Poison

No Blood, No Bone, No Ash

Ethan walked into the class he was so very dreading the night before. He knew he had to substitute for the university class even though he had no training for dealing with adults, and he hated that he had to leave his three kids alone at the high school. He pushed it aside, looking up at all the.. students. Not as many as he thought. He took a deep breath, sitting his stuff down. There isn't even a desk, what is he supposed to do? "Just sit there and be quiet for awhile." He pulled out a chair he seen from a little distance and sat down. College isn't supposed to be easy, no breaks, but.. honestly he just kinda said fuck it in that moment.
   The whole class did as told, one kid on the main back munching on some chips she'd brought and one I. The front asleep. Though, there were only just about ten or fifteen kids in total. Zeke being one of them closer to the front, arms folded over his chest. He looked like he didn't want to be there any more than Ethan did. But, he paid a shit ton of money to get here. He wasn't gonna just not show up. Though. He had that gut feeling like something bad was gonna happen, and he kept looking his shoulder over at the door. Like he was expecting someone to enter. The entercom rang out saying the same thing it had that one day, "this isn't a drill. There's an active shooter in the building. This is not a drill, there is an active shooter in the building. We are on lockdown." The fearful voice informed, Zeke sitting straight up in utter silence as the other students shot up in horror, scurrying to the one corner of the room. Zeke just turned in his seat and watched in horror as the door was opened- the room too big for Ethan to have gotten to it in time to lock it.
   Ethans face shot up from his phone and he stood to lock the door but he didn't get one step before the door swung open. He started shaking. Fuck what is he supposed to do? Zeke stared at the shooter, watching him step closer with that psychotic grin on his face. "I hate this damn school. Hate it. And one of my biggest dreams is to kill a teacher." He laughed, aiming the gun. "Too bad you're not Mr. Abignale." He laughed, and Zeke stood. "Put it down." He spoke up, his voice sounding harsh, threatening. There wasn't even a trace of fear in it. Almost no emotion other than rage. "Put it down, now. And I'll consider letting you walk away." He threatened. Though, that only made the shooter aim his gun at the blonde-brunette. "Sit down, Zeke!" He ordered. "I don't want to shoot you too." And Zeke bowed his head, smirking and letting the shadow cover the top half of his face as the orange of his eyes glowed. "You think I'm scared...?" He asked, his voice cracking with a silent laugh. "Cute."
   Ethans eyes moved to Zeke, pure instinct, he'd jump in front of the kid to keep him from getting shot but he had something telling him he didn't have to. "What's wrong with you kid, move! I can handle this!" Thats when he noticed his eyes, a glowing orange. He felt something telling him maybe he's the one who should move, step out of this. He'd been in a situation like this with August. Zeke was.. different too. He seemed so.. similar to August.
   Zeke gave Ethan a glance, waiting for the other boy to put the damn gun down. He was willing to give him a chance, though, he wasn't willing to risk anyone's life. When he looked at Ethan, he saw the hesitation the man had when he noticed his eyes, which made his grin grow that much more. His eyes snapped back to the boy when his body jerked, aiming the gun back at Ethan. Zeke threw his arm up, bringing it down hard and releasing a forcefeild Aimed at the shooter, making him instantly collapse to the floor with a loud scream of pain. That was August's power- but Zeke knew how to control it much, much better. He walked over to the boy calmly and kicked the gun away from him, letting it slide over to Ethan to grab as he knelt down to his now broken, contorted body. "I warned you." He said, his voice a harsh whisper as the boy lost any life in his eyes. Zeke licked his lips, liking the view. "Fucking batshit." Then he walked over the the others, his eyes still glowing that orange color as he swiped his hand in the air again, fucking with their memory to make them think all they saw was him tackle the kid so he wouldn't get caught with magic. "Run, it's safe." He said harshly, making them rush out of the room obediently.
   Ethan stood, dumbfounded. He noticed the gun slide to his feet and he didn't hesitate to pick it up. His eyes didn't leave Zeke until the herd of kids ran out of the room. Jesus.. what the fuck just happened..? He held the gun tightly in his hands. "Zeke..?" He managed to speak finally. "What the fuck..?" Zeke looked at him, walking over to him calmly and brushing his bangs from his face. "I just saved your life." He said in the same calm, void tone as he had to talk to the shooter. "So you're gonna save mine, and not say a thing about what you saw." But he didn't fuck with Ethan's memory the way he had the others, he let him keep them. He trusted Ethan to not say anything because he saw the look on his face. He knew he wouldn't. And if he did, he'd find a way out of it and he'd get revenge.
   Ethan watched his hand move. He nodded and bit his lip a little. "Well shit.." he cleared his throat. "I guess we can go home now huh?" He laughed a little, walking to where he had his stuff sitting. "Guess so. Before the cops come and decide to bombard us with questions." He said smoothly, going to his spot and grabbing his bookbag filled with snacks and a notebook. Obviously he didn't take college too seriously, nor did he take this situation. He slung the bag over his shoulder and smirked. "This way. It's better than going out the main door." He said, walking to a smaller, more hidden door on the other side of the room. It led to the lab on the room, which had its own exit. Much better for leaving than going through the main doors, where cops were surrounding.
