 
Power Trilogy Book Two: Strike of Sword

Ethan Ransom Becker

2014

Smashwords Edition

Kyle Foster's life really took a turn, but for better or for worse no one could tell. When that summer started, Kyle never dreamed of anything close to this happening. He never dreamed of having super powers or fighting ancient cosmic beings for his very survival, and when one came, he was completely unprepared. A stroke of luck was all that saved him, but when his friend was in danger, the will to protect her summoned more power, enough to destroy an ancient being.

Several good things happened since his battle with the red Primal. About three weeks after the incident, the spasms and seizures that herald the growth of his alien powers just stopped. There were no signs of their fading or his getting better; just one day, a random day, a Tuesday in fact, they stopped, as if they never started.

This, of course, led to a complete turnaround in Kyle's life. His relationships with his friends became less about pity and more about just being together again. And for the first time, he was starting to have fun with his powers. His friend Jules even set up a YouTube channel, featuring several videos of Kyle doing things with his powers.

His home address leaked out, and he started to receive all kinds of mail. People all over the country thought the best and the worst of him. Some thought he was the second coming of the Lord, while others thought he was abducted by aliens. Some thought he was a super hero, and others thought he was about to start an epidemic.

His concern was finding the Primal again. The trouble with that was where to start. It wasn't like he could just go to Colorado for the weekend when school just started, but he had to try something. The first thing he did was call his grandmother, whom they were staying with when the Primal landed. She explained to him that she was moved for a month from her house while the police "cleaned things up," and when she was allowed to move back into her house, she checked the area, and it was gone. She had no idea how it was moved without anyone noticing, and no one would tell her anything about it.

So wherever the Primal was, it was in the possession of the government. Knowing this did not excite Kyle in the least, for this only made the search harder for him.

For some reason, though, he felt bad for the Primal. He knew it was not technically "alive," but he couldn't imagine the kinds of experiments being run on it.

But Kyle didn't worry about it. No sense feeling sorry for something that doesn't understand the notion of pain. Even though Kyle had had direct contact with the Primal, he often didn't know how to refer to their "relationship." Kyle didn't know how to feel toward the Primal, and the Primal didn't "feel" in any sense of the word.

But becoming further bonded to the Primal was counterproductive to his goal. He had to find the Primal and return the power it gave him. Not just for his sake, but for that of the world. What the Primal told him after he defeated the red Primal was always on his mind.

"The power inside of you is only a fragment, and thus much more unstable than if you were to possess all of the Primal's power. The small amount of power that you took from us is deteriorating the very fabric of your form. When your body is no more, those energies will be released. Even though it would only be a fraction of what it used to be, that power will grow, absorbing all that it can. Planets, stars, entire galaxies would be consumed until the power reaches its limits, leaving nothing behind when it does."

Imagine possessing power that could destroy galaxies. It's very clichéd but so true: with great power comes great responsibility. It's the ultimate choice for those with such power. Will it be used for the greater good or for personal vendettas? And what happens when someone tests this power's limits.

# Chapter One

"This is stupid."

"We know that, Jules," Kyle said flatly.

"Why would you even do this?" she questioned.

"Why not?" Justin asked.

"Because this is stupid," she came back with.

This was the bulk of their conversation for hours now. It was a beautiful clear day, not a cloud in the sky, it was Spring Break 2009, the Fosters and Slades were on vacation together, and all they could do was argue about why they were where they were.

All three of them were standing in the shade of a bus while getting ready for the main event. Their parents were out by the railing taking pictures of the open landscape, and Kyle's sister Sarah was on her phone.

This main event was what Jules was arguing against, the same position she took when she learned that Kyle was going to do this stunt the day they learned they were taking this trip together. Normally, Kyle would've taken her advice, but he needed to get his mind off of things. Mainly, the future.

Almost a year had gone by since he first encountered a giant blue alien that crash-landed in Colorado, where he happened to be on vacation. Ever since, Kyle was scarred with blue markings that eventually spread up his arms and were currently crossing his upper torso and Kyle somehow became a vessel for an incredible power. In the following months, Kyle learned how to control his powers, and to not allow them to control his life. During that first summer, Kyle hid himself in his house out of fear, both of himself and of how people would think. The fear that he would hurt others and the fear that his friends would be scared of him kept him in exile.

Justin and Jules kept talking, but Kyle wasn't paying attention to the conversation. Sometimes Kyle just enjoyed listening to them talk to each other, thinking to himself how lucky he is to have such good friends. Justin and Julianne Slade were twins that Kyle had known almost his whole life. It was these two and another friend, Emma Luck, who eventually broke Kyle out of his shell that he had formed the summer before. They were the greatest blessings in his life.

"Let me check the battery again," Jules insisted, reaching for the video camera in Justin's hands.

"No," Justin answered, holding the camera high above Jules' reach. "You've checked it fifty million times since we left home; you're just stalling. This is going to happen."

Jules groaned frustratingly and punched Justin in the stomach. Justin stumbled at the blow, but held the camera where it was.

"Give it to me, Justin!" she yelled. "It's my camera, and if you drop it, you're replacing it!"

"Then stop hitting me and I won't drop it," Justin returned, amused at his sister's anger.

"C'mon, guys," Kyle said loudly enough to get their attention. "People are starting to stare. Let's just do this before anyone gets suspicious."

"I still can't believe that you are actually going to do this, Kyle," Jules replied. "This is so unlike you; you don't do crazy stuff like this."

Kyle shrugged, saying, "I don't exactly know why I'm doing this, either. But I have to do something; if I don't, I'll go crazy just waiting."

"But this is big, Kyle," she pleaded. "Please don't do this."

"Would you relax, Jules," Justin insisted. "The man's got this."

Jules smacked his chest again, saying, "Not so loud."

Kyle could see that Jules was still not on board with everything, so he said, "C'mon Jules. Just this one thing and I'll never ask you to be a part of anything like this again."

"Promise you'll just never do anything like this again at all," she answered.

Kyle raised his right hand and said, "I promise." The vessel on the palm of his hand glowed when he spoke.

"Then let's get this over with," she said, and took her camera back from Justin. "What are you waiting for, anyway?"

Kyle froze for a minute. What was he waiting for? He hadn't told anyone that his power was eventually going to kill him and then destroy the world. As the Primal had put it, it was only a matter of time, unless he could find the Primal and return the power. So far, though, his search had been desperate, since he had no idea where the Primal was. His Granma had reported that it was taken sometime in the week following Kyle's contact, while he was still in a coma. As far as he knew, Area 51 had it, and although he wrote letters and emails, he so far had no response, and by now he didn't expect any. So he was waiting for the end, or for an escape.

Kyle turned toward Jules and said, "I'll tell you some time. I promise."

They broke then to the positions they had agreed upon. Justin would face outward as if he had no idea what was about to happen, while Jules was positioned several yards away to where she could see both Justin and Kyle. After a minute, Kyle got two thumbs up, one from each twin. Show time.

Kyle slowly walked toward the railing that Justin was standing just in front of. The trick was to not draw attention to him, as there were about thirty other people around the entire area. No one stared at Kyle, luckily, and he wished he had that sort of luck back home. In Odessa he could hardly go anywhere without someone staring at him.

He got to the railing and stared straight forward for a few seconds. At that point Justin panned around to look at him.

Kyle closed his eyes. He called upon the power flowing through him. Primal energy coursed through his entire body. Whenever Kyle felt the depth of this energy, he was always surprised by how much actually fit into his body. For a second it was like floating in the deep end of a pool. As easily as he would move a muscle, he coaxed energy out of wherever it stayed when he wasn't using it. His vessels lighting up made him feel lighter, as if giant weights he had carried since birth were taken away. He felt freer than he ever had before.

Eyes still closed, he jumped over the railing fell head first into the Grand Canyon.

He fell in complete silence for only three seconds, but as soon as his feet left the railing, his mind became totally blank. Those three seconds of free-falling were the most peaceful seconds Kyle had experienced all year. Another positive thing Kyle's powers had given him was enhanced brain activity, so those few seconds felt like an hour to Kyle. This was when Kyle was in complete peace and the only thing in the world was silence.

In the darkness of Kyle's mind, light and power began pouring in. Kyle was barely conscious of it, but had long since stopped being scared of it (destroying an immortal intergalactic being can do that for a person). After almost a full year, the sensation was as natural as any body movement. It almost seemed as if he always had this power, and at times he didn't know how he would cope after giving it back. It allowed him to do amazing things, such as fall through the Grand Canyon without a shadow of fear.

When he was less than fifty feet from splashing into the river below, Kyle reacted. He nimbly flipped over to where he was falling feet first. From his hands and feet came mighty blasts of energy shooting straight at the ground, slowing his descent dramatically. The raw energy hit the water like a boulder, splashing it over Kyle's head and gouging into the river bed beneath. All the water that was forced into the air started falling around Kyle's shoulders as he slowed his descent into a hover only a few feet above the floor of the canyon.

Now he was drenched, but the water felt good. It was significantly cooler down in the canyon than standing over the edge. It was still early enough in the morning that most of the canyon wall shaded the river. Kyle took a minute to take it in while he hovered. Looking up, he couldn't even see any of the people who probably just watched him jump over the edge.

Now for the real fun, Kyle thought as he started to drift purposefully backward, holding a leg behind him so he didn't just smack into the wall. He kept looking forward, not needing to look back to find the wall of the canyon. He knew where it was for a while. Yet another bonus to having this power was a heightened awareness of his surroundings. Almost like radar, he always had a mental map of his immediate surroundings, even in pitch darkness. Kyle had already found a relatively flat area, and lightly changed direction by either strengthening or weakening the flow of power coming out of either hand. When his foot brushed against the section of the wall he was aiming for, he brought his other foot up higher on the wall. Bringing his hands back, he only touched the wall with the tips of his fingers. He clung to the wall in a position to launch himself deeper into the canyon.

Closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, He drew more energy from the unknown reservoir inside him and into his arms and legs. He took another minute to gather energy, meanwhile taking mental notes of the feel of the layers of rock stacked behind him, noting the differences in minerals. Emma would probably be very interested in this.

That was one of the things Kyle really liked about Emma, that she was interested in so many things, some of which could be really random. It was never a dull moment when talking with Emma. That was one of the reasons Kyle ended up having a crush on her. For a year, Kyle kept it to himself, until one night at a party Kyle somehow found the courage to ask her out. Initially, she rejected him, but Kyle later learned her reason for saying no. Although they weren't going out together, Kyle felt that their friendship was strengthened as a result.

Now he was ready. He stopped the flow of energy, tensing every inch of his body. With one final exhale, the world and every thought in his mind dissolved. Without a countdown, he surprised himself with the launch, pushing off so hard, several large chunks of the wall took off with him, leaving a web of cracks spreading a hundred feet in every direction.

In almost literally no time, everything was a blur. Everything sort of cleared up when the energy from Kyle's body started to form its usual spearhead shaped field around him, if one would consider wavy and tinted blue as an improvement. It may not have been perfect, but it allowed him to see so much more than what was actually around him. He could "feel" things without touching them, and he depended on this extra sense while flying as much as he did his sight. If not, he'd have been a stain on the side of the canyon as soon as he took off. Instead he rocketed easily through the canyon, bouncing back and forth off the walls, leaving his starting point far behind him.

The feeling was exhilarating, but Kyle reached the other end of the canyon within minutes. As he saw the end coming, he waited until the last possible moment to drastically change direction and fly straight up without losing any speed. He flew straight up for about a minute before coming to a halt and hover at the altitude he stopped at. Looking down, the Grand Canyon looked like a small ditch. Looking west, he saw the Rocky Mountains, which looked more like hills, and beyond the Pacific Ocean, stretching beyond his sight.

Kyle felt on top of the world, both literally and figuratively. Since his battle with the red Primal, and with the eventual end of his episodic seizures, he felt indestructible. He had conquered an immortal cosmic being and had just flown straight through the Grand Canyon in less than two minutes. Maybe tomorrow he would knock the top off of those mountains to the west, or set the new record for flying across the Pacific. He could do both; He could do anything, and nothing in the world could stop him. The thought made him grin as flew back to meet with his friends.

A few hours later the three of them were back at their hotel in Salt Lake City. Jules was going over the footage Justin got from Kyle's stunt while the boys were watching a movie, each with a large bowl of popcorn in front of them.

"How does it look, sis?" Justin asked, not really paying attention. Jules doesn't answer. "Jules?" he asks again, actually looking at his sister this time. She had stopped working on the computer and was doing something on her phone.

"Hey, Julianne," Justin calls a little louder.

Jules finally responded to the sound of her full name. "What do you want!?" she snapped back harshly.

Justin noticed that she also ducked her phone away. "I wanted to know how the footage looked," he clarified. "Plus, now I want to know who you were texting."

"I wasn't texting; I was playing a game, just got sidetracked," Jules answered in a high, fast voice.

"You know your voice goes higher when you lie, right?" Justin asked rhetorically. Jules struggles to respond, and Justin picks up with "So how's Tyler doing?"

Kyle finally zoned into their conversation. "Wait, who's Tyler?"

Jules looked embarrassed and Justin looked confused. "You didn't know?"

"Know what?" Kyle asked.

"Julianne Slade and Tyler Rubio are going out," Justin said in a playful song voice.

"Like boyfriend and girlfriend?" Kyle asked. Justin nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?" Kyle asked her, slightly hurt.

"Hey, I haven't used the word boyfriend," Jules said in her defense.

"But he's used the word girlfriend," Justin pointed out. "Do you know Tyler?" he asked Kyle.

"Not very well," Kyle admitted. Tyler Rubio was in the same grade as the three of them, but he and Kyle never really had much in common. Tyler was on Permian High School's basketball team like Justin, both having just made varsity that year, and Tyler also played soccer. Other than that, Kyle could say he had had two classes with the guy in the last two years. "How did Jules meet him?"

"How did you two meet?" Justin asked, turning back to his sister.

"One of those times I had to wait for you to get done with basketball practice," was all she said. "So how are those dance classes with Emma going, Kyle?" she asked, obviously deflecting attention from herself.

Since the school year began Kyle and Emma had been attending a ballroom dance class Thursday nights. It was Emma's idea, but she needed a partner to do the class with. She had asked Kyle before they went to a party together and Kyle had agreed eagerly.

"It's actually harder than I thought," Kyle admitted. Kyle didn't know before, but the ballroom dances he'd been learning required a coordination and technicality that he didn't have yet. As per Emma's request, he couldn't cheat with his powers to get faster or more precise.

But Kyle would testify that it was also very fun. Emma and he were the youngest couple in the class, which had five other couples all around thirty, including a couple preparing for their wedding.

Plus the extra time with Emma was nice. Kyle had had a crush on her ever since they met. They got along amazingly well and were very close. Close enough that Emma revealed that she might be gay. That revelation threw Kyle back, but he was open to it. Earlier that very evening Kyle had admitted his feelings for her. After that night they were closer than ever. Hers was one of Kyle's most precious friendships, and after saving her life he would do anything for her.

"How does she feel that you missed your class this week?" Justin asked. Kyle punched him in the arm and went back to watching the movie.

# Chapter Two

One week later, Kyle sat at his desk in his room back in Odessa. His algebra homework sat in front of him, but he wasn't even looking at it. Kyle just couldn't concentrate on math at the moment. He had tried everything. He shut the window to where the only light in the room came from his Apple laptop as quiet music came out, and his vessels. In the semi-darkness of his room, Kyle just sat there, staring at the impossibly difficult math homework, wondering what he should do next.

Kyle was getting seriously annoyed with that question. What would he do next? What could he do next? After over a year of thinking, writing letters, making videos for Jules' YouTube channel, dance class with Emma, and calling random people all over Washington D.C., Kyle had gotten nowhere in his search for the Primal. It got to the point where Kyle scoffed whenever he heard someone talk about the government listening to the people.

Kyle was actually pretty surprised by the government ignoring him, despite the fact that his fight with the red Primal was a very public event, staying on headline news for nearly two weeks. Videos posted on the internet got millions of views. Kyle was even interviewed about what happened to him. During that interview, he had explained that he wanted to see the Primal again, although he didn't explain why. It seemed like a bad idea to admit that he was going to explode like a trillion nuclear bombs and destroy half the galaxy on national television, although that probably would've gotten attention from the government. Not the attention he wanted, but more than this.

But Kyle persevered, dragging his feet through his math homework for almost forty-five minutes. He shifted to his English homework, which was only to finish a three page paper. That only took ten minutes, and he was done with homework. Now he could concentrate on saving the world from himself until dinner was ready.

As usual, this line of thought did nothing but frustrate him for half an hour. It was the sweet relief of smelling dinner almost done that dragged him out of his room.

As he made his way downstairs, the sound of Sarah's voice got louder. Kyle got to the foot of the stairs and found his little sister on the couch and on her cell phone talking to one of her little friends. Kyle just couldn't keep up with the amount of people his sister knew. Middle school had turned Sarah Foster into the center of all gossip for Odessa tweens. What really impressed Kyle was that she was privy to information at his high school, even though she wouldn't be going there until next year. Sarah always had an army of friends, but Kyle would take his handful of good friends over that any day.

Kyle moved on to the kitchen, where his parents were talking and cooking. His father was the first to acknowledge him. "Hey, there, kid. How was school?"

"Normal day," he replied, sighing. To himself, he thought about as normal as they get anymore.

"Good," he said. And that was the end of their conversation.

Kyle's mother, on the other hand, had many more questions. In her usual bubbly way, she asked how the twins were (despite she just seeing them right after school when they came over to their house), how was his load of homework that night, to name a few. Kyle answered all of her questions, giving just enough details to satisfy her while maintaining a level of secrecy.

Finally Kyle got to ask her a question. "Was there anything in the mail today?"

"I didn't see anything," she answered.

Kyle sighed again. He was disappointed, yet not surprised. Kyle had sent letters to several people in the hopes of finding the Primal. He had had very little success in the last few weeks. He was always either told that their office would not know of that subject or they suggested he talk to someone else. He'd given up on calling offices for information, being either on hold or transferred all over the place until he hit a dead end. Kyle was becoming very annoyed with the government seemingly ignoring him.

But Kyle was anything if not an optimist. He had alien super powers; if anything the scientific community would start knocking at his door. He only hoped that it would be in enough time...

"Thanks, mom," he said, smiling to hide his worry. She returned the smile and went on to finish preparing dinner.

After they ate, Kyle invited the twins over so they could work together on any homework any of them had left (which always turned into Kyle and Jules helping Justin). After that, they grabbed a few cans of soda and sat on the back porch, Jules and Kyle taking lawn chairs and Justin sprawling on a porch swing Kyle's dad had set up.

As they talked, Kyle zoned out every few minutes. The fourth time this happened, Jules noticed. "You alright, Kyle?" she asked.

Kyle brought his mind back and answered, "Yeah. Just thinking."

"About what?" Jules pushed.

Kyle hesitated before saying, "I don't know, it's just that it's been nearly two months since I sent out all of those letters, and I haven't heard anything back. I'm just starting to get annoyed."

"How do you even know that the alien is still here on Earth?" Justin asked as he sat a little more properly on the swing. "It could have left after it hit you for all we know."

"It was practically half-dead by the time I got to it," Kyle said. "And why would it give me a piece of its power and then just take off?"

"Maybe you scared it and it ran," Justin answered.

"Yeah, I scared a giant immortal alien and it ran home to its mommy," Kyle returned sarcastically. "I'm sure it hasn't left the planet."

"Okay," Jules added, "then where could it be?"

"Area 51," Justin threw out.

Both Kyle and Jules turned to look at him. Seeing that he seemed completely serious, Kyle said, "That is ridiculous."

"No, man, it's totally a real place," he explained. "It's like an Air Force base in Nevada or something."

"Maybe," Jules said, "but there aren't aliens there."

"Because we never found one until now," Justin pointed out.

Kyle shrugged and said to Jules, "We might as well give him that."

Jules rolled her eyes as she pulled her phone out to check the time. "We'd better go," she said. They all stood up, said good night, and went their separate ways, Kyle heading inside and the twins out through the gate to the front yard.

