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The Life of Another - Chapter 27

© Jake Atkinson

P.O.V. - Nick - 6:00 pm Wednesday

Roger sighed and stepped quietly to the window, staring blankly through his reflection into the blackness of night beyond. Unsure what to say, I came to stand beside him and rested my hand on his arm. As always, he tensed at first and then relaxed. Finally he spoke. "My first real day here, Jim got roped into walking me over from the medical department. He was nice enough about it but somewhere in the first few minutes he made some crack about being careful in the shower because of you."

He stopped and took a breath, pausing to fight rising emotions while I stayed quiet to let him finish the thought. "I didn't exactly react with a laugh, and he scrambled to be politically correct, but the damage was already done. After a start like that, how could I bring it up? I knew no matter how I did it would cause problems."

"He'll come around." I replied. "Despite whatever he said that day, he's been alright with me. Sometimes guys just talk like that but they don't really mean anything by it. Come on, let's check the rest of the electronics."

I gave his arm a squeeze and Roger turned to check the shelf that was mounted high on the wall, at the head of his bed. "Yeah, I know what you're saying." He said as he picked up his clock-radio. "Welp, my new clock is done for. I guess it didn't stand a chance. It was right next to my head."

As he set it back down, Roger eyed Jim's desk and the laptop that was sitting upon it. His heart sank even further.

To save him the pain, I stepped over and held the power button. After a tense second, the screen flared to life. We both let out a relieved sigh and I said "Phew, looks like the range was pretty short. Why don't you check the stuff in your gift box from PennyMart and I'll take your tablet and clock to David. Jim's right, I'll bet he can fix everything."

P.O.V. - Nick - David's dorm room - Five minutes later

"It's toast." said the Bear as he looked up from his multimeter. "All the capacitors are blown, the ICs are fried... did someone lob an EMP grenade in there?"

Jim squirmed and looked to me as if seeking my permission to talk about it. Hesitantly, I said "No, not exactly. Thing is, uh... I know you're good with secrets. Can you handle one more?"

David rolled his eyes and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "You know I'm good for it, so what's going on? The exact same thing happened to my monitor, keyboard and mouse a few days ago and I was completely stumped. Even a power surge doesn't cause that kind of damage, short of a lightning strike."

I unconsciously gripped my wrist behind my back and looked briefly to Jim. "I don't know about the other stuff but the phone, tablet and clock got damaged by uh..." My voice lowered. "Roger. But tell him you can fix it, ok? I'll pay for everything. We could just order new stuff online and pretend you repaired it."

David sighed slowly. "I'm afraid it's not that easy. Our school tablets have unique IMEI numbers. Even if we ordered a new one and swapped the outer casing it would still be detectable when he returns it at the end of the school year. Of course, he could just try to play it off as some sort of clerical error. As long as it's working perfectly they'd probably just shrug it off." He rubbed his muzzle thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess we could do that but we'd have to tell Roger so he'd know what to expect when he turns it in."

"Tell me what?" Roger said as he stepped through the doorway.

Though the computer we built for him was safely out of the room, Roger's unannounced appearance left me uneasy about how much he might have overheard. To top it off, Jim practically ran out the door, pausing only to say "I uh, better go check on Winry. I'll meet you guys down there later."

Roger's ears drooped, but only for a moment. "Winry? Does he have a new girl already?"

David didn't miss a beat. "Sort of. He's been spending more and more time with her lately. Hey uh, I checked Jim's phone, and your tablet too. That's what we wanted to tell you. We can get the phone taken care of but your tablet is totalled. Oh and I haven't had a chance to look at your clock yet."

Roger leaned against the frame of David's bed, his mood hard to read. While he was relieved, there was a strange undercurrent of a complex emotion I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was akin to depression, in that it felt something like anger turned inwards, but there was an unfamiliar aspect to it.

I couldn't stand seeing him like that and quickly followed David, saying "But I was thinking that we could just order new equipment. The only catch would come at the end of the year when you turn in your tablet. They all have unique identifiers so your new one won't match the school records."

"Thanks for thinking of all that." He said as he shifted his weight. "But I can deal with it myself. I'll just chuck my tablet out a window and then take it to the office and say I dropped it. I'm surprised by the phone though. Is it really salvageable? At the very least, I thought for sure the RAM would need replacing. Those chips are so sensitive even a tiny shock of static electricity can ruin them."

