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Post by Kaylin Cross on Oct 31, 2009 21:52:13 GMT -5
Strange things had been plaguing the young drummer lately, and it was all he could do to keep his mind from the questions he couldn't figure out the answers to. It had all started the day he found his alarm clock crystallized. At first, he thought it was some sort of joke - a prank he didn't quite comprehend. But when he showed it to his parents, they both denied any knowledge of the strange occurrence. An online search of geodes and other crystals had turned up nothing... Crystals could only grow in a certain kind of environment, according to everything he read.
It was all about liquids, and pressures and stuff that was a bit over his head. Even if he might like science, it didn't mean he necessarily understand all of the different things covered under Wikipedia. Still. Recently, they seemed to be popping up everywhere. The last few trees in the forest behind his house - the ones at the end of his morning run. The side of his house, and even a few things around school.
Running his fingers through his unusually messy hair, he let out a gentle sigh. He was running out of people to ask, and if this was some sort of joke, all it was doing was making him tug at his hair a little more, and make him waste his allowance on a new alarm clock. That was probably the most irritating part, in his opinion - money was not free flowing when you were his age.
Now, he was sitting in the largest library in St. Louis, staring at a computer screen with a large database listing of books relating to his search queries. 'Crystal Growing, Strange Places, Person'. There was nothing of any particular interest in his opinion... nothing with any answers, it seemed. He squinted, before letting his head smack the keyboard in exaggerated exasperation. The computer let out a protesting alarm, and he grumbled at it.
Looking up at the screen, he apparently had managed to click... something. The image on the screen was of a book's dust jacket, proudly declaring "Activating Evolution." What possible relation that had to crystals was beyond him - but it was at least looking in a new direction. If he had to read one more book about the atomic structure of a crystal, he'd go nuts.
He stood up, leaving the search on the screen, before he started towards the appropriate section, where this brand new book would be, more than likely, another dead end.
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Post by Jacob Mayson on Nov 1, 2009 22:54:22 GMT -5
Jacob needed answers, and that was why he had come to St. Louise. He had contacted a former client and somewhat friend. That guy owed him a favor and now he had come to ask for that favor. Jacob had begun to hear voices; he didn’t believe he was becoming schizophrenic. But he knew that you could never be too sure about things like that, especially considering his medical history. Jacob had been put under one of those brain activity scans. It had been a little uncomfortable but he had gotten used to it. This was day four after all; his client believed that what he saw was wrong. He had asked Jacob to tell him whenever he could hear voices. And whenever he could, the brain scan showed extremely high scores. So high that it wasn’t humanly possible. The brain doctor thingy couldn’t tell him anything, though he told him to go read a certain book, it covered superhuman phenomena. Right now that was his only answer to this. Oh god I am not going to make it!
Why isn’t he answering?
What am I doing here? His brain was instantly bombarded with the thoughts of the people inside the library, it wasn’t pleasant, it actually gave him a minor headache. But Jacob was prepared now; he had taken a bottle of painkillers with him, and now swallowed two of them, just to take the edge off of the incomming headache. Jacob walked over to one of the computers, it had just been used, and the guy who had used it seemed to be on his way to find a book somewhere. What the guy had been looking for was still on the screen, it was the same book as he was looking for. Jacob looked at the field telling him where to find the book in this big library, and began to walk the same way as the other person. Jacob could hear thoughts coming from him to, though it waslike they were muffled or something. |
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Post by Kaylin Cross on Nov 1, 2009 23:07:35 GMT -5
His fingers became like dowsing rods, running over book after book in the aisle the computer had indicated. It was strange - he was only looking for this book as a break, but there was something about it that just kept ringing in his head. Crystals weren't typically 'organic', persay, they could only grow, not evolve. Had that been why Evolution was on the book? But even then, why had it been picked up in his search? It was a mystery he was almost eager to take on, a temporary diversion from his current predicament.
The kid paused, glancing over his shoulder, to the guy who had appeared in the row of books. He smiled a bit, politely, before returning to his search. Suresh. That was such a strange name, too - he wasn't a linguist, and so he couldn't dream of pegging where the guy was from to have such a weird name. Or if it was a guy at all... Chandra? Weird stuff. Shrugging at that, he knelt down, close to the floor, where his eyes easily scanned for the book.
He tugged it off the shelf, holding what was apparently the only copy. He flipped it over, in the worn dust jacket, to read the description. He'd forgotten - dust jackets typically had their description in the sleeve, instead of on the back. Instead, he saw Suresh, who looked back at him contemplatively. "Hrmph. The heck does this guy have to do with crystals?!" He asked, exasperatedly, flipping the book open. He stepped to the side, so just in case he was in the guy's way, he... well, wouldn't be.
