Silent Prayer

[Cadence Calloway]

The girls sitting at Cadence's table were freaking out, and she was more than little freaked out too. Who wouldn't be freaked out after something like that.

"Oh my God, did you say that guy?" one of the girls shrieked.

Cadence looked to where everyone was pointing and staring...but she saw nothing. She'd seen nothing but the lights going out, the bulbs bursting, and then the lights coming back on once more.

[Diego Mendez]

Diego couldn't get the sound to stop. No amount of music or noise seemed to block it out. It didn't matter if he was alone or in the middle of class. His hands felt like they were covered in blood, and despite scrubbing till his skin was raw, he couldn't lose the sensation that it was still there. What was wrong with him? Was he really losing it? Was he going crazy?

He curled up on the grounds, shivering in the cold as he huddled under one of the trees. He didn't want to go to the commons. He couldn't get away from the sounds, and he didn't think he could take have everybody throwing tip after tip at him. He didn't want people to think he was insane. He wasn't! He just...was hearing things that apparently no one else could.

He looked down at his hands. They were covered in blood. He flinched, then tried rubbing it off on his jacket. It wasn't working! And the sound. He growled in frustration and clamped his hands over his ears.

"Pare el sonido...pare el sonido," he muttered under his breath.

((...thank you babelfish...since I remember absolutely nothing in the decade that's passed since my last spanish class))

[Designation Alice]

Alice sat on the yoga mat, losing herself in her own thoughts as she kept her legs curled in the lotus position. She inhaled deeply, holding her breath for a moment before exhaling a gentle, soft breath. She was on the second floor of the gym, trying to find some sense of center while she performed the yoga positions she had studied after the first time she had wandered in and found Kai and Eli taking poses. Alice wasn't wearing her holobelt - she had taken to wearing it only when she felt like she needed to be in some cute outfit. Since she was its only powersource, when she was performing something that was physically strenuous the belt was far too stressful for her. She breathed in, and out. For her, mimicking the poses wasn't particularly difficult. All she had to do was do a simple scan with her eyepiece. The images were burnt into her mind, and her head filled with the numbers of the degrees of angles their limbs took. She did her best to copy them, even now. She shifted her weight into a new pose. Kai had called it some sort of dog something, but Alice wasn't sure. She only knew the pose itself. She was seeking the emotional and mental fulfillment that came with doing yoga, but it did very little to calm her mind. She took another deep breath, trying to focus on the air as it filled the lungs she knew weren't entirely organic. As always, it felt like cheating. Alice loved physically taxing activities. She loved working out, she loved yoga, and most of all she loved dance... but no matter what she did, she felt as though she had an advantage over the students around her. All four of her limbs were cybernetic, so performing anything physically strenuous wasn't that taxing for her. Every movement was broken down into its own miniature mathematical equation. She didn't have to strain and focus on the physical aspect of any of it. If she studied the moves in a complete manner from as many angles as she could, replicating them was a simple matter.

She took another deep breath, trying to distract herself from her own thoughts. She hated feeling like she was cheating. She hated feeling like she couldn't pursue what she wanted to. Trying out for sports teams would be easy, but unfair, even on a meta-human team. Dancing... Well, any dance she did felt fantastic, but afterward Alice always felt like the dance moves weren't really her. It didn't matter how well she could moonwalk. It didn't count. She was just a marionette, with twitching strings as she watched her limbs move as instructed. Alice clenched he jaw, grinding her teeth as she took another breath. She knew she was missing the point of yoga. The point was to relax. To empty her head of all thoughts. She could perfect the physical motions all she wanted, but as long as she failed at calm thought, she wasn't doing yoga at all. Alice turned slowly, moving her arms in a small arc until her vision came back toward the mirror. She was supposed to be checking her pose, but instead she simply froze in place. She was staring at herself, in complete silence save for the usual mechanical whirs and hums of her modifications.

