The Talents of the Fallen - 8. Part Eight: The Game

Chapter Eight: The Game

Over the days that followed Andrew displaced those atop the school’s social hierarchy. It didn’t take too long for him to learn that Aaron was at the very bottom of it. With his goggle like dark glasses and sliver white hair he stuck out like a sore thumb. His shy demeanor and thin skin didn’t help matters much either.

That left Andrew in quite a bind. Dr. Harris wanted him to gain the trust of the other students but hanging around Aaron was so socially toxic it was coming down to picking one over the other. Most of the other students believed he was stringing Aaron around only to humiliate him at the worst moment. Many of them had done the same.

“Hey Andrew… catch.” Andrew caught the football and high-fived his teammate.

It was homecoming week and everyone was hyped. The school was already 4-0 and looked destined for another regional championship. It had already been decided by all the important clicks that Andrew would be homecoming king. What was still a mystery was who would be his queen. As a freshman quarterback on the varsity team his dating life was in a sort of no man’s land. He was too young to be dating the girls above him but none of the freshmen were considered ‘cool’ enough to be seen dating him.

To solve the problem he decided to look outside the school to the Girls’ Lakes Academy in Evanston. So on that cool September night Talia was cheering along with the other students as the team aimed for a 5-0 record.

Sitting next to her was Aaron. “So, Andy has told me all sorts of things about his new best bud so it’s nice to finally meet him.”

“He has.” Aaron choked on a mouth full of popcorn.

“Pop?” She offered him her diet coke.

“No… I’m okay.”

“Anyhow… you’re all he talks about these days and now I can see why. You’re just so adorable.” The girl, Talia, gave him a peck on the cheek. “So how are classes going?”

“Okay.”

“Dr. Harris says you’re doing wonderfully though you could do with some help in the girl department.”

“Girl?”

“Girl as in girlfriend… or is it a boyfriend you’re after? We can never tell with your sort. Either way I know the perfect girl or guy for ya. Just leave it to me.”

“Uhmmm.” Doubting there was any way for him to gain control of the conversation he knew better than to argue.

“No thanks are necessary. All I want is to see you happy. That’s all any of us want. To see Aaron Mays happy as a clam.” Using her Talent she floated the bottle of soda back to the wood floorboard.

It had taken a month but by this point he had gotten used to what Dr. Harris called Talent. That didn’t mean he liked it or that he had expected Talia to have what Dr. Harris called, the Talent. “Bathroom.”

“TMI.”

“TMI?

“Too much information. If you need to take a dump just say you will be back in a minute.”

“Back soon.”

“Yes. I’m going to have to have a chat with Dr. Harris. He’s clearly left a big chunk of your education off the syllabus.”

Aaron didn’t stay to be further berated. Climbing down from the top bleachers he went beneath to the stadium bathroom. Seeing they had been closed for maintenance he looked around. The only one he could see was the visiting team locker room. Not knowing where else to go he went in.

On entering his nose curled as it pick up a nasty stink. Doing his best to hurry he went to an empty urinal and unzipped his pants.

Soon he heard a group of boys enter. They were all laughing. Being naïve Aaron wasn’t prepared for what happened next.

“Hey this isn’t bad shit.” One of the boys shouted after taking a smoke from a pipe.

“Be quite. You don’t want the vice principle snooping around. Now where’s the money.” The kid who had to be the dealer demanded.

“Here’s my share.” Another student passed a wade of cash over to the drug dealer.

“What about yours?” The dealer demanded.

“Here’s my sixty.” Aaron recognized the voice. Ted, his number one tormentor was only a few yards away. The sound of his voice alone caused Aaron to relive the beatings and rapes. He knew he had to get out of there but lacked the courage.

“Sixty? The deal was for twenty a hit. I gave you ten hits so you owe $200.”

“You know I can get it for fifty in the south side so as far as I see it sixty is a good deal.”

“If you want it for 5 dollars a hit then I suggest you go get in that Lexus of yours and drive down there and get it yourself. The deal was for 200 and that’s how much I’m going to get.”

“Or what? You’re daddy the sheriff is going to arrest me? My dad owns your dad and the city council with it. Nothing is going to happen to me but you better bet shit will happen to you if you think you can mess me up.”

“Why you!” There was the sound of fists and shouting.

Aaron was about to turn and flee when one of the kids tripped over him. “Shit where did the retard come from?” One of the kids asked.

“How the hell should I know? He fell from sky for all I know.”

