Unchained

Chapter Twenty Five

"Really? The place you wanted to take me was... The mall?"

I can't help but let surprise seep into my voice as we landed in a dark corner behind the mall. David laughed.

"Yep, this is the one and only place you deserve to go to, Avaley," he said. "Nope, I'm kidding. Let's just change our clothes. I feel so icky in these tacky uniforms." he made a face and I laughed. 

"You're not alone there," I replied.

We walked into the mall, ignoring the looks of ongoers as they imagined David and I to be at school. Luckily, I had my wallet in the pocket of my jacket because I wanted to drop by the school store after school and buy some more pencil lead. Also, I was trying to avoid going home as much as possible, reasons to this obvious. 

I bought a simple t-shirt and jeans, same with David. We happily tossed our uniforms into the trash by the food court. It felt like I had just shoved my entire backpack into the flames, but somehow, getting those ugly things off me (and Mr. Hauge germs!) made me feel amazing. Amazingly happy.

"Won't be needing those again," David grinned at me as he peeled off his old sweater and shrugged his new coat on.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Don't you plan on going back?"

He frowned, and opened his mouth to say something but closed it and smiled pleasantly. "Not today," he grinned and reached for my hand again. "C'mon, let's go grab some breakfast."

I didn't protest - I didn't even bother to eat this morning, so my stomach happily agreed. And it felt weird holding his hand - weird as in the only boy's hand I ever held was my dad's when we watched scary movies. His hand was soft, a bit damp, and totally welcoming. We ran over to a breakfast shop and got bagels and sat at a table by the window.

"So," David said as he bit into his fat-infused glob of sugar and calories. "What's up?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Getting assaulted by my teacher, sluffing at the mall and possessing awesome powers? Pretty normal, I guess."

He laughed. "No, I mean, literally, what's up?"

Blink. I set down my bagel and looked up at the ceiling. I began to freak out, thinking maybe there was a spider up there or something, some humor, David...

But I still looked up.

And all I saw was the ceiling.

I blinked and stared at it, wondering if David was tricking me or something. I quickly looked back at him, making sure he didn't trick me and grabbed my bagel or something. But he sat there, calmly, hands folded in his lap, staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you see it?" he said.

"No," I replied. "It's just the ceiling."

He shook his head in a disappointing manner. "That's where you're wrong, Avaley. What's up?" and he pointed at the ceiling.

Frustrated, I looked up at it but all I saw was the ceiling tiles. Nothing special. Not even a stray cobweb or a piece of breakfast or something that would spark David's attention. I let out a breath. "Honestly, David, nothing's there," I said. "Now will you stop - "

"What's up, Avaley?" he asked calmly again and I felt like smacking him. What did he mean what was up? There was nothing up beside from the ceiling. Was that the answer he was expecting? The ceiling? Really?

"The ceiling's up, David," I replied. "Now can we - "

He shook his head. "What's up?" he repeated and leaned back, taking a sip of his coffee.

I groaned and just stared at my food. I didn't get it. The ceiling was up. That was all. Did he want me to give him another answer? Equilateral squares shaded a hue of white with several holes in them... Or did he want something else? If so, what? There was nothing, it was just the boring old ceiling. Did he want me to fly up and crash through it or something? Use my super strength and bash through it? Or use my vision and...

Wait...

Inspired, I looked back up and stared at the ceiling. I blinked several times, breathing in and out, trying to get myself ready. I closed my eyes for several seconds and then opened them again.

I had the vision. 

Meaning, I could see through things. I saw through people around me and through items around me but I couldn't see through David, which was weird. He looked entirely normal. But I looked up at the ceiling, trying to blink away any fuzzy colors.

Then I saw it.

I could see through the ceiling, and I saw something sitting up there that I knew shouldn't be.

"What is that?" I whispered.

I heard David chuckle as I stared through the ceiling. "Your first mission," he said.

I looked back at him. "What?"

Instead, he looked at his watch and pressed a button and it made a small BEEP. "You have fifteen minutes to disarm that bomb up there, Avaley, or this entire place is going to be in flames." he stood, dropped a few bills on the table and started to walk to the exit.

Startled, I ran after him, the see-through vision disappearing. I grabbed his shoulder. "What the heck are you talking about, David?" I demanded. "That thing is a bomb?"

He looked at his watch. "Fourteen minutes and thirty three seconds, Avaley. Time's a-wasting." he smiled and continued to walk away.

"David!" I cried. "You can't just leave me here! What do you expect me to do?"

David turned around and looked at me, a sad but warming smile acros his face. And the next words he said made everything fall into place. Who I was, what I stood for, and what I was supposed to do was going to be determined now.

"Save them."