Falling Inside - Chapter 7

7.1
     His truck kicked up a plume of dirt as it trudged along the road into the heart of Deluge, the dark shade of its rusted paint standing out against the red earth like an ink stain.  The drive to the Museum wasn’t too long, but it gave Jace enough time to compose his thoughts before parking and walking through the tall double doors of the old building.
     The smell of old books filled his nose as he peered through the rows and rows of books looking for Val, but he saw no one.  He wandered through the hallways of books for who knows how long, but he never found another human.  He could have spent hours searching but there were no clocks to mark the passing of time.  The sense of timelessness within the walls of books was maddening, but Jace kept his nerve.
     He found a wide leather chair nestled against the intersection of two walls, right beneath a window.  He slumped into his new-found seat, exhausted from his search.  He felt like he had walked miles.
     “Looking for someone?”
     Val’s cheery voice was nearly the death of Jace, and he fell out of his chair in surprise, landing on the floor in a heap, his heart racing.   “Jeez, scare a few years out of me, why don’t ya?”  He looked up into her bright eyes as she helped him to his feet, his heart regaining its regular pace.  “Where were you hiding?  I must’ve covered the entire building!  Or at least this floor.”
     Her pale hair caught the light from the window as her shoulders shook with laughter.  “You’ve got to be kidding, right?  This is just the Fiction Section.  This floor has three sections, and there are nine floors above us and nine below, underground.”
     Jace was just now comprehending how large the Museum really was.  “Wow.  It looks like a LOT smaller from the outside.”
     Val nodded enthusiastically.  “Yep.  It sure does.  Now, how can I help you?”
     Jace’s previous cheery attitude suddenly took a turn for the serious side.  “I thought about what you said, and it made me realize that I had no idea where I wanted my life to go…”
     She pulled up another chair and they both sat, Jace’s voice crowding around the two of them.  “I had always wanted to follow in the footsteps of my father, so my life lost its purpose when he disappeared.  My mother didn’t take it so well.  She grew really depressed.  So we moved here, and tried to start over, my mother and I.  Then you come along and dump all this fantasy mumbo-jumbo on me, and my life gets turned upside down.”  He looked up, smiling.  “In a good way.  I may not have this ‘old blood’ you mentioned yesterday, but I promised myself that I would do all I can to help.”
     Val smiled softly at his words, her lips barely forming a smile.  “Thanks for the support.  How do you plan to help?”
     “Uh, I haven’t really gotten that far yet…” he trailed off, cursing for not thinking ahead.
     “Seems simple enough.  We need to get you registered first, then we'll see how well you shoot.”
     Jace rolled his eyes.  “I’m not that good of a shot, though…”
     Val grinned mischievously.  “We’ll see.”

7.2
     “We’ll see what?”
     “How good you shoot,” she answered.
     Jace chuckled.  “I tried taking a self-defense shooting class a while ago in San Francisco.  I couldn’t even hit the target.”
     Val laughed with him.  “Jeez, we’ve got a lot of work to do, then.”  She led Jace through the maze of book shelves back out to the exit of the Museum, both of them emerging into the noon heat.  “Uh, where’d you park?” Val asked sheepishly.
     “Over there.  By the way, how do you get around?  Do you have your license?” he asked.
     “Nah, I think it’s too much of a hassle.  So I just walk everywhere.”
     “Really?  Wow, you must get a LOT of exercise!”
     Val shrugged as Jace opened his truck’s passenger door for her.  “I guess.  I heard somewhere that a fit body leads to a fit mind, and I need my wits about me when fighting inklings.”
     A thoughtful expression crossed Jace’s face as he started his old truck.  “Makes sense.  You always seem to have something wise to say,” he observed.
     She shrugged again.  “Life is to be experienced, not remembered.  Try to learn something in everything you do.”
     He pulled out onto the main road, heading for school.  “Jeez, now you just sound like a fortune cookie.”
     The drive back to the school was a long one, and Jace was glad for Val’s company.  The sun was resting on the horizon when the school came distantly into view.

     It was pitch black by the time Jace parked in the school’s front parking lot, pools of light gathering around the tall streetlamps dotting the paved surface.  The night air was much cooler than the stifling daytime air.  Jace and Val shivered, rushing into the school, trying to get warmer once inside.
     Once they had warmed up, Val lead the way back to the practice range, which had fewer people occupying it this time.  Jace noticed this and commented, “Not very many people practice at night, huh?”
     “Yeah, only us die-hards,” Val replied with a smirk.  They made their way down the range, Jace peering down the sparsely populated lanes.  The already enormous room seemed even larger with fewer people in it.  They passed several people as Jace and Val walked down the row of lanes, none of them turning to greet them, too focused on their aim to notice.  Jace saw a group of students sitting against the closest wall of the range, staring back at him.
     Then he recognized one of the stares.
     Charlie stood, leaning against one of the glass dividers that separated the range lanes.  He wore a smug expression on his face as he advanced towards Val and Jace, stopping a few yards before them, crossing his arms.
     “What’re you doing here?” he challenged.  Yellow teeth flashed in his smile, his unkempt hair partially obscuring his face.
     Val rolled her eyes.  “Practicing.  As is our right as students.”  A typical, by the book answer.
     “Wasn’t asking you, sweetheart.”  He flicked a strand of muted blond hair out of his face.  “I was asking the whelp behind you.”
     Jace groaned, and stepped in front of Val.  “Like she pointed out; practicing.”  Behind him, Val stood, seething.  He could feel the dislike flowing from her.
     “And if I don’t like you practicing here?”  Clearly, Charlie had something against him.  Maybe he still resented the fact that Jace didn’t take to kindly to Charlie’s ‘welcome.’
     “Doesn’t matter, we’ll practice here anyway,” Jace was losing his patience.  That, coupled with his inherent dislike of Charlie made for a dangerous situation.  They stood nearly nose-to-nose, staring each other down.
     Val’s chime-like voice split the air between them as she wedged the two boys apart.  “Ok, no fighting, boys.  How about this:  Charlie, if you can hit that target,” she pointed down-range, “within five shots, we’ll leave.”
     He took a moment to consider the offer.  “What’s the catch?”
     “I do everything in my power to stop you, without physical contact.”  Val smirked wolfishly.
     Charlie grinned.  “Alright, you’re on.”
     They separated then, Charlie finding a lane to his liking and Val standing three lanes over from him.  He drew his practice pistol, and loaded it with five shots.  Val did the same.
     Jace stood back, leaning against the back wall.  He had no idea what was about to happen, but he knew it was going to be interesting.  
      I wonder what she’s planning…
     Val and Charlie stood still as statues, Charlie with his pistol pointed at his target, Val standing in a relaxed pose, her hand inches from her hip.
     Charlie fired.