“Does anyone know who he is?”

“I do…” Aaron tormentor laughed. “Hey ghost boy, get over here. I got something for ya.” He cupped his crotch and gave it a squeeze.

Aaron looked up and saw Ted Ascot. At his feet was the dealer. His right hand held a jack knife dripping red with blood. As for you Quinton… I want another ten hits by next week.”

“That will be 200.” The dealer groaned. He had a firm hold of his bleeding left arm.

“No… it will be 60. If 50 is good enough for them 60 good enough for you. And oh… don’t think of running to daddy. He knows who butters his bread.”

Quinton ran.

“You shouldn’t have pulled a knife on him Mick… that was stone cold crazy.” Ted said.

“Tough shit ain’t it. Now about the retard… you think you’re up for some tough shit.”

Aaron squirmed trying to free himself. It did him no good.

“Let the kid go Mick. He ain’t going to talk.”

“Of course he won’t. That doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with him.” Mike ran the side of the knife a centimeter above Aaron’s throat. “In the mood for some boy pussy?”

“Not me…” One of three older boys said.

“Good then you can hold him down while the rest of us plow him.” He shoved Aaron at the other boy. “Take him to the showers. We can wash away the evidence when we’re done with him. “How soon till halftime?”

“One of the youths popped their head out but quickly came back. “They’re 8 minutes into the first quarter.”

“Plenty of time...” Mick went over to the showers where Aaron already had his pants ripped down to his knees. When he noticed Aaron’s goggles were off he put them back on. “Wouldn’t want you to miss the show.”

Just as he let his pants fall to his knees they heard the tap-tap-tap of heels on concrete floor. Turning around they saw a young woman in a black dress and pumps. “Well boys… are we starting the fun without me?”

“Get the girl.”

Two of the boys moved in on Talia.

“Play nice boys.”

“Just drop those silk panties of yours we’ll be real nice to ya missy.” One of the boys charged at Talia. When he was within reach of her breasts he reach out to tear off her blouse but when he did so she grabbed him by both wrists, side stepped out of the way and flung him back behind her and into the wall of unpainted cinderblocks. There was a crack and his nose was snapped. She looked at the other one and waved him towards her. “I don’t know about you but I didn’t think he was really up for the job. Do you think you’re man enough to take me?”

“You bitch.” He was going to show her what a real man was like. He would then cut up that pretty face of hers so no other man would want her.

She allowed him to take one step towards her. He then froze in place. She circled around him. Her heels click like the trigger of a gun. “You’re not a man. You’re not even a boy. You know what you are?” She leaned over, letting him get a good look at her breast. “You’re a worm… and we all know how smart worms are.”

The kid’s eyes went vacant as drool dripped from his slacken jaw. He fell and began squirming on the floor.

She move on to the showers and found someone was already dealing with the situation.

Aaron sat in one corner, his knees up to his eyes quivering. The kid who had been holding Aaron down lay conscious with a cracked skull among shattered tiles. As for Mick, he was being sodomized by his own knife. By his moans he seemed to be enjoying it.

“And people say I’m a cold hearted bitch.” Talia went over to the man forcing the knife in and took it away from him. She turned on the shower to wash the blade off.

“He deserves it.” The youth said.

“That’s not for you to decide my dear. They live in their world and we in ours. The two are not supposed to mingle.”

He pointed to where Aaron sat crying. “Then why is he here instead of Lakes?” His words were filled with the sort of anger triggered by deep pain.

“You would have to take that up with Dr. Balthazar. I’m sure he has his reasons. Placing two fingers on the flats of the blade she wiped away what was left of the blood and shit. “Do you want to clean up the mess or should I?” She saw the rage in his eyes. She snapped the knife closed and pocketed it. “Leave it to me. You just make sure the boy gets back home safely… and keep your hands off him Jon.”

“I…”

“I know how you work… got the charisma of a god, and the attitude of a demon. The boy’s been through enough… anyway I don’t think this mess is as simple as it seems. The Liaisons will have to get involved. Too bad. They always do thinks by the book. Cross every ‘T’ and dot every ‘I’.” She went over to Jon and showed him her tits. “If it were up to us you and I could paint the town red. It would be soooo much fun. Don’t you think?”

“Sorry Talia but I’m not in the mood.”

“Not for pussy it seems. Too bad you and I would make such a perfect couple. Toddles.” Talia left Jon to take care of Aaron.

