Chapter 2

Click on the image below for the audio book.

Zach looked up in surprise to find he'd fallen into a crouch behind the large lab table, and had to blink repeatedly to clear his vision. From his crumpled state on the cold linoleum, he could see Lauren frantically exchanging an anxious look from him to the front of the class in the direction of the teacher.

Zach wasn't surprised to see Knight careen around the table given the looks Lauren had been sending his way, but he was surprised to see a concerned look on his teacher's face before he blurted out, "You're okay son. I have you now!"

His teacher, seeming to address the class, announced  in his most authoritative tone, "There's absolutely nothing to worry about," as he held his hand palm out in the universal gesture to stay back.

When Knight turned his piercing gaze back to Zach and asked urgently, "What are your symptoms? Do we need to remove you from the classroom?" Zach didn't know what to think.

He just stared at him in confusion. It was just a headache; he wasn't an atomic bomb about to go off. He looked around in that moment to see every kid in the class, instead of coming forward in curiosity or concern, had backed off to the far corners of the room.

Zach examined the lab table to see if he had knocked over something that would cause a violent chemical reaction, but there was nothing that would elicit the kind of fearful response he could now see on his classmates faces.

Hell, Cameron was even standing with his girlfriend Megan behind him, like Zach was intending on going on a murderous rampage, and he fully intended to become a human shield.

Zach took a shuddering breath before straightening up, and said,"Sheesh lighten up guys. It's just a friggin headache." Lauren grabbed his elbow and helped him get to his feet.

Mr. Knight asked with concern, once again, as he locked him in his eerie stare, "You sure you're feeling okay young man, do you need to go to the nurse's office?"

Zach replied, "No Sir. I think I just need to stretch my legs and splash some cold water on my face, maybe grab an advil," he had some stashed in his locker, "Can I be excused to go to the bathroom?"

The dull ache was still there and even though the hum seemed to have abated, he felt fine. No lasting effects. God he hoped it was just a phantom headache not an aneurism or something. The way the class was acting you'd think his head was about to explode.

"Well all right then, but if you start experiencing any other symptoms don't hesitate to swing back or head straight for the nurse's office. "

"I'm fine", he assured, but no one looked like they believed that for a second.

Lauren asked, "Do you need me to come with you?"

"To the guy's washroom?" Zach asked incredulously.

A feeling of guilt washed over him as he watched her face turn a bright shade of red.

He reached out his hand and gave her arm a squeeze to reassure her he was all right, and said again, "I'm fine okay. It's just a headache. I'll be back in a minute."

She repeated what the teacher said and urged him to come back to the class right away if he felt weird.

Wow everyone was acting strangely today. What the hell was going on? He couldn't wait until end of class to ask Lauren what the heck this was all about. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew something; she was broadcasting her concern even now from across the room.

When he walked by the group huddled by the door he thought huddled? -- they're actually cowering.

That was when he heard Quinn mutter to CJ," Called it." As he fist bumped him.

Knight gave the boys a stern look and said, "Mr. Walker, Mr Rodrigues, you overstep your bounds," which quickly shut them up.

"What the hell?" He muttered under his breath as he exited the room.

So he wasn't a genius like Lauren, but he was no slouch. He knew when people were hiding things.

As the door whispered shut behind him, he thought, something strange was going on in his school and come hell or high water, he was going to find out.

Once in the hall, Zach felt compelled to shake his head at the weird events in the classroom, but quickly came to the conclusion that that was a very bad idea. It intensified the ache and turned the hum up audibly. What was happening to him? Maybe Lauren was right? Maybe there was something to worry about after all.

What if it wasn't just a headache?

Zach took the ten or so steps to his locker in long strides, but for some reason couldn't remember the combo. Ah come on Reis he berated himself. You're letting their paranoia get to you. It's just a headache. Take some Advil and if it gets worse call one of the dads and go home. No biggie. He took a deep breath letting it out slowly before he used automatic recall to open the damn thing.

When he opened the door books, pens, and pencils came flying out and spilled on to the highly polished floor. He wasn't the neatest guy in the world, and he was regretting it now. He knew he was going to have to bend down and pick them up and he was not eager to feel the effects of the increased blood flow to the brain.

Taking a deep breath he crouched down and deftly scooped up the entire pile, muttering excitedly, "Yaaahhh! for big hands."

He came up slowly to find, thankfully, other than a light headed feeling, he'd survived. He dug through the mess of his locker, careful not to dislodge anything with the practice skill of a Jenga player and was rewarded in the end with a Costco size bottle of pain meds. On the very top of the pile sat a bottle of Gatorade he'd bought a while ago to stay hydrated during practice, but never bothered to drink.

He usually forgot to drink enough throughout the day, and his dads were always on him for it, which was probably what was happening now. Just a headache brought on by dehydration. He'd just suck this baby back take a couple of extra strength Advil and be right as rain by next period. He deftly popped the cap, pouring out two extra strength gel caps into his open palm, tossed the pills in the back of his throat and cracked the cap of the blue bottle to guzzle the entire bottle of liquid bliss in one go.

