Phantom Thunder

Chapter 18

I awoke a few hours later, still groggy. I'd bled through the bandage on my arm, but instead of bothering to change it, I just pulled it off and tossed it into the little garbage without getting up from my bed. Lilian was passed out on her mattress. Everyone else was at training. I debated going down to join them, but I'd didn't want the attention it would bring.

Instead, I pulled off my boots and sat cross legged on the mattress. I dropped my combat boots on the floor, exchanging them for the boy's backpacks.

It was dirty, fraying and stained with died red blood which was more of a black sunken into the fabric. I struggled with the zipped, but managed to tug it open. I tipped the contents out on to my bed.

It was a muddy sweater, a beat up laptop, a wad of cash, a flashlight and a bunch of gadgets that held an uncanny resemblance to the ones that cluttered Pluto's desk. I had no idea how to reassemble any of it, but I was sure it had a purpose. I spent a moment pondering my findings, then I scooped up the gadgets and stuffed them back in the bag. I zipped it up, and swung my legs over the edge of my bed. I quickly changed into jeans and a loose t-shirt, and with the boy's laptop tucked under my arm and my feet bare, I swung the backpack over my shoulder and padded across the cold floor to the door of the dorm.

Lilian rolled over in her sleep. I cautiously pulled the door open, then shut it gently behind me as to not wake her. Then, I trotted down to Pluto's den.

Screeching static was buzzing throughout the room. The lines on Pluto's computer screen were going haywire, and he seamed to be unable to harness them into a readable situation.

I sat down on top my usual desk and dropped the backpack at my feet. He glanced up, then turned a dial on one of his gadgets. The static drastically decreased, and after a moments hesitation he tapped a button and the sound vanished all together.

"I heard you were back" he said glumly.

"Didn't wanna come visit me for yourself?"

"I figured you'd want rest and privacy" he said.

I shrugged. "The nap was refreshing."

"Naps always are, if you can fall asleep."

I got the feeling he'd never napped before, the most prominent cause: not being able to sleep. I felt a stab of pity. Naps were a beautiful thing that shouldn't be taken away from people.

"I got something for you" I said, hefting the backpack onto the desk.

"Ooh, you brought me back a souvenir!"

"Sure thing" I smiled.

He noticed the gash on my arm, but looked away quickly and turned his attention back to the boy's possessions. He unzipped the backpack and began to pull out the contents one by one. He seamed completely in awe. He turned each one of them over, then set them down on his desk. When the bag was empty, he dropped it on the floor next to his chair.

"There was also this" I handed him the laptop.

He examined it, then opened it and pushed the power button. "This was the silverblood's?"

"The boy died holding it" I replied. "I assume it's his. He also looked like the oldest, that could've been another reason for carrying it."

"It'll take a bit to get his stuff and my stuff working together on the same level" he said.

"But you can't figure out what it all is?"

"These kids were tracking energies. If I could link his tech with mine I can figure out what energies it was rigged to trap. It might take a while though."