Eyes eagerly scanned the page, checking the table of contents. The strangest part was that there seemed to be no answers. Not there. But a few odd titles.
Telepathy. Rapid cellular regeneration. Electrical conductivity. Pyrokinesis. "What the..." He murmured, letting the thought trail off. Nothing about this book seemed relevant to his current predicament. Flipping a couple more pages, he read a few lines of script. Ordinary people, extraordinary abilities...
What... did that mean?
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Post by Jacob Mayson on Nov 1, 2009 23:35:24 GMT -5
Ordinary people, extraordinary abilities... [/i] A seemingly strong and clear thought reached Jacob’s brain, it was a like a question, or rather a statement, maybe he was just reading things out loud in his mind. Jacob had accepted the fact that what was happening could be something superhuman, heck he knew his wife was an evolved human, so he could be one to. All Jacob wanted was some answers. “ Emmm… Is that the book Activating Evolution?” Jacob asked friendly and very clearly. For some reason Jacob had a hard time heard what the person was thinking and what the person was saying out loud, though that problem only seemed to surface when he was close to whomever he was hearing the thoughts of? Jacob was only guessing that it would be the book this guy was holding, the only lead he had to use to think like that, were the fact that this guy had been looking it up on the computer only a few seconds ago. Of course he knew that proved nothing; He himself could also sit and watch on totally random things when he was done working. “ Oh sorry, how rude of me, My name is Jacob, and you might be?” Jacob said friendly. He knew there was no reason for him to be rude, especially when people seemed to be more willing to give him information when he played nice. Jacob knew he didn’t look that frightening, he was wearing a pair of normal jeans and a normal, though a little long unzipped jacket, and of course a white T-shirt. That would not be frightening; he knew that much or at least he thought so. |
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Post by Kaylin Cross on Nov 1, 2009 23:46:54 GMT -5
He had been enthralled, momentarily, by the words that seemed to explain nothing, and everything, all at the same time. Not necessarily about crystals - he was in the part about pyrokinesis. It was very similar to what he was experiencing as of late, though, without the flame-broiled aftereffects. He began to nibble on his lip, vaguely wishing he had a handful of sunflower seeds - he always thought best when he had something to chew on, and he rarely had a bloody lip afterwards. He very visibly jumped, though, at the voice. His eyes widened, and he looked up at him.
"Oh... uh, yeah. Sorry, do you need this, too? I'll only be a few more minutes, I think..." Granted, he really wanted to keep reading, it was only a side effect. It took him a second to get a full view of the guy - dressed in common fashion for an easy day, similar to himself, though he was in a bit warmer attire. A nice blue hoodie, washed just today so that it still had the 'freshly clean' smell from the dryer. He looked into the other guy's eyes, with both respect and a bit of rebelliousness.
He smiled, easily, at him, nodding. "My name's Kaylin. It's nice to meet you. This is just..." He looked down at the book, and froze. His features had turned dark, in just an instant - the book itself, was completely encased in a thin sheen of pristine, albeit translucent crystal. Crystal that was rapidly growing, at a rate that shouldn't be possible. Almost immediately, he dropped it, taking a step away. "... school... project." He murmured, staring down at it.
Well. He wasn't losing his mind. And it certainly wasn't a trick. Panic was flooding his every core, and his heart was beating rapidly, now. "What... the hell? What's going on?" He murmured, not yet looking back up at him. Yeah, what the hell else could he say to that?
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Post by Jacob Mayson on Nov 2, 2009 0:07:48 GMT -5
"Oh... uh, yeah. Sorry, do you need this, too? I'll only be a few more minutes, I think..." “Yeah I do, but no need to hurry I can wait.” Jacob said, assuring the guy that he had no problems with waiting, patience was needed as a private investigator. If you had no patience then you wouldn’t get anyway in this profession. Jacob moved his eyes quickly over the guy, he seemed to be dressed casually to, though a little warmer. Jacob had to admit it was a little cold outside, but well he hadn’t thought St. Louise would be this cold.
"My name's Kaylin. It's nice to meet you. This is just... ... school... project." Jacob was about to say something like ‘nice to meet you to’ But the book got crystallized, and looking at Kaylin’s facial expression, that was not supposed to happen "What... the hell? What's going on?" Kaylin’ wasn’t the only one being affected by the surprising crystallization of the book, Jacob was getting pretty affected to. Though this was by all the guy’s questions and panic thoughts, it wasn’t pleasant and it worsened his already very bad headache. “Would you mind taking it easy Kaylin, this is no time for panic attacks.” Jacob said, trying to keep his head cold.
