The Brotherhood: Awakening Book II - 8. Chapter 8

The Brotherhood: Awakening

Chapter VIII

By X

 

 

I felt strange.

I don't know when it happened, but despite my best efforts to stay awake, I fell asleep. According to Sunny, we are seemingly transported to another reality when we dream, a reality that feels as real and vivid as our own. And yet, as I woke from that world, I remembered nothing. Is it possible for Skai to sleep without dreaming? Is that what happened? Did I close my eyes and escape into a void of nothingness? If so, I was glad. Nothingness was the best outcome, as I was still afraid to let the memories of my people seep into my consciousness.

Still, I felt strange.

It was as if I was floating - weightless and unhindered - like a feather carried by the wind. The sense of freedom felt incredible, and I half-wondered if I was still lost in the dark void of my dream world. Honestly, I didn’t care. I wanted to stay in this euphoric state forever. Unfortunately, I had a big day ahead and needed to get the ball rolling.

Reluctantly, I forced my eyes open, and….nothing happened. I tried again. And again. No matter how hard I tried, I could not pry my eyelids open, and nothing happened when I tried to touch my face. Suddenly, the sense of freedom I was enjoying turned into despair, as none of my limbs would move. Just as panic was about to set in, everything came into view.

Everything!

I could see the entire room from all angles as if my eyes were an omnidirectional camera. And if that wasn't weird enough, I could see Sunny and Zac sleeping on the bed below me. Yes, below me! It finally dawned on me that I was hovering over them, formless and wingless. I was a cloud of dark energy! There was no stopping the panic now. I was full-blown yelling at the top of my lungs; at least, I was trying to yell. No actual sound was coming from my misty form. When I tried to move again, I realized all I was doing was gliding across the ceiling like water swishing in a bowl.

This is not happening….

Nothing I tried worked. I couldn’t invoke my voice, control my movements, or even identify my body parts. I thought I felt my fingers move for a moment, followed shortly by my big toes. But then, I realized I didn’t have fingers or toes, and the sensation was gone. I slid toward the center of the ceiling and around the light fixture. Something tingled, or maybe everything tingled. It didn’t hurt, but I was having a hard time placing the sensation spatially without the identifying markers of a body.

Sunny rolled over on the bed, and I heard him mumble something in his sleep. Did I have ears? Before I could think about it, I sloshed forward and back over my bed.

I could think! So basically, I was a talking head without the ‘talking’ or ‘head’ parts, maybe just a network of brain parts wrapped in a dark energy cloud. Was that possible? I should have paid more attention in high school physics.

For the next thirty minutes, nothing happened. I floated in place, hovering over Sunny and Zac, anxiously waiting for them to wake up. What else could I do?

Zac suddenly sat up, like a vampire waking up for the evening hunt.

Jesus! Is that how he always gets up in the morning? He's going to scare the shit out of someone someday.

I tried calling out to him, but again nothing happened, so I was forced to watch him go thru his morning routine of stretching, adjusting, wiping the sleep from his eyes, and cracking his neck from side to side. Riveting stuff, I can assure you. Rolling himself over the still-sleeping Sunny, Zac grabbed his glasses, stood up, and started stretching again.

Sunny whacked him on the ass for trampling over him. "Go around me next time," he said groggily into his pillow.

"Yeah, yeah," Zac dismissed Sunny orders. Without missing a beat, he looked up at me and smiled. "Oh, hey, Jacob."

He saw me! Finally.

"Get Sunny!" I tried to yell.

That little shit jumped up, swiped his hand through me like he was giving me a high-five, and then left the room. It wasn’t the same tingle as before, but I felt a sensation when his hand passed thru me. It's not like being touched on the arm or leg where the impression is in one location. Every fiber of my being felt him at once. It was electric.

Now that he was gone, my only hope was Sunny. He better not get up and leave me thinking this is an everyday thing for me. I would lose my mind.

I started yelling again to no avail, but then I saw his left eye look up at me.

"Ha!" he snickered and pushed himself to a sitting position. "You did the thing." He was pointing and straight up laughing at me.

"You bastard!"

"That's not nice," he yawned and started slapping his cheeks to wake himself up.

"You can hear me?" I was stunned for a moment. "Wait, I can hear me, too." I had a voice! It boomed around me like I was plugged into surround sound. "What is going on? I tried to get your attention all morning, but I couldn't talk. What the fuck happened to me?"

"Are you done with your little freakout?"

"Fuck yeah, I'm freaking out! I don't have a body anymore, Sunny!"

"Oh, relax!" He waved me off as if I was a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. "You're fine."

"How can you tell me to relax? I don't have any fucking arms or legs or anything!"

"Believe it or not, this happens a lot to newly turned Skai until we better understand our powers. You get so relaxed in the middle of the night that the world around you fades away until you finally let go, and this happens." He gestured toward me with a stupid smirk on his face. "It’s like a wet dream, actually. You wake up in the morning with your shorts covered in nut juice. You had no control over it, but you know it must have been one hell of a dream.”

“That’s gross. You’re gross. Now help me fix this.”

“There’s nothing to fix, Jacob; that is our natural form.”

“Stop fucking around, Sunny. You know exactly what I mean. How do I get my body back?”