Hours later, Kyle woke up violently to his vessels searing with pain. It felt like pulses of electric shocks that just got faster and faster until it was a constant stream of pain. It hurt so much Kyle couldn't even scream out. Then everything went dark...

Kyle opened his eyes and found himself not in his room. As far as he could tell, he was nowhere, surrounded by a blue mist. He remembered this place, or rather, this situation. This was some strange dream world the Primal used to communicate with him.

"Find us and return our power," came the genderless voice of the Primal, but this time was different. The last time the Primal spoke to him, the voice was directionless. This time, the voice was clearly coming from above him.

He looked up to see a fuzzy likeness of the Primal circling overhead. It's slow, methodical movement reminded Kyle of a whale, but it used its four wing-like structures like wings, surprisingly. It didn't really move through the mist as much as within the mist, as if it were just another part of the environment.

Kyle called out to it. "How do I find you? Do you know where you are?"

"Find us and return our power," it repeated. "You know how to find us."

"How do I find you?" Kyle asked. "I don't know. Please tell me. I want to return your power but I don't know how to find you."

"The fragments come together and recreate the whole," it said.

Kyle felt himself starting to wake up. He tried as hard as he could to stay there, but he couldn't.

The next day at school Kyle could hardly pay attention to any of his teachers. The whole school had more or less gotten over the fact that he had powers and was treating him like a normal student. Kyle was actually much more grateful for that than he thought he would, and he was told to "sit up and pay attention" as much as everyone else. He took the semblance of a normal life wherever he could get it.

First period math was both a blessing and a curse. It was the class that gave him the most headaches but the one class he really needed to pay attention in. Kyle really didn't sleep well after that vision with the Primal, and he was exhausted.

He made it through, though, and next period was Biology. Biology had its ups and downs, too. The up being Emma was in that class. The down being Tony Hamilton somehow being in that class, as well. Tony and Kyle still didn't get along. At the end of last summer, both Kyle and Tony asked Emma out. She rejected them both, but Tony didn't give her a chance to explain like she had to Kyle. Kyle defended Emma and confronted Tony. The two of them couldn't stand each other since.

Kyle came around a corner to see Emma and Tony talking to each other outside of their classroom. Emma's back was to him, but Tony's eyes locked on Kyle the instant he came into view. Kyle started to walk over as Tony waved Emma off and went into the classroom. When Tony walked away from her, Emma turned around curiously to see Kyle right behind her by then.

"What was that about?" Kyle asked her, peering into the room to see Tony taking his seat. Emma hesitated, and Kyle made an assumption. "You were trying to get us to get along, weren't you?"

She just smiled and nodded. "I feel bad about you two not getting along. I see you both every day and there's just this constant tension."

Kyle sighed and hung his head. "Why do you feel so bad about this?"

"Because it's half my fault," she reasoned. "I should have seen this coming; I should've realized why he acted the way he did around me. I should've been clearer with him."

"Just stop," Kyle pleaded. "Of all the things to beat yourself up about, don't choose this."

The teachers were starting to herd the stragglers into their classrooms, so Kyle and Emma went on inside. Once Kyle sat down and class started, he started to doze off again. For almost an hour he fought to keep his eyes open, realizing that this was going to be a bad day.

Normally on Thursdays Kyle and Emma had their dance class, but that evening they were both at a high school soccer game. Permian was playing Abilene; Emma was working with the video team recording the game, and Kyle was writing an article for the school paper. Jules and Justin were also there with Kyle, and the four of them carpooled since it was a home game; Emma's father had drove them all and sat a few seats behind the trio in the stands. While Justin didn't play soccer, he did help Kyle understand what was going on when things moved too fast; sports were the only subject that Kyle would defer to Justin Slade.

The game was almost over; Permian just had to keep their lead for half a minute and they would win. Kyle could see Emma on the field, getting the reaction of the team and coach on the sidelines while another camera worker followed the ball. Even Kyle put down his pen and notebook to watch the action.

Three. Two. One. Final buzzer goes off; Permian – 4, Abilene – 3. The Permian crowd went wild. Even Jules was visibly excited; she was bouncing on her feet and screaming her head off. Kyle was shocked, until she actually ran down the stands and rushed on the field with a few other people and ran into Tyler Rubio's arms. Tyler had been on the bench for the last part of the game, but when the buzzer rang, he had rushed onto the field to congratulate his team when Jules reached him.

Watching all of this going on, Kyle leaned over to Justin. "You sure they're not boyfriend and girlfriend?" he asked.

Jules and Tyler hugged and spun around on the spot, and then they stopped and kissed each other three times. They were individual kisses, and each very quick, but both of them were smiling out of the excitement of the evening.

Justin shrugged. "Not so sure anymore," he admitted.

After the game and everyone had went off to continue the celebration for the game, the three of them sat waiting in the parking lot for Emma to finish and for her father to come back from the bathroom back at the stadium. It rarely took her that long to put away all of the camera equipment in the school. It was late and Justin and Jules were getting tired. They wanted to know what was taking so long, and Kyle volunteered to go check it out.

Kyle ran back into the school and navigated his way through the dark halls with his glowing vessels. He reached the video team's room and the first thing he noticed was that the lights were still on. Kyle peered into the window of the door and saw something that made him wish he had just decided to wait a little longer outside.

Emma was in there, and so was another girl. Kyle couldn't tell who she was because the two of them were sitting on a desk and holding each other so tightly he couldn't see her face. They were kissing, and it was passionate and slow kissing.

Kyle immediately ducked away, breathing hard, terrified that they had sensed someone watching them. He didn't wait to find out, though. Panicking, he used his power to boost his speed and rushed outside. As soon as he hit open air, he took off, a glowing bolt launched into the sky, and flew straight home.

# Chapter Three

Kyle biked to school by himself the next day. It wasn't a trip he usually made, but he needed to concentrate on something. Something other than what he saw in the computer lab.

That split second of memory would not get out of his head. When he was awake it was always occupying a corner of his mind. When he slept it found its way into his dreams. Dreaming it was worse, because his brain created details he didn't know he caught or didn't want to see.

He managed to get to school and to his locker before Justin finally found him. "Hey, man," he said nonchalantly as he walked over to Kyle. Kyle just sighed when he saw Justin and closed his locker. "What happened to you last night? All we saw was the sky lighting up like fourth of July."

"I got a text from my mom," Kyle explained. "She wanted me to come home as soon as I could."

"Oh, okay," Justin replied. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out Kyle cell phone, handing it to him. "You left this in Mr. Ocean's car, by the way," he said casually.

Kyle just hung his head in defeat and took his phone back. He'd been wondering where he left it. As he pocketed the phone, Justin asked again, "What happened to you last night?"

Kyle hesitated before answering. This wasn't his secret to tell. As far as Kyle knew, he was the only one that Emma had confided to that she was gay. Telling Justin without letting her know he was going to would be wrong, and her finding out that he caught her with another girl would just be another awkward position for him. This really was a no-win scenario for Kyle.

But Justin wanted an answer, and standing straight with his arms across his chest meant he wasn't going anywhere without one. Justin was rarely ever like this; Justin was usually a care-free guy and bothered no one, but Kyle knew he could be intimidating when he wanted. "What I saw," Kyle finally answered, "I can't tell you about. I just can't; I'm sorry."

"Fine," Justin said. He could never keep the tough guy act going for very long. "You know Jules is going to want a better answer, right?"

"I know," Kyle replied. Looking over Justin's shoulder, he asked, "Where is she, anyway?"

Justin turned around to look for her, too. Turning back to Kyle, he said, "I don't know; she was with me a minute ago." Suddenly Justin looked up, and Kyle could see the wheels in his mind turning. "I think I have an idea," he said, storming off to the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria they found Jules sitting at a table alone with Tyler. They were sitting close to each other so only they could hear their conversation. Both were just beaming and Jules was giggling. Jules never giggled, or she hadn't since she was a little girl, so it was odd for both Kyle and Justin to see.

Justin started walking over to them, and right then Kyle heard his name from behind him. Kyle turned around and saw Emma waving at him. Kyle's heart almost skipped a beat, but he maintained his composure and walked over to her.

"Hey, Emma," he greeted amiably, probably overdoing it a bit.

"Hey," she replied. "Can we talk in the hall? I can never think in here."

"Sure," said Kyle casually.

Once out in the hallway, Emma, looking concerned, asked, "Was everything alright last night? The twins said your mom texted you to go home soon."

"Umm, yeah," Kyle replied quickly. "Everything was fine. I just flew home because I didn't want her to worry. Did you guys get home alright?"

Kyle realized how dumb of a question that was after he asked it. Emma was obviously suspicious of it, too. "Yeah," she answered, studying Kyle. "Are you alright? You're acting funny."

Just then the bell for class rang, giving Kyle the excuse he needed to get away from Emma. "I gotta get to my locker," he blurted and just walked away.

The next day, Kyle, his sister Sarah and the twins sat in the Foster's living room, doing their new Saturday morning rituals. It used to be that they would all watch cartoons like every kid; now that they were older, Kyle and Justin sat playing Halo 3 over Xbox Live, while Jules and Sarah were editing the latest video to be put up on Jules' YouTube channel. Kyle and Justin used to help her with the videos, but seeing as Sarah actually had more creative taste than the two of them combined, Jules stopped wanting the boys to help. It sometimes annoyed Kyle that he didn't have much of a say on the videos, since about eighty percent of them starred him, but not anymore.

Ever since the twin's last birthday, Jules was very interested in making movies. She got a video camera, and now making movies was her one obsession. However, recently it has dropped to her second obsession.

At one point, Sarah had taken over control of editing the video since Jules got a text and was completely out of focus. Since Sarah wasn't as adept at using the video cutting software as Jules, the situation devolved into Sarah frequently asking what to do next. The constant talking finally got to Kyle and Justin, and they quit their game to turn on the girls.

"Why don't you just help her with the video?" Justin asked his sister impatiently.

"I am helping her," Jules said without taking her eyes off her phone.

"No you're not, you're texting Tyler, I bet."

Jules was about to reply when her phone went off. She read the text, and then asked, "Is it alright with you guys if Tyler comes to Pizza Hut later?"

"No," Justin answered before Kyle could even think of a response. "I don't like him."

"How could you not like him?" Jules asked in complete disbelief. "You talked to him for the first time yesterday."

"And I don't like him," Justin said simply.

Jules rolled her eyes, and Sarah finally regained her attention to work on the video. Ten minutes later, the video was declared finished. Justin went to go watch it and Kyle used the excuse to step outside for some fresh air. He never watched the videos he starred in; it just seemed weird to him when he watched himself online. He always thought he looked like he was showing off some new toy he bought. He was way beyond thinking that his powers were a toy. Toys don't threaten to destroy worlds, but they were just excited that they didn't need to try and make special effects.

Kyle was in the middle of stretching when he noticed a strange car in the driveway of the house to the right of his, and initially thought that was weird. The old man who lived there had moved out two months ago, and it appeared as if someone was already taking the empty house. The thought intrigued him; he had never really experienced having a new neighbor.

The old man had been there since before Kyle was born and he was too young to remember when the twins moved to the house on the other side. Kyle never really knew the guy, anyway. There were a couple of time Kyle could remember helping him out with cleaning his house and mowing his lawn, but they never really had a real conversation. He was a crotchety old man, and very off-putting.

Kyle went back inside to everyone talking about the latest video, which was to be posted later that day. Over everyone, Kyle interjected, "Did you guys notice someone moving into the house over there?"

Sarah and Jules were silent, but Justin said, "Oh, yeah. I saw him pull up last night."

Jules looked dumbfounded at her brother. "And when were you going to tell us?"

"I guess now," he replied, which got him a punch to the arm from his sister.

"Got anything you'd like to add?" Kyle asked Sarah, who was coming back with a glass of sweet tea.

"Just a guy," Sarah added, "and he appears to be single. No one came with him."

"Why would someone have such a big place for one person?" Jules asked. "Why wouldn't he get an apartment or something?"

Finally, Kyle came to his senses. "You know what, who cares?" he asked. "He lives next door; we'll probably find out who he is soon enough." Kyle checked the clock on the wall. "I got some homework this weekend, and I better get started if I want to have it done by the time we go to Pizza Hut later."

"Why don't we just stay here and work on it together?" Jules offered.

"I'd love to, but our mom wants us to start trying to do our homework by ourselves first before we ask for help," Kyle explained.

"It's true," Sarah backed up. "It's kind of a pain. Because I'm not really good at math or science, so those are the ones I really need help on, but mom's like 'try to do it yourself.' I ask her why and she just says 'so you'll get the satisfaction.' I'll get the satisfaction from the good grade I get. I mean, English and History are no problem; I'm really good at memorizing dates and events and all of my English teachers say I've got a lot to talk about so my essays are never really a problem. But math has too many numbers and now that they've added letters I—"

"SARAH," Kyle roared, and his powers flared up, causing every small object in the room to shudder. It got Sarah's attention, and, more quietly, Kyle added, "I've got homework to do, and I think you do, too."

As soon as Sarah left, Jules turned to Kyle and asked, "Why did you do that?"

"What, yell at her?" Kyle returned. "I've always yelled at her. It doesn't faze her one bit."

"I'm talking about the making everything shake," she clarified.

"I don't know. I can't help it; I don't have perfect control of these powers yet," he explained.

"Well, you better get control," she warned. "I think you actually scared her just then."

"I didn't scare her," he replied. "I just shook her up a bit, that's all."

"That's probably not something you should get in a habit of doing," she warned. "But I don't feel like arguing with you anymore. Just get your homework done and we'll see you later."

Later that evening, after they'd eaten and left, Kyle was up in his room writing the article for the school paper on the soccer game. He was typing it out on his computer when all of a sudden he felt a zap of pain on the back of his neck. He hissed in pain and instinctively put his hand over the spot, but it was gone before he felt his neck. He rubbed it for a second as he tried remembering where he was in his article, but he realized something as he did. The language on his monitor looked like gibberish. He literally stared at his computer screen for a minute trying to decipher the English language. It didn't even look like words or recognizable letters; he may as well be trying to read hieroglyphs. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, but nothing changed.

Kyle heard a knock at his door and his mother's voice. "Can I come in?" Kyle let her in, and she took one look at him and asked, "Is everything alright?"

The question threw Kyle off. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm your mother and I can tell." She sat down on Kyle's bed as he retook his chair. She obviously wasn't going to leave unless he gave her something.

Of all the things on his mind (Emma, inability to read, Jules and Tyler), he chose the one least harmful to anyone. "Julianne's got a boyfriend now, this guy on the soccer team, and it's really changed her."

His mother thought for a minute. "Well," she began, "relationships can do that. Are they happy?"

"I think so," said Kyle, "but now she's spending more time with her boyfriend than with me and Justin."

"She's her own person," she pointed out. "And I wouldn't say that; she was over here all morning with you guys."

"Yeah," he agreed, "but she was texting him for a long time while she was here."

She smiled kindly at Kyle. "Kyle, none of that means she doesn't want to be your friend anymore. This is a new thing for her and she's excited about it, but she'll always have you. Where ever this goes, you just stay her best friend, alright?" Kyle sighed and nodded. His mother stood up and kissed him on the forehead. "You're a good kid, Kyle; Julianne is lucky to have you as a friend."

After she left, Kyle turned back to his computer to see he could read again. Words and sentences made sense again, and he sighed with relief.

Then he remembered he was on a clock. It had been more than ten months since he first found the Primal in the woods, and it told him he only had three years to return its powers to its body before the worst happened. A third of his time was nearly gone, and the constant reminder that he was a ticking time bomb overshadowed his every worry.

# Chapter Four

Kyle felt like he was on the slipperiest slope he had ever been on. For days, whenever he saw Emma in the halls or out of school he couldn't help but picture her with that other girl. Kyle still had no idea who she had been with, which wasn't the worst part of the thoughts but didn't help. While he wasn't actively avoiding her, he avoided long conversations with her.

And then Jules was nowhere to be found. Kyle could usually count on being able to pull her aside if he needed advice, but now all of her free time was spent either with Tyler or on the phone with Tyler. It grew to the point where Kyle was tired of hearing that name. Justin was with him on that point, but going to him about the situation with Emma was not the best idea. Justin wasn't known for being the listening or the advising type.

Secrets were building up in Kyle's life and he didn't like it. He still hadn't told anyone the worst that would happen if he didn't find the Primal and return his power, and now he added accidentally spying on Emma and, most recently, his inability to read for just a minute. Of all of those, though, spying on Emma ate at him the most.

Thursday night came around and Kyle was at dance lessons with Emma. Throughout the lesson Kyle kept his mouth shut as much as he could. He concentrated on keeping those images of her out of his head.

In doing that he looked more awkward than when he started the class. He concentrated so hard on learning the steps of the dance that he ended up messing them up anyway. He could barely hold Emma for the first half of the class. Just touching her sometimes brought the memories to his mind.

The class took a five minute break and Kyle stepped outside. Emma soon joined him.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing," Kyle denied. "I just need a minute."

Emma let him be, but Kyle could tell that this wasn't over. He only had one class with Emma; all he had to do was make it through this class to get the day over with. He was shaky, nervous and awkward, but he had his secret weapon. He activated his power just enough to strengthen his body and sharpen his reactions. Sure, he glowed a tad brighter, but inside with the lights on no one would be able to notice.

The rest of the night went smoothly. Kyle was able to learn the new steps and perform them precisely. Apart from speed and strength his power increased his brain activity. In his head, the vision of Emma from that night still played on, but Kyle was able to also control his actions. In his head, this was still as awkward as before, but his power prevented his body language to relay that.

Mrs. Ocean drove them both home. The ride was silent; Emma didn't say a word to Kyle. When Mrs. Ocean's car pulled up to Kyle's house, Emma leaned forward to talk to her mother. "Is it alright if I talk to Kyle for a minute? I'll be right home."

Mrs. Ocean allowed it, and Emma followed Kyle out of her car. Kyle was absolutely mortified to be alone with Emma, especially with the serious look that was on her face.

She wasted no time. "What is going on? Please just tell me."

Kyle just stood there awkwardly for a minute, shifting his weight and trying to look anywhere but at Emma's eyes, which were just staring right into the middle of him.

He was shaking and nervous, but then he felt a small stream of power flow through him, calming his nerves. Kyle could feel his heart rate slow down. When he was calm enough to talk, he still ended up just blurting his answer out.

"IsawyouthatnightafterthesoccergamewiththatgirlyouweremakingoutwithI'mreallysorryIdidn'tmeantospyitwasanaccidentI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry."

Emma was obviously confused, so Kyle repeated it again slowly. After Kyle explained the situation better, they both ended up standing there embarrassed, Emma more so than Kyle. Her first actual response was, "I was afraid you had."

Now Kyle was confused, and then horrified. "Did you guys see me in the window?"

"No," Emma assured him. "But you should know when you take off, it's like a rocket; it's pretty loud."

For what felt like an eternity neither of them could look at each other. Emma, looking down at the ground, rubbed both of her arms and tightened up. She started crying softly; barely audible, she said, "Why am I so stupid?"

Kyle hesitated for a second, but went over to hug Emma and walk her home. He could feel how tense her whole body was. "You're not stupid; I'm the one who made the drama."

"But I'm the one who acted like an idiot," she stated through her tears. "I hardly know that girl; she was a senior. She didn't even say anything; we were just putting the camera stuff away and all of a sudden... you know. I mean, what if someone else had caught us? What if she tells someone? We were in a room with cameras; what if one of them was actually on!?"

Kyle just listened as they walked. Before he knew it they had reached Emma's house, which was only around the corner and down the street from Kyle's. When they got to her house, Kyle hugged Emma one more time. "I'm sorry about all of this."

"Stop apologizing," Emma ordered him. She then pulled out of his arms. "I'm the one who should apologize."

"How about we both just stop apologizing," Kyle suggested. The suggestion brought a small laugh out of both of them. "Can we just move on with our lives?"

"Agreed," said Emma. "Good night, Kyle. Thanks for being a good friend."

