O.M.G: Oh My Gravity

Chapter 3: Overwhelmed.

The tube of water thrashed down onto the sand, spitting me out violently. I hit the soft white sand with a thud and was so caught up in the magic and science that I forgot to keep my fists clenched. Getting up, I dusted my shorts and spat out some sand that somehow found it’s way into my mouth.

“Forgot to clench my fists,” I laughed nervously. Shadow laughed, her eyes lighting up and her mouth stretching from cheek to cheek.

“Behold,” she shouted, still laughing. “Camber Sands Beach. Home of the Super Humans.”

I stared with squinted eyes out across the ocean and the shore, expecting to see some sort of building. But no matter how long I stared nothing showed except the close sun reflecting off the water. The beach was absolutely deserted. The water was a clear aqua, the sand was white and there were no trees disrupting the smooth flat surface, not one building was in sight.

Where is this “home”? I thought to myself.

Shadow saw me searching for the building of the Super Humans and giggled, her blonde hair bouncing around her waist.

“Follow me,” she said. “Our building isn’t too far. It isn’t good to stay out in this heat.”

She grabbed my hand and led me down the beach, my feet catching on mounds of sand. Dallas chased after us, barking at the occasional bird that would fly past, his tail up in the air quivering with excitement.

As we ran across the beach, I could feel and see the air around me change. It slanted in front of my eyes and distorted the landscape.

How strange, I thought.

I blinked a few times trying to clear my vision, but it was as if there was a rippling screen across my eyes that did not want to go away.

Then, all of a sudden, Shadow pulled to a stop but I kept on running not thinking anything of it and not being able to see clearly.

“Alexander!” Shadow yelled. “STOP! You’re going to-”

Her words were cut off as I slammed into something as cold and hard as stone. I let out a loud grunt on impact. A small tingle spread through my cheek and a heave came to my stomach. I slid down the cold surface falling onto my bottom.

“Ow...” I moaned. I sat up slowly, the world spinning before my eyes. I shook my head and my eyes refocused, scanning the large, glass covered surface of a building. Where I had hit my face on the glass a circular mark of smoke rose into the sky.

People of all ages inside glared at me with worried expressions on their faces, only to be replaced by an orchestra of laughter. My face turned a bright red as I laughed along with the strangers inside the building.

Shadow ran to my side and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Are you alright?” She asked, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. “You hit that glass pretty hard. You must have been affected by the concealing shield we put up. It’s to protect normal people from our way of life. Most of our kind’s newcomer’s have blurred vision when they pass through.”

“Um,” was all I could manage to say. She laughed and lifted me up.

“Anyways,” she said cheerfully. “Welcome to our Headquarters.”

She held her hand up to the ginormous square glass building standing over us. I tilted my head back to observe the large building, but it seemed to stretch past the clouds and into the heavens. The sun glanced off the glass making my eyes feel as if they were bulging out of my head. I shut my eyes tightly and turned back to Shadow, smiling an unsure smile.

“So?” she said. “What do you think?”

“It’s... um... big,” I stuttered. “Big and see-through. But it’s nice.”

She laughed, the sound like a thousand bells twinkling in a soft breeze.

“You’ll learn to love it,” Shadow said smoothly. “After all, you will be coming here more often now that you are one of us.”

“Great,” I sighed sarcastically. Shadow smiled and hooked her arm in mine.

“Come,” she said. “It’s time to introduce you to your second family.”

Dallas barked and bolted around to the other side of the building. It was hard to tell which side was the front or the back but as we followed the miniature dachshund I got to know which side was which.

The side which I ran into was the left hand side of the building. The side facing the ocean was the back and the side opposite to the back of the building was the front. It was very confusing.

Around the front of Super Human Headquarters, deep green vines crawled up the glass frontage, purple and pink flowers growing here and there up each individual vine. It wasn’t as bright and hot around this side of the building as the different layers of glass lessened the intensity of the bright sun. A sandstone walkway snaked up to a ginormous, silver, iron door which had a rusted brass door knocker with the head of a wolf. Shadow walked proudly up to the door and grabbed the handle of the door knocker. She rapped on the door three times, the sound echoing across the sea. I wondered if the normal humans heard this knocking or if the shield blocked out the sounds. Then, unexpectedly, the head of the wolf came to life and let out a deep snarl, breaking me away from my train of thought. I jumped backwards and stared at the door knocker in disbelief. The actual brass wolf that should be inanimate was moving as if it had a heart. The brass wolf howled, then, and barked. All the while Shadow stood still, a smile planted on her face.

