Quantum Logan

Logan Ravers expected it to be a normal day, just like any other.

He had no reason to suspect otherwise. When he woke to the sound of his alarm, he got dressed for school as usual. As he was tying his shoe laces, Isabella intruded without knocking as she did every day. Logan didn’t get mad, but chatted with her patiently, while she followed him to the kitchen where their mother had juice and cereal already waiting. While they ate, Audrey went to get ready for work, passing his cousin, who was like a sister to him, on the way out. She greeted him brightly, like normal. On this particular morning, while Isabella was distracted by the television, Heather leaned over to ask him a question, though that in itself was not strange.

“Have you heard anything about what Brandon is up to?”

Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Why would I know what that dumb brute does in his free time?”

“You spend more time in guy’s locker rooms than I do…”

“Not by much,” he added teasingly.

The girl flipped her dark brown hair and ignored the insinuation.

“…you overhear things. You’re privy to rumors that I’m not. I just thought might have heard something.”

“I try to ignore him. So long as he stays out of my way, I don’t bother myself even thinking about him.” Logan paused, as he weighed a combination of milk and cereal on his spoon. He looked at Heather’s face and saw concern. “Why are you asking?”

“Last night, just before bed, I got a message from Ashley saying that she was skipping cheer practice today. Apparently, Brandon has something really important to show her.”

“Okay. So?” he shrugged and turned back to the increasingly soggy cereal. “She has a date with Brandon and he promised her a gift or something lame to keep her from realizing what a colossal jerk he is. It’s happened time and time before.”

“Ashley wouldn’t blow off cheer practice just for a date, not even if Brandon bought her a diamond ring.” Heather insisted with a heavy frown.

Even if there were a mountain of mundane reasons why Ashley might skip practice to see Brandon, Logan trusted his cousin’s instincts above everything else. Though he had first hand experience of the depths of Brandon’s cruelty, especially when Dylan Bennett was involved, Brandon had never been violent or abusive towards Ashley. But if it was going to soothe his cousin’s fears, he’d do anything.

“Let me guess, you want to follow them after school?” he said, causing the girl’s frown to stretch into a grin. “I know you’ll go with or without me, and you need someone to watch your back.”

“I’ll put Sharon in charge for the day and slip out.” She said excitedly. “Have the car waiting and running.”

---

His school day was normal too. Very uneventful. Hardly worth mentioning at all, except that Logan found himself on several occasions listening hard to overhear Brandon’s conversations. But he gleamed zero information on what he planned with Ashley, but was left with the impression that Brandon figured himself god’s gift to the football field. The only other topic to leave Brandon’s lips was who was the hottest girls in school, and who they most wanted to ‘bang’. If it weren’t for the brief interactions during lunch, Logan might have been fooled into believing that Brandon didn’t have a girlfriend at all.

At the final bell, Logan made his way to his car, and sat with the engine running while he watched Brandon’s jeep in his rear view mirror. Ashley and Brandon arrived, crossing the parking lot to the vehicle, while there was still no sign of Heather. Fortunately for the Ravers heiress, Brandon and Ashley decided to take several minutes to make out, though it was rather unfortunate for Logan who had to watch one of his best friends sucking face with one of his worst enemies. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Heather quickstepping her way to Logan’s car, avoiding a full run in case it drew too much attention.

If Ashley and Brandon noticed the cheer captain walk-running towards her cousin’s vehicle neither of them let on. After their quick make out session, Ashley hopped up into Brandon’s jeep while her boyfriend crossed to the driver’s side. A few minutes later they were pulling out of the parking space, but Logan waited for them to move off before doing the same. As he followed them off campus, onto the main roads through Azure Rocks, he kept a safe distance. Even if Brandon might not recognize his distinctive blue sedan, Ashley would. He tried to keep a car between them, if possible, but as Brandon navigated out of the town and towards Silver Lake traffic began to thin.

Though he kept his cool so not to worry Heather, Brandon’s choice of destination did worry him. Maybe they were just going for a walk in the park forest, but what could Brandon possibly show her out here, Logan wondered. Something about the situation made him uneasy and he began to understand why Heather had been so nervous that morning. Her instincts had been spot on.

“What could they possibly be doing out here?” Heather said, putting his thoughts into words.

“I don’t like this either,” Logan agreed. “Maybe I should overtake their car and get them to pull over?”

“Not yet. If we interfere too soon without getting the full picture, we’ll be the ones who look like jerks,” Heather suggested thoughtfully. “I want to know exactly what to kill Brandon for when I finally have his neck in my hands.”

Logan’s face darkened. “What about Ashley? I won’t let her do anything to her.”

“Me neither,” she assured him. “The moment things look dicey, we’ll swoop in and get her, alright? We won’t let anything bad happen to her.”

“Good. Well…in that case, let’s follow them a little further.”

They drove on until they could go no further. First along the road, then off on a gravel track, and finally ending at a set of rusty iron gates, where Brandon parked his jeep. From there, Ashley and Brandon got out of the vehicle and walked towards the dilapidated house, the petite blonde following her boyfriend quite willingly. Logan parked too, further down the trail, but hurried to catch up, eager to see what would happen next.