Kyle only smiled in response as she left him in her yard in the dark. For reasons he still didn't understand, Kyle stayed where he was for a minute, somehow disappointed. Deep down, he still had feelings for Emma. He couldn't help but feel that since revealing those feelings, she had effectively stated that she would never have those feelings for him. He was confused, but couldn't help but feel slightly angry.

Then he realized that he should probably get home. Turning around, he sprinted all the way, using his powers to get there in no time.

The next day Kyle was on his way back from school with Jules and Justin on their bicycles. It was a beautiful day for riding their bikes, but the distance from Permian high school and their street made them all dreadfully thirsty by the time they turned onto Twin Oaks. When they finally stopped in the Slade's yard, all three of them just dropped their bikes where they were. Jules managed to stumble and collapse on a bench on the porch, while Justin just collapsed in the grass. Kyle remained standing, but his entire body was shaking with exhaustion. Breathing deeply, he drew power from his vessels to soothe their ache, and he instantaneously stopped shaking.

He smiled when he saw that Justin just watched what he did. "That is not fair," he wheezed.

Kyle laughed as he walked over to the door, opened it (Kyle had had a key to the Slade's house since he was twelve), and went inside to get them all fresh drinks. When he stepped back outside, Jules was still on the bench and Justin had dragged himself under the porch awning.

"How are you that tired?" Jules asked her brother in bewilderment. "You are easily the most athletic of the three of us."

"I had athletics class next to last period, and I'm still sore from the workout," he explained, taking a large swig of the water Kyle handed him.

Kyle handed Jules her water when he caught a glint coming from the new neighbor's house. He locked eyes on the location of the glint, but it was only there for a split second. The window it had come from remained dark and empty.

"Kyle, can I have the water?" Jules asked. Kyle looked down to see her try to pull the water out of his hand, but he had a death grip on the bottle. He quickly let it go, and she opened it without a second thought. Kyle took one more look at the house on the other side of his, but it was just a house. Somehow, though, he thought he was being watched.

A few hours later, Kyle and Sarah were setting the table when their mother came bouncing (actually bouncing) into the room. "Kids, set out one more spot out on the table. The new neighbor is going to be joining us tonight."

"Wait, when did this happen?" Sarah asked.

"A half hour ago when I went over there to invite him," she answered smartly. "Kyle, you got some mail today," she also added.

"Thanks, mom," Kyle replied. Kyle then immediately left Sarah to finish; he could feel the look she was giving him as he left the room to get his mail.

Two letters sat on the coffee table with his name on them. Kyle opened the first one. It was a reply from the Colorado state police. Kyle was sure that they would've been there when the Primal was moved from the area behind his Granma's house. In the letter Kyle had sent them, he told them that he really needed to find the body again, although he couldn't say why (there really is no way to say "I'll destroy the world if I don't find it in time" without sounding like a terrorist). Kyle read the letter, but it essentially denied everything. In silent frustration, Kyle tore the letter; they were going to be no help.

Kyle was about to open the second letter when the doorbell rang. Since Kyle was closest to the door, he just tossed the half opened letter back on the table without even looking at the envelope and went to answer the door.

At the door was an older man, probably early thirties, short black hair and nicely dressed in slacks, formal shirt and tie. Kyle remembered his manners, opening the door and extending his hand to the man. "You must be the new neighbor. I'm Kyle," he said.

"Nice to meet you, Kyle," the man replied, shaking the hand while exposing a Hispanic, but more northern accent. "My name's Joseph Ramirez, but you can just call me Joseph." Joseph then looked down on Kyle's arm, at the vessels twisting around it. It was awkward for a split second before Kyle pulled out of the handshake. The two of them just stared at each other for another second before Kyle's mom came and broke up the encounter.

Kyle's mom took Joseph into the living room. Kyle followed, but then saw the half opened envelope. He took the opportunity to swipe the letter and run upstairs to read it. As he turned up the stairs, he caught Joseph's eye one last time before he disappeared.

Up in his room, Kyle looked at the letter more thoroughly. The envelope was plain, but specifically addressed to him. At the top of the letter was what first looked like the seal of the president, but it was an art deco style eagle holding two swords instead of a sword and olive branch. It was curious, but Kyle didn't put any more thought into it. He read the letter.

Dear Kyle Foster,

Our organization has recently become charged with the study of an object I'm sure you are familiar with, the space object that you and your sister encountered at the beginning of last summer. I, as the head of Sword, have personally been put in charge of oversight of the study and experimentation of the object, and I and my colleagues would appreciate your cooperation. If at all possible, and obviously with your parent's permission, we would like to meet you, and take you to the alien at our facility in Amargosa Valley, Nevada.

On behalf of Sword, I await your response. Below is a private number to reach me on.

Ryan Fox

But that wasn't the only thing in the envelope. Folded up inside the letter was a photo. Kyle was amazed to find that the photo was one of the Primal. The photo was taken from an angle in front and to the right of the body, but there was no mistake. The picture seemed to capture that the Primal still gave off its own light, but Kyle couldn't help but be reminded of a beached whale while looking at it. It's perfectly streamlined body had no face, but the white tip was the origin for the white markings all over its body, similar to Kyle's blue vessels that grew from the marks on his hands. But the thing was just slumped on the ground, its four wing-like structures lying limp on the floor of what appeared to be a giant warehouse.

Kyle's thoughts ran all over the place. This organization, Sword, was claiming to have the Primal, and claimed to need his help. Kyle was excited; someone was responding to him after all this time. He'd almost given up hope, and this felt too good to be true. He looked over the letter, the photo, even the envelope just to try and find if this was a joke. It all looked legitimate. Kyle let out a breath it had felt like he'd been holding for a long time. A disaster was going to be prevented.

Someone then knocked at Kyle's door. He automatically answered "Hello?" He couldn't take his eyes off of the letter. At this point in his life, it was the most precious thing he owned.

"Mom says to come down," came Sarah's voice, annoyed that she was sent up to get him.

Kyle was confused for a split second about what she was talking about, but then he remembered that they had company over, and as much as he would've wanted to, he couldn't just stay in his room. He sighed, looking at the picture one last time as if to make sure it hadn't changed on him. He then set it on his desk along with the letter and went downstairs.

Dinner was nice; Kyle's dad was working late that night as a police officer for the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. So it was just the four of them, Kyle, Sarah, Mrs. Foster and Joseph. Mrs. Foster and Sarah held most of the conversation, Kyle occasionally adding, which consisted mostly of what everyone was doing and other general information about themselves. Kyle was thankful that Joseph never asked and no one else brought up Kyle's vessels.

Then it was Joseph's turn to introduce himself. He was originally from Austin, Texas, but moved to Odessa for work. He claimed to be a representative for one of the oil companies. He graduated from UT in Austin a few years ago, and worked first in Washington, D.C. as a lawyer for the oil company before returning to Austin, where the company then sent him to several other places around Texas.

Joseph didn't go into much more detail about his life, which Kyle could understand. He came across as more of a private person, but what kept setting Kyle off was how often he would catch him staring. Normal staring Kyle was very much used to, but this guy was different. Some unknown instinct told Kyle that Joseph Ramirez was hiding something.

Kyle kept it to himself and pretended not to care or notice Joseph's staring. Somehow Kyle and Joseph found themselves alone in the backyard as the girls cleaned dishes. It was a warm night, the smell of someone grilling was on the air, and Kyle's vessels glowed softly, casting everything in a dim, blue light. It was quiet between Kyle and Joseph, but then Joseph broke that silence.

"You must be tired of hearing this, but I heard about what happened here last summer."

Kyle snickered to himself. Joseph was right; he had grown tired of talking about his battle with the red Primal, but it had been a long time since someone actually brought it up. For months after the fact it was all anyone would talk about, but it eventually became old news. Letters would come to Kyle all of the time, too, but now life is back to relative normal. "Yeah," he stated, "that was something."

"I was in El Paso on a business trip when it happened," said Joseph. "I was scared from there; I can't even imagine how you felt."

Kyle thought back to that moment (something he would do on a weekly basis now). He guessed he was scared at some point. The Primal inside of him took over for most of the fight, but when Emma stepped in between him and the red Primal, that's when he felt fear. At first it was fear, but it turned into a will to protect her no matter what, and somehow he making that choice gave him the power to defeat the red Primal.

Kyle shrugged and replied, "It's a distant memory now, really."

"Well, with all of the coverage the alien ended up getting, I'm surprised at actually how little coverage you got," he admitted.

"Believe me, they tried," Kyle said. "I must have turned down nearly twenty interviews." What Kyle didn't mention was how he would later regret turning them down. He could've put it to the world that he needed to find the Primal again, but then how would the world react to an alien already here, when another just got here and started attacking? It was precarious, but then so was Kyle's current situation.

Kyle was relieved when his mother came and relieved him of Joseph, because he was just beat. He went up to his room immediately to check the picture again. It was real, and Kyle felt like he could almost feel its skin though the picture. For some reason, he flipped the photo over, and on the back was another message.

I will be in the area from April 1to April 5 at the La Quinta on Highway 250 in Midland. Come by and we'll talk.

Ryan Fox

# Chapter Five

The next Monday would turn out to be the worst day of Kyle's life. Kyle and the twins biked to school together on a sunny and windy day. The three of them go into the cafeteria, which was about half full, and sit at an empty table near the center of the room. Kyle had gotten up to go to a snack machine out in the lobby by the cafeteria.

Kyle went out to the snack machine and as he gave it his money, he overheard a conversation two girls were having about ten feet away from him:

"I've heard everything from it was an accident to she attacked Samantha."

"Really? I heard she tried but Samantha got away. I don't even know who it was."

"Well, I heard it was this sophomore girl, Emma."

Right then Kyle froze at the machine, eavesdropping on the conversation. The two girls just shot theories back and forth before a line started to form at the machine behind Kyle. The kids behind him finally got his attention and he stepped away apologizing.

He rushed back to the twins to see Tyler now with them. As Kyle walked toward them he noticed that Tyler had both of their attention as he talked. They paused as Kyle walked up and sat down. "What's going on?" Kyle asked nervously.

"Have you heard this about Emma?" Justin asked him. "A senior girl on the camera crew is claiming that she tried to make out with her."

Kyle's face instantly changed to horrified. "I have to go," he said and bolted up and back out of the cafeteria. He had hoped he could find Emma before class started, but right then the bell for first period rang, and Kyle was forced to go to class instead.

It was by far the longest first period math had ever lasted. Kyle couldn't stop tapping his foot, fiddling with his pencil or looking at the clock. He had to get to Emma as soon as he could. He kept checking his phone in the hope that she would text him, but it stayed silent throughout class.

When the bell rang for passing period, Kyle was the first out of his seat and out the door. He raced to his locker for his things for biology and ran for class.

He ended up being one of the first people there. When he got to the room, the first thing he noticed was that Emma wasn't there yet. He turned around and rushed back out of the room, bumping into someone coming in. "Sorry," he said instinctually before noticing it was, of all people, Tony.

They stared off for only a second before Tony asked, "You're looking for Emma, aren't you?"

Kyle skirted around Tony through the doorway. He looked up and down the hall on his tip-toes, trying to spot Emma, but he couldn't.

Tony apparently followed him out to the hall. "Hey," he said to get Kyle's attention. Kyle didn't turn around, but Tony continued anyway. "Is it, true what's going around?" Kyle still didn't respond, so Tony grabbed his shoulder and spun Kyle around to face him. "I may not care for you, but I do care about her, just so you know. I want to know if she's alright."

Kyle felt like giving him a nasty retort, but he had to admit that Tony had a point. This wasn't about either of them, this was about Emma. Taking a deep breath, Kyle said calmly, "I can't find her or reach her. I don't know where she is."

Right then the bell for class rang. As the hall crowd thinned out, Emma still didn't appear. Looking around, Tony commented, "With any luck, she's sick today. Rumors spread like wildfire."

Emma didn't show up for second period, and as far as Kyle heard she hadn't been seen the whole day.

After school, Kyle and Justin (neither knew where Jules was; probably with Tyler) biked home together. Instead of turning down their street, however, Kyle went on to Emma's house, and Justin followed.

In no time they were at her front door, knocking. Emma's parents' cars weren't in the driveway, and the house was quiet.

"Maybe she's not here," Justin suggested.

Kyle wasn't listening to him, though. Using his powers, he ran to a window on the side of the house and knocked on it. "Emma," he called out, "are you in there?" He then jumped clear over the house and did the same at another window on the other side. "Emma, if you're in there, let us in."

When he didn't get an answer, he rushed back to the front of the house. Justin was standing there, on his phone. "What's Emma's number?" he asked.

Kyle rattled the number out without even thinking. "What are you doing? I've already tried calling her, and she hasn't answered me all day."

"Just keep your ears open, Superman," Justin responded as he entered the number.

"I don't have super hearing," Kyle said as Justin put the phone to his ear. Right then, Kyle felt a strange vibration. A weird sensation emanated from Emma's house. Kyle turned to face its source, and he could somehow actually see vibrations. Curious, Kyle summoned more power to strengthen his reception of the vibrations. Surrounded in his energy bubble, Kyle could see energy signatures, as well as the vibrations clearer. It was coming from a small rectangular object that looked like a phone, and next to it was a larger, human-shaped object.

Kyle turned his powers off, and while he wondered how he was able to do that, and how Justin guessed he was able to do that, it wasn't the time for it. "Emma, I know you're in there; I can hear your phone."

After another minute of begging with her, the door opened a crack, just enough to show Emma's face through it. She leaned against the door frame, her shoulders drooping. It was obvious she had been crying. Wiping her eyes, she asked, "What did you guys hear?"

Kyle tried to appear apologetic without answering her. Justin abandoned all subtlety with his next question. "Have you been here all day?"

Kyle almost punched Justin for that question, but he had to admit that it was probably a valid question, despite being insensitive. Emma's hair and clothes were disheveled, she appeared tired, her face was red and there were bags under her eyes. Despite Justin's rudeness, Emma answered him. "My mom dropped me off at school. Right when I got there, everyone just turned on me. I freaked out and snuck back home."

She let them in and they stayed with her until her parents arrived. The boys were then asked to leave, as they had other important things to talk about.

The next day at school Emma was present, but quiet and unresponsive. She made it through the whole day without saying a word to anyone. Some people still stared and whispered behind her back, but Emma was completely disconnected from everyone.

Kyle just assumed that this was her coping mechanism, and it seemed to be working for her. It in no way stopped others from talking, though. By the end of the day, Kyle had heard people talking about Emma at every passing period, lunch, and even in classes.

Kyle finally had enough of it by the end of the day. When school ended, Kyle, Emma and the twins were hanging out outside the front door when a couple of seniors walked out. When they noticed Emma, their faces were purely disgusted by the sight of her. They walked away without a word, but the whole group noticed them, and Kyle just snapped.

"Do you guys have a problem?" he asked as he walked after them.

The two seniors stopped and turned to watch him approach. One of them started walking away while the other, a kid easily a hundred pounds heavier than Kyle, stood his ground. "I didn't until you started talking to me, freak."

"Kyle, don't," Emma pleaded from where she stood.

"Best listen to your freak friend, freak," the senior taunted.

"Don't talk about my friend like that," Kyle warned. By then he was right in the senior's face, and a crowd had started to form. No teachers had noticed yet, but any minute now one would be alerted.

"Or what, freak? What are you going to do?" the senior asked. Then he shoved Kyle hard, almost knocking him off his feet.

Kyle fumed and shook with anger. He closed the gap between him and the senior in one large step and shoved back with all his strength. The kid was taken off his feet as Kyle unleashed a blast of Primal power into his chest. It sounded like a gunshot; the kid flew a good fifteen feet out into the parking lot (thankfully no one was driving by). When he landed, he rolled head over heels twice before finally stopping.

And with that the world stopped. The kid's friend ran out to check his buddy, but everyone else stared at Kyle with horror and amazement. Kyle froze, too; did he really just do that? He looked down at his arms. The vessels were glowing hot, pulsing with energy.

The next hour and a half lots of people got involved: teachers, principals, police officers, parents and doctors. All of them were saying things to him or around him, but he didn't pay attention to any of them. He'd nod, shake his head, walk and sit down as they told him, but he was just in his own head.

That was the first time he'd use his powers on another human. Or, no, it wasn't; he blasted Tony away at Emma's party, before the red Primal attacked. But Kyle didn't even know that he could do that at that time; this time he was well aware of how powerful he really was. He was relieved to hear that the kid was alright, just banged up quite a bit, but Kyle couldn't help but think of how much worse that could have gotten.

Kyle got suspended from school for a week and was grounded. For the rest of the week he couldn't see friends except for when they dropped off school work and no driving lessons for a month. Kyle accepted everything silently, and spent the rest of his evening in his room.

The next day Emma dropped off his homework, and he was allowed five minutes to talk to her. They set his work inside and sat on the front porch, his mother right inside keeping time. Kyle was initially surprised to see Emma bring his homework, but it turned out she came just to talk to him. Kyle could tell she was mad at him, and she'd never show it on her face, but her words said it all.

"Why did you have to act like an idiot?" she asked.

Kyle shrugged. "I was just trying to defend you," he said as he looked at his feet.

"I don't..." she began, then sighed and said, "Please look at me." Kyle met her eyes. She restarted, "I don't need your protection from school. I can deal with my own problems."

"You skipped yesterday because of everything that happened," Kyle retorted.

"And that did not mean you needed to get yourself in trouble!" After a pause, she asked again, "Why did you have to act like an idiot?"

Now Kyle was getting agitated. "I was just trying to stick up for you. I got myself suspended and grounded for you, and you're mad. I've only ever been nice to you; I saved your life last summer, and you're mad at me for this?"

Emma looked at him as if she finally understood him. "We need some time apart," she said simply.

Kyle was thrown off by those words, and it showed on his face. After stuttering in confusion, all that came out was "Why?"

"Because you're too involved," she explained. "You have your own life, and your own responsibilities. You keep saying you need to find the alien that gave you your powers, but all you think about is me, don't you?" Before Kyle could form an answer, she continued, "Kyle, you are so sweet, and you're one of my best friends, and I know how you feel about me. We can't ever be what you want us to be, so, as your friend, I'm saying stop pursuing me."

She gave Kyle a final hug and left him there at his house. The rest of the evening he was cold. He ate with his family, went up to do his homework, and then laid on his bed, quietly thinking about what Emma said. As he dozed off, he thought of her. Even then the memories of her faded into obscurity as he realized what he'd lost. Her final good-bye was the last thing he saw before falling into a deep sleep.

His dreams were of her, saying good-bye as the Primal's carried her into the darkness of space, him powerless to follow.

# Chapter Six

The next morning Kyle woke up and instinctually started getting ready for school. He stopped mid-tying his shoe when he remembered the day before.

Suspension became a blessing and a curse. The first day and a half it was mostly a curse, because Kyle lost the motivation to do anything. Emma's words had stabbed him in the core of his mind, and now his wounded spirit was becoming infected with realization. He was holding out for Emma, thinking maybe she would fall for him. He was being selfish with spending time with her, subconsciously hoping that their relationship would grow into something it now never would, all thanks to him.

For a day and a half that was all he thought about. His parents still had work and Sarah had school, so Kyle was alone most of the time. The second day of his suspension around eleven in the morning Kyle was sitting on the living room couch reading a book (but still thinking about Emma) when a sharp pain ringed through his body. He jolted as if he was shocked, but then his vessels drove him into a spasm like he used to have. The pain and surprise of the attack threw him on the floor twitching uncontrollably. His breath became quick and shallow and his heart felt like it was going to burst. He clenched his jaw in an effort to not scream, not that anyone would come to his rescue if he did. Alone in the house, all he could do was hope that it would end soon.

The spasm only lasted for a few minutes, at the end of which Kyle was drenched in sweat all over. Relief turned into confusion. The spasms had stopped after his battle with the red Primal, and he thought they were just over. Since then, he had theorized that the spasms were just his powers and his body trying to adapt, and that when they stopped it meant that they had become compatible.

Kyle sat on the floor where he was and thought about what just happened. The first spasm in month threw his idea out the window. He suddenly remembered what had happened a few days ago, when all of a sudden he couldn't read English. The energy inside him was giving him grief again. Then he remembered what the Primal told him, that the energy inside him was a fragment, and therefore unstable.

