“Mind your own business Jack,” Davies’ face twisted into one full of displeasure as he rebuked the boy who sat in front of them. He could do with Jack badmouthing him and picking on him, but he wouldn’t allow Jack to insult his friend.
“This is my business,” Jack turned his head to face the two. He gave a small smile, revealing his dimpled cheeks and deep blue eyes. His face was exquisite, like a masterfully sculpted Greek stature brought to life. His broad shoulders suggested that he was of a fairly muscular build, and even his large overcoat couldn’t hide that. Around his neck was a leather chain that held on to a medallion that was hidden within his clothes.“How is it your business?” Davies asked with a sour expression on his face.He didn’t like Jack at all; for the larger boy loved to tease him and Kylie. Initially Jack wasn’t an issue. Davies had attended the same high school as Jack, and the guy was not aggressive nor was he a bully. He was actually quite a nice guy, especially when one considered that he was one of the top athletes back then. However things had changed since they entered the university. Since Kylie’s arrival, Jack had been picking on them constantly. He followed them wherever they went and made life slightly unbearable for them. At the start it was relatively easy to avoid Jack. But as the years went by, it was harder to avoid the larger boy, especially when he noticed that Davies always arrived quite early to class. This made it much easier for Jack to pick a seat, and he always chose to sit right in front of whatever seat Davies saved for Kylie.“How is it not?” Jack asked with an expression that said ‘how can you ask such an obvious question. “You’re obviously disturbing me and making it difficult for me to hear what Professor Dewsbury is saying. Basically, you guys are a distraction.” Jack held his chiseled chin as he spoke. The longer he spoke the harder Davies gritted his teeth. If he had the strength he would have long smacked Jack to the moon and back. The guy was highly infuriating.“We are sorry. We will do well to be quiet from now onwards.” Kylie, seeing this matter wasn’t going to end until either Davies or Jack conceded, which neither looked willing to do, was forced to break it up. Although Jack intimidated her a fair bit, she still spoke up. Besides, for some reason no matter what Jack did, she didn’t find him repulsive. She felt he had a good heart, only that he was weird. As for why Jack followed them around, she felt it was because he actually felt closer to them than others in this class since Davies went to the same school with him and all. For Jack didn’t seem to have any friends.“Thank you,” Jack beamed hearing Kylie’s words. Then he turned to face Davies and said, much to the other boy’s annoyance, “At least one of you has some common sense.”Kylie had to hold Davies back. For the leaner boy was about to smash Jack’s head with a large Physiology Textbook. Jack with his back now facing them didn’t know that Kylie had saved him from a possible concussion.“Why are you taking his side?” Davies asked in anger. However the fact that he still whispered this showed that he hadn’t totally lost his head.“I am not taking his side. I am stopping you guys from bickering throughout the entire lecture. I don’t want what happened last week to happen again.” Kylie replied.“You are right,” Davies quickly turned docile when he recalled the events of the past week. He and Jack were going at each other’s throats much like there were doing right now. Unfortunately that day Kylie stayed out of it, and in the end the two were called out by Dr. Epstein who had grown sick of their noise. What was worse was that Kylie had been dragged into the entire thing although she wasn’t involved. The three had been forced to stand behind the entire class for the full lecture – which was three hours long! What made matters worse was that everyone seemed to enjoy that the smart ones in class were getting punished. Because although Jack seemed to be quite troublesome, he carried a very good brain.“We would talk more after class is over,” Kylie told Davies who nodded his head in agreement. With nothing else to distract her, Kylie could now focus on Professor Dewsbury’s lecture.“As we are well aware, it was Matthias Schleiden and Theodore Schwann, a botanist and a zoologist respectively, who came up with the following theories. Sir Schleiden postulated that plants were made up of cells, and Sir Schwann extended this to animals, stating that all animals were also made up of cells; now these discoveries were made in 1838 and 1839 respectively.”“Rudolf Virchow jumped onto the scene much later – almost about 19 to 20 years after the first postulation - to also add that all cells were made up of pre-existing cells. These discoveries formed the basis for the Cell Theory. Now that is just by the way. You studied this in your 2nd Year. Back to Archaea. I was saying that Archaea can be grouped into Methanogens and Extremophiles. Methanogens generate methane, hence their name, and Extremophiles can survive in harsh environments.”