David was obviously uncomfortable at the prospect of continuing the lie, so I responded. "Yeah, he said something about a capacitor or some such but the part is only a few bucks. Since it was down in Jim's pocket it must have gotten less of a hit."

Looking more than a little skeptical, Roger narrowed his eyes. "Hmm. Well let me know the final tally and I'll cover it. Maybe I can sell some of the stuff from PennyMart. Know anyone who needs a fur trimming kit?"

"I'm sure it won't come to that." I replied testily. "Besides, all those people didn't get you that stuff just so you could turn around and sell it off. It wouldn't be right."

Roger crossed his arms. "I don't really feel right about the idea either but I like to pay my own way. I feel bad enough just asking you to do all this work David. You guys have already done so much for me. In fact, don't worry about the clock. I always wake up at first light without an alarm anyway."

David picked up the clock and flipped it upside down on his desk to pop the snap-fit plastic casing apart. "It's no trouble. Thing is, they don't really sell spare parts for stuff like this. It would cost more to order a new circuit board from the manufacturer than to just buy a new clock." The Bear leaned forward, closely inspecting the clock's innards. "Woah, see that scorch mark along the radio's receiver circuit? And look at that electrolytic capacitor, it actually burst! I'm sorry Roger but this is beyond repair."

Roger shrugged and did a solid job of pretending not to care but I could feel his strange sense of self-focused angst grow even sharper. "Ah well, the light from the LEDs was bugging me anyway. Here, I'll take it to the school's electronic waste bin. I could use a little fresh air."

Hesitantly, David snapped the case together and passed the clock back to Roger. "Sorry I couldn't fix it. Hey uh, we're having a little Fallout 4 party later so don't go too far."

"Thanks for giving it a look." said Roger as he took the clock back. "And I appreciate the invite but I'm thinking I'll go for a walk after I drop this off. I kinda need to clear my head."

Much to my embarrassment, I whined ever so slightly and poor Roger almost melted.

He splayed his ears and quickly added "Uh, it'll only be a short walk though. I'll stop by after I grab something to eat. What time do the post apocalyptic festivities start?"

Even though it wasn't intentional, I felt awful for manipulating him. "About seven, but I could meet you in the cafeteria at say... six-thirty?"

Roger nodded absentmindedly, obviously preoccupied. "Ok, I don't have a watch or phone so I don't really have a way of keeping track of time. If I'm off by a few minutes, don't worry, I'll be along." And with that, he waved half-heartedly and slipped quietly out the door.

I hope he doesn't go off and brood somewhere. If only I could get him to realize that he'd feel better if he worked at be __ing_ more social. Once we get him going at the computer party he'll forget all his troubles, at least for a few hours._

David cleared his throat, gently pulling me out of my reverie. "I guess he's pretty bummed out about zapping all this stuff huh? What happened anyway? We heard some music downstairs that was louder than a concert. Was that you guys?"

I pulled over my chair and sat facing David. "Just between us, yeah. Roger's been trying to stop that flickering aura he so often has and he was showing me how he learned to make it flash in time with the beat of a song."

The Bear rubbed his muzzle thoughtfully. "I can see how he'd want to control that but I'm confused about how that would lead to all the damaged electronics."

"That was just the first part. It was his second trick that caused all the mayhem. Somehow, he cancelled out his usual glow and forced it up over his head into a violet, electrical cloud. That's when the music changed. Did you really hear it downstairs in the rec. room?"

David gestured excitedly with his hands, something he rarely did. "We didn't hear it so much as experience it! Everyone was calling it psychic music." He shook his head in disbelief. "Did he explain it at all?"

I shrugged. "Sort of, I mean I didn't really understand what he said but he was going on about chakras, frequencies and Tesla coils. We didn't really get a chance to discuss it though because it was then that we noticed the smell of burning plastic and got sidetracked."

He tipped his head in thought. "Ya know, a high power Tesla coil could damage electronics the same way. Have you seen one of those?"

"I don't know. What do they look like?"

David turned to his computer and pulled up an internet video. "They come in all sizes but here's a one meter version. See how it's throwing lightning bolts off the donut shaped thing at the top? That's how people usually set them up because the big bolts of electricity show up better on camera and generally just look cool. But... let me find a different video..."

The Bear scrolled through several pages of videos until he finally found what he was looking for. "Here! This one has a corona discharge which you can only see if it's almost totally dark. In this model there's no easy jumping off point for all the energy so it crawls around in the ionized air looking for a ground. That causes more of a cloud than a bolt. It doesn't really show up well on video but it's pretty impressive in person."

