Project Phosphorus

Chapter 1: Clueless

The sound of Ms.Star's bony fingers slamming each letter on her keyboard kept her class awake. Science was never an interesting subject to the students at Jefferson High. Most of them were preoccupied about what they were doing in the weekend rather than school. All of them except Shoal. Shoal's interest in science seemed unnatural to all of his peers but it was a subject unlike any other for him. Astrology, biology and anatomy were only a few of his favorites. He excelled in Ms.Star's class but today was different. Shoal didn't feel awake and focused like he usually is. His eyes were heavy and he felt as if he was in some other world. Ms.Star started to call attendence and slowly one by one reached Shoal's name. "Shoal Summers?" No answer. "Shoal?" Still no answer. Ms.Star was incredibly impatient something her students were well aware of. In frustration, she yelled. Shoal picked his heavy head up and mumbled out "Here" loud enough for Ms.Star to partially hear it. She was not in the mood to deal with lazy students. "Shoal I want to see you after class." she said with an upset look on her face. She finished attendence and went straight to business. She started speaking about the Vanguard and their attempts at keeping the world safe using a chemical known as sulphorus. This peaked Shoal's interest and he moved up to the front of the class to see the sulphorus in Ms.Star's hand. The beaker was almost full of a strange silver substance that gave off a partial ringing noise. "The ringing noise you hear is the sulphorus atoms crashing into each other at extremely fast speed. Children, did you know that sulphorus is made by fusing sulfur and phosphorus along with a third ingredient?" One girl put her hand up. "Yes?" Ms.Star said. The girl observed the beaker for a quick second and said "Ms.Star, do you know what the third ingredient is?" Ms.Star pondered for a moment and replied, "You know, I'm not completely sure what it is to be honest." She continued explaining what sulphorus is capable of. "Recently approved by the Vanguard, sulphorus is known to be able to grant extremely powerful immune systems that can actually fight cancer and win. Other diseases like diabetes can be fought by the sulphorus which creates insulin for the body. Sulphorus is one of the greatest man-made compounds that was ever released to the public able to cure many diseases. The sulphorus was founded by Renegade Corporation, the pharmaceutical company funded by the Vanguard." Ms.Star took a pause to allow her students to write down everything she was saying.

           Shoal took this opportunity to put his head down quietly while Ms.Star typed in her computer, squinting at the small text. She was quite old and her eyesight wasn't as keen as the young 16 year olds in her class. She took a break and allowed the students to take that break as well. Shoal moved back to his original seat towards the right side of the room. One of the girls in the class, Joanne Rivera, turned to face Shoal and seemed worried about him. She flipped her short black hair away from her face to reveal her eyes, as brown as honey. "Are you ok? You look so tired and that's something very rare for you in this class." She said, her eyes sparkling in the bright white lights that shined in the classroom. "Pretty girl worried about little old me? Aww, shucks." Shoal replied jokingly. Joanne giggled and slapped his face softly in a playful manner. "I'm fine Jo, just been having strange dreams that keep me up." Shoal explained. Joanne and Shoal have only known each other for one year and it seemed as if it were forever. They comfortably joked with each other which was something other girls in Jefferson weren't comfortable with. "Oh, I thought it was Ms.Star's crusty voice which made you all sad. It's a shame you're going to have to hear it for about 10 more minutes after class." Joanne said. Shoal gave her an annoyed look but laughed it off afterwards. He knew Ms.Star had a lecture already planned out for him so he might as well prepare himself. Their conversation lasted only 2 minutes before the whole class started roaring with conversation.  Ms.Star shushed them loudly and decided that was it for today's lesson. "Class dismissed. Shoal, come to my desk now please." Shoal stood up, already dreading what Ms.Star had to say. He was not a bad student but it seemed that today was just not his day and the people around only seemed to add to his frustration. Joanne patted him on the back and continued on her way out. He walked up slowly to Ms.Star's desk as everyone around him sped out of their desks and out the room. "Sit down, Shoal. These past few days, I've noticed a change in you. You are one of my best students but you've been falling asleep and putting your head down. You know how much that bothers me. So, please, tell me what's wrong?" Shoal picked up a pen from Ms.Star's desk and started clicking it repeatedly. This seemed to calm him down and prepared him for what he had to say next. "Ms.Star, have you ever had a bad dream that seemed so real?" She shook her head. "I did. Clearly, you want to hear about it so i'll just get to the point. The dream starts off with me floating in a stasis containment pod. You know, the ones they use for the people after a surgery. Well, I wake up in one and I see and hear a bunch of machinery and crying babies. The door in front of me opens and I can see a strange man walking in. This man has a horribly mutated right arm and the right side of his face looks like tree bark pulsing with roots. His eye is large and red. He knocks on the pod and taunts me, calling me 'Brother'. His mouth opens to resemble a spider's mandibles and he lets out a horrid screech. Then, I could see three people including the mutated man along with a woman with icy blue eyes and another man with electricity pulsating around him. In unison, they say, "Don't you ever get up." That's where my dream ends." Ms.Star's jaw dropped. It was very rare her students ever spoke to her about personal things but nothing compared to the graphic dream Shoal had just told her. "Shoal, have you shared this with anyone else?" "No. It's starting to scare me." Ms.Star put her hand on his shoulder and rubbed him softly. "I'm sure it's nothing. You should tell your parents though. They can help you and understand you." "My parents? As wonderful as they are, they don't know how to handle any situation. They overreact to everything and it's much better for me to keep to myself." Ms.Star frowned and rubbed Shoal's shoulder warmly. "I'm sorry about that, Shoal. Are you sure you can't speak to your parents about anything?" "Their way of handling situations is something I stay away from. I prefer keeping to myself in this family." "Shoal, your father is High Commander of the Vanguard. He can help you with pretty much anything. Not just anyone gets into Jefferson. If he can help you with your education, he can help you with anything you feel is scaring you." Shoal scoffed and added, "Like he ever has time to speak to me. Just like my father, my mother never offers any advice and I barely even know what she works as, much less where. Both of them are equally stubborn and even if they are my parents, I refuse to share anything with them." Ms.Star watched Shoal speak with an intense focus. Her eyes locked on his face, Shoal finally felt he had someone he could confide in. It was unlikely that it was the teacher he loathed the most that now he seemed to have the most trust in. The school bell rung loud once more and Ms.Star walked with Shoal out of the classroom listening to him carefully. They walked together for a while in the midst of the students in the hallways crowding into groups. Ms.Star gave Shoal her cell phone number and told him that he had a friend in her. Shoal felt a certain ease around her and was happy to know that Ms.Star offered him her help. Shoal continued walking through the hallways, keeping a stern face. He was usually a social person but today, he felt a certain distance from everyone around him. The people crowding the hallways getting in his way irritated him and his expression got meaner and meaner each time he crossed paths with someone. He could hear some people whisper, "what's his problem?" Shoal went to his locker and put all his books and his bookbag in there as well. He slammed the locker and walked outside the school.

