Zaire had missed the first three sessions when he arrived at school… it was break and he could hear the whistling of encouragement as his car stopped in the parking lot.

Some of the students were praising his rebellion.

Needless to say, if there was any way to pass on the pressure of Nazis to those students, Zaire wouldn’t blink an eye… he didn’t miss the first three sessions because he had a choice.

As a matter of fact, since becoming a Jumper, Zaire had never felt so isolated from the rest of the world – he could go anywhere at any time but he was still limited by his own chains.

Identity was one…

Jumping without identity was akin to announcing yourself on the spectrum of all Jumpers…

The Hummer parked and Zaire ruffled through the backseats for a couple of seconds, stuffing brand-new books into his backpack.

He didn’t care much about school due to possessing knowledge reflective of a doctorate but he still had to pretend to pay attention.

“Chad, Lina…”

Zaire greeted the dup smoking weed in the back of the pickup truck… he continued forward, making his way toward the cafeteria building.

“Brandon…”

He high-fived the boy who was talented but didn’t make it onto the basketball team.

‘I think he will make it next year…’ Zaire mused.

“Zach, my boy!”

Zaire fist-bumped Zach just before entering the main building – the latter was a bit surprised to see him at school and that instantly made Zaire think something was wrong.

Everyone had been looking at him strangely.

There were whispers amongst the few but if it was a big deal, everyone would be whispering, not just one or two people.

Zaire was comforted by that fact.

……………

Zaire was up the stairs in a couple of seconds, greeting at least a dozen other students… one of the girls, whose name he couldn’t remember for the life of him, allowed Zaire to squeeze her boobs.

‘I wish I had more time with those nipples,’ He thought, making his way to the locker while simultaneously trying to guess her name so he could call her later.

He hadn’t been nearly as popular in his last life and Zaire planned to have sex enough to make up for all the missed opportunities in his previous life.

As usual, he had to shake the locker loose before it even considered opening… and when it did, Zaire placed a brand-new book into the locker and withdrew the old book from inside.

It was a log book…

This particular book would flow between his and Henry’s locker and whenever one was late to school, the other would leave their location in the book and the respective locker.

Zaire flipped through the pages, chuckling at memories that came with each message in the book… then, he saw the latest entry and frowned.

“Detention?” He quirked his brows. “What is she doing in detention…”

Zaire didn’t consider himself a big shot but he got around enough with the teachers to find what made most of them tick… There were only about two teachers on the compound who didn’t come to his restaurant for the occasional free meals.

And those two teachers got the benefit of free lunches from the cafeteria – the school definitely didn’t pay for that… but neither did Zaire.

Luckily, the lunch lady owed him a somewhat large favor.

Basically, everyone benefitted from his favors so there was not supposed to be a teacher capable of banishing Henry to detention.

Two corridors down…

Zaire took the stairs outside, walked for a bit, and entered the adjacent building – he made his way up another set of stairs and carefully opened the door to detention.

He slid into the most immediate seat with the grace of a ballerina.

Even Henry hadn’t noticed him – she was busy trying to shush the kid with glasses… Zaire recalled his name. ‘Townes? Right?’ He thought.

Zaire locked eyes with the teacher in charge of detention… nothing happened.

The Jumper shifted from one seat to the next, landing next to Henry’s seat in three seconds flat… now, he was sure that she had seen him but chose to ignore him.

“What’s wrong?” Zaire whispered.

“You really have the balls to ask me that?” Henry replied, not lowering her voice.

That meant she was extra upset.

“Listen, Henry—” Zaire tried to calm her nerves, placing a hand on her shoulder as he always would.

But she wasn’t having it – she shook away from his hand as if disgusted and Zaire felt a flash of anger.

That particular action brought back unpleasant memories and it was also something he warned Henry never to do – she didn’t notice this slight change in his attitude.

“I called you last night…” Henry declared loudly.

“ZAIRE, HENRY! QUITE!” The teacher announced.

Zaire gripped Henry’s shoulder just as she was about to stand and answer the teacher; then, he pulled her back into her seat. “We should talk about this later…” He voiced.