Jacob needed something calming, like sedatives. Jacob wasn’t a drug addict but lack of sleep, and giant headache didn’t help. Jacob kneeled down to take a closer look at the book, it seemed to be growing, as if the crystal encasing the book was living, this was certainly something he hadn’t seen before. “Kaylin, have this happened before?” Jacob asked calmingly. He took out a pen from his pocket and poked the crystallized book. After the second poking, the pen was stuck, it had seemingly been attaced to the still growing stone.
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Post by Kaylin Cross on Nov 2, 2009 0:22:38 GMT -5
No time for a panic attack? Was this guy crazy? The book was crystal. Or... or at least covered in it. Crystal that was still growing, so much so that it had already coated the tip of the pen that was being used as a scientific device. His brows knitted together, at the question - how was this guy just so calm? Who was he, to be able to just take this whole thing in stride? It was not every day that nice books happened to spontaneously grow crystals.
"I... yeah... sort of. I mean, around the house... stuff..." He was freaking out. Had he done that? Was that book proving something to him? His hand, which was now pressed against the bookcase, could feel a similar coolness underneath his fingers. It was a dull sensation, and, when he looked, there were crystals growing there, too. "Dude... what... what the hell?"
None of this made any sense. He was struggling with the book doing it, and now the bookcase, too? He stumbled back, and, the further he got away from the book, the less it's crystal grew, until it stopped, completely. He already started out of the aisle, away from the crystalline growths that he seemed to be making with just the touch of his hand. Midas without the gold, it seemed.
Wincing, he pressed himself against a wall, realizing that this was a wall-ending aisle all too late. But he was a good ten feet from both of the things, and neither was spreading any more. "Nuts. I'm going crazy. The doc said this might happen..." Well, not THIS, exactly, but definitely that the pain meds he was still occasionally taking would make him see weird shit.
Was this weird shit enough? "I'm crazy. No way did that just happen." All but oblivious to the other party who'd been involved, he finally looked to Jacob. "Did you see that, too?" Of course he had. It was his pen now half-encased in crystal, too.
Brilliant. He was just brilliant today.
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Post by Jacob Mayson on Nov 2, 2009 0:46:45 GMT -5
"I'm crazy. No way did that just happen. Did you see that, too?" “yes I did, and I can assure you, you aren’t going crazy.” Jacob said, still calmly, taking little notice of the fact that Kaylin was walking away from the crystal. The crystal seemed to be stopping in its growth, maybe it had a set amount of time it could grow and then it stopped? Jacob was thinking of reasons to why it stopped. But then he noticed how far away Kaylin had walked, and it all seemed to fit into place, Kaylin was indeed the one responsible, and when he was close it grew.
“Kaylin I know this is hard to believe, but yes you are the cause of this.” Jacob said he kind of understood this guy. Jacob had had problems with believing in what his wife had been telling him about her abilities, but with time he had accepted that what she said was true. “Kaylin would you mind coming closer, there is no need to stand that far away.” Jacob said he wasn’t scared of Kaylin. Jacob kind of had a hunch that Kaylin was a good guy who had gotten a very uncontrollable ability. Jacob had seen how it could affect people; it could end up being not so pretty, so he was going to help this guy with understanding. What was happening to him.
“Kaylin, when did this start happening?” Jacob asked, trying to make the guy think more calmly and less panicky. Jacob had experience in talking with people, and that experience told him to calm Kaylin down by making this sound like small-talk, even if he did not think so. Being calm made other people calm, that was how it usually worked.
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Post by Kaylin Cross on Nov 2, 2009 1:00:40 GMT -5
He paused, in his thought process, as Jacob started talking to him. He was trying to talk him down - he couldn't tell that, persay, but he'd heard of it. Like hostage negotiation or something, if the situation was calm, then everything would be better. His mind was slowly starting to assert control, and he was, above all else, starting to take deep breaths. His heartbeat was elevated, still, but it was steadily returning to normal.
Start happening? "Uh..." He had to take another deep breath, and close his eyes. His alarm clock was the first thing he noticed. Then, the wall... trees... appliances. "A week and a half ago, I think? It's... I thought someone was playing a joke on me. Crystals don't just grow places. That's not how it works." He said, explaining at least why he was here. His hands, pressed against the wall, did not seem to be having the crystallizing effect any more - the fact that he was calmer, even a little bit, was a good thing.