“Now who can give me examples of Extremophiles?” Professor Dewsbury had been speaking for almost thirty minutes, and now her throat was a little dry. Whiles waiting for an answer, she walked over to her desk and sipped some of her juice which lay next to a few neatly arranged notes of hers.“No one?” the professor asked, seeing that the students whom she happened to glance at where avoiding eye contact.“Kylie. You came late. This question is for you then.” Professor Dewsbury finally picked a person, much to Kylie’s dismay and everyone else’s relief. No one wanted to be made out as a fool in front of the entire class.“Well Professor, Pyrolobus fumarii and Thermus aquaticus, both of which are Thermophiles are examples of Extremophiles.” Kylie stuttered a bit due to the fear that gripped her. She really wasn’t comfortable in such situations. And that was why Professor Dewsbury kept calling her out. For the Professor knew what her favorite student’s chief issue was – confidence.“Yes child. And do speak up next time. There is nothing to be afraid of.” Professor Dewsbury flashed Kylie a lovely smile before returning to what she was teaching. Soon the Professor was going on about the similarities between Bacteria and Archaea, seeing that they both belong to the Domain Prokarya. The lecture was three hours long, but to most it felt like an entire day. Of course to students like Kylie and Davies who enjoyed science, time passed by too quickly.“That is all for today. Enjoy your weekend everyone.” Professor Dewsbury was a stickler for the rules, and once time was up she didn’t take up any second that wasn’t hers. The cheerful students were more than happy to hear that the class was over. And many escaped the lecture hall before the Professor could even return to her desk, as though the room was on fire.“What now?” Davies asked in an irritated manner when he saw Jack watching him and Kylie, seemingly waiting for them.“Nothing,” Jack shrugged, but remained seated. “You’re so annoying,” Davies grumbled. “Yep,” Jack snickered, much to Davies’ frustration. However, before Davies could trade words with Jack, a pleasing voice cut into the conversation. Unfortunately although pleasing, this wasn't a voice that was in any way welcome.“How dare you speak to Jack like he’s your equal?”“Not this pest again,” Davies mumbled underneath his breath when he heard the unwelcome voice. Kylie’s expression wasn’t pleasant either. For she knew all too well who was behind them.Behind Davies was a blond haired lady with model good looks and an enviable figure. Loose strands of her luxurious hair straddled her swan-like neck, and a few more cascaded into her low cut blouse. Her floral skirt gave her an elegant appeal. Her brown eyes carried the grace of one who was placed above many others; one whose birth was celebrated by the stars themselves. She was gorgeous woman and a familiar figure to Kylie and Davies. This girl was Sam, a constant pest in Davies and Kylie’s side.“What did you say?” Sam frowned in displeasure with her eyes glued on Davies. Although Davies spoke underneath his breath, his clear voice was difficult to miss.“What does it matter what he said?” Jack turned to face Sam and asked. Although he pestered Davies and Kylie most of the time, he never looked down o
Kylie cut a downtrodden figure as she made her way back to her hostel. Her eyes were unfocused, her body moving on muscle memory alone; for her head was filled with images of one she held dear; one who was here before but was no more. She missed her brother and best partner. She longed to see the one who ruffled her hair every time whilst cackling in gracious laughter that she was his honeybee. “Sigh. I miss you Kylan. I wish you were here. This world is so much more difficult to understand without you here to walk it with me. You promised you would always protect me remember?” Kylie smiled forlornly as she looked into the late afternoon sky. Her eyes caught the retreating figure of the sun as it descended behind the clouds and slowly gave way to the night. Her brother was like that celestial object. He came and shone in her life, giving her eyes vision and her life hope and he disappeared just as quickly; but unlike the sun, he didn’t reappear. Her lost mind couldn’t help but fiddle
It is said that dreams are a subconscious to the soul. And that one can hardly dream what one hasn’t thought of. Many dreams are manifestations of the things we deeply desire and nightmares are the exact opposite – manifestations of the things we greatly fear. Very rarely does one dream what hasn’t been thought of. But are dreams always dreams? Visions are said to be sights into the unknown – whether that be the hidden past or the unpredictable present and future; but visions can also be linked to the one who saw them. For in visions we have two types: the visions that are given unto us and the visions that are born from us. How does one differentiate visions from dreams? And how can one tell whether something is a dream or a vision when what is seen has never been thought of before, nor pondered over even in passing? The answer to all these questions is time. Time tells all these things. And time definitely reveals the authenticity of visions. Kylie was facing a strange situation. A
