Zero to Infinity

The next morning, Jenny and Zero leave to head down to earth. With much-needed rest and recuperation, Zero wasn’t glitching like he was when he first met Jenny. Zero shifted into a Griffin and Jenny shifted into an Eagle. She loved to fly. As they got closer to the surface, Jenny shifted in mid-flight to a hummingbird, then a squirrel, before climbing down a tree as herself. They had landed in the forest where Zero made a flawless landing all the way through as a griffin.

There was something so graceful about zeros landing. He made her wish that she had the same skill. This was the first time she got to see him and his all. Us. He shipped it back to human, She caught herself staring.

Zero looked up right as Jenny realized that she had still been staring. Quickly turning her head and blinking away, Jenny asked, “so how are we going to find the other shifters?”

“I work for the matriarch. I’m one of her councilmen. There’s also Marcus and November. They’re both councilmen who support the matriarch’s duties. She shows us who we need to keep an eye on and we make sure that we are all doing what’s necessary for us. So in a sense, we’re supposed to know all of the children that go down to earth as Theorians”

“Yeah, did they tell you what happened to Marcus or November?”

“Marcus was captured. We don’t know if he’s still alive. And we’re assuming he was captured by Gordon. But again, we don’t have enough information.”

“And November”

“And November, well... November is missing”

“Ohhh”, sighed Jenny. “Okay. And how do you suppose we are going to travel around. We can’t keep shifting. We’ll get caught.”

“Yes, I happen to know a guy who will let us borrow some wheels. He knows of our kind and he’s one of our safe houses. If any of us are in trouble, we can hide with him.”

“Is that where we’re headed now?” Jenny said softly hoping to not begin to annoy him.

“Yeah. Let me just catch my bearings and I’ll figure out which way we’re going.”

“Okay”. Sensing the annoyance in his tone with her. She thought he was no longer feeling plagued with her as she had tried to make some better decisions. She made fewer jokes about the names she heard and tried to remain positive. But it didn’t matter. Zero was a no-nonsense kind of guy.

After acquiring a set of wheels, the two set off towards Iowa. In Iowa , The two would meet with a high school jock named Jacob. Jacob was so skill and shifting that he could outrun any opponent on the field. Jacob played football, baseball, basketball, and was even on the swim team. He could do all these sports and then some. When no one was looking, Jacob could shift his legs when he was playing football so that he had the advantage on the field. When swimming, he would web his toes. I’m playing baseball, he would shift his arm so that he had the strength of 10 men. He was able to hit the ball and cause home runs for all the team every time. They would always put him in as the bases were loaded because they knew he’d send all four of them home.

Jacob had used his skills masterfully. As a child, is Grandma would constantly tell him stories of a special place where he would one day go and become a great shifter. He would be able to openly shift with no one’s questions. There would be many like him. And yet he would still be able to be himself. Jacob believed his grandmother and looked forward to this because he was the only shifter he knew. But he did believe that somewhere in the distance, he would one day be able to visit Mount pioneer and hold a space with his original family.

Jacob’s mom and Dad had passed away after being severely injured in a car accident on their anniversary night. You would think that this would cause Jacob to become a very depressed young boy. However, with grandmother teaching him all she knew at such a early age, while he was remorseful for his loss, it did not stop him from crafting his skill. And each night Grandma would speak to him more and more about Theorians.

Jacob had just finished practicing for the big homecoming game. He was on his way home on foot. Jacob would often walk wherever he needed to go. He had the strength in his legs to do so as he would often shift his legs, as long as he had on pants, into an animal that would allow him the stamina to walk for hours. On his route home, Jenny and Zero saw him along the road. Afraid to approach him like strangers attempting to kidnap a child, they waited a while to see the direction he walked in. When they saw him enter his home. They parked off the road down the block. On foot, they walked up to his door.

“How can I help you”

“Yes, we’re looking for Jacob.”

“I’m Jacob”, he said with a questioning look on his face.

Unable to hold back her excitement because she finally was meeting someone other than zero, a human on earth that could shift, Jenny interrupted.

“My name is Jenny and this is zero. And we’re like you.”

“Excuse me?“, Jacob said once again confused as to who these two people were standing at his door on what they really wanted

“Let them in honey, they’re Theorians”, his grandma yelled from the back room.

Opening the door wider, Jacob, let in the two and escorted them to the living room. The grandmother looked up at zero as though she had recognized him.

“Hello there. I was wondering how long it would take for you guys to show. I’ve been training him upright and he’s ready”

The grandmother already knew what was going on. She knew they were here to take him away and she was ready. She had no protest and nothing negative to say. She was excited for Jacob. But Jacob was not

“I can’t go with them now. We’ve got a game coming up. It’s the big game. And I already got that scholarship that I have been working for. So if you don’t mind Grandma, I’d like to stay at least till I could get done with my school.”

“Honey, you have an obligation. This is what we’ve been waiting for”

“Grandma, I love you. You know that. But this is what you’ve been waiting for. I’m still a kid. I’m enjoying live life down here. And as much as I want to be on Mount pioneer, I just want to finish school. I promise I’ll go”

“Well, the thing is Jacob”, zero interrupted. “There’s a very bad man that’s after you guys. He wants to eradicate all Theorians from Earth. So I’m here to take you home early.”

“My grandma’s taught me a lot about you guys and I know that this is a risk. But I’m willing to take it. I’m going to stay here on earth and finish out my years. I’ve got a couple of months of this school and four years of college. And I promise to return. I know that time is different up there. But please can I just have 4 more years?”

Against his best wishes, zero could tell that this young man had a lot going for him. He was athletic and energetic and strong. He reminded him of himself. And although Jenny was not necessarily connected, she could tell that Jacob had strength as well. He had mastered his gift and was able to control his shifting. She was a bit jealous but she knew that he would be okay.

“Maybe we should let him stay”, Jenny said questioning her decision. Try to sound mature and let zero know that she understood what was at risk.

Zero looked on at Jacob. He reminded him of a younger version of himself. He believed that Jacob would be just fine on his own. He seemed to have a lot of skill and definitely the smarts to master and handle Gordon should he come face to face with him. Knowing at least that there was danger ahead helped zero recognize that Jacob did have a life of his own and should be able to make a decision. Being that he was not in harm’s way and very skilled in his craft, zero obliged. Reluctantly, he did. Zero couldn’t help but think that he would be a great replacement for him. One day. He was mature, confident, and strong. And if they could get past Gordon, he knew he would be a great asset to Mount pioneer.

Grandma made them some dinner before they decided to head back on the road. It was really not a good feeling to walk out the door, but Jenny knew that zero would watch over her and Jacob could watch over himself. It was hard to leave but they knew they had to. There were other unsuspecting shifters that needed guidance.