Final Exam by Rob Astor (free novel 24 .TXT) 📕

“Hey!” Logan protested. “You’re supposed to get Xackster. Not me!”
“Sorry, dude!” There was no sincerity in Tandem’s apology. He snickered at his older sibling.
Withdrawing from the crumbling playing field, Xack’s pieces leaped up onto the nearest passing triangular grid. “Chicken!” Tandem taunted.
Logan tapped in commands, creating a new figure on the center of the lowest board. Draped in midnight blue robes covered with stars and crescent moons and wearing a long pointed cap, the figure held out a wand, zapping some of the Tanks with magic. Instantly, half of Tandem’s assault force transformed into exploding bouquets of yellow and purple flowers.
“Take that!” Logan announced victoriously. Logan’s Wizard shifted stance, delivering another bust of transformation magic.
Xack finished imputing his data. He sat straighter, grinning. On one side of the board, a brownish-red and black tiger striped Tyrannosaurus Rex stomped into play, emitting a metallic shriek.
“Get vertical! Major league awesome!” Tandem was impressed.
“More like grand scale cheating,” Logan said. He poked at Xack’s armpits, making Xack jolt and wiggle around with laughter. “I see you’re as skittish as ever.”
Xack’s dinosaur chased pieces that suddenly ran in retreat. The T-Rex bent over, swinging its massive head from side-to-side, knocking characters off the grid, sweeping a clear path for itself. At the edge, it jumped, landing on the field Tandem controlled. The side of the board cracked from the weight of the dinosaur and crumbled away as it charged the remaining Tanks.
“Yeah, get Tandem for a change!” As long as Logan wasn’t being attacked, he was supportive.
Impervious to their fire, the Tyrannosaur scooped one Tank up in its mouth, chomping down. Crushed metal wreckage was tossed off the side. Next, the left leg raised, hooking a second tank. With a powerful kick, the Tank tumbled from the screen.
“You better write something fast before Xackster totally wipes the floor with you!” Logan urged Tandem.
“I wouldn’t know what to bring in to attack a T-Rex!”
In short order, Xack cleared the board of Tandem’s Tanks. The dinosaur roared, causing more pieces to flee away as it charged wildly toward the edge nearest Logan’s controlled board.
Tandem laughed. “He’s coming after you now!” Logan frowned.
The T-Rex leaped. Logan’s Wizard created an ice patch. He grinned at Xack. The dinosaur skittered across the ice. It’s forearms flailed around like tiny propellers. The animal barely gained balance before reaching the far side. Eventually, the T-Rex stood straight and stomped after Logan’s Wizard.
“Game over!” Xack said with a grin. The dinosaur picked the up Wizard with its smaller arms and drop kicked Logan’s character over the edge. Tandem burst out laughing at the utter absurdity of the spectacle. Xack raised his arms victoriously in the air as the T-Rex danced around, bobbing its head and sliding on huge hind feet as if doing a shuffle.
Irritated, Logan glanced at Tandem. “Let’s get him!” He was over Xack and had his fingers in Xack’s armpits. Xack bellowed in laughter. Tandem tickled Xack’s stomach. When Xack was completely breathless, they let him up.
“What other cool stuff did you bring home?” Tandem inquired, sipping from a bottle of clear soda.
Straightening his shirt, Xack pulled books from his backpack. “Nothing much.”
Tandem picked up Xack’s iPod, tapping it on. The holographic display hovered in the air, creating musically themed images as he listened to Mozart.
Logan picked up one of Xack’s textbooks. He opened it, reading a chapter title. “Economics Of Intergalactic Trade?” Logan’s voice was filled with disbelief.
“That class is really boring.” Xack attempted to brush him off.
Pulling another book over, Logan again spoke the title with skepticism. “Fifth Dimensional Spatial Trigonometry?”
“That one’s my favorite. It’s a super cool Astronomy course.”
“I know you skipped two grades in school. But, did you go to some kind of Star Trek college since you were gone?”
“No, these are normal classes I’m taking.” Xack’s reply was matter-of-fact. Logan opened the book, glancing through many color photographs of objects in the universe.
* * *
Xack remembered the ruins, the destruction. The nightmarish form of the X’hal Minor firing indiscriminately into Albany. All of it was gray, smoky and misty. Black scars and shadows followed him. Pulling away, he found himself amid a city seemingly abandoned. There was no debris here. It was sad and empty. The darkness surrounded Xack close, pulling him into their blanketing chill of fear.
A voice was calling him, ringing out in the distance at the back of his mind. The sound was a simple whisper, curling, coiling, and struggling to reach a destination. Xack…. Where are you?
Xack recognized the tiny sound. It was familiar to him, a sound he had heard in his dreams countless times. Usually, it wasn’t so distant and small. Never before had it sounded so worried. So pleading.
The voice belonged to Rob. Xack felt the anxiousness of Rob’s search. He was probing for Xack telepathically through a dream. Xack and Rob shared endless adventures while dreaming. Since leaving Albany and Rob behind, Xack’s nights were filled with privacy and peace. Rob had been absent. At first Xack missed their nightly encounters. As time passed, he missed them less and less.
