Continue to Chapter 1.1 (Second Half)

Dear future…

How is it?

Did everything work out okay?

I need to know…

Is this thing called “life” worth it?

 

Adam Grayson slowly opened his eyes; their gray color reflecting the light from his window.  He leaned up and rustled his hair, which fell down partially over his eyes. For the first time in awhile, he took note of it, and wondered why within his dark brown hair, lighter brown streaks naturally appeared.

Adam looked at the clock on his nightstand, noticing it was around 11:30 in the morning; a pretty normal time for him to wake up.

After sitting in place for a few minutes, Adam finally decided to get out of bed.  Seeming half dead, he opened the door to his room and walked into the bathroom next door.  He went up to the mirror and looked at himself dead in the eyes. Holding his head, he seemed to be in pain.

“It’s bad today…”

Adam put on a black t-shirt and gray cargo shorts.  Taking a second look in the mirror, he analyzed his unkempt appearance, yet shrugged it off as he usually would.

The town Adam lived in was known as Prelude, with only a few hundred residents.  A lot of houses seem to have been made using Gothic architecture, just like his house was.  He walked outside and shut the door behind him.

Breathing in, Adam took in the fresh air.  This town was nice and peaceful, which he appreciated.  Standing outside for a few seconds, Adam noted something he did not appreciate.

“This heat… why?”

“Yo, you gotta put up with it during the summer, unfortunately.”

A boy walked up to Adam just as he reached the road.  This was Brandon Shepherd. He had an athletic build to him, as he played a few sports throughout high school.  Adam noticed that he always stayed somewhat slender, though.

Brandon chuckled, wiping some sweat out of his short jet black hair, seemingly wanting to now agree with Adam’s complaint of the heat.  Regardless, his light blue eyes lit up along with a powerful grin.

Adam looked at his friend in disgust.  A mosquito was flying around Adam as he tried repeatedly to swat at it, failing miserably.

“It’s already humid as hell, why do the bugs have to add to it!?”

“Maybe they just find you so irresistible, dude.”  The boy smirked. “Something’s got to.”

“Ignoring that-”  Adam gave up on his attempt to kill the mosquito.  “Why are you waiting for me in front of my house?”

“I texted you though!  Asked if you wanted to do something today?”  Brandon took out his phone and pointed at it.  “Did you get it?”

“Oh.”  Adam pulled out his phone, realizing he did get a text.  “Sorry, didn’t look at it.”

“Weird, you were always on your phone 24/7 during high school.  Times must be changing, huh?”

“Yeah.  Not sure if I’m ready for it, to be honest.”

Brandon patted Adam on the shoulder.  “No worries, college will be a blast! I know you’re not one to party, but maybe getting you out and going to some will-”

Brandon’s idea was met with an ominous glare from Adam.

“So, uh… maybe not?  Well, that’s alright!  We’ll do cool things regardless!”  Brandon was silent for a moment, before a huge grinned formed on his face.

“And just know, if you need the room for some late night ‘activities’ just let me know ahead of time.  As I will with you. Cause…”

Adam started walking down the road towards the center of town, having lost all interest in what Brandon was talking about.  Brandon sighed.

“That’s fine, we’ll lay down those rules later on.”  Brandon ran and caught up with Adam.

“So, what do you want to do today?  Do you already have plans? You managed to actually get out of the house without anyone pushing you to.”

“Maybe.”  Adam responded.  “I was planning on just going for a walk, but if you’re here then we might as well do something.”

“Hmmm… what to do?”  Brandon pondered. “Well, there’s honestly not a whole lot to do here in town these days.  We could catch a bus to Nexus City. Or get Jerry to drive us? That’s a good idea actually!  Let’s see if he wants to hang out too! I’ll text him. I know he’s been busy with preparation for college, but maybe he’ll want a break?”

“That could be good…”  Adam stopped. Brandon turned back towards him after realizing he did so a few seconds later.

“In all honesty, I could be content with just walking around this town.  It’s very… relaxing to me. But I do want to do more. Even if I have to push myself to do something out of my comfort zone.  It’s been almost six months since I…” Adam paused. Brandon has a look of concern on his face, knowing exactly what Adam was referring to.

