Dignified

Chapter eighteen

Ryan sat in a chair across from Clark, slouching with his hand under his chin. It was late in the night and it was Ryan's turn to watch his older brother. He'd twitched and shuddered to sleep, still haunted by the experience he ran with Estemus. The boys tried to get Clark to talk, but he couldn't say anything. Ryan sighed. He knew what had happened with Estemus and Clark, since he had gone through nearly the same thing. He looked up as his older brother shifted in his sleep, taking a deep breath before opening his eyes. "How're you feeling?" Ryan asked, sitting up.

"Alright..well, better than I felt earlier." Clark said, sighing slightly.

"Why'd you get out? I told you Estemus was out there."

Clark shrugged. "I kind of wanted to find him. I wanted to ask him some things since obviously you weren't smart enough to get information out of him."

Ryan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Oh, yeah. Call me the dumb one when you're the one who goes out and confronts this guy when I clearly told you he's more powerful than us." He said, lowly.

"Whatever. Anyways, I got a lot of answers from him." Clark explained to his younger brother everything about Chronis from the Chronic security to Erymund and Fyden. "So, Estemus wants to kill us so he can steal our Chronics?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah. He claimed they're his, but I don't believe him. That seems like too much power for someone as evil looking as him."

Ryan chewed on his lip, his eyebrows pressed together in concentration. "I don't think this Erymund guy would have allowed that." Clark muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when we were talking, I asked him if you could just take someone's Chronic once they die, but he said no. He said Erymund would never allow that."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, this guy definitely doesn't own our Chronics." He said, rubbing his chin. "Go to bed. I'm fine. We start school tomorrow so you need your rest." Clark said. "Alright. Goodnight." Ryan said, dragging himself to his own room. He flopped onto his bed, feeling tired and sleepy. His thoughts kept him up later than it already was, his body pleading him to get rest. He couldn't believe he wasn't going to Brassford. He didn't even know the name of his new school. What was it like? Where was it? What kind of kids went there? Ryan sighed, rolling over onto his stomach. After a while, he dozed off with the thought of school still in his mind.

"I'm going to give you an option, Ryan." A low, cold voice said. "You can either surrender your brothers' Chronics and survive, helping me take over the world, or you can refuse and die with them." Ryan recognized the voice as Avalon's. He couldn't see anything. He tried to move, but his body felt restrained. "It's up to you." The voice didn't even seem like a sound. Ryan felt like he couldn't hear it, but as if it were in his head. In his head. That was it. A sweaty Ryan shot up, realizing he was dreaming. He let out a sigh of relief, glancing at his alarm clock. It read 6:35. He fell back onto his bed, putting his hands under his head. Why did he have that dream? Could Estemus invade his mind when it was unconscious as well? He groaned slightly, fighting his laziness and getting up. He opened his closet door, running his hand through his hair as he decided what to wear. "Ryan?" There was a knock on his door and it opened, Scott peering his head in. "Yes, dad, I'm here."

"Here, I forgot to tell you. At Dawson, you have to wear uniforms." He said, holding a hanger out with a uniform in it. "Wait, what? Dawson?"

"That's the name of your new school. Dawson Creek Academy. It's a private school. Get dressed and tell your brothers about the uniforms. Don't be late on your first day." Scott said, closing the door. Ryan groaned, ripping the plastic off the hanger. The uniform consisted of a white button up shirt, black trousers, a black blazer, and a royal blue tie striped with white. "It is way too hot to be wearing all of this." He said, putting on the button up shirt. He changed, tightening his tie and putting on his shoes. "I look like some snobby rich kid." He said, fixing his hair in the mirror. As he opened the door to his room, he saw Trace leaving his own room. Ryan stopped, observing his brother closely for the first time since their Chronics. Trace had definitely changed since then. He was taller and didn't look as young anymore. He looked more muscular and seemed like any regular sixteen year old boy. How was it that Trace looked like an average teenage boy being only eleven years old? When did such a sudden change take place that Ryan didn't even notice? Ryan shook his head, folding the sleeves of his shirt and blazer up. "You guys almost ready? It's almost time to go." Clark called out from the kitchen. "Nobody told me school was today! Why the hell didn't I know about is?" Zach yelled, hopping out of his room on one foot as he tried to get his shoe on the other. Ryan laughed, swinging his bag over his shoulder and walking down to the kitchen. "Dude, what happened to Trace?" Ryan asked Clark, sitting down on a stool. "What do you mean?"