'Ah sweet sugar rush,' he sighed as he tossed the empty bottle back in his locker and slammed it shut. Maybe he could just take his time getting back to class too. For some reason he didn't relish the idea of going back to the twilight zone. Walk it off as coach liked to say. He smiled to himself as he rubbed his temples.

He started his slow walk to the bathroom that was actually all the way outside of the science wing near the front entrance. It was a good direction to head seeing that the nurse's office was right next to the principal's in the same area. If he didn't feel better by the time he got there he'd see the nurse and get her to call one of his dads. As he proceeded down the corridor his converse sneaks made a squeaking sound which awoke the twinge again.

As he walked by the school photographic exhibits of annual award winning science fair experiments, he felt apart. And he didn't know how to explain it. If he had to describe it, he would have to say that it was like those slow-mo scenes in movies where something tragic or poignant was happening and the main character was walking in silence, but for a strange niggling sound in the background -- The entire world around them seeming to happen as usual but for the muffled noise.

He couldn't shake the creepy feeling that something was about to happen, and he hoped to hell he was just being paranoid, but his head still ached and the hum kept getting louder. It was actually mutating. It sounded less like a hum and more like a crowd of people whispering inaudibly. What the hell? Was the PA system really on, but turned down so low that he could barely hear the class it was broadcasting from?

But he had to wonder what class could it be coming from? Now that he thought about it, it sounded like people quietly talking all at once in a crowded theater. Zach laughed out loud as he realized that had to be it. It was coming from the auditorium. Holy shit! He'd freaked himself out for nothing. He had to chuckle at his own stupidity.

Well there was an easy way to find out. The auditorium was right across from the principal's office. He could take a look inside and let them know that for some damn reason the PA was left on.

Zach let out a nervous laugh. His classmates had really freaked him out. He was buying into their weird behavior; so much so, that his automatic-go-to was to think he was hearing voices. He couldn't wait to tell his dads about this at dinner tonight. It was his turn to cook and he was doing his specialty spaghetti and meat sauce. They'd get a laugh out of this story for sure.

Zach made a left to head down the main corridor. The bathroom was just a few doors down on the right and the auditorium was just a few doors down from that. He'd check out the aforementioned room first and then swing back for the bathroom afterward. He wanted to let them know they were broadcasting and it was getting louder and consequentially annoying AF.

As he approached the large room, he was surprised not to hear anything from the outside, but he had to guess the architects would have made the room sound proof. It made sense. When he reached the doors he suddenly became nervous. He didn't want to get in trouble for disturbing an assembly or something. So he decided he would just pop his head in and quietly take a peek. But when Zach swung the door open and looked inside he was floored to find the room empty.

What the holy hell was going on?

In his agitation he began to rub his temples reflexively. Come on Reis, he chided himself work it out.

Okay if no one is in the auditorium then it can't be the PA system, but if it's not the PA system then what? Just then a stabbing pain sliced through his frontal cortex and his vision blurred. The voices got louder, much louder. Like someone had turned the volume all the way up. It was deafening. He threw his hands up to cover his ears with no result. He was mortified to figure out that the sound wasn't coming from outside his head but within it!

Holy crap! Was he going crazy or having an aneurysm or something?

'F' this, he thought, as he reached for his cell with shaky hands, and tried to dial his dad, but for some reason he just couldn't keep the phone in his hands it kept slipping out and landing on the linoleum floor. So he decided screw that and plopped down beside it and began to try to unlock the home screen to get to his contacts. But it wasn't responding. He couldn't get the stupid smart phone's touch screen to register his touch. Nothing was happening. The harder he pushed the more his head ached.

He was sitting cross legged on the cold linoleum floor outside of the front office trying to dial a phone that sat only inches away from him when he came to a life changing realization. His phone wasn't registering his touch, because he could see right through his hand.

Zach began to hyperventilate. And shake all over. The more he tried, the more translucent his hand became, until he was almost vibrating with terror. In his shock he didn't realize that he still hadn't made a sound.

He started whimpering then yelling out loud, "What's happening?! What's happening to me?!"

All of a sudden Mr. Tuma was crouched in front of him and saying as he rubbed circles on his back to calm him, "Everything's going to be all right Zach. What is happening to you? What are you experiencing? "

Zach looked up; his head swiveling like a sprinkler. The bell had rung and the students were heading to second period with no idea that the world Zach thought he'd known had suddenly gone to shit. It was at that moment that the voices became deafening again.

He looked up to see an obviously worried Principal Tuma who somehow managed to say. . . oh Lord I wish we could tell them about this world before they have to experience the horror of it firsthand. . . without ever moving his lips.

Zach would later wish that he could say he had handled his first experience with a little more composure, but in reality he just let out an audible squeak and promptly fainted, but not before seeing Lauren's concerned face in the crowd.