“…you guys all taught me that where I was… wasn’t a good place to be.  I want to be back where everyone else is, and not in my own lonely world.  Even if some things aren’t for me, this is the place where you guys are. After all you’ve done for me… I just don’t want to be a burden.”

Brandon let out a small laugh.  “Well, this ‘place’ that you’re talking about… the one where we are now.  It’s not all that great. I can see why you ‘left’ it. But I think the fact is that all of us are here together.  I mean, look at all the cool things in this world! We just gotta stick together and enjoy all the good we have!”

Adam smirked.  “Not sure you’re too good at sentimental talk.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”  Brandon shook his head. “Oh well, how about I go show you what I’m talking about?”

“You’re not gonna start singing to me, are you?”

“No, I don’t sing.”  Brandon pointed ahead.  “Come on, let’s go!”

 

Two sisters stood shoulder to shoulder:  Faith and Emma Roswell. The sun shimmered off their light brown hair; their eyes, matching the very same color were focused ahead.

The person that stood opposite of them was their mother, Pamela Roswell.  Her hands were placed firmly on her hips with a huge grin on her face.

The sisters were panting heavily, sweat dripping down their faces.  Emma, having longer hair as opposed to Faith’s bob cut, had to move her ponytail out of her face.  It was clear that they were going through some rough training, and the heat did not help them. Pam on the other hand did not seem exhausted at all.

“Alright, you two.  You’re doing great. One more round before I start getting an early dinner ready.”  Pam raised her hands up in the air and motioned for the two to come at her.

“We’re almost there… I’m so hungry.”  Faith complained. She began to take a few steps towards her mother.

Emma sighed.  “Sis, you’re always hungry.”  She slowly followed Faith’s motions.

Faith let out a small chuckle.  “But training…”

She dashed at her her mother with almost inhuman speed, fist clenched.

“Makes me even more hungry!”

Pam blocked the punch with ease.  “Your speed is good, but you’re attacking in very obvious-”  Before Pam could finish, Faith grabbed a hold of her mother’s arm.

Emma appeared behind Pam with the same speed Faith used.  Emma started to swing a kick towards her mother. With tremendous force, however, Pam was able to throw Faith behind her, intercepting the kick and sending both of the sisters flying.

“That was a pretty basic combo.  Yet, I’m impressed at how you two were able to coordinate that without speaking to each other.”

The sisters stood up in pain.  Without a doubt, if the two tried to take on their mother in a serious fight, they would lose with ease.  It was an obvious gap that was created with years of her experience.

Pam raised her arm slowly into the air.  With the movement of her fingers, steam began to emit from her body.  Faith looked down at her hands. Her expression turned into a somber one.

Emma stared in awe at her mother.  “It’s always amazing no matter how many times I see it.”

“My good old Ability, Steam Engine.”  Pam noticed her eldest daughter’s behavior.  “Faith, honey?”

“I want to get to the point where I can use my Ability as easily as you can, but…”  Faith’s body seemed to be shaking now. “It… it’s alright. This was something I’ve wanted to get over for a long time now.  I think it was sort of a blessing that it ended up being this.”

Pam nodded.  “That way of thinking works.  Always turn the tables on things like this.”

Faith took a deep breath and slowly let air out.  “Can… can I try it out, mom?”

“Absolutely you can.  Just take your time.” Pam breathed in as well, raising her arms up into the air;  A lot more steam was now coming out of her body. “It’s a part of you, remember that.”

Faith put her hands together as if she was holding something within them.  Closing her eyes, she continued to breathe in and breathe out. It was easy to tell that her breathing was unsteady, yet she continued to persist.  A few moments later, a small flame began to form within her hands.

“There you go sis!  You’re doing i-”

Pam shushed Emma, preventing Faith from losing too much focus.

“Open your eyes, sweetie.  Look at how beautiful your flame is.”

Faith did as she was told, opening her eyes gently.  It was true, the small orange flame that she created was so calming and warm to simply look at.  Faith was pleased at what she accomplished.