Instead of the form covered and entangled with metal that she had become so used to, was a figure of pale plastic. It was in the same pose she was, arms outstretched, knees bent. It was her, but it wasn't. Its face was nonexistent, a smooth nondescript visage with a hint of a nose and little else. The eyepiece was gone. The drab blonde hair was gone. The black and green metal was gone. She was faced with a nude-colored plastic atrocity. Alice's concentration was shattered. She stared at the mannequin before glancing around wildly to see if anyone else had noticed. She was half afraid of looking away in case the hunk of lifeless plastic disappeared, but continuing to stare at it was far more unbearable. It was an expressionless, lifeless entity. It was her, but it wasn't. Her modified heart began to race, picking up to a speed that made her dizzy and sway. The mannequin swayed with her. She turned her head, it moved. Her hands curled into fists, the plastic person mimicked her. Alice looked away again, trying to ensure someone, anyone, saw what was going on. When she finally looked back to the mirror in front of her, she was staring at herself again. The glowing green lens of her eyepiece. The black and green metal. It was all there again. The mannequin was gone. Alice's fingers twitched. She abruptly straightened, destroying her pose as she looked around again. She was seeing things. Was it possible for her to hallucinate? What did a hallucination mean? She was certain her eyepiece had picked up a hunk of plastic resembling a human staring back at her.

Alice began to tremble, staring at herself for a long time before her hands flew to her face. They gingerly felt along the metal of her faceplate, pausing at the eyepiece. There had to be some sort of malfunction. That was the only explanation for this. She continued to stare at her reflection for a long moment, hands raised to rest on her face. She manually adjusted her eyepiece with a small twitch of the wrist. No change. No mannequin. She was sick with worry. Either she was seeing things, or something else was going on. She wasn't sure which was worse. Alice's body tensed and she suddenly turned on her heel, hurrying away from the yoga area of the gym, and that unforgiving mirror. She didn't know who to talk to about this. Should she go to the nurse? A psychologist? A technology nerd? A mechanic? Alice stared down at her hands as she wrung them, creating an awful noise of metal grinding on metal as she hopped down from the second floor of the gym to land delicately on the floor. Maybe she should start with a self-diagnostic and make sure it had nothing to do with the power leakages she'd been suffering lately... Yes, that was the obvious place to start. If that yielded no results, well... she wasn't entirely sure what she would do. She'd have to talk to the nurse, or anyone else who might listen.

[Etienne Mbane]

Mr. Herrera went to the infirmary to check on Raoul. He had just spoken with Ms. Jenkins in the staff lounge, but he liked to go in to check himself. Maybe it was the hero left in him, or maybe it was just his sense of responsibility.

He paused outside the infirmary, hearing someone speak. Jenkins had said Raoul was alone.

"The air turned to poison."

Curious, Herrera went in to see Raoul's eyes open, completely white, with no color or even pupils. His mouth moved with the dry, raspy chant.

"The children cried aloud."

Herrera stared at the boy, not sure what to do.

"The stars spun fast."

His communicator beeped in his ear.

"The seas turned red."

"Herrera."

"The sky turned black."

"It's Deathrage."

"The rivers turned to blood."

"Go ahead."

"The air turned to poison."

"You need to come down to the bunker and hear this."

"The children cried aloud."

"On my way."

He beat a hasty retreat from the infirmary, a chill running down his spine.

When he got to the bunker, he saw Deathrage standing outside, pale and trembling. If something could shake Deathrage, Herrera wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was.

"You've got to see this..."

Herrera went into the bunker, where Deathrage led him to the room where they kept Julie. She writhed on the floor, as if in pain, her eyes white, with no color and no pupil. From her throat came the raspy chanting.

"The river turned to blood."

Cold gripped Herrera's heart. Her words, her tone, her voice.

"The air turned to poison."

So similar to Raoul, he couldn't tell the difference.

"The children cried aloud."