It wasn’t unusual for teens to sneak up to the Krauser mansion. Normally though it would be under the cover of darkness and for a dare. Logan knew what Heather would say without asking, that Ashley wouldn’t blow off cheer practice just to sneak into some old house. Still, he tried to make sense of the action, reasoning with himself that they were looking for somewhere quiet and alone to be together. But even he didn’t believe that. There was definitely something wrong with this picture.

The wrongness got even wronger when, contrary to Logan’s expectations, Brandon did not open the door for himself. Instead the quarterback knocked on the door, so loudly that Logan and Heather heard it clear across the courtyard where they crouched behind an unpruned bush. The door opened and someone let the pair in, though from their vantage point the cousins couldn’t see who. Ashley didn’t seem pleased to see whoever it was though, tearing her hand from Brandon’s and folding her arms in defiance. As Logan and Heather snuck around, looking for a better position to see who was on the other side of the door, Brandon and the mystery occupant sweet talked Ashley. Just as they found a better spot, Ashley stepped inside and the heavy door slammed shut.

“We’re going inside, right?” Heather confirmed.

“Of course,” Logan said, just as concerned as his cousin by this point. “It’s been a while since I was last here. How do we get inside?”

“Yeah, using the front door sounds like a bad idea. Gimme a minute. I think…most of the windows are locked, or so warped they won’t budge,” Heather frowned as she tried to remember. “No, wait, there is one window in the kitchen that’s loose.”

“Then let’s go,” Logan hurried her, already half-crouching/half-sprinting towards the house.

Heather followed him, staying low too. They glanced in through the windows as they passed, but only saw a brief glimpse of Brandon and Ashley in the foyer through the open dining room door. For a second they were there, then they moved completely out of sight. Encouraged, they hurried on around the house. It didn’t take long to find the kitchen, or the window but the it was tighter than Heather made it out to be. The wood had expanded in the cool autumnal weather, stiffening against the frame. Though it still opened, it simply required a little extra strength from Logan. Heather watched from nearby, taking note of how his muscles bulged when he pulled.

The window slid open noisily, but the cousins didn’t have any time to wait. Hoping and praying that no one had heard, they quickly slipped inside, Logan allowing Heather to go first. His intentions had only been honorable, doing the gengtlemanly thing, with no ulterior motives whatsoever. The universe, or fate, or some ancient god of panties, chose to smile upon him, as he was presented with a delicious view of Heather’s skirt riding up her thighs. He was bestowed a far too short peek at her thong and the undercheeks of her ass before crawling in through the window too. The grin on his face told her what he’d seen.

Before she could even think of teasing him, her default move even when embarrassed, they heard Ashley’s voice drifting down from upstairs.

“This contraption is what you made me miss cheer practice for?”

They dropped low as soon as they heard the sound, but upon recognizing it as Ashley, they hurried in the direction it had come from. Into the foyer, kicking up dust from the sheets as they went, and up the stairs, avoiding the holes, they followed the voices. Brandon’s joined Ashley’s but his lower register was harder to make out. A third voice chimed in too, just as muffled, but strikingly familiar. The floors creaked along with their steps, but the pair no longer cared.

“And Connor? What are you doing here? What’s going on?”

Logan thought he must have misheard. He swore he thought he heard Ashley say Connor’s name. He didn’t know the kid well, but he recognized the name from class. An intelligent computer club member, he rarely hung out with the likes of Brandon or Ashley, preferring instead the company of Chloe and Megan . Heather shared Logan and Ashley’s surprise, spurring them both on to the doorway where the voices were coming from. As they approached, the dread voice of the third person spoke again, sending a tingle of hatred rippling through Logan’s body.

“All will be revealed when our guest of honor arrives.” Dylan Bennett’s cold brown eyes turned towards the door. “And here he is, punctual as ever.”

Logan straightened up and walked into the room to face his old nemesis. There wasn’t a chance that he’d cower or run from Dylan. Never again. If Dylan had lured him here by tricking Ashley, then Logan was happy to give him the fight he wanted. He knew that he could take him. Dylan and Brandon at the same time…well, that might be more difficult, but Logan was determined. He’d never be able to look at himself in the mirror again if he didn’t try.

The room was large. Possibly a conference room, or a master bedroom once upon a time, but now it was completely empty, except for one large machine centered in the middle. In appearance it was similar to a bombard, raised on a carriage with a long, thick barrel, though with many exposed wires. The muzzle too had been replaced with what seemed to be a large speaker, leading Logan to wonder if it was some kind of sonic weapon. And it was pointed directly at him.

To its left, stood Connor, who avoided Logan’s eye, and Dylan, with his gloating smirk. On the other side, Ashley stood with Brandon, though she didn’t look happy about it.

“This was all a trick.” She shoved her boyfriend, although his bulky footballer frame barely budged. “You begged me to come here with you all so you could lure Logan in too.”