“So you can ditch me again?” Henry chuckled, clearly even more on edge due to Zaire and the teacher shushing her.

“Excuse us,” Zaire rose from his seat, nodded to the teacher who couldn’t care less, and dragged Henry through the door.

The bathroom was a couple of feet away – Zaire dragged Henry inside the girl’s bathroom, intent on squashing whatever one-sided beef was brewing in her mind.

“What the fuck is your problem?” He spun and questioned.

It wasn’t his finest morning – he wasn’t particularly paying attention to Henry’s mood because of the sexcapades of the previous night.

Women were sensitive… Henry could feel his disinterest – that wasn’t something she had felt from Zaire before.

“I texted you last night…” Henry barely calmed herself enough to explain. “You usually pick me up after I finish a job…”

“You mean graffiti?” Zaire snorted. “Henry, I actually have a job – I can’t pick you up every night or I wouldn’t be able to eat tomorrow.”

“You made promises, Zaire,” Henry frowned. “I texted you… you didn’t answer me and don’t give me the same bullshit you tell Brenda and Patty.”

“I—I…” Zaire stammered – the moment he hesitated, he knew it was over.

There was something inside of him that hated lying to Henry – it made it difficult to do his job but Henry wasn’t yet ready for the hard truths of the world.

“Exactly… you didn’t pick me up this morning either,” Henry sighed, feeling genuinely disappointed. “I counted on you last night and when you didn’t show, I was caught red-handed. They sold my car because the cops caught me!”

“And whose fucking fault is that?!” Zaire growled, pushing Henry on the forehead. “Have you never heard of a canvas? I have done nothing but look out for you on countless nights but the one night I don’t show up, that’s what you remember? Grow the fuck up!”

“Don’t fucking push me!” Henry growled, pushing Zaire’s head backward with both her hands.

The situation was rapidly becoming uncontrollable.

“You know…” Henry tipped-toed so she could be closer to Zaire’s height. “I made excuses for you – I said, he must be busy doing something important. But lo-and-behold, I heard you were at a party where you hooked up with a blonde chick – fine… then, I heard you fucked Brenda – nasty but fine… but I draw the line when you ignore our friendship for the disgusting Patty Yang!”

“Where did you hear that from?” Zaire frowned – there had been a leak somewhere, possibly from the girls themselves.

“Did you ignore my texts and calls for Patty, fucking, Yang?” Henry met his eyes, trying to find the answer with his soul.

And she may have found the answer.

“Un-fucking-believable…” She was disgusted. “Zaire… wake up. Patty is still fucking Clay.”

“I don’t care who she sleeps with,” He voiced his first honest thought.

“And that disgusts me even more,” Henry voiced… There was no longer an edge to her tone, almost as if she had given up.

Zaire grew angrier…

“Just… we’ll do something tonight and forget about it,” He tried to move past the situation. “We can skinny dip in the lake.”

“Do you really think I am ever gonna allow you to see my naked body again?” Henry spat on the ground, signifying her disgust. “I rather fuck Clay Boone!”

She knew where the words would hurt most – she wanted Zaire to hurt as much as she was hurting from his day of inattentiveness.

Truth was, she didn’t want to share his attention but aggression was the only way she could express such a sentiment… but what she never expected was Zaire’s violent reaction to such a statement.

PA/TA

Henry’s cheek turned… it was a blur what really happened but Zaire’s had remained frozen in the air even as Henry turned back her head to meet his eyes.

They were both surprised.

Zaire was surprised because, for a moment, he was aiming to knock Henry out… it was only at the last minute his fist turned into a loud slap.

He had never been someone to spare women – killing necessitated an equal death for men and women but this was the first time he had ever hit a woman weaker than himself.

This was abuse…

And the terrified expression on Henry’s face as she came to realize what happened, irked Zaire all the more.

She stumbled backward, clutching her cheeks as tears filled her eyes – she was distraught, angry, disgusted, helpless, lethal, and a host of complex emotions.