Before Herrera had a chance to think about what it meant, his communicator went off again.

"The stars spun fast."

"What!" Herrera snapped.

"The sea turned red."

"Mr. Herrera? This is Kamilah."

"The sky turned black."

"Sorry. What is it?"

"The rivers turned to blood."

"It's Ashley. You have to hear this."

Herrera listened through his ear piece. In sync with Julie writhing on the floor, he could hear the same raspy voice that had to be nurse Jenkins.

"The children cried aloud..."

[Etienne Mbane]

Mr. Herrera stopped his pacing and turned to his teacher of the magical arts. "I need information, Joe. I heard it with my own ears. They were speaking the same words, in the same voice at the same time. It has to be some kind of... What is it?"

"And I'm telling you it's impossible to say right now. There just isn't enough information to draw a conclusion. Zebras is the best I can do for you."

"What could make all four of the victims of this thing--"

"That we know about."

Herrera sighed, "Alright, all four of the victims that we know about start chanting? Was it a message? Was it a warning?"

"I could have been a message, or warning," Joe frowned thoughtfully, "Although, a warning would be a message, wouldn't it?"

Herrera cleared his throat, bringing Joe back to the conversation. "Possibilities?"

"Mind control, hive mind parasites, possession, hoax... off the top of my head. We can't rule out anything."

"Are the children in danger?"

Joe frowned again. He had missed something, and he felt that it was important. He chewed at his bottom lip, trying to fit the pieces together in his mind.

"Joe, I need you here. Are the kids in danger?"

"Lou, did you say the four victims we knew about?"

Herrera paused. "Yes... I did. Why?"

"Did anyone check to see if Thomas was chanting with them?"

They looked at each other for a moment. Herrera picked up the phone and called Thomas' RA. After a brief conversation, he hung up.

"Well?"

"Thomas never said a word of it. No chanting, not nothing. He just sat and did his homework."

[Lorne Hazlewood]

Joe looked across the table at the student. He took a sip of his coffee and opened the file in front of him. "Glad you could stop by."

Bronka looked back at him. "I didn't do it." Her face broke out into an impish grin.

Joe smirked. “Good to know.” He set his coffee down on the table before continuing, “Do you know what it is you didn't do, or are you just answering on principle?”

“I have no idea why I'm here, unless it's about the wards on my room.”

Joe raised an eyebrow, “Wards on your room?”

• Quinn sat down nervously across from the teacher. Joe looked down at his files briefly before looking up. “Do you know why I asked to see you?”
  
  Quinn looked back at him, “No, Sir. Is everything alright?”
  
  Joe shook his head and frowned. “I assume you've heard the rumors around campus?”

Bronka leaned back in her chair, “I've heard some stuff. I don't remember exactly. Just some stuff about Thomas screaming about something.”

Joe looked down at the file in front of him, “We've had a series of odd events happen around the school. So far we have two students suffering from emotional trauma and one suffering from the physical variety. The one thing we've been able to pin point is that what ever is causing these events is magical in nature. I've been given authority to interview every student on campus who uses magic or has magic related powers.”

• Quinn swallowed nervously, “You think a student might be responsible?”
  
  Joe shrugged, “Maybe. Maybe even subconsciously. Magic is a strange and fickle mistress. Especially in the hands of the untrained.” Joe looked over the folder in front of him, “According to your file you're a fair bit from an amateur, though, aren't you?”
  
  “I don't know about that.”
  
  Joe smiled, “Don't be so modest, gravity control, healing magic. How many years of training have you had?”
  
  Quinn looked unsure at his question, “I've only had one year of formal instruction.”
  
  Joe sipped his coffee, “What about off the record?”
  
  Quinn paused again. He did not like to talk about things that happened off the record. None the less he spoke up, “Nine.”
  
  “So a fair bit from an amateur then.”

Joe flipped open Bronka's file. “It says here you are a sorceress with strong ties to the Mu bloodline. It's not every day you see one of those who isn't, well, you know...”