Freaking was a problem. Freaking made him turn stuff to crystal. Right?
Coming close, though, was another situation entirely. His eyes narrowed on Jacob, and he couldn't come up with anything other than to shake his head. "No way, man. Not if... not if I'm making that stuff grow." He replied, uncertainly. That made the most sense, right? If he was doing it, he should stay away, so as to keep it from growing some more.
He wasn't panicked, any more, which was at least a good thing. Jacob was having something of a calming effect on him, and making him talk about it was working. Thinking erased the panic, which was slowly returning him to some sembalnce of normal.
Craziness was the easier of the two realities. If he was nuts, then that was perfectly fine. If he was making this crystal stuff happen, then... well... what did that make him?
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Post by Jacob Mayson on Nov 2, 2009 1:12:31 GMT -5
"A week and a half ago, I think? It's... I thought someone was playing a joke on me. Crystals don't just grow places. That's not how it works." This made Jacob think, his ability had, or what he thought could be an ability had start a week maybe week and a half too. Maybe there was a connection, maybe not. He had to know some more, but he knew pressing answers out of the guy would do no good since he could lie, or just try to run away. Considering how he had behaved and escape attempt didn’t seem that unlikely. Freaking was a problem. Freaking made him turn stuff to crystal. Right? “ Yes it does.” Jacob said he had heard the voice maybe the thought of Kaylin again, but without noticing he had answered it as if Kaylin had said it out loud. Of course Jacob had yet to notice that. "No way, man. Not if... not if I'm making that stuff grow." “ Do you still make things into crystals?” Jacob asked, looking at the wall Kaylin had been touching only a few seconds ago. Jacob had gotten a theory, but he needed it to be proven right or not. Actually it was more logical thinking of a scientific theory. When he had that crystal transforming effect, he made the crystals grow. When he didn’t make things into crystals, then maybe he wouldn’t make it grow. He wanted to see if that theory was true, but again forcing someone never helped. Especially considering that this guy’s power seemed to work on emotions.
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Post by Kaylin Cross on Nov 2, 2009 1:32:21 GMT -5
He paused, when Jacob answered the question he'd been asking himself. In his head. In his brain. Already, alarms were starting to flag in his head. There was no way. "This is so messed up." He said, shaking his head. Had that guy read his mind? This total stranger, who seemed to be so calm about the fact that he'd just turned stuff in to crystals, was apparently reading his thoughts. Answering questions he hadn't even asked.
Still. It could be coincidence. It wasn't like coincidence didn't happen, after all. He gritted his teeth together. His hand was beginning to throb, and he was not a happy camper. "So..." He looked down at the wall, where his hands were still resting. No more crystals had sprouted where he has keeping his fingers, and nothing seemed to be going crazy any more. He took a deep breath, and let it out once more, steeling himself for the steps he had to take.
Forward.
Two steps brought him within arm's reach of the crystal on the bookshelf. It seemed that it was just as unresponsive as if it were a totally natural crystal. As he came closer, the book remained in it's frozen state, though it's prison wasn't expanding any more, either. A sigh of relief passed through his lips, until he knelt, gently, next to the book. This was not normal.
Telepathy. Rapid cellular regeneration. Electrical conductivity. Pyrokinesis.
Ordinary people. Extraordinary abilities.
Normal this was definitely not. "What is this, then?" He asked, looking to Jacob. He was the calm one. Maybe he had some answers for Kaylin to cling to.
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Post by Jacob Mayson on Nov 2, 2009 11:21:28 GMT -5
"This is so messed up." “Yeah I know it feels like that.” Jacob said still as calm as if he was speaking to someone that most likely could not turn him into crystals when they got angry. Jacob knew that Kaylin was coming closer, and yet the crystals weren’t growing. Jacob smiled slightly, he had been right, at least right now.
"What is this, then?" “What do you mean?” Jacob looked slightly confused at Kaylin; he hadn’t heard what he was thinking. Or at least not taken any notice of it. Instead Jacob moved his eyes onto what Kaylin was looking at, the small list of powers. “Well I certainly do not think it is either Pyrokinesis or Telepathy.” Jacob said slightly jokingly, simply to lighten the atmosphere. “Well whatever it is Kaylin; it is a part of you…. Be happy about that, it is not something evil.” Jacob said, he knew that even if the ability was evil in nature it could still be used for good, his wife was a living proof of that.
“How are you feeling about all this?” Jacob asked he certainly hoped his little advised had helped, if only just a little bit. That was why he had become a private investigator, to help people. Of course this wasn’t exactly in his job description, but it was necessary. He knew that without proper guidance and teachings then a kid like Kaylin was easily corrupted and manipulated with. Jacob looked over at Kaylin as if trying to see a confirmation or revelation of what Jacob was going to say, but Jacob was way to unsure this time to make any conclusions.