“Okay, okay, jeez. Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or something?” Sunny slapped his knee and fell back on the bed, laughing his ass off.

“I’m going to throat punch you when I get down from here.”

“I’m fun,” he declared.

I would’ve rolled my eyes if I had them.

“Fine, Mr. Crabby pants.” Interlocking his fingers, he placed his hands behind his head and stared at me for a moment. “It’s not that hard, Jacob.”

“Says the guy with the physical body.”

“It isn’t.” And to prove his point, Sunny melted away into a cloud of darkness, floated over to my bed, and retook his form with hands behind his head again. To drive the point home, he repeated the process and returned to his bed. “See? Not that hard.”

“You get a gold star. Now how do I do that?”

“Think it, Jacob,” he said simply. “You want your body back? It’s just a matter of willing it so. Think of Jacob, who you are, what you look like, your hands, your feet, your toes, all of it. Think of everything that makes up Jacob and will it into being.”

“Are you being serious right now?” I asked sarcastically. “You sound like one of those self-help gurus trying to scam me out of my money.”

“They might be full of shit. I’m not. Just do it.”

“I just picture me, and will it into being?”

“Yes.”

“How do you will something into being?”

“Jacob…”

“Okay, okay.”

I admit I felt ridiculous, but I did what Sunny suggested. After a moment of nothing happening, I voiced my concerns again because I seriously had no idea how to “will” anything. “So, nothing is….”

“Shut up and concentrate!”

I’m so throat-punching you.

It took a good minute, but I eventually felt it in the pit of my being as the mist that was me began to compress and take shape. I could finally wiggle my toes and feel the tips of my fingers.

“Oh, before you do that, I would….”

I came crashing down and busted my naked ass on the hardwood floor.

“Float down here first….”

“Fuck me!” I yelled and opened my eyes to see Sunny looking down at me from between his legs.

“How’s it going there, champ?”

“I hate you.”

“You hate the ones you love,” Sunny said. “I think that’s how that goes anyway.”

I ignored him and started feeling up my naked body to ensure that everything, and I do mean everything, came back just as I remembered it. After some thorough checking, I’m happy to say that all my parts were “willed” where they should be.

“What are you grinning at?” Reaching up, I playfully smacked Sunny’s chin.

“You falling on your ass for one,” he smirked and winked, “and you fondling yourself for two.”

“Shut up and help me stand.”

He was right. I forgot he was there while I was checking out the goods, but I no longer cared at this point. The guy was thrown into my naked body when we were in the showers. He saw and felt everything. What was the point of being shy and embarrassed now?

When he helped me to my feet, Sunny put all joking aside and asked if I was okay. His serious tone and the gentle look in his eyes made his sincerity shine through without question. I had to look away from him because now I felt awkward and shy. Not because I was standing in front of him butt-ass naked, but because he was acting all serious and concerned like I imagine a big brother would be.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I assured him without making eye contact.

“Then why are you acting weird?”

“I’m not, you psycho, but I could use your help with something.” I wanted to quickly move past the awkwardness I had created for no apparent reason. I gestured at my naked body. “Can you hook me up with some clothes? Apparently, I can only conjure socks, and I’d like to show up at school wearing a little more than that.”

“Socks? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Nothing, never mind. Just hook me up. Please?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sunny used his powers to dress me as he spoke. “That fall shouldn’t cause any damage even if you hit your head on the floor, but now I’m not so sure.”

“Sunny, I’m telling you, I’m….” My words got caught in my throat when I turned to look in the mirror. “What the serious fuck? Sunny!”

Sunny stumbled and fell on the bed laughing his ass off. That fucker dressed me in a boy’s uniform, with gray slacks that were too short, a blue and yellow tie, a white undershirt, and a blue blazer with the KU Lion mascot on the breast pocket. I looked like a kid heading off to elementary prep school.

I was done with his nonsense, so I jumped on him, and we started wrestling around on the bed until we fell off and rolled around on the floor. There was very little he could do against me because he could not stop laughing, paving the way for me to dominate him and pin his arms over his head. I playfully slapped his face until he admitted defeat and surrendered.

“Fix this!” I demanded angrily, but admittedly his infectious laughter got to me, so I’m not sure I sounded too threatening.

“Okay, okay! It’s done!”

I looked down, and sure enough, I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a white hoodie with the same lion logo across the front. Of course, it felt like I had no underwear again.

“What is it with you guys not giving underwear?”

“I don’t do underwear.”

“But I do, so can you give me a pair?”

“You can have the underwear or the clothes, but not both,” he smirked.

“You’re an ass!” I declared loudly and flicked him on the forehead.

“And it looks like you’re going commando.” He sounded very proud of himself, so I flicked him again.

And then I noticed something, or more accurately, I felt something, so I got close to his face. “Are you seriously hard right now?”

“Hey,” he shrugged, “you’re the one who jumped on me and started grinding against my junk.”

“I was not grinding!”

We started throwing out more snide remarks when we realized another body was in the room. Slowly, we both looked towards the door and saw Zac staring at us. He pushed his glasses back, shook his head, and walked over to the bed.

He pulled out his phone, and I heard the camera shutter sound go off. “This is going up later,” Zac mumbled to himself.

