Life and Times of a Keyboard Warrior

The power of magnetism

36
13th of April
Markus

"12." i exclaim.

"What?" Heath mutters at me without looking up from his videogame. The club room is deserted except for us.

"There's 12 little green light in the clock face, just so you know. Eleven of them are charged." I explain. Heath grunts indifferently.

The door bursts open and Mia and Daria pile through it, the latter supporting the former. Mia is sobbing hysterically, clutching at her stomach at the same time.

"What the hell?" I demand, forgetting my watch for the moment. There's a beep behind me as heath pauses his game.

"Mia got her Wheel forcibly taken from her." Daria explains over Mia's howls.

"Mine was stolen during gym class." Ruby states as she walks in. She looks mightily pissed off.

"Well, who took them?" I rumble. Heath cracks his knuckles behind me.

"Well, Darkmhel took mine." Mia splutters through her heaving gasps.

Heath and I exchange nervous glances. Darkmhel is a popular kid, strong and fast. He learns martial arts at his dad's dojo. We might be able to take him, if we are lucky. Heath is fast and quick with his attacks, and I'm a slow and heavy hitter.

"What about you, who took yours?" I ask Ruby. She looks at me emptily.

"I don't know, I didn't see who took it." She mumbles back.

"Alright. Heath, let's go." I nod towards the door, and he grins nastily in response.

I'm halfway through the door when Daria grabs me. "Don't do anything too rash, Markus. Darkmhel is a strong fighter, you know that as well as I do."

"Don't worry about me, you might need an ambulance for him though." I grin cockily as I turn down the hall.

"Ok Heath, we only fight if we absolutely have to. Let's home he has the decency to hand the Wheel back when we confront him." I tell my mate.

"And if we get to bash some skulls, then that's an added bonus." He laughs loudly.

We troop around school until we find him walking from one of the classrooms. He's had a detention. We trail him outside until we are far enough away from witnesses, then I reach out and grab his shoulder, spinning him around.

"What the hell, you freaks. What the fuck do you want?" He snarls incredulously, annoyed that low-lifes like us would dare touch him.

"You took a bracelet thing from Mia Totenriese today. We want it back." Heath states, staring Darkmhel down.

He looks at us for a moment, then breaks out in a horrid laugh. He howls for nearly half a minute, then wipes his eyes and looks at us, amused. "You guys, you really think I'm just gonna give it back?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're sorely mistaken. I don't even have it." He throws his arms out and grins nastily. My heart drops.

Suddenly, Heath taps me on the shoulder. "Look dude, it's Darkmhel's sister, and she's got Mia's Wheel!" I whirl around to see Marissa Tzar-Khema walking home with a friend, and a clay red mechanical bangle hangs from her left hand. I nod at Heath and he tears across the ground towards the duo. I face Darkmhel again.

"Dude, your sister? You coulda given that nice piece to any girl and she would fallen in love with you, and you give it to you sister?" I scoff incredulously. Darkmhel goes bright red, and clenches his fists. He takes off towards me, and I stand calmly as he barrels ever closer. He punches at me when he's within range.

"Big mistake." I drop quickly, kicking out and smashing Darkmhel's legs out from beneath him, then I roll quickly sideways, out from under him. He exhales harshly as he crashes to the ground.

"Fucking bitch..." He growls at me, scrambling upwards and charging at me again.

"You forget who I am, Darkmhel. My abilities vastly outweigh yours." I calmly state as I dodge his punch, turning to the right then shoulder-charging him as he passes by. He staggers away, regaining his balance.

"Kennedy, im going to kill you for this!" He roars, running at me once again. I punches out at my head and I get ready to counter it and end this once and for all, when suddenly his other fist crashed into my midriff, surprising me. He sees his chance and takes it.

Blow after blow rain down upon me, my guard shattered and no time to regain it before the next strike hits. Spots swim before my eyes, and the taste of metal fills my mouth. He's strong, I forgot about that. I thought what my dad taught me combined with my strength could match his natural abilities. I was sorely mistaken.

The next thing I know, I'm facing the sky. Pale clouds swim across my vision, but I barely see them. Darkmhel's face blurs my sight, and his words cut into me with unnatural heat.

"You're lucky, Kennedy. You're lucky I didn't kill you today, but next time I won't be so merciful." He spits down at me, his dark eyes flashing menacingly. I can't lose now, I need the Wheels back. A plan forms

"Don't wait, my friend." I wheeze at him. My chest aches with each breath. "Kill me now, but can I have one last request?"

He laughs half-heartedly, and leans down to hear me. "What?"

I lash out and grab his face with my right hand. I stare into his eyes for a millisecond, and say, "burn."

My Wheel clicks once. A church bell toils in the distance. Darkmhel tears my hand off his face, and plants a kick into my ribs. I groan and curl up instinctively.

"What the hell kinda last request is that? That was- wait, what the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK?" Darkmhel's voice deteriorates into tortured screaming and garbled words. I roll over slowly to find him on his knees swatting at his body, tears streaming down his face. I check my watch. The eleventh light has gone out.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME? IM FUCKING BURNING! AAAAAGGGHHH, SOMEBODY HELP ME, IT HURTS SO MUCH!" He continues to plead, convulsing wildly and rolling around on the ground. I get up slowly. There are no visible flames, but if what the Professor told me is true, I just used my first pulse event to make Darkmhel think he was burning alive. I lean down and touch him, and mutter, "enough."

Immediately, the screams subside into hysterical sobs. His body relaxes visibly, but he doesn't move. I whisper slowly, "where is Mia's bracelet?"

His arm moves, pointing in the direction that Heath ran. He tries to say something, but all that comes out is a strangled wheeze. I place my hand on his back and say, "sleep and forget."

My Wheel clicks twice, and again the bell toils in the distance. Darkmhel convulses, and then relaxes again. His breathing stabilizes, and I'm sure it's worked. I stand up again, and begin limping off after heath. I have seven Pulse Events left.