Okay, so this term was finally starting to look up except for the fact that I had to keep lying to my friends in order to protect Mr Bergstrom. I was so glad that I could stop time. 'I wonder what my friends can do.'
Probably much since they got to go to Armensia and I had to stay here and do nothing till they found a way to stop my memories from coming back. Fortunately, they were coming back though I still didn't know why everyone was trying to protect me from them. What had happened on that day that made wiping my memory the best solution? We had Travas to worry about and they were worried about memory. I thought as I walked towards the field for the evening training.
"Tomorrow's the big game," I heard Thomas' voice from behind me. "You are the main one they'll be looking at newbie."
"Why not you?" I asked him.
"Because," he paused, "No matter how strong a team's quarterback may be, they still can't really make it without a fast wide receiver considering the fact that I am the most protected player."
'Great now I'm also the most vulnerable player.'
'Why are you so nervous? You'll be fine. I saw what you did yesterday,' Ciara spoke in my head as a cold sensation took over me as usual and I finally noticed her by one of the benches in the stadium with Isaac and Jacob probably waiting for the old guy as usual.
'Easy for you to say,' I thought back hoping she could hear me.
'You keep thinking like that and you'll probably lose tomorrow,' she spoke back.
I sighed and turn9 my attention back to training. We all got in position and that's when the thought hit me. I didn't invite my parents. They'd probably find out something was going on considering Dad knows that I'm not really as fast as I demonstrated on the field. I needed to come up with a new way to run but make it look like I'm struggling and I'm not really super fast.
Thomas began the training as usual as the sound of clashing helmets fill the atmosphere. I tackled the defender in front of me and make a run for it though not using my speed. I looked back and saw Thomas hurl the ball far into the air, a little too far to get it, but again I was a little far from where I was supposed to be. This was not going well.
I began to focus on my speed but I needed to do it such that I appeared to be only remarkably fast but not super fast(A bit of the same thing though one was inhuman). The exciting feeling returned as everything began to slow down and it again felt like I have all the time in the world. The ball appeared to be falling so slow that it might as well never have made it to the ground.
I looked at the ball and right then I needed to figure out how to get to the ball in the least suspicious way possible and that's when I began to see the angles and trajectories of the ball and where it was going to fall when it was going to fall and I even managed to manipulate the calculations into showing me the best way to intercept it without raising suspicion.
I accelerated slightly and took my time until I reached the ball, grabbed it and looked back at the defenders who were coming after me. Though they appeared to be in slow motion, they are awfully close. 'Guess I won't be decelerating.' I took off to the other team's side for a touchdown.
Training continued like that as I got used to seeing calculations in air and being able to almost run normally and make it seem like I'm an ordinary good wide receiver.
The training ended and Thomas came running towards me. "You did great buddy. Can you do it any faster like you did yesterday?"
"I could but it would wear me out in a couple of minutes."
"Okay," he said, "We'll be counting on you tomorrow." He said and jogged towards the locker rooms as my friends came my way.
Is it just me or you were slower today. Ciara's voice rang in my head.
'I don't want to raise suspicion,' I think back.
"Can you teach me how to do that?" I asked her.
"Yes sure. All you really have to do is think of the person you want to communicate with and send your thoughts through," she said like it was as simple as blinking and I decided to focus on Kendall.
'I have no idea if this is gonna work, but can you hear me, Kendall? I don't think this is working I should probably stop trying before I start to feel weird.' As soon as I'm done Kendall burst into laughter which told me he heard everything I said.
I then focused on Ciara, 'I did it.'
Wow, you learn fast, she replied. Too bad they didn't know that I had a teacher. Well, what does this guy have to tell them?
"I see you told him, and he has already started grasping his powers," the usual old guy said.
"What's your name?" I asked him.
"Sorry. My name could spike your memory." he replied smirking, "just kidding. The name's Dan."
"So this is how it's gonna be. I don't get to know anything," I asked them utterly disappointed.
"Please try to understand, Kevin. We are trying to help you," Ciara said.
"Help me by keeping things from me. Erasing my memory of a very important day is helping," I snapped with rage boiling inside of me.
"Something terrible happened to you on that day and if you remember it then it will happen again. It will come back to you. You've got to trust us Kev." Kendall reasoned.
That's when my anger cooled down. Then I remembered what happened at night when I was asleep. The dreams.... memories, my memories had started coming back, but they didn't know that. And they filled me with dread each time they came. 'Be strong Kevin,' Mr Bergstrom's words from the other night rang in my head. When I woke up sweaty, just like the night before, I now knew they were trying to protect me. Although I feared that their efforts are all in vain.
"Guys, I have something to tell you," I told them as we were leaving the stadium.
They all turned to me attentively. Then Ciara guessed it probably from the look on my face, "Your memories are coming back, aren't they?" she asked somewhat in a sad tone.