“Are you going to get off me, or are you gunning for round two?” Sunny asked.

I rolled my eyes, got up, and helped him to his feet.

“For fuck’s sake!” I exclaimed while averting my eyes from the massive tent in his shorts.

“What?” he asked innocently and then made it bounce. “I have a thing for wrestling.”

“A fetish,” Zac corrected without looking up from his phone.

“I’m going to school,” I announced while throwing my hands up.

“Okay, good luck,” Zac smiled brightly. “Don’t get killed.”

“God, you’re as bad as he is.”

I started to walk away when Sunny placed his hand on my shoulder, and the next thing I knew, we were standing on the roof. We used the gateway to travel to a gate about six miles from campus. Again, he instructed me to memorize the symbols in the gate room. I didn’t understand the point since I couldn’t read them, and my head started to hurt the longer I looked at them. Sunny assured me I didn’t need to know what they said; I just needed to remember how they looked. After I reminded him of the searing pain about to explode in my brain, he felt terrible and instead had me memorize the pattern of the stones on the ground.

We stepped out of the second gate into a heavily wooded area. Behind us, the gate powered down, and the stones fell back to their original positions on the floor. According to Sunny, that was important. Per his instructions, I took a good look around at my surroundings.

“Commit it all to memory,” Sunny said as he slowly spun around with his arms outstretched, pointing at every little thing. “That’s all you have to do. Remember the tree line, the position of the bushes, those rocks, that fallen tree over there, all of it. Most importantly, always remember the layout of the stones. In every location, the stones are arranged in a unique pattern. That’s the key because there are no symbols out here, and you can’t look at them anyway. Once you’ve committed it to memory, all you have to do is think of this place and the pattern before touching one of our gates with your Askyli, which will bring you here. That’s how it works. Does that make sense?”

I nodded.

“When you want to get back home, think of the gate room above The Club, the pattern of the stones, and touch one of these stones. It will activate. Got it?”

“Yes, Mom! I’m not an idiot.”

“Says you, but I’m not taking any chances. If you need to make a hasty getaway, this is how you’ll do it.”

“I’m not robbing a bank, Sunny; I’m going to school.”

Sunny stared at me, his head cocked. He never blinked.

I stared back but eventually was first to fold. “What?”

“An antelope doesn’t willingly walk into the lion’s den, but here we are.”

“Will you stop? It’s going to be fine.”

“Remember what Raz said. You haul ass out of there with the slightest hint of trouble, okay?”

“I know.”

“I’m not kidding, Jacob.”

“I know,” I assured him.

Sunny gave me a dubious look as if he wasn’t wholly convinced. He pointed to the southeast. “Fly straight that way, and you’ll hit the KU campus, no problem. Stay low amongst the trees and try not to go too high. It’s daytime, and the last thing we need is someone calling animal control, swearing up and down that they spotted a pterodactyl heading toward campus.

I laughed.

“It’s happened before,” Sunny said with a straight face.

“Can you show a little faith in me?”

“No.”

He looked at me like a nervous parent putting their child on the school bus for the first time. It was sweet. I don’t know what came over me, but I walked up to him and gave him a big old brotherly hug.

“I’ll be fine, Sunny,” I whispered into his ear. “I promise.”

“You better be,” he demanded, returning my embrace. “Or I’ll fucking kill you!”

The tender moment ended when Sunny slapped me upside the head. “Get going.”

As he looked on, I took a few steps back to summon my wings.

“Wait, before you….”

An explosion of fire and darkness poured out of my back. A turbulent eruption flapped behind me as my raven wings shifted and took form like a dark canopy over the forest floor. I couldn’t help but grin at how fucking awesome I must look. I felt like a badass at that moment. Sunny didn’t seem to think so, however. Shaking his head in bemusement, he stood on his tippy toes to reach the top of my right wing.

“You should’ve taken off your hoodie,” he said, holding the tattered remains of the sweatshirt in his hand.

“Fuck me,” I grumbled, realizing I was standing there bare-chested as flaming pieces of fabric rained down around me.

“Smokey the Bear would not be happy with you right now.” Sunny used one hand to hold what was left of the white fabric and the other hand to extinguish the smaller burning pieces that littered the underbrush invisibly. He then created a new hoodie for me. “You need to be more careful.”

I felt like a complete idiot. I couldn’t even look at him; I was so embarrassed.

“Hey, don’t sweat it,” Sunny said and tossed me the hoodie. “Once you learn to control your powers, you’ll know how to make your shirt disappear as you summon your wings, or better yet, you’ll know how to reinforce whatever you’re wearing so it doesn’t get shredded in the first place. You’ll learn all the tricks in time.”

As much as he tried to reassure me, I still couldn’t bring myself to look at him.

“It’s happened to the best of us, Jacob. It’s not a big deal.”

“Really?” I asked, finally looking over at him. “So, you’ve done this too?”

He shook his head. “Not even once.”

“You really know how to bring a guy up; you know that?”

“It’s a gift,” he shrugged.

With a single, mighty flap of my wings, I soared into the air towards KU, blowing a bunch of dirt and debris at Sunny as I took off.

“Oh, that’s mature!” he yelled angrily.