However, that did not last long:  Staring into the flame for too long caused her breathing to suddenly pick up.  Thoughts came rushing through her head almost instantly. She panicked and threw the flame out of her hands, which fell onto the ground.  The flame quickly dissipated. Faith sat down, seemingly unable to stay standing up due to her shaking.

“Hey!  Hey, sis, it’s okay!”  Emma grabbed her sister’s arm, trying to calm her down.  Pam let out a small sigh, the steam coming out of her body disappearing.

“I… I know.  It just sucks that I can’t help… that from coming into my mind.”  Faith was able to calm down just as quickly as the event began.  Pam walked over to her daughter and leaned over, placing her hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll get there.  No need to feel rushed, okay?”

“Yeah, I haven’t even awakened my own Ability yet!”  Emma gave Faith a thumbs up, “We’ve got time.”

“Thanks… I guess you’re right.”  Faith let out a rather loud sigh.  “I really need to turn the tables on this though, don’t I?”

Unknown to the family, Adam and Brandon had noticed their training session from the road as they were walking by.  They decided to walk into the yard to check it out.

“Yo, Adam.”  Emma completely ignored Brandon, who immediately grew a pissed off expression on his face.

“Is… is everything alright?”  Adam asked her. Emma nodded.

“Yeah, just testing some stuff out.”

“Hey, Adam!”  Pam greeted him.  “We’re just testing out Faith’s new power, nothing to be concerned about!”

Faith slowly looked up at him.  “Yeah… the flame has grown to be really pretty.”  She smiled at him giving the impression that she was okay.  Adam saw through it though.

Nevertheless, Adam smiled back at her.  He held out his hand. “Here. I’ll help you up.”

Faith noticed his hand.  This act triggered a sense of nostalgia within her.  She quickly stood up on her own, seemingly flustered.

“I- it’s okay!  I’m good! Thank you, though.”  Faith calmed down quickly and smiled back at him, this time sincerely.  “Thank you.”

Adam was confused, but didn’t think much of it.  “Yeah, no prob.”

“So, what are you doing on this side of town?”  Pam asked Adam. He turned around and pointed at Brandon, who was over near Emma.  “Brandon and I were heading over to Jerry’s to see if he wanted to do something today.  He’s not answering his texts so he’s probably busy. We don’t want him to get too busy and stress himself out.”

Brandon was glancing over at Adam, stomping his foot, riled up about something.  Emma turned towards him, “What’s your problem, idiot?”

He Looked at Emma, turning his irritation towards her.  “Hey, don’t call me an idiot. I’ll fight you.”

“And I’d kill you, idiot.”  Emma responded.  Brandon wanted to continue arguing, but he stopped:  He knew she was right.

“Oh, well you two are welcome to stay for dinner!  In fact, you can invite Jerry over as well! I know his dad is out of town for a conference.”

“Well, if you’re offering, then I don’t see why not.”  Adam responded. “We’d love to.” He looked in Brandon’s direction.  “Hey, we’re gonna have dinner here. Call Jerry and see if he’ll answer:  Invite him!” Adam shouted.

“Oh, great.  Now I have to be near you with forks and knives.”  Brandon sighed, pulling out his cell phone.

Emma snickered.  “Good, you’ll stay well behaved then.”

Faith seemed to be in a better mood now.

 

Adam and Brandon were sitting on the couch in the living room.  To the side of them, there was a chair which Emma was sitting in.  The television a few feet across from the couch was currently on, playing the news.  Adam and Emma were busy on their phones while Brandon seemed to be having some sort of crisis.

“What’s your issue?”  Emma asked him, irritated at his behavior.  Brandon didn’t respond. “Is is because my sister is in the other room showering?  It makes sense, since you’re a pervert.”

“It does, doesn’t it?”  Adam agreed in passing with Emma.  Brandon got angry,

“Hey!  Who’s side are you on?”

“I’m usually on everyone’s side.  I just favor people who make sense.”

Emma nodded.  “Yeah. If you try to sneak a peek on me when I go in there next I really will kill you.”

Brandon raised an eyebrow, getting a cocky smirk on his face.  “Now, why would I wanna sneak a peek of you, you-” Adam interrupted Brandon by clasping his hand over his friend’s mouth, not even looking up from his phone,  “You just want to die today, don’t you?”

