The children of Mars - Chapter 03

The last time I reported on my situation, I was attacked by Ryan in class. I told you that I tried to cover Kathy, and I managed to fall with our chairs. Before we could think of getting up, we found ourselves facing Ryan holding a pen in an ice pick grip.

I have to tell you that hand to hand combat is not my strong point. I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could and barely missed being stabbed. I was lucky Deimos chose the grip that he did - it took him a split second longer to recover.

I had to get a weapon as well. I looked at the nearby chair, thought it looked good, and grabbed it. By then I regretted not picking up something more versatile, but I had no opportunity to change my weapon. Ryan was turning his attention to me again. The chair would have to be a shield, not a weapon, for I wouldn't be able to talk my way out of hurting a fellow student seriously.

Fortunately, it didn't come to that. By now, Ellis grabbed Ryan by one arm, the professor by the other, and another student put him in a lock from behind. Immediately, Ryan went limp.

I relaxed, but not everyone did. The student who got Ryan in a lock, Phil, released the grip immediately, and Ellis lay him down on the floor. I could assist, but I had to get my priorities right, and gather the energy that Deimos leaked.

That might have taken me a few seconds, but by then, the entire class was in a panic. I couldn't let the situation escalate - it would be food for Deimos. The real problem was, where was he now? Judging by Ryan's symptoms, Deimos fed off him, but whether he was still there or whether he left for a new host was harder to determine. I could still sense his presence in the room.

I was thinking of this when I heard someone calling my name. It was Kathy. She was screaming at me.

"Murdoch, answer me! Do you know what's wrong with him?"

I did. And I could treat it. There were two problems - energy, and my identity. Treating him would cost me a lot of the energy I gathered, and if I were to treat him, I would expose the fact that I wasn't human.

On the other hand, if left untreated, he would wake up soon enough. If Deimos was still there, and my assumptions about humans were right, though, he could die.

"No, I am not sure."

"Quite callous, aren't you?"

This was Deimos, in my language, and I am sure the whole class heard it. I wasn't sure where the voice came from, but he was leaking energy again.

"What was that voice?" asked one of the students.

"Who said that?" asked another.

"That was just a noise, stop panicking," said the professor, "I think I'll call an ambulance."

This had to be stopped. The last thing I needed was Deimos loose in a hospital.

"That won't be necessary," I said quickly, "he just fainted. Face it, Phil, you didn't even get him into a lock properly. He's probably exhausted or something. That's probably why he panicked and attacked us."

"You know better. You know, he could die."

Everyone heard this as well. By now, everyone was starting to look around, terrified. Mass panic was seconds away. I was tempted to let it run its course, if it would mean evacuating the room. I ignored it and went towards Ryan.

"Oh, so you're going to heal him, aren't you?"

"Where is it coming from?" asked someone, "if there is a ventriloquist in here, own up!"

"That's the same language you were speaking, wasn't it, Murdoch?" asked Kathy, suddenly, "Is that your weird friend? The one behind the library?"

Yes, it was the same language, but Renard's voice and Deimos' voice were very different things. Deimos definitely couldn't pass for a human.

Now everyone was looking at me. I still couldn't pinpoint Deimos. Still, getting closer to Ryan, I could sense that he wasn't possessing Ryan anymore. He would probably wake up in short order. The problem was, what was Deimos trying to accomplish? A little longer, and I would have enough power to cripple him seriously. Was he really overestimating himself so much?

"Come on, keep acting like that, and they'll probably start treating me the way you treated me. Locked up, treated as a freak - but you know that better than me. How does it feel?"

Someone started saying what I could only assume was a prayer. I suppose it would be a little freaky to the human mind. I just needed a few seconds now.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Afraid your true nature will be known? Come on, say something - a word! Only that tiny creature next to you knows anything about you, and she's a defective specimen, as far as I can see. Don't imagine, for a moment, that the rest will just watch you like she did. And you, humans, stop that racket!"

The last part was addressed at the group of students who were praying. I still said nothing. I had a plan, only, I couldn't see how anything I said could influence things positively.

The professor took control of the situation. "Everybody, leave the room, now!"

Deimos reacted immediately. He physically appeared at the doorway. Several students screamed. This was mass panic, just what he wanted. He went for what he needed, energy. He could absorb it in the form of fear. I absorbed a lot of energy in the process as well.

Within seconds, everyone in the class was down. This was exactly what I needed. Deimos was still corporeal, and could get hit by the spell I was about to cast - which I did. I didn't have time to set it up properly, which meant that the spell would be a bit weaker than it should, but it would weaken him considerably.

It was a hit. My spell hit Deimos before the last of my classmates hit the ground. He reeled and fell backwards, out of the class. I went towards him. It was a mistake.

He fired back. It was just a blast of energy. I ducked, instinctively. The blast flew over me. When I looked up, Deimos was gone, the air was so energized that my hair was standing on end, and there was a huge hole in canvas where you projected stuff and the wall behind, which, luckily, led to the outside of the building.

I absorbed all the energy I could, and got to my feet. It was a matter of time before people noticed what was going on. What would I do?

"Look, now that it's come to this, there's only one thing to do. I'll do the fighting," said Kathy, getting to her feet as well, "In return, I want a full report of the situation, and when you go back, I want to go back with you."

It took a second for this to register. "What?"

"So you really didn't recognise me at all."

"What?"

"Remember the campaign on the northern continent? We ran into a fortress that wasn't on our map. I went to investigate with six of my men, and we got caught in a trap. We ended up being blown here."

"You're the knight who led the campaign."

"Exactly."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to get my men involved in this."

"Where are they?"

"They aren't students here. Why do you want to know?"

"If you want to go back, they may want to, as well. Do you have any baseline magical sensitivity?"

"Minimal, almost non-existent."

"What about your men?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe we can fight back," I said, "and we may be able to go back, all of us. Look, Kathy, you don't mind me calling you Kathy, do you? Let's all meet up, and discuss this. We can do this."

She promptly collapsed. I tried to catch her, failed, and while she fell onto the floor neatly between the nearest chair and the table, I managed to hit my forehead on said table. Maybe it was the knock, but I realised that something had startled her, so I collapsed backwards on to the floor as the door opened and someone looked in.

------------------------------------END OF CHAPTER THREE-----------------------------------------

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