I smiled.

Making my way toward campus, I stayed below the treetops, using them as camouflage. Just as Sunny instructed. The sense of awe one feels, zooming through the air, will never get old. I’ve described it before, but I’m afraid words will never do it justice. Until you can soar through the air with the freedom of an eagle, anything I say will fail to capture the genuine awe and majesty of the experience.

As I zig-zagged around the trees, I felt like a jet fighter maneuvering through a canyon, trying to avoid crashing into the rock face. I slipped between heavy branches like threading a needle, missing them by mere inches, testing my limits, and seeing what I could get away with.

It was a blast!

Unfortunately, it didn’t last as long as I’d hoped, for I failed to realize I was moving so fast that I reached KU sooner than expected. I could see it in the distance, less than a mile away, and decided to land and walk the rest of the way. That last thing I needed was some guy fucking around in the woods, catching a glimpse of me, and snapping a picture. Sunny would never let me live it down if I became the next pterodactyl reported terrorizing the campus. Not to mention the closer I got, there was a real possibility that the Nave would spot me. A black-winged figure barreling towards their territory probably wouldn’t go over so well with them.

As I slipped on my hoodie, I emerged from the wooded area, stepped onto the main road, and joined a cavalcade of students making their way to campus. Luckily everyone was too wrapped up in their own world to notice the half-naked weirdo walking out of the woods. Thank goodness for smartphones and their hold on the human attention span.

I could feel myself getting nervous as I approached the campus. I assured Razual I’d be okay going back, and I repeatedly told Sunny I’d be fine. But now that I was just a block away, staring at the stately brick façades of KU, I realized I was only trying to convince myself.

What the fuck was I thinking?

I had no idea what I’d be walking into or what fate awaited me once I returned to their territory. I could take one step into campus and get blasted into a grease stain.

Have I lost my fucking mind?

But that was the whole point, wasn’t it? It was time for me to stop lying to myself. This little venture of mine wasn’t about not losing myself or fighting for my identity. At least not entirely. The truth was, more than anything else, I needed to know. I needed to know how they would see me….how he would see me.

I wasn’t planning on doing anything stupid. I wasn’t seeking them out, but if I stepped foot on school grounds and they threw me out, I’d have my answer. If I could go about my business unchecked, then maybe there’s hope. I might not be able to be their Brother, but perhaps I can still be a friend.

I’ve lost my mind.

I stopped at the main entrance. Other students walked around me as I stood there, lost in my thoughts. I couldn’t tell you how long I was standing there. The time seemed to stand still, and I probably looked like a freak.

Regardless, a few more steps and I’d be inside the gate. Granted, I was already on Nave territory, but three more steps, and I’d officially be on school grounds. I stared up at the overcast sky, trying to ignore the butterflies, or should I say, dragons in my stomach.

Was it going to rain? Or maybe we’d get our first snowfall. That’d be cool.

One of the dragons roared. I sighed.

Fuck it.

I walked in.

I felt like a sinner walking into a church, afraid he was about to get struck down by lightning. But beams of hot white light never fell from the sky, eager to take my head. There was nothing—just the hustle and bustle of everyday school life.

Still, I’m sure I looked like an escaped felon trying to avoid capture as I made my way to the dorms. I kept looking over my shoulder and into the sky as if a SWAT team would surround me at any moment. I even pulled my hoodie over my head to protect me from any attack coming my way. I’m not sure why I was heading to my old dorm. At the moment, I had nowhere else to go, as my first class didn’t start for another forty-five minutes. I guess it seemed as good a place as any. I didn’t know what I would find there, but my anxiety wasn’t getting any better, and I wanted to hide. You’d think a sniper was aiming at me from a bell tower from how I was acting.

I was so worked up as I tried to get through the dormitory doors that I never saw the guy walking out simultaneously, and we ended up crashing into each other. We stumbled and fell over each other; his books and papers flew everywhere.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” I apologized profusely as I helped him get up.

“No, that was on me,” he said.

“No, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” I insisted. “My bad.”

“I tend to be clumsy, so I’m sure it was me.”

For fuck’s sake, will you just let me take the blame here?

His smile was warm, and he had a handsome face behind the crooked glasses resting on the tip of his nose. I looked around at all his stuff tossed around the floor and quickly began gathering them up for him. Of course, he told me not to worry about it, but I didn’t listen. Once I handed him his books and stack of papers, it dawned on me that I didn’t have any of my books, my laptop, or even a freaking pencil. I left all that stuff behind in my room….Q’s room.

“Sorry again,” I repeated as I bent down to pick up a stray paper and handed it to him. “Enjoy your day.”

“Jacob, right?” he asked just as I turned to walk away.

I felt my heart in my throat. I faced him without confirming anything.

“Todd from across the way.” He said as if I would know what the hell he was talking about. I didn’t, and he could tell. He laughed suddenly. “I’m sorry; I’m sure you have no idea who I am.”

I was still on edge and didn’t say anything, but I cocked my head slightly to give a small affirmation.

“I’m in the room right across from you and CJ. We talked briefly when you two moved out to The Brotherhood house.”

“Ohhh, Todd, of course! My bad, man, it’s been a minute.”

