An Intangible Pattern

Noah

Noah was a mild mannered child. He did not have any inclination towards aggression nor drive to dominate others. He never bullied his classmates, he seldom fought with his friends and he did not appear to be competitive. He was athletic in his own way, spending hours in the woods, climbing trees and swimming in the river. He would stalk animals, not to hunt, but to simply observe their behavior. He was intelligent and was fond of pulling things apart in order to work out how they fit together again. He was kind, quiet, inquisitive and above all, another utter disappointment to his grandfather.
Julius Courentin had married three times and had six children and not one of them had the alpha trait. He was concerned that his bloodline was in decline and this presented a problem. It was not as though there were no capable business men and women among his children; but to his mind only an alpha would have the leadership qualities to maintain his company's prestige in the market.
He was therefore pleasantly surprised when he received the news, one Autumn evening, that his eleven year old grandson had the trait.

The children had been gathering leaves under the climbing frame in the playground. Noah stood with his rake, next to Arthur admiring the soft pyramid. Ryan, a large boy with close cropped hair, said "Me first!" and scrambled up the climbing frame. Before anyone else could say anything, Arthur dropped his rake and raced after him. "Me next!"
Noah watched as Ryan threw himself off the top of the climbing frame and disappeared into the pile of leaves. He laughed raucously and then yelled as Arthur plopped in next to him. Both boys scrambled out of the pile, kicking leaves everywhere. Noah shrugged and started to rake them up again.
"Bet I can jump higher than any of you," said a small girl with her curly hair tied in pom poms.
"Girls can't jump, Aleah." rebutted Ryan.
She looked at him disdainfully and gave a little hop, spreading her arms out in demonstration."What was that then…"
Noah flicked the last leaves into the pile and interrupted before they could start fighting "Its ready again."
The girl lithely climbed up to the platform and threw herself off with the grace of a diver. Noah turned his head to look over at the picnic bench where a small, pale boy with dark hair sat.
"Do you want a shot, Ben?" He asked.
Ben glanced up, gloomily and said, "No thanks, my stomach feels funny."
"Maybe you should go to the nurse?…" replied Noah, noticing his friend was sweating and was not behaving in his normal cheerful manner, "...I'll come with you if you want?"
Ben nodded and started to stand clutching at his abdomen.
As Noah approached, he caught a strange sweet smell and inhaled trying to identify it. Suddenly, his vision became sharper and everything seemed brighter. A thrill shot down his spine and made his stomach flutter. A sensation of hot and cold overcame him and he felt …powerful… unbearably powerful. His muscles almost vibrated, tensed for action and he had the frightening urge to break something or scream and yell.
At that moment his friend groaned and doubled over exposing the back of his neck. Noah was seized by the impulse to bite, tear, rend, anything to dispel the overwhelming energy that filled him. He lunged at Ben knocking them both to the ground. With Ben pinned under him, he began scratching, punching, biting at him in a frenzy. Ben raised his arms defensively to shield his face and tried and curl into the fetal position, crying out for Noah to stop. But Noah couldn't hear, all rationality, all pity was suspended as he struck with exhilaration. There was only the desire to conquer, to gain his opponent's submission.
Suddenly Noah was wrenched back and his arms were pulled behind his back. He screamed in fury, kicking and writhing to be free.
"Noah! What the…?" Came Arthur's stunned voice.
Noah became aware that Ryan and Arthur were beside him, pale faced and gripping his arms. Aleah streaked past sobbing. Ben was looking up at him in shock, his face red and tear streaked, body still curled in defense. Blood trickled from scratches on his neck and arms.
Noah was as speechless as everyone else. As instantly as the aggression had come on, it evaporated leaving him trembling violently.
Aleah returned with their teacher, Mrs May, and she too looked stunned at the unlikely tableau, "What on earth is going on here?"
Noticing the blood on Ben's arms, she picked the boy up off the ground and put him on his feet again. "Can you stand, Ben?" Ben shook silently. Ryan and Leah formed a basket with their arms and offered to carry him.
"Follow me please, all of you."
She put her hand on Noah's shoulder and firmly steered him toward the school. When they had reached the infirmary she rapped on the door and a skinny woman opened it, peering out in curiosity.
"Hi Alice, could you take a look at Ben please? He needs a bit of patching up."
The nurse tutted and lifted his chin in her hand, examining the cuts on his neck and face.
"Who's been fighting then?" She asked.
Ben didn't answer, only inhaling deeply and shakily. She put her arm around his shoulder and gently guided him into the infirmary. "Come on son, let's get you cleaned up."
Mrs May crossed the hall and opened the door to an empty office, she gestured to Noah. "Take a seat please, Noah. I'll be with you in a moment."
He went in and sat down and she closed the door behind him. He was alone. In the stillness of the office he sat and stared at the table and listened to the hum of the ventilation system. He felt unreal, as though he was disconnected from his body, a body that had only a few moments before felt so vital, urgent and … out of his control. Now there was only the woodgrain and the hum.
He could hear the voices of his friends and the teacher in the hall, but the words were muffled and unintelligible to him. After what seemed like moments in his dazed state, but had actually been several minutes, Mrs May returned and sat down at the desk opposite him. She steepled her fingers in front of her and appeared to be lost in thought. Noah broke the silence first.
"Is Ben ok?" He asked tentatively.
She looked up, with a softened expression and answered, "Physically, he'll be fine, it's just a few scratches and bruises. But you gave him quite a fright, Noah! Can you tell me what happened?"
"I…" started Noah, trying to organize his thoughts, "I…really don't know! One moment I was helping Ben because he was sick…the next I was hurting him for no reason… I don't know why."
"Well, did he say anything rude to you or threaten you?" She asked, observing him with sharp eyes.
"No! Ben did nothing wrong!" Noah insisted.
"Did you notice anything strange about him before you hurt him?"
"No! Nothing!" He answered heatedly. He was beginning to feel angry because it seemed to him that she was looking for a reason to blame Ben, "It was all me!"
"No strange smells?" She said, leaning forward and resting her chin in her hand.
"No… what?" He considered for a moment and answered "...there was a sweet smell?"
She closed her eyes and sighed. Something had become apparent to her that he could not comprehend.
"Thankyou for telling me, Noah." She said, standing up, "Can you wait here for a moment while I call your parents?"
"Am I in trouble?" He asked in a small voice as he watched her cross the office. She stopped and looked at him kindly.
"I don't think so, I just need to have a chat with them, it's nothing to worry about." She answered softly and left.
The door stood open in her wake and Noah could see the infirmary door. He thought he should go and apologize to Ben but as he made to stand, the door opened and Noah saw Ben ushered out by his mother. His expression was desolate and his mother too, looked  distressed. On spotting Noah her face became fearful and she hugged her son protectively to her side. He caught Ben's eye and tried to communicate how sorry he was for hurting him, but before he could say anything Ben was whisked away. The nurse, standing at the doorway, gave Noah a sympathetic look before slipping back into the infirmary.
He slumped back in his chair, feeling miserable, and waited for his parents to arrive.