“We do not follow the restrictive path of the spider mystics. My father's family believes in the long path.”

Joe nodded, “Probably for the best. None the less that can be a very specialized form of magic.”

“Almost all magic has it's origin in the Mu. All paths are open to us, but the purest form is the manipulation of raw arcane energy, and that's what you mostly see.”

“And what about you? Are you strictly in to channeling raw arcane energy, or are you of a more open path?”

“I've had no practical instruction on any other form. Just theoretical. Except for what I've learned here. I've been forbidden to attempt any summoning or offensive magic.”

Joe raised an eyebrow quizzically, “By your father?”

“Yes, he's my primary instructor.”

“Do you do everything your father says?”

“If I said yes, would you believe me?”

• Etienne frowned, “I don't know much 'bout magic, Monsieur. I ain't no houghan.”
  
  “Your powers are magical in origin though.”
  
  Etienne paused before answering, “I... I guess you could say dat.”
  
  “In layman's terms it's a form of spirit possession. All be it controlled.” Joe paused for effect, “Usually.”
  
  Etienne nodded. "Dat a simple wat to put it, yes."

Joe took a sip of his coffee before continuing, “I'm going to read to you some statements we collected from the students and faculty involved in the previous incidents. Some of these items are disturbing. It is not my intent to give you the willies, but before you can answer I need you to understand what happened. Do you feel like you can proceed?”

Bronka nodded, “Fire away.”

Joe nodded and went to his files reading aloud, “The first incident involved Thomas Colt and Nurse Jenkins. Thomas entered the med bay to find what he described as a skinned human corpse hanging from a meat hook, and Nurse Jenkins...” Joe looked up momentarily, “and I quote,” Joe looked back at the file in front of him, “All veined out with claws.”

• Quinn spoke up, “To be honest sir, with the Skinned Corpse from a meat hook, it almost sounds like a demonic ritual.”
  
  Joe raised an eyebrow, “Do you know much about demonic rituals?”
  
  Quinn replied, “Very little. Only what they look like, and basic knowledge on how to interrupt them.”

Joe flipped the page moving on to the next incident, “The second incident involved Julie Falenburg and Raoul Ringwald. Julie perceived Raoul's skin and face melting off of his skull. Raoul was unaware of anything happening and was shoved in to a wall when he reached for her.”

Bronka furrowed her brow, "So she doesn't deny hitting him?"

"Not at all, though as I said she described it as a shove."

"So, was she lying, or is something up with Raoul?"

• Joe flipped to the next page, “And then there was the incident in the lunch room.”
  
  Etienne frowned, thinking. "You mean de lights going out? Dat light bulb bursting?"
  
  Joe nodded looking back down at the file, “All of the students present reported seeing a hanged man. Some used the word, 'lynched'.”
  
  Etienne raised his eyebrows, “I ain't seen no hanged man, Monsieur.”
  
  Joe looked at him quizzically, “Well that would make you the only one.”

“I'm going to ask you a some questions, you are not required to answer these questions, but your cooperation will help the school as well as its students and faculty remain safe.” Joe set both of his arms on the table on either side of the file, his rolled up sleeves revealed the tips of arcane tattoos that ran down his arms. He looked at the student across from him very seriously all of the sudden. “Were you in any way involved in any of the events described?”

Bronka immediately shot back, “If I was going to mess with another student, it wouldn't be Thomas or Raoul.” She paused for a moment before rephrasing herself, “I mean, no, I was not involved.”

Joe leaned back a bit before continuing, “Do you feel that you could be some way subconsciously responsible for any of the above events, through communing with spirits, possession, dream magic, et cetera?”

• Etienne thought about it for a long time, frowning. Finally, after an uncomfortable amount of time, he answered. "Maybe 'fore. But not now."
  
  Joe leaned in toward Etienne, “You're absolutely certain of that?”
  
