Becoming Complete: Inchoate Book 1

Chapter 1: The Storm

The night was fierce as sheets of rain pounded the small town. Hurricane Owen was hitting the coast hard. It had died down after its first landfall, but came back with a vengeance after a brief retreat out to sea.

Shingles and debris flew in all directions, as waves pounded the ever rising shoreline. The only lights to be seen in the small ocean town were the small flickers of candles in the window panes. The power was out for miles along the coastline where Owen was wreaking havoc. There was however one beacon of light shining into the pitch.

The lighthouse that stood just outside of town was supposedly managed by a reclusive family. The previously decommissioned aid to navigation had stayed lit every night, in fog, and through every storm for the past four years since the new management. How they kept power during a storm like this no one could fathom. Many chalked it up to "good generators and a reserve of acetylene" or jokingly "ghosts of lost seamen." In reality, there was only one who lived there.

As the focal plane of the lighthouse stretched out over the rough water, the wind howled through the tower and small cottage attached. Part of what the town thought was true. It was powered by some extremely powerful generators, but the generators themselves were powered by something else entirely.

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Earlier that day, the small town on the coast had bare witness to a most extraordinary sight.

Low rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance, but this did not disturb the townsfolk. People were hustling about picking up last minute supplies, while local kids were continuing to play kickball in the park. Second and third base were raring to run while a brunette girl of about 14, was up to kick. A boy with dark black curls eyed home plate with a determined grin.

"You sure you're ready for this Atara." the youth taunted.

The girl's blueish grey eyes flashed as she shouted "You're going to wish I wasn't!"

Another girl stood by the sidelines acting as a commentator for the nonexistent spectators.

"And there's some trash talk going on on the field folks! If Que Atara kicks this right, the Pink Flamingos will have wrapped up this game with 3 more runs!"

"Amy! We are not the Flamingos! We agreed on Sirens this time!" Que shouted. As she turned back, the boy pitched the ball straight down the center, hard and fast. The ball made contact, sailed over the boy playing shortstop, and into far left field. The kids ran around like lightning. The first two players already sliding into home plate, and Que racing up to second and onward.

"Jayden has thrown the ball from left field to Antonela at second. Que is rounding third! Pitcher Sean has the ball! It's going to be a sliding finish! Go Que! Slide home!" Amy screamed.

Sean dived as Que slid hard across the dirt.

"Safe!" the boy referee shouted.

The whole team erupted into joyous shouts and ran onto the field, clapping Que on the shoulders. High fives were sent toward the other two players who made it home as well.

A miffed Sean got out of the dirt. "Lucky kick."

"Your team buys at the store today Sean," Que said.

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The kids were making a ruckus outside the general store, which was not a surprise to anyone. They frequented the venue after such Tuesday afternoon games. They were all sitting on the curb enjoying what was left of the breezy summer day, having chips, soda, and some assortment of candy.

Que was working through her pretzels and Orange Soda, when she suddenly started to feel light headed. She ignored the feeling until a flash of pain prickled in the back of her skull.

"Not now," she mumbled.

"You okay?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to head home. I probably need to help at the beacon before the storm hits," Que replied.

As Que walked toward her home by the sea, the flashes of pain were becoming more frequent and intense. Her vision blurred and was accompanied by a splitting migraine.

The rain started and her pace quickened. She had to get out of town as fast as possible. She thought she had spent enough on the generators earlier. It had to have been enough.

Then, the ground started to rumble and Que went into a full tilt run, heading for the lighthouse as the rain, now coming down in a thick sideways sheet, soaked through her clothes.

The town disappeared in the falling rain as she reached the shoreline, but before she could go any further, her body spasmed and she let out a blood curdling scream. A violent tremor shook the ground as energy ripped through her entire body. The energy shot up through the sky like lightning from the ground. It lasted only a few seconds and the tremors ceased. Que collapsed in the mixture of sand and now glass below her feet, breathing heavily.

She had to get home.

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Que sat alone in the dimly lit living space of the cottage adjacent to the lighthouse. The majority of the room was sparse. There was a small kitchen area with an equally small round table and single chair. By the front door stood a wooden coat rack, a welcome mat, and a pair of muddy sneakers from the wet run home. On the other half of the room, where one might have a couch or television, was a large clear desk with a couple flat screen monitors, blueprints, and fine hardware tools hanging on the connecting wall. Strewn across the desk were more blueprints, microchips, wires, and other bits of material for tinkering.

It was well after midnight, yet Que could not sleep. This was not completely out of the norm for her, but the sleepless nights made for a much harder day to follow. She checked in on the generator and gave it a boost every hour or so, but mostly, she was contemplating the events of that afternoon.

She didn't understand what had happened. She had been able to fill up the generator to the max this morning. How did she still have that kind of a build up?

She'd noticed that her powers had been more intense as of late when recharging things or even just manipulating the breeze by the shore. She had accidentally caused a couple of small sand funnels without even noticing as well. Then, there were the tremors. Those had been put to rest years ago, or at least she thought they had. She had not had one since... well not for a very long time and under much different circumstances.

There was so much energy flowing around now. She thought it was just the storm, but she could feel it pulsing more than she used to. It was as if every fiber of her being was connected to it all, like a spider feeling the vibrations in its web. If Que was not careful, she could really make a mess of the life she had built in the town and possibly destroy the town itself.