I had no idea who this Todd was, but I didn’t want to come off like an asshole for not remembering him. Come on; we’ve all done it.

“Don’t sweat it. I get it. I just never thought I’d see you back here once you got into The Brotherhood. Congratulations again, by the way.”

I gave him a half-hearted laugh and nodded.

“I’m not going to lie, I was hoping to get an invite myself, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be,” Todd said, balancing all the crap in his hands before most of it fell to the floor again. “All the guys in the dorm were hoping for one, even if they won’t admit it out loud, but I’m sure you already knew that.”

“Yeah, sure.” Where was this conversation going? I had things to do and places to be. Okay, not really, but this was getting awkward.

“Maybe next year, if I’m lucky,” he said, flashing the same warm smile and crossing his fingers awkwardly. “Hey, maybe you can put in a good word for me.”

There it is!

“What am I thinking?” he said, seemingly scolding himself. “That was rude. Forget I said anything.”

“No, no, you’re fine,” I assured him.

I know what you’re doing, buddy.

“Yeah, of course, I can, but no promises.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course. Thanks.”

“Hey, I have to….” I didn’t finish my sentence; I just gestured over my shoulders at the elevators.

“Of course, of course,” Todd said, sounding flustered like he just ran into his favorite pop star. “I don’t mean to keep you.” As he tried to maneuver his hands to offer me a handshake, he dropped all his shit on the ground again. There was no way I was helping him again. I slowly backed away without shaking his hand and bolted up the stairs.

A few more people greeted me as I walked to my room. Whom am I kidding? Almost every guy I passed had something nice to say to me; such was the power of The Brotherhood. Was it dickish of me not to correct them and inform everyone I was no longer a member? Probably. Did I care? Not really. It was none of their business, and I didn’t owe anyone anything.

Perhaps the Brothers wouldn’t look too kindly on me if they knew I was being cagey with the truth, but it’s not like I was telling people I was for sure still a Brother. People can believe whatever they want. It’s not my job to correct their assumptions. At least, that’s what I told myself and the defense I’d go with if it ever came up.

I entered the pin to unlock my door, slowly turned the handle, and froze. I don’t know what I expected to find on the other side or why even I hesitated, but it felt like something would change once I stepped inside. It was stupid. It was a dorm room, not a vault that held the answers to the universe.

Stop being an idiot.

I pushed open the door, and I was right. It was just a room. The first thing I noticed was CJ’s messy bed. It was just as he left it the last time we came to move our stuff. I remember telling CJ to make his bed before clearing out. He assured me he would on his final trip to the room, but clearly, he ignored me. Fucker. I don’t know why I cared. The room was still ours, so it wasn’t like someone else would be moving in at any point. I guess I was not too fond of someone entering our room for some reason and mistaking me for the slob.

With a heavy heart, I walked over to my bed and saw that most of my stuff was neatly laid out. My jeans and shirts were nicely folded into two piles. Hell, even my socks and underwear were nicely laired over each other so I could easily take inventory of my things to ensure it was all there. I guess that was the point. My schoolbooks were stacked on the desk next to my computer monitor. It was like I never left.

I backed away slowly until the back of my knees hit CJ’s bed, and I fell onto it. I had the wind knocked out of me. I curled up into a ball, my head just below his pillow, staring at my belongings on the bed. After a long while, my eyes started randomly scanning the rest of the room. I don’t think I was doing it consciously, for my mind was drifting all over the place. It wasn’t until the open closet caught my attention and pulled me back into the room. I saw the rest of my things hanging in there. Some of the stuff still had the price tag from when the guys and I went on a shopping spree after becoming Brothers.

I broke a smile, remembering how much fun we had that day being a bunch of goofballs. We talked a big game and had huge dreams now that we were Brothers.

 

******

 

“CJ, you’re an idiot!” Troy barked at the poor guy.

The six of us were in a black SUV heading toward the mall. I sat next to Arsen while he drove. I was the only one who’d been to the mall and was, by default, nominated co-pilot. Yes, we were heading to the same mall where the Skai incident happened. We were coming from Providence after a day of shopping and needed to make the stop because it was the only place in the tri-state area with a pair of sneakers Ant wanted. He called ahead while we were still in Providence Place Mall to see if they’d hold the pair for him, and they agreed.

At first, the store wasn’t accommodating, citing a string of policies preventing them from holding a high-demand item. That was understandable, for sure, and Ant was about to drop the matter and come to terms with the fact that he would not be getting his sneakers. On the other hand, CJ was unwilling to give up so easily. Snatching the phone from Ant, he started talking to the store employee, and after a couple of minutes, I heard him ask, “dude, do you go to KU?”

Now, you might be saying to yourself, that’s a weird question to ask some random store clerk on the phone, but CJ knew many KU students worked at the mall since it was relatively close to the university. His hunch paid off; the employee happened to be a senior. CJ not so casually mentioned he and Ant were Brothers of The Brotherhood and wouldn’t know it; they suddenly were willing to hold the sneakers for as long as we needed.

While tossing the phone back to Ant, CJ chastised him for not using his newly found status as a Brother to get what he wanted. Ant rolled his eyes and made it clear he wasn’t comfortable with what CJ did and lectured him about not abusing our positions for “dumb shit,” as he called it. CJ countered, “dude, I got you the shoes, didn’t I?” Exasperated, Ant rolled his eyes again, called him an idiot, and dropped the matter entirely.

