She tossed fitfully in her sleep, trembling at the scenes of her mind’s eye. Although the sun was already bright in the clear morning sky, only a slim ray of it managed to reach through the thin crack between her drawn window curtains. The whispers in her dreams had a very real resonance.

Don’t want no short people… Don’t want no short people…

There was a knock on the door. “Miss Foster? This is the Luminescence Department. We’d like a word.”

Sam didn’t wake. Instead, her fits grew more distraught. She clung to her blanket, whimpering quietly, her breaths sharp and shallow. Chaotic energy within her once again began to seep out, consuming her in a dark, swirling shroud.

Another knock. “Hello? Please open up.”

She shot into an upright position, her eyes wide and glowing red.