What surprised Zaire even more were his thoughts when he saw Henry fumbling to back away from him – weak.

That was all his mind could think – she’s weak.

He didn’t feel sorry for having struck her but was upset about her reaction to being struck – Zaire had expected the strong-willed girl to fight back but she didn’t.

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In the end, she was like all the other normal girls.

Then, the guilt came… albeit late.

Henry quickly regained her bearing. “Zaire, did you just hit me?!” She questioned, rage growing.

“I-i…” Zaire frowned, not sure how to answer.

Henry marched forward, pulling Zaire down to her level using his collar. “I can’t believe you hit me!” She declared, spitting in his face. “Don’t ever fucking talk to me again… and if you ever touch me again, I will tell Thomas, I will tell all your friends on the basketball team, and I will report you to the police… your black and the sheriff doesn’t like you! He will put you away for years.”

Though the words flowed naturally, Henry knew that she would regret saying them as soon as cooler heads prevailed… but for now, she just needed to let it out.

Zaire mechanically turned around and exited the bathroom – he didn’t want to remain a second longer… he wasn’t sure what would happen otherwise.

Henry waited for Zaire to exit before bursting into tears… she was really and truly scared for the first time while talking to Zaire, and she was angry at herself for resorting to such words.

……………………

Zaire didn’t know where to go next but he knew he needed to go somewhere and center his thought.

On the way out of the bathroom, he met Jenna.

“Henry needs you,” He mentioned, blatantly sliding a card into her pocket. “—Call me if she, or you, ever needs anything, okay? I won’t be around for a while… I am afraid of what I might do, otherwise.”

“Zaire… come on,” Jenna met his eyes and her voice died in her throat – memories flickered through her mind. ‘I have seen those eyes somewhere before…’ She instinctively thought.

Just as Henry did in the bathroom, Jenna found herself taking steps backward… she didn’t even realize it until she bumped into the lockers behind her – it was two meters away previously.

By the time she found the wit to refocus, Zaire was gone from her sights… and Jenna could do nothing but head into the bathroom, meeting a very distraught Henry who had a fresh handprint on her face.

“OH my gosh…” She muttered.

…………………………

Taktsang Palphug Monastery…

Zaire breathes in the fresh, untainted air of a location strong in all the energies of the universe.

This was where he completed his Jumping training, under the direction of masters – monsters really – who had lived well beyond the human norm and could do amazing things even though they came from common stock.

There were no Jumpers, Mutants, Dimension-Jumping Nazis, or anything else… just men who had dedicated their lives to bodily control and discipline.

The Monastery was also known worldwide as The Tiger’s Nest Monastery… in the Paro Valley of Bhutan, Zaire had found himself for the first time, and he hoped to re-discover the process.

Though he had appeared in a churn of space, none of the monks had looked at him strangely – he was not the only Jumper to receive training from The Monastery… though, he was the most successful.

And perhaps, the only one to finish the training.

The Tiger’s Nest Monastery was perched on the edge of a cliffside… Zaire found himself still amazed by how the monastery clung to the sheer face of a cliff.

He imagined a sizeable enough earthquake would literally shake The Monastery off the cliff… after all, The Monastery seemingly defied gravity, appearing as if it was suspended in the air.

Zaire walked up the weak, wooden stairs – he was infinitely careful because some of the stairs had hidden trips if a certain weight was exceeded.

This section of The Monastery was only for students and masters… tourists would head somewhere else.

One step at a time…

Zaire controlled his breathing, contraction of his muscles, and awareness of the environment as he made his way up the stairs.

One of the first things he learned at The Monastery was to imagine yourself in a better place – that made many of the exercises bearable.

Once he was at the top of the stairs, Zaire felt his breathing hitch in his throat – it was still as beautiful as when he last saw it.

The Monastery overlooked a lush, forested valley, offering breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape… pine forests, bridges, and steep paths.

It was hard to distinguish the natural environment from The Monastery’s unique architectural design… the student’s temple was adorned with vibrant colors, intricate woodwork, and ornate decorations that reflected the rich artistic traditions of Bhutan.

