Madison woke up with a slight groan as the sun kept striking her eyes. She tried turning over and covering her eyes but the light was now flooding her whole room. She groaned again, wondering why there was so much sunlight so early, when she stared at the clock.
"What?" she almost shrieked, throwing off her blankets as she jumped up. That couldn't be right. But no matter how much she rubbed her eyes, the time remained the same. Almost 11 o'clock in the morning.
It all came rushing back to her. The fight with Swarm, Travis taking her back home, her hitting her bed with hardly a care. She was so exhausted from it all she'd slept almost the entire morning away. She never did that. She was usually an early riser on weekends, sneaking in to grab breakfast before all the hustle and bustle started.
Madison groaned again. The events of last night seemed so unreal, like they happened to a different person. She barely recognized that girl who stood up to Swarm, who managed to hold him off for a minute. And yet…she liked it. She'd never felt more confident in herself and wanted more.
She formed a small force field in her hand, as strong as before. Her powers must have recharged during the night. Not that she should need them again any time soon.
She got changed and made her way downstairs, already hearing the sound of the TV blaring whatever cartoon Lisa was watching while Todd was playing with his I-Pad.
"Well, look who it is," her mom greeted as she walked into the kitchen, her dad typing stuff up on his laptop. "Someone was certainly a sleepy-head."
"Yeah, sorry," Madison said. "Bit of a late night."
"Oh no worries. It is the weekend after all. I made some pancakes though, want some?"
"Please."
As Madison helped herself to some pancakes, she wondered what she would do now. For the past few weeks, she'd been so worried about what Swarm would do when he came back. Now that he was gone, she wasn't sure what her next step should be. She still wanted to know more about her powers, about where they came from. But she no longer wanted to get rid of them. She wanted to use them. If there were more people like Swarm out there like they suspected, then she wanted to be ready.
She considered a training schedule with Emily, to get stronger. While she hated getting pummeled around like that, she couldn't deny that that one lesson had been a big help during the fight. She had learned her limits with the force fields and how to push past them. If she kept that up, she would be able to make unbreakable force fields.
She smirked to herself. She couldn't believe that she, the geeky computer girl, was thinking about training and getting stronger. About preparing for coming fights. She should be terrified after last night, but she strangely felt calm. If they were able to defeat Swarm, even if it had been close, then they could defeat anyone else that came their way. Especially with Travis.
Madison's eyes widened and her face became flushed as she thought that. Where had that even come from? Sure, he had been amazing last night and had been the one to deliver the final blow. And she had been awestruck when she saw his lightning form. It had looked like he was a living god, the way he moved. And how he'd taken Swarm down before shooting up his lighting had left her breathless. Or how he looked so…
DING!
Madison jumped as the doorbell went off, startling her from her thoughts. She was pretty sure her cheeks were burning as she doubled down on her pancakes while her mom answered the door, trying to not think of anything else. Especially not a certain boy who…
"Hey Madison, I think it's your boyfriend."
Unfortunately, Madison had taken that moment to take a big gulp of orange juice.
"Thank you for that dear," her dad said, wiping the sprayed juice off his face with a napkin.
"S-sorry," Madison stammered before turning back to the door where her mom was welcoming none other than Travis. Her eyes widened considerably and she was pretty sure her heart started beating faster. "T-travis? Wha-what are you doing here?"
"Hey Madison," he greeted, smiling though Madison noted the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Do you think we can talk?"
"So this is the famous Travis, huh?" her mom said. "It's so nice to finally meet you. We've heard so much about you."
"You have?" he asked.
"You have?" Madison said at the same time.
"Well of course. Why, just last night, Madison herself said that-"
"Travis, how about we go talk in my room," Madison said hurriedly, desperately trying to avoid the mortifyingly embarrassing conversation that was emerging.
"Absolutely not!" her dad exclaimed, startling them.
"Dad?"
"Charles?"
"I will not have my eldest daughter alone in her room with a boy."
Madison's face turned red hot as she realized what she had just said. "Oh…" she mumbled, wishing she could turn invisible right now.
"Oh Charles, I don't think…"
"Um…" They all turned as Travis raised his hand. "Sorry, but it's fine if we talk outside. It's actually better cause there's something I need to show Madison too. Away. So we might be out for a little while. If that's ok with you all," he added quickly.
"Oh it's fine!" her mom gushed.
Her dad grunted but nodded. "You get up to anything with her, and I'll hunt you down."
"Dad!" Madison complained.
"Uh…so, I'll just…" Travis pointed at the door. "Yeah."
"He seems nice," her mom said as soon as he had left.
"You are so embarrassing!" Madison complained.
