Beyond the Horizon

12. First Session

Shion and Nezumi ended up settling down in the warehouse adjacent to the first they'd broken into. In their initial investigation, they'd observed that the teens that had desecrated the first floor of the first warehouse had also spread their "good time" to the second floor. Nezumi wasn't too upset about abandoning the first warehouse; even if the second floor had been untouched, he wasn't comfortable staying only a floor above a teenaged revelry.

          Luckily, with a little muscle, he and Shion were able to pry a few boards loose from the window of the warehouse next-door. This one was smaller and smelled more noxiously of stale air due to poor circulation, but it was untouched by debauchery and that seemed to please Shion. Apparently, the idea of two humans fornicating brought him great distress. Nezumi couldn't help but find this amusing, but he didn't push the issue. Sex was only fun to talk about when you were having it. Besides, he and Shion had more pressing topics to discuss.

          "We should try another practice session," Nezumi said the day after he and Shion had fully settled into their second-floor hideaway.

           Shion glanced up from his inspection of the stairs.

           That was another bonus of this warehouse: it had unlocked access to the roof. Nezumi knew that staying hidden inside had its many benefits, but there was a part of him that longed to be outdoors. The rooftop access provided that relief, and also gave them a good vantage point to see if there was anything or anyone coming their way.

          Shion pressed his lips together in thought and walked back toward where Nezumi sat. No doubt he was reliving the terrific failure of their last session, but still he said, "Yeah. We should." Shion picked up his half-emptied water bottle and took a sip. "Now that I've used my powers a bit, I think I've got a better feel for them."

          Nezumi nodded. "I think I know what went wrong last time." Shion's eyebrows shot up and Nezumi snorted at the blatant intrigue and hope in the expression. "Finish your water break and meet me downstairs."

          Nezumi rose from the crate he'd perched on and made his way to the stairs. He could hear Shion scrambling to follow, and he had barely made it down two steps before Shion was right on his heels.

          Nezumi chuckled. "Look who's eager. And to think, only a few days ago you had a panic attack every time I so much as mentioned your powers."

          "First of all, I've never had a panic attack. Secondly, you shouldn't joke about that; panic disorders are serious, and a rising concern in the youth of today."

          Nezumi's good mood evaporated. "Shut up. Never mind."

          Every time he began to think Shion was OK, the boy had to vomit up something ridiculous and piss him off.

          The first floor of the warehouse was a graveyard of debris: cardboard boxes, chunks of rubble, food wrappers, crates, metal barrels, and struts from the ceiling. The leftover trash had no consistent personality. Nezumi couldn't guess what this industrial park's initial purpose was, but he knew what it was now: Useful. This was the perfect training ground for Shion. He had all sorts of things to practice on, and if he happened to lose control, they were far enough away from town that no one would be alerted by a loud noise or two. If anyone did hear the crashes, they'd likely chalk them up to the building crumbling due to old age and disrepair. It looked like the warehouse had done a decent job of falling apart already.

          Shion's gaze darted around the room for a second before settling on Nezumi, all expectant attention. Nezumi repressed a gulp. This better work, or even I'm going to start to doubt.