A loud howl rang through the forest and forced its way into Kylie’s delicate ears. “Something’s here!” Kylie’s eyes lit up like Bunsen burners as she tried to make out where the sound came from.“Come on, howl again,” Kylie prayed silently. And as if responding to her prayer, the creature howled once again. *Awoo*The howl was strong and powerful, indicative of a healthy beast. Even an idiot could tell that whatever that was, it was no sheep, and that staying away was the wise choice. That creature was very possibly a wolf. And who wanted to garner the attention of a wolf? For even if the wolf was a lone one, it was still capable of ripping an unarmed human apart with relative ease. But Kylie wasn’t thinking straight. “There!” Kylie’s sharp ears picked up the location of the howl and she sped towards it. The sound was coming from her left! She moved with the grace of a deer, evading the sly branches that threatened to trip her and leaping past trees that stood in her way with subt
“What was that?” Kylie was curled up in her bed with her large blanket wrapped around her like she was a burrito. She stared right ahead, her image in the mirror reflecting a downtrodden figure. Her unfocused eyes suggested that there was nothing she was actually looking at; for her present yet "un-present" mind kept drifting off to the strange events she had seen in her dream. The half-moon sticking out her window suggested that it was still night time. The light of the stars were quite illuminating this evening, and part of Kylie’s room fell under their graceful banner. And that part included the section with the clock which indicated that it was barely half past 2 am.“If felt so real,” Kylie mumbled with a shaky voice. How long had it been since she was terrified like this? The last time she had felt fear was when her brother went missing. And for those months that her mind kept feeding her terrifying images of what might have happened to him, she felt great fear. However, after t
Aiden travelled swiftly. He showed his peculiarity by the route he chose for his travel. For while others were comfortable with their feet to the ground, Aiden was an admirer of the air. The handsome youth moved from rooftop to rooftop. And his movement was so graceful, his feet so nimble, that not a single sound was made. There was no disturbance or noise. There was only peace. His movements were best described as illusionary and his speed best matched by a specter of the night. He moved with great purpose and nothing could distract him.Anchor University was the name of Kylie’s school. It was a top notch university and only accepted students who were not only brilliant, but possessed peculiar traits as well. Anchor University was not only one of the top three universities in the country, it was the one with the largest campus. It was situated on a giant stretch of land, and each building was several thousands of meters high. However, neither the tall buildings nor the huge amount of
Once the order was given, the two women to Elder Sand’s sides sprang into action. The red glows in their eyes intensified as their legs propelled their bodies forward. They spread their fingers out to allow their sharp nails the freedom to do damage and extended their arms for a sweeping attack. Like perfectly synchronized dance partners they moved and attacked together. And in less than a second they had closed the gap between themselves and Aiden. “Roar” Aiden unleashed another powerful roar as his knees bent slowly to accommodate his body weight. The shoes he wore were blasted apart as his feet enlarged and his toenails transformed into powerful claws. His exposed teeth morphed into the dentition of a lion, and his gaze was as sharp as the king of beasts. With great force he propelled himself forward, barreling into Eva and Marie!Aiden opened his arms wide like an anxious boyfriend who was eager to hug his girlfriend whom he hadn’t seen for the longest time with all the love he c
“Well, would you look at that,” Elder Sand’s hiss with feigned displeasure. “The cub becomes a man,” he giggled loudly in a voice that infuriated Aiden so much that if he had the strength he would have gone after the elder instead. However, fate dictated that his adversaries be the two women who stood before the elder like a wall of ice.The three kept sizing each other up. Aiden kept giving out low growls as his eyes alternated between Eva and Marie who were slowly widening the distance between the two sides. It seemed that they were creating enough space between themselves so that Aiden wouldn’t be capable of attacking both at once. But their decision was exactly what Aiden was looking forward to, for the two of them together was a pain he wasn’t willing to deal with. And once they had opened a suitable gap between themselves, Aiden sprang into action. *Whish*Aiden displayed speed greater than what he had previously shown. The winds spurred him on as he moved, and soon he was befo