But that’s not why Troy was calling CJ an idiot this time.

“Why, dude?” CJ demanded, briefly looking over his shoulder at Troy, who sat alone and was stretched out on the last seat. “I’m just staying if anything pops off; I’m throwing hands, dude.”

“Throwing hands?” Troy scoffed and tapped Paul on the shoulder. “You listening to this guy? Q threw a whole refrigerator at one of them and threw the other one out a window, but CJ here is going to ‘throw hands.’”

“It was a vending machine,” I corrected.

“A fucking vending machine!” Troy exclaimed. “That’s even worse. But no worries, guys, CJ’s got this.”

The rest of us laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the argument.

“Dude, I’m just staying. If we run into a Skai, I’ll be ready.”

“Yeah, you’ll be ready to run and hide with the rest of us,” Arsen chimed in.

“Nah! I’m not running. Especially now that I know our rings have magic powers and can shoot laser beams. I’m fighting!”

“Who said our rings have magic powers?” Paul laughed. “What, you think you’re carrying around The One Ring?”

“Jacob said so.”

“He never said that,” Arsen spoke up before I could; his eyes glanced up to catch CJ in the rearview mirror. “I don’t remember Jay ever saying anything about shooting lasers. His ring protected him in a barrier of light. That’s it.”

“Thank you!” I said, absently playing with the ring on my finger.

“Barrier of light. Dude! What do you call that if not magic?”

“A barrier is a far cry from….” Shaking his head, Arsen looked over at me, the flags of surrender visible in his eyes. “You know what? Forget it. Believe whatever you want, but I will have to agree with Troy. You’re an idiot!”

“Whatever, dude!”

“You know they don’t like it when their powers and abilities are called magic, right?” Ant inquired of the group.

“Really?” Paul sounded as surprised as we all felt. “Why?”

“And how do you know?” Troy added.

“I was with Seth one day, and after seeing him do something amazing with his powers, I made some comment about magic. He quickly corrected me. Everything they can do comes from the very essence of who and what they are.”

“Their Anavi,” I offered with a smile.

“Exactly,” Ant nodded. “It’s not only an extension of themselves but the very core of their being. So, to call it ‘magic,’ a word humans associate with something whimsical, and make-believe, diminishes them in a way.”

Like a bunch of robots, we all nodded our understanding, with some of us throwing out a couple of “Ohhhh….” for good measure.

“So, if I were you,” turning to face CJ, Ant flicked him on the side of the head, “I wouldn’t go around using that word around them. Especially Seth. He really didn’t like it.”

“Was he pissed?” Paul asked gravely, as if Seth would pop out of nowhere and yell at us. “I bet he was really pissed.”

“No,” Ant laughed, slapping Paul on the leg. “I had no idea, and he knew that. But I could tell he wasn’t a fan by how he explained it to me, so don’t do it.”

The SUV fell silent with the soft melodies of Ant’s playlist streaming in the background. I’m sure most of us were thinking back to our interactions with our Naverian Brothers to see if we’d ever used the word ‘magic’ around them. I was confident that I never said it around Q. Besides, if I had, I’m sure I would’ve gotten the same lecture from Q at some point.

The silence continued for another mile when I looked over my shoulders at the quiet guys sitting behind me. Arsen also glanced at them through the rearview, but neither of us said anything. We looked at each other, and both held up five fingers. One by one, a finger curled down as the countdown began, and when there were no more fingers, we pointed at our beloved friend simultaneously.

“Dude, you think we’ll get our own territory to rule over?” CJ asked the group.

You can set a watch by him.

Arsen and I started laughing hysterically.

“What’s funny?” Ant asked as he leaned forward to look at us.

“Nothing!” we answered in unison.

“What the hell are you talking about, CJ?” Paul inquired.

“You know, dude, when we take over the world and shit. I wonder if we’ll get our own territory to rule.”

I admit I found his casual attitude about the idea a little disturbing.

“It doesn’t bother you at all, huh?” Ant asked while smacking him on the back of the head.

At least I was not the only one who thought he was a bit too blasé about the whole thing.

“Dude!” he protested while rubbing his head. “Why should I sweat it, dude? It’s happening. I’m just happy I get to be on the winning side.”

“Yeah, but people won’t just give up without a fight,” I said.

“Governments certainly won’t,” Arsen added.

“Exactly!” I agreed wholeheartedly. “No one is giving up their freedom willingly. Many people are going to die. I’m talking millions….hell, billions might die once The Brotherhood sets things off.” I turned in my seat to look him dead in the eyes. “That doesn’t bother you in the slightest?”

CJ stared at me, twisting his mouth as my question rattled around in his brain, and he thoughtfully considered his response.

“Nope.”

Okay, maybe it wasn’t so thoughtful.

“I’m with CJ on this one,” Troy offered his two cents.

“Fuck yeah, dude!” CJ yelled, turning to give him a high five. Troy gladly obliged.

We were talking about the complete subjugation of the human race, and those two idiots were acting like their favorite team just scored a touchdown.