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Post by Kaylin Cross on Nov 3, 2009 1:03:11 GMT -5
Feeling?
"Feeling about what? The fact that you seem to be reading my mind for me, or the fact that I'm turning stuff in to rock? Or at least... I dunno, covering it. I mean, it's kind of weird that you should pop up right now, when all this strange stuff is happening..." He hadn't even given any thought to what 'good' or 'evil' connotations this might have... whatever this... was.
A part of him, that he didn't entirely think he wanted. "Dude, this is not normal. I'm normal." Already, he was starting to feel that almost deliberate pounding of his heart. This WAS too crazy to be true. His foot nudged the crystallized book, just for confirmation that, yeah, it was there. And of course, it WAS. That... that was a problem.
"So what, I'm some kind of freak, then? How the hell am I supposed to feel about this? Yesterday I was eating poptarts and playing the drums, today I'm growing crystals with my fingers." Of course, that wasn't entirely true - he hadn't eaten poptarts yesterday. But he'd been apparently growing crystals for a little over a week.
Closing his eyes, squeezing them shut, he took a deep breath, after hearing a woman tell them to be quiet from a couple aisles over. Last thing he needed was someone coming around and seeing this little parade of apparent superpowers. "What, gonna tell me you can fly, next?" He asked, almost acidically.
Deep down, he knew he was overreacting. He even thought that to himself. But it was hard to do anything BUT, in this situation. He had to come up with a way to deal with this, other than just yelling and freaking out. As he'd already figured out, freaking out was bad for him.
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Post by Jacob Mayson on Nov 3, 2009 1:22:45 GMT -5
"What, gonna tell me you can fly, next?" “I wish I could, then I could spare a lot of money on plane tickets.” Jacob said still keeping calm. He knew Kaylin was frustrated, not only because he could hear it from the thoughts in his head, but also because of the way he spoke. The way Kaylin lashed out for Jacob as if he was a threat told him more than what a hundred words could. “Calm down Kaylin, you can still play your drums and eat those things… You can still be normal.” Jacob said, looking directly into Kaylin’s eyes.
Jacob decided it had been enough kneeling for now and therefore got up into a standing position. His knees hurt slightly from having the weight of his body on top of them. Jacob didn’t know what he should tell this guy, this being special kind of thing had also just started for him. But he had kind of gotten a head start considering that he had had time to get used to people with powers, while he lived with one of them.
“Well Kaylin, if you want an advice, don’t let this scare you away from life... Never give in, take control.” Jacob said, he had said something like this to his wife to, and it had worked for her. But then again she was a drug addict, so she had a control problem, but only because she was taking drugs to avoid her power. “There is not much I can tell you besides that, you will get used to it with time.” Jacob continued slightly calmer that before. It made him kind of happy to help this poor guy, if only what he said really could help him. Jacob hoped Kaylin wasn’t going to expect any bigger answers, because he did not have that.
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Post by Kaylin Cross on Nov 3, 2009 2:25:45 GMT -5
Tugging at his collar, he let out an easy sigh. Jacob didn't HAVE to be trying so calmly to make him all right with this. He could be freaking out at the whole ordeal, which would only make things worse. Glumly, he shook his head. "Normal seems kind of out of the question." He said, trying to take a nice, deep breath. "Even if I get to keep eating poptarts, what's to say I don't somehow bite it and it turns in to rocks? That would suck."
He scratched the back of his head, easily. Take control. Of his power? The idea still sounded ludicrous, and he'd seen it happen twice in the span of five minutes. But, as ludicrous as it was, his whole outlook on life at one point had been somehow being a superhero. He remembered how cool it would be. Now, of course, he knew better - the superheroes didn't usually make it. But still.
"What does it mean? That I can do this? Did I do something right? Or like, am I just out of the ordinary?" He asked, hoping the question fell within the scope of Jacob's understanding. But his own tone was that of a reluctant trust. After all, who the hell else was he going to tell about this? Certainly not anyone in his band, or at home... that might just be completely crazy. Things could get out of hand.
And what about the government? In the movies, the government always stepped in. "Am I gonna be in trouble, or something? I mean, there's no one coming to get me 'cause of this, right?" Another loud shushing sound came out, and he almost snapped something back. Crossing his arms at his chest, he bit his lip.
Ordinary people. Extraordinary powers.
He could only guess at what that guy meant.
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