The sound of buzzing and intermittent light greeted Todd as he came back to consciousness. He blinked as ceiling tiles passed by overhead and came into focus. Todd felt drained, disoriented, and the distinct sensation of motion; the back of his head repeatedly bounced against ground. Todd weakly craned his neck as much as he could: there was a group of several students who dragged him along.
“Uh...hello?” Todd croaked. He couldn’t summon the energy to pull himself free.
“Quiet you.” someone said from up front.
“Shh. We’re not supposed to talk to him.” a girl replied.
“I know that. I’m just telling him to not talk to us either.” the first person said.
“Yeah, well that’s still talking to him.” the girl replied.
“Because I’m telling him not to talk.”
“By talking to him...” the girl said slowly.
“You know nobody likes you right?” the original speaker replied.
“Guys!”A different girl shouted. “Let’s just get him to the auditorium before the eighties find us and pull rank.”
“You’re not supposed to tell him where we’re going.” the first person said.
“Yeah.” the original girl agreed. The group fell into silence as they pulled Todd. Still dazed, he shut his eyes and racked his brain to come up with some way to get free.
“Nerds.” Todd whispered as his eyes snapped open. He cleared his throat. “So are those numbers your rank your or something?” Someone up front started to look back until the person next to them hit their shoulder and they turned straight ahead. “Yeah, I was ranked one but seventy something isn’t too bad.”
“Uh it’s percentile not raw number dummy.” the original girl said as she turned around. “Seventieth percentile.”
“Wow you all scored within a point or two?” Todd asked. The group slowed, then stopped as they looked at each other.
“I wouldn’t say that.” the boy up front said.
“Yeah I scored higher than the others, just not enough to be an eighty.” the girl replied. Several people bristled.
“That’s misleading. I have the highest cumulative grade in this group.” the boy next to her said.
“And the lowest in chemistry. What’s your point?” another girl said. The group quickly descending into chaos; arguing, turned to yelling, which led pushing and shoving. One of the people holding Todd’s legs took his their phone out to wave a progress report around and dropped his leg. Todd quickly moved to yanked his other leg free.
The group was deep in a comparison of advanced versus accelerated course loads as Todd clumsily got up and ran.
He leaned against the wall as he ran; Todd still wasn’t back up to full strength. He needed to find a way to get answers: what time was it? was Canis summoned already? Was it too late to retrieve the totem? Todd’s walkie talkie was gone, but he need to touch base with Jun and Viktor. Wary of being sucked back into a trance, Todd pulled his phone out with a singular, squinted eye on the screen.
“Huh.” Todd said. He’d gritted his teeth in preparation of an intense fight to overcome the urge to check DEN, but currently, he felt nothing. The pull, the longing, the mental fog, there wasn’t so much as a hint of any of it. “Did we win?...
“Morning, noon, and nighty-night. Study hard, study right. And at dusk, upon the hour, use our smarts to fuel your power.” the voices echoed in unison against the walls. There was something unnatural in the sing song way the students spoke; they also sounded very close. Todd ran and ducked around the first corner he could find. Every classroom door in the hallway was shut, and as Todd tried to open the nearest one, he noticed the same lock from the day he was relegated. Todd pressed himself as flat against the door as he could and hoped the side walls would cover him.
“Do you think I could submit my practical exam for the final ranking, or is it written only?” a girl asked.
“Obviously, on paper. Scheduling lab time would be a nightmare.” someone replied. The others murmured in agreement.
“Final ranking?” Todd whispered. Everything surrounding DEN and Nedd involved ranking and rating the students’ performances. There was zero doubt in Todd’s mind this was another connection to Canis. What worried him was the sound of a ‘final’ ranking.
Todd waited, and when her heard no further chatting or footsteps, he ran to the edge of the hallway. He paused then peeked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear.
“Hello.” the girl who had asked about the ranking seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Todd jumped back. She was flanked by the rest of the group, insidious smiles on their faces. “Get him!” she yelled. The mob rushed forward and Todd stumbled as he turned around. One boy managed to get a hand on the back of his shirt, but commotion of everyone converging at once caused someone to accidentally bump his arm. Todd threw himself forward and broke free.
Todd ran with dwindling stamina and no destination in mind. His heart dropped seeing locked door after locked door as he ran. The lights were still on in several rooms but all windows had the blinds drawn. At that moment, Todd finally noticed the lack of normal school ambiance; the halls were eerily quiet. Where are the teachers?