"Oh, I'm sure it was…"
"Ugh!" Madison quickly left, not wanting to hear anymore. She had been embarrassed enough for one day, and it had only been about ten minutes. She closed the door behind her. "I'm really sorry about them. I swear…Travis?" she asked as she got a better look at him. "Are you ok?"
Travis stood on her doorstep wringing his hands together, looking agitated. "I don't know," he said. "Something's been bothering me since last night."
"What? We beat Swarm right? You saw him get taken away."
Travis nodded. "Yeah, it's not that. Before Gabriela's signal went up, I was attacked by a bunch of dirt monsters. I thought it was Swarm but now…I don't think it is."
Madison felt something begin to churn inside her as he talked. "Then…what is it?"
"I don't know. It just doesn't make sense. I checked with the others and only Luke was attacked as well. Same thing, monsters made up of the ground like dirt or concrete but no microbots. If Swarm could do that, why didn't he use it against us?"
"Maybe…he didn't think of it?" Madison asked hopefully. She could sense where this was going and she really didn't like it.
"No," Travis said softly, shaking his head. "There's someone else out there."
"But…who? And why attack you?"
Travis looked like he was about to say something when he stopped. "Wait, no. They weren't attacking me."
"What?" Madison stared at him, confused. "Then…who were they attacking?"
"I don't know. But they ignored me, going for the house, until I attacked them. They wanted someone else in there. Someone in my family."
"Your family? But…" It was Madison's turn to pause as a memory washed over her. "Wait, hold on. I actually think I know something."
"You do? What?"
"It was yesterday afternoon, just as school ended. There was an incident in the hallway. Luke bumped into your brother and he pushed him back, knocking him into Mr. Warners and angering him. He looked like he wanted to hit them."
Travis nodded. "Ok, that would explain why those monsters went after my house and Luke but it still doesn't explain why they were made up of the ground. Actually, that happened during the school attack too. The others were talking about it and I noticed a few when we arrived. But Swarm only ever attacked us with microbots. So…who else could it have been?" He looked at Madison closely. "Was there anyone else in the hallway? Like, anyone who would also have been mad at my brother or Luke. Another teacher they knocked into or-"
Madison gasped in shock, the rest of that memory coming back. She did know who it was. But…it couldn't be. She'd known him for years and he could never do this. But, she would have thought the same of Mr. Warners too. And it did sort of make sense. But still…
"Madison?" Travis asked carefully. "You know who it is, don't you?"
"It can't be him," she whispered. "It just…"
"Madison, who is it?"
"…Eustace," she said after a moment. "Luke knocked into him as well. I tried to catch up with him afterwards but when he looked at me…he was so angry. It was scary. But he couldn't…"
Another memory came over her. In the cafeteria, when she and Eustace had been alone.
"It's not like I would have missed this place if it did get destroyed."
"I was kind of hoping the school wouldn't reopen. Don't really have any good memories here."
He had talked about it, about how much he hated the school. About how much he hated people like Andrew and Luke. She'd never seen him so passionate about anything other than his drawings before.
"I may not like those guys but even they don't deserve getting killed by a, um, steam vent explosion."
But he'd also said he was glad they weren't dead. Still, the way he'd said it…it was like he knew it hadn't been a steam vent explosion.
She told this all to Travis who listened stoically. "Ok, so some stuff is adding up but it's not conclusive," he said. "We need actual proof. I don't suppose you know where he lives?"
Madison blinked. "Actually, I do. It's on my bus route to school." She remembered looking out the window one time after the bus stopped and saw Eustace walking down the sidewalk, eventually going into a small, one-storey home.
"Ok. Do you know the address?"
"No, but I do remember the street. It's Crocus Avenue."
"Ok, but Crocus Avenue is pretty big. Do you remember anything else?"
"Uh…yeah, hold on." Madison grabbed her phone and found her address on it. From there, she followed where the bus went, trying to remember all the twists and turns it had been making these past few years. "Here," she said, pointing at one area on the map. "It's somewhere there."
"Close enough. Let's go."
"Alright." Madison took a deep breath and nodded. She hoped with all her might that it wasn't true and that Eustace wasn't responsible.
After sending a message to the others, he carried her piggyback style and in no time at all, they were there. Madison looked up and down the street as she settled back down on the ground before spotting the faded white home a little ways down the block. "There. That's the one."
Travis merely nodded and the two walked over. Every step they made filled Madison with more dread. It wasn't just that either. She couldn't see anyone else around, even though it was almost noon on a Saturday. She couldn't hear anything either. No birds or bugs. Nothing. There wasn't even wind. It was like the entire world was holding its breath.