“Dylan said this was the only way to get him to come,” Brandon insisted, explaining in lieu of a defense. “He knew that if you skipped practice Heather would worry and tell Logan, and Logan wouldn’t be able to resist playing the hero.”

“And I was right.” Dylan’s eyes never left Logan, and Logan stared right back.

“What about you, Connor?” Heather asked, from Logan’s side. “You’re not really friends with this scum, are you?”

“N-no, but he…” Connor choked as he tried to get the words out. “…if I didn’t help, he’d…”

“You see, poor Connor here was being bullied. That’s a terrible thing, I’m sure you can agree, Logan?” Dylan took over the telling of the tale, though Logan wished he hadn’t. He could be a dick even at the best of times, but he was a hundred-fold worse when he thought he’d won. “And he’d been keeping it a secret from his mother. Fortunately, I happened to run into her, and being the concerned friend that I am, I told her all about her son’s sleepless nights, worrying about when the next attack would come. She was so grateful to me. Even asked me to look out for Connor at school, if I could. I gave her my word, and wouldn’t you know it, Connor’s life showed marked improvement.”

“Funny that,” Heather chipped in snidely.

“I certainly laughed. To show her gratitude, Mrs. Bishop invited me over to family dinner. One bottle of wine, one game of parcheesi, and after Connor had fucked off to play video games, and Mr. Bishop had gone to the office to review some papers, Mrs. Bishop, or Monica as she insisted that I call her, told me how grateful she was again. And this time, she leaned in and kissed me.” Dylan gestured towards Connor, but his eyes remained fixed on Logan. “His face went so white when I told him what she’d done. Begged me not to break up his family. Said he’d do anything if I stayed away from her.”

“You shouldn’t trust a word that he says,” Logan spoke to Connor, while glaring back at Dylan still. “Something that I’ve learned when it comes to Dylan; nothing he says ever happened the way he said it did.”

“Um…I asked my mom, and she said…” Connor hesitated to even say it aloud. “There was a kiss. She was tipsy…and she hadn’t...uh…in a while…it just sort of happened, she said…”

“It was too easy actually. I didn’t realize his mom was such a slut. The hardest part was pretending to be nice around her. I don’t know how you guys keep that up all the time.”

“It’s not hard when you’re not acting,” Logan growled back. “So, what was the plan? Get me here and…” He motioned towards the machine. “What exactly is this supposed to do?”

“This is going to rid me of my pesky little Logan problem. No longer will you be able to turn all of your girly friends against me, hording them all to yourself.”

“Logan isn’t the reason the no one likes you,” Heather told him.

Dylan ignored her. “I dream of a world without Logan Ravers. Sounds grand, doesn’t it? What’s one less little rich boy anyway? One less of the one percent will mean more for the rest of us.”

“So, you want to kill me?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “You know they have these things called guns…”

“He’s insane!” Heather spat. “He doesn’t want to kill you, he wants to obliterate you. Maybe he thinks if there aren’t enough pieces left of you no one can pin the blame on him.” Heather flipped Dylan off. “Hey, shit for brains, you’ve got a bunch of witnesses standing right here. Do you plan on getting rid of me and Ashley too?”

“No,” Dylan said quietly, reaching into his pocket. “I don’t plan on killing anyone.”

Logan noticed movement in Dylan’s pocket seconds before the machine began to hum. It grew louder and louder incredibly quickly until it was a high pitched whine. The dark haired teen just had time to push Heather to safety before attempting to leap out of the was as well. However, he was stopped by a strong, muscular arm, grabbing him in a half nelson. Looking around, Logan saw Brandon behind him as the quarterback fumbled for his other arm. Moving on instinct and self-preservation, Logan twisted himself around, reversing Brandon’s hold and wrenching the larger teen’s arm tightly against his spine. He cried out in pain. For extra humiliation, as Logan released him, he delivered a boot to his ass, knocking the football player to his knees.

A moment too late however. Logan only had time to look up before the machine pulsed. A invisible wave struck the young male, throwing him off his feet and into the air. He felt himself spinning and flipping and then falling. The world had gone quiet and his eyes were dark, seeing nothing. Was he deaf? Gone blind? Though the situation was terrifying, he tried not to panic. Falling was the first problem that needed a solution. If he struck the earth from too great a height, he’d splatter into an unrecognizable mess. He tried to feel around for something, anything, to slow his fall. But there was nothing. No wind or even air. Just the untouchable darkness. And then…grass.

It was as if he’d been laid down as gently as a mother set their child in a cradle. But the moment he felt those grassy blades tickling the back of his neck, he instantly opened his eyes. He could see. The sun was making him squint, sitting high upon a clear blue sky, but he’d never been so happy to be blinded by the sun. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was alright. Disorientated but alive. His body felt heavy, so he rested there on the grass for a moment longer. But he knew he would have to get up soon, to find Heather, and Ashley, to protect them from whatever Dylan had planned next.

As if called from his thoughts, the raven haired girl leaned over him, her head eclipsing the sun as she stared down at him with those oh so familiar electric blue eyes.

“Who the hell are you?” Heather Ravers demanded.