As Todd ran by the front entrance, he decided to try the doors. More than locked, they were blocked by desks and chairs. Outside, a lone school bus sat by the curb. Todd tried to see if a bus driver or anyone was inside, but noticed several windows were broken. He backed away from the doors, eyes wide. “What is happening?” he whispered.
Footsteps grew closer and Todd turned to run again, but immediately bumped into someone. He stumbled and tried to create some distance. Todd quickly patted his pockets, then pulled out his deck of cards and waved it around.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Back off. I must warn you, I know...magic. And I’m not afraid to use it-Jun?” The hood had fallen off during the collision and Jun stared at Todd with a blank expression. “It’s good to see you! Unless...are you...one of them?”
“Cards? Seriously?” Jun asked. Todd let out a breath.
“You’re normal. At least, for you.” Todd said. Jun quickly put his hood back up as the group arrived.
“Follow my lead.” He muttered. “I got him. Auditorium right?” Jun asked as he waved at the group.
“We’ll take him it from here.” The girl said.
“Nah.” Jun said. Everyone, including Todd, looked at him in surprise.
“At least try to not be suspicious.” Todd hissed.
“I just mean as a top student in an honorable class it’s my duty.”
“Honor’s class.” Todd whispered quickly.
“Honor’s class.” Jun quickly repeated. The girl frowned. Jun grabbed Todd’s arm and started to walk but Todd quickly stopped.
“Wrong way.” Todd whispered.
“What?” Jun asked, an obviously phony smile on his face.
“Going the wrong way. Auditorium is in the opposite direction.” Todd coughed to poorly disguise his words.
“What’s your percentile?” The girl asked. The group moved closer.
“Oh...you know, pretty good. Pretty good.” Jun said. He turned to Todd and winked. Todd shook his head.
“Well what is it?” The girl asked impatiently.
“I think it’s math based on how the word sounds.” Jun said. Todd slapped his forehead.
“She wants to know what percent of the average grade is below your own.” he said.
“Oh. Silly me.” Jun said. “It’s...run Todd Stewart. Run!” Jun grabbed the girl’s hood and pulled it down over her head. He pushed another student into the rest of the group and took off. Momentarily stunned, Todd pulled down a nearby decorative plant and ran after Jun.
“This entire place has turned into a creepy cult. What happened on the field trip?” Todd asked as he caught up.
“I was going to ask you the same thing. The field trip went from normal to complete chaos. It was everything I could do to round them up and get the bus back here. I had to blend in just to move through the halls ” Jun paused. “Where’s uh, Viktor?”
“Haven’t seen him.” Todd said. “He was on his way back after something happened with the bus. Next thing I know, there’s a flash of light and I wake up public enemy number one.” Todd stopped as they passed a giant playbill framed on the wall. “Is it smart to actually be near the auditorium?”
“We need answers.” Jun slowed and pulled on few doors.
“I don’t think the field trip caused the summoning.” Todd said. He lowered his voice. “I got a chance to see Nedd’s computer and...Jun?” Todd turned away from the poster to talk to Jun, but he was gone. The door was still open, however, so Todd carefully walked into the auditorium.
He tried to look for Jun, but it impossible in the sea of gray robes. As students found their seats and chatted with manic, almost inappropriate excitement, Todd felt a sense of eerie deja vu.
“The guest of honor has arrived.” Todd turned around just as Nedd through a bag over his head.
----------------------------------------
Todd stood at the edge of the darkened stage, flanked by two larger students. They each wore a patche on their robes with the number forty. Overhead, a promotional video for Scofield Industries played, drowned out by the buzz of the crowd. The house lights dimmed and a spot light directed everyone’s attention to center of the stage.
“It’s almost time for the pop quiz and final ranking, but I’ve ben given an announcement from Nedd.” Ivan said as he appeared from behind the curtain. His hood was down, and there was a bandage on his forehead. “Your highest rated assignment needs to ready for submission before the final ranking begins. Not right after, or during the exam, before. And, I shouldn’t have to say this, but I promise, if anyone else shows up with pottery. I will destroy it. End quote.”
Ivan turned to side of the stage and nodded. The two students behind Todd pushed him forward. He tripped onto the stage and put his arm up to shield his eyes from the spotlight.
“In anticipation of the arrival, we offer an amuse-bouche.” Ivan said robotically.
“Students of Fillmore! Listen to me!” Todd shouted. “You all are being brainwashed!”
“Take it easy, second-rate Stewart.” Ivan sneered. “You’re just mad, I took your spot as number one. I’ll be cruising through the Ivy league while you slum it in some...state school.”
“You watch your mouth!” Todd snarled and Ivan jumped back. Todd shook his head. “Look at this.” He waved his hand over the room. “This is...beyond bizarre.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ivan replied.
