Annihilation Prequel - Psychic Beginnings (7 page)

He thought about his father. He always attacked the weaker ones and ran from those that were stronger. Then he saw it and it hit him like a battering ram. He was no better than his father. He inflicted pain on those who could not defend themselves against him and he avoided those that were stronger. He was becoming the man he hated. He was actually worse because he was stronger and could hurt much more severely than his father.

He stood up, “Young Warriors take your books and memorize these principles tonight. You will be required to say them tomorrow. Now go.”

The young boys ran from the room and Tao remained behind, reading the book through tears for all that he had been. He realized as he continued to read that he was not a warrior, but a coward and a thug. Protecting anything never entered his mind. He was an attacker and was proud of it. Just like his father before him, he reveled in hurting those weaker than himself. He was found the next day sitting where the boys had left him, still reading the book of Wang-dao.

• • •

Cynthia and AG had spent an evening talking and laughing. She found him to be funny and to possess a very quick wit. They sat at The Varsity and ate a hamburger and fries and she said, “How have I never gotten to know you? I know we’ve been in the same class. I also can’t understand how all my friends don’t know anything about you.”

Ag smiled and said, “I have a way of keeping a low profile and avoiding attention.” Cynthia just stared at him. “Yes, it’s another one of my talents; I didn’t want to be noticed. I was fine just watching you from a distance.”

“AG, have you seen whether or not we end up together?”

“No, that is a decision that you control and I really think you should do exactly as the Kahn said; take your time and think things through with much consideration. There is plenty of time for you to decide. You still have college ahead of you and there is no rush to decide. I’m just glad you want to spend time with me now.”

The night seemed to just fly and after what seemed like moments they were back at the home. AG leaned over in the car and kissed Cynthia and she felt it all the way to her toes. “Goodnight, Cyn.”

“Goodnight, AG.” She watched him leave and enter the building and she already missed him. How had he gotten in her heart so fast? She knew now that he was as smart as Lydia said he was and that he was more fun to be around than anyone she had ever met. She thought about him the rest of the weekend and looked forward to seeing him at school Monday, but first she had to take Johnny to a doctor’s appointment because her parents would not be back until the next day. When she and Johnny arrived at school, it was time for lunch and she started toward the cafeteria looking for AG. As she stepped into the cafeteria she saw Lydia jump up and come rushing her way. “Where have you been?”

“I had to take Johnny to the doctor; why, what’s going on?”

“The police were here this morning and arrested AG for assaulting those football players last week. They handcuffed him and took him away in a squad car.”

Cynthia turned white, “He didn’t attack them; they attacked him.”

Lydia pointed over Cynthia’s shoulder and said, “Mr. Grest went with them and now he’s back.”

Cynthia turned around and saw Mr. Grest go up the stairs to his office. She turned and ran after him.

AG arrived at school that day and saw Robert Adams standing with two police officers at the building entrance. As soon as Robert saw him he pointed and said something to the officers. They turned and approached him, “Anthony Gardner, you are under arrest for assault and you’ll have to come with us. Put your hands behind your back.” AG looked at Robert and then saw Robert’s father standing off to the side. He could tell Robert was not happy about what was happening. He put his hands behind his back and got into the back of the squad car. He watched Robert, his father, and Mr. Grest get in a car and follow them.

The officers took him to the county courthouse and escorted him into the county courtroom. Judge Sam Jackson looked up from what he was reading and motioned the two officers to bring AG forward. Robert, his father, and Mr. Grest came and sat down behind the four teammates that AG had thrown into the lockers. Judge Jackson looked at AG and said, “I have a report here that you assaulted five students at school last week damaging school property in the process. Did you beat up the five students here?”

AG looked at the five and said, “No your honor. I only beat up four of them. The fifth I hung over the balcony in the lunchroom.”

“So you don’t deny you assaulted them.”

“What if I were to tell you that it was them that assaulted me?”

The judge looked at him, looked at Robert Senior and said, “We have eyewitness testimony saying something else. It seems to me that you are a very aggressive person, Mr. Gardner. Mr. Grest, what do you know about this student?”