"Do…" she paused, wondering if it was just her. "Do you feel that?"
"Yeah," he nodded and she noticed his fists were clenched at his side. "It might be nothing."
He didn't sound like he believed it either. They kept going, walking right up to the doorstep. Travis stepped up and rang the doorbell. There was a faint chime inside but nothing else. No sound of anyone coming to the door or having even heard it or even of some distraction like the TV being on. It was just…quiet.
Madison really didn't like this. She felt goosebumps all over her skin and she desperately wanted to get out of here. But if Eustace was in trouble, or even was the trouble, she had to do this.
Travis raised his fist and knocked on the door. When there was still no answer, he knocked harder until the door suddenly opened on its own.
"Unlocked," he muttered. "Not a good sign. Madison…" he looked back at her carefully. "You can stay back…if you want."
"No, I have to do this," she replied, even though all her instincts were screaming at her to turn around and run away. "I'm ok."
"Alright then. Let me scope it out first though, to make sure."
He was gone for less than a second but one look on his face told her everything.
"It's him, isn't it?"
Travis nodded slowly, his eyes glassy. "Yeah," he mumbled. "I found…I found what I'm assuming…" he covered his mouth, looking like he wanted to throw up. "I think I found Eustace's dad. Or at least what's left of him."
Madison gasped, eyes shooting towards the doorway though Travis had already closed it again. Eustace had…done that? "That…oh my god…why? Why would he…?"
"We're still not absolutely certain. But it's not looking good for him. I covered the body with a sheet. We need to check the rest of the place." He looked at her closely again. "I can-"
"No, I'm going in too," Madison said, as much to herself as to him. "I…I need to see."
"Ok." They both stepped inside what was a small living room with a TV in the corner and some furniture around it. There was a space leading into the kitchen and a hallway leading to what was presumably the bedrooms. But Madison's eyes were instantly drawn to the lump in the middle of the living room floor and the red stains on the carpet around it.
She almost threw up but just managed to contain herself. She could never have imagined Eustace doing something like this. He may have been the quiet type, but she did know that he never liked confrontation and the last time they spoke he specifically said he didn't want to see anyone dead. So why did he do this?
"I checked the body…as much as I could anyway," Travis said hoarsely. "It was like, I don't know, his clothes came alive or something. They were in pieces all over him but not like they were torn but just…came apart naturally. And it looked like they were holding him in place. But it was sort of hard to tell with all the…" He didn't finish, looking away instead. "We should check the bedrooms."
"Right," Madison said softly, still in disbelief. They walked over and Travis carefully opened the first bedroom door. Inside was a unmade bed with clothes and empty beer cans all over the floor.
"Who's room do you this belongs to?" Travis asked dryly. "Well either way, it would explain a few things." He turned and opened the second door, revealing a much neater bed with a couple of hand-drawn portraits on the wall. There was also a desk with a portfolio on it that Madison walked over to and picked up, examining it. When she opened it up, she saw there were only more pictures in there. She recognized a few of them. One was of a sunset horizon. Another was a picture of the sea. A crane in flight. Two planes passing over one another. A knight fighting a dragon. They went on and on. She smiled, getting lost for a minute, before remembering why they were here.
She was about to put them away when she noticed something in the back. She pushed the other pictures out of the way and saw there was a dark sleeve with a few more pictures in it hidden from the others, almost like Eustace didn't want them to be seen.
She pulled one out and he eyes widened a little, seeing a young boy getting dragged into darkness. Another one showed a pair of red eyes that seemed to bore out of the page and into her. She placed that one face-down before pulling another of a tree that seemed to be growing out of the planet. Then one with several monstrous figures attacking…
"Hold up," Travis suddenly said next to her, taking the picture. "I know these things. These are the dirt monsters."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Tentacles, claws, snouts. They all match. He's drawing them and bringing them to life."
"Oh Eustace," Madison muttered. "So…he must have powers like us, right?"
"Yeah, I don't think this is like with Swarm and his tech. He has to have some sort of ability. We need to find him now and…"
"And what?" Madison asked hesitantly, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
"I don't know. I'll…figure it out when we find him. You knew him longer, any idea where he might go?"
Madison shook her head, already having racked her brain. "I barely know him at all. We didn't really talk much. Wish we had more. I might have been able to…"
"You can't know that. And it won't help us now," Travis told her as they walked out of the bedroom. "We just need to think of places where Eustace-"
"Where Eustace what?"
They both froze in place, seeing Eustace standing in the living room, staring right at them with a cold smile on his face. It was almost…predatory.
"Now, shall we begin?" he asked.