Zaire casually strode across the compound – many of the older students bowed in his presence, while others just stood confused.

He ignored it all…

As he approached the large doors to The First Master’s Dojo, the guards standing at the sides swiftly pulled the doors open… shutting the doors again as soon as Zaire was through.

Green smoke… instant death for anyone unable to control their breathing.

“You feel chaotic…” An ancient voice echoed from the smoke’s depths. “You have lost your way…”

Zaire knelt, banging his head on the ground three times… There was a splat of blood on his forehead.

The voice sighed. “No need for such apologies,” The Master stated. “I expected as much when you asked to leave… don’t forget, I was once young as well.”

“I hit a woman… one who I had romantic inclinations to,” Zaire admitted, not hiding anything though his heart clenched.

It was difficult to admit his faults to someone whose disappointment could affect his state of mind – The Master could just as well be considered his father.

“It’s my fault – I thought you wouldn’t need it but it turns out, you do…” The voice sighed, then footsteps echoed in the clouded room.

Zaire frowned. “What do I need?” He inquired.

“A home…” The voice replied, an old man with a sculpted physique stepping out from the depths of the green smoke. “—Time for us to find yours…” The Old Man urged, tapping Zaire in the middle of the forehead.

All of Zaire’s senses shut down – he felt as if he had entered a totally different realm… one of the minds, one of expansive proportions, and one where thoughts formed thoughts of their own.

THE ASTRAL REALM…

The Old Man sat beside Zaire and they meditated together, though their souls had already departed their bodies.

……………………………

Back in Reston, the school was in full swing.

Jenna had taken Henry home – perhaps, if Jenna had stayed a little longer, she would have been able to stop what occurred next.

Janna had always acted as a buffer between Brenda and Patty and without her around, Patty and Brenda were forced to talk about deeper matters than either of them were comfortable with.

“So… you and Clay?” Brenda wiggled her brows.

“Yeah, barf… not happening again,” Patty scrunched her face. “He is sleeping with like… five other girls from the cheer squad right now.”

“Then why have you been so giddy this morning?” Brenda inquired, smirking a bit. “I can tell when your night has been… filling,” She teased.

“Let’s just say – I got some good fulfillment~” Patty chirped.

Brenda’s heart started to get twitchy – something wasn’t right. “I haven’t seen you this happy since…” She hesitated to say it.

“Do you not see how hard it is for me to walk this morning?” Patty hinted, a curl on her lips as she thought about the previous night. “Do I need to actually mention his name?”

Brenda’s face paled. “Please… please, mention his name—” She replied. ‘I won’t believe it otherwise…’ her mind declared.

Zaire had been with her the entire night so if Patty claimed she slept with Zaire last night, Brenda was prepared to end the friendship immediately.

She would not stand for her best friend lying about her boyfriend.

Patty pulled out her phone, flipping to a certain photo in her gallery. “Last night… Zaire and I—” She started.

“That’s bullshit…” Brenda’s voice turned cold.

Patty had no time to pay attention to Brenda’s cold response and Brenda had no time to call Patty out on her lie because the next second, both of their phone rang with notifications.

Actually, half the cafeteria got the same notification at the same time.

The best friends checked their notification and pulled up the video of the brawl in the locker room at the same time… the video was shaky but the audio was clear.

Zaire and Clay pushed each other around…

They were arguing…

Zach started the video.

“I will see you guys at the game,” Zaire stated and quickly made his way to the door.

“Are all Africans pussies?” Clay wanted to provoke Zaire.

“You like Henry, right? I can’t wait to try her like I fucked Patty after she was through with you…”

OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH

“You want to say that again?” Zaire chuckled.

The aweing and oohing had ceased.

“What’s so funny?” Clay frowned.

“I mean…” Zaire shrugged and said the words that would damn him. “I never kiss and tell but have you ever had that sinking feeling in your gut… kinda like what you’re feeling right now?”

