The Permutation

Breakthrough (Part 10) Jordan

Friday, November 4th, 11 a.m.

Jordan was distracted from the incessant whine of Ms. Essex' lecture by a flicker of movement outside the classroom window. The midnight black SUV made its second pass of the morning, and Jordan couldn't shake the feeling it was following her. Back in New York, her father had tried to teach her how to tell if she was being followed, but she hadn't been all that good at it. She hadn't seen the need for it, because no one had a reason to follow her.

You never know when something could prove useful J.

Sometimes it felt like her dad had been preparing her for something bad on the horizon, but she was never sure what. Jordan wanted to ask, but she didn't want her dad to think she doubted him. Elijah Bryant had been a brilliant man that saw things others couldn't even dream of seeing. She would've followed him to the end of the world if he asked, but he never did.

The black SUV was still making its rounds. It creeped along the road like a predator trying not to draw attention to itself until it pounced. Its large size and tinted windows were perfect for sinister looking aliens in suits, waiting for the perfect moment to slip a bag over Jordan's head and whisk her away to their home planet. Every time her mind took her down that rabbit hole, Jordan tried to reason with herself. It had to be a coincidence, and there was sure to be a reasonable explanation that had nothing to do with Jordan at all.

Every time she'd seen it, Jordan managed to write it off, but she was finding it harder and harder to dispel her suspicions. Jordan saw it for the first when Derek's mom was driving her to school, and that's when her dad's training kicked in. If he had been there, Elijah would've been proud of her, and then proceeded to tell her that had been his plan all along. She wanted to attribute the SUV to her anxiety and the strange events of that morning, but the feeling of unseen eyes watching her made it impossible to ignore any longer.

I need to do something.

◈

Jordan had to wait for the Asian woman to make two phone calls before she could get ready for school. First, Michelle called her coworker to tell him a brief version of what had happened to them this morning, but left out all the parts involving Jordan. The second was to a police officer. That one worried Jordan at first, but all Michelle mentioned was some missing barbed wire next to her house. The reporter offered Jordan a hurried goodbye and reiterated that Jordan could call her anytime if she needed anything.

After the reporter left, Jordan sprinted up the stairs two at a time to check on Derek. She'd avoided thinking about her friend. Since he'd closed his eyes, Jordan hadn't had a spare moment to breathe let alone think about her friend, besides, the thought of Derek lying next to her mother in a hospital bed would've been too much for Jordan to handle.

Derek had been floating a couple of inches off of the ground with his eyes closed the last time she saw him. Now, he lay there motionless, with a faint smile on his face as if he was preoccupied with a pleasant dream. She rushed to his side and shook him by the shoulders. Jordan's parents had never been particularly religious, but in times of trouble, Jordan thought it couldn't help but to offer up a prayer. If there was an all powerful being out there watching her every move, Jordan wanted it on her side.

Derek's eyes shot open, and he sprang to his feet. The boy rushed to the window and let out an audible groan.

"I fell asleep and missed everything didn't I?" He asked.

"Yeah, kinda," Jordan replied, "But it really wasn't that big of a deal."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better aren't you?"