Dawn of Fog and Glass

Chapter Ten: Dawn of Fog and Glass

"Uh..." I stammer, my heart pounding at a rate that must be unnatural. "I don't...think so?"

He shrugs. "Hmm. Okay."

I inwardly curse at myself. I've been obsessing over this boy that I maybe know ever since I first saw him at the assembly. I finally got my chance to introduce myself to him, to ask him his name, and I chicken out.

Smooth, Arden. You just keep getting better and better at this "verbal communication" thing.

Back at Marksberg, I had Hera to do all the talking for me. All the friendly talking, at least. She would do the introductions and greetings. I would do the sarcastic feedback and occasional joke. Orion would stay quiet for the most part. If he didn't, he'd say either something extremely helpful or extremely unhelpful.

Still, if Cherry Boy kind of recognizes me, I probably do know him.

"So is it true you're another telekinetic?" He asks, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

"No," I reply, trying to keep my voice even. "I mean, I don't think so."

He frowns, curiosity bubbling in his eyes. "How can you not know?"

I put my arms up in defence. "It's not like I'm exactly experienced with this sort of stuff, okay?" He quirks an eyebrow, and I sigh. "Anyway, I think it's more specific than that. I can make things move, but only glass, as far as I know."

He laughs. "Glass. That's a new one. How'd you figure that out?"

I blush, embarrassed. "I'd never been exposed enough to the Fog to develop powers until a short while ago. Until then, I thought I was normal. Then my senses went crazy, and I thought I was a Crawler. They've sort of dulled now, but some things are still too sharp. I really noticed that something was wrong when I broke my friend's fall this morning."

I shudder. Was that really this morning? It feels like it happened a month ago.

Something crosses over his face. "How did glass break their fall?"

I shrug. "I'm just surprised it didn't cut him. The shards cut me as they flew by, though." I check my shoulder to show him the fresh cuts as proof, but they've disappeared.

"Gone?" He assumes. I nod.

"Happens to me, too," he adds. "My powers affect me as they would anyone else, but I heal faster."

I smile, although inside I want to grimace. I sort of hate how the Morphs talk about deadly powers as if they were as simple as the weather. And, according to the black triangle outlined in white on his breast pocket, I can assume he's a black case, and those don't sound very nice.

"Can you explain to me what the colour categories mean?" I blurt out. "Like, the silver and blue cases and whatever?"

He looks a little stunned by the question but chuckles anyway. "Yeah, of course. There are actually five colours in the system: yellow, green, blue, silver, and black. Yellows are pretty much harmless. They have powers like the ability to brush teeth fast and stuff. They usually have unique powers, but they're not too powerful. Greens are the next level up. They can do some damage, but nothing too bad. Blues are the middle ground. They're considered the 'protectors' because they're powerful enough to stop a fight or a black or silver Morph, but not powerful enough to be considered really dangerous. A lot of them live in the duo wings instead of the single wings, matched up with a black case of opposing powers. Like my friend, Chantelle. She's my blue case.

"Then we have the silvers, who can do lethal damage but are still in control enough to live on their own. Finally, there are black cases. A lot of them are sent to the special care unit, because no matter what, they have no chance of control. It corrupts them first."