Of Holes in the Sky and What Comes From Them

Faridah had questions for Silva. Not talking about her new abilities was one thing, but actively deceiving her favorite teacher was another, and that was without whatever he had done to make Ms. Zhang say what she did.

But now was not the right time for that conversation. So she swallowed the bitterness and spoke a few words, claiming she had come to ask about the homework and then the police officer had come and said some very rude things.

"Typical," Ms. Zhang said, shaking her head, then she glanced up and gave Faridah a rueful smile.

"You didn't hear me say that, of course."

Then she glanced at the clock and sent Faridah to go eat lunch, although she made a promise to let her student know if there was any follow-up or investigation about the officer.

So she crept back to the lunchroom and sat with her friends. "Female problems?" Leah asked her, which made Johnny fake gag, and then Cara rolled her eyes.

The three of them sensed her desire to avoid talking about what happened and the subject changed to complaining about homework and discussing what to do for the weekend. Faridah participated, but half-heartedly, and her mind was elsewhere.
As lunch came to an end, one of the upperclassmen walked past the table and did a double-take, her eyes locking with Faridah's. She started to open her mouth, and then Faridah blinked. It was like looking at the road on a hot day - her outline was wavering, images that were not quite human fanning out from the other student. Then she hurried along, and Cara giggled. "Looks like you have an admirer, Faridah. Lucky you!"

"How romantic!" Johnny teased.

Faridah's cheeks heated, but before she could rebuff them, the bell rang and she had to drag herself back to more boring classes. Although that might be a good thing, since rebuffing them would only convince them there was more going on. Which there probably was...but it wasn't romance, it was mysterious magical things!

She had a feeling her life was going to get very complicated.

Classes dragged on, and finally she escaped, but she didn't leave school just yet. She had Community Club - the school had community service requirements, and this was how you filled yours out if you didn't have anything else.

Faridah returned to Ms. Zhang's room. The blood was gone, but the scent of bleach hung heavily in the air. She sat with her friends, and tensed as she felt a pair of eyes boring into the back of her head. A quick glance confirmed it was the same upperclassman from before.

Was this another monster?

Ms. Zhang seemed completely unbothered as she called the club to order, leading them through the usual announcements, a brief lecture about empowering communities, and then proposed a series of projects. Her friends bent their heads together, discussing what to do.

Faridah proposed they start working on...

[]...creating a guide for making pallet gardens, finding suppliers willing to donate tools and materials, and making some demonstration examples.

[]...working with a local food bank to advertise for ongoing drives and helping distribute food and other vital goods to more isolated communities.

[]...helping organize youth groups to give kids something to do, parents an environment where their kids are supervised, and provide educational opportunities.

When Johhny went to sign them up, the upperclassman went just behind him.

The votes are just plain wrong, ignore this. The youth group was the winning action.

After you all signed up for your projects, you were supposed to split up into groups and begin making a plan. Normally, Ms. Zhang was around to keep everyone on task, but as soon as the last person signed their name it was like a mask fell down from her face.

"Thank you all. I am sure you will do great work. Community Club is dismissed early today. It's a beautiful day, go outside and enjoy it," she commanded, trying very hard to sound light and cheerful.

No one was fooled. The room remained still for several seconds, and then people slowly put away their notebooks. You saw people with disbelief etched into their faces. Ms. Zhang never dismissed Community Club early. How bad had that monster attack shaken her?

Your friends leaned together, whispering about a police officer threatening her, and you joined them half-heartedly. You had seen what really happened but you could not speak of it, so you simply stood by them and nodded along.

You could feel eyes prickling into the back of your neck the whole time, while you watched Ms. Zhang stand at the front of the room, waiting for people to leave. Gradually, the other students took the hint and started to file out. You lingered, for just a moment.

"If there's anything I can do to help, Ms. Zhang, I saw the whole thing..I..."

She gave you a very gentle smile. "I should be saying that to you, Faridah. But thank you."

Her words were soft and light and they fell on you like a brick from a skyscraper. You stumbled out of the room and found yourself walking...somewhere. You frowned, trying to remember how you ended up in this vast park. You had made a left, then a right, then a...sideways?

You stopped and looked at where you were. Really looked, long and careful. The grass was blue and twitched like a dying insect's legs. The trees remained perfectly still, even as a cool breeze blew. And when you looked up at the sky, there was another park there.

"Silva, where am I?" you asked, and an unfamiliar voice answered.

"You are in the Outside. Now answer, creature, who do you serve? And why did you hurt the teacher?"

From the shadow under a tree stood a figure. They wore a white blouse and a dark blue skirt, so dark it was almost black. Embroidered on the hem were lightning bolts, each one etched with tiny writing. Around their hands they were gauntlet of black metal, and across their face they wore...they wore...

They stood like the ground and sky had gotten together and personally insulted them, anger written in every line of flesh. "I've seen you hurt enough people. You aren't going to get to hurt anymore!"

Before you could do or say anything, Silva appeared on his shoulder. "Run!" he screeched, and when you refused he pecked at your ear.

You ran. And you did not cry. The fact that your shirt was wet was due to you walking under a leaky gutter at some point, nothing more.

You got home an hour late and your mother took time from answering calls to yell at you and then embrace you, then to smell you and send you upstairs for a shower.

And when you got out, there was Silva, perched by your bed, head under a wing.

"I know you have questions, and I will answer as much as I can. But I am tired. Please be gentle on this old bird," he says.

You sit on the bed and stroke his neck, and for a moment you hesitate.

Number- the more questions you ask, the more information you get, but the higher risk of NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES for Silva.

[] [Num] One
[] [Num] Two
[] [Num] Three
[] [Num] Four
[] [Num] Five
[] [Num] Six
[] [Num] Seven


[] [Que] What was that monster?
[] [Que] Why do I have powers?
[] [Que] Why did I have to lie to Ms. Silva?
[] [Que] What was that place?
[] [Que] Who was that girl?
[] [Que] What do I need to know?
[] [Que] Will everything be alright?
Silva will answer all questions and any follow-ups to the best of his abilities.