“I have a record of him throwing a big rock at a teacher in class when he was in the ninth grade, your honor.”

The judge looked at AG and shook his head. “It’s people like you that make our schools too dangerous. I am going to give you a choice, Mr. Gardner and I strongly suggest you take it. I can put you in jail and hold you until you go to trial for assault, which is a felony. You’ll sit in jail until your trial which should happen in six months; or you can make another decision.”

AG looked at the judge and said, “What decision?”

The judge looked to the back of the court and an Army Captain stood up. “This is Captain Green and he is an Army recruiter. I think you need discipline and the Army can teach it to you. If you agree to join the army right now, I will dismiss all charges and you will keep a clean record.”

“What about my graduation, Your Honor?”

The judge looked at Mr. Grest, “I’m sure he has enough credits to graduate already. We will give him his diploma now.”

The judge looked at AG, “What’s it going to be?”

AG turned and looked at the five accusers and they refused to look at him. He stared at them for a minute and then turned and said, “Where do I sign?”

Captain Green said, “It will take about thirty minutes to get the paperwork here.”

Judge Jackson leaned back and said, “You five will stay here until he does sign. If he changes his mind I will need you here to sign your affidavits. Mr. Grest, you are free to go.”

Robert’s father handed Mr. Grest his Keys and said, “Take my car; I’ll get a ride with one of the boys.”

Captain Green looked at AG and saw a well-muscled young man that was very self-composed. “It seems we only get trouble makers,” he thought.

• • •

Cynthia burst into Mr. Grest’s office right behind him and grabbed his arm, “Mr. Grest, what have you done to Anthony Gardner?”

Mr. Grest looked at Cynthia and said, “Took him to court for attacking those boys. He’s being made to join the Army as we speak. That’s the last trouble he’ll cause in this school.”

Cynthia stared at Mr. Grest shaking her head and he said, “What?”

“How could you have made this kind of horrible mistake?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mr. Grest, those four boys attacked Anthony when he tried to save my brother from being dropped from the balcony over the lunchroom. Robert Adams had got them to terrorize my brother to try and make me continue to date him. When AG stopped him from doing it the four boys attacked him.”

Tim Long had stepped into the office right behind Cynthia and said, “She’s telling the truth, Sir. I was the one holding her brother over the rail and if not for quick action by AG he would have fallen to the floor. Those four attacked him.”

Mr. Grest looked at them and furrowed his brow. Cynthia said, “There’s more Mr. Grest. The rock that was thrown at the teacher in the ninth grade was thrown by Dale Wooddale. AG reached up and deflected it. The teacher saw his arm and accused him.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Tim said, “I was in the class, Mr. Grest. Dale threw the rock.”

Now Mr. Grest was getting a sick look on his face. “Oh, it gets much worse, Mr. Grest.”

“How could it be any worse?”

“Miss Lavender, please hand Mr. Grest the file where you have been keeping AG’s grades.”

“Why have you been keeping his grades in a separate file?”

“You told me to do so right after the rock throwing incident.” She handed him the file.

Mr. Grest opened the file and started looking at all of the report cards and test scores. He was amazed but then he saw the SAT score. “Oh my God!”

“Exactly right, Mr. Grest. You’ve just had our valedictorian forced to join the Army.”

“You two come with me. Maybe we can stop this.”

• • •

AG signed the last form and heard Captain Green say, “Welcome to the United States Army,” just as Mr. Grest burst into the courtroom followed by Tim and Cynthia. The five boys saw Tim give them a hard look and grew extremely nervous. Mr. Grest was yelling, “Stop, please stop.”

Judge Jackson looked up and said, “What’s going on?”

AG watched Mr. Grest, Tim, and Cynthia run up to the judge’s bench and begin talking to him. The judge listened, looked over at AG, and then at the five accusers, then back at AG as he read the contents of a file.

Captain Green nudged AG and said, “Do you know what this is about?”

AG smiled at the Captain, “Justice is not always on time. But it seems to be sure…eventually.”

The Judge stood up and pointed a finger at the four sitting in the front row. “Do you know the penalty for perjury?”