“Oh shush you,” she cooed lightly to the brass wolf, stroking it on its large head. “Be quiet and go fetch Tory.”

The wolf whimpered and it’s head disappeared into the iron door, leaving no trace of its previous presence.

My eyes were wide as every part of my body stood frozen with fear. I shouldn’t have been so surprised, after all nothing was impossible anymore. But I just still couldn’t get my head around all of this.

Shadow turned around to face me her mouth parted as if she was going to say something. But her words fell to the ground as she saw my expression and threw her head back in laughter.

“Alex,” she said giggled. “Get used to it. You look ridiculous.”

I nodded my head and walked up to stand beside her, bracing myself for the wolf’s head to pop back out through the iron door.

“He’s friendly. He doesn’t bite at all.” Shadow whispered as if she was following my train of thought. “His name is Bane.”

My eye twitched and I gulped down a ball that was stuck in my throat.

“You name your door knocker?” I asked nervously. She nodded and smiled. Right at that moment the wolf’s head shot back out through the door and I couldn’t help but flinch at the growl that escaped from his sharp teeth.

I could see from the corner of my eye, Shadow shaking her head ever so slightly. She sighed and said, “Thanks, Bane.”

The wolf bowed his head and revealed his sharp bronze teeth. I assumed it was a smile. But the smile was wiped of his face and he was frozen into place as if he had never come to life at all. My breath came in short gasps and I stood next to Shadow shivering.

Just then the door opened and a tall, lean woman walked out of the glass building.

“Alexander Whitmore,” Shadow said boldly. “Meet Tory Hart. Our vice chief of this organisation.”

I looked up at the woman named Tory. Her jet black hair was cropped short and her eyes were an intense grey. Her features were strong and her nose curved up to a sharp point. Even though her appearance was sharp, when she smiled you could not tell one bit. Her smile was the warmest of all smiles.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said and shook her thin hand. Her grip was firm. I looked back at Shadow and asked, “Who’s Chief?”

“It was William Whitmore and the role was supposed to be passed down your family tree,” Shadow told me. Tory nodded in response. “It was handed to your father after your grandfather denied it. He wanted to be a normal human... which is kind of hard with the blood your family carries in their veins. But your father also denied it because he wished to look after you. He tried to keep it a secret. So then the role was passed to the first born son of the fourth generation on your fathers side. So technically... You’re our chief. The secret kinda came out a bit earlier than expected.”

She gave a cute smile at the end of her explanation and Tory’s eyes were alight with excitement. She could see the confused look still in my eyes and she laughed. Laughed like a thousand flutes playing at ones.

“So this William Whitmore fellow,” I paused and looked at tory. “Is he really my great-great-grandfather?”

“Yes, we will answer the rest of your questions shortly, Alex,” She spoke for the first time. Her voice was as thick and rich as chocolate just like her dark skin. “Follow me.”

She turned and walked through the open door past Bane the wolf. Shadow grabbed my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as she led me through the door behind Tory. As we walked into the glass building, my expectations fell to the white marble floor. You would think that a building made of glass and no curtains would let in every ounce of heat projected by the sun. But this building was different by far. It was as cold as a freezer.

“Plexiglass,” Shadow whispered in my ear. “It’s very helpful in these situations.”

I looked at her with questioning eyes.

“How often do these... situations occur?”

“Never,” she said smiling. “It’s just a precaution. Keeps us safe from outside threats. It never shatters.”

I nodded my head as we kept on walking. People of all ages turned and stared at me, some of them waving others just smiling. It was strange being the centre of attention at a place somewhere outside of home. I smiled back at them and looked away, feeling awkward when my eyes met somebody else’s. Some leader I was going to be. I couldn’t even look at these new strangers in the eyes, how was

I supposed to lead them from now on? I guess I was just overwhelmed.