The Changed Ch. 02

"We have some strong Magic Users who have talents in future seeing." He kissed the lobe of my ear. "But again, the closer to you I get the more potent your arousal is."

I sighed. "I'm not a Magic User. But I might as well join you out of my own free will opposed to being threatened and forced."

He let go of my body and smiled. "I would never hurt you, Shel. But I need you to understand how important you are to our survival."

*

We started walking in what seemed to be a very specific direction. After our discussion he turned on his heel and started to walk. He didn't stop to check if I was following him. I wasn't sure what to do, I could run the other direction or I could follow him. I did say that I was going to join him out of my own free will. To be honest, I didn't want to. Running away seemed like a smart idea...But he was just so desirable...

I followed him. I stayed behind him with my hand on the top of my wrench, but I followed him.

The quiet almost seemed deafening. He walked strongly ahead of me while I trialed behind him. His shoes made noises on the sidewalk and I wondered how he made it this long. The Changed would be able to hear him. I wore Convers because I could walk silently in them.

"Tell me more about this organization." I ran up beside him. He looked at me from the corner of his eye and smiled.

"My brother and I started the Building when my parents couldn't accept that my brother was gay. So we found an old factory and transformed it. My family comes from a long line of Magic Users that were supposed to hold back the Changed. But somehow, along the timeline, we stopped. It wasn't till the first wave that our past caught up with us."

"What are you saying? That the Changed and Magic Users have been around all along?" I looked ahead and thought to myself, what a pretty sunset. I wouldn't have thought that if I was by myself. I would have feared the darkness. Just standing next to Michael made me feel calmer...

"From what my family documents say, we've been around ever since God put us here. When Lucifer fell into hell the Changed were created. We were God's solution to the Changed issue. However, over time Magic Users were threatened enough by regular humans that we had to go into hiding—making our job much harder to do. And somehow, we just stopped."

I thought about what he said for a few minutes.

"I'm not in your family though. I didn't know who you were until 20 minutes ago. So, why do you keep calling me a Magic User?"

"Obviously God wouldn't create only one family of Magic Users. The reason why you don't belong to a Magic User family is probably because God is creating more. The more the Changed appear the more Magic Users appear. God is just trying to fix Earth."

"I don't believe there's a god." I said. "With everything that's happened I don't believe there's a god, because if he was so almighty and righteous none of this would have happened in the first place."

He sighed. We were back to walking quietly. He suddenly when stiff and brought his hands up to his face, in a fighting stance.

"At this point in my life I have to agree with you. Get your weapon Shel."

I pulled my wrench out of my loop and held it in front of me.

"I don't see or hear a Changed anywhere. Why are we on guard?" I whispered. I put myself behind him so that my back was safe, but so was his.

"It's not a changed that I'm worried about." His hands moved in front of his face as if he was dancing, but the rest of his body was still. I looked around us, searching for this threat, but I didn't see anything.

"Shel, on the count of three I want you to duck and roll over to that mailbox." I turned my head to the right and saw the rust red mailbox in question. Obviously Michael sensed something in the air that I couldn't.

"Kay," I whispered.

"One....Two....Three!"

I fell to my knees and rolled to my right towards the mailbox. Once I got there I stood and pointed my wrench where I once stood. I wasn't prepared for the scene I turned back to.

Michael had a man in a black hoodie by his throat, but not for long. Once Michael noticed who it was he dropped his hands and pulled the man into a hug. I heard a rustle behind me and I swung my wrench in that direction. I was lucky I was scared and completely missed because it was James.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I cried, thankful that I didn't hit him in the head.

James gave me a saintly smile, "We sense you two walking and decided to catch up with you. Do you mind if we join you?"

*

"I'm sorry about sneaking up on you. We just wanted to see what you two would be like in a fight. Each mating couple has a distinct way of fighting together." James smiled as he applied an ointment on the black hoodie man.

"I'm sorry I almost chocked Calc out," Michael said.

The man in the hoodie looked at Michael and nodded. He thrust his right hand towards Michael and Michael took it into a hand shake. I figured that there was some sort of understanding.

James looked at me once he had is bottle put away.

"You see, every mated couple has a distinct fighting style. For example, Calc and I. I usually hid and aid him with my healing magic while he hides in the shadow realm and fights there. I can sense where he is at all times, which is what makes us such a good pair. However, you two almost seem clumsy..."

"We're not mated, James." Michael looked at me with a wolfish grin. "At least not yet."

"OH, well for not mated you two make a good match. But you should really get on that."