Robert’s father stood up and said, “What’s going on here? That thug attacked my son.”

“After your son had his friends hang a special student over the rail in the cafeteria. Now I’ll ask you again, do you know the penalty for perjury?”

One of the boys stood up and said, “I have not lied. I told Mr. Adams what happened and he wrote it down.”

The judge picked up the complaint and began reading, “It says here that he hit you in the chest and slammed you back into the lockers.”

“He did your honor.”

The judge looked at Robert Adams senior and said, “Ok, what happened just before he did that?”

“Well, we jumped him to teach him a lesson.”

“So he was defending himself.”

“I told Mr. Adams that Robert told us to do it.”

The judge looked at Robert Adams and the contempt on his face was obvious. “Get out of my court.” Robert Adams started to say something but seeing the Judge’s expression he stood and quickly left.

Cynthia looked at Robert and he could tell what she was thinking, “Like father, like son.” He was more ashamed than he could ever remember and there were numerous episodes of shame during his childhood. This one beat them all. His father would just not listen to anyone once he made his mind up.

The Judge looked at Captain Green and said, “There has been a huge error, Captain. It seems that this young man was protecting this young lady and her brother and was totally innocent of anything. He is also, according to Mr. Grest, the smartest student to ever attend his school. Please destroy the documents. He won’t be joining the Army.”

AG looked at Captain Green and smiled, “Not gonna do it, are you?”

Captain Green actually laughed, “Are you also a mind reader?” He turned to the judge and said, “He was not forced by the Army to sign these papers. He did it of his own free will and he now belongs to the United States Army.”

The Judge stood up and said, “You will release him.”

“Sorry, Your Honor, but this is a Federal issue now. We will not release him.”

Cynthia panicked. Her father could represent him. He could get it done, and then she looked at AG and remembered what he had asked. This was the consequences he had warned her not to stop. She looked at AG and he smiled at her and shook his head.

She felt an overwhelming sadness grip her. She was going to lose him. Just when her heart had started to find joy, he was leaving and would probably end up in that place called Vietnam. This just wasn’t fair, but she had promised not to get in the way of the consequences happening. She had done that not thinking things through and then she realized something else. She was not worried about losing her interest in him. She now knew that there would never be anyone else for her but him; but her little insecurities worried her that he would go away and find someone else. She looked at him and he could see her obvious pain. He mouthed to her, ‘I love you.’

Cynthia put her head in her hands and began crying; out of happiness and pain.

• • •

Cynthia was sitting in her car with AG after they had left the courthouse. She was still crying knowing that he was leaving in two weeks. AG had his arms around her softly telling her everything was going to be ok. Cynthia looked at him and said, “AG. There’s a war going on and the Army is sending soldiers there. Don’t tell me everything is going to be ok. You could be killed.”

“Cynthia, do you believe that you were born to be a doctor or did it just occur to you one day.”

Cynthia furrowed her brow, “Why are you asking me that?”

“Just answer the question.”

Cynthia thought for a moment, “I have never had any desire to be anything else. I have been pulled to everything medical as long as I can remember.”

“What if I told you it was too dangerous to be a doctor. You would have to treat some of the most dangerous diseases infecting mankind and you could get sick and die. Would you give up on being a doctor?”

“That’s the risk you take to help your fellow man. Of course I wouldn’t give up my dream.”

“What is my chosen profession, Cynthia? What am I uniquely qualified to be?”

Cynthia thought, and try as she might she could only come up with one thing, “You are a fighter.”

“Actually, Cynthia, my chosen profession is to be a warrior.”

“What’s the difference, AG?”

“A warrior fights to make the world a better place than he found it. He works his entire life perfecting the skills needed to excel in his chosen profession. A warrior defends those that cannot defend themselves from those that would harm them.” AG paused and lifted Cynthia’s face and looked her in the eyes, “The only way for me to develop my talents is to go where I am forced to use them to survive. I must put myself in high stress situations so that my talents will reveal themselves. I’ve known all my life that I have an important role to play in the future and I must develop my skills in order to fulfill that role.”