He might be taller and look older but they were both sixteen. Going to Aaron he gently lifted him up by the sleeves of his shirt. He looked at the rags of what was left of Aaron’s pants and sighed. Taking him anyway without making a scene was going to prove to be difficult.

Luckily the weather had been chilly enough for him to put on a sweater. He took peeled it off and wrapped it around Aaron’s waist. Given the difference in their clothes size it the front fell down to his knees. So long Jon kept himself right behind Aaron; no one should be able to notice his bare rear.

By the time Jon got Aaron to his car there was still ten minutes until the end of the first half… plenty of time for Talia to implant false memories and enough evidence to make it look like a drug deal gone bad. Jon turned the key of the emission. “Okay… here we go.”

He remembered where Aaron lived so that was no problem. His Talent was not all that strong when it came to mental Talent but with Aaron’s thoughts focused on wanting to return home he did his best to calm him.

With one eye on the road he kept the other on Aaron. Jon was pissed… pissed at the kids who did this, pissed at the headmaster and pissed that Andrew, instead of him, was spending so much time with Aaron. When Jon first detected him he had dared to demand the headmaster admit Aaron. That’s hadn’t gone over too well. He was most of all pissed at a world where such things could happen. The only person he wasn’t mad at was Aaron. If he had been a member of one of the 200 original families he would have been given proper training and would have been able to protect himself.

Unfortunately Aaron was a Blip… a person with the Talent who, according to some of the Families, had no right to have it. If the purists in the Council had their way people like Aaron would be killed for scientific study. They could not accept that the ability to possess Talent was innate in all people.

That could still be Aaron’s fate. It would all come down to Dr. Harris’s final report. If Aaron’s Talent was considered too insignificant to be of much use in life Council scientist would make use of it in death.

Jon didn’t care what the reports said. They might think Aaron as a diseased specimen needing to be destroyed but the Talent Aaron possessed that had affected Jon more profoundly than the drugs those kids and been smoking.

When he reached the Mays house he saw Dr. Harris’s car was already parked in the main driveway. He would have rather taken Aaron through a backdoor to avoid the neighbors but that was not an option.

Once again taking care to avoid physical contact he carried Aaron to the front door. He kicked on the door to get someone’s attention. When he kicked it the third time it popped open. Standing in the entry was Dr. Harris. Behind him was an ashen faced Dr. Mays.

“Get him inside. His bedroom is the down the left hall and to the right. I’ll debrief you once I’m done with Mary.”

“Wait a minute… he’s my grandson. I should be the one taking care of him.”

“He’s not your grandson and you know it.” Dr. Harris snapped. He turned back to Jon. Get him to bed and give him whatever medical attention he needs.”

Jon arched an eyebrow. “Really sir?”

“It’s one of your Talents, no?”

“It is but are you sure.”

“I’m not but you are the only available option I have. Right now it’s too risky to take him to the hospital. The Untalented would ask questions, questions none of us are ready to answer.”

“Of course sir.” Jon carried Aaron to his room. There were no windows. There was a recently installed red ceiling lamp giving the room a soft glow.

“He sat Aaron on the edge of the bed, took off his shoes and goggles. “Think you can take care of the rest?”

Aaron nodded but didn’t speak. He was going to end up with a few bad bruises and a cut along his arm that needed to be dealt with but nothing that Jon couldn’t deal with. While he undressed, Jon went digging through the drawers. In the dim light it was hard to figure out what matched with what. Most of his clothes he found where school uniforms but he did find a pair of clean boxers and what he guessed was a white t-shirt. He brought them to Aaron. When he saw Aaron was naked he quickly did an about face. If there had been a regular light on his embarrassment would have been clear as night and day.

“Are you done yet?” When he didn’t get a response Jon twisted around to catch a glance. To his relief Aaron was already under the sheets. His back was towards him but Jon could see him quivering. Pulling up a chair next to the bed he placed a reassuring hand on Aaron’s shoulder. Summoning this Talent he streamed a thread of his physical energy into him. He guided the thread to the forming bruises and cuts and let it take away the pain. Once he couldn’t find anything else that needed healing he had to force himself to let go. Even with a thick bedcover between them Jon could feel the tug of Aaron innate Talent pulling him closer. “I… I better go.” He forced himself to leave the bed.

At the door he looked back. Aaron still had a frightened deer look about him. His eyes however were focused on Jon with a sense of desperate need.

The two looked at each other for a long moment. Hearing the sound of arguing coming from downstairs Jon forced himself to step back and close the door behind him.