“Explain, please,” Arsen said.

“What’s there to explain?” Troy snickered. “It’s a rare occasion, but CJ is right on this one.”

“Thank you,” CJ smiled proudly.

Ant just laughed under his breath.

“This has been a long time coming,” Troy continued. “Whether we like it or not, it’s happening, so why….”

“That’s not the point at all,” Arsen interrupted, throwing his hands up and causing the truck to swerve.

“Ahhh, Arsen, hands on the wheel!” I demanded as I reached for the steering wheel without actually grabbing it. “We’re not Nave yet; we can still die.”

“You be quiet,” he said, slapping my hand away. “I know this is happening. Jay knows it’s happening. We all know it’s happening, but that’s not the point my man was trying to make. As a human being yourself, though I’m starting to have my doubts, doesn’t it bother you that millions of people will die during this takeover? That’s what Jay was asking.” He punched me in the leg to get my attention, as I was still focused on the road to ensure he didn’t crash us into someone. “Right?”

“What he said.” I pointed at Arsen but kept my eyes on the cars in front of us.

“Relax, I know what I’m doing,” Arsen insisted.

“Yeah, okay….” I mocked.

“I mean….” Troy hesitated for a moment and then shrugged. “Not really.”

“Jesus, I’m in the car with a bunch of psychopaths,” Arsen said dejectedly as he shook his head.

“At least our plan is better than what the Skai want to do,” Paul interjected.

“Thank you!” Troy agreed. “They’re the real psychos! They want to kill everyone who isn’t Skai, so if anything, humanity should thank us.”

“So, people should welcome our occupation with open arms, is that it?” I asked, briefly looking over my shoulder at Troy and CJ.

“If they know what’s good for them, yes,” Troy said plainly. “Let me ask you guys this, and I want a straight answer. No bullshit, and no deflecting. It’s just the six of here, so no need….”

“For fuck’s sake, ask your question already!” I interrupted.

“Do you think the Nave are wrong? Do you think this plan they’ve been cooking up is a mistake?”

Arsen and I shared a glance before he looked in the rearview mirror. “Wipe that stupid grin off your face, Troy; that’s not the gotcha question you think it is.”

“Okay, fine, answer the question,” Troy challenged.

“It’s not that simple,” I said.

“No, no, no! I said no bullshit answers, and that reeks of a bullshit answer! Yes or no.”

“Jacob is right, Troy,” Ant said. “It’s not that simple. There are so many factors to consider. You can’t just boil it down to a yes or no answer. This isn’t some hypothetical shit we’re talking about. It’s happening. You talk a big game because, in your mind, our Naverian Brothers will do the heavy lifting when the time comes.” Turning in his seat, Ant faced Troy. “When the shit hits the fan and war breaks out, and you’re standing out in the streets facing Sally, the librarian who refuses to surrender her freedom, will you be able to put her down? Will you take the shot?”

Troy stared back, like a muted mannequin unable to speak; he sat there frozen.

“That’s what I thought.” Turning back around, Ant looked at me and smiled. “As Jacob said, it’s not that simple.”

“I believe in our follow Brothers,” I declared so there was no misunderstanding. “I pledged myself to them.”

“As did we all,” Arsen added.

“Exactly,” I continued. “I will follow them until the end of the road, wherever that may lead; I’m just hoping we get there with as little loss of life as possible. That’s all I’m saying.”

As you might expect, the heavy topic brought the mood down. Everyone sat in silent contemplation of what was to come and the role they’d play once the fuse was lit. Would we have the strength to do what was required of us?

“Duuuuudes!” CJ whined, lightly punching the roof. “Come on. You guys are killing the vibe. Look, this is how things will probably go down.” Leaning forward, CJ rested his elbows on his knees as he spoke and suddenly turned on his big brain. “The Brotherhood will reveal itself to the world at some point in the future. Maybe through a social media post….” CJ managed to lighten the mood as we cracked up at the ridiculous notion of starting World War III with a social media post, but he continued without missing a beat. “We will make our demands known – the immediate and unconditional surrender of every nation worldwide.”

“But no one will take us seriously, of course,” Arsen added.

“Of course, because people are stupid,” CJ agreed. “So, with our demand will come a demonstration of our power. We’ll pick a deserted island or uninhabited mountain and instruct the world to pay close attention to that location. A seventy-two-hour clock starts ticking down, and when it hits zero, we’ll blast that island or mountain range out of existence. No one believes what they just witnessed. It’s a trick, an illusion of some kind. So, they send in their recon teams to confirm what their instruments have been telling them. It’s real. Now we’re a serious threat.

“A new clock starts ticking down as The Brotherhood gives the world’s governments thirty days to surrender peacefully. Will they listen? Of course not. Instead, they’ll take the time to bolster their defenses, deploying their militaries around high-value targets since they have no idea where the attack will come from. Guns and toilet paper start flying off the shelves as the civilian population hunkers down and prepares for what’s to come. Millions of religious people try to flock to our side, believing these winged angels signify their Lord’s return. We assure them we’re no one's saviors.

