Chapter 21 (K)

Bureau of Investigation? Epidemic Division? Uh oh…

“Um, yes. What can I do for you?”

“We just need to ask some questions,” says Hoover and he takes out mini-note taker.

“So, what is your relationship to Drew Vivek?”

That question takes me a bit off guard. I was expecting a question regarding my involvement in the epidemic. “Friend since grade 5…we were also, umm… starting to be a little more than that just recently…” I fade out, not really wanting to expand on that. It’s a bit awkward speaking to strangers quite a bit older than me about my personal life.

O’Flynn’s expression softens. “I’m sorry to hear that. It must be tough,” he says, patting me awkwardly on the shoulder. I give him a small, sad smile. Tough doesn’t even start to cover it.

Hoover gave a meaningful cough and O’Flynn steps away from me. He mutters a small, “Sorry,” to Hoover. Hoover nods his head at O’Flynn and turns to me.

Chapter 20 (K)

“This is getting serious,” says Marc. “That’s a full-out declaration of war against us.”

“But how’d they connect me to him? And why are they so desperate now so that they’d kill someone as a warning?”

“I don’t know. But that means we’re close to finding out why.”

My tablet beeps, notifying me that I have an email. It’s from Nella.

“Check the news right now,” reads Marc out loud. “Something must’ve happened.”

“She helps me with this case. She tells me information when she finds any.”

I go onto the CTV website and see the latest headline:

“Epidemic is Now Spreading Worldwide! Victims Found in Parts of Asia, Africa and Europe!”

Chapter 19 (K)

“Back up everybody, give her some breathing room,” says a fuzzy voice. My eyes flutter open, everything out of focus and much too bright. I blink a couple of times and I’m met with the sight of several people crowded around me. They all have mixed expressions of worry and curiosity.

I sit up suddenly, alarmed. My head suddenly feels like it’s on fire, and I clutch it.

“Take it easy, would you?” says the voice. It takes me a moment to realize that it belongs to Marc. “You hit your head pretty hard there.”

My head feels a bit better so I let go of it. The brightness dims a bit as my eyes adjusts. “What happened?”

“You were talking to someone on the phone…and then you fainted. The person who you were calling started freaking out.”

Everything rushes back to me. I slump in overwhelming sadness. “Where’s my phone?” I ask Marc. He hands it over to me and I see that Tam is still on.

Chapter 14 (N)

Finally, it was lunch time. Now I can ask Barry!
“Hey, do you want to come sit with us?”
“Uh, are you all girls?”
“No, don’t worry. My friend Dan usually sits with us.” He turned around, and said something in a very quiet voice.
“What?”
“Nothing, I’m just happy I’ll get to make a new boy friend, as in a boy who’s my friend.” Why was he suddenly acting nervous? He seemed so calm, until… Whatever, he’s just probably nervous about sitting with us.
“Sure, but before we go, come with me.” He followed me to the back of the school. No one came here, because they heard weird rumours.
“Who are you? And what do you know about me?”

Chapter 18 (K)

I lean against the pillar outside afterschool, peering into the halls through the scratched glass walls. I search for Marc within the bustling and jostling crowds of students. There! Found him. He’s weaving in an erratic pattern down the halls, which is strange. He seems to be taking an awfully inefficient way to get out. Then I see Natalie hot on his trail, only a few paces away from him. I can’t help but chuckle at this. You have to admit, it’s pretty funny.

But I feel sorry for him, and I can’t have Natalie around while I talk to him, so I go to save him.

“Hey Marc!” I yell down as he practically runs out the door. “Over here!”

He seems relieved to see me. “Thanks for the save,” he says when he reaches me. “She’s been pestering me all day!”

“I know what she’s like sometimes. She’s my friend.” Marc chuckles at this.  “Don’t count yourself saved yet,” I warn him. “Here she comes.”

Marc immediately stiffens and turns around.

Chapter 13 (N)

Kai:
A simple phrase is driving me crazy. “My life or Dan’s”, I can’t get it out of my head. I don’t like Dan, but I’m not THAT mean. I would never do that to anyone.
What if there’s another way? Maybe there is. I’m so stressed about it. I need someone to talk to about it! But everyone’s in school (which I thankfully got out of going to). I could ask my big sister. She’s always there for me… sort of.
“Mother,” I called in a weak voice. I have to keep this up, or else she’ll send me to school. She came running.
“Kai, are you okay?” she asked in a concerned voice.
“Um, I’m feeling very weak. Could you uh please call Amanda to come? I really miss her,” I said in an angelic voice.
“Aw, you miss your big sister. She called earlier, and she was so sorry she couldn’t come to the hospital,”
“It is fine, can you please call her? I feel like I would die of sadness if I don’t see her soon?” Yeah, right.
“I’ll go call her Kai. Please don’t be sad! If you’re sad, I’ll cry!” Ok, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned death.