A horrifying thought ran through Kyle's head. As the Primal had warned, his body was starting to deteriorate.

But it wasn't fair. He had three years to find the Primal before he blew up. How could he start dying now? He hadn't even had the power for a year, he only found out he was a time bomb seven months ago. Already his body was showing signs of failure.

Kyle showered off and got to work. In a strange way, the attack was a blessing. It reminded Kyle that he did have bigger things to worry about than his relationships. The elephant in the room would not be ignored anymore. His human issues with his friends would mean nothing if he destroyed the world.

For the next two days his free time was filled with retracing his steps, looking for new evidence, and finding out all he could about this mysterious Sword. Sadly, yet predictably, no new evidence on the Primal's existence or location had surfaced. Kyle could only find two articles in the news related; the first was the Colorado report of the Primal landing (the article even had a "statement" from the local police chief saying it was only a meteor, and that some weird property of it made it burn blue as it entered the atmosphere). The other was Kyle's spectacle with the red Primal over Odessa, which was called as it was, way too real to be called a hoax.

The other thing Kyle spent his time looking at was Sword. They were almost as difficult to look up, though. Typing in "Sword organization" in a search bar mostly pulls up sword smiths, sword swallowers, and S.W.O.R.D. from the Marvel comic universe. After scrolling through two pages of Google results Kyle found their "official" web page. Whatever program was used to make the page, it didn't appear to have been upgraded since the nineties. Kyle's computer couldn't bring it up, so Kyle tried looking for news articles. In that regard he had a little more success. The Sword that Kyle was looking for was last in the news in 1974. A California paper described them as a "pseudo militia-like organization and weapon developing club" founded in 1944. They were huge supporters of America's involvement in Vietnam, but they called for more involvement. Before that they only made the news when a war or military action was going on, and they were often portrayed as radical.

Kyle ran down to the kitchen to get himself a drink when he noticed a flash of light from his peripheral. He turned toward its general direction, trying to figure out where it came from. Right to his left was an open window, and in a straight line was the window of the house next door, home of the mysterious Joseph Ramirez.

Kyle stood there and waited for something to happen, frozen as if he just made eye contact with a wild animal. The window was dark and still, but Kyle knew Joseph was in there. After five minutes of waiting, nothing happened, so Kyle came up with a new plan.

Kyle ran back upstairs and went into his sister's room. In the bottom drawer of her dresser was an older model IPhone. She had upgraded about two months ago, but she was told to keep the old one in case of emergencies. Kyle knew it would be in the bottom drawer because that's where she always kept things she didn't want him to find, like her old diaries. Kyle grabbed the phone, turned it on, turned the camera on to video, grabbed a cord and charger and ran back downstairs. Staying out of sight from the windows, he set up his camera at Joseph's house as out-of-sight as he could. In order to draw more attention, he moved his work downstairs, deliberately in sight of the windows, acting as naturally as possible.

As the week ended, Kyle was getting nowhere with anything. He was lying across the couch in the living room, papers, articles and notes littered the floor and coffee table in front of him. In two days his little spy setup had caught nothing on Joseph. His research had hit the same dead end it had met last semester.

Sword remained an enigma, but they seemed to be his last path to take. Whatever they were now, they claimed to have the Primal, and this Ryan Fox was going to be in the area, probably specifically to meet with him. It was questionable, possibly risky, but what option did he have left? They were the only ones offering him anything, or at least coming to him about the Primal. His mind was then made. Kyle got up from the couch and walked over to the phone.

The evening of April fourth Kyle found himself walking into the La Quinta on Highway 250 in Midland. Mr. Fox had had given him a phone number in his letter, but Kyle didn't have a chance to call it. Kyle didn't even know he was going to go until he just decided to take off and fly to the address of the hotel given to him. He didn't know if anyone had noticed him taking off, but there were a few people in the parking lot that were startled when he landed somewhat roughly. Kyle paid no attention to them as he walked into the hotel and up to the front desk.

"Hello, I'm looking for a Mr. Ryan Fox? I believe he's staying here," Kyle said to the receptionist.

No sooner than he finished his request did a man at the front door of the hotel call out, "Mr. Foster that was quite an entrance."

Kyle turned toward the source. He was an older man, but well built. His grey hair was cut close, and his skin was very well tanned, telling Kyle that he was somewhat used to working outside. His whole air just yelled out that he was at one time a soldier, but that was well in the past.

Kyle just stared at him for a minute before asking, "Did I scare you, Mr. Fox?"

"If you could see half of what I've seen in my life," he replied, "even you would've been startled. I was rather impressed, too, but let's talk somewhere else."

Kyle nodded and let the man walk ahead of him into the hotel's diner. Kyle kept his distance; his parents had always told him "stranger equals danger", and even though Kyle was absolutely certain he could take this old man in a fight, given his powers, he'd rather not get into something ugly. Kyle had one question, he would get one answer, and he would leave.

Fox chose a table near the back of the room, and Kyle sat opposite him, keeping as much distance as respectably possible. Fox seemed to have noticed. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No," Kyle replied, "it's just that I don't get very many letters from ex-army dudes wanting to meet up."

Fox laughed. "I understand your apprehension, but I was always a very blunt man, and it seems age hasn't changed that."

"Sir," Kyle said, still cautious, "with all due respect, I can't stay very long." He reached into his pocket, where the folded up photo of the Primal was stashed and laid it on the table between them. "I came here for this, as you probably guessed."

Fox glanced down at the photo and back at Kyle, still very light-heartedly when saying, "It's at our facility, being studied by some of the best physicists, geologists and engineers that we could find."

He didn't exactly answer the question, but kept talking anyway. "Sword has become very interested in this artifact. Our studies have shown that it is very old, even older than some of the oldest stars humans have ever discovered. Also, as you know, it contains inside of it an incredible energy signature just as old, even older maybe, and at the same time stronger than anything we have. We've come a long way and are close to discovering a way to harness this power just as you have, and—"

"Wait," Kyle interjected before he got too far out of the conversation, "You're draining its power?"

"Not yet, but we are so close to finding a way, and once we do, we'll have the technology to put this country back in its rightful place," he said, getting a little preachy.

Kyle ignored that and said, "Sir, with all due respect again, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You need to stop what your people are doing. That thing can be dangerous."

Fox chuckled and said, "You can relax, son, it's perfectly safe, but I did want to meet to try to ask you a favor."

"What favor?" Kyle asked, getting suspicious.

"Well," Fox began, "we've come a long way in our research and study of the... what did you call it? 'Primal?' Anyway, we've come a long way, but for some unexplained reason, we cannot seem to replicate your experience."

"My experience?" Kyle repeated.

"You remain the only one who was able to successfully draw any iota of energy from the Primal," he explained. Now Fox was getting excited. "If you wouldn't mind, we'd like to invite you out to our facility in Nevada and help us draw more energy from the Primal so that we could start developing it to fit our needs."

"No," was Kyle's immediate reply. He barely realized he even said anything before that automatically came out. "I'm sorry sir, but you have no idea what you are messing with. This is something you can't control."

Fox seemed let down, but came back with, "But you can control this power. What makes you think that we can't?"

"It's not a matter of ability to control it, but it was an accident that this power even came here," Kyle explained. "It was an accident that I got this power, as well, but we need to fix this. Mr. Fox, it's my priority, and it should be yours, too, to get this power off the planet before—" Kyle almost said before it destroys everything, but he was still hesitant to admit that, "—before something happens that we can't control."

The change in Fox was amazing. He went from an old man with a vision to something more like a child that was just told "no" at the toy store. "Mr. Foster, where do your allegiances lie?"

Confused and getting a little frustrated himself, Kyle said, "Excuse me?"

"Mine lie with this great country of ours, and that means that I, and therefore Sword, will use any means necessary to stomp out America's enemies." Standing up, Fox continued, "Either way, we are close to finding a way of harnessing the Primal's power for ourselves, but it's a shame that you chose not to be a part of this great time in our country's history. However, I believe that you are and will be a part of our history soon enough. Good day, Mr. Foster."

On that note, he left Kyle at the table and headed towards the elevator. The last Kyle saw of him he was pulling out a cell phone as he rounded a corner.

Kyle was left there dumbfounded, wondering if that was a threat or not. Either way, he was not done with Ryan Fox, but for today he was. If Kyle followed him, there would be trouble. Kyle immediately left the hotel, shooting up into the sky as soon as he was outside and headed back to Odessa.

Later that evening, Kyle was sitting on his front porch with the twins going over everything Fox said. His parents showed some leniency, and forgave him before his actual grounding sentence was over. Kyle was truly happy to be allowed to talk to his friends again, but the conversation with Fox was all he could think about. The three of them sat in the Fosters' back yard, and he mentioned the meeting to the twins after his parents and sister had already retired to their rooms.

"So what do think he meant?" Jules asked in regards to the possible threat.

"He seemed upset that I wouldn't help him out," Kyle said. "But he seemed to be a pretty determined guy, and Sword sounds like something that could potentially be in the way."

"What is Sword, anyway?" Justin asked.

"For once, that's a good question, Justin," Kyle replied. "I think they're some weird military outfit based out of Nevada. They might be very radical, or at least Fox seemed to be."

"Whatever they are," Jules pointed out, "there's no way they would attack you or anything. You're only sixteen."

Kyle agreed, and was about to say something when he caught something move out of the corner of his eye. It came from Joseph's house, and even though it was dark outside, he was pretty sure he saw something in one of the windows.

"Dude, that guy is starting to creep me out," Justin said. Kyle silently agreed with him, wondering if things he didn't know about were starting to converge on him. Fox and Joseph both seemed to have their eyes on him, and Kyle was beginning to wonder if others were watching him, too.

For the first time in a long time, Kyle was scared. Not since his battle with the Primal had anything scared him like this. Now, however, Kyle was beginning to see something possibly much more sinister that others had in mind for him and his powers.

# Chapter Seven

The whole next week of school, Kyle was focused on his current dilemmas. Fox's threat and Sword possessing the Primal was what dominated his mind for days. Fox talked about Sword studying the Primal, even finding a way to take more power from its body. Fox also mentioned Nevada, and when he searched for the town in the letter, Amargosa Valley, in that state it pulls up a tiny little town in the desert.

Jules and Justin became convinced that whatever Fox was talking about concerning Sword was all lies, but Kyle had the picture of the Primal. To him that photo, and Fox's words, was all the validation he needed that Sword was a real thing and that they had the Primal. There was no way in Kyle's mind that a fake organization was capable of getting its hands on something he would think the government would be very interested in.

The only issue was finding them. He had a town in Nevada, but what if he went there? What if it was all a trick? Inspecting the photo more, Kyle would guess that the Primal was in some giant warehouse, but there was no view of outside the building in the picture. It could have honestly been taken anywhere, so there was no guarantee that if we went to Nevada that the Primal would be waiting for him. But if it wasn't there, why would Fox go to the trouble of sending him the picture and coming to Midland to meet him? Ultimately for Kyle, the issue wasn't whether or not Sword had the Primal, but what Sword was planning to do with the Primal.

The next issue was Joseph, which was becoming weirder and weirder all the time. Intuition and caught glimpses were Kyle's only proof that something was different about him, and that he was watching Kyle. Kyle never tried to confront him out of suspicion of what he was playing at. Kyle didn't trust him; he might be working for Sword. Kyle was starting to get paranoid, looking over his shoulders whenever he was in public.

That Friday evening was the first time Kyle had really spent time with Jules and Justin since his suspension ended. As usual, they spent their spare time just sitting in a back yard talking.

As usual, they were going back and forth about Tyler, or something about Justin being lazy, or they were arguing about what was good on television lately. Kyle wasn't really participating, but more in his own head about his million questions that no one seemed to want to answer for him. The Primal, Sword, Joseph Ramirez, they were all connected, but the connections were foggy and twisted, and he was stuck trying to clear it himself.

"Did you want to go to Emma's tomorrow?" Jules asked Kyle. The question dragged him out of his head, but he still just stared at her confused. "She invited me and Justin to lunch at her house tomorrow. Were you going to go?"

"Oh," Kyle said. "Emma didn't invite me, actually." Emma still wasn't talking to him. She avoided him in school, at lunch, and after school as well as his texts and calls.

Now Jules looked confused. "What do you mean she didn't invite you? She invites you to everything; she even does those dance classes with you."

"Not anymore," Kyle said solemnly. "Did Emma not tell you?"

When they both shook their heads, Kyle told them everything she had told him after he got suspended. It was obviously news to them, but for Kyle reliving the conversation was heartbreaking. He'd moved past it by then, but going back to it was hard.

When he finished, they were all quiet for a minute. Then Jules spoke up. "Were you hoping to changer her?"

Kyle didn't respond to her. She then asked, "Have you talked to her since?"

"No," Kyle replied. "I don't think she wants anything to do with me anymore anyway."

"Dude, that's not true," Justin added. "Sure, she may never 'like you' like you, but she is your friend."

"I'm not so sure," Kyle disagreed. "I think I ruined everything between us."

"Just give her some time," Jules recommended, "and then apologize."

Kyle groaned and scratched his head. "It's more complicated than that."

Jules and Justin didn't push the subject any further, and Kyle just didn't want to think about it anymore. The memory brought back only pain. This time, though, with the pain was the final realization that Emma was right about him, and about what he wanted.

Kyle didn't sleep at all that night, trying to deny his ultimate thoughts.

To distract himself from Emma, he tried to find any new information on Sword. Kyle spent most of his Saturday morning looking some more, but short of hacking email accounts, Kyle had exhausted the internet as a resource. Nevertheless, he sat at his computer running his fingers through his hair wondering if there was any possibility he might have missed.

A knock at his bedroom door brought him back to the real world. "Yeah?" he called out.

His door opened and his mother popped her head in. "Can you drive me and your sister to the mall?" came his mother's voice.

Kyle turned to her confused. "I thought I was still grounded from driving?" he asked, remembering his punishment for getting suspended.

"You've been punished enough, I think

," she answered with a smile. "Grab your stuff and meet us at the car, alright?"

His day having just gotten a little better, Kyle beamed and nodded his head. Even though he had superpowers, learning to drive still felt like a major step in his life.

He tied his shoes, grabbed his wallet, made sure his permit was inside and checked out of his room. At the door, his mother and sister waited on him, Mrs. Foster holding out her set of keys to her own car. Kyle eagerly took them as they headed out the door.

It was a short drive to Music City Mall, and it was the destination most of the time whenever Kyle got behind the wheel. They parked, got in the mall, and headed their separate ways, Mrs. Foster telling Kyle and Sarah to stick together. Kyle and Sarah just walked around, occasionally stepping into a store, usually to the disdain of one or the other, until they agreed to stop at the food court next to the mall's ice rink.

It was there where Sarah began unloading her thoughts. She had been quiet the entire time they were walking around, but Kyle figured that her silence wouldn't last. It was her nature to speak her mind; Kyle could respect that, except the fact that Sarah usually had many things on her mind at one time.

Sarah rambled on for minutes while they ate, but Kyle was only half listening. Twisting in his chair in an attempt to crack his back, Kyle caught the eye of a man standing at the corner. There was nothing out of the ordinary about him; he was about Kyle's height, and maybe coming into his late forties, but Kyle was certain that this man was watching him. They made eye contact for only a split second before he disappeared, but it was enough to unnerve Kyle.

"What did you just see?" Sarah asked. Kyle turned back to see her craning her neck to try to see past him.

She looked at him, expectantly and confused. "I think someone was watching us," he whispered.

"What?" Sarah said, again trying to find the man.

"Don't look," Kyle said it calmly but firmly; Sarah noticed his tone and gave him her undivided attention. Kyle was getting a little freaked out about all of this, but he had to keep a level head. "Text mom. Ask her where she is and we're going to meet up with her."

Sarah still seemed confused, but she heeded Kyle's request and pulled out her phone. In the meantime, Kyle turned around again to see if he could find the man again. People seemed to be minding their own business, going into the various stores, talking, and no one noticed two kids sitting at a table together. If it hadn't been for the last few weeks, Kyle would've dropped this right there, but he'd been approaching the edge for a while now.

Without thinking, he stood up and walked over to the corner where he saw the man. He heard Sarah question him, but he ignored her, determined to find out who that man was.

He turned the corner to see the man just a few feet in front of him, and this time he had three friends. The other three made the first man seem tiny. Kyle was almost certain that the three big guys were soldiers, but all four were casually dressed. The fourth was an older man, maybe in his forties. They all locked their eyes on Kyle when he came around the corner.

"Who are you," Kyle demanded. He wasn't afraid, but he was on the edge of fear.

The first man, the one Kyle first noticed, stepped forward. "Mr. Foster, we have need of your abilities. My name is Geoff Ranger and I'm the head weapons developer for Sword, and I—"

"You can leave," Kyle cut him off, "now before I call the police."

Geoff chuckled as if Kyle had told a joke. "We just want to talk for a little bit."

"I already talked to Fox," Kyle reminded them. "Anything you need to know ask him."

"Fox made it seem that you were more open minded."

"Fox isn't that great at reading people, is he?" Kyle asked. "To be clear, I don't agree with what Fox told me. That Primal is dangerous, and you can't control it the way you think you can."

"Sword has some of the best men in the nation working on containing its power," Geoff explained. "And we've already learned how to draw power from the alien. This is not a negotiation, boy. We're here for something you have, and you can either give it to us or we'll take it for ourselves."

Kyle barely had time to register the threat when all of a sudden Sarah came around the corner. "Kyle, what are you doi—" she stopped in her tracks when she saw him staring down four large men.

"Run!" Kyle yelled, grabbing her arm and yanking her to the nearest exit.

"Get them," Kyle heard Geoff yell. Kyle's instincts told him to get outside, but he wasn't thinking about after that. His brain wasn't really working at all; fear and adrenaline overruled reason.

The fought their way through the crowds and tables and managed to get outside. Kyle took a second to see the four men still working their way out after them.

"Sarah, get back in the mall through another entrance and find mom," Kyle ordered his sister. He was expecting her to argue, but thankfully she just ran off.

The only idea Kyle had next was admittedly a terrible one. Just as his pursuers made their way outside, Kyle ran past them back inside in the hopes of losing them in the crowds or a store until the police showed up. Unfortunately, though, Kyle never made it past the four guys. One of the goons had managed to grab the back of his shirt as he passed them. Like a dog at the end of its chain, Kyle had choked himself and knocked himself flat on his back.

One of the other guys was suddenly on him. Kyle was picked up by his shirt and thrown against a wall. Kyle tried pushing off but was stopped when his assailant's hand grabbed his throat and held him to the wall.

Kyle automatically couldn't breathe, and his arms were too short to reach the man's head.

Kyle grasped at his assailant's fingers as his feet left the floor. People were screaming and running all around, but no one seemed to be noticing the struggle. Kyle swung at the man's head with his fists, but couldn't make contact. His vision began to fade due to lack of oxygen.

"Good, just hold him still a little longer," Kyle heard Geoff instruct his man.

All of a sudden, Kyle was furious. He wasn't going to sit here and take this. Kyle had no choice but to take real action. If Sword wanted the power he controlled, Kyle would just show it to them.

He raised his hand and shot a bolt of energy at the gun, sending it flying from its owner's hand. He then raised his hand toward the man pinning him to the wall.

Instead of shooting a bolt, he managed to grab the man's head, and forced all of his vessels to glow as bright as possible. Immediately the tables turned on his assailant. He dropped Kyle, but Kyle then grabbed the back of the man's head with his other hand, doing everything in his power to keep the incredibly bright vessels pointed directly into the man's eyes.

"GET HIM OFF ME!!!" the man roared, his limbs flailing randomly in his agony. "GET HIM OFF!!! IT BURNS!!!"

Kyle only did stop when he noticed the other two men coming to assist their friend. Kyle raised both hands and shot two bolts, hitting them both square in the chest and knocking them flat on their backs.

Kyle spun around to the last guy when he heard something whirr through the air and smack his left arm. He looked down to see some kind of three headed chain with metal balls on the ends snaring his arm. A thicker chain led from his arm to something on Geoff's arm.

