Unlock

Chapter 4

The next day I call school and tell them I'm sick. It's not hard, in fact I can't be sure if I'm even pretending. The only things that fill my mind are Griffen and Mac's necklace. What was he talking about? How did his hand go through such hard material, without seeming to hurt him? What did he put into the principal and Stephanie? Why does the principal wear such tall heels?

And more importantly: Where did my brother's necklace go?

~~~~~

After the principal and Stephanie walk away, I turn and see Ray running. Something flashes around her neck and then falls to the ground. I pick it up and ZAP. Blue electricity flashes over the necklace, shocking me until I put it down. I look up to where Ray disappeared and then back down to the necklace. I try to pick it up and it doesn't zap me or anything, but I'm still cautious. After putting it away and scanning the playground for any witnesses, I walk home.

I set the necklace on my nightstand and let the encrypted phone scan my finger, while I wonder what I am going to tell the council. I wait and then state my entry. "May fifteenth, 2016, four o'clock p.m. I confronted the third suspect Stephanie Violetta Powell today. Her name can be released from the list. After confronting her, I saw Raeanne Genevieve Fletcher running away from the scene. I believe she may have witnessed it. Have her name put back on the list. I will speak with her the next time we are alone or she is alone." CLICK. I put the phone away.

What am I going to do now?

*****

On Thursday I want to call in sick, but I know I need to go to school. I drag myself out of bed and get ready. I was so upset over the necklace I didn't dream about Mac's death. Now, I was worried about Griffen. 

I am able to avoid him by being the first person out of class, until eighth period. The teacher calls me after to review some homework I missed and when I leave, Griffen is waiting outside. As soon as I see him I sprint out the door. He follows, gaining on me. Halfway across the football field, he tackles me and we tumble to the ground. I get up, but he stabs me in the leg with a needle. The dark blue liquid slowly empties  into me. I punch him away. He flies fifty feet, trailed by lightning. I stagger home. When I get there, I see myself in the hall mirror. My usually dark eyes are lit up, green and blue. I touch the mirror, but when I make contact, a jolt of energy jumps from my fingers to the mirror, making it crash to the floor. 

I scramble back from the mirror. The house starts to shake. I scream, covering my ears with my hands. It goes on for what seems like forever. At some point I vomit on the floor. Finally the house stops shaking and I uncover my ears. A horrible pain was building in my chest the entire time. It soon would soon get to be too much. Then a bolt of blue energy explodes out of my chest, bounces off a mirror shard, hits me in the head, and knocks me out the front door, unconscious.

~~~~~

I wake up in the football field, aching all over. My eyes widen as I realize the situation. Ray had punched me away from her with electricity. I get up and start jogging to her house. Large amounts of energy stored and released unnaturally was the first symptom. When I get there, her house is off it's foundation and she's lying thirty feet from her open door. I take out my phone and dial the number. As soon as I hear someone pick up, I hiss, "This is Agent Griffen. I need to speak with the director. Immeadiately."

I hear a muffled, "Yes, sir. Right away, sir."

The director answers into the phone, "I'm here. What was so important?"

"I've found her. And I need an extraction team right away."

"Good job. We're on our way." There is an audible click as the director slams the phone down. Ray starts to shift in my arms and I lift her up and carry her into her house, up the stairs, and into her room. As soon as her back hits the bed, her eyes open and she jumps away from me. "Stay away!"

I scoot over. "Let's start over."

She eyes me. "Explain yourself."

"I'm part of a secret agency who has been searching for someone special for many years. We are E.R.T.H. which stands for Espionage Reconnaissance Technology Headquarters."

"You mean like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"No, actually a long time ago an Agent named Stanley Lieber worked at E.R.T.H. He went on a mission and got a serious head injury, making him think his time at E.R.T.H. was a dream. He went on to re-create E.R.T.H. as S.H.I.E.L.D. and became known as the famous Stan Lee."

"Oh. But what about the principal and Stephanie? What did you do to them?"

"I was getting nowhere with Stephanie. You see, she was on the suspect list of being the key, and I was running out of time. So I confronted her, which as you saw, she had no idea. Principal Barnes just happened to be there. So I kind of glazed over their memories so they wouldn't forget, but they wouldn't remember. They'll be fine."

"What is the Key?"

"The Key is a person, I guess. There is a prophecy about that person unlocking the universe. About her being the Key to it all. She will shoot lightning," He points at my hands. "Check. She will have prophecies," He points to my head. "Those will only happen at night. And then she will save the world with her wisdom. You're the key."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. How are you absolutely sure I'm the key? Only one of those things has happened."

"Well, you have to come to E.R.T.H. It's protocol. You get about a year and if the visions don't turn up by then, we put you on the list and let you go, unless you've become an agent."

"So, I don't have a choice?"

"No, I'm sorry."

She sighs. "Okay, as long as no one does anything, I'll be fine."

The bedroom door pushes open. "Oh my dear, you will be absolutely safe. Now please, come. We have a car waiting."