    Ethan watched him and smiled. "I think I'll go with you." He started on his way, following him. He knew he had a lot to say when he got home and if he didn't say it, they'd find out anyway. "So like.. do you live outside of here or just stay in a dorm?" He wanted to start a conversation with him, he wanted to talk with him just a little longer. Can you blame him? He had these abilities that he only seen from his brother. He wanted to know more about them, how he learned to keep them under control and keep himself sane with it all.
   "Pfft. You think I can afford to live in a dorm?" He laughed quietly. "I live in this little apartment an hour or so away from here." He could read him and tell he wanted to talk, so he went along with it. "You've seen someone with my ability before, haven't you?" He asked, looking at him as he opened the door and walked out with ease- no police anywhere in sight. They were all at the front of the building. He held the door open for Ethan to follow him. "I saw it on your face when you saw my eyes glowing." He added so that it didn't look creepy that he knew.
     Ethan laughed at his remark, "I could give you a ride, if you wouldn't mind." He noticed the gesture and smiled, walking through. He was thankful he didnt have to deal with cops, he always hated it. Questions and shit, it's just a time waster. He hesitated for a moment, trying to find words. "Well.. yeah. Uh.." he bit his lip, looking down but continued walking. "My brother actually, August," he didn't really feel like a teacher. He almost felt like a student again, walking with someone and talking, knowing the university that was slowly disappearing behind them. "A lot had happened because of it, it.. really fucked him up, you know?"
    "I would actually really appreciate that." Zeke almost sighed in relief. "Public buses piss me off. Too many stinky ass people." He joked, and listened to the rest of his response. The half he was really wanting to hear. "Fucked his head up, didn't it?" He asked, looking over at him. He knew the whole path. He'd taken it himself years ago, but he had to take it on his own. He didn't have a big brother to call on for help. "It did mine for a long time, I can tell you that." He added quietly, waiting for Ethan to reply again. Ethan smiled and nodded, laughing a little. "Well.. how did you.. pull yourself through..?" He wondered if They're was anyone that helped, if They're was anyone there for him now.
   "That took a couple years to figure out." He started off, shrugging. "I found something to anchor myself to." He said calmly. "Something that would bring me down to earth when I lost my shit. You know?" Which made sense, somewhat. He lost his mind, finding something to make sure he came back to his senses. "Your brother has you, so he could use you as an anchor, if you're emotionally connected strong enough." Though.. he didn't mention what his anchor was. Ethan nodded, listening to what he had to say. He noticed how close they had gotten to his truck. "Yeah.. he's been kinda.. pushing everyone away though.. I think he's scared.. of himself.." he pulled out his keys. "But he's doing better." He unlocked the doors. "Hey can I ask you something?" He opened the driver side and climbed in.
   He waited for the other door to be unlocked, climbing in once it was done. He listened to all of his words, nodding along with him and making a mental note for a question he wanted to ask on the drive. "Sure you can." He replied to Ethan's question, setting his bag down between his feet and folding his arms over his chest once more. He watched him climb in and decided to wait for him to be comfortable before he asked.  He noticed the way he was sitting, the way he was acting like nothing just happened back there and he couldn't help but laugh to himself. "How did you learn to control it so well?"
    He looked over at him, biting his lip lightly before looking back to the road ahead. "Well.. long story." He sighed. "I ended up discovering what I could do when I was about twelve. That's when I really started to use the ability, I loved the feeling of.. power for once in my life. Being the under dog all the time.. it felt good to be the one everyone is afraid of." He hummed. "But then I went off the rails after a couple years of using it, like the more I used it.. the more it used me. I couldn't control it. I fell into this dark void that I couldn't get out of, letting myself kill everyone. I was trapped in the back of my mind and watched as the darkness in my body killed my best friend. The only one who ever liked me. That.. that hurt. It was enough to bring me down to earth and take control of myself again, you know?" He asked, lifting the necklace with the little crimson amulet on his neck up to show him. "So I got some of his blood and put it in here. I wore it around constantly and every single time I felt myself falling into the dark again I thought of what I did to him, I thought of the monster I had become and how I took his life from him so aggressively and I didn't feel myself falling anymore. I practiced with it everyday, practiced using the magic until I felt myself going crazy, then I'd hold this amulet and think about him. And I wouldn't feel it anymore. And after a couple years, here I am." He smiled, letting the amulet rest on his chest again.
   Ethan started the truck, listening closely to each word. He let it run, but didn't move yet. The farther the story went along, the worse he felt for the boy. He'd been getting better about the crying though, which is good. He was sure Zeke didn't wanna see a grown ass man he just met crying. That wouldn't be a good impression would it? But he still had that feeling he got when he cried. That difficulty of breathing, that actual pain in his chest. It's just something he was learning to cope with. He was praying to himself that august wouldn't have to go through something like that to be able to keep his abilities under control. He couldn't handle knowing him going through that much pain. Ethan didn't really respond though, knowing there wasn't really much of a response anyone could give. He just nodded and put a hand on his shoulder, knowing it was the best he could do. He pressed on the gas lightly, keeping his eyes on the road now.
    Zeke glanced at the man, feeling his pain and worry. "Can I meet him?" He asked softly. "Your brother." He added. "I'm sure he'd trust the advice a lot more if he saw it actually worked. It may even keep him from going as far as I did. You still have time to save him." He smiled reassuringly. It was so weird, how he could pretend like everything was perfectly fine so easily. Like nothing was wrong, like it was a normal day, and a normal conversation.