"Is that the best you got?" Kyle sneered. Kyle raised his left arm right when he felt a large electric shock come from the chain. He yelped and jumped from the shock, but quickly raised his right arm toward the man and prepared to fire a bolt.

All of a sudden, he felt weak. He tried shooting off a bolt, but the energy slipped away before he could let go of it. He tried again, but found that he couldn't easily call more energy. He looked down at his hand in confusion to see that the vessels were darker than normal, dimmer than he had ever seen them. He inspected his left arm, and as soon as his eyes fell on the chain wrapped around his arm, he could feel his power drain away from him through it.

Kyle fell to his knees, too weak to keep standing. He started getting light headed. "What are you doing?" Kyle asked.

Geoff smiled as he said, "Just getting what I came here for."

Kyle's vision and hearing started to fade, and he began getting light headed. Before the world did fade away, however, there was a commotion going on around him. He heard some yelling, and all of a sudden the chain around his arm snapped away. What energy he had left slammed back into his body, causing him to throw up and immediately pass out cold.

# Chapter Eight

Kyle woke up in a hospital bed with his head throbbing. Someone had changed him into some soft pajamas, and a bandage covered both of his arms. It was late at night; the clock next to him read it was almost two am. No one was in the room with him, but Kyle could hear a few people moving about outside.

Kyle decided to get up to investigate, but as soon as his feet hit the floor, he felt dizzy and tired. When he pushed up, it was like a new born deer walking for the first time. A calendar at the door showed that it was only the next day, so he had only been out for a few hours, but he was completely drained.

The bandages itched, and Kyle realized that his arms felt fine. He started to unwrap his arms, and what was underneath really freaked him out.

The vessels were still there, but they were different. He was used to them constantly glowing softly, but now they were just dark. Instead of an energetic blue, they were almost black. In a word, Kyle would say they were empty. Kyle tried summoning some power into them, but for the first time that action was difficult. He had to stop only after a few seconds because he was getting so light headed he collapsed in a chair. At the end of it, in his hand was an energy bolt about the size of a ping pong ball. He let the bolt just fade away so he could hold his head to try to get it to stop spinning.

When he could finally stand up again, Kyle poked his head out of his room. The place seemed empty, but Kyle could see a light from a back room. Probably a nurse to monitor the patients at night.

Kyle noticed a sound from the next room. Kyle walked over to see another patient in pajamas similar to his. He was a bigger guy and had a bandage wrapped around his eyes and forehead. Kyle realized it must have been the guy who had him by the throat at the mall.

The man woke up suddenly, jerking his head around the room as if trying to look for someone.

"Is someone there?" he asked.

Kyle remained still and quiet. He started walking toward the man's bed, being as quiet as he could. The soldier still seemed tense as if he knew someone was there. "Are you a nurse? Please answer."

Kyle walked to the end of the bed, where a clip board was hanging off. He picked it up and read the name. "Edgar Collins. I don't think we were properly introduced."

The man turned his head, confused. With his bandages, he obviously couldn't see, but maybe he was trying to hone in on the sound of Kyle's voice. "Are you a nurse?" Collins asked again.

"You don't recognize me?" Kyle asked, his temper rising. "Take a guess."

Collins was silent for just a minute before rearing back in realization. He moved to push the button to call a nurse to his bed. Kyle raised his arm and shot a bolt at the man's hand, knocking it back from the call button. Kyle staggered for a second, more tired than he thought he would after a relatively small bolt, but his mind was focused more on his anger.

Kyle walked over to Collins' bedside and grabbed him by his shirt, wrenching him up with all the strength he could muster. "What was that thing at the mall?" he demanded.

"I don't know," Collins blurted out panicky. "I've only been a part of this outfit for a month. I don't know anything."

"Liar!!" Kyle roared, his vessels flaring. "What was it? How did you figure out how to hurt me like that? Answer me!!"

"I'm not lying, please believe me," he insisted. "What did you do to my eyes?"

With an amazing burst of strength, Kyle slammed the man into the back of his bed, ignoring Collins' question. He could feel the fear in the grown man. "Where is the Primal? What did you do to me?!" he asked harshly.

"He's telling the truth," a voice said from the doorway. Kyle looked around to see probably the last person he would've expected.

Joseph Ramirez stopped just down the hall. He wore blue jeans, a dress shirt and a dark blazer. "Hi, Kyle," he said softly. Surprised and confused by this arrival, Kyle turned to face him and raised his hands in a threatening manner, prepared to defend himself as best he could. Joseph was still practically a stranger, and yet he was visiting the hospital, presumably for either Kyle or Collins at two in the morning.

"Why are you here," Kyle asked, raising his hand as if he was going to fire a bolt at Joseph. Looking from Joseph to Collins, he then asked, "Do you know him?"

"I know of him," Joseph answered. "Corporal Edgar Collins served in the Army for ten years, the last four of which in Afghanistan. Returned to Salt Lake City, Utah only three months ago after his last tour, joined Sword only last month."

Kyle looked back to Collins, and for some reason he looked different now that Kyle knew he was a veteran. Kyle started to feel guilty, but then he remembered that Collins tried to hurt him and Sarah. What Kyle did at the mall was purely self-defense.

Kyle let go of Collins, who still seemed very confused about all of this, moved toward Joseph and asked, "What did you come here for?"

Joseph answered by raising his hands to show he wasn't armed. "First of all, I came to apologize."

Kyle was intrigued but held his ground. "Who are you?"

"My name's Joseph Ramirez and I'm with the CIA," he said. He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a badge and showed it to Kyle.

Kyle studied the badge from a distance, but he was soon forced to take a seat again or pass out. Sitting down really began focusing his mind on Joseph's claim. "Have you been following me this whole time?"

"We've kept an eye on you since you defeated that other alien last summer," Joseph said, "but I was assigned to keep a closer eye only a few weeks ago."

"Why now?" Kyle asked. "Why are you only coming up to me now?" Kyle was starting to get angry and rose from his seat. "Me and my sister were almost hurt, and you're only just now stepping in!?!"

Kyle's sight clouded up and his legs buckled underneath him. Joseph managed to catch him and helped him back into his chair. When Kyle was stable enough to stay in the chair, Joseph remained kneeling next to him.

"And that's what I'm here to apologize for," he stated. Joseph pulled another chair around to where he could sit and face Kyle. Eye to eye, Joseph said, "So here's what's going on."

"At the beginning of last summer, you and your sister encountered a large alien creature in Colorado. NASA had actually managed to track the alien's descent due to the massive energy signature the thing gave off, so we actually knew where it had landed before locals did. Ever since that night, we've been on high alert. I mean, we didn't know what this was; it could've been a satellite falling out of orbit or a terrorist attack. Anyway, from the second it touched down we were on top of it; local law enforcement was to keep a perimeter around it until we could come in and investigate it."

"Unfortunately," he continued, "you beat us to it. By the time we showed up, you were already being taken to the nearest hospital. When we were told there was only one injury, and that it hadn't come from the crash, we kept our eyes on you."

"You kept your eyes on me, but all summer I never heard anything," Kyle said.

"We were unsure of what exactly had happened," Joseph replied. "The only witnesses to your encounter were you and your sister, but we had the alien at that point. We put most of our resources to moving the alien's body and studying it. We only really began to pay attention to you after your fight with the other alien months later, and then only because something else happened."

Sitting up a little straighter, Kyle asked, "What happened?"

Joseph seemed hesitant to say at first; he checked the door to make sure they were still alone. Only when he was sure no one was eavesdropping, he whispered, "The alien was stolen."

It only takes Kyle a minute to put two and two together. "Sword stole the Primal."

Joseph continued. "After the theft, we've kept our eyes on you. We figured that the people who stole the... Primal... would try to contact you as well. We didn't know who it was, so even then I was told to keep my distance."

"So what is Sword?" Kyle asked.

"I did as much research as I could after they attacked you today," he said. "Sword formed in 1942 as a response to the outbreak of the second World War. It's a sort of independent military unit, kind of like a militia, for some reason working outside of the normal chain of command. They also specialize in weapons developing and prototypes. They also have a reputation of siding with extreme ideologies. Basically, these are the guys that have pushed for the use of nuclear weapons in every war since Korea."

"And now they have the Primal," Kyle said. Groaning, he said, "they want to make weapons out of it, I knew it. I told Fox it was too dangerous."

"What exactly makes it dangerous?" Joseph questioned.

Kyle stared at him for a solid minute before he decided to screw it and just tell him. The CIA was going to figure it out sooner or later anyway when Kyle blew up. "That Primal and I are extremely unstable. I'm a ticking time bomb."

That took Joseph back. "What would the scope of the damage be if you did blow?"

"I'll say beyond total destruction," Kyle said, not wanting to say the true scope of what that explosion would do. Very few people thought destruction of the planet was possible, and Kyle didn't want it getting out that the whole galaxy was in jeopardy. "Nevertheless, I can stop it if I can get to the Primal. I can give my power back to it, stabilizing it and the Primal will leave the planet."

"Are you sure it would leave the planet?" was Joseph's one question.

"It was never supposed to be here in the first place," Kyle said. "All of this was an accident that should never have happened, but we have enough time to fix it if you'll help me."

Joseph took a few minutes to take in what Kyle was saying. Finally, he said, "if what you're saying is true, and you think you can stop yourself from blowing up, then I'll help you get to that Primal."

For the first time in months Kyle was relieved. "About freaking time," he said. "I was beginning to think you guys weren't interested."

Smiling, Joseph replied, "The CIA has a lot on its plate right now."

"How much of it is this interesting?"

Joseph chuckled.

Kyle looked down at his arms, and remembered something Fox had told him. "Sword was close to being able to draw more power from the Primal. I'd guess that whatever weapon they used on me took my power. I could feel it draining from me."

Joseph stood up. "Our next move should be to find Sword's base. It may be where they're hiding the Primal."

"They gave me a picture," Kyle said. "It's in my room. Fox also invited me to their base in Nevada, and I've found the town I'm sure their headquarters is, but not much else."

"That greatly narrows it down," Joseph stated. "I'll call some friends in the morning to see if they can dig Sword out a little more. You're supposed to be released in the morning, so get some rest while you can."

Kyle got back into his bed by himself just fine, and Joseph left the room, turning the light out as he left. Kyle actually slept very well, finally getting a foothold to reuniting with the Primal. All he had to do now was get past Sword, but to do that, he would need his powers restored. Hopefully he could do both of those things soon enough.

# Chapter Nine

The evening Kyle was released from the hospital, he and Joseph both came out and told Kyle's family, the Slades, and Emma Ocean the truth. Joseph went first, since his news was significantly smaller than what Kyle would reveal.

Kyle's revelation was met with disbelief, confusion, horror and silence. Sarah tried to get them to admit that it was all an elaborate joke. The adults seemed to think that the destruction Kyle would cause was impossible, and grudgingly denied the possibility. Jules and Emma appeared lost in thought, and Justin seemed lost in general.

Whether or not they understood the gravity of the situation was unclear, because Kyle next explained that he and Joseph were working on a plan to give the Primal back what it gave Kyle so it would leave the planet forever. That decision came to a private meeting with Kyle and his parents.

Everyone was gone by this point; it was just Kyle and his parents alone in the living room. The silence was deafening and the tension could be pierced with a knife. Kyle decided to speak first.

"I know what you guys are going to say..."

"That you're not going and that's final," his mother said with all of the calm authority.

"Mom, this is an end-of-the-world type situation here."

Mrs. Foster rubbed her eyes for a second. "Kyle," she began, "It's hard enough to wrap my head around what exactly happened last summer and everything that's happened since. Then you decide now to throw in this new information. You're having meetings with strange men behind our backs, you're pulling stunts like the one at the Grand Canyon, and now you want to go to Nevada on some mission with our apparently CIA agent neighbor?!"

"I shouldn't have kept all of that from you," Kyle admitted, "and I'm sorry that I dropped all of this on you this evening. If I could go back, I would've never gone into the woods that night last summer, but I can't, and now this is something I have to do."

Mrs. Foster seemed at a loss for words. Kyle understood her confusion, and her hesitance. "Mom, if you let me do this, I promise this will all end. No more weird powers, no more glowing vessels, and no more stunts. I want this to end as much as you guys do."

Kyle's mom got up and left the room, clearly about to cry, leaving him alone with his father. This felt strange to Kyle; he and his father got along just fine, but were rarely ever alone together. He beckoned to Kyle to sit next to him on the couch. Kyle obeyed instinctually, but his father didn't say anything for about a minute. Kyle sat nervously the entire time, tapping his foot in apprehension of his father's words.

"You know we would give up everything for you and Sarah," he finally said.

Kyle sat in silence as his dad spoke. "No matter how old you two get, you will both be our children, and we will always feel the need to step in and help you. Your mother and I also realize that there will be times in your lives that we cannot step in, but I think we all hoped you would be much older before then." Kyle's father stared at him straight in the eyes, hard and serious, but his tone was calm. "Do you think you can do this by yourself?"

Kyle stared right back at his father, and said, "I can fix this." It wasn't like he had much of a choice in the first place, but now the resolve was stronger. This was a promise to his dad, a promise to which Kyle would be held until it was finished. With four words it was more personal than just saving the world, but keeping his word.

Standing, Mr. Foster said, "Then I'll take care of your mother. Do what you need to do, son."

That night, Kyle woke up to his vessels burning. He'd felt this before, right when the Primal was trying to contact him. Kyle just laid still and let it happen.

It was different this time. The blue mist seemed thinner, and the Primal flying around it looked almost faded and moved significantly slower.

"What do you want to tell me?" Kyle called out.

"Your time is running out," came the directionless, genderless voice of the Primal. "You must return our power." Again, it spoke of itself in the plural, as apparently both Primals share this consciousness.

"I'm trying," Kyle called out, "but other people have found a way to take your power from me, and now I have to get it back from them so I can give it to you."

The Primal was silent for a moment before speaking. "This is not good. The power you received was unstable enough outside of our body. The veins of energy on your body are a coping mechanism for the power to best stabilize itself outside of its original host."

"So will it just start making vessels on whatever machine they put it in?" Kyle asked.

"It was uncertain that the power would bond with you at all. The matter that makes you and other living things on this planet is... intriguing. Somehow your organic form has the ability to adapt to different circumstances."

"I'm glad you're finding all of this interesting," Kyle said sarcastically.

The Primal didn't respond to his sarcasm, of course, but continued. "Only one substance in the universe can truly contain our power, and that is the element that makes up the bodies we take. They are the only supplies of that element in the universe." Everything started to fade away, and Kyle knew that he was about to wake up.

"Return our power or everything will be lost," the Primal added just before Kyle lost the connection.

The next morning Kyle told Joseph that they had to leave that day. Joseph arranged for a plane to Las Vegas later that afternoon, and from there they would drive to Amargosa Valley.

Kyle was packing when Sarah came up to his room and said "Emma's here to see you."

Kyle, without looking at her, stopped what he was doing. Her name was almost unfamiliar to him after everything the last few weeks. What was she here for? What did she have to say to him?

His curiosity got the better of him and he allowed her to come up. He had resumed packing when Emma appeared in his doorway. Kyle finished packing and stood by his bed, waiting for her to speak.

She rocked back and forth on her feet, trying to look at Kyle but not look at him at the same time. Kyle could not stand still either, tapping his hand against his side and wiggling his toes in his shoes. Focusing on a spot behind Kyle, she finally said, "Jules told me everything that's happened since we last spoke."

Kyle figured Jules would keep her informed, but still asked rhetorically, "Did she?" It was more aggressive than he meant, but Sword was on his mind that day.

Emma was still hesitant to speak. "Emma, I have to go soon," he reminded her.

"I know," she replied.

"Say what you came here to say, then," he pressed.

She thought for a moment before saying, "I just wanted to say 'good luck'."

"'Good luck'?" Kyle repeated. "You came all the way over here to say that?"

"Why are you mad at me?" Emma asked.

"Because you cut me off for trying to defend you, and I've spent over a month doing everything in my power to forget you, too, and you just come over here to say good luck." Something nasty was rising from Kyle's gut, but right now he didn't have the desire to stop it.

"What do you want me to say!?" she said.

"An apology would be nice!" Kyle yelled.

Emma stared at him for a minute. "An apology," she repeated. "You want me to apologize for what you've done? You want an apology that you didn't get your Disney ending where you saved the day and got the girl? I said good-bye so you could get your head on straight, and I see that you haven't still. I shouldn't have come over to try and tell you."

"Try to tell me what?" Kyle questioned.

"Never mind it," she insisted. "Just know that I won't be a distraction to you again." After a long second of silence, she ended with, "Good-bye, Kyle." She left and headed straight home. Kyle let her go, too focused and angry at Sword. He pushed Emma out of his mind completely.

Joseph was waiting with his car on in front of Kyle's house. The twins were waiting for him, too. As Kyle handed his bag to Joseph, Jules said to him, "You realize how crazy this is, right?"

"I do," Kyle replied, "but I don't have a choice."

"So why are you doing this again?" Jules questioned.

"Because it's one of those save-the-world type situations," Kyle stated as he turned to face her. He could see how concerned she was.

"And your parents are still letting you do this?" she continued.

"I don't know if they understand, but I still have to do this. I'll be back in no time," he reassured her.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally asked. Kyle knew Jules well enough to know that she wanted his real reason. He wasn't ready to tell it to her through, not yet.

"Kyle," Joseph called out, "we really have to get going."

"Yeah," Kyle called over his shoulder. Jules was still waiting for an answer, but Kyle only said, "I'll tell you when we get back," and turned toward the car. He could feel Jules' gaze from as they took off until they rounded the first corner and were out of sight.

The ride was silent, until Kyle just had to ask the one question left in his mind. "Why are you helping me, Joseph?"

Joseph kept his eyes on the road as he shrugged, saying, "To be honest, I'm still pretty new to the CIA. They put me here because they thought this would be easy enough. The Primal was never supposed to be stolen, and you were never supposed to be attacked."

"You were only supposed to be watching," Kyle reasoned, "but now you're coming to Nevada with me?"

"I got into the CIA because I wanted adventure," he said. Snickering, he continued, "I know it sounds childish, but then here I am, off to storm some rogue military outfit in search of galactic creature. I pretended to do this type of stuff all the time as a little kid, and here I am doing the real thing."

"I'm glad you're having a great time," Kyle added sarcastically.

Joseph looked over at him for a second, but Kyle was looking out his window. When he turned back to the road, his tone changed to something more serious. "Sword will face the consequences for their actions, but first we need proof that they stole the Primal, and more than one picture they gave you."

"Yeah," Kyle half-heartedly replied, his mind elsewhere.

Surprisingly, Kyle had made it through two airports, Midland and Las Vegas, without as much as a hitch. Kyle was sure that his powers would've set off some detector and got them stopped at some point, but it never happened. Kyle attributed this to the amount of power he lost. The vessels on his arms were so dark they probably just looked like tattoos. He occasionally tries to gather as much energy he could out of them, but the exertion was just painful and fruitless. His vessels were all but barren, like a lake bed that only had puddles left. For the first time Kyle wondered if he could actually run out of energy, and if so, what would happen next? Would he just drop stone dead, or just be powerless? It was reasonable to believe that he was going to have to either fight his way into Sword's base or fight his way out, and he had nothing to fight with.

As they waited for their flight to take off in Midland, Kyle had tried again to make an energy bolt. In his fight with the red Primal he was shooting them off just by thinking about it. Now he had to concentrate, and he strained and shook as he tried to squeeze anything out. The ordeal lasted almost a minute and by the end of it he was dizzy and short of breath. The result was a glowing ball the size of a ping pong ball, no bigger than his attempt to make one in the hospital. Unable to reabsorb it, he had to let it dissipate, and he doubted a bolt that small would do any damage to anything.

It frustrated him that he was so weak. On the plane it was all he could think about. Joseph slept the whole flight. Kyle's eyes were closed, but he was mentally scouring his body for any reserve of power.

When they touched down in Las Vegas, Kyle didn't notice the lights or sounds of the city, but he did notice something else. He couldn't put a finger on it, but it felt like something was pulling slightly on his chest. He wondered if he was somehow sensing the Primal. He hoped so, for the sake of world.