Brenda and Patty furrowed their brows – they could feel something coming… something that would change how they both saw Zaire.

Brenda wanted to close her eyes but she knew she needed to see – she loved Zaire but did she truly know the person she loved?

“And?” Clay started to fidget.

In the video, Zaire continued damning himself. “Well, I can tell you it’s not in your gut… that’s not where it began,” Zaire leisurely continued his journey to the door as he spoke. “It’s your dick – that sinking feeling during sex with Patty is very real. I know I don’t have to tell you where all that extra space in her pussy comes from…”

Patty had instant tears in the corner of her eyes – she had never expected Zaire to talk about her in such a way… especially considering how desperately they made love last night.

Zaire even grabbed his dick through his pants, highlighting the impressive size.

A fight broke out not long after…

Brenda and Patty didn’t watch the proceeding fight – they didn’t care who would win.

Patty stood… she saw all the eyes in the cafeteria drift in her direction, gauging how she stood, analyzing her walk, and estimating just how big Zaire’s dick was in the video.

And what made the situation worse was the fact that she knew… Patty knew she had slept with the scumbag Zaire just a couple of hours ago and the effects of him being inside of her was still fresh in her mind… and body.

She dashed out of the cafeteria with Brenda close behind.

………

The duo broke into the female’s bathroom.

Henry and Jenna had a breakdown inside the bathroom an hour prior, now it was Patty’s and Brenda’s turn to shed their metal barriers.

Patty screamed – she grabbed the garbage bin near the door, tossing it into an empty stall… it was the very same garbage bin Jenna had been forced to carefully clean after Henry’s tantrum.

The girls would have been surprised to know they were so similar in their bouts of anger.

“I can’t believe I slept with that asshole last night!” Patty screamed, more in anger than sorrow.

“Last night?” Brenda questioned, her anger also bubbling. “I was with Zaire all of last night!” She argued.

“What?” Patty was confused. “Since when have you been seeing Zaire?”

“Months... two fucking months, then it became more serious last month!” Brenda voiced, lessening her volume when she saw the stunned expression on Patty’s face. “—I am so sorry, Patty… it just happened.”

“Oh, you poor thing…” Patty’s tone changed from anger to twisted, mocking glee. “—sweetie, I fucked Zaire three weeks ago and again last night!”

“Lies…” Brenda gritted her teeth, pushing Patty backward. “I was with Zaire all of last night! He… he even made me breakfast in the morning…”

“Let me guess,” Patty laughed loudly as if she was having a nervous breakdown – she was, but it was also funny. “—he made you peanut butter and Nutella sandwich with a whole bunch of fruits stuffed inside?”

Brenda was stunned – Patty could see it.

“Oh, gosh… a little secret?” Patty’s eyes welled with unshed tears. “—that sandwich is the same thing he made me… and he makes for every girl that steps into that god-forsaken whore house he calls a cottage! And the funny thing – that sandwich was something he learned to make from his first girlfriend… he was twelve! Leave it to Zaire to take something from a childhood love and spread it to every girl he fucks!”

Brenda’s mind was collapsing… she had shared many secrets with Zaire – her past lovers, her family’s issues, and even the most intimate secrets concerning her body.

It was one thing sleeping with a guy, it was another thing allowing him to inspect every inch of her body… finding her moles, secret tickles, and even once sleeping with his finger tucked up her ass.

This was something to be done with husbands.

“But he was with me all of last night,” Brenda justified, trying to keep the last bits of the Zaire in her mind, alive.

“You fucking fool…” Patty broke out of her despair, grabbed Brenda by the shoulders, and slammed her friend into the bathroom stall. “—Wake up! Zaire cares about no one but Zaire… I know who he is, that’s why I left him. Don’t make my mistake.”

Patty hesitated for a couple of seconds before retrieving her phone – there was a rather embarrassing video on the phone… it was a video she planned to keep as a reminder but just this once, she would show it to someone.

“Here…” She pressed her phone to Brenda’s forehead. “—This is what we did last night…”

Brenda, semi-stunned, gripped the phone and watched the screen… every stroke and moan released from Patty’s mouth in the video, struck her heart.