"Yeah, it looked just like that only the color was deeper." I said as I pointed at the screen.

He nodded. "Did you happen to notice the smell of ozone before you caught the scent of burning plastic?"

"I'm not sure."

"It smells like uh... really fresh air after a storm. If it's strong, it can have a certain bleach-like quality too."

"Now that you mention it," I said with a cocked ear. "yeah. With everything else that was going on, I didn't really think much of it at the time."

David spun his chair away from the computer to face me again. "That explains the damage then. You're lucky you didn't get close to that cloud. It could have given you a serious, even fatal, shock... depending on its voltage, frequency and whatnot."

I reflected on the scene and a thought came to mind. "Jim actually grabbed Roger, and he seemed ok. I mean, his phone got cooked but he didn't appear to get hurt."

He scratched idly with his claws along the back of his other hand. "You said the cloud was over Roger's head and Jim is quite a bit shorter than Roger so he probably just didn't get close enough to it. That and it may have had something to do with the fact that he was touching Roger, or the simple truth that talent based stuff can bend the rules when it comes to things like this. I'd love to talk with Roger about it. He can be so sensitive around that sort of thing though. Do you think he'd mind if I asked him sometime?"

"Coming from you, I doubt he'd mind. You're pretty tactful." I said with a slight smile. "But all that still doesn't explain the music, or for that matter, how he created that effect in the first place."

"Yeah." he replied. "That music was incredible. Maybe Roger can make sense of it. You mentioned that he said something about chakras. I don't know much about that kind of stuff but they might have something to do with it. I saw an Air Bender episode that talked about those once but I suppose a cartoon could hardly be considered good source material. Anyway, I should probably get downstairs and help Jim prepare everything for Winry's formal unveiling."

I jumped up from the chair. "I almost forgot about that! I'll keep Roger busy at the cafeteria. Just send me a text when everything is set and I'll find an excuse to bring him by."

With that said, I grabbed my coat and darted out the door.

P.O.V. Roger - Outside the Admin Building - 6:15 pm

Crap, of course the door is locked! Fine, I'll just set my dumb clock-radio next to the steps andtake it to the bin in the morning when I arrive for my test results. Hmm, I guess I can walk to the cabin and still be back in time to meet Nick. It'd be nice to get away from it all, even if for just a few minutes.

I made my way through the chill night air, replaying the days events in my mind.

Will the time ever come whe __n I can just quietly go to class and have a normal day? Probably not. At least, not until I learn how to stop caring so much about the stupid comments and actions of others. Next time I hear some dumb_ -_ass comment about being gay or my stupid aura or whatever, I'm just going to ignore it! Who am I kidding? I say that every time, right AFTER I blow up and cause a scene. F#ck them anyway!

I kicked angrily at a stone in the path and followed it down to the stream. The water was flowing faster and higher than when I saw it last and I paused, momentarily lost in it's mesmerizing black swirls. As moonlight danced off the eddies around the rocks an ever louder cry suddenly broke through the spell holding my attention. It rapidly came to a crescendo and ended in an explosive splash along with a sharp yelp and a sickening, wet crack.

P.O.V. - Nick - Cafeteria - 6:45 pm

I know he doesn't have a way of keeping track of time, but he's too responsible to be this late without a reason. I wonder if he'd protest if I got him a phone? Him and that stubborn sense of pride. There's nothing wrong with people helping each other.

Time ticked slowly passed until I finally couldn't stand it any more and went outside to look for him. The drop-box for electronics is in the donation room back at the admin building, but I'm sure it's closed at this hour. Don't know where else to start looking though.

Minutes later, I approached the admin building and Roger's clock silently greeted me from the wall beside the steps. O_k, so what happened between here and the cafeteria? It's not that far; he should have gotten there before me._

It was then that I heard the sirens and turned to watch as an ambulance drove by on the road leading to Dorm 3, it's strobing emergency lights poignantly reminding me of Roger.

My heart jarred tightly at the implications and I chased down the van in record time, coming to a panting halt beside it not long after it came to a stop.

The driver's door swung open and a Red Fox slid out followed a moment later by a Badger and a Wolf emerging from the rear of the vehicle.

The two from the back glanced my direction and the Wolf in particular emanated a clear sense of repulsion as he addressed me. "Step back kid."

His eyes darted to catch the attention of the Badger and the way he cocked an ear at me made it was clear he was conveying the thought 'Check out the freak.'

