Snippet #2284812

The dark haired young man turned as a police man suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. "How are you today sir?" Finn asked before the officer could open his mouth. "I'm alright. I don't believe I've seen you at this school before. If you aren't a student or teacher I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Given that this man likely had a taser (he's always wanted to try using one on somebody or get tased himself) but also likely had a gun on him, the strange character did as was asked of him and began walking north in the direction of the college and Kaleidoscope.

After walking for a few minutes he started humming a familiar tune, perhaps a lullaby once sung to him by his brother's mom, or a children's song which really had no meaning at all. He walked and walked, turning when necessary and not exactly paying attention to the few cars that dared wander the streets. Unbeknownst to him, he was almost hit twice. What you don't know can't hurt you.

Finn began to use more caution as he approached the large mall near Saddleback College. He was weary of parking lots, as people didn't use common sense in these areas. At least, that's what he believed. If he was going to get hit by a car at any point in his life, it would be in a parking lot instead of along the busy roads leading up to here. Still humming, he walked around the back of the mall before coming to a real road again and turning. The Kaleidoscope was just around this corner and offered more of what he preferred- like an abundance of frozen yogurt and laser tag.

Taking in a deep breath, he found that the air seemed crisper than usual. He exhaled slowly, but did not feel an immediate need to inhale again. This was odd, given that he needed air to live. Pausing and breathing again, Finn felt refreshed. It felt like when you step out of the shower, awake and clean and warm. curious as to why the air felt so good now when only yesterday it felt like the Titanic was on his chest was even odder. Did this have anything to do with the marking on his chest?

Suddenly compelled to examine the meteor fragment, Finn removed it from his pocket and glanced down at it. Still attached to the key chain which was attached to his jeans, the fragment appeared to be ordinary. He hardly remembered the dull glow it had given off last night, but as if being struck on the head he thought he could see it now too. It was extremely faint with the sun being out, but at least to him it was still visible. A dull, almost pulsing light emanated from it. "Huh," he said, scratching his head and stepping off to the side of the walkway. He continued to examine the piece of space in his palm. Was he Superman now? No, Superman was born super, others like Spiderman were made, and Batman had lots of money. He was none of these heroes, yet he almost felt like he could relate to them. But if he was indeed a hero, then what power did he posses?

Confused, Finn continued on his way and pondered the questions circling around in his mind. He wasn't able to shoot lasers out of his eyes, climb walls, or withstand bullets. Attempting to see if this statement was in fact true would probably get him killed, and what would be the use in that? Frustration seeped into the confusion, making his mind swirl with thoughts and possibilities. It also answered some of the questions he'd kept to himself regarding the aftermath of the meteor. The military was indefinitely here to see if anything strange had happened to those affected by it. It was a bit odd to think that normal people, soldiers at that, would believe in this sort of childhood magic. But if it worked for them, it worked for him. As long as he wasn't too outlandish (more so than normal), he would be fine to discover what exactly was going on this town.

Entering the Kaleidoscope, he realized that he had no idea where he wanted to go. Yogurtland was his guilty pleasure, but all this thinking had ruined his appetite for semi-healthy foods. He began to walk around, stopping in AT&T briefly before heading to the upper level. He actually didn't have a cell phone, and so his first stop was not entirely trivial. He really didn't see the need in it, plus who would he call? His parents? His brother's parents? His roommate who had vanished off the face of the earth? Basically, Finn didn't have many, if any, connections to those around him nor did he truly want them. People were just trouble sometimes.

Once upstairs, the young man glanced down into the open space below. There were only a few people here right now, considering the town had been thrown into chaos and normality was just a dream. As far as he knew, none of his neighbors left their apartments much anymore. He had guessed that is was because of the patrols around the city, but he hadn't realized why until recently. So everything was falling apart, turning him and what he knew upside-down. Curious.