Rising Shards

”I just think it’s annoying every time they’re about to unmask that phantom guy something explodes or a kid on a tricycle wheels in and then the masked guy gets away,” Sai said. ”Tower does that five times an episode.”

”No, see, you’re totally wrong about that,” I said. ”Season three was egregious, any true Tower fan will admit it, hell I’ll admit the show isn’t perfect! But once the third season showrunner was canned the show got so much better.”

”Also that stretch where there were twelve episodes in a row where they ended each in the same spot as the previous one, that was so obnoxious,” Sai said.

”They added context with each episode, it wasn’t a waste of time!” I said. ”And again, we all know season three was total trash, but it set up a lot of important lore!”

Sai and I debated Tower while we followed the former principal Penteldtam Kilander, who still wandered slowly, a curled up poster in his hands as he muttered to himself.

”Did Ana really make you start watching again?” Charmaine asked.

”Yes,” Sai said with a heavy exhale. ”Unfortunately.”

”You’re loving it. We’re on season four of the original run!” I said. ”Just almost to the first reboot, where things really kick into action.”

”Ana’s been saying ’this is where things get really good’ or some variant every couple of episodes but the show still sucks,” Sai said.

”I disagree,” I said. ”Obviously.”

Esther hadn’t spoken for a few minutes, I figured she was just keeping her eyes on Penteldtam but she kept glancing elsewhere.

”What do you keep looking at the ceiling for?” I asked.

”I keep feeling a gust of cold air,” Esther said. ”I thought it was Penteldtam’s ghost but every third vent is like, wide open.”

A continuous straight line of a vent ran along the ceiling. And sure enough, every third one was open, big enough for me to crawl into if I could reach them.

”That is odd,” I said.

”Definite safety hazard,” Esther said. ”But at least it’s not ghosts, but I’m still not ruling out that this guy is possessed.”

Penteldtam made a ghastly wail as he unfurled his poster as though he were checking a map. Instead he stared into the picture of a man on the poster for a few seconds, nodded, then went back to slowly walking.

”I’m getting real bored just watching this guy,” Charmaine said. ”I’m not saying we need to like stomp him down again or anything but like, we can surely do something here, right?”

”Mother said we’re supposed to observe him first, to figure out what this anomaly is, but—” I started as Charmaine skipped casually until she was in front of Penteldtam.

”Hey buddy,” Charmaine waved, but Penteldtam didn’t react. ”Hello? Anyone in there?”

”There’s so much in here,” Penteldtam said in a monotone voice. ”A full tome of knowledge on every page of my brain, as all servants of Reed should be brain wise.”

”Hoo boy,” Charmaine said. Penteldtam side stepped her, speeding up just long enough to get ahead. ”Damn it, stop!”

As he kept evading Charmaine’s attempts to hold him in place, I tried to think of a solution that didn’t involve just beating up the former principal again. The others wouldn’t like that one, and I understood it, that one event was enough for all of us.

”Maybe we could use our powers to put a wall up in front of him?” I suggested. ”Maybe just our energy will keep him at bay, nothing too powerful.”

”I dunno, I could probably conjure some kind of electric fence if he keeps pissing me off,” Charmaine said.

”I got it,” Sai said. Within a moment they cast a wall around Penteldtam, a shadowy curtain that effectively put the former principal in a pen like he was a chicken.

”Wait!” Penteldtam shrieked as the poster fell out of his hands, rolling out of his cell. ”No, no, no!”

Penteldtam continued his nails on chalkboard scream as the poster stopped after bouncing against Charmaine’s shoes.

”Wow, OK,” Sai said.

”He really likes this poster, huh?”

”Is it the anomaly, then?” I asked.

”A haunted poster?” Esther said.

Charmaine froze in the middle of bending down to pick it up. ”Now I’m scared I shouldn’t touch this thing.”

”I don’t fear curses,” I said, striding to her. ”The Kathron family has been hit with curse after curse for generations, we’re protected against them.”

”Like, genuinely, or just family tall tales?” Esther asked.

”Anastasia kind of carries herself like a curse,” Charmaine said.

”Genuine,” I said.

When I was a child, I’d spend a lot of time sitting on the stoop, watching the wavy fields of tall grass flow. One day a snake with purple markings on it leapt out of nowhere and nearly bit the side of my hand, merely grazing it instead. I picked up the snake and threw it as far as I could into the grass. Father said it would have killed anyone else within seconds, but because I’m a Kathron it had no effect on me. I pictured that snake as I picked up the poster, a strange ominous feeling as soon as my fingertips grazed it.

”It’s just a poster, right?” I said. ”Nothing to—”

”If you move another inch I’m burning you!”

Before I could actually pick up the poster, Lillia Cadence’s stern voice cut through everything. She wasn’t shouting at us, but at a boy from Falling Shards who for some reason was fleeing her, flying away with his back to the ceiling.

”Sorry! Cant hear you!” The boy said. ”Just...checking out the ceiling...and...ah?”

A second later he vanished, zipping upwards into one of the open vents.

”What’d I say? Dangerous vents!” Esther said.

Lillia scowled as she looked upwards, then to us. I hadn’t seen her this angry before, and made a mental note to not end up on her enemy list.

”Lillia? What’s going on?” Sai asked.

Lillia looked like she was debating if she should ask us to give her a boost into the vents, but a new problem arose.

”Uh, Penteldtam got away,” Charmaine said.

”What do you mean he got away, where’d he go?” I asked. ”He was just by me!”

The energy gate had fallen. Penteldtam and the poster he had were nowhere in sight.

”We weren’t trying to attack him,” Sai said to Lillia. ”He was acting strange, so we were asked to figure out why.”

Lillia didn’t seem to care either way what we were up to, but before we could explain any further, warning lights blared out of nowhere along with a horrible siren, a brief automated message playing before walls came down, trapping us inside.

”Lockdown procedure initiated. This is a test of our lockdown capabilities.”