# Chapter Ten

Kyle and Joseph had just left Las Vegas city limits in their rental car when Kyle tried one more time to summon a bolt. He had about the same success he'd been having since the attack. It frustrated him, and Joseph noticed.

"You should save your strength," he advised.

"Don't act like you know what's going on," Kyle snapped back. He didn't mean to be ugly, yet he was. Joseph didn't know anything; he didn't know what was at stake here.

"I think I know more about what's going on than you think I do," Joseph returned.

Kyle laughed snidely and said, "Humor me. What do you think you know?"

"Alright," he began, "I think you're angry."

"Wow. How much does the CIA pay you?" Kyle asked sarcastically.

Joseph ignored him and went on. "I think you're angry that someone got the better of you. For all you say that 'it was an accident I got my powers in the first place', you still feel entitled to them."

Kyle turned to face the agent with an accusing glance. "Do you really think I wanted all of this to happen?"

"You wanted my opinion," he stated defensively. "Although I'm sure no one else has ever gone through what you're going through, all I'm saying was that I was sixteen once, too. I know what it is like to feel invincible, and I know how it feels when you find out you're not."

"This is nothing like that," Kyle pointed out.

"Is it, though?" Joseph asked rhetorically.

Kyle wanted to argue back, but he was too angry or too upset to think of something to say. He just stared at Joseph, shaking and fuming for several minutes until he just couldn't look at him anymore. The ride turned back to silence. Kyle spent the rest of the trip thinking about what Joseph said until they pulled into the town of Amargosa Valley.

The town reminded Kyle of Odessa: hot, flat and isolated. Kyle had always lived in a desert, so he always felt at home in this type of terrain. It was a tiny town with barely anything in it. Everything was on one street, and if it wasn't for the information they had, Kyle wouldn't have guessed any sort of military base close to there.

But something else was there. That tugging sensation in his chest was pulling him north of the town. Curious, after Joseph found a cheap hotel for them and checked in, Kyle asked, "So where is the base from here?"

"It's a couple miles north of town," he answered blankly. "Why?"

"I'm not sure," Kyle answered half-heartedly.

Joseph didn't press him any further. "I'm going to look around town," he said as he left Kyle at the hotel. Kyle waited ten minutes before heading out himself.

Kyle had no intention of exploring the town like Joseph. Joseph was here to get to the bottom of things. Kyle was here to get his powers back. The more Kyle thought about it, the more Joseph was right earlier. Kyle was angry and wanted revenge. How dare they take what was rightfully his? He found the Primal before anyone else, and it had given him its power. He alone had the say, and he alone had the knowledge of its true potential.

The more he walked in the direction of the force pulling him, the stronger that force became. It has to the Primal. After a half hour of walking Kyle is outside of town on some road heading toward the middle of nowhere. His thirst doesn't even stop him; he would walk himself to death trying to get to the Primal.

Kyle didn't even notice Joseph pull up in the car behind him. In fact, he was so entranced that Joseph had to honk the horn right behind him to get Kyle's attention.

"What are you doing!?" Joseph yelled from the driver's seat.

Kyle stopped walking but stayed facing the direction of the force. "I sense it," he said. The closer he got, the more the tugging force felt alive. There was even a sort of heart beat to it. It felt calming for Kyle, like warm water. "It feels so good."

"What feels good?" Joseph asked as he got out of the car.

"The Primal is that way," Kyle said, pointing directly in front of him.

"So is someone's private property, and they wouldn't be happy about us just walking in," Joseph pointed out. "Did you not notice that in a few yards you would've walked right over the line? There was a sign back there."

Kyle didn't see it nor did he care. "My property is also that way, and I'm just going to go get it."

"What do you mean 'your property'?" Joseph asked.

"The Primal is mine," Kyle snapped at Joseph. "I should've never left it alone. If I had stayed with it, none of this would've happened, and I wouldn't be standing by the side of the road in Nevada talking to you about it!"

"Speaking of which, can we talk about this later?" Joseph recommended.

"No," Kyle said, his temper rising like boiling water. "All of this ends now. I'm taking what's mine back." Kyle started walking toward Joseph, forcing the agent to back up. "All of you, all of this time, have been trying to keep the Primal from me for all of this time. I've spent months writing letters and making phone calls to the people in charge of this country trying to find out where the Primal is. I go through a meteor strike in Colorado and a battle in the sky over Odessa, not to mention all of the suffering of adapting to alien powers, and the Government has the audacity to send an agent to watch me and ignore me when I want to know what's going on." Kyle's arms began to throb. He started laughing with anger. "No wait, they don't ignore me. They send a goon to make sure I stay out of trouble. So you're a part of all of this. Heck, this might all be a big scheme. How do I know you're not working with Sword? How do I know you're telling me the truth!?"

For some reason Joseph seemed freaked out. Kyle didn't even notice that he had backed Joseph into the side of the car. Joseph was holding his hands up in surrender for some reason.

Kyle finally looked down at his arms. The vessels glowed bright and strong. He held them out and turned them around in amazement. Curious, he summoned an orb of energy the size of a baseball. It was as easy as before he was attacked at the mall. He experimentally fired the bolt at a scraggly desert bush behind him. He felt the strength behind the bolt as he shot it. In a flash of blue light, a small crater was all that was left of the bush. It was the most satisfying thing Kyle had seen in days.

"Kyle, calm down," Joseph pleaded.

Kyle turned back to Joseph, who was still acting cautious toward him. From the look on his face, Kyle would've thought Joseph was in a cage with a wild animal. "What are you talking about?" Kyle asked, not aware of how fast his breath and heart were racing, only of the energy surging through him. "I feel better than ever," he said with a sinister smile on his face. All Kyle could think about was having his powers back. He felt strong and alive again.

Joseph didn't appear to feel the same way. "Would you relax?" Kyle said with a smile. "Everything is good. I got my power back, and now we can take on Sword, get to the Primal, and get it out of here."

"I thought you wanted to give the Primal its power back?" Joseph reminded him.

"Yeah, sure, once we get it away from Sword," Kyle pointed out. "C'mon, I thought you were smart. What did you think the plan was? They would never let us just take the Primal. No; we go in, I rough them up a bit, you call in the cavalry and arrest them all while I send the Primal on its way."

It made perfect sense to Kyle, but Joseph, still pressed against the car, seemed to have other ideas.

"What's your problem?" Kyle asked.

"None of that sounds right," Joseph said. "You need to calm down now."

"I said I'm fine," Kyle replied harshly, "and if you're going to stand in my way now, I suggest you leave!"

Kyle shot a bolt that smacked the side of the car. The whole thing actually slid a few inches. The bolt had left a black mark on the door and the alarm began blaring.

Joseph snapped a Taser at Kyle. Kyle saw the weapon pointed at him and before Joseph could react Kyle smacked it out of his hand and shoved his hand right at the agent's chest.

The rational side of Kyle's brain finally caught up to him. He stopped before he could fire the bolt that would've put Joseph in the hospital.

Kyle realized that Joseph was right. Kyle was angry and felt entitled. He lowered his hand and let his anger go. As he calmed down, he felt his power leaving him again, the vessels dulling into their dormant state again.

Kyle struggled for words. Joseph took care of the car alarm as Kyle finally said, "I'm sorry. I've never had that happen before."

"It's fine," Joseph said. "I don't think you hurt the car. That spot's going to need some serious cleaning, though. Let's just get back to the hotel."

Kyle got into the passenger's side of the car and Joseph drove them back to the hotel. He didn't say anything until Joseph came back with some dinner. He was extremely ashamed of himself.

Joseph finally couldn't stand seeing Kyle like this. "What happened earlier?" he asked when Kyle turned the television on after a quiet dinner of sandwiches and chips.

Kyle shrugged and said, "You were right. I felt entitled to the power and the Primal."

Joseph sat down on his bed. "I know I hardly speak for the Government's actions, but for what it's worth, I apologize for what it's put you through. But...I'm on your side here."

"I know," Kyle said. "Thank you for all of this."

"Don't thank me yet," Joseph said, "because we still have to find a way to get on that base without Sword noticing."

He cleared the table of that was left of their dinner and slapped a file folder in front of Kyle. He opened it up to show a few pages, mostly pictures of the layout of the base in regular and thermal imaging. "I checked the library and got some plans of the area. There are only three buildings in the facility, two warehouses and what I'm guessing is an administration building or something. Both warehouses are large enough to hold the Primal, so it's really a coin toss that we find the Primal first try."

"I can find it," Kyle said. "I think that was what was pulling me toward the base earlier. I could sense it. If I could get on the base, I'm sure I can find it."

Joseph seemed skeptical of that statement, but Kyle was sure of it. "Kyle," Joseph said quietly, "I know you wanted me to bring you so you could give your power back to that Primal, but I don't think you should."

Kyle looked up from the documents to Joseph in disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"

"You lost your cool half a mile away from the base," he pointed out. "If you can't keep calm, you're going to do something I don't have the resources to cover up."

"You expect me to let you go in there by yourself?" Kyle asked. "I have to go. I'm the only one who can control the Primal's power, no matter what Fox or Geoff said."

Joseph stood up as straight as he could, which was just as tall as Kyle. "This isn't a game, Kyle. You can't just lose control in the middle of a mission like this, and I can't just take you on your word that you have control when I know what happened this afternoon."

"I know this isn't a game," Kyle returned, "in fact, I know what this is even more than you do. It's what I told Fox; this is bigger than America, and I need to get to that Primal, or things are going to happen that no one on Earth is going to have the resources to cover up."

Joseph sighed and said, "You play that card a lot. How do I even know that's possible?"

"You really don't," Kyle admitted, "but as horrible as that sounds, I promise it's possible, and it'll happen if I can't the Primal off this planet."

Joseph still doesn't seem convinced, which prompts Kyle to add, "Am I going to have to be the one to say 'let's go'?"

Joseph finally looks Kyle in the eye and says, "Let's hit it."

# Chapter Eleven

Kyle would say that he was expecting something a little more exciting. Playing video games has made Kyle think they would be doing a lot of technical black-ops action.

Instead, Kyle found himself walking through a no-man's land heading in the general direction of the compound in the middle of the night. They had changed into some darker clothes, drove the car into a restaurant parking lot and snuck out of an empty town. The hardest part so far was avoiding the road that actually led to the base, since Joseph said it was probably being watched after a certain point.

Joseph was packing incredibly less than what Kyle was expecting. He had his Taser, a GPS, and a small set of wire cutters, a cell phone and a little camera. The GPS was quickly put away because Kyle could sense the direction of the Primal. As for a lack of a real weapon, Joseph insisted that he didn't need one. Apparently he was quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but refused to demonstrate anything for Kyle when he asked. He also insisted that for the most part this was a "recon mission", since they weren't absolutely sure what was at this compound.

So now Kyle was leading the way through the open span of dessert, relying on that force to once again guide him. To Joseph it probably just seemed like they were walking aimlessly in the dark, the moon providing only a small amount of light.

For Kyle, something stranger was happening. As they traveled along, the force that he was sensing was getting stronger, but at the same time, he was noticing a peculiar detail about it. For lack of a better way to put it, he was sensing emotion along with the energy. This confused Kyle; while the Primals were ancient and very powerful their consciousness was too primitive to experience emotion. Even though they were two separate entities, they shared this one consciousness, which for all of its knowledge about the universe barely seemed to grasp what Kyle would think to be the fundamentals of being human.

However, this energy drawing Kyle towards it seemed to be angry. As they got closer it shifted from angry to furious to pure hatred, although Kyle couldn't tell what it was directed at. It just seemed to be wild. It was stronger than Kyle would've thought; he was having difficulty keeping this intense anger out of his head.

After what felt like an hour of quiet walking they reached a chain linked fence. It was an impressive fence; Kyle guessed it was twelve feet tall, looked like it spread in either direction for a long time, and was topped with razor wire.

"You're up, Mr. Super Spy," Kyle said to Joseph, indicating the fence. Joseph walked past Kyle without a word and went to work with the wire cutters. Starting from the bottom, he cut the fence in a straight line up as high as he could reach. Kyle occupied himself with kicking up dirt while Joseph worked. In three minutes there was a hole large enough to walk through one at a time. Joseph pulled the fence to the side while Kyle walked through before twisting his way through it himself.

"Alright," Joseph said as he put the cutters back in his pocket, "We're obviously on the compound now." He pulled his GPS back out and tapped a few buttons on it. "The main areas are still about thirty yards that way," he said pointing ahead of them. Kyle looked in that direction but couldn't see anything. They probably turned the lights off since it was late. "If we keep heading this direction, we should come up behind one of the warehouses," Joseph explained. "Kyle, can you still sense the Primal?"

Since Joseph said that, Kyle finally noticed something. "I can't," he said.

Joseph looked up from his GPS and stared at Kyle. "Come again?"

Kyle didn't answer right away, but walked around the area like he was trying to find a signal for his cell phone, but he couldn't find it. It was the strangest sensation. The world all of a sudden was silent. There was no angry force yelling in his head. He thought he had just tuned it out, but now he couldn't find it.

"How did you lose it?" Joseph questioned, frustrated obviously but trying to be silent. "This isn't the time for a joke, Kyle."

"I'm not joking," Kyle said through gritted teeth as he crossed the fence again. "I didn't even notice it disappearing, but I'm telling you, it's gone."

"What happened?" Joseph asked annoyed.

"I don't know," Kyle answered, "I didn't do anything."

Joseph thought for a second before suggesting, "Maybe they found a way to jam it?"

"How would they have even known I could sense it?" Kyle retorted. "Besides, if they did, why would they wait till one in the morning to turn it on? Could they have known we were here?"

"I don't think so," Joseph reasoned. "I was as careful as possible, and I would've noticed if someone was physically following us." Joseph turned back to the fence then snapped back to Kyle. "Maybe the fence tipped us off. Go a few yards that way and see if you can see any type of sensors on the fence. If it is monitored, they'd have to put sensors on it at fairly close intervals."

So they split and inspected the fence. Kyle walked slowly in his direction, running his hand along the chain links, but couldn't see anything other than wire the whole way.

Break them all

Kyle jumped as he heard a voice. It was the absolute eeriest thing he had ever heard. A shiver went down his spine, leaving goose bumps on its way down. "Joseph?" he whispered into the night, but was only answered by the sounds of bugs and the wind.

Break them all

He heard it again, along with a pulse of energy that literally shook him so hard he was panting from it. The pulse had caused his vessels to flash brightly. Apart from the energy Kyle also felt that rage again. It felt like a flash flood that washed him away before he could react. It was a struggle and a pain to keep the yelling out of his head, and it took him a minute to get his footing. It was too late to hold the rage away, but he could at least not get lost in it.

Whatever this was, Kyle was sure that it was not the Primal. How the Primal communicated with Kyle was... complex. It didn't use words, but roughly translated its energy into the senses and feelings behind words. Kyle really couldn't understand it; in a way it was like talking to a three year old: it knew what it was meaning, but the vocabulary had difficulty backing the ideas.

What was important was that emotions were no part of the Primals' consciousness. This was different from the beginning, though. This was some outside force the whole time. All of a sudden he was completely suspicious of it. With suspicion came curiosity.

Joseph came running up behind him. "Did you see anything?" he asked when he reached Kyle.

"No," Kyle answered. His mind was still elsewhere, working on what might actually be out there. "I have a weird feeling about this," he admitted.

"You think we should leave?" Joseph asked curiously.

"No," Kyle said, "I just think we're going to find something we're not expecting."

"So do you think we should leave?" he asked again.

Kyle didn't answer but started walking in the direction of the warehouse. Sword was here, and so was his power, and maybe the Primal, but definitely something was here that he needed to see.

Soon they were at the backside of the first warehouse, two stories high and half the length of a football field. It was a fairly large building, big enough to hold both Primals easily. Coming around the side they came to a single door. Kyle tried the knob and found it locked. Joseph waved Kyle out of the way and pulled out a lock picking kit. As he worked on the door, Kyle kept walking to peer around to the front of the warehouse. The huge door was also closed, and standing on the other corner were two soldiers keeping watch.

There was a small stretch of land between the two warehouses and the smaller building, all lit up with security lights. The other warehouse was closed, as well, and it looked exactly the same as the one they were currently breaking into. Kyle still couldn't sense the Primal, or whatever he's been sensing this whole time, so this was literally a coin toss if they were right.

Kyle got back to Joseph just as he popped the door open. Stowing his lock picking set away he slowly opened the door. It was dark and quiet inside. As they crept inside Kyle could hear the unmistakable sound of electricity, and it sounded like a lot of it was being used.

Joseph produced two small flashlights and his camera. They split up after Kyle took a flashlight. Joseph headed toward the huge door at the front and Kyle headed toward the back of the building. This building seemed to act like an armory or an industrial work area. Work stations were strewn about and connected by networks of electrical wires and plastic tubes.

These stations surrounded four Humvees with Sword's insignia on the side, a red circle with an eagle over two crossed swords, one sword was a naval sword and the other a straight sword. Kyle peered inside one to see it was decked out. The dashboard was lined with screens and wires led from these screens out the passenger's window and into another station. Kyle wondered how these customized Humvees would perform next to a regular one.

Kyle moved on and reached the back wall. There was a door in the middle, but Kyle didn't remember seeing a door at the back of this building outside. Kyle shut his light off for a second and noticed a blue light coming from underneath the door.

Excited, he tried the knob, but it was locked. He tugged on it before looking back to try and find Joseph. Joseph seemed far away, the only indication of him being the small beam of his flashlight. He was busy documenting everything he could, too busy to work a door open for Kyle.

Kyle couldn't wait. Whatever they were there for was behind this door. Kyle had to blow it off with a bolt. It took him a minute to form a bolt a little bigger than a golf ball, and he was almost too shaky to aim it. It was all he had, however, so he fired it at the door knob.

It actually worked better than he thought it would. He managed to blast a hole through the door where the knob and lock used to be. The door just fell open on its hinges. Kyle allowed himself a small chuckle as he pulled the door open and walked inside.

Kyle didn't find the Primal. Instead what dominated this back room was something that looked like a giant glass tank with a blue misty substance inside it. That had to be Primal energy. It made sense; why would Sword have developed a means to taking the energy without having a means to store it?

As Kyle walked into the room, the energy in the tank reacted. It started to move faster and glow brighter as he got closer. Kyle figured that the power wanted to come back to him, but he had no idea how to get it out.

Suddenly, the energy pulsed once, blindingly bright for a split second. Kyle felt his vessels vibrate with the pulse like a bell that was struck. With the pulse came a message clear as day.

Break him

Before he had a chance to question what that meant, Kyle realized someone was behind him. Whipping around was one of the men Kyle was deep down hoping he would find this night.

"Good to see you again, boy," Geoff said as he raised his snare weapon at Kyle.

# Chapter Twelve

Geoff launched the snare that he used on Kyle back at the mall. Kyle watched the three spinning heads fly toward him, looking to sap what Primal energy he had left. However, Kyle managed to react first and duck out of the way. He felt the wind from the spinning chain as if flew over him.

Geoff's face was that of pure horror, not that he missed but because of what he instead hit. The spinning heads of his chain had struck against the tank that held the blue swirling energy. Both Kyle and Geoff froze and watched the tank. The snare had just bounced off the tank, but the impact had taken a chip out of the tank where it hit. They stared at the tank like two kids stared at a broken vase, waiting for something to happen.

After half a minute, the tank didn't do anything. Geoff laughed contentedly as Kyle rolled to the right and stood up in one motion, preparing for the man's next strike. Kyle had to somehow break the tank and get his power back, but with Geoff there trying to stop him, it wouldn't be easy.

"Nice shot," Kyle said mockingly. "Who taught you how to aim? I've been to fairs and seen little kids shoot better than that."

"I'm a scientist, not a circus act," Geoff exclaimed, "and my genius more than makes up for my mistakes. That reservoir can withstand anything."

Obviously not, Kyle thought. Arrogance could be Geoff's downfall, but Kyle had to get past his special weapon. But the tank was breakable, and breakable glass was all that stood between Kyle and his full power.