            With an angry expression on his face, he walked down the streets of his hometown of Astral. Everything seemed normal. All of the people were returning home from their jobs and everyone seemed to carry on their normal lives. That was until one of the large screens overlooking the city began showing the news. Shoal looked up along with the other curious townsfolk to watch as the reporter gave the news. "And I have just received word that several rumors concerning Renegade Inc have just been leaked. The pharmceutical company dedicated to finding cures to diseases that have ravaged us is subject to controversy. Several witnesses claim that scientists belonging to the Renegade have been kidnapping people from the city of Astral. Renegade C.E.O Dr.Ruby Alicea has refused to speak on the matter. The High Commander has invoked the law of anonymity, having no comment on these rumors. Whether or not the rumors are true, Astral police are investigating. I'm Jeremy Colt and this is your breaking news report." The people started gasping and murmuring beneath themselves. Several of the people looked over to see the son of the High Commander standing amongest them. They murmured words he could barely hear but knew none were compliments. Regardless, he was not affected by this. He seemed to care very little of the news and continued on his way home. The sun was shining bright that day. If it were not for Astral's famous skyscrapers and many tall buildings, everyone would be a burnt stain on the sidewalk. Finally at what seemed hours of walking, Shoal reached his home. A beautiful 3 story mansion with a garden so carefully tended to by Shoal's mother, along with the several gardeners that helped her. Flowers littered the garden and seemed to carve a path into his house. The porch full of green leaves reminded Shoal that it was spring. The bluejays were singing a song so familar it gave him a sense of joy. He walked up the few stairs of his porch and opened the front door to find his mother sitting in one of the sofas in the living room with her hands in a praying stance. Shoal could hear her softly pray and walked past her without disturbing her. In a flash, Shoal's mother reached out and grabbed his arm. He was stunned for a second and in an instant said, "I know you miss me mom but damn, not so rough." She turned to face him and her expression was grim. She grabbed an envelope from the coffee table and handed it to him. He was confused but nonetheless, received the envelope. He looked at the top right-hand corner where the address usually was and was surprised to see nothing was there. He flipped the envelope to the other side and saw a numbered list containing the names of his mother, father and himself. "Nova, Xavier, Shoal" he whispered to himself. He opened the envelope and inside was a small paper with the message, "You're next!" in large red letters. Again the numbered list was on this paper only with a star next to Shoal's name. "Honey, you've heard the rumors surrounding the Renegade right? How they have been kidnapping people from Astral? I think this letter is supposed to warn us." Nova said. "Or it could just be an empty joke. People in this city like scaring their neighbors with these sad excuses for jokes." Shoal replied, ripping the letter in half. "You seem awfully calm about this. You're just like your father, not taking everything seriously." she said, smiling at her son's careless attitude. "If I took everything seriously, I'd probably get a heart attack before I turn 18." Feeling reassured by her son, Nova stood up from the sofa and walked behind her son. She put his hand on his head and played with his long auburn hair. She twirled it around her fingers and bent down to hug him. Shoal felt a strange affection that his mother had never shown before. Shoal chuckled and said, "Wow, have you been watching those family reality shows?" Nova laughed and pulled gently on one of his strands of hair. She walked off and went into the kitchen to start cooking for when Xavier got home. Shoal stood from the sofa and peeked out the window. The wonderful spring trees were flowing with the warm winds and Shoal's mood changed completely. He felt happy and glad to be home for some odd reason. His focus broke when he heard the doorbell. Nova yelled from the kitchen for Shoal to get the door. Shoal opened the door to meet a slender blond woman wearing glasses and a labcoat bearing a tag with the words, "Renegade Corporation". With a smile on her face, she said, "Hello, Shoal. My name is Dr.Ruby Alicea."