  Etienne nodded. "Sure. When de Jesuit come up, he brought me someting from de houghan back home, ward off bad juju. And now, de school let me bring de gifts to de Loa, so dey watch over me.”

Joe returned to his list of questions and continued, “Now this next question may make you feel uncomfortable. It is not my intent for you to be a nark, squealer, tattle tale, or whatever it is you crazy kids call it these days, but believe me when I tell you that the situation is grave and any information you can provide will help to protect you, your class mates, and the future of this school.”

Quinn nodded, “Sir, I don't believe in that kind of thing. If it's for the good of the school, and my friends I would tell you immediately.”

Joe continued, “Do you have any evidence, or even a feeling that any of your classmates, the faculty or staff may some how be involved in the events in question?”

Quinn shook his head, “I'm afraid not. Until now, all i knew was that there was something weird going on for a few students. I haven't seen anything weird outside of the usual drama.”

• Joe nodded, “Last question then. Again, you are not required to if you feel uncomfortable in any blah blah boiler plate legal stuff.”
  
  Bronka nodded.
  
  “Would you be willing to undergo a mystical scrying, e.g. a magical lie detector given the consent of your parents?”

Etienne frowned looking hurt and angry, “I know how dis work, monsieur. I seen de police do de same.”

“If you are opposed to a lie detector in any way-”

Etienne cut him off, “Den you pin on me whatever you need pinned, right? I take your lie detector, if dat what it take.”

• Quinn paused but answered, “If... if it would help.”

Bronka nodded, “I'm not crazy about it, but I'd do it if you promised to keep the questions relevant to this incident.”

Joe nodded, “Very well I'll call your parents tonight.”

[Bronka Hajjar]

“I received a call from your school yesterday.”

“Really? What did they say?”

“You know what they said. Why did you not tell me of this danger?”

“I didn’t know about it! It’s a big school. I can’t be expected to know everything that happens there.”

“You should have sensed something. Have I been lax in your training? Do I need to increase the time you spend in practice?”

“No, no! I barely have any time to myself as it is.”

“Very well then, perhaps only a few extra sessions to increase your sensitivity. I will not have you fall behind while in my charge.”

“That… might not be a bad idea. So what did you tell Mister Max? About the scrying?”

“I refused on your behalf, of course. They are not to be privy to your knowledge.”

“That will only make them more suspicious. Besides, I can beat it.”

“The risk is too great. What would your… your father say?”

“… I suppose he’d say the same as you. So did Mister Max tell you anything else about the incidents?”

“He said only enough to convince me the situation is serious. I of course offered my own services to assist with his investigation, but he politely declined. I respect his decision. A man must see to his own house.”

“I don’t know if he’s really up to the job. He seems a little flaky.”

“Do not be fooled by appearances. Josephus Benectus Maximillian is an adept to be reckoned with.”

“Is that really his full name? How do you even know that? Did you run a background check on all my teachers?”

“Yes. Did you think we wouldn’t?”

“… I uh… hadn’t thought about it.”

“Your safety is of the highest importance, and your continued training only slightly less so. There is much you can learn from your Mister Max.”

“If you say so. We should still investigate on our own, though. If he won’t let you on campus, I’ll have to snoop around for you.”

“NO! I absolutely forbid you to involve yourself in this!”

”What? Why not? I can do it. I’m a Third Circle Sorceress. YOU signed off on that! I’m supposed to be engaging in independent research now.”

“Don’t be a fool. Has it not occurred to you that you yourself may be the target of this dark magic?”

“What?”

“Your potential is limitless. Full Half-bloods are incredibly rare in this day and age. You would make a valuable prize for the Circle or some other coven seeking to add your power to theirs.”

“Isn’t that just a little paranoid? I’m just one magic kid in a school full of other magic kids. No one here knows anything more about me.”

“Paranoid or not, I will have your promise to stay out of this or else you will have NO free time to yourself. Am I understood?”

