Rising Up

Chapter 2

          I stumbled backwards, my back hitting the wall behind me. My breathing was shallow and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. The words haunted my brain as I scurried out of the room and down the stairs. I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that my brother was missing, but nothing seemed real.

My eyes wandered to my BUL, the small metal device teetering in my fingers. I frantically hit the buttons on the screen. I dial the only people that I can turn to, Clint and Alice. I sucked in deep breaths, willing my body to keep breathing as the call loads.

"Al?" Alice's voice came through as her face was projected up in the hologram. Her face cascades from excitement to worry. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" I couldn't speak. The words were just lost within my throat. My mouth opened and closed, trying to create words but tumbling out in jumbled sentences.

Clint's voice came through the line and he appeared, soothing his sister from across town. "I'm sure he's fine, Lix," he said as his head turned to his BUL. His eyes searched me for a moment before realization appeared on his face. "What happened to you bro? You look like crap. Did Brent take your backpack again?" I shook my head desperately still trying to speak properly.

"He's gone," the words stammered out of my lips. Alice and Clint shared a look of concern then gazed back into their BUL. "He's not here. The mess. Sam. They took them. All of them." I rambled on and on, and nothing seemed to fit together.

"Whoa Whoa Whoa. Slow down, Al," Alice said reassuringly, "Start from the beginning. Who's gone?" I stared at her for minute then took in a deep, almost painful breath. My heartbeat hammering in my ears as I part my lips.

"Sam's gone," I said shaking violently, "and my parents. Sam's room is torn up and there's a huge mess. Someone took them. I don't know." I stopped and took in a deep breath.

"Hold up," Clint's voice was sharp and crisp in contrast to the confusion I felt, "What do you mean gone? We saw him this morning." I shrugged tensely, my eyebrows pushing together. I didn't know anything anymore. It was all so confusing to me.

"He's gone." I came to the realization and hot tears were running down my face. I ran a hand through my hair abruptly stopping at the back of my head. Looking around frantically, I gagged back a cry and looked back at my concerned friends.

"Hold tight, Al," Alice said softly, sympathy written on her face, "We'll be right over" and the line went dead.

ØØØØØØ

Alice and Clint came through the front door followed by Max. I looked at Alice questioning her with my eyes and she just shrugged. Max glance over at me and nodded sympathetically. He walked over to the armchair across from me and picked up a blanket up off the back, throwing it to me.

"Explain everything," Alice spoke up, sinking into the armchair. Max came over and sank into the seat next to me. I rambled on about what happened when I got home, and how I found the trashed room. I don't know why, but I felt an intense urge to leave out the words on the ceiling.

"Your brother was a Surplex, wasn't he?" Max spoke up after I finished my story. I nodded my head, "Did he refuse a position with the government and they didn't like him saying no to them?" he said. Clint came into the room and stretched his arms upwards, with a yawn.

"That doesn't seem very likely, max" Alice piped in, "He hasn't been offered any positions. Right Allen?" Max scratched his chin and stared out the large living room window.

"Alice is right," I stated quietly, "if he did get any offers, my parents would have guilted him into them. The same happened when he got a scholarship to Harthanshive University. If I remember correctly, he thought that was too far from home. It made him uneasy."

"Interesting," Max said quietly. His eyes hot over to mine, "Did anything else happen today? Anything strange? Out of the blue?" I thought for a second and shook my head.

"Last night they said something about a military position. Apparently my parents are gonna ship me off to some bootcamp for Nulls," Max stared blankly over at me and then looked out the window, lost within his own train of thought. "At least they were going to," I choked. Alice stared at him then and over at me. Clint sat down on the floor in front of Alice and let out another long yawn. Alice glared daggers at him.

"As exciting as this is," he spoke up finally, "what about Allen here? His house has been ransacked, his parents gone, and frankly, he's a Null. He has nowhere to go." Alice slapped him upside the head.

"I guess that's a problem, now isn't it?" Max chuckled and stood up.

"That's kind of the definition, old man," Alice slapped Clint again. He let out a low whine and rubbed the back of his head. Max looked over at me and pointed up the stairs.

"Mind if I go check it out?" I shook my head, and he took off up the stairs. I let out a sigh and looked over at my friends sitting across from me. Alice looked over sympathetically and Clint was too busy rubbing his head, to notice my gaze.

"What's up with the old geezer?" Clint flinched, waiting for another strike from his sister that didn't come. "I mean, seriously. He seems too caught up in personal issues to actually give a crap about any of this. Why did he suddenly feel the urge to be nice? Seems a little off."

"What do you know? Have you ever seen him before now?" Alice rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I actually have. Thank you very much," he hissed back, deflecting another whack from his twin's hand.

I stood up and headed up towards my brother's room after Max. At the top of the stairs I saw him in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest. "This place really is a mess isn't it? Shame." He turned to me, as if he sensed my presence.

I glanced around the room once more and nodded solemnly, taking in every detail of the destruction. Max let out a long sigh and turned in my direction, searching my face with his eyes.

"I don't know what to tell you kid," he stated slowly, his eyes dancing around the room. I turned to the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs and locked eyes with Alice. She walked over carefully and stared into the room.

"Wha-" the words tumbled from her lips as her feet crossed the threshold of the room. She glanced around the room, turning on the balls of her foot, "This...isn't right. Why would someone...do this?"

"To leave a message," Max said darkly, his eyes drilling holes in mine. My eyes drifted back over to the words burned into the ceiling. The haunted black color burning into my mind. "That much is obvious, but who for?" Max said.

"Me," I whispered quietly. Max and Alice turned to look at me, curiosity and confusion written on their faces. I shook my head slightly. "Some sort of game. I guess I'm the second player."

"Why? What makes you think that?" Alice asked. I glanced over at her and back at Max.

"The message?" I said. "It's pretty obvious isnt it?"

Max and Alice shared a look of confusion, their eyes falling back on me. "Uh, no offense bud but I doubt anyone cares about a Null," Clint said from the hallway.

"Who else would the message be for?" I said motioning to the ceiling. "Can't you see it?" Alice stepped forward slightly, confusion on her face. "Allen, what message?"

My eyes shot back to the words, my heart pounding harder. New words slowly appeared under the original.

Your move, Allen.