Chapter 17 (K)

“The government? Which level?” I ask.

“Provincial. Or maybe even federal.”

I’m taken aback. That high up? That’s insane! “But why would the provincial or federal government be so invested into two minors?” I run to catch up to Marc.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” he replied. “They must have something they’re trying to hide, and we’re too close for comfort.”

“Wouldn’t they just dismiss us as nosy kids? Trying to kill us is a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

“Well that’s the whole mystery, right? There’s something wrong with the death of Lukas Morgenstern, and the government’s trying to hide it. But why?”

“Well, I have a question, first of all. How’d you get involved into this whole mess?” I ask. I’m curious to know.

titles for K's Novel!

So the results are in, and it seems like the top two titles are "Malfunction" and "To Think Outside The Box."
I was talking to my dad about different titles, and I decided to add some of the ones he helped me come up with in a new poll, to the right!
thanks for taking the time to do this...

Chapter 16 (K)

“What was up with you and that new guy Marc?” asks Lae during lunch. My other friends look over at us with questioning expressions.

“Yeah, there seemed to be something going on between you too,” adds Nella. “You looked like you were going to throttle him at any moment.”

I didn’t think we were that obvious, were we? I could hardly tell, as my mind was preoccupied at that particular moment. “I don’t know. He just annoys the hell out of me,” I say. It’s the truth, and I want to steer this conversation away from Marc.

“He seems like a nice guy,” says Lae. “He even helped me with that French question when you wouldn’t bother to look up!” she scowls at me.

“And you know,” giggles Vera, “the emotion closest to hate is love.”

I glare at her. “Gross. Who would go out with that jerk? And Lae, just because he helps you once doesn’t mean he’s not an as—“

Nella punching me in the arm cuts my sentence short. Ouch! She can sure pack a punch! “What the heck was that for?” I ask, blinking away tears. “That hurt!”

“Don’t swear!” she chides me. “How many times have I told you that?”

“You don’t have to punch me for it!” I look at my arm. It’s pretty possible that I’m going to be getting a bruise there.

“Yes I do, otherwise you won’t stop!” Nella exclaims.

“But back to Marc,” says Natalie looking up from her phone, “I think he’s actually pretty cute.” She flips her hair back and looks at her reflection on her phone. Natalie always seems to have two different personalities; one where’s she’s really nice and supportive, and the other is superficial and shallow. By the looks of it, today’s a superficial day. I sigh inwardly. It’s these types of days that I wonder why I put up with her at all, but it’s always her nice days that make me want to have another go at it. Of course, it’s gets tiring after awhile.

“That guy? Cute? You’ve got to be kidding,” I say. “And how did you see him? You don’t have French with us!”

“He’s in my math class. He sat beside me!” she squeals. “All the other girls were just staring daggers at me.”

“And you take delight in that?” asks Lae in disgust. I agree with her. This is getting really annoying.

“I’m going to go get a snack from the corner store, anybody with me?” I ask, getting up. Even after eating my lunch I’m still hungry.

Chapter 12 (N)

Kai wasn’t able to come back to school today. I hope she’s okay. I’ll call her later or something.
“Student’s settle down,” said Mr. Bell. He was the strictest teacher ever. Everyone shut up. Navina raised her hand.
“What?” Mr. Bell asked, obviously annoyed.
“May I go to the bathroom?”
“No.”
“Ok.”
“Today we have a new student, his name is Barry. Please welcome him, and make him catch up,”
I looked up. Barry was tall, he had dark hair. He had pale skin. He seemed very fit.
“Hello Barry,” the class said in unison. He was smiling a little, but not a happy smile. More like a smirk.
“’Sup?” It seemed he had a laid back personality.
“Sit down,” said Mr. Bell, annoyed by his personality.
“Where should I?”
“Anywhere you want,” Everyone seems to irritate Mr. Bell. I have no idea why he teaches if he hates us that much.
Barry started walking along the aisle. He then turned to sit next to me, in Kai’s seat.