Emma shook her head.  “Whatever. Honestly, I don’t care what you think of me.”

Adam let go of Brandon’s face, wiping his hand on the couch.  Brandon didn’t say anything; He just let out a small sigh.

Faith entered the room, wiping her hair with an orange towel.  She was now wearing a black t-shirt and brown shorts.

“Alright, Em.  Your turn.” Faith walked up to her sister who stood up from her chair.  “About time! What took you so long? Actually, don’t answer that.”

Emma walked into the other room while Faith took her seat.  “So! Is Jerry coming?”

“Yeah, he should be here shortly,”  Adam answered. “He said he was bringing a surprise.”

“Food related!?”  Faith’s face lit up.

“Yeah, I think so.”  Adam laughed lightly.  Faith cheered in anticipation.  Brandon was trying to focus on the news, trying his best not to have his eyes trail over to Faith.

“So, you guys are going to New Age University in the fall right?”  Faith asked the two.

“Yep, we sure are.  This guy right here is gonna be my roommate.”  Adam patted Brandon’s head mockingly, who swatted Adam’s arm off of him.  “Jerry got hooked up with enough scholarship money to get his own room in that big fancy dorm they have for Phantonics majors; I don’t think I told you that.”

Faith smiled,  “That’s great! New Age isn’t too far from Unity.  We might be able to visit each other sometimes…” Her voice trailed off as she looked at the ground.  Adam instantly knew what she was thinking about.

“Don’t worry, we will visit each other.”  Adam reassured her, drawing Faith’s eyes back up to him.  Brandon seemed to be aware of what she was thinking about as well.

“You’ve got Winona, don’t you?  You won’t be lonely! You two actually ended up being teammates, right?”  Brandon asked her.

“Yeah, we are.  Win’s always trained alongside me.  I’m glad we managed to actually be paired up together.”

Adam was briefly distracted by a report about dogs on the news, yet still paid attention to Faith.  “Yeah. So don’t worry about it.”

They heard the bell ring.  Adam was able to look away from the dogs as he stood up from the couch.  “Come on Brandon, let’s get the door. It’s probably Jerry.”

The two walked out of the room, Faith’s gaze following them.  She still had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation.

Pam walked out of the kitchen and met the two in the hallway.  “Oh, great. Thanks you two.” Adam nodded at her. They reached the door and opened it up.

Their eyes went immediately to the spiky red hair the person had, confirming it was in fact their friend, Jerry Peck.  He raised up a bag that was in his hand.

“I brought cookies.”

Faith appeared in between Adam and Brandon, seemingly out of nowhere.  Her eyes were lit up like stars and she was drooling profusely. She snatched the bag away from Jerry, who appeared to be  terrified. Before she could run off, Adam took the bag away from her.

“No.  Not until after dinner.”

Faith was disappointed, but agreed to Adam’s terms.  She sulked while walking back towards the living room.

“Anyway, come on in.”  Adam motioned to Jerry.  He nodded, taking off his shoes.  As he began walking into the house, he abruptly stopped.  Adam and Brandon turned back to him, curious as to why he stopped.  He started to smell the food cooking in the kitchen.

“No, no, no!”  Jerry shouted, storming into the kitchen.  Pam whirled around in surprise as he investigated her cooking on the stove.  “You’re cooking those chicken breasts at an absurd temperature. It’s all wrong!”

“It… it is?”  Pam was rather amused.  He nodded.

“Yes.  Here, I’ll help you.”  He turned towards Adam and Brandon.  “Don’t worry guys, this dinner will be amazing.”  The two slowly raised their hands, gave Jerry two thumbs up, and walked back into the living room.

 

After dinner, everyone was sitting at the kitchen table.  They all had an incredibly satisfied look on their face.

“Jerry, you can cook here anytime.”  Pam stated. Faith nodded in agreement, rubbing her stomach.

“Yeah.  Become my personal cook.”

Jerry blushed, laughing awkwardly.  “Nah, it’s nothing special.”

Brandon turned towards him.  “Jerry? Teach me how to cook?”