“The clock strikes zero, and our Brothers start appearing over government buildings and installations across the globe. Our very own Inner Circle hover over the White House lawn. The President isn’t there, of course. He’s been moved to a secure location that they believe puts him out of our reach. They’ll be wrong. But we’re there anyway because the White House is a symbol of power to the world. Destroying it sets the stage for what’s to come. It’s heavily fortified. Abrams Tanks and Humvees line the streets, Apache helicopters hover the grounds, while F-22s zip around overhead.

“It’s a tense moment, but they are unwilling to allow us the chance to unleash our weapon of mass destruction, which they still have no idea what it was, so the order is given. They rain hell on earth on the five winged beings hovering over them, destroying everything in their path. The world holds its collective breath. As the smoke clears and the dust settles, our Inner Circle emerges unphased by their onslaught. An annoyed Q looks on, chronically unimpressed, as he and the rest of our Brothers slowly raise their hands. With a flick of the wrist, they unleash a torrent of devastation not seen since the days of World War II.

“The hopelessness starts to sink in. A decision has to be made, and when the time comes, the President utters those famous words you hear in every doomsday movie. ‘May God have mercy on our souls.’ The order to launch nuclear missiles is given. But never in a million years would the world’s governments have suspected The Brotherhood had placed our people in critical positions around the globe to ensure their nuclear arsenal would be under our control and no harm would come to Eiyr.

“Given all that, if people still decide to take up arms against us….” Slowly, CJ sat back and folded his arms over his chest, rather proudly, I might add. “Then I don’t know what to tell you, dudes.”

Our collective jaws hit the floor as we turned to face CJ. Even Arsen tried to look at him, but I grabbed his face and forced him to look forward as I stared at CJ.

“What….the….serious….fuck!” Ant’s shocked tone spoke for all of us. “Okay, Mr. Art of War, where in the hell did you come up with that?”

CJ shrugged and said, “What’s the big deal, dude? It’s the same plan I turned in to the council.

“What?” I yelped. “What do you mean you the plan you turned in?”

CJ looked around at each of us before he answered. “Did I not tell you?” he asked, genuinely surprised. “The Brothers asked me to join the War Council.”

“What?” I repeated.

“What’s the War Council?” Arsen inquired.

“Dude, it’s the group responsible for drawing up the plans to take over the world. It’s a group of Naverian and human brothers.” He paused to look around again. “I told you, dudes!”

“No, you really didn’t,” Paul assured him. “When did this happen?”

“After the ceremony when we became official Brothers. During the party, a few of the Brothers, including your man,” he slapped me on the arm before continuing, “pulled me aside and told me they wanted me to join the War Council.”

“What?” I repeated again.

“Yeah, dude!” CJ smiled. “Q said something like, ‘dude, you have a brilliant mind for strategy and tactics.’ I’m sure I told you guys.”

Arsen reached over, covered my mouth, and pushed me against the seat before I could yell ‘what’ again. “If that’s the case, are you sure it’s okay to tell us this? Shouldn’t that be top secret or something?”

“Nah, dude. It’s cool. The War Council isn’t a secret; my plan was just a suggestion. The plan is always changing and updated as new ideas come up. Besides, who’s anyone going to tell? The US government?” CJ laughed and slapped Ant on the side. “Am I right, dude?”

“Fuck!” Arsen yelled as I bit his hand. “You fucker!”

I ignored him and looked at CJ. “Q asked you, of all people, to help plan the world’s takeover?”

“Uh, yeah, dude….” He threw his hands up and shook his head mockingly. “Why do ya’ll look so surprised? I play A LOT of online strategy games.” He then proceeded to tap his temple. “Brillant mind for strategy and tactics, dudes.”

I sank back into my chair and declared, “Oh my god, we’re all going to die!”

The SUV exploded in laughter.

 

******

 

As that day’s memory faded into the recesses of my mind, I couldn’t help but smile. Those guys were everything to me. And as much as I teased CJ, I knew if anyone could come up with a solid plan for world domination, it was him. The kid is a bona fide genius, probably one of the most intelligent people on the planet. I’ve long suspected that his “dude bro” persona is an act he uses to disarm the people around him and put them at ease. I even called him out on it once, but he never gave me a solid answer. He'd look at me and grin. I love that kid.

A light from the nightstand caught me off guard, but I finally noticed my phone was sitting on the small table next to my car keys as it lit up. I was so quick to grab the phone that I almost knocked it into the wall. I had a shit ton of missed calls from that night and even more text messages from our group chat.

 

Arsen

Jacob, what happened? Where are you?!!?

 

Ant

Jacob, are you okay???

 

CJ

DUDE! What the fuck! Where are you, dude?

 

Arsen

Pick up your fucking phone!!!

 

Paul

Are you okay? What happened?

 

Ant

Jacob, seriously. Pick up!

 

Troy

Hey man, we’re all worried about you. Please pick up!

 

CJ

Dude!!!!!! If those fuckers hurt you, I’ll kill every last one of them!!!!!!!

 

Arsen

Please tell me you’re okay.

 

Those were just some of the messages I received. I could fill a book with all the text messages they sent me. It was sweet.

The last text came in at 6:03 am.

 

Arsen

We love you….

 

After that, the group went silent. No more texts or calls. I couldn’t help but wonder if Arsen sent that last text before or after he learned the truth.