It was hardly the first time I had to deal with the likes of his kind and turned my attention to the Fox, hoping to find someone more receptive.

"Excuse me, but my friend is missing. Could you tell me what's going on?"

Although he wasn't flat out repelled by my appearance, it was obvious he wasn't going to be much help either, replying "Step back to the curb. In fact if anyone else comes along, and they always do." He said with an eye roll. "Make sure they stay there with you. Don't want anyone stealing gear off the truck."

Angered at their rude indifference, and concerned for Roger, I fired back "I'm not here to steal anything! I just need to know if it's..."

The Wolf turned and pushed a finger into my chest. "Kid, if you don't step back right now..."

His threat was interrupted by a voice over the radio and we all paused. "Preliminary assessment as follows: Fifteen year old male Wolf presenting with a punctured lung, multiple fractures to both right-side extremities and possible hypothermia. Victim is alert and oriented times three. Pulse is one-ten, respirations forty-two and shallow, B.P. and temperature to follow."

Horror gripped my chest. "Oh my god! Roger!"

The Badger leaned his muzzle towards the mic mounted on the shoulder of his uniform and squeezed the call button. "Copy that. We have a visual on the helicopter. E.T.A. ten minutes."

He proceeded to pull gear from the truck but projected his voice at me as he worked. "If that's you're friend just hold tight. He's going to be fine. Here come more looky-loos. If you really want to help him, do us a favor and keep everyone back along the curb so we have room to work, ok?"

Surprised that the Badger turned out to be the friendliest of the three, I nodded shakily and quickly retreated. As I walked away, I could hear him castigating the others. "See? I keep telling you guys, if you just show people a little respect, you'll get it in return."

P.O.V. - Roger - Stream - 6:25 pm

With only momentary hesitation I jumped into the stream paws first, expecting it to be only knee deep. Instead, I sank immediately to my waist. The water's icy embrace forced my breath out in a gasp as absolute terror washed over me. Irrational memories of waking up in Roger's sodden, frozen body paralyzed me with fear but the cries coming from downstream helped me regain my focus. Scrambling forward, I fought for solid traction along the unseen stream bed, barely advancing two steps before a stone twisted out from under my paws. I fell face first into the rushing water but the current pushed me towards a cluster of rocks where I was quickly able to right myself, ending up next to the dark-furred, whimpering form that had beckoned me in.

He lay on his side along the top of the rocks, partial submerged and clearly suffering from serious injuries. His labored breathing came in tight, wheezing gasps between pathetic cries. "Oh god! ... F#ck!"

"Take it easy!" I said through jaws reflexively clenched against the stinging cold. "Tell me where you're hurt!"

"My right side! ... oh f#ck! ... Roger! ... my chest ... can't breathe!"

For once, my flickering aura actually helped by lighting up my immediate surroundings. The strobing effect gave the whole situation an eerie, surreal quality as I finally came to the realization that it was Steven lying before me. The thought briefly crossed my mind that this was some sort of elaborate practical joke but I dismissed it immediately. "Steven! If your neck and back are ok then I've gotta get you out of this freezing water! Can you walk? It's only waist deep."

Still gasping, he spoke in clipped phrases. "Can't breathe! ... my leg! ... my f#ckin' arm!"

I felt around beneath the water until I managed to hook my hand in his armpit and then did the same under the other arm. "I'm going to drag you to shore. It's only a meter or two away. Is that ok?"

The black furred Wolf nodded and braced himself as I planted my paws and, as gently as possible, heaved him towards the closest shore. The initial jolt of movement caused him to scream in agony but he never called for me stop, not even when I stumbled, jarring him painfully. After several precarious steps, I managed to drag him far enough up the opposite bank that he was completely out of the water and fell to my knees beside him.

The subzero air cut through our soaked fur and water-logged clothing with such ferocity that we both shivered to the point of convulsing while I huddled over his broken body and tried to assess his injuries. The intense, pulsating glow of my aura brought the severity of the situation into shocking clarity. His right arm lie broken and twisted grotesquely at his side and his left hand was held tightly against his right chest wall where I could hear a faint sucking sound as he breathed. To top it off, his right thigh was lying at an angle that suggested either a serious hip injury or a broken femur. Luckily though, I didn't see any signs of head trauma.

Seeing blood flowing slowly from his chest wound, I tugged at his wrist and yelled "Let me see under your hand!"

Stiffly, he complied, revealing what was either the jagged end of a fractured rib or a broken stick protruding a centimeter through his fur. In the horror movie lighting that my aura created it was hard to tell which it was but I knew what had to be done either way. I kicked off my shoes and pulled at my socks.

