Forewarned (BEING REWRITTEN)

A Short Recovery

"Justin are you alright?"

I panted hard. What had I just seen? Was that who I thought it was? Where-

A dog-sized critter tackled me and I grunted as sharp claws imbedded into my shirt. "Juzzin wus happenin?" Caedmon whispered frantically.

I opened my eyes slowly, realizing I was under the table in the cafeteria, in the company of fallen tator tots and smears of ketchup. A bunch of kids were peeking under the table cloth to stare at me. "You okay?" a few of them asked. "Why're you under the table?" I didn't bother to answer. My rib cage shuttered as I fought to breath. My throat felt swollen. I blinked hard, trying not to cry in front of everyone. What had I just seen? This had to be all in my head.

A familiar hand reached under the table. "Come on man," it was Merman coming to my rescue.

I stared at the hand for a moment before taking it and allowing him to pull me out. I sat down hard on the bench, squinting in the light. "Merman something's wrong with me," I mumbled to him as Caedmon snuggled into my shirt, trying to fit inside but he was getting a bit too big for that. I patted Caedmon's head absentmindedly as I tried to dodge the glances of all the other kids who were staring at me.

"Well you took a hard fall- it's understandable." Merman said, though his brows were lowered in concern.

"No- it's my shadow powers," I said, eyes haunted. "I can't control them anymore. After that movie- I passed out and I woke up in a small town in Alaska somewhere." I whispered.

His eyebrows raised. "Seriously? You sure you weren't dreaming?"

"Yes!" I whispered hoarsely, waving my arms in tight chopping motions towards the table. "I ran through the neighborhood in my underwear, then when a guy grabbed me, I popped into the shadow world. Then bam! I was back in bed. But I had mud between my legs where I had fallen down."

He was still looking at me skeptically.

"I'm serious! The nurses had the lights on me because they said I kept phasing!" I sputtered.

"Wow. Maybe it's because you hit your head- knocked your powers under control," he mumbled as he nibbled on a tator tot.

"There's something else I got to tell you. But not here," I said, looking around shiftily. One guy was still staring at me and when he found I noticed he looked fixedly down at his plate.

"Hey I'll get you some food," Merman said, putting his hand on my shoulder before patting it. "Sit tight." He stood up and walked to the cafeteria line.

Did he believe me? Or did he think I was crazy? My heart was still pounding behind my throat and I shifted uneasily on the bench.

"Hey."

I jumped and banged my knees on the table. Caedmon squeaked and hopped off my lap.

"Hey jumpy." Avery remarked, folding her arms and staring down at me. I expected to see that familiar smirk on her face, but instead she looked dead serious. "Are you alright?"

I tried a shaky smile and wanted to say 'yes' and play it cool but instead "No," came out in a tremulous voice.

Avery put down her plate next to mine. "What's wrong?" she asked, popping a potato chip into her mouth. "Other than falling from forty feet up and breaking everything in that skinny body of yours?"

"I.. uh.." I debated whether to tell her. She'd probably think I was crazy. But she was my personal trainer, and if there was one thing I needed, it was to control my powers. "My powers have been wack since I fell." I told her.