Geoff seemed to be alone, and Joseph was either indisposed or hadn't noticed the commotion yet. "I notice you don't have any soldiers with you this time. Were you going to fight fair?"

Geoff laughed. "Please, this is much fairer than last time, fair for me at least. Besides, I do my best work by myself, anyway." He pushes a button on the launcher and the entire length of chain is quickly retracted. "Also, luckily for me, I do my best work at night," he said as he walked further into the room. "Now no one can stop me from taking the last dredges of your power."

"Where's the Primal?" Kyle asked.

Geoff laughed maniacally as if that was the funniest joke he'd ever heard. Kyle sighed loudly, getting really tired of this man. "It's two in the morning," Kyle said, exhausted and aggravated. "I don't have the time or the patience for this. Either you tell me the Primal is here or I'm losing my mind."

"Of course the alien isn't here," Geoff said as he continued to laugh. He regained control of himself as he said, "You really thought we would keep it here? This is our one publicly known location and you thought we would keep the discovery of a thousand lifetimes here."

He was mocking Kyle, who was starting to shake with anger. "Where's the Primal?" Kyle repeated. It was quiet, but the type of quiet that hinted at a boiling anger.

Geoff obviously didn't care. "That is no longer your concern," he stated. He raised his launcher at Kyle again and asked, "Now are you going to surrender the last power you have or am I going to have to take it by force?"

Kyle didn't get a chance to answer because right then Joseph ran in and tackled Geoff. Geoff reflexively shot his snare, and Kyle was too stunned to do more than put his arm up to block it. The spinning chain caught Kyle's arm, but the force knocked it into his neck, too. Kyle fell on his back with his left arm trapped awkwardly against his throat.

Kyle got back on his knees as quickly as he could with one arm and raised his right hand to fire a bolt at Geoff. Unfortunately, he was wrestling with Joseph, and Kyle couldn't get a clear shot at Geoff only. Also, as the two adults fought, the chain connecting Kyle's neck and Geoff's arm kept getting tugged on violently, forcing Kyle to lose his aim.

Geoff hadn't activated whatever caused the electrical surge that Kyle remembered feeling at the mall, so for a minute he tried to pry it off his neck and arm. This proved to be more difficult. Somehow the chains became rigid as they wrapped around him; Kyle couldn't get them loose. The chain was wrapped tightly around his neck, so he couldn't even see what he was doing. Also, as the chain was being tugged on, Kyle lost balance several times. Kyle would've shot a bolt and tried to break the chain, but it kept whipping about, and Kyle didn't have the energy or time to take multiple shots at it.

One more option presented itself to Kyle. About six feet away from him stood the huge reservoir of the Primal's energy. If he could break it now, he'd have all the power he needed.

Neither of the two fighting adults paid any attention to him. Kyle couldn't tell who was winning this fight, but every swing and hit jolted the chain connecting him to Geoff. Kyle grabbed the chain with his free hand and tugged as hard as he could on it. That gave him a little slack, and he was able to stand still and focus on breaking that tank.

Kyle pointed his arm at the tank and tried to focus on the chip in the glass. He took a deep breath and tried to summon a bolt. He was significantly less powerful, though, and he struggled to make a bolt even though it had been a few minutes since he blew the door open. Nevertheless he summoned as much power as he could.

Kyle felt the chain suddenly tighten and a surge of electricity. He yelped and jumped at the shock. He looked over to see Geoff now standing with Joseph stunned on the ground, holding his head.

Kyle felt his power, or what was left of it, destabilize inside of him. He couldn't use it, but it took everything he had to not let it leave his body. Kyle's strength drained very quickly, though. He couldn't hold it much longer. If someone didn't do something very soon, the last iota of Primal energy would be lost, and then there would be no hope for Kyle to save the planet. He had to do something, but he was just too weak to fight any longer.

At that moment, however, Joseph returned to his senses. With a shake of his head the world returned to focus. His jaw was throbbing; Geoff had caught him with a good right hook, but not good enough to take him out. He looked up to see Kyle on his knees, arm and neck trapped in the chain that connected him to Geoff. Kyle was fighting it, but the machine on Geoff's back and arm was winning. Joseph had to do something now, and the solution came to him.

Jumping up to his feet, Joseph ran past Geoff, who was too surprised to do anything but watch him. Kyle was slipping away and didn't notice. The agent stopped halfway down the chain, took out his bolt cutters and broke the thin chain.

Both Kyle and Geoff fell backward at the break. Kyle almost passed out when his power shot back inside him. The chain around his neck suddenly went limp, and he was able to tear it off, freeing his other arm. It took him a second to recover and get back on his feet, but he was up before Geoff could do anything.

Geoff didn't matter, though. All that mattered was blowing that glass jar of energy. Kyle raised both his arms to fire double bolts at the chipped part of the tank. He shot the bolts just as Geoff ran at him yelling "NO!"

The two bolts hit the tank at the same time like two tiny arrows, but it was more than enough to penetrate the tank. The energy it held did all the rest, exploiting the weakness to blast out a hole that Kyle could put his head through. The energy streamed out of the jagged hole in the tank, but instead of acting like a gas and just spreading, the stream made a bee line for Kyle's hands. As soon as it made contact, the blue cloud engulfed him, pouring into the dark vessels on his arms and chest.

Kyle's first experience with obtaining the Primal's energy was one of pain and fear. This time, however, it was soothing, like hot chocolate on a freezing day. This time it felt right. Kyle watched with a smile of pure joy as the power was absorbed into his body and the vessels grew brighter and brighter. He hungrily took it back into his body, using all his will to pull it in. Not of his own accord, Kyle started to hover off the ground. Kyle closed his eyes, still smiling, and allowed himself to continue floating.

It only took about half a minute for the power to completely exit the tank and go into Kyle. At the end he stayed floating, full of content. For the first time he truly appreciated having his powers. These last few months they had become a large part of Kyle's life. They were a new way for him to interact with the world. All the good memories attached to the power came flooding back, too. All the videos he made with his friends, the times he spent just hanging out with them, showing off what he could do, and, of course, saving their lives against the red Primal. All stuff he was proud of. All were memories and experiences that made him who he was.

Kyle finally woke up enough to notice an alarm was going off. Kyle dropped to the ground as Joseph was barricading the door with various chairs and desks. Geoff was unconscious in the corner, tied up with the pieces of his own snare weapon.

"Nice of you to join me," he said sarcastically as he pushed a desk past Kyle.

"What's going on?" Kyle asked.

"What do you think?" Joseph answered. "You broke that reservoir and alarms started to blare. There are already twenty guys out there," he said, jerking his head to the door, "and who knows how many others outside."

A resolve suddenly came over Kyle. He wasn't going to stand for this; he had the power of the universe back in his possession, and he wasn't going to let himself be trapped like an animal.

Kyle walked over to Joseph's barricade and started to take it apart. "What are you doing?" Joseph asked frantically.

"I'm getting us out of here," Kyle said simply.

"Are you out of your mind?" Joseph asked, trying to stop Kyle from pushing a desk out from in front of the busted door.

"You think this little fort is going to hold them out?" Kyle asked back. "I have my powers back, and I'm going out there."

"So you have lost your mind," Joseph stated as he reassembled his barricade.

Kyle didn't understand Joseph's reservations about this. He was the one who offered to take Kyle out here in the first place, and now Kyle had the ability to get them out. Kyle wasn't standing for this, though.

He didn't need the door. He walked a few feet to the left of Joseph's barricade and raised his hand to the wall. With a flash of light a bolt of immense power screamed from his arm, tearing a hole in the wall large enough for the two of them to walk out side by side.

Joseph had turned his back as Kyle blew the wall out. Completely in shock, he yelled once again, "What are you doing!?"

"I'm getting us out of here," was all Kyle said as he walked through.

# Chapter Thirteen

Kyle walked through his hole to see the once dark warehouse was fully lit up. The lights revealed just how large the warehouse really was. Forget Humvees; planes could fit in this thing.

Several men were running through the various industrial equipment stands strewn about the place in Kyle's direction. Kyle counted twenty five in all, all holding military grade weapons.

Kyle watched as they all closed in around him, pointing their weapons at him. They all finally settled behind some sort of cover, the closest only ten feet from him.

When everything was still, one of the soldiers said, "Kid, this is private property. Stop right there and we will resolve this quietly."

Kyle laughed at how calm the soldier was. He looked right at the soldier who called out, kneeling behind a work station. "You guys know who I am, right?" he asked. The man didn't respond. "I'm the kid you sent four of your buddies to attack. I'm the one who put one of those guys in the hospital; he'll probably be blind the rest of his life."

Kyle paused for a second and looked around the room, making a mental note of where all of the soldiers were. The one who spoke earlier called out, "Last chance for you to stand down, kid."

"No," Kyle replied, "this is your last chance to stand down." Kyle flexed his arms and energy poured out of the vessels, surrounding his body in an aura of power. The power crackled like a fire and arced over his body like electricity. He was stronger than before, he could feel it. Some of the men were unsteady, but they held their ground as a group.

It was a standoff. Kyle's brain was once again working at an amplified level due to his power returning, and had already determined several ways he could get out of this without hurting too many people. He wasn't considering any of them, though.

Some incredible anger came over him, and it was showing in the energy field around him. Metallic objects close to him started to vibrate, and small lightning bolts flew from his body and struck a tool box along the wall behind him. It was like that voice that egged him on before was now inside him, where it had more power over him. The crackle in Kyle's ear grew to a loud hum of power that Kyle could barely hear over. Lightning bolts started to arc forward and hit near where the soldiers were covered. Kyle wasn't consciously firing or directing them; dangerous energy was leaking from his body. This happened four times before someone yelled something and all the soldiers opened fire.

Kyle could see the guns flashing, but the bullets never hit their target. Kyle's bubble of power was taking the hits, absorbing all of the heat and kinetic energy of the bullets flying at him. The cold dead bullets would just drop to the ground like ball bearings. Most of them stopped in front of his chest but some were aimed at his head. Many were caught in his field of influence but would have missed his body completely. All Kyle felt was soft thumps as they hit his power; felt like he was standing in the rain. The barrage lasted five whole minutes; some of the soldiers had reloaded their weapons, but not one bullet got closer than a foot.

When the firing stopped, all of the soldiers looked absolutely amazed. Amazement then turned to horror. A few in the back started to slowly back out.

Kyle looked down at his feet to see he was just surrounded by bullets. With another flex of his powers he sent them flying across the room. They bounced harmlessly against the soldier's covers, but they all flinched and ducked anyway. "My turn," he called out playfully.

Kyle first pointed his arm at the soldier who spoke to him. A solid laser of power the width of a basketball shoved the man ten feet back into a Humvee, and then shoved the Humvee back, too.

After that was pure chaos. Some of the men ran back, others reloaded and continued to fire at Kyle. The bullets continued to bounce off Kyle's energy field harmlessly, allowing him to take his time to line up his shots. He targeted the ones brave enough to keep shooting him first, laughing maniacally as he blew them away with a powerful laser one by one.

Soon they were all backing off quickly. Kyle started walking toward the door, blasting anything that got in his way. A few of the soldiers would pop a shot at him, and he would answer back with a bolt that without fail would send them scurrying.

At about the middle of the warehouse a few of the soldiers still standing had set up a second line against him. This time, however, they had gotten into one of the Humvees and had turned the machine gun on the back of it to be pointing at him, too. Kyle stopped about ten feet from the men.

"C'mon," he called out mockingly, "give me your best shot."

The soldier manning the Humvee's gun yelled "FIRE!" and Kyle held his arms out to take the shots. Kyle was impressed; the bigger gun's bullets hit a lot harder, but got no closer to his body than the other bullets did. Each larger bullet smacked Kyle's force field and created a ripple that distorted Kyle's vision. Overall, though, it felt like someone was chucking coins at him, and it was starting to get annoying.

Although Kyle was having difficulty seeing the gunner, he could see the Humvee perfectly fine. Bringing his hands together in front of him Kyle shot one large laser that shoved the whole vehicle on its side.

Immediately six soldiers charged Kyle from all sides. But numbers meant nothing to Kyle. He was still moving three times as fast as they were.

The first of them to make it to him immediately swung his huge fist at Kyle's face. Kyle easily caught the fist, which felt as weak as a small child slapping him. Kyle lashed out with an open hand at the man's stomach, firing a bolt as his palm made contact. The soldier was sent flying from the force of the enclosed explosion, but was out cold before he hit the wall.

The other five men performed about as well. Kyle dispatched three of them just as easily as he did the first soldier. The last two had enough sense to team up, taking him from both sides. Kyle fought with them for a few seconds before taking them out by ducking to avoid two simultaneous punches and shooting two bolts that caught each man in the chest. The soldiers were sent flying in opposite directions.

Kyle stood up ready for the next obstacle, but it was finally quiet. No one was pointing anything at him and no one was running at him. Everyone had either run off or were not moving. Kyle took a second to take a breath and loosen his body.

Then he felt someone come up behind him. With a jolt he was back at full power. Quick as lightning he spun around and had his arm pointed at this new opponent's face.

It was Joseph, who had somehow produced a gun that was pointed at Kyle's chest. Luckily for him Kyle's brain was faster than his reflexes; Kyle lowered his arm and turned to face the agent.

"Where've you been?" Kyle asked jokingly. "You've missed all the fun." Kyle noticed Joseph wasn't lowering his gun, and he was keeping his space from Kyle. "What's wrong?" Kyle asked, confused.

"Kyle, think about what you are doing," He said calmly. "You're not thinking straight. Look around you."

Just to humor him, Kyle looked around. Aside from soldiers sprawled all over the place, there was trashed equipment and scorch marks all over the place. It looked like a tornado had passed through and then a wild fire in its wake.

"Kyle, you need to stop," Joseph told him. "This is getting out of hand."

"I'm just defending myself," Kyle responded. "They're the ones stupid enough to challenge me."

"Kyle, this is too much. You need to stop, now," Joseph said more forcefully.

Kyle looked down at the gun in Joseph's hand. It intrigued Kyle that it was pointed at him. Kyle had no idea if it was loaded or not, but that point did not matter to him. He felt no fear of it; Joseph might as well have been waving a ruler at him. Faster than he intended, Kyle reached out and grabbed the weapon. He only meant to hold it steady, but Joseph jumped and let go of it. Curious, Kyle manipulated the weapon between his hands, feeling the weight and coldness of the metal barrel, and then the sweat covered handle.

Kyle looked back up at Joseph, who was again looking at him like he was a wild animal. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Kyle asked.

"Because you're scaring me," Joseph answered quickly.

"I'm scaring you?" Kyle asked with disbelief. He took a step toward Joseph and the agent took an equal step back. Kyle took another step and Joseph did the same. Then Kyle rushed at Joseph, stopping right in his face.

In the state Kyle was in, he was capable of so much. There were no limits. Nothing could stop him now.

Noises started coming from outside. Kyle still faced Joseph, but his ears were trained on the activity outside. It sounded like Sword was getting ready for them.

Joseph's eyes darted to the door and back to Kyle. "There's no way we can go out that way. Let's head to the back and see if we can find a way out."

"Why?" Kyle asked.

"Because we are done here, Kyle," he answered. "You got your powers back and the Primal isn't here."

"I'm not done here yet," Kyle told him. "They still think they can challenge me, and I have to prove them wrong."

"Kyle, you've proved yourself. We have to go," Joseph insisted, reaching for Kyle's arm.

As he did, a small spark of power leapt from Kyle's arm to Joseph's hand. Kyle didn't even feel it leave his body, but Joseph jumped back and yelped as if he just touched a hot pan. He inspected his hand to see that it was fine, but he didn't try to grab Kyle again.

Satisfied that Joseph wasn't going to stop him, Kyle said, "I'll be right back," and turned toward the front door.

Kyle walked outside through the huge doors at the front of the building, which had been pushed open wide enough to allow five people to walk through comfortably. About thirty soldiers and three more Humvees all had guns aimed at the door.

Kyle closed his eyes and paid attention to the wind. It was just past three in the morning, and it looked like it was about to rain.

"KYLE FOSTER," came a voice over a megaphone, "STAND DOWN!!"

The first few rain drops came down on Kyle's shoulder and head. No one moved as rain came down harder and harder. A clap of lightning struck to the east, thunder roaring in after.

Kyle's and the other men were getting thoroughly soaked. He looked down to see the whole courtyard had practically become a muddy lake. Kyle focused energy and hovered a few feet off the ground. Looking out, the soldiers were just standing in the mud, too, but weren't showing if they were fazed at all. Their discipline was amazing, Kyle had to admit.

"Fox, I hope you're watching this," Kyle said to himself. He raised both hands in front of his chest and started pressing power into a single orb. A small spark quickly grew into a basketball sized orb, but Kyle kept pushing more power into it. When Kyle was satisfied with it, he threw the orb at the ground between him and the semi-circle of men in front of him.

The blast was something Kyle had never seen before or even thought he was capable of. Kyle had thought that an orb like that would just break into a hundred tiny bolts and just hit everything like shrapnel. What happened instead was a blast of pure light. It hung in the air for two full seconds before Kyle was slammed into the door of the warehouse. He had no time to react and he made a dent so deep into the metal door it actually tore a little. A vibration ran through the whole building, then reverberated back so hard it shoved Kyle out of the dent he made. Kyle fell fifteen feet to the mud still shaking. Kyle could barely stand up, and he finally noticed that he couldn't see.

The immediate feeling Kyle had was regret. His vision was already starting to come back, but the vibrating was still going strong. Kyle had to prop himself against the warehouse to keep from falling over.

It took a few minutes for Kyle's hearing and vision to come back to where he could support himself. At that point Kyle finally noticed what happened to the men that surrounded him.

All of them were on the ground still, and clear across the space between the warehouses. They were moaning and moving around, but only just. The Humvees were wrecked. The military vehicles had been flipped on their backs and absolutely mangled. The drivers and gunners had been blown out of them, sprawled out with their comrades.

Kyle suddenly heard a groan come from inside the building behind him. With a jolt he remembered Joseph was behind him.

"Joseph?" Kyle called as he walked back inside. The place was trashed. Everything had been pushed back at least ten feet. "Joseph, where are you?"

Kyle was answered by the shifting of work desk revealed Joseph. Kyle rushed forward and blasted away the debris. Joseph was on his back in between a work desk and the Humvee closest to the door. His left leg was twisted at an odd angle. "If this is what 'in control' looks like," he said, "I'd hate to see when you lose control."

Kyle knelt next to Joseph, who pushed himself into a sitting position. He stared at Kyle disappointedly. "This is the last time I trust you, Kyle Foster. I'm going to have to report what happened here."

Kyle understood, and Kyle was disappointed in himself, too. He realized he did lose control, if he ever had control at all. Right then, though, only one thing was important. "I should get you to a hospital. May I pick you up?"

Joseph just stared at him for a second before nodding. As slowly and as gingerly as he could, Kyle lifted Joseph from the mess, using Primal energy to help lift. Kyle apologized every time Joseph so much as winced in pain. As lightly as he could, Kyle lifted off, leaving the Sword base behind them.

# Chapter Fourteen

Kyle flew Joseph right to a Las Vegas hospital, causing quite a commotion doing so. Some nurses took Joseph away from Kyle. He gave them Joseph's name and flew out before anyone had a chance to stop him.

Up and up and up until he was at the top of the Earth's atmosphere, higher than he was ever able to get before. The curvature of the Earth below him and the shining moon above him, and the one thing he couldn't get away from was his guilt. He had no idea how he was even able to breathe at this altitude, but he was able to scream. Kyle grabbed his stomach as a primal yell of pain escaped him, lasting almost a minute. When he finished, he lashed out at the sky in anger, sending powerful bolts into the infinite cosmos around him.

"GET OUT OF ME!!" he roared as he shot bolt after bolt into space for what felt like hours, but it wouldn't run out. He noticed an empty space, drew all his energy and shot a huge laser in its direction. He screamed as he forced more and more power out of him in a continuous laser. He screamed until he had no more breath, but the power never ran out. He pushed the laser as big as he could, forcing more and more power out of his hands. He did this until his arms were numb, and when he couldn't continue the vessels were as bright as ever. Exhausted, he drifted back down to the ground.