7.3
     At the same time, Val fired.
     The clang of metal meeting metal rang out through the air of the range, and a burst of sparks flared into existence halfway down the range.  Everyone held their breath, wondering what had happened.  Charlie was frantic, trying to see where he had hit the target.
     There was no hole in the round piece of paper.
     No one could figure out what had happened.  Charlie had fired, but his shot didn’t show up on the target.  Then Jace realized what had happened.
      She shot his bullet out of the air with one of her own!!  That’s what that sound was!
     Jace couldn’t believe it.  There was no way Val should be able to do something like that!  But there she was, standing there with that smug look of hers.  Like she knew she could do it.
     He shook his head in disbelief.  He knew she was amazing, but…wow!  Jace didn’t even think it was possible to knock a bullet out of the air!  
     Jace chuckled to himself.  I’ll have to ask her for lessons…
     Charlie stood, jaw half-open in disbelief, staring down range.  Val strode up to him, and tapped him on his shoulder, breaking the spell.
     “Are you going to take your other four shots, or what?” she inquired, a devilish smile on her face.
     It was all Charlie could do to shake his head in defeat and trudge out of the range.  Val followed him with her eyes, calling out as he left, “And never bother Jace again!”

7.4
     Jace was amazed at how fast the range cleared out after that.
     “Wow.  Guess they aren’t used to seeing your … uh … skill.  You sure showed Charlie!” he pushed off of the wall he was leaning on and strode up next to Val.  
     She snickered and ran a hand though her hair as she turned, gracefully replacing her engraved pistol on her left hip.  “All in a day’s work!” she said jokingly, forming her fingers into a mock pistol and pretended to blow the smoke from the barrel.  “Now,” she continued in a more serious tone, “let’s get to work.”
     “Work?” he gulped.  He became even more nervous when she nodded.  
     “Yes, work.  Come on, stand here,” she pulled him over until he was standing between the two lines marking out a ‘lane’ on the floor.  
     “Uh, what now?” he asked sheepishly.  Val rolled her eyes and laughed her chime-laugh again.  She reached around to her right hip and pulled out her black, plain-looking, magazine-fed pistol, which she then slapped into Jace’s right hand.
     “This end goes down-range,” she said, tapping the muzzle.  “And this is the trigger,” she finished, tapping his finger, which rested on the cold metal trigger.  “I want you to fire one shot at that paper target.  Let’s see how good your aim is.” She finished, stepping back to observe with an aloof, stolid look on her face.  That look reminded Jace of the look of a teacher that wants to give a student detention.  
     “Alright,” Jace took one long breath, and held it, trying to keep the pistol from wobbling as much as possible.  “Here goes nothing!”
     He took aim and fired, only to yelp in pain as the gun jumped in his hand, glowing red-hot.
     It was Val’s turn to look nervous.  “Umm, that wasn’t supposed to happen…” she said, staring in wonder as Jace dropped the pistol, which landed in a molten heap of slag on the stone floor.

7.5
     Despite the fact that the scrap metal was still red-hot, Jace shook it off his hands without as much as a scar.  Which, of course, freaked him out quite a good deal.  Jace held his hand away from his face as if it had a mind of its own, screaming “WHAT THE!?”
     If Val was as scared as Jace was, she didn’t show it, but rather pulled him away from the sizzling remains on the floor.  “Careful, it’s still hot,” she whispered, still eerily calm.  “Has this ever happened before?” she asked tersely.
     “N-no,” Jace stammered, calmer now.  “Not to the point of metal melting.  A few days ago I set some water on the stove, while it was off, mind you, and I walked back in and it was boiling.”
     An amazed whistle escaped from between Val’s pale lips.  “Wow, now that’s something to be proud of…”
     Jace looked up, confused again.  “Proud of what?  Your pistol just exploded when I fired it!”
     “And?  Any idea of how your hands would look if you were normal?” Val retorted.  
     She was right.  Again.  Right now, Jace shouldn’t even have hands.  Taking this in, he asked, “Alright, if I’m not normal, what am I?”  
     Val was starting to be annoyed by Jace’s innocence.  “I already TOLD you, you’re like me!” she said, punctuating her statement by pulling out a glass bullet and freezing it on her fingertip.
     Jace wasn’t convinced.  “Really?  Lemme see that bullet…” he muttered, reaching out for Val.  She handed it to him, and neither of them expected what happened next…