“Roving bands of students that have turned the halls into a giant fugitive hunt? Not a teacher in sight?” Todd looked around and threw his hands up.
“Technically, you were the only we needed to find. Everyone else comes and goes as they please. So long as they abide by the percentile partitions and stay within their designated areas. I’m talking about you twenties.” Ivan sharply pointed. “And the teachers are...busy. I don’t know, they’re adults. The entire curriculum has been changed to independent study guided by DEN. They’re redundant.”
“And the eerie chanting?”
“Morning, noon, and nighty-night. Study hard, study right. And at dusk, upon the hour, use our smarts to fuel your power.” the room chanted, as if on cue.
“Morning, noon, and nighty-night-.” Ivan stopped when Todd threw his hands up. “Oh what? That? Don’t tell me you’re jealous there’s an inside joke and you’re not a part of it. You’re better than that Todd.” Ivan said.
“That’s just sad.” someone in the audience shouted.
“That’s cult talk! Goes with the gray robe cult uniform.”
“Wow. Okay.” Ivan said. An angry wave of whispers crashed over the room. “I’ll have you know Allison’s mom makes these as a small business. The school has to be kept cold so DEN can run and we all thought it would be a nice gesture to support her and keep ourselves warm. Fillmore students want to support each other, except for Todd Stewart I guess.” The crowd booed and man yelled very rude things.
“What? No...I...I’m sorry.”
“I’m so glad you’re getting banished.” Ivan said.
“Banished?”
“Did someone say innovator?” The spotlight quickly moved around the stage, then shot up into the air. Nedd was lowered from the ceiling by wires, dressed in his usual plaid with black turtle neck combination. He covered his eyes with his arms as he slowly descended. “Rick so help me, I warned you about the light.” The spotlight cut off and left him in complete darkness until the house lights came up and Nedd’s face twisted in anger.
He fought to free himself from the harness after landing; he cursed into his headset and waved off Ivan’s attempt to help. Finally free, Nedd tried to throw the harness off the stage, but one of the wires was caught around his leg and nearly caused him to trip.
“Forget it. I had this whole big thing planned and just forget it now.” Nedd shouted. “Just get your assignments ready for the final exam.”
“Where’s Jun? Where’s Viktor?” Todd demanded. Nedd gave him a quizzical look.
“You really are clueless. Anyway, I finally caught that mongrel.” he said. He snapped his fingers and Viktor was wheeled out on stage on a gurney.
“Viktor?” Todd gasped. Viktor stared straight ahead, his eyes vacant. “Let him go!” Todd shouted. Nedd shrugged.
“I wanted to keep him from going feral.” Nedd nodded and the restraints were removed. Viktor stumbled forward, off of the gurney, and Todd moved to catch him until he noticed the deep yellow glow of Viktor’s eyes. “You okay...” Todd asked, slowly.
Viktor lowered his head, then immediately lifted it up. His lips curled back as he snarled and revealed a mouth full of familiar jagged teeth. “No.” Todd gasped.
“Yes.” Nedd laughed. “Students allow me to show you lessons in failure. But fear not, there is no waste in science. Merely repurposed elements for a grander experiment.”
“This is insane.” Todd shouted.
“Sanity is overrated . You’ll learn that soon enough.” Nedd said. He laughed and it turned from his usual condescension to unhinged derangement. Nedd pulled a thin, silver whistle from underneath his turtleneck. He blew on it, but no sound came out; at least no sound that Todd could hear. All the students put their hands up around their ears and few screamed out. Before he could demand answers, Todd felt a rush of wind and felt himself being pulled backwards.
----------------------------------------
Todd landed hard on his back. He sat up and looked around as his eyes adjusted to the low light. He was in a cave of some sort; sharp stalagmites hung from the roof and shadows danced on the red rock walls from a light source Todd couldn’t find. He stood up and his foot slid on something. Todd looked down.
“Paper?” Todd asked. “What kind of cave would be filled with papers?”
“Oh the most wondrous cave. Home of the most magnificent treasures.” a booming voice replied. It echoed off the walls and bounced around, enveloping Todd. He jumped, not just from the unexpected reply, but from the immense nature inherent in its sound.
“Hello?” Todd stammered. He looked around for a speaker but darkness filled everywhere outside of his immediate area. Todd heard the sound of fluttering and faint scuttling in the distance. Suddenly two huge, yellow eyes broke through the blackness.
“Hello.” The voice said, loud as a cannon, as countless jagged fangs appeared underneath the eyes.