But what made it worse was the fact that Zaire was fucking Patty – he was fucking Patty the way he fucked her… perhaps, even a bit more intense.

“Ha, ha…” Brenda gave Patty back her phone and leaned against the wall, tears sliding down her cheeks as she looked at the ceiling. “—I am so fucking stupid… I thought I knew him.”

Brenda and Patty sunk into companionable silence, hugging and wiping each other’s tears… There was a bit of solace in the disaster Zaire had wrought – now, the girls were closer than ever.

Suddenly, Patty had an idea – something Zaire had failed to realize that tattooed on her thigh.

“See this…” She rolled up her skirt, allowing Brenda to see a set of coordinates tattooed on her skin. “Zaire cares a lot about this.”

“Yeah, I have occasionally seen some things in that compartment in his closet that he thinks is hidden… then under his bed there is something else – never got that far though,” Brenda voiced, possessing an inkling of where Patty’s mind was heading.

“Let’s burn it…”

“What?”

“The cottage… let’s burn everything down – that will make him care,” Patty chuckled.

The girls started to conspire in the very same bathroom that had borne the brunt of their breakdown.

…………………………

A couple of hours later, several things happened at once.

Space churned…

The air trembled…

Everything was being pulled to a singular point in the expanse…

WHOOOOOSH

A car door and bits of metal, glass shards, and Henrietta appeared just above her bed – where she had previously been, nobody could say.

It would have been a nasty fall if the bed hadn’t blocked most of the impact – still, she bounced off the bed and onto the floor.

There was a loud rumble, alerting the other members of the household.

Henry groaned as she stood – she was confused, and disoriented, but her instincts were still intact… the first thing she did, was hide the rather obvious pieces of Clay’s truck under sheets and blankets.

She had to be quick so everything was roughly covered.

Thankfully, by the time Cleo races up the stairs, Henry had covered up everything – her mom was a good person but Henry had spent so much time raising herself, that she was certain her mother wouldn’t notice anything.

And Cleo didn’t…

The duo argued… Henry’s memories kept flickering with Clay pushing his hand into her pants and when she tried to tell her mother, Cleo brought up the arrests from the past.

Henry was confused… she was angry… she was holding something traumatic inside.

The argument evolved… Cleo left under Thomas’s guidance and Henry was left with no one to talk to about what had happened.

But then, Henry recalled how Jenna had comforted her after the incident with Zaire, she decided to go to this temporary-sister of aid.

“I need your help…” Henry insisted and the way she met Jenna’s eyes, made the girl – who was on the call with Patty – turn off her phone immediately.

Sadly, if Henry hadn’t come a few seconds later, giving Jenna time to convince Petty and Brenda not to move ahead with their stupid ideas, the night could have ended differently.

“What?” Jenna whispered, thinking it was a panic attack due to the earlier fight with Zaire. “Is it about Zaire again…”

“I told him to stop… I told him!” Henry whispered.

Jenna felt as if she had been struck by lightning – she thought about Zaire and quickly looked for traces of blood on Henry’s hands or clothes.

“Henry, what did you do?”

“He wouldn’t… he didn’t stop… his hands were in my pants and –and –” Henry stammered her explanation.

Jenna was relieved when she heard Clay Boone instead of Zaire but when the full story left Henry’s mouth in bits, Jenna was in the car and driving at her fastest speed.

They were on their way to inspect the accident.

Henry and Jenna arrived in no time at all – they could already see the wrecked car in front of them… Henry flinches, knowing, somehow, she had caused it.

Just as they were about to venture forward, an explosion echoed in the usual quiet Reston – a cloud of dense smoke rose into the air from the direction of the forest.

“Zaire…”

The words left Henry’s and Jenna’s mouths unconsciously… they no longer cared about Clay Boone’s situation.

They quickly departed for the site of the explosion – Zaire’s cottage.

As for Clay Boone, a crowd due to the explosion causing such a commotion almost immediately discovered him.