On Matters Edge

  Chapter 12: Beneath the Surface

  The dreaded moment had arrived. After he had used his script to save his life, he knew his parents would be having a talk with him. He had thought it would happen immediately, so he had kept his mouth shut since he didn’t want to have the conversation any earlier than necessary. Unexpectedly, and a little unnervingly, the conversation never came and the fear he was holding on to abated. His mother hadn’t pressed the issue in the weeks they had been in the tunnels. He did the worst thing he could have, and he had started to relax.

  One day, they and their things – among many others, were ushered down a long hallway that smelt new and were given the keys to a new home. Cale immediately started to explore the place. It was apparent that whoever oversaw this operation had an eye for style, and probably deep pockets. He gazed in awe as he realized they now lived underground and the only way he could tell was by the lack of windows. After living in the tunnels for weeks, a whole underground abode was a welcome sight!

  Their new place had a living area, a separate room for his mom's office, a bathroom – which Cale hadn’t seen since he was living in town – a kitchen, and a bedroom. Instead of light coming through the windows, the rooms were lit by bars of glowing light that were embedded in the ceiling corners. In the center of the main room, next to the kitchen, there was a hole in the ceiling which let in light and was covered in reflective material. It reminded Cale of the skylights he had seen in some homes back on Earth.

  Overall, he was impressed with what he saw. The uniformity and the quality of their new abode were all of a much higher standard than he was expecting, especially with how quickly they were able to take residence here. His own little prejudice had made him underestimate this world since these people were not at the same tech level as he was used to. He had expected them to live in basically a cave with bunk beds, not a well-lit, dry, and secure underground apartment. His impression of the people of this world rose greatly. That night, Cale finally slept without waking up from having a nightmare or strangers nearby making noises throughout the night. Both child and parents slept well, feeling safe and secure in their new home.

  His guard was at its lowest after his beautiful night's sleep. He should have known things wouldn’t stay this smooth for him, but his parents had been busy the last few weeks, and he was starting to think they had forgotten about that night, and they acted like it had never happened. He shouldn’t have let his baby brain lull him into a false sense of security. He shouldn’t have let his guard down at all, but the smell of breakfast coaxed him into a sense of ease, and he found himself not having a care in the world as he gorged himself on whatever meat and egglike substance his mother had provided him with.

  He would give it to his parents; they sure knew how to time it. The moment he felt his most comfortable and relaxed, he was hit with the most unexpected statement from his mother:

  “We know you have a script, Xavier.”

  Cale jolted at the words, the gig was up, and he had done a terrible job of keeping a poker face. He felt his jaw hanging as his parents gave him that smug smile. He wanted to act like he didn’t hear them, but he saw his father's eyes have that slight glow to them and he immediately knew that they wouldn’t be fooled by his acting.

  Before he could compose himself, his mother continued. “It’s ok Xavier, it isn’t bad. It is just not... common. We saw you use that script, don’t do that again without asking us ok?”

  So, there it was, his secret was out, but his parents did not seem upset, they seemed more worried for him than angry, which was a pleasant surprise. Cale looked at the both of them trying to read their faces. He could see no trickery or malice, so he decided to not play dumb.

  “Ok,” Cale told them. “I ask next… time.”

  He was still having a hard time getting some of the words to come out, but his parents understood what he was saying, and he had no intention of pushing the boundaries of whatever his father's eye thing was. For all he knew it could detect lying.

  Both of his parents gave him a big hug, and his mother even had a few tears in her eyes.

  “Oh, you are such a good boy,” she told him. “I thought you might try and lie about it, but you were so forthcoming and honest! To show how much I appreciate you, I got you something.”

  From behind her back, she pulled out the book he had stolen from daycare. He had thought it was lost that night but here his mother had held off on giving it to him. Sneaky, mom.

  “I will read this to you and do my best to help you learn ok?” she said with a smile as she held it before him. Smartly not letting his dirty baby hands touch the book.

  Cale clapped his hands in excitement! Causing particles of his food to fly everywhere, he had forgotten he was eating with his hands. This made his mother put the book away and out of harm's way.

  He was going through a rollercoaster of emotions, and his baby brain was not doing the best job of regulating it. Once again tears flowed from his mother's eyes, as she hugged and squeezed him. Cale reached out to his father for help, but it had the opposite effect and soon his dad was also in the pile hugging and crying along with his mother.

  What is up with these two?? I have the weirdest parents!!

  Once the crying was over, he felt such a sense of relief. One of his largest fears was that his parents would either abandon him or turn him in to the authorities after they had seen him use his script. After the attack he had noticed many of the people praying to the gods asking for help, and without knowing the history of this world, he wasn’t sure how his parents would react, but with this one discussion, his concerns had been absolved, and he knew his parents wouldn’t betray him.

  “Now Xavier,” his father said, the tone shifting a bit more serious. “Do you remember where you got your script? People are not born with scripts; they must be given from someone. How did you get yours?”

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  Cale’s eyes widened! CRAP! He hadn’t thought of this! He had thought that you were either born with a script or could learn one, he didn’t know that you had to be given a script!

  His eyes darted back and forth between his parents, he wanted to lie and say he found it, but his father's eyes were still glowing a little and he still didn’t know what could or couldn’t be said around him. Cale realized that his panic was not helping him at all, he needed to think clearly and not have a knee jerk response.

  Even though he could feel his parents' eyes boring into him, waiting for an answer, he refused to answer immediately. He would calm himself first. So, he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. He let the anxiety, the fear, and the concern wash over him. He let the emotions run their course so he could think clearly again. Once his mind was clear he opened his eyes and finally responded.

  “I tell you, but I want know why eye glow,” Cale cringed internally at his atrocious ability to speak. He hoped he wasn’t crossing a line, but he needed to know more about his parents and this world, it was worth the risk. He heard his father inhale deeply when he heard the question and didn’t answer right away. His parents took a moment and exchanged looks before his father answered.

