2

15 1 7
                                    

As Kai was just thinking about getting up and fleeing to the bathroom, two of the chairs across from him scooted outward. Kai jumped, his anxiety spiking, and looked up in dread to find Chase and Abby settling into them. Abby sat politely with her hands in her lap, with one leg curled under her and her head tilted slightly. Chase propped his elbows on the table and folded his hands under his chin.

What. Kai forced himself to keep breathing. This is crazy. Chase was one of the most popular kids in school. Middle schoolers looked up to him and high schoolers claimed to be his close friend. Teachers loved his diligence, joviality, and intelligence.

And now he was right here, sitting in front of Kai with an expression of genuine concern.

"Hey," he said, like they'd known each other for months instead of seconds. "You alright?"

Kai blinked lamely at Chase, his brain exploding a thousand messages and signals and fears in a hundred different directions.

"I'm sorry they said those things," Abby said quietly, sincerely. "It's absolutely awful what people think they can say and do to others. Are you okay?"

At first, Kai shook his head, then he realized that wasn't the right answer, so he frantically switched to nodding. He mentally cursed himself and huffed out a sharp sigh. "S-Sorry. I- Yes, I'm- I'm fine. It's fine."

No one ever talked to him for this long. It was an unfamiliar concept to talk to people that weren't his family and weren't teachers. Even then, he could hardly talk to the teachers.

"You can tell them off, you know," said Chase. His tone didn't sound accusatory or angry about it, just informative. "You don't have to sit in silence while they insult you and your family like that."

Kai nodded again. "I- I know. B-But th-that just- gives them what they want." He wished he would stop stammering whenever anyone he didn't know talked to him. It made him seem like he actually had a stammer, which he did not, which could be insulting to people who actually had a stammer. 

Okay, you're overthinking again. 

Abby tilted her head briefly. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"But justice," Chase said, dropping both hands flat on the table. He raised his brows pointedly at Kai, as if this was the plainest thing the world. 

Abby giggled. "You sound like Batman." She dropped her voice into a low rumble and said, "Justice. Vengeance. For Gotham!" 

To Kai's own surprise, he laughed. It was startled out of him, and he jumped slightly, the smile immediately dropping off his face. He shrunk down slightly as Abby grinned happily at him, glad he found her joke funny. 

Chase playfully swatted his sister's shoulder. "So what? Batman is a pretty good role model! Fighting for justice, without even killing. Making the world a better place one villain at a time! In this case, one bully at a time." 

Abby rolled her eyes, but her smile didn't leave her face. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm glad you're okay," she said to Kai. "Do you want us to sit with you while you finish your lunch?" 

Kai shook his head. He wasn't hungry anymore, not after that.

Chase rose almost immediately. "Alright, then. Remember," he said before turning away, "stand up for yourself." 

'Stand up for myself,' Kai thought ruefully as the siblings walked away. Yeah. If you think that'll happen, you know nothing about me.

Little did he know, they were going to know plenty about him soon enough.

~

As soon as Kai opened his front door, he knew something was not right.

There was no logical way to describe it. The aura in the house had weight, somehow. It was heavy, oppressive, and electric. Something about it was... dark. There was no other way for Kai to describe how wrong everything suddenly felt. 

A stone of dread dropped to the bottom of Kai's stomach. Fighting to control his breathing, he discarded his backpack without looking where it landed. Its thump was the only sound that met Kai. The rest of the house was coated in a silence that made Kai's spine crawl. 

"Mom...?" he called tentatively, glancing around the empty living room. A book laid forgotten on the couch, and Haley's blanket was crumpled on the floor. Her mug from this morning still sat on the coffee table beside the sofa. The box of donuts was gone, probably put away in the pantry, leaving the table empty.

Swallowing thickly, Kai made his way toward the kitchen. He didn't know why he was trying to be so quiet, or why he was panicking. His parents were home - he'd seen their car. They were probably napping. There had to be a reasonable explanation. Kai was probably just having an anxiety attack. He got those randomly sometimes. He didn't know why he wasn't used to them yet. 

Please, he begged quietly, let that be all it is. He didn't find anyone in the kitchen, and it was just as tidy as it usually was. "Dad...?" 

No response.

His anxiety rose. He wrapped his arms around his middle, taking several deep breaths that shook threateningly. "Mom? Dad? Where are you?" he called, a little louder this time. He knew they wouldn't be mad at him if he woke them up, especially if they knew he was panicking. They would be right there with him immediately.

So why weren't they coming? Couldn't they hear the anxiety in his voice? 

Biting his lip, Kai hurried down the hall. He bypassed his room, knowing Falte and Haley wouldn't be in there. Their bedroom door was mostly closed, cracked just a bit. It was dark inside, the dim light of the overcast day shining under the frame. 

"Mom?" Kai tried again as he approached. 

Inside, Kai heard something that sounded startlingly like a muffled cry. 

He slammed to a halt just outside the door. What were they doing in there? Horrified, Kai started to back away, realizing that he'd gotten home at the worst time. 

But another voice made him pause. "It sounds like our boy has arrived, hm?" said the scratchy, melodic voice. That was not Falte. 

"MMPH!" yelped the muffled voice again, this time with more urgency. It was followed by the sound of a struggle, and then Haley's voice cried out, "No! Leave him out of this! Please!" 

Instantly Kai's protectiveness kicked in. He barged forward and flung open the door, an angry yell in his throat. 

It was cut short when he was met directly with the owner of the strange voice. He was a tall man, stooping low to meet Kai in the doorway. Waves of dark hair rolled around his head, stopping short just below his ears. Sharp angles made up his face, which was pale and twisted into an expression of calm delight. Blood red eyes stared Kai down, and they were filled with such a visible intensity that it made Kai's mouth clamp shut. 

"Hello there," said the blood-eyed man, his mouth spreading into a smile that revealed unnaturally pointed canines. "You must be Kai Watson." 

MAGICS: Alone (Book One)Where stories live. Discover now