"Mated? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

Everyone looked at each other, almost as if they were silently trying to figure out how to explain this to me.

"I can't really explain it," James said. Calc just shook his head and looked at the ground.

"It's kind of like love at first sight. It happens to every Magic User once in their life, and the person they fall in love with is the person they stay in love with until they die. You know that saying 'there is strength in numbers'? It is almost as if God took that into consideration when he created the Magic Users." Michael said. "And yet, that explanation almost makes it seem like a joke. Don't get me wrong Shel, being mated is the most wonderful and most magical thing that two Magic Users can do."

"Just because your 'Fortune Seers' saw us together doesn't mean that's actually going to happen. I think you're delusional for thinking that. And this mated thing sounds like something out of a romance novel or a scifi." I sat taller and looked at them in the eyes. "And I swear to you that I am not a Magic User."

Calc finally stood up and looked down at me. His cold blue eyes almost seemed to shine, but it could have been because his long black hair had fallen from his hoodie and framed his face.

"You can say that till you're blue in the face, but in the end you are one of us. It's best if you just accept it and move on." He turned and walked away. James made a "tch" noise and raced after him.

Calc was an interesting person. Unearthly almost, even his voice. It was heavy, not low in tone, just heavy. But his voice matched his clear cold eyes.

*

The sun was just about to disappear when Michael decided to speak. We sat quietly, just looking over the horizon where we sat. The little park hill wasn't much but at least we could see what was around us with no problem. It beat wondering.

"Calc is a mystery to us all."

I turned and looked at Michael. It took me a moment to remember what he meant. I nodded in reply.

"No, I mean he actually is a mystery. He's one of the Originals. He's lived through wars, disease, natural disaster...and no one knows how. He doesn't like to talk much, so we're not certain how he's managed to survive. Biologically speaking he should be dead for years now." He stopped and took a deep breath. "My theory is based on his magic. He works in the shadow realm. That's a place that normal humans wouldn't dare to go because it's a place between life and death. It's a very thin line and even one misstep can lead to certain death."

"If it's such a dangerous place, wouldn't it be even more improbable for him to be alive?" I asked. I felt naïve asking these questions, because Michael seemed to know all the answers and I had no clue. And yet, at the same time it was so assuring that he was here with me.

"I have never been there. But if the tales are correct—probably stories you've never heard because you've never had too—when he is in the shadow realm he is ageless. He could be there for days and it may feel like minutes." He looked at me and laughed. "Magic is like thinking about the universe—it's endless. The more you dig the more questions you get. I just wished I could answer all your questions."

The sun was gone now and I sighed. I hated the darkness.

"I was thinking about it."

"Hm?"

"Even if I don't have magic I want to support the Building. It's not much but maybe I can take care of the families there. My education background lays in elementary aged schooling, but I took enough classes that I could work with teens too. I dunno..." I smiled at him. "I'm babbering but...Maybe I can be of some use, even without magic."

He burst into laughter and pat my back as he stood up pulling a flashlight out of his pocket. It wasn't a very large flashlight but once he had it on I could tell it was a very strong one.

"That's very generous of you, and we may need that educational background of yours. But for now we really need your magic." He stuck his hand out for me to grasp. "Please work on that."

"I don't even know what kind of magic I would have..." I whispered.

"Maybe you don't know it now, but deep down your conscious knows. You just need to find some way to wake it up. It takes time to master magic fully, hell, even I have some trouble with my magic. But I never stop trying to master it."

He started walking a head of me and stopped once he noticed that I hadn't followed.

"You coming, Shel?"

I smiled. "I don't let people call me Shel."

"Well, you let me."

*

"You're wrong."

"Pardon?" He turned to me and smiled.

"I just haven't said that you can't call me Shel yet." I said, striding beside him.

"Whatever you say, Shel." He chuckled and faced forward again.

His smile was so bright. It was interesting because ever since the Changed showed up I haven't thought that like. I used to be a romantic, but since my priorities changed. My life suddenly became more important than my silly fantasies. But walking beside him, his smile... and it wasn't just the flashlight. His face actually lit up when he smiled. At it made my heart sing.

"Well... I say so. Call me Shelby..." I stated as I tripped and bumped into his shoulder.

"Getting tired, Shel?"

"Hm?"

"Let's take a break. Rest, get some sleep, and we will keep walking tomorrow. Hopefully we can find a car to use."

*

(I apologize for the brief repeat. The last chapter shouldn't have ended the way it did. Hopefully this one works out better. Thanks for reading!)