Chapter 15 (K)

The class smiles politely. I can’t even manage to paste on a fake smile. There’s a rush of both happiness and fear that flows through me. I cross my fingers, hoping he won’t recognize me.

“Marc, why don’t you go sit in that empty seat besides Kaya? She’ll help you catch up,” I hear Madame say. That seat’s been empty since the beginning of the year, so I’ve gotten used to just putting my stuff on it. I move to take my backpack off the chair.

“So your name’s Kaya,” I hear somebody whisper. I turn to see an uncomfortably-too-close-to-me Marc. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Chapter 11 (N)

Kai:
This note has been bugging me a lot. What does it say? If it’s ruined by nature, maybe it can be fixed by nature! I went online to the websites about spells Light told me about. It was bookmarked. I went to the nature section. I searched for a spell that could help me. It took me fifteen minutes to find the perfect spell. I tried it. The note disappeared.
I felt like crying. Now I’ll never know what was written. A few seconds later, the note reappeared, and the writing was visible. I took a deep breath and read the note.
It said, “K + D = FRIENDS FOREVER ♥.”
Aw, Kell must like a girl. But the writing looks like mine when I was little. But who is D?
Damian? Drew? Who is D? Let’s be logic. Who was my friend when I was about 8 years old and name’s starts with D? GOD NO!
It can’t be. But it is. I hate him! Always have, always will! Except when I wrote this note… I felt like ripping this note. I felt this note is way too much for me to handle right now. I feel like my heart, and insides are being ripped apart by this note. I scream very loudly. Kell comes racing upstairs.
“Kell… Take… This… Note… Away,” This is all I could say. He immediately takes the note and runs away. I start feeling better. I don’t know how a single note could do this to me. I fell to the ground trying to breathe. Kell came back and tried to help me. I started to lose sight. I felt dizzy. Finally, I gave up and black out.

Chapter 14 (K)

“Did you run home?” asked my mom as I shut the door behind me. I’m totally out of breath, and I take long gasps to steady my breath. “You know that you didn’t have to be home until another hour.”

“Yeah, I know. Just felt like some exercise today,” I smile weakly. No point in telling her that I thought I was being followed. I would end up in a mental hospital in a blink!

I drag my feet up the stairs, and enter my room. That’s when I realize I still have my boots on. I have a little chuckle at my own expense and kick them off, sending them flying to the other side of the room where they land with a loud clunk.

I collapse in my favourite chair, and relax as the chair moulds to my body. Ever since I’ve entered my house, I haven’t felt the eyes following me. Relief made me wobbly. That must’ve been a result of my mind working overtime, and I know the only cure for that: sleep.

I find my charger underneath my bed and plug in the tablet. I send a message down to my parents saying that I was tired from being sick and that I was going to bed early. I crawl into bed, and my eyes shut.

Chapter 10 (N)

Kai:
“Furthermore, do not leave your house for the next few days, if you live in the city of New Town,” the news person finished. I closed the TV, and leaned back on the couch. Shouldn’t they be talking about where we live?
“I want to watch!” yelled my little brother.
“Shouldn’t you be doing your homework?”
“Shouldn’t you be doing chores?”
“I’m not in the mood for this!”
“Open the TV,”
“No!”
“Mom, tell Kai to open the TV!”
“Go do your homework,”
“You’re not the boss of me,”
“Yes, I am,”
“What if I watch TV while doing homework?”
“It doesn’t work that way. Do your homework then you can watch TV,”
“You’re the worst!” he said as he stormed off. I’ve had a headache since watching the video and now Kell just increased it by all his yelling.

Chapter 9 (N)

Kai:
I just can’t comprehend all this information at once. This might be a trick, but Valentine? Valentine would never lie, or do something so… so deceiving.
What should I do? I need help from someone. But who could help me? Light probably could’ve helped me, but I’d… rather not. Levana could help me, but she’d probably forget and tell them. Sumi is a good choice, but I can never find her! Ugh, this is so hard! Wait, what about Charm? Charm’s basically Valentine’s best friend! But Charm’s too much of goody-two shoes. It’s worth a try anyway.
“Kai, get up. You need to go tutor your brother,”
I really didn’t feel like tutoring today. I feel like just lying down, and emptying my mind, or even better, plotting. Until I can find someone to rely on, I should start planning.

--THE END—

I know it’s a very short chapter! But I’m kinda left hanging, so… yeah. Until the problem is fixed, I’ll try my best.