”… yes, uncle.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

That was almost a week ago. Bronka had tried to keep her promise, but too many of her friends were caught up in whatever this was. Eli was smelling things, Diego was a total wreck, and Lorne…

There were at least thirty adept or apprentice level magic users on campus. Spells were flying left and right and they all left energy traces. It was a near impossible task to find a specific pattern within that mess but Bronka was almost positive she had done it. Now it was time for some old school investigating. She would try to match the times and places of her friends’ “experiences” with this strange energy pattern she’d found.

Those responsible for this had better watch out. Bronka Hajjar is on the case.

[Etienne Mbane]

Herrera and Joe met in Joe's office again. The troubles with what they were calling 'The Zebra' had been escalating.

"Students are starting to take it into their own hands, Lou."

"That's what we've been training them for."

"Still, it would look bad if they got to it before us."

Herrera sighed. They went over what they knew again, which listening to rumors, wasn't much more than what the students had found out. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to who was effected, or why. No connection.

Joe broke the silence. "What about the one who hasn't seen anything?"

"Are you sure he's the only one?"

"Well, he's the only one who uses magic."

"And there are no others?"

Joe thought for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe?"

"Joe, Maybe isn't good enough. We need--"

One of the younger students, Billy, barged into Joe's office. "Mr. Ma-- uh... Mr. Herrera. You've got to come see this."

Curious, but not panicked as Billy was, they followed him to the boy's locker room. Inside, they could hear the showers running, but it looked like all the boys were huddled as far away from them as they could. Cautiously, Joe walked over and looked inside. All the water had turned red.

[Etienne Mbane]

Joseph Maximilian and Louis Herrera met for another conference. Joe had called this one, and when Herrera arrived in his office, he was excited.

"Hey, Lou. I think I figured something out. Take a look at this."

Herrera looked at a complex diagram on Joe's desk. "What is this?"

"It's a record of the episodes, where they are and when. You notice something?"

"They're all over the place, Joe..."

"Take a close look. Check out the pattern."

Herrera sighed and looked again more carefully. Joe got this way, sometimes, like he expected people to see things the way he did, even though they didn't have the training that Joe---

His thoughts stopped mid-sentence. "There's a pattern here..."

"Not just any pattern."

"No. It's a search pattern. Whatever it is is looking for something."

Joe nodded, and they both looked at the chart again. After a long silence, Herrera asked, "Any luck finding some sort of protection?"

Joe shook his head. "Nothing. I mean, what I've done should have worked, but it's like I missing something, and I can't put my finger on it."

"Sounds like everything about this."

Joe nodded. "So far..."

[Elijah Elliot]

"Now, in addition to the Senatorial order, the Romans also had an Equestrian order. The Equestrian order..."

Eli listened as Dr. Hendricks continued their lesson on the Roman government. It wasn't the most interesting of topics, but some of the other Roman stuff they'd covered was okay. Hopefully they'd get past the government part soon. He jotted down notes occasionally, and doodled a bit on the side of his paper.

Then the smell came again. The sickly-sweet smell of decay, accompanied by a wave of nausea—just a bit stronger each time than the last—and an achey feeling in his hands, wrists, ankles, and most recently knees. It was increasingly annoying, but at the same time, repeated exposure was letting him get somewhat used to it. Well, not used to it exactly, but he could at least somewhat ignore it and continue mostly paying attention to the lecture. He tried to put it out of his mind as he glanced down at his notes—

His hands. Time suddenly seemed to lurch to a stop.

His hands were the rotting, putrefied flesh of a corpse.

The smell. The smell was him!

He didn't recall moving, but he found himself on the floor throwing up. He vaguely heard Dr. Hendricks sending someone to find Mr. Max and the headmaster, but it didn't really register. He realized he was shaking.

The smell and all that had accompanied it were gone, but it was now burned into his mind. It was him.