Jerry shook his head.  “Remember that chemistry lab a few years ago?  That’s what would happen if you cooked.”

Brandon was confused.  “Do you mean the cotton candy stuff that tasted like clay, or the fire?”

“Both, probably.”  Adam answered.

Brandon sighed.  “Oh well. You’re probably right.”

Pam stood up from the table.  “Now, it’s my turn for a shower.  You guys can stay as long as you want.”

The three boys thanked her for her hospitality as she walked out of the kitchen.  Adam turned towards Faith. “Hey, Faith?”

“What’s up?”

“I know I said not to worry earlier, but I do feel the same way you do.  We’re getting to that age where we may be more separated. It does kind of suck.”

Faith frowned, but nodded in agreement.  Jerry, who wasn’t there earlier, picked up on the topic pretty quickly.

“You know, guys.  We should all do stuff together this summer.  Before it’s school time again.” Jerry suggested.

Faith lit up.  “Yeah, we should!”

“I should probably join you guys as well.”  Emma suggested. “Michelle’s on vacation to the Bahamas all summer, so I’ve got nothing to do.”

“That’s fine.”  Adam looked around the table.  “So, what should we do?”

Everyone was silent, trying to figure out what would be fun.  Faith stood up and looked Adam in the eyes.

“An adventure!”

Adam’s eyes widened.  As children, they both came up with crazy adventures around Prelude and went on them all the time.  Her saying those two words was a blast from the past. Faith knew this, and grinned.

The others played with them as well back in the day, but weren’t aware of what “an adventure” entails.

“We’ll get things planned out, and go traveling.  All of us! We should all be able to fit in Jerry’s fancy car he’s got there, Win included!”  Faith seemed ecstatic.

“Yeah, I guess I can drive us around if we wanna go somewhere.  Just gotta take care of some things, but I should be able to go in a few days to somewhere.”  Jerry looked around the table. “You guys free?”

Everyone seemed to confirm that they were indeed able to be free.

“I’ll see what Win’s doing as well.  I’m sure we can get something figured out.”  Faith stood up from the table. “Now where’s my phone…”  She walked away to see where she left it, while Jerry stood up a few moments later.

“I need to get going.  Gotta finish up some work.  Can’t wait to go somewhere though!”  Jerry walked near the door, while the others followed closely behind.

“Yeah, I should go as well.”  Brandon stated, putting on his shoes just as Jerry was doing.  “My dad might need some help in his workshop. You mind giving me a ride Jerry?”

Jerry nodded at Brandon’s request.  He turned towards Adam. Want a ride as well?”

Nah, I kinda want to go for a walk before it gets dark out.  Should stop at the store to get some things. Thanks though.”

Faith walked up towards the group.  “Gah, I think I left in in the bathroom.  Oh well, I won’t bother mom. Don’t have to text Win right away anyhow, no big deal.”

Brandon and Jerry waved goodbye to everyone and began to head out the door.

“Shotgun!”  Brandon yelled.  Jerry turned toward him with a slightly confused expression.

“You’re the only other person in the car, though…”

As the two went towards Jerry’s silver SUV parked in the driveway, Faith turned to Adam.  “Not going with them?”

Adam explained to Faith what he just told Brandon and Jerry.  Faith nodded in understanding. Her face suddenly lit up.

“Oh!  This is perfect timing!  Come on, I wanna show you something.”

“Oh?  Sure.”  Faith beckoned Adam as she led him into the living room.  Emma looked at them, then glanced at the door. She turned back to the living room and once again, the door.

“Guess I’ll go in my room and play a game or something?  I dunno.”

 

Faith reached under the couch and pulled out a small cardboard box.  Adam had no idea what could be in it.

“I was cleaning the other day, getting some stuff prepared early for the move.  I came across… this stuff.”

Opening the box revealed several photos.  They were all pictures of Adam, Faith, and Emma as kids.  One was of the three trying to fish at the local creek. Adam almost got pulled in by a gigantic fish while Faith and Emma held onto him for dear life.  Another was of Faith and Emma having a tea party with all of their stuffed animals. Adam seemed to be an unhappy guest of the party, but still participated.