Joseph's leg was broken and he was going to need crutches for weeks. Despite his injuries, he went right back to work covering everything he could up. Kyle, out of sympathy and guilt for his injury, helped Joseph by bringing groceries to his house and doing other housework while Joseph did his work. Joseph told Kyle time and again that he wasn't seriously injured, and that he could take care of himself and would be back on his feet in no time, but Kyle insisted.

A week later Joseph had had everything resolved. The incident was written off as a gas explosion from a bad fuel line, and the blue light was a result of the explosion mixing with some chemicals. Several men were being treated for their injuries, and the nature of the explosion had people fearful of radiation, but there were no deaths that night.

Kyle could care less as he finished school. That first day back was horrible enough since the memories were still fresh. Not so much the pain and suffering around him at the time, but what had been going through his head. Thinking back, Kyle couldn't believe that these were his actual memories. He didn't recognize the person whose point of view he was watching from. To that person then, those soldiers weren't people, they were vermin unfortunate to be under his feet.

He could hardly focus on anything, let alone his school work. All that crept into his mind was the thought of the monster he had been. Parts of him could not believe he was capable of such violence, but the memories kept screaming what he did, like a horror movie just wouldn't stop repeating itself.

People tried talking to him about it. His parents, the twins, even Sarah asked, but he wouldn't speak of it. About the middle of the week Kyle was once again over at Joseph's house, having finished cleaning up and about to leave when Joseph called out, "Kyle, wait."

Kyle turned to Joseph, who was just sitting on his couch with a computer in his lap. "I need to tell you something. Stay for a minute."

Kyle took a seat in a chair next to the couch and Joseph spoke. "I've being called back to Washington, D.C. As far as my superiors are concerned, this assignment is over and I don't need to stay here any longer."

It took Kyle a few seconds to fully comprehend what that meant. "So you're leaving," he stated dryly.

"In the morning," he responded.

"Okay," Kyle said. "Why are you telling me this? You certainly didn't announce your arrival, so why are you telling me that you're leaving?"

"Because I'll need your help taking care of this house," he said as he closed the computer and set it beside him on the couch.

Kyle looked up at him confused. "You're coming back?"

"When I find out more about Sword and where they might be hiding the Primal," Joseph answered. "I can do that much easier in Washington. When I do find something, I'll be back, and I want this house intact when I return."

"Why can't you just stay here?" Kyle asked.

"Because, again, as far as my superiors are concerned, this assignment is over." He shifted on the couch to a more comfortable position. He tried to hide how much he was struggling, but it still showed. "Orders are orders, so I'm leaving as soon as I can."

Kyle thought for a second what Joseph was getting at. "Why are you still helping me after what I did to you?"

"I'm helping you because of what you did to me," he explained. "The alibi we gave said the explosion and all of the damage was all an accident. We were so lucky no one actually died in our little escapade."

Kyle was losing interest in this conversation. He would never escape his guilt about what he did, and hearing about it, even about what "good" news there actually was to report, was unbearable. Kyle hung his head in shame, but Joseph kept speaking.

"However, I've been watching you for weeks now, and that wasn't you that night. The Kyle I've mostly seen has been friendly, caring, and overall harmless."

Kyle couldn't help but smile, yet in the back of his mind he didn't like being called "harmless." He kept that thought buried where it was.

"You lost control and hurt many people," Joseph continued, "and I don't want to see that happen again."

"Now I have to pack," Joseph declared. "I'll be gone in the morning before you're up, but I'll leave the door unlocked and a key on the table. Keep food here if you want, I don't care. Just no parties and no sleepovers while I'm gone," he ordered. "I'll call you when I get new information, but I don't know how long that will be."

"Thank you," Kyle said gratefully.

Joseph nodded curtly, and got up, signaling to Kyle that he needed to leave.

The next day was Kyle's last day of school before summer break. He walked home from school, but instead went to Emma's house. There were things that needed to be said, and he hadn't seen her since he got back.

When he got to the Oceans' house, it seemed different. He knocked on the door but no one answered for several minutes. He then walked over to a window, but it was dark inside. He held his palm up to the window and shined some light inside, but what he saw confused him.

What he saw was nothing. He was looking into the living room of the house, but there was no furniture, no pictures on the walls, and no signs of life.

"She's not here," said a voice behind him. Kyle turned to see Tony standing there with his bicycle and backpack. "They moved that weekend you took off."

"They moved?" Kyle repeated, very confused. "Why didn't she tell me?" The question wasn't directed at Tony, but he answered anyway.

"Because you were a jerk to her," he said with a shrug.

Kyle could understand that, but why did no one tell him? Then he remembered just before he left with Joseph.

"She tried telling me, and I was a jerk then." Kyle wanted to kick himself. "I'm such an idiot!" he yelled to the world.

"You were," Tony agreed. "But... she wanted me to tell you something when you came by."

Kyle finally fully acknowledged Tony, looking him in the eye when he told his message.

"She wanted to say that she does forgive you for everything, and she doesn't want you to feel sad for her leaving. She said she wants you to focus on what's important, and that's not her right now."

A huge weight was taken off of Kyle's shoulders, one he didn't even know was there. Emma didn't hate him. In that moment, Kyle was able to forget all of the guilt he had, if only for a minute.

In that next moment, it came to mind what he should do next. "Hey, uh," he began, "I'm sorry about that fight last summer."

"You mean the time you shoved me across Emma's house?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"Yeah," Kyle responded, not looking at Tony. If it were any other day, Kyle would have made a snide comeback, but none came to him right then.

Tony was silent for half a minute, determining whether or not Kyle was being sincere. Finally, he sighed and said, "Its old news. I'm over it."

Kyle finally met Tony's eye with a hopeful glance. "You forgive me?"

Tony smirked and extended his hand to Kyle. "Yeah," he said simply, ending the matter.

Kyle smiled as he shook Tony's hand, a random jolt of energy shooting up his arm as he did. The feeling was good; through it Kyle could sense Tony's forgiveness, confirming it on another level. "Maybe we can start over," Kyle suggested. "I'm Kyle Foster. I live around the corner if you ever want to hang out."

"Thanks," Tony said as they continued to shake hands. "I'm Tony Hamilton," he said. "The pleasure is mine; I think I've seen you on TV." They both laughed at that.

That night, Kyle felt the sensation of the Primal reaching to him. The connection was less painful and much smoother this time. Kyle slipped from reality and into the world he and the Primal shared.

Everything was clearer this time, and the connection felt much stronger. The Primal, as usual, flew up and around the blue fog, the only point of reference in this whole place.

"You acquired more power," said the being.

"They were drawing energy from you," Kyle explained, "but your body wasn't at the compound. Sword still has it, and they're not going to give it up without a fight."

"You are running out of time, Kyle," it reminded him coldly.

"I realize that, but you aren't helping," said Kyle. "If anything, you're just as annoying and useless as Sword." Kyle's anger flared. "You tell me nothing except that I'm running out of time, or you give vague messages or even no information at all!!"

As the last word left his mouth, several bolts of lightning shot from all over his body, striking the ground around and air around him. A thought suddenly came to him. "But I think I finally understand what you do to me. Your power is like an enhancer, boosting whatever I'm currently feeling." It all made sense to him now. "That's why I had that surge against the red Primal when I wanted to protect Emma, and why my powers worked better when I was angry even though most of it was stolen."

"It seems so," the Primal agreed. "This power was meant to be directionless and without emotion, and even your fraction is proved to be mightier than my other self when you so will."

"My will and my feelings affect how your power works," Kyle concluded. "That's something I'm going to have to work on. If I'm going to save the world, I'm going to have to deal with Sword again. I won't let them get to me like they did this time, I promise."

"Yes," the Primal said. "But with more power, it will be difficult."

"How so?" Kyle asked. "I mastered what power I had before Sword, so I can handle it."

"Maybe, but the extra power you picked up was... different."

Kyle was confused. "Different how?"

"We can sense that the extra power in you is tainted by the emotion you call anger, and it was tainted before you received it," the Primal explained.

"Wait," Kyle said, "the extra power in that tank was angry before I got it, and you don't have emotions, so..." and it hit him. "Someone else had that power before I did. Sword succeeded in transferring your power to other people."

"It seems so," the Primal said.

"And if they were successful once, they would've tried again," Kyle reasoned. "Do you know how many others they might have made?"

"It is uncertain," the Primal answered. "However, they would not have been able to make many. While our power is great, it is limited in however much excess it gives off. At some point, the body would shut off and retain all the energy it can to maintain itself."

"So they could've made a few," Kyle thought out loud. "But the energy was in a tank, not a person. What happened to the person who had it originally? And why was he so angry at Sword?" He turned to the Primal and asked, "If Sword had taken all of my power, would I have survived?"

The Primal was silent as is flew circles in the space above him for several moments before saying, "no, you would not have. Your mortal form, while intricate, is very fragile. It has taken great steps to accommodate the power you had, and if that power were taken away, it is doubtful that you would be able to function without."

"They must've killed the owner of that power testing the weapon Geoff used on me," Kyle reasoned. Then a new thought came to him, based on what the Primal just said. "When I give my power back to your body, will I survive?"

Again, the Primal was quiet for a minute before saying, "It is uncertain. Our power being transferred like this had never happened in all time."

"But you gave me power in the first place and I survived it," Kyle replied.

"As we said, your mortal body has changed to accommodate that power, and if you give that power back, it is doubtful you would be able to function." Kyle felt the connection start to slip. "Gather our power back, Kyle, and save this world," was the last thing Kyle heard before the connection broke.

# Chapter Fifteen

After school ended for the summer, everything changed. That first weekend into summer marked it as one full year since Kyle had encountered the Primal in Colorado. He found himself one morning studying the vessels on his arms. They were brighter than they had ever been, bright enough to bother him in daylight. Even in a long sleeved shirt they glowed through. He sighed, realizing that there was really no way of hiding them unless he wanted to wear a thick coat in the west Texas summer.

It was annoying at times, especially at night, but served as a reminder that in a way he was farther from his goal than he was at the end of last summer. Instead of giving his power back, he'd acquired more. He had figured from the beginning the Primal was being hidden, but now he knew it was even being hidden from him specifically. Sword had buried it somewhere and then buried themselves with their secret, so finding the Primal now meant digging Sword back up. Even then, while the body might still be in one piece, its power now probably wasn't.

Kyle had more power at his disposal, which was both a blessing and a curse. The new power was still attached to its anger, and Kyle could not find a way to separate it. He practiced controlling and keeping an eye on his emotions. The anger in this extra power stayed with him, but Kyle was soon able to control it when he accessed that source, converting that anger into motivation. But that anger would always be a part of him now, a scar in his mind that in a way wasn't entirely his, but he had inherited it with his new power. Its hatred of Sword would stay with him forever.

To counteract it, though, Kyle decided to make peace with everyone. The easiest one was the person he knew the least. He asked everyone he knew and figured out the name of that senior he blasted when he insulted Emma. From that name he found an address, and he was at the guy's front door bright and early. He was able to talk to the senior, who seemed both surprised and confused as to why Kyle was there, and sincerely apologized for hurting him. The older kid had moved past the incident, but gave his forgiveness, only asking that Kyle just never talk to him again. Kyle agreed, thanking him. He left and they never spoke again, Kyle even forgot his name after that day.

A few days later Kyle went to the hospital to visit the man he had blinded. He tried to talk to as few people as possible as he explained his reasons. They tried to explain the man's condition, but Kyle wasn't interested, mostly because he didn't want to hear the full extent of what he did to him. It pained him enough to hear that what happened was most likely going to be permanent, if not terminal.

Eventually they let him through, and Kyle stood alone over the man he'd hurt in his bed. He was unconscious, his eyes were bandaged and several machines attached to his body. At first he seemed fine, his breath and his heart monitor both seemed normal, but Kyle could see that the skin around his eyes was discolored. Kyle didn't want to know what his eyes looked like underneath the bandages. "I'm sorry," was all Kyle could say, but in no way did that express the magnitude of his guilt.

The vessels on his hands reacted. Kyle panicked for a second, backing away from the sleeping man, not wanting to cause him any other pain.

But the energy coming forth wasn't angry. Instead, it was soothing. Most surprising was an undertone of sympathy that Kyle felt with it.

Kyle learned that in moments like this, when the Primal's energy reacted to his feelings, it was best to just react with it, and allow what it told his instincts to do. Kyle walked back to the soldier's bedside and extended his hands over his chest. Instantly a soft pulse of energy shot into the man. It was as simple as that, and the vessels turned back to normal. Strangely satisfied, Kyle left the hospital.

A few days later Kyle and Justin were in Joseph's house taking care of the place. To both of their surprise, Joseph kept a lot of plants. A pot sat in almost every window or every little spot they could get some sunlight, and each needed to be watered regularly. Upstairs in the master bedroom, there was even a large aquarium with many different fish and some hermit crabs. These too had to be fed every day, their water needed to be changed about once a month and they were not allowed to touch the thermostat in this room no matter what.

"Was this guy always into plants and fish?" Justin asked when Kyle first told him of all of this.

Kyle just shrugged. "I guess special agents need hobbies, too."

It took them a half hour to find and water every plant in the house and feed every fish. Jules walked in the front door just as they finished the main room. "There you are," Justin commented as his sister closed the door behind her. "Thought you said you were going to help us out?"

"I know, I'm sorry guys," she replied apologetically. "Tyler wanted me to go over to his house just now... and we ended up breaking up."

Both Kyle and Justin stopped dead in their tracks at those words. Kyle was the first to recover. "What happened?"

"It's simple, really," she said as she walked over to the living room. "I told him I had plans with you guys and he didn't like that. He wanted me to spend time with him, and I told him you guys needed my help." She set her purse down in a chair and pulled her phone out of it. "To make a short story shorter, he drew a line in the sand, and I made my choice, so I hung up..." she flicked through her phone and clicked a button with a sense of finality, "and deleted his number."

After a deep breath, she stood up and turned to the boys. "I'm sorry I was so tied up in Tyler, guys."

Jules did her best to make it a serious apology, but Justin, being Justin, would not be completely serious in return. "Whatever," he said, "apology accepted, and now you can help us clean up."

Jules rolled her eyes as her brother returned to finishing the chores at hand. The fish and plants were taken care of, but they still had to wash windows and wipe down the tables. Justin had went into the kitchen to work and Kyle started cleaning the coffee table in the living room. Jules walked up to him and asked, "How did you get my brother to take chores so serious?"

"I sort of promised him that we'd work together on our summer homework," he admitted rather shamefully.

"I thought we promised we weren't going to do that after last year," she reminded him. "We helped him with the homework and he didn't study it for the test when we got back to school."

"I know, but it was the quickest way to get him to help out," Kyle replied. Standing up, he added, "I'll make sure he actually studies it, too, okay?"

"Fine," she sighed. Unexpectedly, she then took a step forward and hugged Kyle tightly. Kyle hugged her back, confused as to what brought this on. "I'm glad you're safe, by the way," she said in his ear.

Oh, Kyle thought to himself. This was about that. Kyle still hadn't told anyone what had actually happened in Nevada at Sword's base, but he read the released story online about the explosion. "Thanks," was all he could say.

Jules loosened her grip on Kyle, but before letting go completely, she kissed his cheek. Kyle pretended to not have a reaction, but secretly it sent a storm throughout his whole body. Jules smiled and went to follow her brother to the kitchen, leaving Kyle where he stood dazed.

Then there was a sharp pain in his hand that made him twitch. It felt like a bee sting, but was gone in a moment. He looked down at his hand, but the vessels along his arm looked normal, which made him think it was just a muscle spasm.

"Kyle, let's go," Jules said, poking her head back into the living room.

"There be right I'll," he blurted.

Jules looked back confused. "What did you say?" she asked.

"I'll be right there," he corrected himself quickly. She moved on, dismissing his mix-up. Kyle wondered about it for just a second longer before dismissing it himself. Now was not the time to worry about the future, Sword, the Primal or his powers. Now he was just a teenager, hanging out with his friends.

Weeks earlier...

An incredible blast shook the entire room where six children slept. The window, which was supposedly reinforced bulletproof glass, shattered as the metal walls rang a deep note.

"What was that?!" a boy yelled.

Another one of the children, a girl about thirteen whose bed was against one of the walls, put her hand on the wall to help her stand up, but the wall was actually still vibrating, even though she couldn't hear the note it made anymore. "I don't know," she answered.

The three younger kids put their hands over their ears, one of the other girls was screaming. The thirteen year old went up to the single door out of this bedroom and put her hand on the knob. Like the wall, the door vibrated in its frame. She suddenly had an idea. "Guys, someone help me get this door down! Quick!!"

One of the older boys, a tall African American kid maybe fifteen years old, stepped up as she started kicking at the door. He started helping her with the door and it soon gave away, its hinges coming out of the wall.

They moved quickly, getting shoes on and gathering blankets. One of the boys kept his eyes out for any of the soldiers. Soon all of the kids filed out of the room and headed for the back door of the huge warehouse.

The girl was the last one out and started heading for the front. "Mary!" came a whispered yell. Mary turned to see who called for her. One of the boys, about her height, small build and blonde hair down to his eyes, was at the door beckoning her to follow the rest of them. "We have to go this way, remember?"

"I want to see what happened," she replied sternly. She turned back and crept her way to the front of the building.

The big doors at the front were just open to allow men to exit the building three or four at a time. Mary stayed inside but poked her head around the door.

It was pouring rain and the desert ground was covered in mud. Soldiers were everywhere, scattered across the muddy ground like rag dolls. Most of them weren't moving, and the few who were groaned as they tried the simplest movements. Three Humvees were absolutely wrecked, flipped on their backs and mangled.

Across the other side Mary could see another figure. A kid, older than her wearing dark clothes, but underneath his arms and chest was something that was glowing bright blue. Whatever had incapacitated the soldiers had spared him, even though he still had trouble getting to his feet. When the boy was finally able to prop himself against the wall, Mary caught a glimpse of his face. The blue glow obviously gave him away, but the face confirmed his identity.

All of them had seen his face enough to recognize it anywhere, and heard the name Kyle Foster to enough to hear it in their sleep. They'd been shown the original news story, the pictures, and the videos; they'd heard recordings of his voice and knew so much about him for a person they'd never met. For months he was the one person Mary thought about the most, and to see him not fifty feet from her was actually exciting. His hair was matted down by the rain, longer than it was in any of the photos she'd seen. He was shorter than she was expecting, but there was something else about him, something she'd never notice until she could see him in real life.

Before she could gawk any longer, he stumbled into the warehouse he was leaning against and a hand dropped on her shoulder. She jumped and spun around only to see the blonde haired boy shushing her before she screamed. "Ian, don't do that!" she said through her teeth.

Ian ignored her warning shushed her again. "We're not going to wait for you," he told her. "Are you coming or not?"

Mary took one last peek outside. Sirens could be heard through the rain, and the soldiers were starting to come to. "Yeah. Let's get out of here," she told him and started walking toward the back door.

They dashed back through the warehouse and exited through a back door someone had busted open. Just behind the building was the tall fence around the whole compound. The other kids had already cut a hole in it so Mary and Ian just slid through the fence and ran. They ran in a straight line for a minute before they caught up to the rest of the kids who were catching their breath.

They only stopped for a second when a quick blast of light shot up into the sky behind them. Mary turned just in time to see the blue streak curve to the east, bathing the ground in a brilliant blue light like a shooting star as it passed by.

"What was that?" Ian asked out loud.

"That was that Kyle Foster kid," Mary answered. She turned to see all of them staring at her in disbelief. "I'm serious, I saw him," she assured them.

Each person seemed to have a different reaction: disbelief, confusion, uncertainty and even curiosity. Mary usually didn't bother trying to figure out what exactly was going through their minds, but there was only one thing she wanted. Only one thing she cared about, and that was where that blue shooting star was headed. The blue vessels going up to her right elbow glowed in excitement as she clenched her fist.

Kyle Foster had something she needed, and she was going to find him whether he liked it or not.

End of Book Two