In this dream, Xack wasn’t angry. He wasn’t even trying to hide. Xack was neutral to Rob’s emotions. He responded to Rob’s voice. I’m home….
The scene changed. Passage of time between the images wasn’t important, or something Xack was even aware of. Just that it changed.
The new setting was daytime. The sun was bright. Xack found himself within a group of people. Everyone was dressed in white. He didn’t know where they were or why they were there. The figures shifted between one another, ghosts in a dream world dance. Some faces he recognized; his parents, his brothers, Uncle Mike, Jessica, faces of school friends long forgotten, some more recent and strangely familiar. Others were creations of his sub-concious mind.
Xack was drawn to the perimeter of the group, to the very fringes where a fog enveloped everything. Hidden faces drifted past one another. For a moment, Xack thought he saw two faces he recognized. Matt and Kip. His heart leaped in his chest. Was that Linka over there?
They didn’t notice him. Xack was safe. Undetected. Anonymous. Then he noticed one figure facing away from him. Wavy blonde hair with red highlights became clear. A surge of adrenalin shot through Xack.
The face turned. Xack was greeted with hazel eyes, a bulbous nose, and a wider cheekbone. The face belonged to Rob. Xack’s mouth hung open, his eyes wide with shock. His heart raced, beating a thick rhythm in his head. The corners of Rob’s lips turned up. He was happy to see Xack.
Panicked, Xack pulled back, withdrawing with such power, he recoiled from the world of sleep.
* * *
Short of breath, his chest tight, Xack sat straight up. The details of his surroundings took a little time to dissolve into his awareness. Breathing ragged, Xack realized he was in a bedroom. He was on the floor, between two beds. A blanket covered him. Dim early morning light filtered through the windows. Tandem and Logan were sound asleep.
Regaining composure, Xack guessed he must have fallen asleep in their room last night. The trio was watching a movie. Xack remembered feeling content. He was home. He wanted to spend time with his brothers. This was where Xack belonged.
Suddenly filled with dread, Xack’s thoughts shifted to Rob. Rob knew Xack was missing. Not just missing in the normal sense. Rob’s telepathic abilities afforded his knowing Xack was no longer in his normal reality. Rob knew Xack was in another. For reasons he didn’t begin to understand, Xack was suddenly very fearful of Rob at that moment. Will he come looking for me?
* * *
The clinking of spoons in glass bowls eventually drew Xack from his slumber. Lazily, sleepily, he sat, stretching. Tandem and Logan sat on the ends of their beds eating cereal, watching some sporting event on TV. Tandem was the first to notice Xack. “Finally awake?”
Logan glanced at Xack. “You have your own room, you know.” He turned back to the screen.
The comment hurt. How could Logan possibly understand Xack’s desire to spend as much time with them as possible unless Xack told the fantastic story of how he arrived here? He didn’t think they would believe it. “Sorry. I just miss you guys.” Xack’s words were soft.
“Is baby going to cry?” Logan harshly acknowledged the sentiment.
Xack stood. He remembered this treatment all to well. He suddenly wondered why he missed it in the first place. “Lo, why do you always have to be such a jerk?” Xack left the room for his own. He changed clothes and headed to the kitchen, pouring a bowl full of apple flavored loops. He also grabbed an orange. Alone, he ate his favorite breakfast.
* * *
The expressions they wore were priceless. Wide eyes, gaping mouths; pure astonishment. Xack almost laughed in spite of it.
Turning acrobatically, Xack performed a series of flips and tricks using his hoverskates. “Look at him go.” Tandem’s voice was soft.
“What did you say the technology is called again?” Logan asked, his voice equally as soft.
“Hyperpulsion.” Xack zipped between his brothers and Jessica, hovering about six inches off the ground, skates holding him effortlessly aloft.
“How does it work?” Jessica’s curiosity was a refreshing change from Logan’s analytical probing.
“I can’t explain it completely. It’s electromagnetic, from really small superconductors. They create a push that counteracts Earth’s magnetic field.”
“Xack, The Wonder Kydd,” Tandem joked, making a play of their last name. Xack grinned.
“So, where can I get some?” Logan asked.
How do I explain it came from an alien race? Xack suddenly realized it wasn’t such a good idea to show off.
Fortunately for him, a car pulled into their driveway. Logan, Jessica, and Tandem shifted their attention to the group of excited teenagers climbing out. Xack pressed a green button on the belt control. He contacted solid ground, joining his brothers.
“One just came in across the Grand Canyon!” The girl squealed with delight, talking to Jessica.
“Hey, squirt! Heard you came back all in one piece.” Xack’s hair was playfully ruffled by one of the guys. His attention shifted to Tandem. “Did you see the shot from Cairo? Gorgeously artistic!”
Confused, Xack listened. A rushing feeling radiated through his body. He was nervous, sensing something wasn’t right. “What’s going on?”
“He wasn’t by the TV,” Logan brushed Xack off.
Xack heard locations around the world mentioned. He caught snippets of enormous vehicles. All sound faded. The only thing Xack heard was his own fearful heartbeat. The blood drained from his face. No! This can’t be happening!
A tremor rumbled up through the ground. The intensity grew with a slow, steady pace. They looked around. Trash dumpsters vibrated and rattled. Parked bicycles fell