“Wow… can’t believe you found this stuff.”  Adam was amazed at the pure nostalgia these pictures held.  They each sat down on the couch. “We were always together when we were younger, weren’t we?”

Faith began giggling almost uncontrollably.  “I almost forgot about this one!”

She held up a picture of Adam pretending to be a brave night who was rescuing the princess, Faith, from a dragon, which was portrayed by Emma.

“You always played the hero role, didn’t you?  Well, not always. I played the hero sometimes.”  Faith smirked. “You even played the princess that one time.  That was hilarious.”

Adam said nothing, simply sighing.  “Yeah, that was fun. I liked playing the dragon as well.”

“Yeah, the hero and dragon roles are always the best, since those are the two who fight each other.”  Faith nodded at her own statement.

“So, yeah.  I didn’t always play the hero.”  Adam started to pick up random photos and go through them.  There was silence for a few moments.

“Well, I think you have.”

“Huh?”  Adam turned towards Faith, confused at what she meant.

“The hero.  You’ve always been like one…”

Adam rustled his hair a little bit.  “I mean, I’m not too sure about that.”  Adam set the pictures down and looked ahead towards the floor.

“I know you’ve been afraid of using your power.”  Adam said bluntly. Faith seemed startled at this topic being brought up.

“I get why, after what happened all those years ago.”  Adam put his hands together, just as Faith does when trying to create her flame.  “Well, when it comes down to it, those flames that you’re afraid of… well, they saved me.  So I guess that makes you a hero too. I can’t be the only one, okay?”

Faith stared at Adam, seemingly wanting to say a million things, but could not get any of them to come out.

“Don’t be afraid of something that can save someone.”  Adam stood up from the couch. “I know you can do it.”

“Adam…”  Faith stood up as well.  “See, this is what I mean by the hero thing.  You always know great things to say like that!”

Adam chuckled.  “I mean, I guess.  If it helps you out, that’s all that mat-”

He was met with a firm embrace.  Adam could barely move his arms as Faith held him.

“Thank you, for everything.  Just know… I’ve got your back, alright?”

“Well, I mean sure you do.  Your hands are on my back at the moment.”  Adam returned the hug, although it was done somewhat awkwardly.

Faith slowly let go of Adam, giggling.  “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah.”  Adam formed a smile, and nodded.  “I’ve got yours too.”

The two stared at each other, not noticing the presence standing at the entryway to the living room.

“Am I interrupting something?”  The two turned to see Pam smirking at them.

“M-mom!”  Faith jumped back onto the couch.  Adam seemed unfazed.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”  Pam laughed.

“Well, I should be going.  Gotta do my walk and get to the store.”  Adam gave a wave to Faith, who waved back.

“I’ll see you later, Adam.”

Adam looked back and nodded.  As he walked towards the door, Pam followed behind.

“I gotta get something out of the car, I’ll be right back Faith!”

“Kaaaaay!”  Faith yelled back to her mom, as she went out the door with Adam.

Outside, Adam turned towards Pam, knowing well that “getting something out of the car” was a filthy lie.

“What’s up?”  Adam asked her.

“You’re sharp.  I’m really glad you got that from your mother…”  Pam reached into her pocket and pulled out a plain white envelope.  “I was helping Faith out with cleaning, and I found this along with the pictures you guys were looking at.”  She handed the envelope to Adam.

“What’s in it?”  Adam started to open it, only to be stopped by Pam.

“I had to read it to see what it was, of course.  So I know what it is. I want you to promise me you’ll only open it when you’re feeling your lowest, alright?”

“Hm?”  Adam tilted his head in confusion.  Now he was even more curious. Holding out the envelope in front of him, he eventually decided to put it in his pocket.  “Alright, sure. I can do that.”

“Well, I hope you don’t get to your lowest again.  But if it ever happens… hopefully that’ll help.” Pam placed her hand on Adam’s shoulder and looked him directly in the eye.  “You have a family here, don’t forget that.”

Those words caught him off guard.  He did not expect Pam to say something like that.  It meant a lot more to Adam than one would think.

“Yeah… thanks.”  Adam said his goodbyes to Pam and headed off.

Continue to Chapter 1.1 (Second Half)