  “My eyes glow when I activate my ambassador script. It was given to me by my father upon his passing and is one of the reasons why I am a ranger. It allows me to convey understanding in my words, even if the same language isn’t spoken, while also letting me understand the intent behind other’s words. I have been using it around you to help me understand your unlimited questions as well as help you understand my answers.” He explained.

  Cale’s eyes widened upon hearing the description. “That is cool!” he couldn’t help but yell out. He slammed his hands down on the table, trying to move forward to get a closer look, only he forgot that he was still eating, and he slammed his hand right into the egg-type stuff. Causing some to squeeze between his fingers and other bits to go flying. He had so many more questions, and he couldn’t contain himself!

  His parents sighed as they saw this happening before their eyes. His father came over to wipe off his hands while his mother went to go get another rag to clean up the table. This didn’t stop him from asking questions though.

  “How far? How often use it? Mom have one? I have one??”

  “Woah, woah, woah,” his father said, putting up his hands with a large smile on his face. “So many questions but answer mine first.”

  This time it was Cale’s turn to breathe in, he didn’t want to tell them exactly how he got it, but he didn’t have much of a choice and he found that he wanted to. He wanted to trust them, and they were, after all, his parents.

  “Mom gave to me.” Cale said, looking at his mother with a smile on his face.

  She dropped the rag on the table as her jaw dropped open before quickly snapping back. “I did no such thing!”

  His father gave her that questioning look that all married couples seem to eventually learn. “Honey... just…”

  “No, he lied! I did not give him that script!”

  “Xavier, be honest, this isn’t funny.” His father said, his eyes lighting up brighter than Cale had ever seen before. His gaze seemed to be burning a hole directly into his soul.

  “Mom’s work, got there.”

  “He… isn’t lying, Diana.” His father said to her in a more serious tone.

  His mother started pacing around the room, talking to herself and looking like she was about to panic.

  “Thank you,” Cale said, not wanting the conversation to go any more off the rails. “Script save me. You save me. Big bird dead!” He knew it was manipulative to say that, but if a script could be given, he assumed it could also be taken away, and he did not want to lose his script.

  His words made his mother stop pacing as she slowly processed them. He saw her mouth move silently, repeating his words. You save me.

  His father looked at him with that knowing look. Cale may have distracted his mother, but his father was less fooled. Cale could tell that he would not be getting away without saying more.

  “At work, all excited. Thing popped up! I... press button.”

  “The divine text,” he heard her whisper. “You... you can read the divine text?”

  Now, this time Cale was confused. He had no idea what this divine text was. Was she talking about the information they got when he downloaded the script?

  “What that?” he asked, in an attempt to look as cute as possible. He shrugged his shoulder and held up his hands. “Don’t know divine text is.”

  The statement made both of his parents pause, causing the moment to settle into complete silence as his parents thought about his words. Out of nowhere Cale’s body rumbled. Despite the conversation, his body still had needs and right now he could tell that a bathroom break was needed soon, or this conversation would turn a lot smellier.

  “Sorry,” he said, “I poop soon.”

  This snapped his parents out of their thoughts and his father grabbed Cale out of his chair.

  “I will help you go to the bathroom. With recent... events coming to light, I think you can start to learn to go by yourself.”

  Cale nodded, he had surprisingly grown accustomed to others changing his diaper. It made him feel like a king in the medieval era on Earth, before they had toilet paper. Or at least that is what he told himself to try and keep some dignity to himself. Bathroom issues aside, he was thankful that the current revelations had changed his parents' perspective of him and that they would let him take care of his own… business.

  With his father's help, he was able to use their new bathroom without too much difficulty. The facilities were not designed for someone his size, but he was able to manage his business with minimal splashing and without falling in.

  When they got out of the bathroom, his mother had a snack on the table with a bunch of notes spread out around her. His father put him back in his chair while his mother put the snack in front of him.

  Cale stared at the papers in front of his mother with apt curiosity. He really wished he could read. There was probably so much knowledge on those papers and it taunted him being so close but so far away!

  “Do you understand any of this?” His mother finally asked Cale.

  Cale shook his head. “No read yet.”

  His mother slapped her forehead. “Duh, what was I expecting, you still have a hard time speaking.”

  She leaned back in her chair with her hands behind her head and was silent while Cale slowly ate whatever was left of his food. His father, losing interest in the notes, leaned toward Cale.

  “What is your script named?” he said. “I went back and looked at the creature you killed. It was the only one split right down the middle and the only one I saw that was taken out with one hit. It’s a dangerous script Xavier and I don’t want you accidently hurting yourself or others.” His father delivered the last line with a weight that made Cale’s back shiver.

  Cale didn’t even need to open his interface to get the name. The name of the script had been bored into him when it was transferred. Even if he couldn’t read the language, the words were clear as day to him. He said the words slowly, methodically, and as accurately as he could. “Splitting Air of the West Wind.”

  “Shit,” he heard come from his mother. He looked over to see her covering her mouth with her hand and a look of horror on her face.

  “Don’t repeat that word!” she said, glaring at him. His father was taken aback by the surprised outburst from his wife and started laughing loudly.

  “Explain darling,” he said, a giant grin plastered on his face.

  She grabbed one of the sheets of paper and handed it to Phil.

  “Here are the notes from the day that I brought Xavier into the office. Look at the name of the crystal being tested that day.”

  Phil read the sheet over twice before reading it out loud.

  “Description etched on the edge of the crystal reads. Splitting Air of the West Wind.”

  “Phil. Xavier did get that script when he was with me.”

  Both of his parents turned to look at Cale. One word came out of both their mouths.

  “How?”