"Yes," I said. She turned away abruptly and started walking away with no apparent destination in sight.
"Ciara," Jacob called her.
"I just want to be left alone," she yelled back.
"What was that about?" I tried asking them but I guessed this was not the time to talk. They all dispersed and that was the end of that meeting. I started my journey home which was only a 20-minute walk. 'What was that about? Way to ruin the mood. I have almost never seen Ciara as cheerful as she has been today. It's almost like she blames herself for what happened that day they wiped my memory.
.........
I finally got home after the weird incident with my friends. I wondered what happened that was so bad that Ciara wasn't even ready for me to get my memories back.
I ran upstairs and dropped into my bed feeling tired from the intense training for the game tomorrow. Wondering how the match will go. '.....I hope I win....wait...no...I hope...we win....' I thought as sleep started seeping in and just like that, I fell into a peaceful slumber.
..........
Somewhere in the school, the school library to be more exact, four beings(more like students) sat at a table discussing the matter at hand. These were the four artras that had dispersed at the football field only to throw their friend off their case.
"When were you planning on telling him about it?" Kevin asked.
"I wasn't," Ciara replied, the tension increasing among the four friends. "I have looked for ways of telling him without causing the pain to come back to him. But it's impossible."
Isaac stood up, "But that would mean he would not come to Armensia." his voice taking on a more urgent tone, "we need him if we are ever going to stand a chance at defeating Travas. You know how powerful he is and how much more powerless the artras are without the Siege. He's a..."
"I KNOW HOW MUCH IS AT STAKE HERE, ISAAC," Ciara's voice boomed taking on her alpha tone causing Isaac to cool down and take his seat. (You might wonder why they weren't keeping their voices down the library and yet school had already ended. Well, recently they had discovered an area in the back of the library that previous artras had enchanted to avoid anyone from hearing what was going on so they could talk privately without having to whisper. "I was considering sending them away before I learned of him getting back his memories.
This time it was Kendall's turn to react, "FOR HOW LONG," he shouted at his alpha.
"I DON'T KNOW," she shouted back at him, tears in her eyes. She was now pacing about with no plan.
"Ciara, you know what happened was never your fault?" Jacob told her. "All we can do now is get him ready for when the time comes."
"He has a game tomorrow, we need to make sure he has a good night sleep," Ciara said sternly.
"Oooh, someone has a soft spot for the Siege." Kendall cooed.
"Come on, Kendall. I would totally do the same thing for you," she protested even though deep down Kevin was the only artra she had no idea how to deal with as an alpha.
"And here I am ....not getting a good night for my big game tomorrow," Kendall retorted causing all of them to burst into laughter at the meaningless banter. (and to think an entire world had their hopes in people like these)
So together the four of them used their a bit premature magic to give the young Siege a goodnight sleep away from his memories.
...........
That Saturday I was woken up by the sun rays instead of a dream from my returning memories. I hadn't slept this well in a really long time, thankfully on the day of my big game. I was so glad that I had not had any dreams that night. Probably would have woken up drenched in sweat as usual.
I got out of bed. Being a Saturday, we really didn't have school and the game was at four which gave me almost the whole day. I picked up my phone and called Kendall.
He picked up almost immediately. "Hey, bro." his voice came in through the phone.
"What are you doing today?" I asked him.
"Oh, I thought you would be sleeping," he paused. "Come to Ciara's place...you know what, on second thought let me pick you up and we go to Ciara's home since you don't rem.... I-I-I mean know where it is." he stuttered.
"Okay," I replied.
Knock knock... Who would be at my door at this time? I head to the door and open it to see Kendall standing there leaning against the door with a phone to his ear.
"Good morning," he said with a big smile at my bewildered face.
"How did y...?" he cut me short.
"I teleported," he said grabbing my arm, "You ready."
"Wait, I haven't even taken breakfast," I said.
"Oh well, neither have I. We'll take breakfast at her home," he said.
"Okay, but what do I say to my parents?" I asked him and that's when he yelled out to my parents.
"Good morning, Mr and Mrs Johnson. I'm going out with Kevin for a bit. He's finally a big boy," he said whilst in a fit of muffled laughter.
"Okay, Kendall, as long as you bring him back in one piece. It's about time. That boy never gives himself a break," my mom yelled back causing my jaw to drop. 'What the hell is going on.'
"Okay. Later Mrs Johnson," he replied and grabbed my hand and all my surroundings began to twist and distort in dizzying disarray of colours until they took on a beautiful scenery of pine trees.
"Is that how teleportation feels like?" I asked him trying to withhold a feeling of throwing up. Taking in the beautiful surroundings and the feeling of magic. This place is amazing.
"Come on Goldilocks. You haven't seen anything yet," he says as he leads me to a big mansion.
"Whose mansion is this?" I asked him, part of me hoping he doesn't say the name, Ciara.