Q: Did you hear about that huge explosion at a cheese shop in France?
A: Yeah, I heard the entire area around it was covered in De Brie.
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Andy and The Zodiac Crystal – Chapter 32
“You’re, you’re… that guy from the diner.” I said, as I choked up the words in fear.
“That’s right Andy, and I’ve been watching you for a while now.” The assistant principal said in somewhat of a sinister tone.
My heart was racing and I suddenly wanted to run. My head was pounding and I had no idea why.
“Your head is pounding Andy because I’m probing your brain, just like I was at the diner.”
“Stop it! How are you doing that?”
“How am I doing what? Reading your mind? You should know, you are a Keeper of the Zodiac aren’t you?
“Keeper of the what?” I said, trying my best to play stupid.
“Do you really think I’m that dumb Andy?”
My head then immediately started to hurt even worse.
“Let’s see, you discovered your crystal in a cave that only you could see and three years passed in the short time you were in there. Chris is the Guardian of your crystal and he hasn’t even fully taught you how to use all of its abilities. You’ve also visited the Council of the Zodiac twice and your sister is the only other one that knows of any of this. Should I go on?”
“OK I GOT IT! PLEASE STOP IT! YOU’RE REALLY HURTING MY HEAD!”
Thankfully the icy feeling then dissipated and the pain in my head quickly began to reduce.
“What…do you want from me?” I said nervously, once the headache was mostly gone.
“It’s pretty obvious isn’t it? Didn’t you have the pleasure of meeting Delilah and Vernon and their cub Martha?”
The prophecy that Delilah had told me had started flooding through my head the moment I walked into the assistant principal’s office and seen this man, but I honestly had hoped it was just a story and nothing more and that I was simply overreacting.
“So…it’s true? That prophecy she told me about?”
“Well duh. How else could I have known about the Council and read your mind Andy? Poor, poor Vernon…”
“What about Vernon?”
“Poor Vernon, let’s just say he was taught a little lesson that was pretty painful for him.”
“What do you mean?!!!”
“Andy, I honestly don’t have time for this. The fact is I want your crystal and you’re going to give it to me as soon as possible.”
“I’m not giving you anything!”
“Do you realize how easy it would be for me to hurt you right now?
“But you won’t, because I’m in school and they would know you did it…”
“You’re so naïve Andy. You have no idea just how powerful you are with the abilities your crystal has. I could remove you from the face of this planet and make sure no one would even remember you. But unfortunately, I can’t take your crystal unless you give it to me willingly.”
“Well you can forget about it. I’m not giving you crap!”
“Oh, you will. And things are about to start getting a little interesting in your life. By the way Andy, you’re little training sessions back there in the woods were pretty comical, with you almost killing Chris that one day. You don’t even know how to use your powers properly. I’ve been using mine for a long time and know every little in and out of each of the signs.”
“How is it that the Council hasn’t taken it away from you? What about the rules that the Zodiac crystal can only be used for good?”
“Council and ALL their RIDICULOUS rules!” He then pulled out his crystal and slowly studied it in his hands. It was glowing dark black and the signs were all of a gold tint.
My mind was racing and I felt like a prisoner at the moment. I knew if I tried to get up and leave his office, he probably wouldn’t let me by using some power to prevent it.
“Andy, you couldn’t even begin to fathom how far back this all goes. Why the Council would bestow a crystal to a 12-year-old boy I have no idea. But it makes my job all the easier.”
“Virgo…” I whispered the sign as quietly as possible, while he continued to ramble on with his disapproval of the Council of the Zodiac.
I was angry, really angry and wanted to know more about this man, who I didn’t even know his name at this point. I looked at him, well scowled would be more like it, and began to penetrate his mind like I had with the waitress accidentally at the diner. An image slowly appeared in my head, like a mist clearing somewhere within it. There was a young boy who appeared to be around my age and he was playing in a yard with a soccer ball when suddenly he flew backwards through the air and landed on the ground extremely hard, yet no one had touched him. A much taller and older man with dark eyes and black hair then came into view and was holding a glowing dark crystal. I watched as the boy cried, while the man told him to stop being a baby and to toughen up, as one day he was going to be the keeper of the crystal. But then, as he walked over to the boy, looking as if he was going to rough him up some more, a huge bank vault type of door immediately closed over the image.”
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”
“Doesn’t feel so good does it?”
He then muttered something I couldn’t quite hear and got up from his desk. As he approached where I was sitting, I tried to squirm in my chair but couldn’t move. In fact, I wasn’t able to move any part of me or even speak a single word.
“Andy, you can make this painful as you want, OR you can do what I ask and I’ll leave you and Chris and the rest of your friends and families alone…”
He was now standing over me and took one of his knuckles and began pressing it into a part of my neck that shot pain up and down my entire body. I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything except feel the excruciating pain.
“Don’t ever try to get in my head again Andy. This is your only warning.” He said sternly and then pulled his knuckle away from my neck and muttered something again.
Thankfully, the ability to move my body then returned and I began to regret ever getting this crystal.
“Such a fair fight. Just like your father, pushing you down with his abilities and bullying you. Guess you’ve become just like him haven’t you?” I said angrily.
“You know nothing! Don’t even begin to think you know me! What you saw means nothing!”
I obviously had hit a pretty serious nerve in him.
“You’re right I don’t know anything about you. I don’t even know your name or how long you’ve been watching me or how you manipulated your way into this assistant principal position or how your crystal became dark or why you even want my own crystal.”
“The name’s Carl, but you will refer to me as Mr. Dillard from now on and that’s all you need to know for today. So I will ask you once more, are you going to make this easy and hand over the crystal or are you going to make this far more difficult than it needs to be?”
“Go screw yourself…” I said quite heatedly, surprising even myself given how unfair of an advantage he had over me at the moment.
“Suit yourself. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m sure Vernon wishes he had listened to me when I gave him a similar warning. Oh by the way, did you think that whole rock over the cave event with Martha inside was purely an accident? Did you think of yourself as a hero Andy? You were just a puny pawn in my game. Now get out and do yourself a favor and try not getting yourself sent to the principal’s office again, especially when I can control anyone like I did Clyde…”
The door then swung open behind me unexpectedly and my chair immediately moved away from under me, landing me with a thud on the floor. I quickly got up trying desperately to act brave, but the tears had already started creeping out of the corners of my eyes.
As I slowly walked out of the principal’s office and headed back to the locker room to change for my next class, which was already in session, I felt something I don’t think I’ve ever felt before…totally helpless…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