"Here!" I yelled into his ear. "Press these around that thing in your chest as firmly you can stand it. Don't push it in or pull it out, just squeeze around it!"

With an anguished wail, he followed my instructions perfectly; settling into a state of rapid, shallow breaths afterwards.

Despite his alert state, I knew he'd deteriorate quickly under the extreme conditions and hastened to replace my shoes as I talked. "Steven, I don't have a phone! I have to go for help!"

Before I could stop him, he let go of his ribs and gripped my forearm with such tenacity that his claws dug fiercely into my flesh. "Don't leave! ... Oh god! ... Roger, I'm gonna die!"

I squeezed his good arm in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. "Steven, you're going to be fine but no one knows we're here. Dorm 3 is only half a kilometer away. I'll get help there and be back in no time."

He refused to ease the death grip on my wrist and talked in panicked bursts between gasps. "My phone ... waterproof ... left front pocket!"

Had circumstances been different, I would've made a quip about having a faerie reach into his front pocket but I held my tongue and awkwardly fished out his phone with my free hand. Although it was wet, it appeared undamaged and the display flared brightly after I squeezed the power button. Unfortunately, I was prevented further access by a lock screen. I held the device so he could see it and hoped he would let go of my arm to unlock it. Instead he called out "It's 6969!"

"Clever!" I said as I unlocked it. "Ok, I'm in but there's no signal. I'll have to climb out of the ravine but I'll be..."

Before I could finish, his claws burrowed even further into my wrist. "No! ... Don't go!"

Using my free hand, I gripped his muzzle and made him look at me. "Steven, I'll be right back! Now take these and press them to your chest!" I shoved the wadded up socks at him and forcefully wrenched my forearm away. In retrospect, I should have applied any number of Aikido techniques to loosen his hold. But, in the fervor of the moment, I simply pulled straight away, causing his claws to gouge deeply into my wrist.

_F#ckin' 'A'! Damn that tore deep! Screw it! I'll deal with it later._I turned and started away, calling over my shoulder "I'll be right back!"

Steven tried to scream after me but his injuries reduced his efforts to woeful cries. "No! Don't leave! ... God, no!"

Holding the phone high in spite of it's supposed waterproof nature, I waded across the stream's seven meter span carefully and scrambled up the trailside bank where I paused to yell back "Hold your chest tight! I'll be back in five minutes!"

My ascent up the path was slowed by the limited visibility provided by my fear stoked aura and the phone's meager back-mounted L.E.D., but I finally breached the crest and the phone's signal bars lit up. Dialing proved frustratingly difficult with my numb, shaking fingers and I almost dropped the phone before finally getting through.

A female voice came on the line. "Emergency Services. State the nature of your emergency."

The wind was noticeably stronger now that I was out of the protective ravine and I struggled to speak coherently through my shuddering, clenched teeth. "Need an ambulance, possibly a helicopter, at Burwell Academy. There's a severely injured student in the ravine ... about a half kilometer North of Dorm 3. Punctured lung, difficulty breathing, multiple fractures. Fell in the stream, out on the bank now."

Her computer keyboard clacked quietly and then she spoke again. "Sir, an ambulance has been dispatched and the police have been notified; they may have a helicopter in the area. I'm also contacting school security. Is the victim conscious?"

I hunkered down, trying to cut my exposure to the freezing wind. "He was when I left him a couple minutes ago. I had to climb out to get a cell phone signal. I need to get back! Tell the responders to look for a blue-white flashing light."

"Sir, I need you to stay on the line until we pinpoint your location. Is anyone else hurt?"

My wrist burned but I was loathe to admit it. "No, just very wet and cold! I have to go back but I'll lose the signal. Look for the bright, flashing light. You can't miss it!"

The dispatcher's tone took on a commanding edge. "Sir! I need you to stay on the line. Do you know the name and age of the victim?"

Growling, I yelled "Steven T... Steven Hampton. I think he's fifteen."

"And your name?"

I snarled louder. "Eric..." Sh#t! "Roger Evans! Look, the helicopter will see me flashing from a mile off! I've got to get back and try to keep him warm and still!"

"Sir it's..."

I ended the call and turned back to the trail. The descent proved trickier than the climb, due my rapidly numbing limbs, and it took several minutes before I finally reached the stream and called out. "Steven, I'm here!"

Running water and silence answered back.