Chapter 8 (N)

Kai:
Where is it? I sent it hours ago! I looked out the window.
“Kai, honey, you’re going to be late!” shouted mother. I turned towards the door.
“I already told her I’ll be late,” I said. I heard her sigh.
“I am here master Kai,”
“Why are you late?” I said coldly.
“I am sorry master Kai,”
“Apologizing doesn’t help anything,”
“I understand master Kai,”
“Very well, present me with the data you collected,”
“Here you are master Kai,”
I took the CD.
“Thank you, now you have two hours to have fun. But after that you must resume your work,”
“Understood master Kai,”
“Now you may leave my presence,”
“Thank you master Kai,”

Chapter 7 (N)

I called Levana earlier. She said she'd come after her doctor's appointment.
The party's in 10 minutes, and the glow hasn't gone yet! I tried wearing stuff on top of it but it didn't work. Then I got an idea. Why didn't I think of this before?! The internet! DUH. I ran to the home computer. Loading. I told my brother not to open so many programs! It said it would take half an hour to load. So I ran to my room. I opened my laptop, it took two minutes to start up. I went to the website about spells. I searched up "glow". I clicked the first result. It talked about how it gets there, and said "If you want to get rid of your glow, you must let go of all negative feelings.". SERIOUSLY? It's that easy?
I relaxed and breathed. I closed my eyes. I opened my eyes after a while, the glow didn't go away!
The door knocked. The first guest was here.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"Taima," I opened the door.
"Hi," I said.
"OH MY...," started Taima.
"Please no, it's just a costume," I said. I'm so glad I took acting lessons, but I felt bad for lying to Taima.
"It's a costume party?
"No, I just wanted to surprise you," I smiled. "Go downstairs, and have a drink."
"Sure," She went downstairs.
"Knock knock, open up!" said Jay.
"Hi Jay, the party's downstairs, Taima's here too," I said. She went downstairs. It's weird she didn't question my glow.
"Hello," said Charm. She was standing with Echo, Sumi, and Sapphire.
"Hi, the party's downstairs," I said.
"Is Valentine here yet?" asked Charm, while Echo, Sumi, and Sapphire went downstairs.
"Not yet, but she said she's coming," I replied. Charm and Valentine share the love of love.
"Can I use your bathroom?" asked Charm.
"No," I said jokingly. She went to the bathroom. My phone rang.
"Hello," I said.
"Hi, I'm going to be late... sorry," said Kai.
"Why?"
"Because, I-uh have to finish reading my-um book,"
"You can just tell me if you're plotting something,"
"I'm not! I'm just going to be late,"
"Yeah, see you,"
"Bye,"
I went downstairs to check on the guests.
"You guys okay?"
"Great,"
I wonder where Valentine is, she's usually the first one here. Maybe she's coming with someone? Maybe I should call her? Nah, if something's wrong she'd call me.
But she didn't.
I sat down and looked at the clock. The power went off. Sapphire screamed.
"Shut up!" someone yelled. Sapphire stopped screaming.
"Everyone stay calm, I'll go see what's up. Please do not kill each other while I'm gone!" I said.
I went upstairs, and the power was on for other houses, Why not ours? And where's Valentine? And what's Kai planning?

--THE END--

I know, it's been ages. Well sorry. Now you have a complete chapter!
I know it's short, but I have surprise in my next chapter. It's MUCH more interesting than this chapter (and MAYBE sickening... to me).
Enough blabbering, FEEDBACK! :)

Chapter 13 (K)

As soon as I get outside, I don’t start heading home. I walk across the street and head towards the park. The air smells heavy and wet, and thick, fat clouds are piling up ahead of me… a storm is on its way. Somehow, it’s fitting to today’s events.

I plop down onto a green bench, carefully placing my tablet besides me. I take it out, and turn it on. There’s about 0.2% left on it, enough power to last me a couple of minutes.

I quickly go on LikeIt and find all my “friends” who seem to have some sort of information on Lukas, whether it was through the grapevine or were actually friends with him. I compose a quick group message: hey guys, I’m working on a project and I need some info on Lukas, even if it seems really unimportant. thanks so much!

I click send and wait until the sent confirmation comes up. Collecting all the info will take awhile, but I might as well find out stuff now. Lukas plays an important role in the epidemic, and I’m going to take any opportunity I’ve got to get more clues.